Std 9 Geography :

Chapter 1 India –Size and Location

Question1:
Answer the following questions briefly.
(i) Name the group of islands lying in the Arabian Sea.
Answer : Lakshadweep Islands lie in the Arabian Sea
(ii) Name the countries which are larger than India.
Answer : Russia, Canada, USA. China, Australia and Brazil are the countries
that are larger than India.
(iii) Which island group of India lies to its South-East?
Answer : Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie to the South-East of India.
(iv) Which island countries are our Southern neighbours?
Answer : Sri Lanka and Maldives are the two island countries that are the
Southern neighbours of India.

Question 2.The Sun rises two hours earlier in Arunachal Pradesh as

compared to Gujarat in the West but the watches show the same time. How
does this happen?
Answer 2:From Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh there is a time lag of two hours,
but the watches show the same time because the time along the Standard
Meridian of India (82 0 30′ E) passing through Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh is
taken as the standard time for the whole country. Because the same standard
time for the whole country has been adopted, the watches show the same
time in Arunachal Pradesh and Gujarat and in all parts of the country.

Question 3.The central location of India at the head of the Indian Ocean is
considered of great significance. Why?
Answer 3 : The Indian landmass has a central location between East and
West Asia. India is a southward extension of the Asian continent. The trans
Indian Ocean routes which connect the countries of Europe in the West to the
countries of East Asia provide a strategic central location to India. The
Deccan peninsula protrudes into the Indian Ocean, thus helping India to
establish close contact with West Asia, Africa and Europe from the Western
coast and South-East and East Asia from the Eastern coast.No other country
has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean as India has.Thus, India’s eminent
position in the Indian Ocean Justifies the naming of an ocean after it.

Q4: Map Skills

Question 1. Identify the following with the help of map reading.
(i) The island groups of India lying in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of
Bengal.
Answer :Lakshadweep Islands and Andaman and Nicobar Islands

(ii) The countries constituting the Indian Sub-continent.

Answer :Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
 (iii) The states through which the Tropic of Cancer passes.
Answer :Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,
West Bangal, Tripura and Mizoram.
(iv) The northernmost latitude in degrees.
Answer :37° 6’N
(v) The southernmost latitude of the Indian mainland in degrees
Answer :8° 4’N
(vi) The eastern and the Westernmost longitude in degrees.
Answer :68° 7’E and 97° 25’E
(vii) The place situated on the three seas.
Answer :Kanyakumari
(viii)The straight separating Sri Lanka from India.
Answer :Palk Strait
(ix) The Union Territories of India.
Answer :Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Puducherry and Delhi.

Q5: Important Questions

(i) Find out the longitudinal and latitudinal extent of your state.
Answer :Do it yourself.
Sample answer is given below:
My state is Uttar Pradesh. Longitudinally it extends from 77°4’E to 84°39’E.
Latitudinally it extends from about 30 0 20’N to about 23°53’N.

(ii) Collect information about the ‘Silk Route and Also find out the new
developments which are improving communication routes in the regions of
the high altitude.
Answer :(a) Do it yourself.
It is given in your History book.
Some information is given below:
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking
trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East,
South. and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as
well as parts of North and East Africa. The land routes were supplemented
by sea routes, which extended from the Red Sea to coastal India, China
and South-East Asia.Extending 4,000 miles (6,500 km), the Silk Road gets
its name from the lucrative Chinese silk trade along it. which began during
the Han Dynasty (206 BCE –220CE). The central Asian sections of the
trade routes were expanded around 114 BCE by the Han dynasty largely
through the missions and explorations of Zhang Qian with the rest of the
world.

Q6: LOCATION of India: Short Note:

A: 6: India is a vast country. LYING ENTIRELY IN THE Northern hemisphere the
main land extends between
latitudes 8o4’ N and 37o 6’ and longitudes 68o 7’ E 97o 25’ E. the Tropic of Cancer
(23o 30’N) divides the country
into almost two equal parts. To the southeast and southwest of the mainland, lie the
Andaman and Nicobar
islands in Bay of Bengal and the Lakshadweep islands in the Arabian Sea.
Q7: SIZE of India: Short Note:
A:7: the land mass of India has an area of 3.28 million square km. India’s total areas
accounts for about 2.4 per cent of
the total geographical area of the world. India is the seventh largest country of the
world. India has a land
boundary of about 15200 km and the total length of the coast line of the mainland
including Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep is 7516.6 km.

Q8: Explain: India has a distinct physical and cultural identity.

A8: Notwithstanding wide diversity, the Indian society has fostered unity and
homogeneity. To a large extent this
unity and homogeneity has been promoted by the geographical features of the
country.
(i) On its north, India is bounded by lofty mountains. These mountains run east-west
for thousands of kilometers.
These provide a natural wall against all possible intrusions.
(ii) On the south, India is surrounded by the seas and the ocean from three sides. It
means, the land is protected
from outside intrusions.

Q9: Important geographical features of India:

A9:
(i) people from outside could come only through well-defined routes, whether by sea
or through passes in
mountains.
(ii) People who came from outside brought with them their cultural elements. these
elements came to be
assimilated in Indian culture.
(iii) Indian society adapted itself to the new norms.
(iv) Thus, by adopting new norms and values and accepting them as their own, unity
and homogeneity came to
‘be promoted.
(v) “The north-south extent of India is larger than its east-west extent even through
the country’s latitudinal and
longitudinal extent in degree es is of the same value.” The north-south distance
between two successive latitudes remains the same or constant, and it is 3214 km is
this case. But the east-west distance between the two successive longitudes goes
on progressively decreasing from the equator to the poles. This is because all the
meridians merge into a single point at the poles. in India the maximum east-west
extent therefore is much less than km. it is 2933 km only.

Q10: What is the “Impact of the longitudinal extent” of India:

A10:
The earth takes 24 hours to corrupted one rotation (360o) about its axis. It means
the earth rotates at the pace of 15
per hour (360o / 24) As the longitudinal extent of India is about 30o longitude the
time lag between easternmost
and westernmost points of India is of two hours. When it is 6.00 a.m at eastern
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extremity of India it is still 4.00 a.m. at the westernmost point of India. To avoid this
time confusion, time along
the Standard Meridian of India (82o 30’E) passing through Mizapur (in Uttar
Pradesh) is taken as the standard
time for the whole country. the latitude with an odd value of 82o 30’E has been
selected as the Standard Meridian
of India as –
(i) It is well divisible by 7 o 30’, a standard adopted by almost all the countries of the
world.
(ii) It lies almost in the middle of India, and as such, it suits us the most.

Q11: What is the “Impact of the Latitudinal extent” of India:

A11:
Kanyakumari is situated near Equator. here days and nights are almost equal, the
maximum difference is 45
minutes only. but as we move farther towards north or south of the Equator, the
difference between the length of
the day and night becomes progressively larger. in north Kashmir it is as much as 5
hours, as it is far away from
the equator.

Q12: Short Note: INDIA’S NEIGHBOURS

A12:
To the north of India are China, Nepal and Bhutan, and to the east, Bangladesh and
Myanmar, to the west and
northwest are Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the south, separated from India by the
Palk Strait, lies the island
country of Sri Lanka. To the south of Lakshadweep lies Maldives, Not far the
Andaman and Nicobar islands lie
our closest South-East Asian neighbours: Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
India and Adjacent Countries.