Economic Geography

1 . What do you mean by wealth?

Answer: People use the things they get from nature by using their strength, knowledge, intelligence and skills. Thus, resources are natural and man-made objects that are useful for use.

2. Which factors of human society play a major role in treating natural resources as resources?

Answer: (a) Cultural values: Cultural values ​​such as traditions, customs, religion etc. of the society determine what is acceptable and what is not acceptable to the society.

(b) Technology: How people acquire and use the necessary things or make the things usable depends largely on the technology known or applied by the society.

(c) Economic System: The ability to obtain essential commodities and whether or not they can be used depends largely on the economic system of the society. Not all societies have the same financial capacity to acquire and use all kinds of goods.

3. What are the factors that influence the perception of wealth?

Answer: The cultural values, technology and economic status of a society are not always the same. They evolve over time. They also vary according to geographical location. Such changes and differences also affect the concept of wealth prevalent in society. Many of the things that people take for granted today were considered unnecessary many years ago.

Before the arrival of the British in Assam, tea trees had no practical value in the state. Some tribes used it, but it was not widely used. The British introduced tea commercially in Assam. Currently, the tea industry is a major industry in Assam. This proves that social and economic changes over time can make a once insignificant thing valuable over time. This indicates that as society changes, the perception of resources and their acquisition and use also changes.

4. The Discuss how increasing population affects resources.

Answer: Population growth also affects resources. Some resources have to be used more often to meet the demands of an increasing population. If they cannot be recreated, there is a shortage of such resources. Then an alternative is sought.  For example, crude oil is needed as fuel to maintain transportation. At the current rate of production and consumption of crude oil, it is expected that there will be a huge shortage of crude oil in the near future. Scientists are focusing on the production of solar, battery-powered vehicles as an alternative to crude oil in view of future risks.  

5. What is a natural resource?

Answer: The source of natural resources is the natural environment. Natural resources such as soil, water, plants, minerals, wildlife etc. These are direct creations of nature. Natural resources can be divided into two categories, organic and inorganic.

6. Give a couple of examples of man-made resources.

Answer: Man-made resources are houses, bridges, roads, machinery, cars, airplanes, boats, etc.

7. Write down what human resources are.

Answer: Human resources are the qualifications or skills that people have to meet the needs of themselves and others. The more efficient a person is through education, training, innovation, experience, etc., the richer he is considered as a human resource.

8. What is a renewable resource? Give a couple of examples ǀ

Answer: Renewable resources are those natural resources that are not used up. Renewable resources can be regenerated if the appropriate natural environment is maintained.

                    A couple of examples of this are:  Air, water, soil, plants, animals, etc.

9. Name two types of non-renewable resources.

Answer: Two types of non-renewable resources are coal, petroleum, iron, gold, silver etc. 

10. Why prevent waste of resources.

Answer: The amount of resources does not increase in proportion to population growth and increasing demand for resources. On the other hand, some natural resources are limited in amount. Many of those are not easy to recreate either. Therefore, emphasis should be placed on preventing wastage of resources and proper use.

11. Think about how the acquisition and use of resources can damage the environment.

Answer: The amount of resources does not increase in proportion to population growth and increasing demand for resources. Some natural resources are scarce. Many of those are not easy to recreate. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent wastage of resources and ensure proper use. For example, we use clean water to drink. This water is found only in certain areas of the earth. In addition to drinking, we need clean water to run all other household chores. So the demand for this water is very high. People should always be careful in their use.

Editing By:- LIpi Medhi