CBSE Class 11

Detailed, Step-by-Step NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Geography Chapter 1 Geography as a Discipline Questions and Answers were solved by Expert Teachers as per NCERT (CBSE) Book guidelines covering each topic in chapter to ensure complete preparation.

Geography as a Discipline NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Geography Chapter 1

Geography as a Discipline Questions and Answers Class 11 Geography Chapter 1

Question 1.
Multiple choice questions :
(i) Which one of the following scholars coined the term Geography?
(a) Herodotus
(b) Erathosthenese
(c) Galiileo
(d) Aristotle
Answer:
(b) Erathosthenese.

(ii) Which one of the following features can be termed as ‘physical feature’?
(a) Port
(b) Road
(c) Plain
(d) Water park
Answer:
(c) Plain.

(iii) Make correct pairs from the following two columns and mark the correct option.

Mark the correct matching :
(a) IB, 2C, 3A, 4D
(b) ID, 2B, 3C, 4A
(c) I A, 2D, 3B, 4G
(d) IC, 2 A, 3D, 4B
Answer:
(d) IC, 2A, 3D, 4B.

(iv) Which one of the following questions is related to cause- effect relationship?
(a) Why
(b) Where
(c) What
(d) When
Answer:
(a) Why

(v) Which one of the following disciplines attempts temporal synthesis?
(a) Sociology
(b) Geography
(c) Anthropology
(d) History
Answer:
(d) History.

Question 2.
Answer the following questions in about 30 words each :

(i) What important cultural features do you observe while going to school? Are they similar or dissimilar? Should they be included in the study of geography or not? If yes, why?
Answer:
My school is situated in the market. That is a very thickly populated area. On the way, there is a railway crossing. The distance of school from my house is only half kilometre but it takes 30 minutes. The cultural features are dissimilar. This area is highly polluted by smoke and sound, but the road is smooth. Physical atmosphere is unfavourable but cultural features are in favour.

(ii) You have seen a tennis ball, cricket ball, an orange and a pumpkin. Which one amongst these resembles the shape of the earth? Why have you chosen this particular item to describe the shape of the earth?
Answer:
The shape of the earth resembles with a pumpkin. Because the shape of the earth is geoid, which is flattened at two of its poles.

(iii) Do you celebrate Van Mahotsava in your school? Why do we plant so many trees? How do the trees maintain ecological balance?
Answer:
Yes, we celebrate Van Mahotsava in our school. Trees maintain ecological balance in nature. They receive energy from the sun to produce their own food. This energy is further transferred to herbivores and then from herbivores to the carnivores. Further, the dead remains of the producers and consumers, both herbivores and carnivores, provide energy to the decomposers. A part of the food energy is consumed or assimilated by organisms and the rest is dissipated as heat by respiration. In this way, the trees or green plants maintain ecological balance.

(iv) You have seen elephants, deer, earthworms, trees and grasses. Where do they live or grow? What is the name given to this sphere? Can you describe some of the important features of this sphere?
Answer:
Elephants, deer, earthworms, trees and grasses, all live or grow on the surface of the earth. This zone at the earth’s surface both on land and water, is known as Biosphere.

Biosphere is the most active sphere of the earth in comparison to lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere. The living organisms, together with the environment with which they interact, form the biosphere. Life of any kind is possible in biosphere.

(v) How much time do you take to reach your school from your house? Had the school been located across the road from your house, how much time would you have taken to reach the school? What is the effect of the distance between your residence and the school on the time taken in commuting? Can you convert time into space and vice versa?
Answer:
I take 1 hour to reach the school. My school is not located across the road. The distance of the school from my residence is 4 km. This distance can be covered in 30 minutes, if I go by bicycle, or in 10 minutes, if I go by bus. There is no obstacle or barrier on the way. No, the time can not be converted into space or vice versa.

Question 3.
Answer the following questions in about 150 words each :
(i) You observe every day in your surroundings that there is variation in natural as well as cultural phenomena. All the trees are not of the same variety. All the birds and animals you see, are different. All these different elements are found on the earth,Can you now argue that geography is the study of “areal differentiation”?
Answer:
There exist variations over the surface of the earth in its physical as well as cultural environment. A number of phenomena are similar and many are dissimilar. Therefore, it was logical to perceive geography as the study of‘areal differentiation.’ Thus geography was perceived to study all those phenomena which vary over space.

The geographers do not study only the variations in the phenomena over the earth’s surface, but also study the associations with the other factors which cause these variations. For example, the cropping patterns differ from, region to region, but this phenomenon is related to variations in soils, climates, demands in the market, capacity of the fanner to invest and technological inputs available to him. The geography is to find out the causal relationship between any two phenomena.

