Chapter 8 Human Societies

NIOS Class 12 Environmental Science Chapter 8

INTEXT QUESTIONS 8.1

1. Why did primitive humans decide to lead a settled life?

Ans: Primitive humans passed the hunter–gatherer stage once they discovered the comforts of food sufficiency through agriculture, the convenience of mobility with the discovery of the wheel, and the security of living in a group. Humans felt the need for shelter and settled life.

2. Mention the basis on which settlements may be termed:

(i) temporary and permanent

(ii) rural and urban

Ans:

(i) Duration of settlement
(ii) Size

INTEXT QUESTIONS 8.2

1. Define urban settlements.

Ans: Urban people coming from rural areas to large cities for employment, settling down in shanties at the periphery of cities, is called urban settlement. Urban settlements indulge in nonagricultural activities, e.g. industries and manufacturing, trade and commerce, transport and communication, defence and administration.

2. State any three factors which compel village youth to migrate to cities and towns.

Ans: Villagers get attracted to cities for the following reasons.

1. Employment.
2. Better and more opportunities
3. Better social amenities
4. Better lifestyle
5. Continuous trade and economic expansion
6. Territorial expansion.

3. List any three typical features of urban settlements.

Ans:

1. In search of better opportunities

2. For a better lifestyle

Social heterogeneity/ lack of social control/voluntary associations/individualism/ any other

INTEXT QUESTIONS 8.3

1. What is a rural settlement?

Ans: Living in villages

2. Why are villages suffering from poverty?

Ans: Poverty and illiteracy are because to uneconomic land holdings and poor productivity due to fragmented and barren lands. Colleges, medical facilities, transport, and civic amenities are not available in spite of several rural development schemes of the government.

3. Why are rural folk more homogeneous socially?

Ans: Bound together by language/ caste system/same vocation/ similar lifestyle/ any other

INTEXT QUESTIONS 8.4

1. What is intensive agriculture?

Ans: Growing more crops on a small piece of land.

2. State two major problems emerging from the use of modern technology in farming.

Ans: Depletion of natural resources/waste generation/ adverse effects of the use of chemical fertilizers/chemical pesticides.

3. What are slums?

Ans: Slums are clusters of huts or homes in parts of cities.

TERMINAL EXERCISE

1. What are the types of human settlements?

Ans: The two types of human settlements are urban settlements and rural settlements.

2. List the reasons that humans move from villages to cities.

Ans: Villagers get attracted to cities for the following reasons.

1. Employment.
2. Better and more opportunities
3. Better social amenities
4. Better lifestyle
5. Continuous trade and economic expansion
6. Territorial expansion.

Villagers are forced to move to cities because of the following.

1. Overpopulation (often one or more members move out of large families and then invite others to come to cities)
2. Religious/political persecution
3. Slavery/bonded labour
4. Lack of food
5. Racial discrimination
6. Natural hazards and climate change
7. Fragmentation of family-owned land

3. State the differences between rural and urban settlements.

Ans:

Rural Settlement	Urban Settlement
Predominance of nature.	The human-made environment is predominant.
People are directly related to nature.	Inhabitants are isolated from nature.
Agriculture- cultivators and their families are in the majority. Few in non-agricultural pursuits.	Mostly industrial workers, traders, professionals and those working in offices. Mostly engaged administration. All non-agricultural occupations.
Small community	Much larger than a rural community.
Comparatively lower density of population	Large population density.
Social differences and stratification are much less due to similar vocation	In racial, cultural, and psychological traits, much homogeneity is noticeable.
In racial, cultural, and psychological traits, much homogeneity is noticeable.	Much heterogeneity in the same country and same time.
Social mobility is low. Migration of population towards cities is mainly due to poverty, and much more.	Social mobility based on achievement. Migration towards villages is low.
Primary contacts. More durable and sincere relationships due to simplicity.	Numerous contacts and wide interactions. Casual, short-lived relations-formal and mostly superficial.

