NCERT Solutions Exploring Society: India and Beyond Chapter 2 Chapter opening — The Big Questions
Book page 27 Updated on2026-09-05
Q1.
What are oceans and continents? What are their names and their distribution?
Answer
Oceans are the largest water bodies on the Earth. Continents are the large, continuous expanses of land. Together they make up the whole surface of the planet.
Water covers about three-fourths (roughly 71%) of the Earth's surface
Land covers a little over one-fourth (roughly 29%)
That is why the Earth looks blue from space — the ‘blue planet’
The five oceans, from largest to smallest:
Ocean
Size
Roughly where it lies
Pacific Ocean
1st — largest
Between Asia and Australia on one side and the Americas on the other
Atlantic Ocean
2nd
Between the Americas and Europe–Africa
Indian Ocean
3rd
Asia to the north, Africa to the west, Australia to the east
Southern (Antarctic) Ocean
4th
The ring of water around Antarctica
Arctic Ocean
5th — smallest
Around the North Pole, mostly covered with ice
The seven continents, from largest to smallest: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Australia. (The book explains that they can also be counted as four, five or six — see page 35 — but seven is the count most widely used.)
Their distribution is not equal between the two halves of the Earth:
The Northern Hemisphere has most of the land — Europe, Asia, North America and the northern part of Africa.
The Southern Hemisphere is mostly water, with only South America, Australia, Antarctica and the southern part of Africa.
The oceans are not really separate either. They are all joined, so the dividing lines drawn on a map are only agreed conventions.
The Equator splits the Earth into two hemispheres. Water takes about three-fourths of the whole surface, and it is not shared equally between the two halves.
Q2.
In what ways do oceans and continents impact life on Earth, including human life?
Answer
They shape the climate, the air we breathe, our food, our travel and trade, and even our stories and festivals. Here is the chapter's answer, arranged:
How they affect us
What actually happens
Rain and the water cycle
Seawater evaporates, forms the great white cloud masses you can see in Fig. 2.1, and falls as rain on the continents. India's monsoon is born over the ocean. Without oceans there would be no rainfall and the Earth would be a desert.
Oxygen
More than half of the world's oxygen is made by the tiny plants (algae and other marine flora) of the oceans. That is why oceans are called ‘the planet's lungs’.
Climate control
Water heats and cools slowly, so the oceans even out temperatures. Coastal Mumbai or Chennai never gets as hot or as cold as inland Nagpur or Delhi.
Food
Fishing feeds millions. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Odisha and West Bengal all have large fishing communities.
Movement and trade
From early times people have crossed the seas to migrate, to trade goods, and to send fleets and armies. Most of India's foreign trade still moves by sea, through ports such as Mumbai, Kandla, Chennai, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam.
Culture
Coastal peoples everywhere have tales of sea gods and goddesses, sea monsters and treasures. In India the Vedic deity Varuṇa is linked with the ocean — the Indian Navy's motto is Śham no Varuṇaḥ, “Be auspicious to us, O Varuna.”
Disasters
Oceans also send cyclones and tsunamis, which can destroy coastal towns and take many lives.
The continents' part
Continents hold the soil, forests, rivers and mountains on which land life depends; their shape and position decide which winds blow where, and so decide the climate of each region.
Why this matters right now: because we depend on the oceans so completely, damaging them damages us. Several million tonnes of plastic waste are thrown into the sea every year, and overfishing is emptying it of life. Protecting the ocean is not charity — it is self-defence.