NCERT Solutions for Class 6 Social Science Chapter 1 Locating Places on the Earth

Locating Places on the Earth is Chapter 1 of the NCERT Class 6 Social Science textbook Exploring Society: India and Beyond. It introduces students to the basic geographical skills needed to find places on maps and globes. The chapter explains directions, map symbols, scale, latitudes, longitudes, coordinates, heat zones, local time and standard time.

These Class 6 Social Science Chapter 1 question answers are organised around the textbook activities and end-of-chapter questions. Read the explanations, practise the calculations and use the revision notes to understand the concepts instead of simply memorising answers.

Locating Places on the Earth Class 6 Question Answers

Let's Explore – Map Activity

1. Mark the hospital on the map.

Answer: Refer to the map given in the NCERT textbook and locate the hospital using the surrounding landmarks and directions. The exact position should be identified from the textbook figure.

2. What do the blue-coloured areas on the map represent?

Answer: Blue-coloured areas generally represent water bodies, such as rivers, lakes and other water features.

3. Which is farther from the railway station: the school, the Nagar Panchayat or the public garden?

Answer: According to the supplied map-based answer, the public garden is farther from the railway station than the school and the Nagar Panchayat. Check the map in your textbook to confirm the relative positions.

Let's Explore – Page 10: Drawing a Map to Scale

1. Draw a rectangular school playground measuring 40 m by 30 m using a scale of 1 cm = 10 m.

Answer:

Given:

• Actual length = 40 m

• Actual width = 30 m

• Scale = 1 cm represents 10 m

Convert the actual measurements into map measurements:

• Length on the map = 40 ÷ 10 = 4 cm

• Width on the map = 30 ÷ 10 = 3 cm

Using a ruler, draw a rectangle 4 cm long and 3 cm wide. This is the scaled representation of the playground.

2. Measure the diagonal of the rectangle and calculate its actual length.

Answer:

The map rectangle measures 4 cm by 3 cm. Using the Pythagorean theorem:

Diagonal² = Length² + Width²

Diagonal² = 4² + 3² = 16 + 9 = 25

Diagonal = √25 = 5 cm

Since 1 cm represents 10 m:

Actual diagonal = 5 × 10 = 50 m

Therefore, the actual diagonal of the playground is 50 metres.

Let's Explore – Directions and Map Reading

1. Identify the correct and incorrect statements using the textbook map.

Use the map to check each statement. The supplied answers are:

These answers depend on the exact textbook map, so verify them against the figure before using them for homework.

2. In which cardinal direction is your home from your school?

Answer: The answer depends on where your home is located. Start from your school and identify whether your home lies north, south, east or west of it. If it lies between two main directions, use an intermediate direction such as northeast or southwest.

For example: My home is northeast of my school.

Let's Explore – Draw a Map of Your Locality

Question: Draw a rough map of your locality or village.

Answer: Draw a simple map showing your home, school and nearby landmarks. Include roads, a market, a park, a hospital or other familiar places. Mark the cardinal directions and use simple, recognisable symbols for the features shown.

This is an activity-based question. Your map will differ from another student's map because the locations and landmarks around you are different.

Let's Explore – Chess Activity

Question: If White moves the pawn from d2 to d4, write the corresponding move for Black.

Answer: The corresponding move is to move Black's pawn from d7 to d5. In chess notation, the moves are written as d2–d4 and d7–d5.

Let's Explore – Page 17: Latitude and Longitude

Question: Find the approximate latitude and longitude of Mumbai, Kolkata, Singapore and Paris.

Answer: Use a globe or atlas to estimate the coordinates. The following values are approximate:

Latitude tells us how far north or south a place lies from the Equator. Longitude tells us how far east or west it lies from the Prime Meridian.

Let's Explore – Page 21: Porbandar and Tinsukia

1. Why has the Sun set in Tinsukia while it is still daylight in Porbandar?

Answer: Tinsukia in Assam lies east of Porbandar in Gujarat. The Earth rotates from west to east, so places farther east experience the daily passage from daylight to darkness earlier than places farther west. This explains why it may already be sunset in Tinsukia while Porbandar still has daylight.

2. Calculate the difference in local time for a longitude difference of 30°.

Answer:

The Earth rotates through approximately 360° in 24 hours.

Time taken to rotate through 15° = 1 hour

Therefore:

30° ÷ 15° = 2 hours

The difference in local time is 2 hours.

Local Time and Standard Time

Question: Explain the difference between local time and standard time using Gujarat and Assam as examples.

Answer: Local time is based on the position of the Sun at a particular longitude. Since Gujarat lies farther west and Assam lies farther east, their local solar times differ.

Standard time is the common time adopted by a country or region. India follows Indian Standard Time (IST), based on the Standard Meridian at 82½°E longitude. As a result, people across India use the same official clock time even though the local solar time varies from place to place.

