DAV Class 7 SST Chapter 7 Human Environment Solutions

1. Which one of the following represents human environment?
(a) forest
(b) desert
(c) city
(d) ocean
Answer: (c) city

2. The uneven terrain of highland areas results in:
(a) dispersed settlement
(b) compact settlement
(c) urban settlement
(d) small town ship
Answer: (a) dispersed settlement

3. Transportation is helpful for the:
(a) industrialisation of a place.
(b) cleanliness of a place.
(c) slow and steady development of a place.
(d) population of a place.
Answer: (a) industrialisation of a place.

4. The floating towns are:
(a) large mechanised ships.
(b) those where large scale migration takes place.
(c) floating gardens in a river.
(d) shikara (house boats) of Kashmir.
Answer: (a) large mechanised ships.

5. HBJ pipelines is used for the transportation of:
(a) petroleum
(b) water
(c) slurry iron ore
(d) natural gas
Answer: (d) natural gas

1. Road transport is used for shorter distances.
2. Pipelines are commonly used for transportation of liquid materials.
3. Metro is available in large cities like Kolkata and Delhi.
4. Nomads are completely dependent on the environment to satisfy their basic needs.
5. Satellites (Communication Satellites) provide communication services even to the remote areas of the country.

1. Pipelines are the most important means for transporting solid goods.
Answer: False (Pipelines transport liquids and gases, and solids only when converted into slurry form).

2. Metro rails are the fastest and the most comfortable means of transport in metropolitan cities.
Answer: True

3. Waterways are the cheapest mode of transport.
Answer: True

4. In ancient times, cultivation was common in the hilly areas only.
Answer: False (Cultivation originated and developed in fertile river valleys like the Nile, Tigris-Euphrates, and Indus valleys).

5. Plains are the least favourable location for the establishment of compact settlements.
Answer: False (Plains are the most favourable locations due to flat land, easy transport, and fertile soil).

Question 1: What are wet point settlements?
Answer: Settlements that grow and develop around a natural source of water, such as a river, spring, well, pond, or an oasis in a desert, are called wet point settlements. Water is indispensable for human survival, domestic use, livestock, and agriculture.

Question 2: Explain the term ‘transportation’. Name the various means of transportation.
Answer: Transportation is the process and system of moving passengers and goods from one location to another.
The five primary means of transportation are:

1. Roadways
2. Railways
3. Waterways
4. Airways
5. Pipelines

Question 3: What is the importance of means of communication?
Answer: Means of communication are vital because:

• They allow people to transmit and receive messages, ideas, and knowledge across great distances rapidly.
• They bridge geographical barriers, integrating the world into a global community.
• Mass media (television, newspapers, radio, internet) educates, entertains, and informs citizens about current events, governance, and commercial opportunities.

Question 4: Give two advantages of electrification of railways.
Answer: Two key advantages of railway electrification are:

1. Environmental Protection: It drastically reduces smoke and greenhouse gas emissions compared to coal and diesel engines, curbing air pollution.
2. High Efficiency and Speed: Electric trains can carry heavier loads and larger passenger volumes over longer distances at substantially faster speeds and lower operating costs.

Question 5: Mention two advantages of waterways over airways.
Answer: Two distinct advantages of waterways over airways are:

1. Cost Effective: Waterways are the cheapest mode of transport because they require minimal route construction costs compared to airways or roadways.
2. Bulk Cargo Capacity: Waterways are uniquely suited for carrying bulky, heavy, and large-volume goods (such as timber, iron ore, coal, and oil) over vast distances across oceans, which would be cost-prohibitive by air.

