NCERT Solutions for Class 6th Social Science Chapter 2 Oceans And Continents
Updated on 2026-09-19
About this chapter
About three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water and a little over one-fourth is land. That is why the Earth looks blue from space and early astronauts called it the ‘blue planet’ . The largest water bodies are the oceans — five of them: the Pacific (largest), the Atlantic , the Indian , the Southern (or Antarctic) and the Arctic (smallest). Their smaller extensions are called seas, bays and gulfs. The dividing lines between oceans are only conventions . In reality all the oceans are joined into one continuous body of water, and seawater — with its marine flora and fauna — flows freely from one to another. A large continuous expanse of land is a continent . Continents can be counted in several ways, from four to seven; the count of seven is the most widely used — Asia, Africa, North Ame
- Chapter opening
- The Earth seen from space (Fig. 2.1)
- The Distribution of Water and Land on the Earth (Fig. 2.2)
- Salt water, freshwater and water scarcity
- Oceans
- Oceans and disasters
- Continents
- The diagram of the relative sizes of the seven continents
- The chapter in three points
- End-of-chapter exercise
Quick revision
| Term | What it means | Where it appears in the chapter | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean | The largest kind of water body on the Earth | Pages 28, 31–32, Fig. 2.3 | The Pacific Ocean, the largest of the five |
| Continent | A large continuous expanse of land | Pages 28, 34–35 | Asia, of which India is a part |
| Landmass | A large body of land | Page 28 | Europe and Asia form one single landmass |
| Island | A piece of land, smaller than a continent, surrounded by water on all sides | Pages 36–37 | Greenland; the Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
| Sea, bay, gulf | Smaller extensions of an ocean | Page 29 | The Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, the Gulf of Mannar |
| Hemisphere | One half of the Earth, north or south of the Equator | Pages 29, 32, Fig. 2.2 | The Northern Hemisphere has more land |
| Marine | Related to, or found in, the oceans and seas | Margin note, page 31 | Marine life, marine pollution |
| Flora | The plant life of a particular region or period of time | Margin note, page 31 | Algae and seaweeds — the ocean's flora |
| Fauna | The animal life of a particular region or period of time | Margin note, page 31 | Fish, dolphins, whales, sea turtles |
| Freshwater | Water that is not salty and can be used by people, plants and land animals | Page 31 | Glaciers, rivers, lakes, groundwater |
| Cyclone | A violent storm from the ocean with extreme rain or very strong winds | Page 33 | Cyclones striking the Odisha and Andhra coasts |
| Tsunami | A huge, powerful wave caused by an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption | Pages 33–34 | The Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004 |
| Eurasia | Europe and Asia treated as one single continent | Page 35 | Geologists usually prefer this name |
| Disaster management | Handling events that cause loss of life and property | Page 34 | India's National Disaster Management Authority |
| World Oceans Day | 8 June, declared by the United Nations | Page 38 | Reminds us the ocean is ‘the lungs of our planet’ |
Exercises
- Chapter opening — The Big Questions Page 27
- The Earth seen from space (Fig. 2.1) — In-text Questions Page 28
- The Distribution of Water and Land on the Earth (Fig. 2.2) — LET'S EXPLORE Page 29
- Salt water, freshwater and water scarcity — THINK ABOUT IT Page 31
- Oceans — LET'S EXPLORE Page 32
- Oceans and disasters — In-text Questions Page 33
- Continents — In-text Questions Page 34
- The diagram of the relative sizes of the seven continents — LET'S EXPLORE Page 36
- The chapter in three points — Before we move on … Page 38–39
- End-of-chapter exercise — Questions, activities and projects Page 39–40