Questions, Activities and Projects – Class 6 SST Chapter 1

1. Calculate the real distance between the estuaries of the Narmada and Ganga rivers.

Answer: The textbook gives the scale as 2.5 cm = 500 km.

First, calculate the distance represented by 1 cm:

500 ÷ 2.5 = 200 km

Therefore, 1 cm on the map represents 200 km on the ground.

Measure the distance between the two estuaries on the textbook map and multiply the measurement by 200 km.

Formula:

Real distance = Map distance × 200 km

For example, if the measured map distance is 8 cm:

8 × 200 = 1,600 km

The final answer depends on the distance measured from the printed map. Use the map and scale supplied in your textbook rather than treating the example measurement as a fixed answer.

2. Why is it 5:30 pm in India when it is 12 noon in London?

Answer: Indian Standard Time is based on the Standard Meridian of India at 82½°E longitude. Greenwich is the reference for 0° longitude.

The Earth rotates through 360° in approximately 24 hours.

360° ÷ 24 = 15° per hour

The longitude difference between Greenwich and India's Standard Meridian is 82½°.

82.5° ÷ 15° = 5.5 hours

Five and a half hours equals 5 hours and 30 minutes. Therefore, when it is 12 noon at Greenwich, it is 5:30 pm in India, assuming London is observing Greenwich Mean Time rather than daylight-saving time.

3. Why do we need symbols and colours on maps?

Answer: Maps represent large areas on a flat surface, so it is not practical to draw every real-world feature in detail. Symbols and colours represent features such as rivers, roads, railway lines, forests and settlements. Common map symbols make the information easier to understand quickly.

4. Identify the features in the eight directions from your home or school.

Answer: Observe the area around your home or school and list a nearby feature in each direction.

These are examples only. Replace them with actual places in your locality.

5. What is the difference between local time and standard time?

Answer: Local time is calculated according to the Sun's position at a particular longitude. It varies from place to place. Standard time is a common time adopted for a country or region. India follows IST, based on the 82½°E Standard Meridian, so the whole country uses one official time.

6. Delhi and Bengaluru have latitudes of 29°N and 13°N, respectively, and almost the same longitude. What is the difference in their local time?

Answer: Local time is related primarily to longitude, not latitude. Since Delhi and Bengaluru have almost the same longitude, their local solar times are approximately the same. Their latitude difference does not determine the time difference.

7. Mark the statements as true or false and explain your answers.

(a) All parallels of latitude have the same length.

Answer: False. The Equator is the longest parallel of latitude. Other parallels become shorter as they approach the North and South Poles.

(b) The length of a meridian of longitude is half that of the Equator.

Answer: True in the textbook's simplified sense. A meridian from the North Pole to the South Pole is a semicircle, while the Equator is a complete circle. The pole-to-pole meridian arc is approximately half the Equator's circumference.

(c) The South Pole has a latitude of 90°S.

Answer: True. The South Pole lies at 90 degrees south latitude.

(d) In Assam, local time and IST are identical.

Answer: False. Assam lies east of India's Standard Meridian, so its local solar time differs from IST.

(e) Lines separating time zones are identical to meridians of longitude.

Answer: False. Time zones are broadly based on longitude, but their boundaries are adjusted in many places to follow national and regional borders.

(f) The Equator is a parallel of latitude.

Answer: True. The Equator is the parallel at 0° latitude and divides Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

8. Solve the crossword.

The supplied crossword answers are:

Across

1. Scale

2. Globe

3. Equator

4. Greenwich

5. Map

6. Latitude

Down
2. Longitude
3. Coordinates
4. Grid
5. IST
6. Pole
7. IDL

Check the numbering and spelling against the crossword grid in your textbook.

Class 6 SST Chapter 1 Notes: Locating Places on the Earth

1. What is a map?

A map is a representation of the Earth's surface, or a part of it, on a flat surface. Maps help us locate places, identify directions and understand distances.

Important components of a map include direction, scale, symbols, colours and labels. Different maps may show political boundaries, physical features, roads or other information.

2. What is a globe?

A globe is a three-dimensional model of the Earth. It represents the Earth's overall shape and helps us understand the arrangement of continents and oceans. It also shows the Equator, poles, latitudes and longitudes.

A globe is useful for understanding the Earth's shape, while a flat map can show a smaller area in greater detail.

3. Equator and hemispheres

The Equator is an imaginary circle at 0° latitude. It divides Earth into two halves:

• Northern Hemisphere: The half north of the Equator.

• Southern Hemisphere: The half south of the Equator.

4. Parallels of latitude

Latitudes are imaginary circles that run east–west around the Earth. They tell us how far north or south a place is from the Equator.

