Access top-notch NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Vistas Chapter 3: “Journey to the End of the Earth.” Navigate the enthralling expedition through meticulously crafted question-and-answer solutions. Grasp the geographical and emotional journey depicted in the chapter, while comprehending literary devices and themes. These solutions empower students with clear insights, aiding in comprehensive learning and exam readiness. Embark on an enlightening academic journey with these precise, reliable, and concise resources.
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Vistas Chapter – 3 Journey to the End of the Earth Questions and Answers
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How do geological phenomena help us to know about the history of humankind?
Answer: Geological phenomena play a significant role in uncovering the history of humanity, allowing us to grasp Earth’s past, present, and even glimpse into its future. Through them, we gain insights into the life that thrived in different eras, the shifting of time, and the factors behind these transformations. It’s often noted that Antarctica holds a record of the world’s geological evolution.
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What are the indications for the future of humankind?
Answer: Visiting the South Pole leaves an indelible impact on anyone, making it difficult to remain unaffected. It’s simple to overlook the melting polar ice caps when we’re comfortably situated within our own geographical coordinates. Yet, as we witness glaciers recede and ice shelves crumble, the stark reality of global warming becomes undeniable. These occurrences serve as stark “harbingers of humanity’s future.”
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1. ‘The world’s geological history is trapped in Antarctica. How is the study of this region useful to us?
Answer: Studying Antarctica proves valuable as it unravels the history, present, and future of our planet. Some 650 million years ago, a supercontinent called Gondwana encompassed the area where Antarctica stands today. Analyzing Antarctica’s past enables us to comprehend the events spanning the 500 million years of Gondwana’s existence, offering insights into evolution and extinction. Gondwana flourished for half a billion years, until the era of dinosaurs’ extinction and the dawn of the age of mammals triggered its fragmentation into separate landmasses.
2. What are Geoff Green’s reasons for including high school students in the Students on Ice expedition?
Answer: Geoff’s rationale for involving high school students in the ‘Students on Ice Expedition’ serves a profound purpose. This purpose revolves around enabling these young individuals to grasp the significance of preserving the relative ‘pristine’ state of Antarctica. Given that Antarctica has never supported a human population, witnessing the impact of climate change firsthand is crucial. The true gravity of the peril posed by melting ice caps to life on Earth becomes tangible through direct observation.
However, an even more crucial objective is to bring them closer to Antarctica due to its repository of carbon records dating back half a million years. For a comprehensive understanding of Earth’s history, present, and future, Antarctica stands as an unparalleled destination.
3. Take care of the small things and the big things will take care of themselves.’ What is the relevance of this statement in the context of the Antarctic environment?
Answer: The adage, ‘Pay attention to the little things, and the bigger things will manage themselves,’ holds immense significance within the Antarctic environment. Antarctica boasts a simple ecosystem with limited biodiversity. Here, the sea surface hosts microscopic phytoplankton, akin to the grass of the sea, which forms the foundation of the entire Southern Ocean’s food web. These single-celled plants harness solar energy through photosynthesis, converting carbon and producing organic compounds.
Scientists now caution that further depletion of the ozone layer could disrupt phytoplankton activities. Such a scenario could imperil the lives of marine creatures and birds in this region, while also disrupting the global carbon cycle. Hence, caring for even something as small as phytoplankton can intricately align the larger ecological balance.
4. Why is Antarctica the place to go to, to understand the earth’s present, past and future?
Answer: Antarctica emerges as the destination of choice for comprehending Earth’s past, present, and future, thanks to the presence of carbon records dating back half a million years, ensnared within its ice layers. Delving into the study of this ice could unveil the unfolding of life’s evolution, shedding light on the emergence of mammals and ultimately the presence of human beings on our planet.