CLASS-10 REVISION ASSIGNMENT

CLASS -9 POPULATION

CLASS IX

IMPORTANT TERMS AND CONCEPTS

POPULATION

v  Age composition refers to the three broad age groups: (i) Children below the working age (below 15 years) (ii) Person in the working age (15 to 59 years) and (iii) Old person (above the working age 59 years).

v  Agriculture is the practice of cultivating the soil in order to produce crops.

v  Anemic is the person who suffers from anaemia (pale and weak person – having too low red blood cells in their blood).

v  Animal Husbandry refers to the care, management and breeding of animals.

v  Consumers are those organisms in all the tropic levels, with the exception of the producer. These include herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and parasites.

v  Census is the official count or survey of population.

v  Demography is the scientific study of population characteristics.

v  Dependency ratio is the ratio between the economically working population and the dependent population.

v  Density of population means the average number of persons living per unit area , i.e. in a sq. mile or a sq. km.

v  Fishery is the occupation or industry of catching or rearing fish.

v  Forestry is the science of practice of planting, managing and caring of forests.

v  Industrialization is the process of establishing industries and increasing the number of people in the manufacture of goods in a country or a region.

v  Infant mortality rate refers to the number of infants dying under one year of age per thousand births in a year.

v  Infrastructure is the framework of communication network, health centres, administration and power supply necessary for economic development.

v  Life expectancy refers to the average number of years which an individual can expect to live in a given society, normally derived from the national life table.

v  Literacy is the ability to read and write.

v  Literacy rate means the number of literate people per thousand. It is expressed in percentage.

v  Malnutrition refers to lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat, eating enough of the right things or unable to use the food eaten.

v  Migration is the movement of people from one place to another.

v  Nutritionist is the person who is an expert on the relationship between food and the way it affects our health.

v  Optimum population is the theoretically perfect situation where the population can develop its resources to the greatest extent, and achieve maximum output while enjoying the highest possible standard of living.

v  Occupational structure refers to the distribution of its people according to different occupations.

v  Population is the total number of a specific group of people living in an area at a particular time.

v  Primary activities include agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, fishery, etc.

v  Producers refer to an organism who can get energy from the sun and transform it by photosynthesis into food.

v  Secondary activities refer to manufacturing industries.

v  Population culture is the mixture of castes, language and religion of different people of India.

v  Productive population is the people engaged in some or the other meaning for occupation for earning their livelihood.

v  Sex ratio means the number of women per thousand men.

v  Urbanization is the process of increasing concentration of people in towns. This is an increase in the percentage and in the number of people residing in urban settlements.

v  Working population is the population engaged in some useful occupation for earning their living and contributing to a productive economic activity.

v  Water borne diseases are diseases transported by water i.e. diseases communicated or propagated by water.

v  Year of great divide refers to the year 1921, after which India witnessed a period of increasing population growth.

2.    Answer the following questions briefly:

(i) Why is the rate of population growth in India declining since 1981?

A. The rate of population growth in India is declining since1981 because of the following reasons :

·         Since 1981, the rate of growth started declining gradually as the Birth Rate declined rapidly.

·         Efforts of birth control and better medical services also led to this trend.

·         Rising literacy rate, late marriages, general awakening in the people about the benefits of small families, etc. also contributed to it.

(ii) Discuss the major components of population growth.

A.  The major components of population growth are as follows :

Birth Rate: It is the number of live births per thousand persons in a year. It is the major                    component of growth because in India, Birth Rates have always been higher than Death Rates.

Death Rate: it is the number of deaths per thousand persons in a year. Fast declining in Death Rates is the major cause of population growth. Till 1980, high Birth Rates and declining Death Rates led to higher rates of population growth. Since 1981, Birth Rates have started declining resulting in a gradual decline in the rate of population growth.

Migration: This is the third component of population growth. Migration is the movement of people across regions and territories. Migration can be internal or international.

·         Internal migration does not change the size of population, but influences the distribution of population within the nation.

·         In our country, most migrations have been from rural areas to urban areas because of poverty and unemployment in rural areas.

(iii) Define age structure, Death Rate and Birth Rate.

a)      Age Structure: It refers to the distribution of population of the country among different age groups. It helps estimate the size of working population and dependent population. There are three age groups:

§  Children (0-14 years): They are economically unproductive and need to be provided with food, clothing, education and medical care.

§  Adults (15-59 years): They are economically productive and biologically reproductive. They comprise the working population. They can be economically productive. They need to be provided medical care.