Question 1: What are the various factors responsible for permanent settlements?
Answer: The development of permanent settlements is determined by several physical, social, and economic factors:

• Availability of Water: Access to fresh water for drinking, farming, and daily chores has historically led communities to settle along rivers, lakes, and oases.
• Favourable Relief and Topography: Flat, fertile plains offer ideal terrain for building houses, expanding farms, and laying road networks, creating compact settlements. In contrast, rugged highlands promote dispersed settlements.
• Fertile Soil and Agricultural Potential: Areas with rich alluvial soil guarantee consistent food production, encouraging nomadic people to settle down permanently.
• Favourable Climate: Moderate climate with adequate rainfall supports human health, crop cycles, and livestock rearing.
• Special Sites (Trade, Culture, and Tourism): Places endowed with scenic beauty, holy shrines, mineral deposits, or industrial ports (e.g., Varanasi, Goa, Shimla) foster long-term urban communities.

Question 2: What are the various advantages of roadways over other means of transport?
Answer: Road transport possesses several unique advantages:

• Door-to-Door Service: Roads provide direct point-to-point connectivity from farms and factories straight to consumers’ doorsteps, reducing loading and unloading expenses.
• Ideal for Short Distances: For moving passengers and freight over short and medium distances, road transport is the most flexible, fast, and economical choice.
• Perishable Goods Movement: Perishable commodities like fresh milk, fruits, and vegetables can be rushed to nearby market hubs quickly via trucks and vans.
• Lower Capital Outlay: Building and maintaining roads involves much lower capital expenditure than constructing railway tracks, stations, or airports.
• Accessibility in Difficult Terrains: Roads can negotiate sharp gradients and winding mountains where laying railway lines or landing aircraft is impossible.

Question 3: Explain how transportation and communication help in the economic development of a country.
Answer: Transportation and communication act as the lifelines of modern economic growth:

• Industrial and Agricultural Supply Chain: Transportation delivers raw materials from agricultural fields and mines to manufacturing industries, and carries finished manufactured products to consumer markets.
• Market Expansion: Efficient transport and communication systems integrate regional and international markets, enabling businesses to scale and trade smoothly across state and national borders.
• Price Stabilisation: Fast transit prevents localized commodity shortages and controls inflation by swiftly moving supplies from surplus areas to deficit zones.
• Instant Information Flow: Modern communication channels (telephony, email, electronic banking) enable real-time commercial transactions, stock trading, and business coordination.
• Employment Generation: Millions of people find direct and indirect livelihoods in logistics, driving, warehousing, digital services, and telecommunications.

Question 4: What was the impact of the discovery of fire, wheel and iron on human civilisations?
Answer: These three revolutionary breakthroughs radically altered human history:

• Discovery of Fire: Fire enabled early humans to roast and cook raw food, warm their living spaces during severe cold, frighten away predatory wild animals, and clear patches of jungle for early habitation.
• Invention of the Wheel: The wheel revolutionized mobility. Animals could now pull heavy carts, enabling long-distance overland transport of goods. The wheel also inspired the potter wheel for storing surplus food and water, laying the groundwork for simple machinery.
• Discovery of Iron: Iron was hard, durable, and abundant. It allowed humans to forge sharp axes to clear dense tropical jungles and durable iron ploughshares to till tough, heavy soils. This spurred massive agricultural surpluses, population growth, and the birth of permanent urban civilisations.

Question 5: How has the computer technology revolutionised the process of communication?
Answer: Computer technology, paired with satellite connectivity and the internet, has completely transformed modern human interaction:

• Instantaneous Global Reach: Emails, instant messaging apps, and videoconferencing tools transmit text, audio, and high-definition video worldwide in split seconds.
• Paperless and Automated Data Flow: Vast volumes of banking records, educational material, and administrative documentation are processed digitally, reducing bureaucratic paperwork and administrative delays.
• Creation of a Global Village: People across different continents can share thoughts, cultures, and news instantly, erasing national borders and creating a unified global community.
• E-Commerce and Digital Services: Consumers can buy products, manage bank accounts, and attend online classes from the comfort of their homes, completely reshaping global commerce and education.

