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Resources and Development – Class 10 Social Science notes, important questions and MCQs

NCERT Class 10 Social Science, chapter 6. Notes, key terms, important questions with answers and MCQs.

Chapter overview

Everything in our environment that can satisfy our needs and is technologically possible, economically feasible and culturally acceptable is a resource. Resources must be planned and conserved for sustainable development. Land and soil are among the most important resources.

Types of resources

On the basis of origin: biotic (from living things) and abiotic (non-living, such as rocks and metals).
On exhaustibility: renewable (solar energy, forests) and non-renewable (minerals, fossil fuels).
On ownership: individual, community, national and international; on status of development: potential, developed, stock and reserves.

Resource planning and land use

The Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit (1992) adopted Agenda 21 for sustainable development.
Resource planning means identifying resources, planning with suitable technology and matching plans with national development plans.
Land degradation is caused by mining, deforestation, overgrazing and over-irrigation (waterlogging and salinity).

Soils of India

Alluvial soil covers the northern plains and is very fertile; black soil (regur) is ideal for cotton and holds moisture.
Red and yellow soil forms on crystalline igneous rocks; laterite soil forms under high temperature and heavy rainfall and is good for cashew with manure.
Arid soil is sandy and saline; forest soil is found in hilly and mountain areas.
Soil conservation: contour ploughing, terrace farming, strip cropping and shelter belts.

Key terms

Resource: anything in the environment that can be used to satisfy our needs
Sustainable development: development that meets present needs without harming the ability of future generations to meet theirs
Agenda 21: a declaration at the 1992 Earth Summit to achieve global sustainable development
Regur soil: black soil, formed from lava rocks, ideal for growing cotton

Important questions with answers

What is resource planning?2 marks

Resource planning is the judicious use of resources. It involves identifying and listing resources, building a planning structure with suitable technology, skills and institutions, and matching resource development plans with overall national development plans.

Distinguish between renewable and non-renewable resources with examples.3 marks

Renewable resources can be renewed or reproduced by physical, chemical or mechanical processes, for example solar energy, wind, water and forests. Non-renewable resources take millions of years to form and get exhausted with use, for example minerals and fossil fuels. Some non-renewable resources such as metals can be recycled, while fossil fuels cannot.

What is soil erosion? Explain its causes and the methods of soil conservation.5 marks

Soil erosion is the removal of the top soil by natural forces such as running water and wind. Human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing, construction, mining and defective farming methods speed it up. Running water cuts through clayey soils to form gullies and makes land unfit for farming (bad land, such as the ravines of the Chambal basin); sheet erosion washes away the top soil over large areas. Conservation methods: ploughing along contour lines; terrace farming on slopes; strip cropping, in which strips of grass are left between crops; planting rows of trees as shelter belts to break wind; and controlled grazing.

Quick revision

Resources: biotic/abiotic, renewable/non-renewable, ownership, status.
Earth Summit 1992 → Agenda 21.
Black soil = cotton; laterite = cashew with manure.
Contour ploughing, terracing and shelter belts save soil.

Exam tips

Learn each soil with its formation, area and one crop.
For land degradation questions, link each cause with the states named in the book.

Practice MCQs

Black soil is best suited for growing
1. rice
2. tea
3. cotton
4. wheat
Show answer
Answer: (c) cotton. It retains moisture and is rich in lime and magnesium.
The Earth Summit of 1992 was held at
1. Kyoto
2. Paris
3. New York
4. Rio de Janeiro
Show answer
Answer: (d) Rio de Janeiro. It adopted Agenda 21.
Solar energy is an example of a
1. non-renewable resource
2. reserve
3. stock
4. renewable resource
Show answer
Answer: (d) renewable resource. It is replenished continuously.
Laterite soil develops in areas with
1. low temperature and low rainfall
2. desert conditions
3. high temperature and heavy rainfall
4. glaciers
Show answer
Answer: (c) high temperature and heavy rainfall. Heavy rain leaches nutrients, leaving laterite.
Ploughing along contour lines helps to
1. reduce soil erosion on slopes
2. increase salinity
3. drain wetlands
4. increase grazing
Show answer
Answer: (a) reduce soil erosion on slopes. Furrows across the slope slow down running water.
Resources that are available but not used for lack of technology are called
1. reserves
2. individual resources
3. developed resources
4. stock
Show answer
Answer: (d) stock. Stock needs technology that is not yet available.
Over-irrigation is a major cause of land degradation in
1. Jharkhand and Odisha
2. Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh
3. Gujarat and Rajasthan only
4. Kerala
Show answer
Answer: (b) Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. Waterlogging raises salinity and alkalinity in the soil.
Which soil is formed mainly by the weathering of crystalline igneous rocks and looks reddish due to iron
1. alluvial
2. red and yellow
3. arid
4. forest
Show answer
Answer: (b) red and yellow. Diffusion of iron in crystalline rocks gives it a red colour.

All chapters of Class 10 Social Science

Written by Kundali IQ from standard, well-established facts to help with revision. This is not an official NCERT publication; always read your textbook too.