Journey To The End of the Earth-Important MCQs

According to Tishani Doshi in her lesson Journey to the end of the Earth, there is a lot to be learned from a study of the Antarctic Continent. What can be learned can itself be divided into three parts:
1. The past: including the formation of the continents, the flora and fauna of the past, and the climate patterns that existed in the past.
2. The present: we can see how human industrial activity, burning of fossil fuels is impacting the planet Earth
3. The future: we can predict what the future annual global mean temperature will be like.

The past

A study of the Antarctic continent will reveal how the continents were formed, how a giant supercontinent called Gondwanaland once existed. We can also learn about how our Earth was formed by studying the rock formations in the Continent, the significance of Cordilleran folds and pre-Cambrian granite shields. The study will also reveal much about the flora and fauna that existed in the past. A study of the ice-core samples will reveal much about the amount of carbon dioxide that existed in the atmosphere in the past which in turn reveal how hot it was in the past. They say that greater levels of carbon dioxide indicate higher global temperature.

The present

Antarctica can also tell us about how healthy the planet is in the present time. We can learn about the impact of industries and fossil fuels on the planet. The impact of climate change is leading to the melting of ice and this can be seen more clearly in the Arctic and Antarctic continents. The impact of climate change on the ecology can be studied through its impact on phytoplankton that nourishes the "entire Southern Ocean's food chain." Phytoplankton is highly sensitive to climate change. An increase in a few degrees of temperature is enough to wipe out the Phytoplankton resulting in a collapse in the food chain.

The future

Studying the Antarctic continent can help us learn more about the future of our planet. A study of the ice-core samples and their carbon content can tell us how hot it was in the past and how much hotter it will be in the future. Data analysis of temperature patterns in past and as revealed by the carbon dioxide contained in the ice-core samples could help predict and project future climate patterns. Melting of ice would lead to an opening of Drake's passage, which in turn would lead to a disruption of the Gulf Stream. This in itself would have a catastrophic impact on the planet's climate. According to Tishani, "for humans, the prognosis isn't good."

Some important Multiple Choice Questions

Extract-based Questions

1. It is like walking into a giant ping-pong ball devoid of any human markers – no trees, billboards, buildings. You lose all earthly sense of perspective and time here. The visual scale ranges from the microscopic to the mighty: midges and mites to blue whales and icebergs as big as countries. Days go on and on and on in surreal 24-hour austral summer light, and a ubiquitous silence, interrupted only by the occasional avalanche or calving ice sheet, consecrates the place.

1. Select the option that is similar to the meaning of the word ‘consecrates’ used as per the extract.

    a) The whole building is surrounded by darkness and a sense of gloom.

    b) A silence descended on the gathering, filling them with fear.

    c) A prayer was said to sanctify the building.

    d) A song was sung in order change the mood of the people gathered.

2. Give one reason why the writing style of the extract can be called that of a travelogue.

3. Which of the following options best describes how Tishani feels in the extract?

    a) poignant

    b) sad

    c) upset

    d) bewildered

4. Why does one lose earthly sense of perspective and time while visiting Antarctica?

    a) One is dazzled by the bright light of the sun reflected by the snow and strong light.

    b) One’s sense of perspective is disrupted by the lack of human markers.

    c) Daylight lasts twenty-four hours, and there is no light.

    d) both a) and b) are correct

    e) both b) and c) are correct

2. Antarctica, because of its simple ecosystem and lack of biodiversity, is the perfect place to study how little changes in the environment can have big repercussions. Take the microscopic phytoplankton – those grasses of the sea that nourish and sustain the entire Southern Ocean’s food chain. These single-celled plants use the sun’s energy to assimilate carbon and synthesize organic compounds in that wondrous and most important of processes called photosynthesis. Scientists warn that a further depletion in the ozone layer will affect the activities of phytoplankton, which in turn will affect the lives of marine animals and birds of the region, and the global carbon cycle.

1. Why is Antarctica the perfect place to study the impact of climate change?

  2. How is the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon affected by a depletion in the Ozone layer?

   a) Phytoplankton are affected by ultraviolet rays, thus reducing their ability to absorb carbon.

   b) A warmer ocean cannot absorb carbon from the atmosphere.

   c) Ultraviolet rays affect the ability of the ocean to absorb carbon.

   d) A warmer ocean tends to release methane gas from its depths.

 3. According to the extract, the Southern Ocean’s food chain is dependent on the abundance of which 

    organism listed below:

    a) seals

    b) whales

    c) fish

    d) phytoplankton

4. State whether the following statement is TRUE or FALSE:

     Photosynthesis is a process that helps in the absorption of Carbon from the atmosphere.

3. Antarctica…is a crucial element in this debate – not just because it’s the only place in the world which has never sustained a human population and therefore remains relatively ‘pristine’ in this respect; but more importantly, because it holds in its ice-cores half-million-year old carbon records trapped in its layers of ice. If we want to study and examine the Earth’s past, present and future, Antarctica is the place.

1. Identify a suitable title for the above extract from those listed below.

    a) Antarctica is a time capsule

    b) Antarctica is a tourist destination

    c) Antarctica is a pristine destination

    d) Travels of Tishani Doshi

2. Choose the correct relationship between the below-mentioned Statement and Inference.

     1) Antarctica has never been inhabited by human beings.

     2) Antarctica is uncontaminated and pure, so the earth’s past, present and future can be studied 

         from it.

     a) 1) is correct, but 2) cannot be inferred.

     b) 1) is incorrect, but 2) can be inferred.

     c) 1) is a correct statement and 2) can be inferred from it.

     d) None of the above statements is correct.

Important Short Answer-type Questions

Short answer type questions to be answered in 40-50 words, 2 marks

1. Why did Geof Green decide to take high-school children to Antarctica?

2. What can we learn about the formation of our planet by studying Antarctica?

3. What is Students on Ice?

4. Who is Tishani Doshi?

5. How has human industrial activity impacted the ecosystem?

6. What is the parable of the Phytoplankton?