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NCERT Solutions Exploring Society: India and Beyond Chapter 2 –39The chapter in three points — Before we move on …

Book page 38 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
The Earth's surface has vast water bodies called ‘oceans’ and large landmasses called ‘continents’. Oceans are interconnected. Continents may be counted in various ways; the most common count is seven.
Answer

What this recap means, expanded:

  • Oceans are the great water bodies — five of them, covering nearly three-fourths of the surface. Their smaller arms have their own names: sea (the Arabian Sea), bay (the Bay of Bengal), gulf (the Gulf of Mannar).
  • Continents are the large continuous stretches of land, covering a little over one-fourth.
  • ‘Interconnected’ is the key word for the oceans. Water flows freely from one to another around Antarctica, through the Drake Passage, past Greenland and through the Bering Strait. The lines on the map are conventions, not barriers.
  • ‘Counted in various ways’ is the key phrase for the continents — four, five, six or seven, depending on whether you split America, Eurasia and Africa-Eurasia. Seven is the count in Fig. 2.3 and the one used almost everywhere.
Why one is fixed and the other is not: the oceans are physically one, so dividing them is a human choice. The continents are physically several, so joining them is a human choice. Both counts are agreements — which is why geography asks you to know the reason, not just the number.
Q2.
The Northern Hemisphere has more land than the Southern Hemisphere.
Answer

Unpacking the statement:

 Northern HemisphereSouthern Hemisphere
Continents wholly or mostly hereEurope, Asia, North America, most of AfricaAntarctica, Australia, South America, the southern part of Africa
Land and waterAbout 2/5 land, 3/5 waterAbout 1/5 land, 4/5 water
Ocean found only hereArctic OceanSouthern (Antarctic) Ocean
Where most people liveAbout 9 out of every 10 people on EarthAbout 1 in 10

You can see it directly in Fig. 2.2 on page 29: the North Pole map is a small ocean ringed by land, while the South Pole map is one continent adrift in a huge ocean.

Where India stands: the whole of India lies in the Northern Hemisphere, roughly between 8°N and 37°N, and in the Eastern Hemisphere. The Tropic of Cancer (about 23½°N) runs right across the middle of the country.
Q3.
Oceans support all kinds of marine life and play a critical role in the world climate. They are now seriously affected by human activity and need our collective protection.
Answer

All three parts of this sentence, one by one:

  • Marine life. The ocean's flora is algae and seaweeds; its fauna runs from tiny fish to sharks, dolphins, sperm whales, sea turtles, emperor penguins and the countless creatures of the deep. Coral reefs, such as those of the Gulf of Mannar and Lakshadweep, are among the richest habitats on Earth. Every layer, from the sunlit surface to the dark depths, has its own life forms.
  • World climate. Oceans supply the rain, store heat and release it slowly, and make more than half of the world's oxygen. Without them there would be no rainfall and the Earth would be a desert.
  • Human damage. Several million tonnes of plastic waste are dumped into the sea every year, choking marine life; there are many other kinds of pollution as well; and overfishing is emptying the sea of the very species we depend on.
Why ‘collective’ protection: the ocean is one connected body of water, so plastic dropped on a beach in one country washes up on another's, and fish stocks swim across every boundary. No single country can clean or protect the sea alone. That is why the United Nations marks 8 June as World Oceans Day, and why countries share an Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System.
Three things a Class 6 student can actually do: refuse single-use plastic bags and bottles; never leave litter on a beach or throw it into a river (rivers deliver it to the sea); and take part in a clean-up drive — India's beach clean-ups have collected thousands of tonnes of waste.
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