NCERT Solutions Class 8th Geography Chapter – 5 Human Resource Question & Answer

• Uneven topography – Mountainous or plateau region are sparsely populated while plains are densely populated as they are suitable for various economic activities such as farming, manufacturing and tertiary activities, etc.
• Climate – People like to live in mild climatic regions and avoid extreme climates. Thus, very hot like Sahara desert and very cold like Antarctica are sparsely populated.
• Soil – Fertile plains like Ganga- the Brahmaputra in India, Hwang Ho in China- are densely populated.
• Water – People prefer to live in areas where fresh water is easily available.
• Minerals – Areas rich in mineral deposits are densely populated. The Discovery of oil in the Middle East lead to the settling of people in this area.
Question (iii). The world population] has grown very rapidly. Why?Answer – The world population has grown very rapidly due to
• Better food supplies.Medical facilities.The rapid increase in natural growth rate.

Question (iv). Discuss the role of any two factors influencing population changeAnswer – (1) The population change occur due to changes in the number of births and deaths. In the early 1970 s,  the population was 3 billion. In 1999, less than 30 years later the population doubled to 6 billion. This change occurs mainly due to a rapid increase in the natural growth rate. Besides, better food supplies and medicine were other reasons(2) Population size also gets affected due to migration. The population of the USA increased due to immigration while the population of Sudan decreased due to emigration.Question (v). What is meant by population composition?Answer – A population pyramid is a pictorial way to describe the population composition. The shape of the population pyramid of a country is indicative of a lot of information about the country. The size towards the bottom may be used to estimate the birth rate, while the size towards the top to estimate the death rate.

(а) Births, deaths, and  marriage
(b) Births, deaths, and migration
(c) Births, deaths, and life expectancyAnswer – (ii) – (b)(iii). In 1999, the world population reached
(a) 1 billion
(b) 3 billion
(c) 6 billionAnswer – (iii) – (c)(iv). What is a population pyramid?
(a) A graphical presentation of the age, sex composition of a population.
(b) When the population density of an area is so high that people live in tall buildings.
(c) Pattern of population distribution in large urban areas.Answer: (iv) – (a).

Question 3. Complete the sentences below using some of the following words.
sparsely, favourable, fallow, artificial, fertile, natural, extreme, densely
When people are attracted to an area it becomes …………………………………. populated. Factors that influence this include…………………………………… climate; good supplies of…………………………………… resources and ……………………. land.
Answer:

• When people are attracted to an area it becomes densely populated
• Factors that influence this include favourable climate, good supplies of natural resources, and fertile land

Question 4.  Activity 
Discuss the characteristics of society with ‘too many under 15s’ and one with ‘too few under 15s’.
Hint: the need for schools; pension schemes, teachers, toys, wheelchairs, labour supply, hospitals.
Answer–