Chapter 6 – Secondary Activities Questions and Answers: NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography: (Fundamentals of Human Geography)

1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below:
(i)
Which one of the following statements is wrong?
(a) Cheap water transport has facilitated the jute mill industry along the Hugli.
(b) Sugar, cotton textiles and vegetable oils are footloose industries.
(c) The development of hydro-electricity and petroleum reduced, to a great extent, the importance of coal energy as a locational factor for industry.
(d) Port towns in India have attracted industries.

Answer:
(b) Sugar, cotton textiles and vegetable oils are footloose industries.

(ii)
In which one of the following types of economy are the factors of production owned individually?
(a) Capitalist
(b) Mixed
(c) Socialist
(d) None

Answer:
(a) Capitalist

(iii)
Which one of the following types of industries produces raw materials for other industries?
(a) Cottage industries
(b) Small-scale industries
(c) Basic industries
(d) Footloose industries

Answer:
(c) Basic industries

(iv)
Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched?
(a) Automobile industry … Los Angeles
(b) Ship building industry… Lusaka
(c) Air craft industry … Florence
(d) Iron and steel industry … Pittsburgh

Answer:
(d) Iron and steel industry … Pittsburgh

2. Write a short note on the following in about 30 words:
(i)
High-Tech industry:

Answer.
This is the latest generation of manufacturing industries. It merges the application of intensive research and development into the manufacturing of products of an advanced scientific and engineering character. Professional (white collar) workers make up a large share of the total workforce and outnumber the actual (blue collar workers).

(ii)
Manufacturing:

Answer:
Manufacturing adds value to natural resources by transforming raw materials into finished goods of higher value for sale in local or distant markets. It involves a full array of production from handicrafts to moulding iron and steel and stamping out plastic toys to assembling delicate computer components or space vehicles.

(iii)
Footloose industry:

Answer:
Foot loose industries can be located in a wide variety of places. They are not dependent on any specific raw-material, weight losing or otherwise. They largely depend on component parts which can be obtained anywhere.

3. Answer the following in not more than 150 words:
(i)
Differentiate between primary and secondary activities.

Answer:

Primary Activities	Secondary Activities
(i) those activities, which depend directly on nature for extraction of resources.	(i) They convert raw material obtained from primary activities into finished goods of higher value.
(ii) It includes activities like agriculture, mining, fishing, etc.	(ii)It concerned with manufacturing, processing and construction (infrastructure) industries.
(iii) They are pre-dominant in under developed/developing countries.	(iii) They are dominant in developed countries.
(iv) They earn low value and some need to be processed by secondary activities for sale in market.	(iv) produce goods of higher value. They are dependent on primary activities for procurement of raw material.
(v) As economies develop, the share of primary activities decline.	(v) As economies develop, the share of secondary activities increase.
(vi) They form the basis of village economies	(vi) Secondary activities along with tertiary, quaternary and quinary activities form the basis of urban centers.

(ii)
Discuss the major trends of modem industrial activities especially in the developed countries of the world.

Answer:
Major concentrations of modern manufacturing have flourished in a few number of places. These cover less than 10 per cent of the world’s land area. These nations have become the centres of economic and political power. However, in terms of the total area covered, manufacturing sites are much less conspicuous and concentrated on much smaller areas than that of agriculture due to greater intensity, of processes. For example, 2.5 sq km of the American corn belt usually includes about four large farms employing about 10-20 workers supporting 50¬100 persons. But this same area could contain several large integrated factories and employ thousands of workers.
Following are the characteristics of the modem industries in the modern world:
Mechanisation: Mechanisation refers to using gadgets which accomplish tasks. Automation (without aid of human thinking during the manufacturing process) is the advanced stage of mechanisation.
Technological Innovation: Technological innovations through research and development strategy are an important aspect of modern manufacturing for quality control, eliminating waste and inefficiency, and combating pollution.
Organisational Structure and Stratification:
Modern manufacturing is characterized by:
a complex machine technology extreme specialisation and division of labour for producing more goods with less effort, and low costs.
vast capital
large organisations
executive bureaucracy.
Development of high tech industries and technopolies: High technology, or simply high-tech, is the latest generation of manufacturing activities. It is best understood as the application of intensive research and development (R and D) efforts leading to the manufacture of products of an advanced scientific and engineering character. Robotics on the assembly line, computer -aided design (CAD) and manufacturing, electronic controls of smelting and refining processes, and the constant development of new chemical and pharmaceutical products are notable examples of a high-tech industry.
High-tech industries which are regionally concentrated, self-sustained and highly specialised are called technopolies. The Silicon Valley near San Francisco and Silicon Forest near Seattle are examples of technopolies.
Offshoring: Most of the industries in the developed countries are seeking and establishing their back office operations in third world countries where the work force is available in abundance at a cheaper rate. The government in the countries where they set up their operations is also eager to accommodate them with relaxed policies so as to generate employment.
Agglomeration economies: The present times also happen to be a high for agglomeration economies and industrial hubs where different related industries localize themselves close to each other in order to maximize profits and reduce overheads,

(iii)
Explain why high-tech industries in many countries are being attracted to the peripheral areas of major metropolitan centers ?

