Class 6 Social Science Important Questions Chapter 14

Economic Activities Around Us

Question 1. What are economic activities? How are they classified?

Answer: Economic activities are activities that create monetary value. They are classified into three sectors:

• Primary sector: Activities that involve direct use of natural resources, such as farming, mining, and fishing.
• Secondary sector: Activities that involve the transformation of raw materials into products, such as manufacturing and construction.
• Tertiary sector: Activities that provide services to support primary and secondary sectors, such as transportation, banking, and healthcare.

Question 2. What is the difference between the primary and secondary sectors? Give two examples.

Answer: Primary sector activities involve extracting raw materials directly from nature. Examples include farming and fishing.
Secondary sector activities involve processing these raw materials into finished products. Examples include textile manufacturing (turning cotton into clothes) and automobile production (converting steel into cars).

Question 3. How does the secondary sector depend on the tertiary sector? Illustrate with a few examples.

Answer: The secondary sector depends on the tertiary sector for essential services such as transportation, communication, and banking. For example:

• Factories need transportation services to move raw materials and finished products.
• They rely on communication services to coordinate with suppliers and customers.
• They need banking services to handle financial transactions and investments.

Question 4. Explain the concept of interdependence between the three sectors.

Answer: The three sectors are interdependent because:

• The primary sector provides raw materials.
• The secondary sector processes these raw materials into finished goods.
• The tertiary sector supports both by providing services like transportation, banking, and sales. For example, farmers (primary sector) grow crops, factories (secondary sector) process them into food products, and supermarkets (tertiary sector) sell them to consumers.

Question 5. What role does the tertiary sector play in economic activities? Give two examples.

Answer: The tertiary sector provides services that support the primary and secondary sectors. These services make production and distribution of goods easier. Examples include:

• Transportation: Trucks, trains, and ships that move raw materials and finished goods.
• Healthcare: Hospitals and clinics that provide medical services to workers in all sectors, helping maintain productivity.

Question 6. What is a cooperative, and how did it help the farmers in Anand district?

Answer: A cooperative is a group of people who voluntarily come together to meet their economic and social needs. In Anand district, farmers formed the Amul cooperative to sell milk directly, cutting out the middlemen. This helped them gain control over pricing, increase their income, and develop dairy products like butter and milk powder.

Question 7. Describe how the AMUL dairy cooperative is an example of the interdependence between sectors.

Answer: AMUL is an example of how the three sectors are interconnected:

• Primary sector: Farmers milk their cows (primary activity) and sell the milk to the cooperative.
• Secondary sector: The milk is processed into butter, cheese, and milk powder in factories (secondary activity).
• Tertiary sector: These products are transported and sold in markets and retail stores (tertiary activity).

Question 8. What are the benefits of recycling paper?

Answer: Recycling paper saves resources by:

• Saving 17 trees for every ton of paper recycled.
• Reducing landfill waste.
• Using 70% less energy and water compared to making new paper from wood pulp.

Question 9. What are some examples of primary, secondary, and tertiary activities mentioned in the chapter?

Answer:

• Primary activities: Agriculture, mining, fishing, forestry.
• Secondary activities: Manufacturing in factories, construction, processing of raw materials.
• Tertiary activities: Banking, healthcare, transportation, communication.

Question 10. What are the roles of middlemen in economic activities?

Answer: Middlemen are individuals who buy goods from producers and sell them to consumers. They charge a fee for their service. In the context of AMUL, middlemen bought milk from farmers at low prices and sold it at higher prices in the market. Farmers felt exploited by these middlemen, which led them to form the AMUL cooperative to bypass the middlemen.

Question 11. What are some examples of services provided by the tertiary sector?

Answer: Some examples of services provided by the tertiary sector include:

• Healthcare services: Doctors, nurses, and hospitals provide medical care.
• Banking services: Banks offer financial transactions, loans, and savings options.
• Transportation services: Buses, trucks, and trains help in moving goods and people from one place to another.
• Education services: Teachers and schools offer education to students.

