ISC SEMESTER 2 EXAMINATION
SPECIMEN QUESTION PAPER
GEOGRAPHY
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum Marks: 35
Time allowed: One and a half hour
Candidates are allowed an additional 10 minutes for only reading the paper.
They must NOT start writing during this time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answer all questions in Section A, Section B and Section C.
The intended marks for questions or parts of questions are given in brackets.[ ]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION A – 7 MARKS
Question 1
Study the outline Map of India given below and answer the questions that follow:
1
(i) The main tea producing region marked A is the __________. [1]
(ii) The offshore mineral producing field marked B is the __________. [1]
(iii) The city marked E is also known as the __________ of India. [1]
(iv) Identify and name the following:
(a) The cotton textile producing centre marked D. [1]
(b) The State shaded and marked F. [1]
(v) The roadway C, connecting the two cities (x) and (y) is: [1]
(a) National Highway 1
(b) National Highway 2
(c) National Highway 6
(d) National Highway 7
(vi) The port city marked G is: [1]
(a) Mumbai
(b) Kochi
(c) Chennai
(d) Kolkata
SECTION B – 12 MARKS
Answer the following questions.
Question 2 [2]
Briefly explain any two drawbacks of the first Green Revolution.
Question 3 [2]
(i) ‘The prospect of the hydroelectric power generation is very high in the Northern
Mountain Region’. Justify the given statement by giving two reasons.
OR
(ii) ‘India should switch over its energy dependence from conventional to
non-conventional energy sources.’ Justify the given statement by giving two
reasons.
2
Question 4 [2]
List four factors of development and briefly explain how they have favoured the
growth of the Mumbai-Pune Industrial region.
Question 5 [2]
Explain any two natural factors that have favoured the development of fishing industry
in Bangladesh.
Question 6 [2]
Explain any two reasons why transport means are considered important for Indian
economic development.
Question 7 [2]
Differentiate between micro planning region and the macro planning region.
SECTION C – 16 MARKS
Question 8 [4]
(i) Explain the reasons for the low density of metalled roads in the Himalayan
regions of India.
OR
(ii) Discuss the advantages of Telecommunication in India.
Question 9 [4]
Refer to the sketch map given below and answer the questions that follow:
3
(i) Name the steel plant and mention its location. From where does this steel plant [2]
obtain coal and iron ore?
(ii) Why are these iron and steel plants important? [2]
Question 10
Study the picture given below and answer the questions that follow.
(i) Explain the process of sowing the crop shown in the above picture. [2]
(ii) State any two advantages of the method of sowing the given crop. [2]
Question 11
Read the following passage and answer the questions given below.
Haldia Port was constructed on Hooghly river as a solution to the problems of siltation
at Kolkata Port. The locational advantages of Haldia Port were that it allowed
movement of bigger vessels and was free from tidal bores.
However, lately the Haldia Port is affected by siltation and requires the opening of an
alternative channel which will allow easy entry of vessels.
(i) State two locational advantages of the Haldia Port. [2]
(ii) Mention any four states of India which form the hinterland of Haldia Port. [2]
4
Answers
Section-A
Answer 1.
(i) Assam
(ii) Mumbai High
(iii) Electronic Capital
(iv) (a) Ahmedabad
(b) Chhattisgarh
(v) (b) National Highway 2
(vi) (b) Kochi
Section-B
Answer 2.
Green Revolution involved the use of High-Yielding Variety (HYV) of seeds, which led to an
unprecedented increase in production of wheat and rice. However, the Green Revolution had several
drawbacks.
Two of the drawbacks were:
A. The Green Revolution did not bring prosperity to all the regions of India. The states or regions which
benefitted the most were Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. Agriculturally, these regions
were already in a better position before the Green Revolution. The eastern part of the country and the
arid and semi-arid regions did not benefit from this revolution.
B. HYV seeds required the use of huge quantities of water, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The repeated
and continuous use of fertilizers and pesticides led to the degradation of quality of soil and polluted the
groundwater. This forced the peasants to use more fertilizers, pesticides and other inputs to bring out
the same level of production. This increased the cost of production.
Answer 3.
(i) The rivers of the Himalayas are very significant for hydroelectric power generation because of the
reasons:
A. The Himalayan rivers are perennial as they have their sources in glaciers and snowfields, and flow
of water is regular throughout the year.
B. Velocity of flow is so high that it has the potential to generate hydroelectric power if tapped correctly.
OR
(ii) The use of conventional sources of energy, such as coal, petroleum and natural gas causes environmental
pollution. These non-renewable energy sources will exhaust, if the present rate of consumption
continues.
Therefore, there is a need to shift from the conventional sources of energy to the non-conventional
sources of energy, such as solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, geothermal energy, etc. The shift is
needed because of the following reasons:
A. These energy sources are renewable and do not exhaust with their use.
B. They do not cause pollution and do not harm the environment.
Answer 4.
The Mumbai-Pune industrial region developed as a result of the cotton growing areas and the
development of cotton textile industries.
