Journey to The End of The Earth Question Answer and NCERT solutions are available here in this post, we have prepared these solutions very carefully so that any student can easily learn them. If you are one of those who are looking for Journey to The End of The Earth Question Answer, this post can definitely help you.
Table of Contents
Journey to The End of The Earth Question Answer | Ncert Solutions
Reading with Insight (Journey to The End of The Earth Question Answer)
Q. 1 “The world’s geological history is trapped in Antarctica.” How is the study of this region useful to us?
Ans. Some six hundred and fifty million years ago, a giant amalgamated supercontinent Gondwana existed around present-day Antarctica. The climate was warm, there was a large variety of flora and fauna. Dinosaurs were wiped out and the age of mammals began. The landmass was forced to disintegrate into different countries, shaping the world as it is, today Countries like India, South America and many others came into existence Himalayas were formed.
Antarctica holds the key to understanding the significance of the Cordilleran folds, pre-Cambrian granite shields, ozone and carbon layers. It can also tell us about the evolution and extinction of various species that inhabited the earth. After all the geographical changes, Antarctica came to be at the bottom of the globe, as it is today and became very isolated and frigid.
Q.2. What are Geoff Green’s reasons for including high school students in the “Students on Ice” expedition?
Ans. Geoff Green got fed up with taking celebrities because they had only limited potential for making efforts to improve the environment. He took students because they are the future policy-makers and this experience would inspire a new understanding and respect for the earth. Moreover, they were of the right age to absorb, learn and act in a positive manner.
Q 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?
Ans. The above statement is a great metaphor for survival. Antarctica has a simple ecosystem and it is a perfect place to study how small changes in the environment can have far-reaching effects. For example, phytoplankton is a single-celled plant that nourishes the entire Southern Ocean’s food chain. If this is harmed, it will affect the lives of all marine animals and birds of the region.
Antarctica provides an answer to the earth’s past, present and future. 650 million years ago, a supercontinent called Gondwana existed and it was roughly around present-day Antarctica. Gondwana thrived for 500 million years ago when human beings were not on the scene. The climate was warmer and there were large varieties of flora and fauna.
Later on, during the age of mammals, this land mass got divided into different countries, continents and seas. Countries like India, South America and the Himalayas were formed and got fixed in their present position. This left Antarctica frigid and desolate at the bottom of the earth.
Antarctica helps us understand the problems in the present times also. Overpopulation, the burning of fossil fuels, creation of megacities, has created a blanket of carbon dioxide around the world, which is increasing the average global temperature. The importance of the ozone layer, the carbon deposits and the processes of evolution and extinction are the lessons that we learn here.
Since Antarctica has never sustained any human population and has remained pristine, it offers a lot of material for research in the near future. It holds in its ice-cores half-million-year-old carbon records trapped in its layers of ice. Moreover, when students go for a visit and see glaciers retreating, ice shelves collapsing, ice caps melting, they will realise that the threat of global warming is very real.
Journey to The End of The Earth Question Answer
Journey to The End of The Earth Extra Question Answers
Q. 1 How did the author reach Antarctica?
Ans. The author reached Antarctica after crossing nine time zones, six checkpoints, three bodies of water and at least as many ecospheres. She travelled for over 100 hours. She had to travel by car, an aeroplane and a ship called ‘Akademic Shokalskiy.”
Q.2. What was Gondwana and how did it disintegrate?
Ans. Gondwana was a giant amalgamated southern supercontinent that centred roughly around present-day Antarctica, six hundred and fifty million years ago. It didn’t have any human life. The climate was much warmer, hosting a huge variety of flora and fauna.
Q.3. What were the author’s initial reactions on reaching Antarctica?
Ans. The author had a feeling of relief as it was a very long journey. She was wonderstruck at Antarctica’s immensity, its isolation and its connection with India which was once a part of the same landmass.
Q.4. What historical knowledge does Antarctica provide?
Ans. The study of Antarctica gives us an insight into how the earth would have looked millions of years ago and how it separated into countries, continents and water bodies. It can also tell us the significance of Cordilleran folds and pre-granite shields and the evolution of life on this planet.