(ii) YOU have already studied geography, history, civics and economics as parts of social studies. Attempt an integration of these disciplines highlighting their interface.
Answer:
Each social science has interface with one branch of geography. Every discipline has a philosphy which is the reason d’etere for that discipline. Philosphy provides roots to a discipline and in the process of its evolution. The branches of geography, viz, social, political economic dnd population and settlements are closely linked with these disciplines as each of them has spatial attributes.

The political geography is interested in the study of the state as a spatial unit as well as people and their political behaviour. Economics deals with basic attributes of the economy such as production, distribution, exchange and consumption. Like population, geography is closely linked with the discipline of demography. Historical Geography studies the historical

NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English

The Tale of Melon City NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Snapshots Chapter 8

The Tale of Melon City NCERT Text Book Questions and Answers

The Tale of Melon City About the Author

Vikram Seth (born 20 June 1952) is an Indian novelist and poet. He has written several novels and poetry books. He has received several awards such as Padma Shri, Sahitya Academy Award, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, WH Smith Literary Award and Crossword Book Award. Seth’s collections of poetry such as ‘Mappings’ and ‘Beastly Tales’ are notable contributions to the Indian English language poetry canon.

The Tale of Melon City Main Theme

‘The Tale of Melon City’ is a satirical story told in a humorous way. It is based on a story by Idries Shah.There was once a city. The king of this city was ‘just and placid’. He ordered that an arch be made in the city so that his people might improve morally. When ‘the arch’ was complete, the king rode under it. But the arch was low and so the king lost his crown. The king was angry and ordered that the chief builder . be hanged. The chief builder said that it was the workmen’s fault. The king ordered all the workmen to be killed, but they blamed the masons. This went on and finally it was the king who had to be hanged.

After the king’s death, a new king had to be chosen. The ministers decided that the next man to pass the city gate would be their king. The man who passed next was an idiot. He said, “A melon should be the king.” because he was very fond of melons. So the ministers crowned a melon and put it on the throne. The people were happy because the melon did not interfere and let everyone live in peace.

The Tale of Melon City Reading with Insight

Question 1.
Narrate ‘The Tale of Melon City’ in your own words.
Answer:
The Melon City
A king ordered an arch to be constructed to ‘edify’ the people. The arch was low and the king lost his crown when he passed under it. The king ordered the execution’ of the chief of the builders, but the latter said it was the fault of the workers. The workers laid the blame on the bricks because they were of the wrong size. So the masons were called. They blamed the architect, but the architect said that the king himself had made some alterations.

At this the king sought the counsel of the wisest man in the country. The oldest man alive was brought and he advised that the arch should be hanged. The arch was not hanged because it had touched His Majesty’s head. The king said that because the nation wanted a hanging they will hang whoever fitted the gallows. By chance, the king himself fitted best and was hanged. The king’s ministers decided that the next man who passed the City Gate would be their king. As it happened, an idiot was the next man to pass the City Gate. He said a ‘melon’ should be the king. So the ministers crowned a melon and the people were happy.

Question 2.
What impression would you form of a state where the king was ‘just and placid’?
Answer:
The place where the king was just and placid would have never required governance, enforcement of rules. The King must have left the citizens to live in peace and liberty. The citizens would have enjoyed laissez faire.

Question 3.
How, according to you, can peace and liberty be maintained in a state?
Ans.
Peace and liberty of citizens can be maintained only through proper governance by the rulers. The principles of governance should be justice, equality, freedom, dignity and prosperity of the people. The rulers should be honest and dedicated to the welfare of the people.

Question 4.
Suggest a few instances in the poem which highlight humour and irony.
Answer:
Some illustrations that highlight humour and irony are:

• An arch will lift the morals of the people.
• Someone should be hanged because the people expect it.
• The man whose neck fits the gallows will be hanged.
• A melon should be the king — People got happy in the Melon King’s rule.

Question 5.
‘The Tale of Melon City’ has been narrated in verse form. This is a unique style which lends extra charm to an ancient tale. Find similar examples in your language. Share them in the class.
Answer:

• Bhartendu Harishchandra’s play in Hindi Andher Nagri Chopat Raja.
• Shastra Dekho Shastra, a verse play in Hindi about four highly educated but foolish Brahmins. Students to find some more such Hindi plays.

NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English

Birth NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Snapshots Chapter 7

Birth NCERT Text Book Questions and Answers

 Birth About the Author

Archibald Joseph Cronin (19 July 1896 – 6 January 1981) was a Scottish novelist and physician. During the First World War, Cronin served as a surgeon sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve before graduating from medical school. After the war, he trained at various hospitals, including Bellahouston and Lightburn Hospitals in Glasgow, and the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin. He undertook general practice in a small village on the Clyde, Garelochhead, as well as in Tredegar, a mining town in South Wales.

In 1930, his Haters Cast was an immediate and sensational success, launched Cronin’s career as a prolific author, and he never returned to practising medicine. Many of Cronin’s books were bestsellers in their day and have been translated into many languages. Some of his stories draw on his medical career, dramatically mixing realism, romance and social criticism. Cronin’s works examine moral conflicts between the individual and society, as his idealistic heroes pursue justice for the common man.

Birth Main Theme

This is a moving story of a young doctor’s battle with death. With supreme effort he brought back a newborn baby and its mother from the jaws of death to warm glowing life. Dr Andrew Manson had to assist a woman in childbirth. She had been married for twenty years. Andrew found her husband and mother tense. Mrs Morgan had to be given anaesthesia. The child was born apparently lifeless and the mother was sinking. Andrew gave the child to the nurse and turned to revive the mother. When she was stable, he asked for the child. He was horrified to see that the midwife had placed it under the bed, believing it to be dead.

Andrew fished out the child from amongst sodden newspapers. It was a boy, limp and apparently lifeless. Looking at his white face, Andrew realised that asphyxia was responsible for this condition. He immersed the child in steaming hot and icy water alternately, but there was no response. He felt almost defeated but did not give up. He rubbed the child with a rough towel and pumped his little chest with both hands.

Miraculously, the little chest gave a tiny heave. Andrew had succeeded in reviving the child. Andrew walked out and told Joe Morgan that all was well with the mother and child. He was filled with a great sense of achievement.

Birth Reading with Insight

Question 1.
“I have done something, Oh God ! I’ve done something real at last.” Why did Andrew make this statement?
Answer:
Andrew was grateful to God. He felt satisfied and happy that he had done something. His heart was filled with the feeling of having achieved something great. He was able to save both, the mother and the child.

Question 2.
There lies a great difference between textbook medicine and the world of a practising physician. Discuss.
Answer:
Textbook medicine is theoretical. It is something that has not been tested or applied. A practising physician uses textbook medicine as well as unconventional methods, e.g., Andrew immersed the newborn infant into basins of warm and iced water in order to revive him. In real life, a practicing doctor Jparns from experience.

Question 3.
Do you know of any incident when someone has been brought back to life from the brink of death through medical help? Discuss medical procedures such as organ transplant and organ regeneration that are used to save human life.
Answer:
Organ transplants of lung, heart, kidney and the eye are possible. Liver transplant is being tried with limited success. Joint replacement is fairly common. Knee and hip joints have been replaced. Any replacement is painful, expensive, difficult and has uncertain results. Many a time the body rejects the transplanted organ. (Students may write about the miraculous recovery of a patient, if they know of any such case.)

NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English

The Ghat of the Only World NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Snapshots Chapter 6

The Ghat of the Only World NCERT Text Book Questions and Answers

The Ghat of the Only World About the Author

Amitav Ghosh (born 11 July 1956) is an Indian writer, best known for his work in English fiction. He was educated at the all-boys Doon School, where he edited ‘The Doon School Weekly’. His contemporaries at Doon included author Vikram Seth and Ram Guha. After Doon, he received degrees from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, and Delhi School of Economics. He then won the Inlaks Foundation scholarship to complete a DPhil in social anthropology at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. His first job was at the Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi.He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian government in 2007. In 2009, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2015, Ghosh was named a Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellow. Ghosh received the lifetime achievement award at Tata Literature Live, the Mumbai LitFest in November 2016.

The Ghat of the Only World Main Theme

This account is set in New York where the narrator struck friendship with an expatriate Agha Shahid Ali. Shahid was a poet, gregarious and a man of fine sensibilities. He hankered to return to Kashmir some day. He was battling with cancer and asked the narrator to write something about him after he was dead.

In spite of cancer, Shahid was full of life, had a clear mind and loved to spend time with friends. His collection of poetry The Country Without a Post Office came out in 1997. The narrator and Shahid met in 1998 and became friends through a series of conversations and meetings and sharing of tastes in music and poetry. Shahid loved to have parties at his home. He personally supervised cooking and offered delicious Kashmiri dishes to his guests. He loved the music of Begum Akthar and Kishore Kumar.

Shahid used to teach at Baruch College in Manhattan and was brilliant. His students adored him. He had taught at Penn State University earlier and considered it the best time of his life. He had taught in various universities and colleges across the United States.