There are several factors responsible for the growth of Mumbai-Pune industrial region. Four of these
factors are as follows:
A. A
vailability of resources and development of industries: The rich black soil of the Narmada and
Tapi Basin favoured the cultivation of cotton. This encouraged the growth of cotton textile industries
in and around the region and thus, Mumbai and its hinterland became the ‘Cottonopolis of India’.
Besides, the cotton textile industry, the chemical industry also emerged. Other industries that came
up were engineering goods, drugs, fertilizers, synthetic and plastic goods, ship building and food
processing. Banking, insurance and stock market sectors flourished.
B. Availability of energy sources: As coal was not readily available, the region developed its hydel
power resources in Western Ghats.
C. Availability of labour: Cheap skilled, semi-skilled and manual labour were easily available from
Mumbai and its hinterland, and its neighbouring states of Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, etc.
D. Transport network: The opening of the first railway track between Mumbai and Thane in 1853,
opening of the Bhor and Thal Ghats, respectively to Pune and Nashik provided impetus for the
growth of the region. Port facilities also developed.
Answer 5.
Two natural factors that have favoured the development of fishing industry in Bangladesh are:
A. Bangladesh situated at the head of the Indian Ocean, and it has the world’s largest flooded wetland
and large aquatic biodiversity in Asia.
B. It has a vast continental shelf and a large number of islands off the coast of the Ganga-Brahmaputra
delta which provide suitable conditions for fishing.
Answer 6.
Means of transport serve as the lifeline of a nation and its economy because of the following reasons:
A. Transport network links the producer with the consumer. Production is facilitated when raw
materials reach the factories on time. Similarly, when the finished products reach the market, it
benefits the customers. Transport is crucial to carrying out any commerce or economic activities.
B. Transport networks connect many remote areas, which are otherwise very isolated. It reduces
distances between regions and brings people closer resulted in development of the backward
regions.
Answer 7.
Micro-planning region Macro-planning region
These are the smallest planning regions. These are the largest planning regions consisting
of several meso-regions
These regions have the potential to focus on the Such regions are self-contained with an economy
development and production of a single product. that support high quality of life. It has the
For example, Jammu and Kashmir is known for potential to grow various aspects of the economy.
tourism, Himachal Pradesh for hydroelectricity, For example, the Peninsular region is a macro
agriculture in Punjab etc. region.
These regions are at the lowest level of hierarchy These regions are the apex level of hierarchy of
of the planning region. the planning region.
Section-C
Answer 8.
(i) The reasons for the low density of metalled roads in the Himalayan regions of India are as follows:
A. The nature of difficult terrain makes the construction of roads difficult.
B. Construction of metalled roads becomes comparatively costly on hilly terrains.
C. The level of economic development is low.
D. The Himalayas also form the border region. Most of the roads are constructed by the Border Roads
Organisation.
OR
(ii) With the advancement of electrical technology, telecommunication has brought a revolution in the
Communication Industry. The advantages of telecommunication in India are:
A. Communication between one or more people has become quick and accessible.
B. It has become easy to exchange ideas, knowledge and conduct meetings via phone through the
World Wide Web.
C. It enables people to share documents and other important materials electronically with business
clients and customers.
D. It boosts customer relations and services.
Answer 9.
(i) It is the Hindustan Steel Ltd., at Rourkela situated in Sundergarh district of Odisha.
This steel plant obtains coal from Jharia coal fields located at a distance of 225 kms, and Talcher, which
is located at a distance of 150 kms. Iron ore is obtained from Sundergarh and Keonjhar districts.
(ii) Steel is the backbone of the modern industry. The iron and steel industry is a major key industry and
known as the mother of all industries.
Iron and Steel Plants are important because of the following reasons:
A. It is an indicator of economic and industrial development of any country.
B. Generally everything we use is made of iron and steel or of machineries and tools made of steel.
C. Almost all industries depend on iron and steel for their tools and machines.
D. For stable growth and economic development such plants are must.
Answer 10.
(i) The process of sowing the crop is known as transplantation, used in sowing rice crop.
There are various steps followed in the process of sowing rice crop which are as follows:
A. Firstly, the land is ploughed and tilled properly and the land is levelled to sow the seeds at the onset
of monsoon.
B. Secondly, the seeds are sown directly on the fields or they are first planted in nursery in seed beds
and then transplanted to the main fields either by hand or by machine.
C. The fields have to have standing water at the time of sowing as shown in the picture above.
(ii) Two advantages of the method of sowing rice crop through transplanting method are as follows:
A. Weeds are removed while resowing.
B. Only the healthy plants are picked for resowing in the field and unhealthy plants are discarded.
Answer 11.
(i) Two locational advantages of the Haldia port are:
A. An important rail link connects Haldia with Kharagpur that made transportation easy.
B. The hinterland of Haldia covers the same territories as that of Kolkata although to a much lesser
extent.
(ii) States which form the hinterland of Haldia port are as follows:
A. Jharkhand
B. Bihar
C. West Bengal
D. Uttar Pradesh
