ICSE Class 10 Geography Syllabus

Geography syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Geography in ICSE Class 10, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Total Geography Class 10

   12 topics

   • Map Work
   • Data Interpretation
   • Topographical Maps
   • Climate
   • Soils in India
   • Natural Vegetation
   • Water Resources
   • Mineral Resources
   • Agriculture
   • Industries
   • Transport
   • Waste Management

Geography flashcards for ICSE Class 10

25 of 54 cards from the Geography deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. On a topographical map, what is the 'contour interval'?

   The constant vertical difference in height between two consecutive contour lines (20 metres on ICSE Survey of India sheets).

2. How is the R.F. of an Indian topo sheet (1:50,000) interpreted?

   1 unit on the map represents 50,000 of the same units on the ground, i.e. 2 cm on the map = 1 km on the ground.

3. How do you calculate actual ground distance from a measured map distance on a 1:50,000 topo sheet?

   Ground distance = Map distance x 50,000 (e.g., 4 cm x 50,000 = 200,000 cm = 2 km).

4. What is a six-figure grid reference and in what order is it read?

   A precise point location read as Eastings first (3 figures), then Northings (3 figures) - Eastings before Northings.

5. On Survey of India topo sheets, what features do black, blue, green, brown and yellow represent?

   Black = man-made features/names; Blue = water bodies; Green = vegetation/forests; Brown = relief/contours; Yellow = cultivated land.

6. How are seasonal (non-perennial) streams shown on a topo sheet, and what do they indicate about climate?

   As broken/dotted blue lines; they indicate a seasonal climate where streams flow only during the rains and dry up otherwise.

7. What does a triangulation station symbol on a topo sheet indicate?

   A surveyed reference point of known, accurately measured height used as a benchmark for elevation.

8. How do you find the actual area of a region on a 1:50,000 topo sheet measured in grid squares?

   Each grid square = 1 km x 1 km = 1 sq km; count full and half squares and add them to get area in square kilometres.

9. On a topo sheet, what does closely-spaced contour lines indicate versus widely-spaced contours?

   Closely-spaced contours indicate a steep slope; widely-spaced contours indicate a gentle slope.

10. What is the difference between a 'metalled' and an 'unmetalled' road on a topo sheet?

    A metalled (pucca) road is a surfaced all-weather road; an unmetalled (kachha) road or cart track is unsurfaced and used mainly in the dry season.

11. What is meant by 'data interpretation' of climatic data (temperature and rainfall)?

    Reading and analysing tables/graphs of monthly temperature and rainfall to determine annual range, total rainfall, seasons and the type of climate.

12. How is the 'annual range of temperature' calculated from a climate data table?

    Annual range = highest mean monthly temperature minus the lowest mean monthly temperature.

13. From climate data, how can you tell a station is in the Northern Hemisphere?

    The hottest months are May-June and temperatures fall in December-January (winter), so highest temperatures occur in the middle of the year.

14. What type of climate does India broadly experience and why?

    A tropical monsoon climate, governed by the seasonal reversal of monsoon winds.

15. Why does Mumbai have a smaller annual range of temperature than Delhi?

    Mumbai is coastal and moderated by the sea (maritime influence); Delhi is inland with a continental climate giving extreme summers and winters.

16. What causes the 'October Heat' (Kartik mas) in northern India?

    High temperature combined with high humidity in October as the SW monsoon retreats, before the cool dry season sets in.

17. Name the four main seasons of the Indian monsoon climate.

    Cold weather (winter), hot weather (summer), advancing/SW monsoon (rainy), and retreating monsoon (post-monsoon).

18. Why does Tamil Nadu (Coromandel coast) receive most of its rainfall in winter?

    It is watered by the retreating/north-east monsoon (Oct-Dec), which picks up moisture from the Bay of Bengal.

19. What are 'mango showers' and where do they occur?

    Pre-monsoon thunderstorm showers in April-May in Karnataka and Kerala that help ripen mangoes.

20. Why does the windward (western) side of the Western Ghats receive far more rainfall than the leeward side?

    Moist SW monsoon winds rise over the Ghats and give heavy orographic rainfall on the windward side, leaving the leeward side a dry rain-shadow area.

21. What is alluvial soil and why is it the most important soil in India?

    Soil deposited by rivers in floodplains and deltas; it is very fertile, rich in potash and lime, and covers the densely-farmed northern plains.

22. Distinguish between khadar and bhangar alluvial soils.

    Khadar is new, light-coloured, fertile alluvium renewed by floods each year; bhangar is older, darker, higher alluvium often containing kankar (lime nodules).

23. Why is black soil (regur) ideal for growing cotton?

    It is moisture-retentive, rich in lime, iron, magnesia and alumina, and made of weathered lava; it is also called black cotton soil.

24. Why is red soil red, and what is its main limitation?

    Red from iron oxide in weathered crystalline rocks; it is low in nitrogen, phosphorus and humus, so needs fertilisers/irrigation for good yields.

25. What conditions form laterite soil and what is it used for?

    Formed by intense leaching in high-rainfall, high-temperature tropical areas; poor in fertility but used as building bricks and for tea, coffee and cashew.

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