Chapter 1
INDIA – SIZE AND LOCATION
1. IN WHICH HEMISPHERE DOES INDIA LIE ?
India lies entirely in the Northern hemisphere
2. WHAT IS A MAINLAND? GIVE THE LATITUDNAL EXTENT OF INDIA BOTH
IN DEGREES AND AREA
The main land (A continuous area of landmass stretching from Jammu and
Kashmir to Kanniyakumari and from Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh)
extends between latitudes 8°4'N and 37°6'N
DEFINE LATITUDE (Latitude is the Angular distance of a place, North or
South from the equator of a point on the earth’s surface.)
3. DEFINE LONGITUDE . GIVE THE LONGITUDNAL EXTENT OF INDIA
Longitudes(Longitude is the Angular distance of a point measured on the
earth’s surface to the East or West of Central Reference point) 68°7'E and
97°25'E
4. WHICH PARALLEL OF LATITUDE DIVIDES OUR COUNTRY INTO 2 EQUAL
PARTS ?GIVE ITS DEGREE ALSO
The Tropic of Cancer (23° 30'N) divides the country into almost two equal
parts.
5. NAME THE ISLANDS LYING TO SOUTH EAST AND SOUTH WEST OF OUR
MAINLAND
To the southeast and southwest of the mainland, lie the Andaman and
Nicobar islands and the Lakshadweep islands in Bay of Bengal and Arabian
Sea respectively.
6. WHAT IS THE AREA OF INDIA? WHAT IS ITS % IN TOTAL GEOGRAPHICAL
AREA WORLD
The land mass of India has an area of 3.28 million square km. India’s total
area accounts for about 2.4 per cent of the total geographical area of the
world.
7. INDIA IS THE __________ LARGEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD
India is the seventh largest country of the world.
8. INDIA HAS A __________ OF 15,200 KMS
India has a land boundary of about 15,200 km.
9. THE TOTAL LENGTH OF OUR COASTLINE INCLUDING THE ISLAND GROUP
IS __
The total length of the coastline of the mainland, including Andaman and
Nicobar and Lakshadweep, is 7,516.6 km.
10. EXPLAIN THE SIZE AND LOCATION OF INDIA
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The land mass of India has an area of 3.28 million square km. India’s total
area accounts for about 2.4 per cent of the total geographical area of the
world
India is bounded by the young fold mountains in the northwest, north and
northeast. South of about 22° north latitude, it begins to taper, and
extends towards the Indian Ocean, dividing it into two seas, the Arabian
Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on its east.
11. DEFINE SUBCONTINENT
Subcontinent—A part of continent, separated from the rest of the
continent by natural features such as mountains and rivers. It has its own
specific climatic features and a distinct cultural identity.
12 IMPORTANCE OF LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE
The latitudinal extent influences the duration of day and night and the
longitudinal extent affects time.
13 FROM GUJARAT TO ARUNACHAL PRADESH, THERE IS A TIME LAG OF TWO
HOURS. EXPLAIN
The earth rotates on its axis from west to east.the time of places located on th
east is ahead from the places on the west.The earth takes 4min to rotate 1 *
longitude.Therefore the time taken to rotate 15* will be 15x4-60. As our
longitudinal extent is 30 * it would be 30* 4= 120min or 2hours.
13 B THE SUN RISES TWO HOURS EARLIER IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH AS
COMPARED TO GUJARAT IN THE WEST BUT THE WATCHES SHOW THE SAME
TIME. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?
The latitudinal and longitudinal extent of India is about 30°. The east-west
extent is smaller than the north-south extent. There is a time lag of two hours
from Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh. As Arunachal Pradesh lies to the eastern
side of India, the sun rises here earlier when compared to Gujarat. The time
along the Standard Meridian of India (82°30’E) passing through Mirzapur (in
Uttar Pradesh) is taken as the standard time for the whole country. The
latitudinal extent influences the duration of day and night, as one moves from
south to north. Therefore, the watches show the same time in all the parts of
the country.