He used to visit his parents in Kashmir every year. The growing violence in Kashmir in the 1990s profoundly affected him and gave birth to his finest work. He never projected himself as a victim. He had an open mind on religious matters and as a child had made a small temple in his room. His parents had supported him in this. He could be called the national poet of Kashmir, but did not wish to be considered ‘a nationalist poet’.

He wanted to go back to Kashmir to die, but gave up the idea towards the end. He had reconciled himself to death. He died in his sleep at 2 a.m. on 8 December.

The Ghat of the Only World Reading with Insight

Question 1.
What impressions of Shahid do you gather from the piece?
Answer:
Shahid was an Indian Kashmiri expatriate living in New York. He was a poet as well as a man of refined sensibilities. He loved to host gatherings of friends, poets and intellectuals. He was fond of good food and cooking. He was a courageous, suffered from cancer and struggled through it with dignity and courage. He requested the writer to write about him after his death because he wanted to be remembered through the written word.

Question 2.
How do Shahid and the writer react to the knowledge that Shahid is going to die?
Answer:
Shahid was a cancer patient but never spoke of death. When he first said, “I hope this doesn’t mean I am dying,” it was in a lighter vein. The narrator tried to say the usual things meant to comfort a dying person. Shahid wanted the author to write something about him.

Question 3.
Look up the dictionary for the meaning of the word ‘diaspora’. What do you understand of the Indian diaspora from this piece?
Answer:
Indian diaspora are the non-resident Indians. They are the people of Indian origin living in other countries. Thousands of Indians have migrated to the USA for education, research and jobs. It gives a brief glimpse of the Indian diaspora in America.

NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English

Mother’s Day NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Snapshots Chapter 5

Mother’s Day NCERT Text Book Questions and Answers

Mother’s Day About the Author

J.B. Priestley was born at Manningham, which he described as an “extremely respectable” suburb of Bradford. His father was a headmaster. His mother died when he was just two years old. Priestley was educated at Belle Vue Grammar School, which he left at sixteen to work as a junior clerk at Helm & Co., a wool firm in the Swan Arcade. During his years at Helm & Co. (1910-1914), he started writing at night and had articles published in local and London newspapers.

Mother’s Day Main Theme

This humorous play by J.B. Priestley is set in 1950 when the position of the mother and the housewife was subordinate. She worked for everyone in the family, but got no recognition or words of gratitude.Mrs Pearson is such a housewife and mother. Her neighbour Mrs Fitzgerald is much more assertive and feels Mrs Pearson should not allow herself to be bullied by her family. She should not pamper the family .members and assert herself a lot more.

Mrs Fitzgerald and Mrs Pearson exchange personalities. Mrs Fitzgerald is in Mrs Pearson’s body. Mrs Pearson goes to Mrs Fitzgerald’s house. The first family member to return home is Doris, Mrs Pearson’s daughter. She wants tea and her yellow silk dress ironed. Mrs Pearson tells her to do these jobs herself. She speaks disparagingly of Doris’ date with Charlie Spence. Doris is amazed and starts crying. Next, Cyril, Mrs Pearson’s son, comes and gets the same treatment. Then George Pearson, the husband, comes. He is surprised to find her drinking stout and tea not ready. She speaks to him in the same fashion and tells him that his friends at the club laugh at him.

By this time the real Mrs Pearson is anxious and comes. After some humorous exchanges, she and Mrs Fitzgerald get back into their original personalities. Mrs Fitzgerald leaves advising Mrs Pearson to remain firm.Mrs Pearson is able to have her way. George, Doris and Cyril decide to stay at home. Doris and Cyril agree to cook for the family that evening.

Mother’s Day Reading with Insight

Question 1.
This play, written in the 1950s, is a humorous and satirical depiction of the status of the mother in the family.
(i) What are the issues it raises?
(ii) Do you think it caricatures these issues or do you think that the problems it raises are genuine?
How does the play resolve the issues? Do you agree with the resolution?
Answer:
(i) The main issue is of the status of a woman. She deserves respect and recognition in her own family.
The husband and children should share domestic choses. The issues raised are genuine. Such a situation exists in many homes even today. The problem raised is genuine.

(ii) The play resolves the issue by resorting to an extraordinary measure. Mrs Fitzgerald’s personality enters Mrs Pearson’s body. In exchanged personality Mrs Pearson deals firmly with her family members, stands up to her rights and tells others that they need to help too. The resolution of the problem is symbolic. Any woman can be firm and take a stand. The need to enter another’s body is not there. Only a change of attitude is needed.