Question 12. How does the process of converting raw materials into finished products work? Provide an example.

Answer: The process of converting raw materials into finished products involves taking resources from the primary sector and transforming them into goods in the secondary sector. For example:

• Cotton (raw material from the primary sector) is collected from farms.
• It is processed in a textile factory (secondary sector) to produce clothes.
• The clothes are then sold in shops, which is a tertiary sector activity.

Question 13. Explain the role of transportation in connecting the three economic sectors.

Answer: Transportation plays a critical role in connecting the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors by:

• Moving raw materials (e.g., crops, minerals) from farms or mines (primary sector) to factories (secondary sector).
• Transporting finished products from factories (secondary sector) to markets and retail stores (tertiary sector) for sale. This interconnection ensures the smooth flow of goods from production to consumption.

Question 14. How are the three economic sectors dependent on each other in the context of a village economy?

Answer: In a village economy:

• The primary sector involves activities like farming and livestock rearing.
• The secondary sector includes processing these agricultural products, like grinding wheat into flour or converting milk into butter.
• The tertiary sector provides transportation, healthcare, and retail services, ensuring that products reach consumers and that workers are healthy and able to work. The prosperity of the village depends on the cooperation and interdependence of these three sectors.

Question 15. What challenges did the farmers in Anand district face before forming the AMUL cooperative?

Answer: Before forming the AMUL cooperative, the farmers in Anand district faced the following challenges:

• Low prices: They had to sell their milk at low prices to middlemen.
• Spoilage: Milk would often spoil in the hot weather before it could be sold.
• Dependence on middlemen: The farmers had to rely on middlemen to sell their milk, and they often felt cheated by the unfair prices. The formation of the cooperative allowed them to sell their milk directly and earn fair prices.

Question 16. Describe the role of factories in the secondary sector. How do they contribute to the economy?

Answer: Factories in the secondary sector play a crucial role in processing raw materials from the primary sector into finished goods. They contribute to the economy by:

• Creating employment opportunities for workers.
• Adding value to raw materials, which increases their market value.
• Producing goods that can be sold domestically and internationally, contributing to the nation’s economic growth. For example, factories process steel from iron ore to manufacture automobiles, which are then sold to consumers.

Question 17. What is the importance of milk cooperatives like AMUL for farmers?

Answer: Milk cooperatives like AMUL are important for farmers because they:

• Provide a fair price: Farmers get better prices for their milk compared to what middlemen offered.
• Increase income: By selling directly through the cooperative, farmers can improve their livelihood.
• Empower communities: Farmers, including women, participate in the decision-making process, leading to community development.
• Promote self-reliance: Farmers control the production and sale of their milk, reducing their dependence on intermediaries.

Question 18. How do secondary sector activities help in transforming raw materials? Give examples.

Answer: Secondary sector activities transform raw materials into useful products by processing them. Examples include:

• Wood from forests (primary sector) is transformed into furniture or paper in factories (secondary sector).
• Grains from agricultural fields are processed into flour and other food products in mills (secondary sector). This transformation adds value to the raw materials and makes them suitable for consumer use.

Question 19. What are the benefits of the cooperative movement for small-scale farmers?

Answer: The cooperative movement benefits small-scale farmers by:

• Eliminating middlemen: Farmers can sell their produce directly, ensuring better profits.
• Collective decision-making: Farmers are part of the decision-making process and can influence the prices of their products.
• Access to resources: Cooperatives provide access to resources like storage facilities, marketing, and distribution networks.
• Social and economic upliftment: Cooperatives often lead to better social and economic conditions for farmers, promoting self-reliance and sustainability.

Question 20. How is the tertiary sector important for economic growth?

Answer: The tertiary sector is important for economic growth because it provides essential services that support both the primary and secondary sectors. These services include:

• Banking: Helps businesses and individuals manage their finances.
• Healthcare: Ensures a healthy workforce, which boosts productivity.
• Transportation: Enables the movement of goods and people, connecting producers with consumers.
• Education: Develops human capital by providing skills and knowledge necessary for all sectors of the economy.