21 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in every exam-style shape used in the paper. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markPrimary activities are described in the chapter as those that are directly dependent on:
(A) Government policy and subsidies(B) The environment, that is, the earth’s resources(C) Foreign trade agreements(D) Industrial technology - 1 markPeople engaged in primary activities are called:
(A) Red-collar workers(B) Blue-collar workers(C) White-collar workers(D) Grey-collar workers - 1 markIllegal hunting of wild animals, which the chapter says has made many species extinct or endangered, is called:
(A) Ranching(B) Poaching(C) Viticulture(D) Transhumance - 1 markCommercial livestock ranching is essentially associated with which of the following, per the chapter?
(A) Western cultures(B) Nomadic tribal cultures(C) Mediterranean cultures(D) Monsoon Asian cultures - 1 markWhich of the following is named in the chapter as a plantation crop?
(A) Wheat(B) Barley(C) Maize(D) Rubber - 1 markThe largest of the three main regions of commercial dairy farming named in the chapter is:
(A) Canada(B) North Western Europe(C) South Eastern Australia(D) New Zealand - 1 markOn the book’s map of the areas of nomadic herding (Fig. 4.4), which one of the following regions is shaded?
(A) The Pampas of Argentina(B) North-western Europe(C) The tundra region of Eurasia(D) The Amazon Basin
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): Gathering has little chance of becoming important at the global level.
Reason (R): Products of such an activity cannot compete in the world market.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A(B) Both A and R are true, but R does not correctly explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): Mixed farming does not follow monoculture.
Reason (R): In mixed farming, wheat is the only crop grown, together with dairy cattle.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A(B) Both A and R are true, but R does not correctly explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch List I (plant part gatherers sell) with List II (products obtained from it):
List I: 1) Bark 2) Leaves 3) Nuts 4) Tree trunk
List II: (a) Rubber, balata, gums and resins (b) Quinine, tannin extract and cork (c) Food and oils (d) Beverages, drugs, cosmetics, fibres, thatch and fabrics
(A) 1-a, 2-b, 3-d, 4-c(B) 1-b, 2-d, 3-c, 4-a(C) 1-d, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c(D) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a, 4-d - 1 markMatch List I (type of commercial farming) with List II (its defining feature in the chapter):
List I: 1) Plantation agriculture 2) Extensive commercial grain cultivation 3) Mixed farming 4) Dairy farming
List II: (a) Equal emphasis on crop cultivation and animal husbandry (b) Single-crop specialisation on large estates (c) Low yield per acre but high yield per person (d) Highly capital intensive with no off-season
(A) 1-a, 2-d, 3-b, 4-c(B) 1-c, 2-b, 3-d, 4-a(C) 1-d, 2-a, 3-c, 4-b(D) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a, 4-d
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markConsider the following statements about the factors affecting mining activity:
(i) Physical factors affecting mining include the size, grade and mode of occurrence of the mineral deposits.
(ii) Economic factors affecting mining include only the demand for the mineral.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(A) Only (i)(B) Only (ii)(C) Both (i) and (ii)(D) Neither (i) nor (ii) - 1 markConsider the following statements about Mediterranean agriculture:
(i) The region is an important supplier of citrus fruits.
(ii) Viticulture, or grape cultivation, is a speciality of this region.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(A) Only (i)(B) Only (ii)(C) Both (i) and (ii)(D) Neither (i) nor (ii) - 1 markConsider the following statements:
(i) In co-operative farming, individual farms remain intact and farming stays a matter of cooperative initiative.
(ii) Collective farming is based on private ownership of the means of production.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(A) Only (i)(B) Only (ii)(C) Both (i) and (ii)(D) Neither (i) nor (ii)
5 Arrange in the Correct Order
Arrange in the Correct Order
- 1 markArrange the following stages of shifting cultivation in the correct sequence:
(A) Cultivation, Clearing and burning, Farmer shifts to new patch, Soil loses fertility(B) Soil loses fertility, Clearing and burning, Cultivation, Farmer shifts to new patch(C) Clearing and burning, Cultivation, Soil loses fertility, Farmer shifts to new patch(D) Farmer shifts to new patch, Cultivation, Clearing and burning, Soil loses fertility
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markThe seasonal movement of herders from plain areas to mountain pastures in summer, and back to the plains in winter, is known as ______.
(A) Viticulture(B) Ranching(C) Floriculture(D) Transhumance - 1 markThe discovery of minerals in human history is reflected in stages known as the copper age, ______ age and iron age.
(A) Silver(B) Steel(C) Bronze(D) Stone
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markWhich of the following is the odd one out?
