Question

1. Have you ever thought why there is a difference in the skin color of various peoples in the world?
2. Why all the people in the world do not eat the same food?
3. Why there is a variety of clothing patterns and types too? Even our houses are different.
4. How come flora and fauna are restricted to a particular region?
5. Why different fruits are found in different places?

Answer 1

1. There is variation in skin colour of people depending on the latitudes. For. e.g., people near the equator are dark since the sun rays are vertical and hence there is too much heat, while people in the temperate or polar region are fair since sunrays in these regions are slanting due to increase in distance from the sun. Hence, there is low temperature and colour of the skin is fair.
2. There is variation in food because food depends on geographical factors like climate, soil, location etc. For example, in extremely cold climate areas soil is covered with snow, so agriculture is not possible, people eat fish and meat of fur-bearing animals. The countries located along the coastline eat fish and rice because fishing is carried out at the coastal areas and rice is grown on fertile delta of the river along the coastline.
3. i) People prefer to use clothes according to climate. For example, Inuits in Polar region wear fur clothes due lo extreme cold climate, Europeans wear woollen clothes in winter due to cold climate, Asians mostly wear cotton clothes except in winter.
   ii) The pattern of the house depends upon the climate and availability of the material in the surrounding area. For example, in heavy rainfall areas houses have sloping roofs, in hot climatic areas, houses are made up of stones or thick walls to prevent the effect of outside hot air.
   iii) People use the material available in the surrounding area for the construction of houses. For example, Inuits in Polar region use snow to build houses, since it is available in plenty. These peculiar houses are called Igloos.
4. Particular temperature and rainfall are essential for the growth of flora. For example, the coniferous forest grows in cool climate and snowfall. Flora provides food and shelter to fauna, therefore wherever there is thick flora, fauna is bound to be there. In grassland region grass-eating animals like dear, antelope, rabbits are seen but the camel is seen only in the desert.
5. Every fruit crop requires a particular type of climate; therefore, different fruits grow in different areas depending upon the climate. For example, apples are grown in Jammu and Kashmir, mangoes, cashew nuts and jackfruits are grown in the Konkan region due to suitable climate.