Important parallels include:

• Equator: 0°

• Tropic of Cancer: 23½°N

• Tropic of Capricorn: 23½°S

• Arctic Circle: 66½°N

• Antarctic Circle: 66½°S

• North Pole: 90°N

• South Pole: 90°S

The Equator is the longest parallel. Other parallels become shorter towards the poles.

5. Heat zones of the Earth

Earth's surface is commonly divided into three major heat zones based on the distribution of sunlight.

Torrid Zone: This zone lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. It receives relatively direct sunlight during the year.

Temperate Zones: These lie between the tropics and the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. Sunlight generally reaches these areas at a lower angle than in the Torrid Zone.

Frigid Zones: These lie between the Arctic Circle and the North Pole in the north, and between the Antarctic Circle and the South Pole in the south. The Sun's rays are highly slanting, and temperatures are generally low.

6. Meridians of longitude

Longitudes are imaginary lines that run from the North Pole to the South Pole. They indicate how far east or west a place lies from the Prime Meridian.

The Prime Meridian is 0° longitude and passes through Greenwich. Longitudes are measured up to 180° east and 180° west.

7. What are geographical coordinates?

Geographical coordinates combine latitude and longitude to identify a location on Earth.

Latitude tells us the position north or south of the Equator. Longitude tells us the position east or west of the Prime Meridian. Together, these measurements help us locate places more precisely than directions alone.

8. Longitude and time

The Earth completes one rotation of 360° in approximately 24 hours.

• 360° ÷ 24 = 15° per hour

• 15° of longitude corresponds to approximately 1 hour.

• 1° of longitude corresponds to approximately 4 minutes.

Places to the east generally experience local noon earlier than places to the west because the Earth rotates from west to east.

9. Local time

Local time is based on the Sun's position at a particular place. Since places at different longitudes face the Sun at different times, their local times can differ.

10. Standard time and Indian Standard Time

Following a separate local time for every location would be inconvenient for transport, communication and administration. Countries therefore adopt a standard time for a wider region.

India follows Indian Standard Time (IST), based on the Standard Meridian at 82½°E longitude. This provides one official clock time throughout the country.

Class 6 SST Chapter 1 Extra Questions and Answers

1. What is the Equator?

The Equator is an imaginary circle at 0° latitude that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

2. What is the Prime Meridian?

The Prime Meridian is the line of 0° longitude passing through Greenwich. It is the reference for measuring longitude east and west.

3. What is the difference between latitude and longitude?

Latitude measures how far north or south a place is from the Equator. Longitude measures how far east or west it is from the Prime Meridian.

4. Why are symbols used on maps?

Symbols represent geographical features in a simple, compact form. They help people read and understand maps quickly.

5. What is the Standard Meridian of India?

India's Standard Meridian is 82½°E longitude. Indian Standard Time is based on it.

6. Why does local time vary at different longitudes?

The Earth rotates from west to east, so different longitudes face the Sun at different times. This causes local solar time to vary.

7. How long does the Earth take to rotate through 15°?

It takes approximately one hour.

8. How many minutes correspond to 1° of longitude?

One degree of longitude corresponds to approximately four minutes of time because 15° corresponds to one hour.

9. Name the three main heat zones.

The Torrid Zone, Temperate Zones and Frigid Zones.

10. Why are equatorial regions generally warmer than polar regions?

Equatorial regions receive more direct sunlight during the year. Near the poles, the Sun's rays reach the surface at a lower angle and spread over a larger area.

Locating Places on the Earth Class 6 Short Question Answers

What is a globe? A globe is a three-dimensional model of the Earth.

What is 0° latitude called? The Equator.

What is 0° longitude called? The Prime Meridian.

What is 90°N? The North Pole.

What is 90°S? The South Pole.

What does IST stand for? Indian Standard Time.

What is the Standard Meridian of India? 82½°E longitude.

How much time does 15° of longitude represent? Approximately one hour.

How much time does 1° of longitude represent? Approximately four minutes.

Which zone lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn? The Torrid Zone.

Class 6 Social Science Chapter 1 Worksheet

Practise the following questions to check your understanding of the chapter.

A. Fill in the blanks

1. The Equator is located at ______ latitude.

2. The Prime Meridian is located at ______ longitude.

3. The Earth rotates through 15° in approximately ______ hour.

4. India's Standard Meridian is ______°E.

5. A ______ is a three-dimensional model of the Earth.

B. State whether the statements are true or false

1. The Equator is the longest parallel of latitude.

2. All lines of longitude are parallel to one another.

3. IST is based on 82½°E longitude.

4. Local time is related to longitude.

5. The North Pole is located at 90°N.

C. Answer key

Fill in the blanks:

1. 0°

2. 0°

3. 1

4. 82½

5. Globe

True or false:

1. True

2. False

3. True

4. True

5. True