(A) New Zealand(B) Australia(C) Argentina(D) Denmark
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
Nomadic herding, or pastoral nomadism, is a primitive subsistence activity in which herders rely entirely on their animals for food, clothing, shelter, tools and transport. They move from one place to another along with their livestock, depending on the amount and quality of available pasture and water, though each nomadic community occupies a well-identified territory as a matter of tradition. In mountain regions such as the Himalayas, communities like the Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis and Bhotiyas move from the plains to high mountain pastures in summer and back to the plains in winter, a movement known as transhumance.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, what do nomadic herders depend on for food, clothing, shelter, tools and transport?
(A) Trade with settled farmers(B) Their animals(C) Seasonal crops they grow themselves(D) Government subsidies
Passage
Mining is broadly of two types, depending on the mode of occurrence of the ore and its depth below the surface. Surface mining, also called open-cast mining, is the easiest and cheapest way of extracting minerals that occur close to the surface; overhead costs such as safety precautions and equipment are relatively low, and the output is both large and rapid. When the ore lies deep below the surface, the underground or shaft method has to be used: vertical shafts are sunk, from which underground galleries radiate to reach the minerals, and specially designed lifts, drills, haulage vehicles and ventilation systems are needed for the safe and efficient movement of people and material. This method is far riskier, since poisonous gases, fires, floods and caving-in can lead to fatal accidents.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, which mining method is described as ‘the easiest and cheapest way’ of extracting minerals that occur close to the surface?
(A) Underground mining(B) Placer mining(C) Deep-shaft mining(D) Surface (open-cast) mining
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 markConsider the following statements:
(i) Mixed farms typically raise cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry alongside crops.
(ii) Crop rotation and intercropping help maintain soil fertility in mixed farming.
(A) Both are true(B) Both are false(C) Only (i) is true(D) Only (ii) is true
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (B) The chapter defines primary activities as directly dependent on environment, referring to the utilisation of earth’s resources such as land, water, vegetation, building materials and minerals.
- (A) The chapter states people engaged in primary activities are called red-collar workers due to the outdoor nature of their work.
- (B) The chapter states many species have become extinct or endangered due to illegal hunting, which is called poaching.
- (A) The chapter states commercial livestock ranching is essentially associated with western cultures and is practised on permanent ranches.
- (D) The chapter lists tea, coffee, cocoa, rubber, cotton, oil palm, sugarcane, bananas and pineapples as plantation crops; wheat, barley and maize belong to other farming systems instead.
- (B) The chapter states North Western Europe is the largest of the three main regions, Canada the second, and South Eastern Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania the third.
- (C) The book names three regions of pastoral nomadism: the core region from the Atlantic shores of North Africa to Mongolia and Central China, the tundra region of Eurasia, and south-west Africa with Madagascar. The Pampas are an area of extensive commercial grain farming, North-western Europe of mixed farming, and the Amazon Basin of gathering and shifting cultivation.
Assertion-Reason
- (A) Both statements are true, and R is the chapter’s own reason for A: “Gathering has little chance of becoming important at the global level. Products of such an activity cannot compete in the world market.” (The chapter adds, as a further point, that synthetic products of better quality and lower prices have replaced many gathered items.)
- (C) A is true. R is false: the chapter lists wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize, fodder and root crops as mixed-farming crops, not wheat alone, which is exactly why it is not a single-crop system.
Match the Following
- (B) Bark yields quinine and cork (1-b); leaves give beverages, drugs and fabrics (2-d); nuts give food and oils (3-c); tree trunk yields rubber and resins (4-a), exactly as the chapter lists.
- (D) Plantation agriculture is single-crop, large-estate farming (1-b); extensive grain cultivation gives low yield per acre but high yield per person (2-c); mixed farming equally weighs crops and animals (3-a); dairy farming is capital intensive with no off-season (4-d).
Statement-Based Questions
- (A) Statement (i) matches the chapter. Statement (ii) is false (‘only’): technology, capital and labour/transport costs are economic factors too, not demand alone.
- (C) Both statements are directly stated in the chapter’s account of Mediterranean agriculture.
- (A) Statement (i) matches the chapter exactly. Statement (ii) is false: collective farming is based on social ownership of the means of production and collective labour, not private ownership.
Arrange in the Correct Order
- (C) The chapter’s own sequence: vegetation is cleared by fire, the patch is cultivated, after 3 to 5 years the soil loses its fertility, and only then does the farmer shift to a new patch.
Fill in the Blanks
- (D) The chapter names this seasonal vertical movement transhumance.
- (C) The chapter names the copper age, bronze age and iron age as the stages reflecting the discovery of minerals in human development.
Odd One Out
- (D) New Zealand, Australia and Argentina are named in the chapter as important countries for commercial livestock rearing; Denmark is instead named as the most successful example of co-operative farming.
Passage-Based Questions
- (B) The passage states herders rely entirely on their animals for these needs.
- (D) The passage identifies surface (open-cast) mining as the easiest and cheapest method for near-surface minerals.
True / False
- (A) Both statements match the chapter’s account of mixed farming exactly.
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