Minerals and Energy Resources · Class 10 Geography: 100 flashcards
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1. Define a mineral.
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A homogenous, naturally occurring substance with a definable internal structure.
2. Why are minerals so varied, from diamond to talc?
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Because the mineral formed from a combination of elements depends on the physical and chemical conditions under which it forms, giving different colours, hardness, crystal forms, lustre and density.
3. How does a geographer's interest in minerals differ from a geologist's?
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A geographer studies minerals as part of the earth's crust, their distribution and the economic activities around them; a geologist studies their formation, age and physical and chemical composition.
4. What are the three main groups in the classification of minerals?
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Metallic, non-metallic and energy minerals.
5. Distinguish ferrous from non-ferrous minerals.
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Ferrous minerals contain iron, such as iron ore, manganese, nickel and cobalt; non-ferrous minerals, such as copper, lead, tin and bauxite, do not.
6. Name three precious minerals.
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Gold, silver and platinum.
7. Name three energy minerals.
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Coal, petroleum and natural gas.
8. What is an ore?
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An accumulation of any mineral mixed with other elements, with the mineral in sufficient concentration to make extraction commercially viable.
9. Why does the type of formation matter?
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It determines the relative ease with which ores may be mined, and therefore the cost of extraction.
10. How are minerals formed in igneous and metamorphic rocks?
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Minerals in liquid, molten or gaseous form are forced upward through cavities towards the surface and cool and solidify as they rise, occurring in cracks, crevices, faults or joints as veins and lodes.
11. What is the difference between veins and lodes?
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Both are mineral occurrences in cracks and faults of igneous and metamorphic rocks; the smaller occurrences are veins and the larger are lodes.
12. Which minerals are obtained from veins and lodes?
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Major metallic minerals such as tin, copper, zinc and lead.
13. Which minerals occur in beds or layers of sedimentary rock?
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Coal and some forms of iron ore, concentrated under heat and pressure; and gypsum, potash salt and sodium salt, formed by evaporation.
14. Which mineral is formed by decomposition of surface rocks, leaving a residual mass?
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Bauxite.
15. What are placer deposits, and which minerals do they contain?
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Alluvial deposits in the sands of valley floors and the base of hills, containing minerals not corroded by water — gold, silver, tin and platinum.
16. Which minerals are largely derived from ocean waters?
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Common salt, magnesium and bromine; the ocean beds are also rich in manganese nodules.
17. What is rat-hole mining, and where is it done?
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Coal mining by family members through a long narrow tunnel, done in Jowai and Cherapunjee in Meghalaya; the National Green Tribunal has declared it illegal.
18. Why can minerals be owned privately in parts of the north-east?
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Because although most minerals in India are nationalised, in most tribal areas of the north-east minerals are owned by individuals or communities.
19. Which part of India is almost devoid of economic minerals?
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The vast alluvial plains of north India.
20. What three factors decide whether a mineral deposit becomes a mine?
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How rich the ore is in the mineral, how easily it can be extracted, and the closeness to the market.
21. What share of the value of metallic mineral production do ferrous minerals account for?
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About three-fourths.
22. Why is iron ore called the backbone of industrial development?
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Because it is the basic mineral on which steel and metallurgical industries depend.
23. What is the finest iron ore, and how much iron does it contain?
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Magnetite, with up to 70 per cent iron.
24. Why is magnetite valuable in the electrical industry?
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Because of its excellent magnetic qualities.
25. Which iron ore is most important industrially, and why?
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Hematite, because it is used in the greatest quantity, though its iron content is slightly lower at 50 to 60 per cent.
26. Which four states produced 97 per cent of India's iron ore in 2018-19?
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Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Jharkhand.
27. Name the four iron ore belts.
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Odisha-Jharkhand; Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur; Ballari-Chitradurga-Chikkamagaluru-Tumakuru; and Maharashtra-Goa.
28. Where are the Badampahar mines, and what do they yield?
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In the Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar districts of Odisha; they yield high grade hematite.
29. Where is haematite mined in Jharkhand?
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At Gua and Noamundi, in Singbhum district.
30. What is special about the Bailadila hills?
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They hold 14 deposits of super high grade hematite with the best physical properties for steel making, in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh.
31. Where is Bailadila ore exported, and through which port?
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To Japan and South Korea, via Vishakhapatnam port.