4. What are the facilities that rural youth come across when they migrate to urban areas?

Ans: Rural youth, when they migrate to urban areas, may have to face troubles such as

Unemployment
Economic insecurity
No professionalism/ vocation
Non-taxable, low salary, informal work

5. Mention the difficulties faced by villagers who migrate to cities.

Ans:

Men may have to leave the women behind
No land for farming
Crops decline
No personnel for service
Economic insecurity
Slums develop
Pollution
Contaminated food and water
Marginal land

6. In what ways has the environment been degraded due to modern technology used in

agriculture?

Ans:

Runoffs from crop fields carry soil, chemicals used and pesticides and fertilizers to water sources. This causes eutrophication and algal blooms. Eutrophication kills aquatic life, including fish, which are an important source of food for villages.
Excessive irrigation leads to waterlogging and salinization of the soil.
Excessive withdrawal of water from wells for irrigation generally depletes groundwater in many areas, resulting in serious water scarcity.
Pollution of lakes, rivers, and other water bodies has deteriorated water quality in many areas, leading to an acute shortage of safe drinking water.
Continued use of fertilizers and pesticides pollutes groundwater sources and deteriorates the water quality.
Soil erosion, caused by the strike of sharp modern agricultural implements, causes siltation of rivers.
Continuous cropping on the same land or on marginal lands for increasing food production leaves no time for the soil to revive through the natural processes.
Cultivation of mountain slopes also causes soil erosion.

7. Justify the following statement: “Urbanization has led to increased resource consumption

and waste generations”.

Ans: As a large number of people permanently settle in small areas to form cities and towns, this leads to an increase in the consumption of natural resources.

The increased water requirement of the growing urban population causes a sharp decline in water availability.
Excessive withdrawal of groundwater leads to groundwater depletion.
To meet the growing requirement for water, water is drawn from distant areas, thus disturbing the routes of natural water bodies and affecting ecosystems.
Liquid wastes such as sewage from the domestic sector and industrial effluents are usually discharged without any treatment, causing pollution of rivers and lakes.
An increasing number of motor vehicles on the road causes air pollution, leading to congestion and traffic jams, apart from causing a serious problem of air pollution.

8. Write a short article on ‘slums’.

Ans: With rapidly advancing urbanization, there is a growing shortage of housing. This has led to the formation of large slums, which lack basic facilities and infrastructure in cities. Slums represent the worst form of environmental degradation as they not only contribute to environmental pollution but also suffer from crime and social problems. A large slum, “Dharavi” in Mumbai, is the largest slum in Asia.

These are self-constructed shelters from scrap materials as plastic, wooden planks, bamboo, jute, straw, plywood, bricks, and mud, etc.
Kutcha or pucca houses, built back to back and edge to edge, often lack adequate sunlight or fresh air due to poor ventilation.
Usually, they are one-room tenements occupied by several inmates.
Absence of safe disposal of garbage and solid waste, lack of piped water supply and drainage, and electricity create a very precarious situation.
Slums suffer from fire hazards, particularly during summer, due to short circuits and the carelessness of residents.

9. How has land use undergone changes with progressive urbanization?.

Ans: Land use changes irreversibly, land is degraded, and affects agricultural fields on the benefit fringes of urban areas. In most developing nations, high-rise condominiums (multistoried flats) are surrounded by squatters and neighbourhood slums, which attracts new migrants to cities, but inadequate

living space, lack of potable water and light, unhygienic conditions from inadequate sanitation and safe waste disposal, cause suffering.

10. Write an essay on ‘problems of urban living’.

Ans:

Lack of greenery and open spaces.
Poor air quality. Villages are largely pollution-free, while in urban areas, air is polluted due to industries, automobiles, thermal power plants, etc.
Scarcity of water and acute shortage lead to the growth of cheap housing in slums.
Lack of sanitation and hygiene.
Overcrowding also causes several social problems.
Land use changes irreversibly, and land is degraded and affecting agricultural fields on the benefit fringes of urban areas.
Absence of safe disposal of garbage and solid waste, lack of piped water supply and drainage, and electricity create a very precarious situation.