We have Provided the NCERT/CBSE Solutions chapter-wise for Class 12 English Vista Chapter 3 Journey to the End of the Earth with Answers by expert subject teacher for latest syllabus and examination. Students also can take a free NCERT Solutions of Journey to the End of the Earth. Each question has right answer Solved by Expert Teacher.
NCERT Solutions Class 12 English Flamingo Vista
Page No: 23
Reading with Insight
Q1. ‘The world’s geological history is trapped in Antarctica.’ How is the study of this region useful to us?
Answer: Geoff Green is a considerable Canadian explorer who aims at organising “Students on Ice” programme by taking high school students to the ends of the world. He thinks it most essential to provide the students with inspiring educational opportunities to know more about the Antarctica. Through this they will generate a new understanding and respect for our planet. Earlier Geoff Green had organized programme with celebrities and rich people which gave him back only in a limited way. Since the students are young minds and full of adventurous activities they can learn, act and absorb much by visiting the Antarctica. They can see through their own eyes glaciers retreating and ice-shelves collapsing. They can realise the future dangers, catastrophic effect of climatic changes and the global warming.
The Antarctica provides the young students a perfect place to study the varied changes occuring in the environment. These little changes can have significant consequences. The students can see those grasses of the sea that flourish, nourish and sustain the entire Sourthern Ocean’s food chain. Thus the programme provides a lively study of changes and the realities going on the Antarctica.
Q2. What are Geoff Green’s reasons for including high school students in the Students on Ice expedition?
Answer: Geoff Green is a considerable Canadian explorer who aims at organising “Students on Ice” programme by taking high school students to the ends of the world. He thinks it most essential to provide the students with inspiring educational opportunities to know more about the Antarctica. Through this they will generate a new understanding and respect for our planet. Earlier Geoff Green had organized programme with celebrities and rich people which gave him back only in a limited way. Since the students are young minds and full of adventurous activities they can learn, act and absorb much by visiting the Antarctica. They can see through their own eyes glaciers retreating and ice-shelves collapsing. They can realise the future dangers, catastrophic effect of climatic changes and the global warming.
The Antarctica provides the young students a perfect place to study the varied changes occuring in the environment. These little changes can have significant consequences. The students can see those grasses of the sea that flourish, nourish and sustain the entire Sourthern Ocean’s food chain. Thus the programme provides a lively study of changes and the realities going on the Antarctica.
Q3. ‘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: This statement is of great relevance to the Antarctic environment. A minor environmental change may give rise to dramatic developments. Small biodiversity of Antarctica. In this context, the example of small grass named phytoplankton can be studied. These microscopic grasses undergo the photosynthesis process and function as food for numbers of sea birds and animals. The author says that if the ozone layer is further depleted it will affect the phytoplanktons and the globe’s carbon cycle. The whole cycle will jeopardize the life of all aquatic birds and animals. Operably, the larger animals and birds will fall alone in the place. So if we take care that processes carried over by these small grasses are carried out properly, the bigger animals and birds will fall into the place on their own.
Q4. Why is Antarctica the place to go to, to understand the earth’s present, past and future?
Answer: The author presents a detailed account of his experiences about his visit to Antarctica. It has helped him in studying as well as understanding about the present, past and future of the earth. About 650 million years ago, there was a southern super-continent named Gondwana. India and the Antarctica were the parts of the same landmass. There was no life except huge variety of flora and fauna. According to him Antarctica is the only place on the earth that has never sustained human life and therefore, it is pure. It holds in it ice-core, half million year old carbon record and thus provides clues of our past, present and future. The complete absence of any evidence of human life made him feel that there had been no sense of human perspective.
On the Antarctica, he got an opportunity to walk on the frozen sea and he saw ice-berg, seals and miles of snow all round. He felt the grasp of knowing where we have come from and where we could possibly be heading. The study suggested our future possibilities. He felt the need of making changes in our present life style and practices. There is an urgent need to check on the rising of global temperature. Antarctica apprised him about the repercussions of environmental changes and the need of studying future climate changes. We must feel the need of maintaining the future world.
Extra Questions of Journey to the End of the Earth
Q1. How did the Antarctica amaze the writer when she first saw it?
Answer: The Antarctica is perhaps the coldest, and the driest continent. The writer felt wonder struck by its immensity, its isolation, its uninterrupted blue horizon. She was amazed as to how there was a time when India and Antarctica were part of the same landmass.
Q2. Why is it necessary to remain fully equipped while walking on ice?
Answer: While walking on ice, the troupe was fully kitted out in Gore-Tex (type of spiked boots that help in walking on ice) and glares. The spiked boots protect them from falling down on ice which might result in injury and the glares protect the eyes because the sunglasses can injure their eyes, particularly the ratina.
Q3. Why is a visit to Antarctica important to realise the effect of global warming?
Answer: Phytoplanktons are the grasses of the sea of the Southern Ocean. These are single celled plants and use the sun’s energy. With the process of photosynthesis, they supply food and oxygen for all the marine life of the sea. But the global warming can affect the activities of these plants and life of all the creatures depending on them. Global warming also causes the melting of the ice-bergs and collapsing of ice-shelves in this region.