Question 2.
If you were to write about these issues today, what are some of the incidents, examples and problems that you would think of as relevant?
Answer:
In the Indian scenario most of these issues are still relevant.

• The woman is the only one who works in the house.
• Even a career woman has to discharge domestic duties.
• Men spend their time outdoors and find entertainment outside the house.
• Usually children lead their own insulated lives, unaware of the mother’s needs and unappreciative of her services.

Question 3.
Is drama a good medium for conveying a social message? Discuss.
Answer:
Drama is a powerful medium and should be exploited for conveying social messages.
The reasons are:

• Everyday situations can be taken as themes.
• Humour, comedy and satire can be used to ridicule the undesirable practices.
• Dialogue, acting and play presentation leave a deep impression on the audience.
• Social values can be reinforced.

Question 4.
Read the play out in parts. Enact the play on a suitable occasion.
Answer:
To be done by students.

Question 5.
Discuss in groups plays or films with a strong message of social reform that you have watches.
Answer:
In the Indian scenario most of these issues are still relevant.

• The woman is the only one who works in the house.
• Even a career woman has to discharge domestic duties.
• Men spend their time outdoors and find entertainment outside the house.
• Usually children lead their own insulated lives, unaware of the mother’s needs and unappreciative of her services.

NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English

Albert Einstein at School NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Snapshots Chapter 4

Albert Einstein at School NCERT Text Book Questions and Answers

Albert Einstein at School About the Author

Patrick Pringle was born in 1935 in Rochester, New York. He was a freelance writer and photographer, wildlife biologist and educator. He was the editor, executive editor of Nature and Science during 1965 – 1967. He won several awards, chief being the New Jersey Institute of Technology Award, 1970, for The Only Earth We Have; Special Conservation Award, National Wildlife Federation, 1978; honor book designation, New York Academy of Sciences, 1980, for Natural Fire: Its Ecology in Forests.

Albert Einstein at School Main Theme

This extract from Albert Einstein’s biography records the unhappy period of his schooling in Munich. Eventually Einstein was expelled from the school.At school, Einstein was not at all enthusiastic about the study of history. He felt it was more important to study ideas than facts. His teachers at the school in Munich were displeased with him. Albert was miserable most of the time.

Albert had been sent to this school to study for a diploma. His living quarters offered no relief. There was dirt and squalor and plenty of slum violence. His only friends were Yuri, a medical student, and Elsa, his cousin from Berlin. They tried to cheer him up. Einstein, however, did like to study Geology and books on Science. He was exceptionally good at Maths. He also played ori the violin to console himself.

After six months, Einstein could take it no more. He wanted to get away from school. He asked his friend Yuri to find a nerve doctor who would give him a certificate of a nervous breakdown and recommend rest for six months. Yuri found Dr Ernst Weil, but told Einstein to be absolutely truthful with him. Dr Weil felt he was really close to a nervous breakdown and gave him a certificate.Einstein’s plan was to return to Milan, where his parents lived. He asked his Maths teacher for a reference which would enable him to continue his education in Milan.

The next day, before Einstein could present the medical certificate, he was called by the head teacher and asked to leave the school. Einstein had been expelled for ‘constant rebellion’. Yuri was the only person he wanted to say goodbye to.

Albert Einstein at School Reading with Insight

Question 1.
What do you understand of Einstein’s nature from his conversations with his history teacher, his mathematics teacher and the head teacher?
Answer:
Even as a student Einstein had a mind of his own. He was honest enough to tell the History teacher what he thought of the subject. On the whole he detested the school. He had a logical reason for not liking history. It was because it laid more emphasis on facts than on causes behind the facts. Mathematics, however, was another matter. He excelled in the subject and had great regard for the teacher. This feeling was mutual. The Head Teacher was guided by the opinion of other teachers, so Einstein could not expect sympathy from him.

Question 2.
The school system often curbs individual talents. Discuss.
Answer:
The school system often curbs the individual talents is borne by the fact of Albert Einstein’s miserable five years ‘education’ at school. The educational system in Germany has been very lightly and; incidentally touched upon. The school that Einstein went to seems to have imparted education by insisting on rote memory. Science subjects were not taught. This system of education has no room for individual talent and achivement. It lays stress on facts and dates rather than ideas. Thus most of the students manage to pass the examination by rote-learning. The teachers insist on discipline and conformity. Brilliant students like Albert Einstein are considered dull and incompetent or rebellious.

Question 3.
How do you distinguish between information gathering and insight formation?
Answer:
Information gathering is storing factual information in the mind whereas insight formation requires in-depth understanding. The former is superficial and can be found stored in books also, insight formation is genuine knowledge.