14.WHY 82°30'E HAS BEEN SELECTED AS STANDARD MERIDIAN OF INDIA? From
Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, there is a time lag of two hours. Hence, time along
the Standard Meridian of India (82°30'E) passing through Mirzapur (in Uttar
Pradesh) is taken as the standard time for the whole country. The earth in its
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rotation covers 15° of longitude in 1 hour (or a distance of 1° longitude in 4 min).
So, the places located on different longitudes have different local times. In order
to have a uniform system of finding time, world has been divided into 24 times
zones. Each of 15° longitude and the central longitude of each time zone is chosen
as standard meridian which must be in multiple of 15° or 7½°. Since 82½° E is
central longitude of India, it is selected as standard meridian and local time is IST
of whole country (IST is 5½ hrs ahead of Greenwich Meantime).
15. WHY IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE DURATION OF DAY & NIGHT
HARDLY FELT AT KANNIYAKUMARI AND NOT SO IN KASHMIR ?
Difference between duration of day and night at the equator is zero because days
and nights are always of 12 hrs duration on the equator, but this duration goes
on increasing towards the poles where days and nights are of 6 months duration.
Kanniyakumari is located near the equator, the difference between the duration
of day and night is about 45 min which is hardly felt but in Kashmir the difference
is about 4 to 5 hrs. Therefore, it is felt.
16.THE CENTRAL LOCATION OF INDIA AT THE HEAD OF THE INDIAN OCEAN IS
CONSIDERED OF GREAT SIGNIFICNCE. WHY?
i. The Indian landmass has a central location between the East and the West
Asia.
ii. India is a southward extension of the Asian continent. The trans Indian
Ocean routes, which connect the countries of Europe in the West and the
countries of East Asia, provide a strategic central location to India.
iii. the Deccan Peninsula protrudes into the Indian Ocean, thus helping India
to establish close contact with West Asia, Africa and Europe from the
western coast and with Southeast and East Asia from the eastern coast.
iv. No other country has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean as India has and
indeed, it is India’s eminent position in the Indian Ocean, which justifies
the naming of an Ocean after it.
v. Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, India’s distance from Europe
has been reduced by 7,000 km.
17. A.INDIA’S CONTACTS WITH THE WORLD HAVE CONTINUED THROUGH AGES.
EXPLAIN
i. India’s contacts with the World have continued through ages but her
relationships through the land routes are much older than her maritime
contacts.
ii. The various passes across the mountains in the north have provided
passages to the ancient travellers,
iii. while the oceans restricted such interaction for a long time.
17 B .THE LAND AND MARITIME ROUTES HAVE CONTRIBUTED IN THE
EXCHANGE OF IDEAS AND COMMODITIES SINCE ANCIENT TIMES. EXPLAIN
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a) These routes have contributed in the exchange of ideas and commodities
since ancient times.
b) The ideas of the Upanishads and the Ramayana, the stories of Panchtantra,
c) the Indian numerals and the decimal system thus could reach many parts
of the world.
d) The spices, muslin and other merchandise were taken from India to
different countries.
e) On the other hand, the influence of Greek sculpture, and the architectural
styles of dome and minarets from West Asia can be seen in different parts
of our country.
18 A NAME OUR LAND BOUNDARIES
India shares its land boundaries with Pakistan and Afghanistan in the northwest,
China (Tibet), Nepal and Bhutan in the north and Myanmar and Bangladesh in
the east.
18 B NAME OUR SOUTHERN EIGHBOURS
Our southern neighbours across the sea consist of the two island countries,
namely Sri Lanka and Maldives.
18 C NAME THE WATER BODIES SEPERATING SRI LANKA FROM INDIA
Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk
Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.
18 D NAME THE COUNTRIES LARGER THAN INDIA
The countries which are larger than India are Russia, Canada, U.S.A, China, Brazil
and Australia. Russia is the largest of all countries,
On the outline maps of India locate and label the following DONE AS ACTIVITY
1. Identify the following with the help of map reading. Write the answer in
given blanks , then locate , label on 2 maps
(i) The Island groups of India lying in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
A ________________________________________
(ii) The countries constituting Indian Subcontinent.
