India: physical features and climate
Class 9 Social Science · Geography · 26 questions with answers
Class 9 Geography is where map work starts carrying real marks, and where 'why there?' replaces 'where is it?'. Both matter. The map marks need repetition rather than study, and the explanation marks need one habit - naming the reason rather than the place.
- Names the six physical divisions of India with one feature of each
- Explains the mechanism of the Indian monsoon rather than describing it
- Accounts for regional differences in rainfall
- Locates and labels major features on an outline map
Exercise 1 of 3 · 10 questions
Name the physical division described, and add one distinguishing feature.
Write the answer · Warm-up
Here’s one done for you
The Himalayas are young fold mountains that are still rising - and that last clause is the one that earns marks elsewhere in the paper, because it explains the earthquakes, the steep gradients and the rapid erosion. In Class 9 Geography, one physical fact usually explains several later answers, so the detail is worth learning as a cause rather than as a description.
- 1)The young fold mountains along the northern border
- 2)The plain formed by the deposits of three river systems
- 3)The oldest landmass of India, made largely of igneous and metamorphic rocks
- 4)The arid region lying west of the Aravalis
- 5)The narrow strips of land along the eastern and western edges of the peninsula
- 6)The groups of islands in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal
- 7)The plateau lying south of the Vindhyas, made of ancient volcanic rock
- 8)The mountain range that runs along the western edge of the Deccan
- 9)The range that forms the eastern edge of the Deccan, broken by rivers
- 10)The northernmost range of the Himalayas, containing the highest peaks
Answers
- 1) The Himalayas. They are geologically young, structurally fold mountains, and still rising - which is why the region is prone to earthquakes.
- 2) The Northern Plains, formed by the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra with their tributaries. The alluvial soil makes it among the most agriculturally productive regions in the world.
- 3) The Peninsular Plateau. It is a tableland, rich in mineral deposits, and bordered by the Western and Eastern Ghats.
- 4) The Indian Desert, or Thar. It receives less than 150 mm of rain a year and has very few permanent streams.
- 5) The Coastal Plains. The western coastal plain is narrow, while the eastern is broader with large deltas formed by the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri.
- 6) The Islands - the Lakshadweep group in the Arabian Sea, formed of coral, and the Andaman and Nicobar group in the Bay of Bengal, which are larger and of volcanic and tectonic origin.
- 7) The Deccan Plateau. Its black soil, formed from lava, is what makes it suitable for cotton.
- 8) The Western Ghats. They are continuous, higher than the Eastern Ghats, and force the monsoon to rise, which is why their windward side is so wet.
- 9) The Eastern Ghats. They are discontinuous, cut through by the Mahanadi, Godavari and Krishna as those rivers reach the sea.
- 10) The Himadri, or Greater Himalayas. It contains Everest and Kanchenjunga and is perennially snow-covered.
Exercise 2 of 3 · 7 questions
Explain in two or three sentences.
Write the answer · Guided
Here’s one done for you
The Mumbai and Pune comparison is the model answer for this chapter. Two cities, roughly the same latitude, very different rainfall, and one reason: which side of the Western Ghats they are on. Rain shadow explains a great deal of Indian rainfall variation, and a child who can use it explains half the map without memorising rainfall figures.
- 1)Why does the monsoon reach India in June?
- 2)Why does Mumbai receive far more rain than Pune, which is not far away?
- 3)Why is rainfall in Rajasthan so low?
- 4)What is meant by a break in the monsoon?
- 5)Why does Chennai receive most of its rain in October and November?
- 6)What is the role of the Western Ghats in India's rainfall pattern?
- 7)Why is the monsoon described as unifying for India?
Answers
- 1) Intense heating of the Indian landmass through the summer creates a low-pressure area over the north-west. Air over the ocean to the south is relatively cooler and at higher pressure, so moisture-laden winds move in from the sea towards the land, bringing rain.
- 2) Because Mumbai lies on the windward side of the Western Ghats, where the moist winds are forced to rise and drop their rain. Pune lies on the leeward side, in the rain shadow, so the winds reaching it have already lost most of their moisture.
- 3) Because the winds that reach it are largely parallel to the Aravali range rather than being obstructed by it, so there is little to force them to rise and shed moisture. The region is also far from the sea, so the winds arrive comparatively dry.
- 4) A period of one or more weeks during the rainy season when rain fails over a region, related to the movement of the monsoon trough. These dry spells are what make the total rainfall of a season less useful than its distribution.
- 5) Because it is on the leeward side during the south-west monsoon and is instead watered by the retreating north-east monsoon, which picks up moisture crossing the Bay of Bengal.
- 6) They stand across the path of the south-west monsoon. The windward western side receives very heavy rain, while the leeward eastern side lies in a rain shadow and receives far less.
- 7) Because the whole country's agricultural year, festivals and water supply are set by the same seasonal rhythm. The rains arriving or failing is a shared experience from Kerala to Punjab.
Exercise 3 of 3 · 9 questions
For each, say where it is and one thing that makes it significant.
Write the answer · Practice
Here’s one done for you
The Standard Meridian question is worth understanding rather than memorising. India spans nearly 30 degrees of longitude, which is about two hours of sun time between the far east and the far west - so a single meridian was chosen to give the country one clock. That reasoning also answers any question about why the sun rises earlier in Arunachal Pradesh than in Gujarat, which the paper asks in several forms.
- 1)The Western Ghats
- 2)The Tropic of Cancer in India
- 3)The Standard Meridian of India
- 4)Mawsynram
- 5)The Palk Strait
- 6)The Sundarbans
- 7)The Deccan Trap
- 8)The Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- 9)The Aravalli Range
Answers
- 1) The western edge of the Peninsular Plateau, running roughly parallel to the west coast. They are continuous and higher than the Eastern Ghats, and they force the monsoon winds to rise, giving the west coast very heavy rain.
- 2) It passes roughly through the middle of the country, through eight states. It means the northern half of India lies in the temperate zone and the southern half in the tropical zone.
- 3) 82° 30' E, passing through Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. The local time along it is taken as the standard time for the whole country, so that India has a single time despite spanning nearly 30 degrees of longitude.
- 4) In Meghalaya, in the Khasi hills. It receives among the highest rainfall in the world, because the funnel-shaped hills force moist winds to rise sharply.
- 5) The narrow stretch of sea between India and Sri Lanka, separating the two.
- 6) In the delta of the Ganga and Brahmaputra in West Bengal. It is the world's largest mangrove forest and the home of the Royal Bengal tiger.
- 7) The north-west of the Deccan Plateau. It is formed of layers of solidified lava, which weather into the black soil used for cotton.
- 8) In the Bay of Bengal. They are the exposed tops of a submerged mountain range, unlike the coral Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea.
- 9) Running north-east across Rajasthan. It is one of the oldest fold mountain ranges in the world and is now heavily worn down.
While your child works
- Ask 'why there?' rather than 'where is it?'. Location questions in Class 9 want a reason.
- Rain shadow explains a great deal of Indian rainfall. Say Mumbai and Pune once and it sticks.
- Practise on a blank outline map weekly rather than reading the atlas. Recall is the skill.