Q.5. Why did Tishani Doshi call herself a ‘sun-worshipping South Indian”?
Ans. Tishani Doshi was a sun-baked South Indian who was very much accustomed to living in the crowded streets of Madras. She was now surrounded by an expansive white landscape and isolation. It was a chilling prospect for her.
Q.6. What are the reasons for the increasing global temperature?
Ans. Man’s dominance over Nature, the rapid increase of human population, the unmitigated burning of fossil fuel which creates a thick blanket of carbon dioxide around the earth and ever-increasing villages, towns and cities have increased global temperature.
Q.7. Why does Antarctica figure as a crucial element in our environmental concerns?
Ans. Antarctica is a crucial element in our environmental concerns because it holds in its ice-cores half-million-year-old carbon records trapped in its layers of ice. We can visibly see the effects of global warming in Antarctica.
8. What strange things did the author notice in Antarctica?
Ans. Antarctica was devoid of any human markers – no trees, billboards or buildings. Days go on and on in a strange 24-hour austral summer light. One could see either microscopic insects or blue whales and icebergs as big as countries.
Q.9. What did the author feel on reaching Antarctica?
Ans. The author felt immense relief. Antarctica was very different from the Earth. She could see white snow everywhere and had an uninterrupted view of the sky, which is not possible on the Earth. It was very quiet and peaceful.
Journey to The End of The Earth Question Answer
Q.10. What was the most surprising thing about the supercontinent Gondwana?
Ans. The fact the Gondwana had thrived for 500 million years without human beings was quite surprising. Moreover looking at Antarctica, one could never imagine how Antarctica and India had been a part of the same land mass Gondwana.
Q.11. What could have been some of the reasons for the disintegration of Gondwana?
Ans. Changes were taking place rapidly in Gondwana. First, the dinosaurs were wiped out, the age of mammals came much later. The entire land mass must have suffered some climatic changes, and some natural disasters, which forced it to break up into small pieces and form different countries.
Q.12. Why did the author feel that it was like “walking into a ping-pong ball”?
Ans. The author hailed from Madras (now Chennai), where there are a lot of people and dark colours in vogue. Seeing snow around and the smoothness of it, reminded her of a ping-pong ball, which is white in colour.
Q.13. Why does the author feel that human beings have created quite a ruckus?
Ans. Human beings have spearheaded destructive tendencies and have tried to exert dominance over nature. They have cut forests and created villages, towns and metro cities. The rapid increase in human population has multiplied all problems since there is a struggle to survive. The resources are limited.
Q.14. What is photosynthesis?
Ans. It is a process in which plants convert water and carbon into food by using energy from the sunlight.
Q.15. In what way can the further depletion of ozone disrupt the entire food chain of the Southern Ocean?
Ans. Phytoplankton nourish and sustain the entire southern food chain. Any depletion in the ozone layer will hamper their activity, which in turn, is going to stand in the way of the growth of the marine animals, birds and the entire global carbon cycle.
Journey to The End of The Earth Question Answer
Q.16. Why does Tishani Doshi say, “My Antarctica experience was full of such epiphanies”?
Ans. The Magi brought unique gifts for baby Jesus. Tishani Doshi is also going back with valuable experiences, that she would treasure all her life.
Q.17. How were all 52 passengers appropriately dressed for the expedition?
Ans. All of them were fully kitted with Gore-Tex, spiked shoes to walk on ice and they were wearing sunglasses to protect their eyes from sunlight.
Q.18. Why has Antarctica remained ‘pristine’ for so many years?
Ans. Antarctica has remained ‘pure’ and ‘untouched’ because it has never sustained any human population. Million-year-old carbon records are lying safe, buried under layers of ice.
Journey to The End of The Earth Chapter PDF
If You want to download the pdf of this chapter to read the full text you can click on the button given below.
Summary of Journey to The End of The Earth
The Students who want to read the summary of Journey to The End of The Earth chapter in English and Hindi can visit the post which link is given below button