_________________________________________
(iii) The states through which the Tropic of Cancer passes.
_____________________________________
(iv) The northernmost latitude in degrees.
____________________________
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(v) The southernmost latitude of the Indian mainland in degrees.
_________________________________
(vi) The eastern and the western most longitude in degrees.
___________________________
(vii) The place situated on the three seas.
_______________________________________
(viii) The strait separating Sri Lanka from India.
_______________________________________
(ix) The Union Territories of India.
______________________________________________
TO PASTE IN REGISTER AFTER EXERCISE QUESTIONS -
TRY TO ANSWER
Q1. Choose the correct answer
1. India lies in the-
(a) Northern hemisphere (b) Southern hemisphere
(c) Eastern hemisphere (d) Western hemisphere
2. Standard meridian of India is located at-
(a) 82 (b) 82 30 (c) 82 30 E (d) 82 E
3. The time difference between Arunachal Pradesh and Gujarat is –
(a) 1hr 45 min (b) 2hr (c) 2hr 45min (d) 45min
4. Latitudinal and longitudinal extend of India
(a) 33(b) 30 (c) 66 (d) 60
5.Indian state separating Nepal and Bhutan is
(a) Sikkim (b) Meghalaya(c) Assam (d) Nagaland
6.State with longest coastline on west coast-
(a) Karnataka (b) Kerala(c) Maharashtra (d) Gujarat
7. State with longest coastline on east coast-
(a) Tamil nadu (b) Andhra Pradesh (c) Orissa (d) Jharkhand
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8. Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim have common
frontiers with
(a) China (b) Nepal (c) Bhutan (d) Myanmar
9. One of India’s southern neighbours are-
(a)Mauritius (b) Maldives (c) Lakshdweep (d) Thailand
10. India’ s contact with the outside world has continued since ages by means of
(a)Land routes (b)Sea routes ©Air routes (d)All
11. Tropic of cancer does not pass through
(a)Orissa (b)Chhattisgarh(c)Tripura (d)Rajasthan
12) The Tropic of Cancer does not pass through
(a) Rajasthan (b) Chhattisgarh
© Orissa (d) Tripura
13) The easternmost longitude of India is
(a) 97° 25' E (b) 77° 6' E
(c) 68° 7' E (d) 82° 32' E
14) If you intend to visit Kavarati during your summer vacations, which one of
the following Union Territories of India you will be going to
(a) Pondicherry (b) Andaman and Nicobar
(c) Lakshadweep (d) Diu and Daman
15) My friend hails from a country which does not share land boundary with
India. Identify the country.
(a) Bhutan (b) Bangladesh
(c) Tajikistan (d) Nepal
16) The southernmost point of the Indian Union is
a) ‘Indira Point’ b) Kanyakumari
c) Namcha barwa d) None of the above
17) Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, India’s distance from Europe
has been reduced by
a) 2,000 km b) 4,000 km
c) 7,000 km. d) 5,000 km
18) Area-wise which is the smallest and which is
the largest state?
a) Goa and Madhya Pradesh b) Goa and Rajasthan
c) Haryana and Madhya Pradesh d) Haryana and Rajasthan
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19) Country which is not larger than India are
a) Russia and Canada b) USA and China
c) Brazil and Australiad) Nepal
20.Time along the standard meridian of India (82° 30E) passing through Mirzapur
in U.P is taken as __________________
21,The southern most point of Indian mainland is Kannyakumari and the
Southern most tip of India is __________in the Great Nicobar Island is at 6° 45'
N.
22.The total area of India is ______
23.It is the ______________largest country in the world.
24.India is bound by ______________ in North, north west, north east. South of
22° N, it tapers and extends towards the Indian ocean .
25.India shares her political borders with P__________ in the west; Bangladesh
and Myanmar Burma in the east; China, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan in the north;
and _____________ in the South
Q4.On the basis of the figure answer the following questions-
(i)What is the total land area covered by India? ____________
(ii)What is India’s position in world according to size?_____________________
(iii) Which is the largest country in terms of size? _______________
(iv)What is the measure or unit of covered land area? _____________
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