CBSE Class 10 Social Science Resources and Development Important Questions Set 04

Important Questions

Question 1. Highlight the reason for land being known as an utmost important natural resource.
Answer:
Land is a resource of utmost importance because it is a fixed factor of production and supports all economic activities.
It also supports natural vegetation, wildlife and various other resources.

Teacher's Note:
a) Land underlies nearly every economic activity.
b) It also sustains vegetation, wildlife and other natural resources.

Question 2. Classify resources on the basis of origin.
Answer:
Resources can be categorised on the basis of origin into: Abiotic resources, comprising non-living things (e.g. land, water, air and minerals), and Biotic resources, obtained from the biosphere, which have life, such as humans, flora and fauna.

Teacher's Note:
a) Origin-based classification: abiotic (non-living) vs biotic (living).
b) Land/water/minerals are abiotic; humans/flora/fauna are biotic.

Question 3. Give one difference between renewable and non-renewable resources.
Answer:
Renewable resources are replenished by nature, e.g. crops and plants.
Non-renewable resources get exhausted after years of use, e.g. crude oil.

Teacher's Note:
a) Renewable resources naturally replenish; non-renewable ones don't, within human timescales.
b) Crops are renewable; crude oil is non-renewable.

Question 4. Give an example of a non-renewable resource.
Answer:
Coal or minerals are examples of non-renewable resources.

Teacher's Note:
a) Coal and minerals are classic non-renewable resources.
b) They take a very long geological time to form, far beyond human timescales.

Question 5. What are resources that are found in a region but have not been utilised called?
Answer:
Such resources are called potential resources.

Teacher's Note:
a) Potential resources exist in a region but remain unused.
b) Example: Rajasthan and Gujarat's largely untapped solar and wind energy potential.

Question 6. What is Agenda 21? List its two principles.
Answer:
Agenda 21 was adopted at the first International Earth Summit, held in 1992 at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Two principles: (a) to combat environmental damage, poverty and disease through global cooperation on common interests, mutual needs and shared responsibilities; (b) every local government should draw up its own local Agenda 21.

Teacher's Note:
a) Agenda 21 came out of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
b) It calls for global cooperation plus local-government-level action plans.

Question 7. Classify resources on the basis of exhaustibility. State two characteristics of each.
Answer:
Renewable resources: can be replenished after a short period of time, e.g. agricultural crops, wind energy, water, forest, wildlife.
Non-renewable resources: take millions of years to replenish, e.g. fossil fuels; some resources, like metals, are recyclable.

Teacher's Note:
a) Renewable resources replenish quickly; non-renewable ones take geological time.
b) Metals, though non-renewable, can at least be recycled, unlike fossil fuels.

Question 8. Distinguish between stock and potential resources. Give one example of each.
Answer:
Stock: found in the environment around us, but not accessible due to lack of technology; example — water contains hydrogen and oxygen, and hydrogen could be a rich energy source, but we lack the technical know-how to use it this way.
Potential resources: found in a region but not yet utilised or developed; example — Rajasthan and Gujarat have enormous potential for wind and solar energy development, but it remains largely undeveloped for various reasons.

Teacher's Note:
a) Stock resources lack the technology to be used; potential resources simply haven't been developed yet.
b) Hydrogen-from-water and Rajasthan/Gujarat's renewable energy potential are the respective examples.

Question 9. What are the three stages of resource planning in India?
Answer:
Identification and inventory of resources across the regions of the country.
Evolving a planned structure endowed with appropriate technology, skill and institutional set-up for implementing resource development plans.
Matching the resource development plans with overall national development plans.

Teacher's Note:
a) Resource planning moves from inventory, to implementation structure, to alignment with national plans.
b) All three stages are needed for resource planning to work effectively.

Question 10. Why is resource planning essential?
Answer:
Resource planning is a technique or skill for the proper utilisation of resources.
As resources are limited, planning is necessary so that we can use them properly and also save them for future generations.
Resources are not only limited but are also distributed unevenly across different parts of the country.
Resource planning is also essential for the production of resources and to protect them from over-exploitation.

Teacher's Note:
a) Resources are both limited and unevenly distributed, making planning essential.
b) Planning helps balance current use against future needs and prevents over-exploitation.