§  Aged (60 years and above): They can be economically productive though they may have retired. They may be working voluntarily but they are not available for employment through recruitment.

b)      Birth Rate: It is the number of live births per thousand people in a year.

c)        Death Rate: It is the number of deaths per thousand people in a year.

(iv)  How is migration a determinant of population change?

A. Migration is certainly a determinant of the population change in the following ways:

·         Migration not only changes the population size but also the population composition in the terms of urban and rural population and in terms of age and sex composition.

·         In India, the rural-urban migration has led to a steady increase in the percentage of population in cities and towns.

·         In India urban population has increased from 17.29 percent of the total population in 1951 to 27.78 percent in 2001.

·         There has been a significant increase in the number of million plus from 23 to 35 in just one decade 1991-2001.

·         There are two major factors of migration- International migration and Domestic migration.

International migration takes place when the residents of a country move to another country. It can take two forms.

Ø  Immigration, where the foreign residents come to India. It increases the population of a country.

Ø  Emigration, where the Indians move to foreign countries. It decreases the population of a country.

Domestic Migration takes place where people move from one region of the country to another region. It can take place due to two sets of factors:

Ø  Push factor, like (i) the low level of agricultural income, (ii) fragmentation of agricultural lands, (iii) tenant farming etc.

Ø  Pull factor, like (i) industrialization, (ii) improvement in transportation, (iii) improved communications and (iv) higher educational facilities in urban areas.

(v) Distinguish between population growth and population change.

A. Population Growth: Population growth refers to the number of persons added each year or each       decade to a given population. India’s population has been steadily increasing from 361 million in 1951      to 1028 million in 2001.

Population Change: There are three main processes of change: birth rate, death rate and migration.                      

Ø  Birth rate is the major results in the decrease of population.

Ø  Death rate results in the decrease of population.

Ø  Migration is of mainly two kinds – internal and international. Internal migration does not change the size of the population but the international migration certainly can change the size of population.

(vi) What is the relation between occupational structure and development?

A. The occupational structure of a country refers to the distribution of its people according to different occupations. There are three types of activities in which people are mostly engaged.

§  Primary activities: These include agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, fishery, etc. they are primary because their production is carried out with the help of nature.

§  Secondary activities: Manufacturing industries are known as secondary activities.

§  Tertiary activities: Transport, communication, bank services, insurance, consultative services, etc. are called tertiary sector.

§  There is a close relationship between development of economy and occupational structure.

§  The higher the proportion of population of a country engaged in secondary and tertiary activities, the higher is the income of the people, as in the USA, Japan, etc.

§  The higher the dependence of population on agriculture or other primary activities result in lower level of income of the people, as in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc.

§  The proportion of population dependent on agriculture in our country is 64 percent and on secondary and tertiary sector is around 13 to 20 percent respectively.

§  However, there has been a gradual occupational shift in favour of secondary and secondary sectors because of growing industrialization and urbanization during the last five decades.

(vii) What are the advantages of having a healthy population?

A.                  The advantages are as follow:

§  Health is an important component of the development process. Healthy people make the nation strong and developed. They produce, create and consume much more than the weak and unhealthy people.

§  Healthy people are an asset to the nation whereas the diseased and weak people are a burden on the nation.

§  Healthy population decreases the dependence ration.

§  Only the healthy population can make full use of natural resources.

§  A healthy population can bring laurels to the nation by its winning spree in different games and sports.

§  A healthy and well educated population will prove the political power for development in this millennium.

§  Our people are weak, undernourished and suffering from various ailments. That is one major factor of our backwardness. This is an area of serious concern. Though the government is doing its best to improve the health status of the people, but there is much more to be done to improve the health of the people.

(viii) What are the significant features of the National Population Policy 2000?

A.  Recognizing that the planning of families would enhance individual health and welfare, the Government of India was the first in the world t o initiate the comprehensive Family Planning Programme in 1951.

The Family Welfare Programme has sought to promote, on a voluntary basis, responsible and planned      parenthood. The National Population Policy 2000 is a culmination of years of planned efforts.

Significant Features of the National Population Policy (NPP)

1)      The NPP 2000 provides a political framework for imparting free and compulsory school education up to 14 years of age.

2)      It aims at meeting the needs of the rapidly growing adolescents (10-19 years of age).

3)      It laid emphasis on the Family Welfare Programme and planning of families.

4)      Reducing infant mortality rate to below 30 per 1000 live births.

5)      Achieving universal immunization of children against all vaccine preventable diseases.

6)      Promoting delayed marriage for girls.

7)      Making family welfare a people centered programme.

(ix) How is population the pivotal element in geography?

