Minerals can be identified on the following basis:
(i) Physical Properties :
1.Density
2.Colour
3. Hardness 2
(ii) Chemical Properties:
1. Solubility

Old folk songs, Good weather, A good singing voice, grandmother's home remedies, Affection from friends and family.

Yes,we can bring down this use by avoiding wastage and by being rational and judicious.
Some ways to bring down this amount are are as follows:
(i) We can use half drunk water, and also the water which is left after washing vegetables for gardening purpose. It will automatically reduce the amount of water for gardening use.
(ii) We can put a two litre water bottle in the flush tank to reduce the water level in it. So that we can reduce water consumption during every single flush.
(iii) Do not use dishwasher because it consumes much water during washing utensils.

Minerals are used in various fields like:
(i) Iron ore is used for manufacturing of machines, agricultural implements and items of general use.
(ii) Copper is another metal used in everything from coins to pipes.
(iii) Silicon, used in the computer industry is obtained from quartz.
(iv) Aluminum obtained from its ore bauxite is used in automobiles and aeroplanes, and bottling industry, buildings and even in kitchen cookware.
(v) Mica is used in electrical and electronic industries.

The main factors responsible for soil degradation are:
(i) Landslides: It involves large-scale displacement of soil and rocks from the hilly areas, leading to soil degradation in mountainous regions.
(ii) Rain wash: It includes washing up of the topsoil in the areas of high precipitation.
(iii)Floods : Floods are another most important cause responsible for the soil degradation in terms of quantity as well as quality.
(iv) Deforestation : Large-scale forest destruction by man to fulfill their own needs is one of the major causes responsible for soil destruction.
(v) Overgrazing : It reduces the usefulness of the land and is one of the causes of desertification and erosion.
(vi) Overuse of chemicals : Excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides to increase the agricultural production is one of the major causes for soil pollution.
(vii) Urbanization : Large-scale urbanization is the major cause for the destruction of fertile soil due to encroachment of the fertile areas.

(i) The resource here is water.
(ii) Water is an important resource as it is not only necessary for our daily work, but also needed to produce electricity. The life of other living beings also depends on it.
If this resource disappears from the earth, then we will face the following problems:
(a) All life will disappear from earth.
(b) No plants and trees will grow in the absence of water.
(c) All the vegetation would dry up.
(d) Allthe animals and human beings are dependent on plants for oxygen and food. So they will not get any food and the level of carbon dioxide will increase in atmosphere, hence animals and human beings would die.
(e) All the human activities would come to an end.
(f) No industry would exist on the surface of the earth.
(g) The earth would completely dry up and get scorched.

(i) Oceania has the lowest share of population
(ii) Europe has about 12%of the world population.
(iii) Asia and Africa have the greatest percentage of population.
(iv) Oceania and North America are the two continents that have the lowest share of population.
(v) Asia alone supports about 61% of the world's population.

Land use patterns change over years due to:
(i) Increase in population leading to increase in demand for land for agriculture, transport, housing complexes, industries and so on.
(ii) Change in occupation from primary to tertiary, quaternary activities.

Bad effects of population explosion on our society are:
(i) A pressure upon resources as there are more people and their quick depletion.
(ii) An increased number of poverty-stricken individuals as little food is distributed among more people, then starvation. malnutrition or poor diet with ill health and diet-deficiency diseases would increase.
(iii) Loss of natural environment (forests and such) and loss of ecosystems because they are destroyed to make way for farming and urban developments to accommodate the rising population.
(iv) Irreversible loss of arable land and increase in desertification.
Population pyramid is also called the age-sex pyramid. Population pyramid shows:
(i) The total population which is divided into various age groups. For example 5 to 9 years, 10 to 14 years.
(ii) The percentage of the total population, subdivided into males and females, in each of those groups.
(iii) The numbers of children (below 15 years) are shown at the bottom and reflect the level of births.
(iv) The size of the top shows the numbers of aged people (above 65 years) and reflects the number of deaths.

The advantages of coal are:
(i) It is abundantly available in the earth.
(ii) It is one of the most primitive source of energy. 
The disadvantages of coal are:
(i) The transportation cost of coal is very high.
(ii) It is one of the most polluting fuel as it produces lots of smoke when burnt and is responsible for global warming.

Water is used for irrigating the fields. Due to illiterate and ignorant farmers, lot of water is wasted.
As a result, some new approaches have been introduced, such as :
(i) Lining of the canal to minirnise water losses through seepage.
(ii) Use of sprinklers to irrigate the field and to control loss of water evaporation.
(iii) Drip or trickle irrigation to be practised in dry areas.

Generally, Natural resources are categorised into Renewable and Non-renewable resources.
(i)The resources which get renewed or replenished quickly are called Renewable Resources. Some of them are unlimited and are not affected by human activities. For example, Solar and Wind energy. 
(ii)Resources which have limited stock and take millions of years to get renewed are known as Nonrenewable Resources.
For example, Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas.

The major food crops of the world are Wheat, Rice, Maize, and Millets.
The climatic conditions required for their growth are:
(i) Rice grows best in alluvial clayey soil, which can retain water. It also needs high temperature, high humidity, and rainfall.
(ii) Wheat grows best in well-drained loamy soil. It requires moderate temperature and rainfall during growing season and bright sunshine at the time of harvest.
(iii) Maize requires well-drained fertile soils. It also requires moderate temperature, rainfall and lot of sunshine.
(iv) Jowar, Bajra, and Ragi are called millets. They are also known as coarse grains. They can grow on less fertile and sandy soils. They need low rainfall and high to moderate temperature.

(i) A country that has high birth rate and high death rate will have a population pyramid that is broad at the base and rapidly narrows towards the top.
(ii) This is because although a large number of children are born, a large percentage of them die in their infancy, few become adult and very few reach the old age.
(iii) For example, Kenya has a high birth rate, as well as a high death rate.

Poaching of animals for collection and illegal trade of hides, skins, nails, teeth, horns; change of climate and human interference are the main reasons behind this.

Three important methods of water conservation are:
(i) To slow down the rate of surface run-off, we must grow plants and vegetation.
(ii) We must promote rainwater harvesting technique to collect the rain water.
(iii) In agriculture, sprinkle or drip irrigation methods must be used.

The distribution of natural resources depends upon a number of physical factors like terrain, climate and altitude, which is varied, so the distribution of resources is unequal all over the earth.

Resource conservation refers to the balanced and careful use of the resources in order to give them time to get renewed.

Green revolution refers to that tremendous increase in agricultural production, which was possible due to the adoption of new agricultural strategy.

India has eight industrial regions and they are:
(i) Mumbai-Pune Region: It extends from Thane to Pune and the adjoining districts of Nasik and Sholapur.
(ii) Hugli Region: It extends from Bansbaria in the north to Birlanagar in the south.
(iii) Bangalore- Tamil Nadu Region: It extends from Banglore to all parts of Tamil Nadu except Villupuram.
(iv) Gujarat Region: It lies between Ahmedabad and Vadodara in the south to Jamnagar in the west.
(v) Chhotanagpur Region: It extends over Jharkhand, northern Odisha and western West Bengal.
(vi) Vishakhapatnam-Guntur Region: It extends from Vishakhapatnam district to Kurnool and Prakasam district in the south.
(vii) Gurgaon-Delhi-Merrut Region: It includes Gurgaon, Delhi, Shahadara, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Modinagar, Ambala, Agra and Mathura.
(viii) Kollam- Thiruvananthapuram Region: It is spread over Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alwaye, Ernakulam, and Alappuzha districts.