Answer:
High technology, or simply high tech, is the latest generation of manufacturing activities. Professional workers make up for a large number of the total workforce. These professional skilled workers are located in urban areas, and due to high rent in the central areas of the cities, they situate themselves in the periphery.
The industry is also situated in the periphery because of the low rent, and also because of the closeness to the urban centres which provide them with availability of the workers. Neatly spaced, low, modem, dispersed, office-plant-lab buildings rather than massive assembly structures, factories and storage areas mark the high-tech industrial landscape.
This requires large areas for massive set up which due to increased population in major metropolitan cities is not available. Hence, these industries are set up near the urban centers where adequate space is available. Also their situation near urban places helps them to gain access to the-urban market, and also to tap the skilled workforce that is available therein due to availability of educational institutes.
Example in case would be Gurgaon in Haryana, which has grown into one of the greatest high tech hub near Delhi.

(iv)
Africa has immense natural resources and yet it is industrially the most backward continent. Comment.

Answer:
Although Africa has natural resources in abundance in terms of its land resources, its forest and water resources, its mineral and energy resources, the most important component to transfer these into usable form- the human resource, is not well developed. All the characteristics that mark an industrially developed nation are lacking. The following discussion would make it amply clear why Africa remains industrially backward.
Specialization of skills/methods of production: African industries still use primitive methods of production, which makes its yield low. Lack of adequate training and opportunities forces most of the African state to have low skilled human capital and most of the workforce remains to be unskilled.
Mechanization and Technological innovation: Low level of mechanization leads to a cut in the production level and as the industries in Africa are generally not connected with the other competing industries in the world, sharing of technology does not take place in a greater scale and therefore innovation, which is the important for the progress of industries, does not take place.
Organizational structure and stratification: A high level of organization and an efficient division of labour is essential for the thriving of giant enterprises. They lack in the said continent.
Access to market and raw material: For basic industries, it is important that the raw materials are easily accessible to the factories of production, and the finished goods should find easy access to markets. This however, lacks because of the lack of good transport network, effective communication facilities and international markets.
Access to labour supply: Although Africa is quite populous and blue collar workers are available aplenty, skilled labour is in a shortage, which makes industries suffer further on managerial and technological fronts.
Government policy: Because of the political turmoil that go on in most of the African nations, a long term and healthy government policy towards the progress of industries is absent, thus making it a push factor for foreign multinationals to invest in the said areas. This in turn acts as a repelling factor for the formation of agglomeration economies, which are vital for the sharing of technological innovation between different industries.
Transportation facilities: Development of modem industries requires well transport linkage, so that agglomeration economies can be created. Also it is necessity for development of trading network both at national as well as international level. Africa lacks development of adequate network of highways, railways and airway linkage.

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What is the advanced stage of mechanization?

Answer:
Automation is the advanced stage of mechanization.

Question 2.
Which is a vital factor for the industry to be located closer to the raw material?

Answer:
Perishability is a vital factor affecting location of industries close to raw material.

Question 3.
What are technopolies?

Answer:
High tech industries which are regionally concentrated, self sustained and highly specialized are called technopolies.

Question 4.
Define secondary activity.

Answer:
Secondary activities involve transforming of the raw material (primary products) into finished goods of higher value. They are converted with manufacturing, processing and construction (infrastructure industries).

Question 5.
What is manufacturing?

Answer:
Manufacturing is a process which involves transforming raw materials into finished goods of higher value for sale in local or distant markets.

Question 6.
What are the criteria for classifying industry based on size?

Answer:
The amount of capital invested, number of workers employed and volume of production determine the size of industry.

Question 7.
Give examples of cottage industry.

Answer:
Basket weaving, matchsticks making, pottery, figurines, furniture, containers, leather, pottery, jewellery, artifacts from bamboo, wood, etc, are examples of cottage industries.

Question 8.
Give examples of large scale industry.

Answer:
Iron-steel, shipbuilding, automobile are some of the examples of large scale industry.

Question 9.
What is agri-business?

Answer:
Agri-business is commercial farming on an industrial scale often financed by business whose main interests lie outside agriculture. For
example, large corporations in tea plantation business.

Question 10.
Give example of a technopolies.

Answer:
The Silicon Valley near San Francisco and Silicon Forest near Seattle are examples of technopolies.

Question 11.
Which area is called ‘rust bowl’ and why?

Answer:
Pittsburgh is called ‘rust bowl’ because earlier there were many iron and steel plants but now they have shifted to other places.

Question 12.
What is the importance of Ruhr region of Germany?

Answer:
It has been a major industrial region of Europe for a long time. With time the demand for coal has declined as petrol, diesel, CNG, solar energy have replaced coal and therefore coal industry is shrinking but as iron and steel form the basis of industrial growth. The Ruhr region is responsible for 80% of Germany’s steel production.

Question 13.
What are mini steel plants?

Answer:
These are less expensive to build and operate and can be located near markets because of the abundance of scrap metal, which is the main input. Traditionally, most of the steel was produced at large integrated plants, but mini mills are limited to just one-step process steel making and are gaining ground.