Q4. What was the objective of the ‘Students on Ice’ programme?
Answer: The ‘Students on Ice’ programme aims to take high school students to the ends of the world. It provides them with inspiring educational opportunities which fosters in them a new understanding and respect for our planet. It offers the future generation of policy makers a life-changing experience at an age when they are ready to absorb, learn and act.
Q5. What are phytoplanktons? What is their importance?
Answer: Phytoplanktons, the grasses of the sea, are single-celled organisms living in the southern ocean. They nourish and sustain the entire ocean’s food chin, being first link in the food chain of ocean. Using sun’s energy, they assimilate carbon and synthesize organic compounds.
The diminishing number of these organisms due to the depletion of ozone layers affects other organisms of the ocean, finally leading to the extinction of life on earth.
Q6. What was the objective of the ‘Students of Ice Programme’.
Answer: Geoff Green is a Canadian explorer. He has started a programme of taking the young school students on Ice i.e. to the ends of the world. There they could get inspiring educational opportunities with the help of their experiences, they can develop a new understanding and respect for their own planet. As policy makers they can help save the planet from the present dangers.
Q7. ‘And for humans, the prognosis isn’t good’. Explain
Answer: The human civilisation has been around for a mere 12,000 years—barely a few seconds on the biological clock. Yet we have managed to etch our dominance over nature with concretisation, battling for limited resources, and unmitigated burning of fossil fuel. This has created a blanket of carbon dioxide around the world, which is increasing average global temperature.
Q8. The author says that her Antarctica experience was full of such epiphanies. What was that best epiphany that occurred there?
Answer: The Akademik Shokalskiy got wedged into a thick white sheet of ice. The captain decided to turn around and asked the passengers to walk on the ocean. Underneath their feet they saw 180 metres of living, breathing salt water. Crab eater seals were stretching and sunning themselves on ice floes much like stray dogs under a banyan tree. It was a great epiphany, a revelation.
Q9. What are the reasons for increasing the global temperature?
Answer: Human civilisation is just 12,000 years old. People have dominated over nature with villages, towns, cities and mega-cities. Human population has increased and there is the depletion of natural resources. The burning of fossil-fuels has created a blanket of carbon-dioxide around the world and the global temperature is on increase. The atmosphere is becoming polluted day by day. Thus our survival is in danger.
Q10. Why does Tishani Doshi describe her two weeks’ stay in Antarctica ‘a chilling prospect’?
Answer: Accustomed to the warm climate of South India, being in a place where ninety per cent of the earth’s total ice is stored was a chilling prospect literally and metaphorically. It affected her metabolic and circulatory systems as well as her imagination.
Q11. How is global temperature increasing? What are the immediate fears due to it?
Answer: Global temperature is increasing due to the increasing burning of fossil fuels. It has now created a blanket of carbon dioxide around the world. This has given birth to questions like: Will the West Antarctica ice sheet melt entirely? Will the Gulf Stream Ocean current be disrupted? Will it be the end of the world as we know of? It may be. It may not be.
Q12. What made the author visit Antarctica and how did he reach there?
Answer: The author boarded a Russian vessel “The Akademik Shokalskiy” along with some youth students to understand the planet earth. The journey began 13.09 degrees North of the Equator in Madras. The party had to travel over 100 hours in car, aeroplane and ship. Antarctica is the coldest, driest and windiest subcontinent in the world.
Q13. How is present day Antarctica different from Gondwana?
Answer: Gondwana was a giant amalgamated southern supercontinent. The climate was much warmer, hosting a huge variety of flora and fauna. Gondwana thrived for about 500 million years. Subsequently, when dinosaurs were wiped out and the age of mammals happened, the landmass separated into countries, shaping the globe as we know it today.
Q14. How, according to the author, has mankind etched its dominance over nature?
Answer: According to the author, though civilizations have been around for barely a few seconds on the geological clock, yet they have created a ruckus by their various activities like exploiting the limited resources and careless burning of fossil fuels. In the short span of existence on the earth, they have already created a blanket of carbon dioxide and increased the average global temperature.
Q15. What is that thing that can happen in a million years and would be mind-boggling?
Answer: The author says that in a million years India may push northwards, jamming against Asia. It will buckle its crust and form the Himalayas – South America may drift off to join North America. The Drake Passage may open up to create a cold circumpolar current. Antarctica may remain frigid, desolate and at the bottom of the world.
Q16. How does one lose all earthly sense of perspective and time in Antarctica?
Answer: Antarctica is very much unique as well as specific than other parts of the globe. It is completely devoid of human markers and more than 90 per cent of the earth’s total ice-volumes are stored on this sub-continent. In the beginning there was no life except flora and fauna. There are neither trees nor buildings. So we lose all earthly sense of perspective and time there. There is a day of 24 hours.
Q17. What can we see or visualise on sub-continent Antarctica?
Answer: The visual range in Antarctica varies from microscopic organisms to large organisms and great icebergs. Microscopic phyto-planktons to huge blue whales are found in Antarctica. Icebergs here are as big as a country. The largest ice-berg is the size of Belgium. Not much of the flora and fauna flourish in this land of ice.
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