India - Size and Location

 Class IX - India-Size and Location

Questions in the Exercise

Q.1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below :

(i) The Tropic of Cancer does not pass through:

(a) Rajasthan (b) Chhattisgarh (c) Orissa (d) Tripura

Ans. Orissa.

(ii) The eastern-most longitude of India is:

(a) 97o25′E   (b)68o7′E  (c)77o6′E (d) 82o 32′E

Ans. The eastern-most longitude is 97o 25′

(iii) Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim have common frontiers

with :

(a) China (b) Bhutan (c) Nepal (d) Myanmar

Ans. Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim have common borders with Nepal.

(iv) If you intend to visit the island Kavaratti during your summer vacations, which one

of the following Union Territory of India you will be going to?

(a) Pondicherry (b) Andaman and Nicobar (c) Lakshadweep (d) Diu and Daman?

Ans. Lakshadweep.

(vi) My friend hails from a country which does not share land boundary with India.

Identify the country.

(a) Bhutan (b) Tajikistan (c) Myanmar (d) Nepal

Ans. Tajikistan.

Q.2. Answer the following questions briefly.

(i) Name the group of islands lying in the Arabian Sea.

Ans. Lakshadweep.

(ii) Name the countries which are larger than India?

Ans. The countries larger than India are Russia, China, Canada, USA, Brazil and Australia.

(iii) Which island group of India lies to its south-east?

Ans. Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

(iv) Which island countries are our southern neighbours?

Ans. Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Q.3. 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?

Ans. The local time difference arises because the sunrise is earlier in the east than in the west.

However, the watches show the same time because Indian Standard Time is reckoned from a

single meridian 82o30′ that passes through Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh.

Q.4. The central location of India at the head of the Indian Ocean is considered of great

significance. Why?

Ans. The location of India at the head of the Indian Ocean has helped India in establishing close

contacts with West Asia, Africa and Europe from the western coast and with South-east and

East Asia from the eastern coast.

Questions within the Lesson

Q.1. Latitudinal and longitudinal extent of India are 30 degrees. Then why is the North-South extent longer than the East-West extent?

We know that the latitudinal and longitudinal extent of India are 30º. We also know the fact that North-South extent longer than the East-West extent. Have you wondered the reason behind it?

Longitudinal and Latitudinal extent

• The latitudinal extent of India from the north end Kashmir to south end Kanyakumari is 37°6′N to 8°4′N
• The longitudinal extent of India from west end Gujarat to east end Arunachal Pradesh is 68°7′E to 97°25′E.
• On calculating both of these extents we get to that these are approximately of 30°.

Distance between the two ends

• The actual distance between the ends North and South is 3214 km.
• The distance between two ends east and west is 2933 km.

Why North-South extent longer than the East-West extent?

North-South extent longer than the East-West extent due to the following reasons:

• The distance between latitudes remain the same throughout but the distance between the two longitudes reduces as moved towards poles
• The distance between two latitudes is constant that is 111 km but the distance between two longitudes is 111 km at the equator and reduces to 0 at the poles.
• In other words, we can say that India’s north-south extent and distance remains unaltered
• The distance between the two longitudes decreases and the east-west extends has a U shaped bending which actually reduces the actual east-west distance.

Hence, the lines of longitude come nearer and the East-West distance becomes less than the North-South distance.

Q.2. Which ocean is named after a country and why ? How this location of India has proved beneficial ?

Indian Ocean has been named on the basis of India

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.

The Indian landmass has a central location between the East and the West Asia. 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. Note that 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.

Q.3. Why 82°30′E has been selected as the Standard Meridian of India?

Ans. A globe has 24 time zones, each of 15 longitudes. Local time in each zone at the middle

longitude (divided by 7°30′) is taken as Standard Time. As 82°30'E is divisible by 7°30', a

standard by all countries, India selected this odd value.

Q.4. Why is the difference between the durations of day and night hardly felt at Kanyakumari

but not so in Kashmir? 

Ans. (i) Places near the Equator experience almost equal duration of day and night as the Sun shines overhead throughout the year.

(ii) Going away from Equator towards the Poles, the durations of day and night go on differing.

Q.5. Find out the number of Union Territories along the western and eastern coasts.

Ans. Union Territories on the western coast of India are four in number — Diu and Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Mahe (Pondicherry) and Lakshadweep. Union Territories on the eastern coast of India are two — Pondicherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Q.6. Area wise which is the smallest and which is the largest state?

Ans. Smallest State in India (areawise) — Goa

Largest State in India (areawise) — Rajasthan

Q.7. Find out the States which do not have an international border or lie on the coast.

Ans. Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana

Q.8. Classify the states into four groups each having common frontiers with  (i) Pakistan

(ii) China (iii) Myanmar and (iv) Bangladesh. (page 4)

Ans. (i) States having common frontiers with Pakistan are Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan

and Gujarat.

(ii) States having common frontiers with China are Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,

Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

(iii)States having common frontiers with Myanmar are Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur

and Mizoram.

(iv) States having common frontiers with Bangladesh are West Bengal, Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura.

Q.9. What do you mean by subcontinent ? Which countries are a part of Indian sub-continent?

A large landmass, such as India, that is part of a continent but is considered either geographically or politically as an independent entity is called a subcontinent.

The Indian subcontinent, consisting variably of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives

Q.10. What separates India from Sri Lanka ?

Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar

Q.11. "The central location of India has contributed a lot in its cultural and historical enrichment." Discuss

India’s contacts with the World have continued through ages but her relationships through the land routes are much older than her maritime contacts. The various passes across the mountains in the north have provided passages to the ancient travellers, while the oceans restricted such interaction for a long time.

These routes have contributed in the exchange of ideas and commodities since ancient times. The ideas of the Upanishads and the Ramayana, the stories of Panchtantra, the Indian numerals and the decimal system thus could reach many parts of the world. The spices, muslin and other merchandise were taken from India to different countries. 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.