A. Population is the pivotal element in geography because it is the point of reference from which all       other elements are observed and from which they derive significance and meaning.

(x) What are the three major aspects of primary concerns of the population?

A. The major aspects are:-

§  Population size and distribution.

§  Characteristics of population.

§  Population growth and processes of population change.

(xi) Which is the most populous state of India and which is the least populous state of India?

A. Uttar Pradesh with 16% of the country’s population is the most populous whereas Sikkim is the least populous.

(xii) Why north Indian Plain is thickly populated?

A. North Indian Plain is thickly populated because:

1)      The soil of this region is leveled, flat and fertile.

2)      There are large numbers of factories in these areas.

3)      The climate of this region is quite congenial.

4)      Means of transport and communication are well developed.

(xii) What is sex ratio? Give two reasons for unfavorable sex ratio in India?

A. The number of women per thousand men is called sex ratio. The following are the reasons for unfavorable sex ratio in India:

1)      Female children are less cared than male children.

2)      Women have great risk to their lives at the time of their delivery.

(xiii) What makes West Bengal the most thickly populated state in India? State three reasons.

A. The reasons are:

1)      West Bengal receives a large amount of rainfall. The Ganga River also provides large irrigation facilities.

2)      This area is flat and has very fertile alluvial soils which produce a lot to support a large population.

3)      There are many agro-based and metal based industries which provide a work to a large number of population.

(xiv) What measures should be taken to control the growth of population?

A. To control the growth of population we suggest the following measures:

1)      Rapid economic growth and development: The place of growth rate both in agricultural and industrial sector should be accelerated. Faster economic growth will open new avenues for employment. This will generate income for the common man. As a result, their standard of income will go up and they will go up and they will realize the need of a small family.

2)      Spread of literacy especially among women: As literacy and education levels spread, people come out of homes to join the work force. This will ultimately result in the fall of fertility.

3)      Adoption of small family norms: Spread of medical facilities will result in lower fertility. Small family awareness campaign along with incentives can motivate the people to cut the size of their families.

(xv) Why are adolescents identified as a special group?

A.  Adolescents are identified as a special group in the NPP 2000 for the following questions;

1)      They have been identified as one of the ‘undeserved population groups because they do not have adequate access to affordable reproductive and health care services.

2)      Adolescents have a high caloric intake requirement and malnutrition seriously impairs their health.

3)      Their special requirements include providing supplements, counseling and enforcing the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1976.

4)      People are nation’s most important resources. A healthy, well educated population is the potential power for the development in this millennium. Adolescents are the backbone of the nation.

(xvi) A large population has both economic advantages and disadvantages. Justify.

A.                                                                     Advantages

1)      In certain respects a large population is an asset to economic development and growth.

2)      It provides an adequate labour force.

3)      Hundreds of people can be trained in all kinds of skills at all levels.

4)      A huge population provides a ready domestic market for all sort of goods. This encourages entrepreneurs to produce on large scale.

5)      A large population enables a country to compete in an international market.

                                                                       Disadvantages

1)      National income gets disturbed among a large number of people. As a result, per capita income comes down.

2)      Rapid population growth puts heavy burden on the agricultural sectors. This reduces productivity in agriculture.

3)      A large population is also responsible for malnutrition, weak health, widespread diseases, low education standard, less civic amenities, over crowding, slums, even famines and starvation.

4)      It puts heavy pressure on our limited resources like coal, petroleum, forests, water, land and this is the main cause of our poverty, disease and hunger.

(xvii) Point out the geographical factors which influence the population distribution in India.

A. The following are the main factors:

1)      Relief features: The northern plains, coastal plains and river valleys are thickly populated areas whereas mountain areas, deserts and forests of N.E India are thinly populated.

2)      Climate: The hot deserts of Thar, hot parts of Deccan plateau and cold regions of Himalayas are thinly populated. In rest of India the temperatures are moderate and so the population is thick there. Rainless Rajasthan deserts and hilly areas of Western Ghats and N.E. India are thinly populated.

3)      Natural resources: The regions of India with rich soil and minerals are thickly populated . Indo-Gangetic plains, rich in soil and Damodar River Valley, rich in minerals are thickly populated.

4)      Means of transport and communication: The northern plains with network of roads and railways and coastal plains with sea routes are thickly populated regions.

5)      Industrial areas: Areas which are industrially developed are thickly populated. Industrial towns like Kanpur, Faridabad, Ahmadabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, etc. are thickly populated.

6)      Political stability and peace: The regions where governments are stable and there is peace and calm and respect for law are thickly populated.