Question 1: How do transport networks act as the ‘nerves and arteries’ of a nation’s economy?
Answer: In the human body, arteries supply oxygenated blood and essential nutrients to every cell, while nerves carry instant command signals from the brain. Similarly, transport networks circulate raw materials, food grains, machinery, and finished goods to every corner of a country. Simultaneously, communication links transmit vital commercial decisions and instructions. If these transport channels get blocked, factories starve of raw materials, food supplies fail to reach consumers, and the entire national economy collapses into stagnation.

Question 2: Why are settlements in desert regions mostly clustered around oases, while settlements in mountainous regions are sparse and dispersed?
Answer:

• In desert environments, water is extremely scarce. Human life and farming are feasible only in the immediate vicinity of an oasis where groundwater surfaces. Hence, populations cluster tightly into compact wet point settlements around that solitary water source.
• In mountainous regions, steep rocky slopes, shallow soils, harsh winters, and severe terrain prevent large contiguous farms and roads. Families build isolated homes on small terraced plots or sunny hillside spurs, resulting in scattered and dispersed settlements.

“India signed a Road Connectivity Pact with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal (BBIN) on 15 June 2015 to create way for greater trade and economic co-operation among these countries. This agreement has been designed to facilitate efficient road transport for regional integration. Exports and imports will increase and create new opportunities for trade and business.”

Question 1: How would the above said Pact reduce regional conflicts among countries and promote co-operation for the welfare of people?
Answer:

• Economic Interdependence: Cross-border transit allows businesses in all four countries to sell goods freely across neighboring borders. When economies become mutually interdependent for essential supplies and revenue, governments actively work to preserve peace and avoid disputes.
• Cultural Harmony and Tourism: Seamless passenger vehicular travel promotes tourism, educational exchange, and friendship between citizens, eroding past misunderstandings and creating mutual goodwill.
• Shared Prosperity: Reduced transit tariffs and faster logistics lower consumer prices and create jobs in border districts, improving the overall standard of living.

Question 2: Why are peaceful relations with neighbours an important part of India’s foreign policy? Support your answer with examples.
Answer: Peaceful relations with neighboring nations are fundamental because stable borders allow a developing country like India to channel precious financial resources into schools, hospitals, infrastructure, and poverty alleviation rather than excessive military expenditure.
Examples:

1. Trade and Connectivity: Bilateral accords like the BBIN pact and border trade hubs facilitate economic prosperity for landlocked neighbors (such as Nepal and Bhutan) and India’s northeastern states.
2. Security and Disaster Coordination: Friendly relations allow joint cooperation against cross-border criminal networks, while enabling prompt combined disaster relief operations during regional river floods and earthquakes.

Map Skill: On an outline political map of the world, locate and label any five:
(a) Sea ports of the world.
(b) International airports of the world.
Answer:

• (a) Five Major Sea Ports of the World:
  1. Mumbai (India)
  2. Kolkata (India)
  3. Singapore (Singapore)
  4. London (United Kingdom)
  5. New York (United States of America)
• (b) Five Major International Airports of the World:
  1. Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi (India)
  2. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai (India)
  3. Heathrow Airport, London (United Kingdom)
  4. John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York (USA)
  5. Haneda Airport, Tokyo (Japan)

Something To Do: General Knowledge Facts on Indian and World Transport:

• The highest road in India: Umling La Pass in Ladakh (19,024 ft altitude).
• The longest railway line of the world: Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia (linking St. Petersburg to Vladivostok, stretching over 9,200 km).
• The most navigable river of India: Ganga River (National Waterway 1 from Prayagraj to Haldia).
• Toy Trains in India: Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (WB), Nilgiri Mountain Railway (Ooty), Kalka-Shimla Railway (HP), and Matheran Hill Railway (Maharashtra).
• First railway introduced in India: Ran on 16 April 1853 between Bori Bunder (Bombay) and Thane (distance of 34 km).
• International Airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata:
  • Delhi: Indira Gandhi International Airport
  • Mumbai: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport
  • Chennai: Chennai International Airport
  • Kolkata: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport