Natural Resources and Their Use — Class 8 MCQs with Answers

Natural Resources and Their Use — important questions & MCQs with answers (Class 8 Social Science)

6 solved questions from this chapter's difficulty levels, each with its answer and explanation. Tap an option to check yourself.

0 of 6 answered

1. Q1 of 6Easy

   According to the chapter, elements of Nature become 'resources' when:

   Athey are found undergroundBhumans use them for sustenance or make things from themCthey are rare and expensiveDscientists give them a name
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   Answer: humans use them for sustenance or make things from them

   Explanation: Trees exist independently of humans; they become a resource when we use them, for example converting wood into furniture.

2. Q2 of 6Easy

   When natural resources are grouped by the use we put them to, the three categories are resources essential for life, resources for materials and resources for:

   AtradeBenergyCmedicineDdecoration
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   Answer: energy

   Explanation: The three use-based categories given are life-essentials, materials and energy.

3. Q3 of 6Medium

   Industries set up near natural resources bring employment and townships, but the chapter warns these benefits often come with:

   Aan automatic fall in populationBthe end of all tradeCa ban on new facilitiesDdisplacement of local people from their homes
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   Answer: displacement of local people from their homes

   Explanation: People in resource-rich areas have been displaced, and in some cases their sacred places are threatened, causing conflict.

4. Q4 of 6Medium

   In Punjab, the shift in the 1960s to high-yielding varieties of wheat and paddy increased groundwater use because those varieties:

   Acould not be irrigatedBgrew only in winterCneeded no fertiliserDrequired more water than traditional seeds
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   Answer: required more water than traditional seeds

   Explanation: Higher water demand, combined with free power for pumps, drove heavy groundwater extraction.

5. Q5 of 6Hard

   A village refuses to mine a hill it considers sacred, although the ore is shallow and would be profitable. Using the chapter's three conditions, the ore is not a resource here because it fails only the test of being:

   Aculturally acceptableBtechnologically accessibleCeconomically feasibleDnaturally occurring
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   Answer: culturally acceptable

   Explanation: Shallow ore is reachable and profit shows feasibility, so the community's values are the deciding condition.

6. Q6 of 6Hard

   Assertion: Timber can be treated as a renewable resource. Reason: Forests regenerate naturally over time. Choose the correct option.

   AThe assertion is true but the reason is falseBThe assertion is false but the reason is trueCBoth are true, and the reason explains the assertionDBoth are true, but the reason does not explain the assertion
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   Answer: Both are true, and the reason explains the assertion

   Explanation: Timber counts as renewable precisely because forests regenerate, provided harvesting stays within that rate.

Natural Resources and Their Use notes: key concepts (Class 8 Social Science)

Nature becomes a 'resource' only when humans can and choose to use it. This chapter classifies natural resources, shows how unevenly they are spread, and argues for using them as stewards so renewables keep regenerating and non-renewables last longer.

Natural resource

Materials and substances that occur in Nature and are valuable to humans.

Three conditions for a resource

To count as a resource something must be technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally acceptable.

Renewable resource

A resource that restores itself over time — sunlight, wind, flowing water, timber — but only if we do not use it faster than it regenerates.

Non-renewable resource

Formed over millions of years and impossible to replenish at the rate we consume it, such as coal, petroleum, iron and gold.

Restoration and regeneration

Restoration returns something damaged to its healthy state; regeneration goes further and creates new life and the conditions for thriving.

Ecosystem functions and services

A forest filtering water is a function of Nature; the clean water people then receive is an ecosystem service.

Paradox of plenty

Also called the resource curse: regions rich in resources can still grow slowly, usually because they cannot convert raw materials into higher-value products.

Stewardship

Using resources so renewables regenerate and non-renewables last long enough for sustainable alternatives to be found.