32. Why is Kudremukh notable?
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Its mines in Karnataka's Western Ghats export their entire output, and its deposits are among the largest in the world.
33. How does Kudremukh ore reach the coast?
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As slurry through a pipeline to a port near Mangaluru.
34. Describe the Maharashtra-Goa belt.
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It includes Goa and the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra; its ores are not of very high quality but are efficiently exploited and exported through Marmagao port.
35. What are the main uses of manganese?
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Manufacturing steel and ferro-manganese alloy, and also bleaching powder, insecticides and paints.
36. How much manganese is needed for one tonne of steel?
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Nearly 10 kg.
37. Which state led manganese production in 2018-19?
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Madhya Pradesh, with 33 per cent, followed by Maharashtra with 27 per cent.
38. Name the five iron ore mines prescribed for map work.
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Mayurbhanj, Durg, Bailadila, Bellary and Kudremukh.
39. The syllabus says Bellary; the book says Ballari. Are they different?
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No — they are the same place in Karnataka, spelt two ways.
40. What do the names Kudremukh and Bailadila mean?
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'Kudre' means horse in Kannada, as the peak looks like a horse's face; the Bailadila hills look like the hump of an ox.
41. How does the chapter describe India's position in non-ferrous minerals?
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Its reserves and production are not very satisfactory, though these minerals are vital to metallurgical, engineering and electrical industries.
42. What is India's position in copper?
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India is critically deficient in the reserve and production of copper.
43. Why is copper used in electrical cables?
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Because it is malleable, ductile and a good conductor.
44. Name the leading producers of copper.
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The Balaghat mines in Madhya Pradesh, the Khetri mines in Rajasthan and the Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.
45. What is obtained from bauxite?
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Alumina, and then aluminium.
46. How are bauxite deposits formed?
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When a broad range of rocks rich in aluminium silicates breaks down.
47. Why is aluminium an important metal?
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It pairs the strength of metals like iron with great lightness, good conductivity and great malleability.
48. Where are India's bauxite deposits mainly found?
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In the Amarkantak plateau, the Maikal hills and the plateau region of Bilaspur-Katni.
49. Which state was the largest bauxite producer in 2018-19, and which deposits matter most there?
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Odisha, with 65 per cent; the Panchpatmali deposits in Koraput district.
50. What is mica made of, and how thin can it be split?
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A series of plates or leaves; the sheets can be so thin that a thousand make a layer only a few centimetres high.
51. Why is mica indispensable in electric and electronic industries?
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Its di-electric strength is excellent, it loses very little power, it insulates well and it stands up to high voltage.
52. Which is the leading mica-producing belt?
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The Koderma-Gaya-Hazaribagh belt of Jharkhand.
53. Name two other mica-producing areas.
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The area around Ajmer in Rajasthan, and the Nellore mica belt of Andhra Pradesh.
54. With which rocks is limestone found?
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With rocks composed of calcium carbonates or calcium and magnesium carbonates, in sedimentary rocks of most geological formations.
55. What are the two main uses of limestone?
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Cement cannot be made without it, and no blast furnace smelts iron ore without it either.
56. How does mining harm miners' health?
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Dust and noxious fumes they inhale make them vulnerable to pulmonary diseases.
57. What physical dangers do miners face?
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Collapsing mine roofs, inundation and fires in coal mines.
58. How does mining harm the environment?
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It contaminates water sources, and dumping of waste and slurry degrades land and soil and increases stream and river pollution.
59. Why are minerals called finite and non-renewable?
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Because they took millions of years to form, and their replenishment is infinitely small compared with present consumption.
60. Name four ways of conserving minerals.
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Improved technology to use low grade ores at low cost, recycling of metals, using scrap metals, and using substitutes.
61. Name the conventional sources of energy.
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Firewood and cattle dung cake; coal, petroleum and natural gas; and electricity, whether hydel or thermal.
62. Name the non-conventional sources of energy.
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Solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, biogas and atomic energy.
63. What share of rural household energy comes from firewood and dung cake?
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More than 70 per cent.
64. Why is burning dung cake discouraged?
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Because it consumes the most valuable manure, which could be used in agriculture.
65. What is India's most abundantly available fossil fuel?
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Coal.
66. What decides the form of coal?
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The degree of compression, and the depth and time of burial.
67. Describe peat.
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Produced by decaying plants in swamps; low carbon, high moisture content and low heating capacity.
68. What is lignite, and where are its principal reserves?
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A low grade brown coal, soft with high moisture; principal reserves at Neyveli in Tamil Nadu, used to generate electricity.
69. Which coal is most popular in commercial use?
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Bituminous coal.
70. What is metallurgical coal?
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High grade bituminous coal with special value for smelting iron in blast furnaces.
71. Which is the highest quality hard coal?
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Anthracite.
72. Where is Gondwana coal found, and how old is it?
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A little over 200 million years old; mainly in the Damodar valley (Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro) and the Godavari, Mahanadi, Son and Wardha valleys.
73. Where is tertiary coal found, and how old is it?
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About 55 million years old; in Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
74. Why are heavy industries located near coalfields?
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Coal is bulky and loses weight on use as it is reduced to ash.
75. Why are petroleum refineries called a nodal industry?
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Because synthetic textile, fertiliser and numerous chemical industries depend on them for raw materials.
76. How is petroleum trapped in an anticline?
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In the crest of the upfold, in porous limestone or sandstone, held by non-porous layers above and below; gas lies above the oil.
77. Which is the oldest oil-producing state, and what are its important fields?
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Assam; Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran-Hugrijan.
78. What was the HVJ pipeline?
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The first 1,700 km Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur cross-country gas pipeline by GAIL, linking Mumbai High and Bassein gas fields with fertiliser, power and industrial complexes in western and northern India.
79. Distinguish hydel from thermal electricity.
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Hydel uses fast flowing water, a renewable resource; thermal burns coal, petroleum and natural gas, which are non-renewable fossil fuels.
80. Name the three prescribed thermal power plants and their states.
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Namrup in Assam, Singrauli on the Madhya Pradesh-Uttar Pradesh border, and Ramagundam in Telangana.
81. Why does India need non-conventional energy sources?
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Rising oil and gas prices and potential shortages threaten energy security and the economy, and fossil fuels cause serious environmental problems.
82. How is nuclear energy obtained?
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By altering the structure of atoms, which releases heat that is used to generate electricity.
83. Where are uranium and thorium found in India?
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In Jharkhand and the Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan; the monazite sands of Kerala are rich in thorium.
84. Which mineral is contained in the monazite sand?
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Thorium.
85. Name the four prescribed nuclear power stations and their states.
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Narora (Uttar Pradesh), Kakrapara (Gujarat), Tarapur (Maharashtra) and Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu).
86. Why does India have enormous possibilities for solar energy?
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Because it is a tropical country.
87. What does photovoltaic technology do?
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It converts sunlight directly into electricity.
88. How will big solar plants help rural India?
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They will reduce dependence on firewood and dung cakes, helping environmental conservation and leaving adequate manure for agriculture.
89. Where is India's largest wind farm cluster?
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In Tamil Nadu, from Nagarcoil to Madurai.
90. Which two places are known for effective use of wind energy?
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Nagarcoil and Jaisalmer.
91. What materials are used to produce biogas?
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Shrubs, farm waste, and animal and human waste.
92. How does biogas compare with kerosene, dung cake and charcoal?
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It has higher thermal efficiency than all three.
93. What are the twin benefits of a gobar gas plant?
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Energy, and improved quality of manure.
94. How is tidal energy generated?
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Floodgate dams trap water in an inlet at high tide; when the tide falls, the water flows back to the sea through a pipe and a power-generating turbine.
95. Name the places ideal for tidal energy in India.
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The Gulf of Khambhat and the Gulf of Kuchchh in Gujarat, and the Gangetic delta in the Sunderban region of West Bengal.
96. What is geothermal energy?
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Heat and electricity produced using the heat of the earth's interior.
97. Where are India's two experimental geothermal projects?
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In the Parvati valley near Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh, and in the Puga Valley in Ladakh.
98. What are the twin planks of sustainable energy?
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Promotion of energy conservation, and increased use of renewable energy sources.
99. How does the chapter rate India's energy efficiency?
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It sits among the world’s worst performers on energy efficiency at the moment.
100. Name four ways citizens can conserve energy.
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Use public transport, switch off electricity when not in use, use power-saving devices, and use non-conventional sources of energy.
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