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Tamil Nadu HSE Second Year Geography study materials
Tamil Nadu HSE Second Year Geography study resources

Tamil Nadu HSE Second Year Geography practice questions

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Question 1Human Geography: Nature, Scope and Approaches

Ellen C. Semple defined Human Geography as the study of the changing relationship between which two entities?

  1. the physical environment and the economic system
  2. the climate and the cropping pattern
  3. the unresting man and the unstable earth Correct answer.
  4. the state and its territorial boundaries

Explanation

Semple described Human Geography as the study of the changing relationship between the unresting man and the unstable earth. This definition stresses the two-way interaction between human societies and their physical surroundings, not the study of landforms or climate alone.

Question 2Human Geography: Nature, Scope and Approaches

Which geographer is most closely associated with the possibilist approach in Human Geography?

  1. Ellsworth Huntington
  2. Vidal de la Blache Correct answer.
  3. Griffith Taylor
  4. Friedrich Ratzel

Explanation

Vidal de la Blache is the geographer most associated with possibilism, which holds that the physical environment offers possibilities from which people choose. Ratzel and Huntington are linked to environmental determinism, while Taylor proposed neo-determinism.

Question 3Human Geography: Nature, Scope and Approaches

The central concern of Human Geography is the study of which relationship?

  1. people and the earth's surface Correct answer.
  2. the distribution of rainfall and temperature belts
  3. the classification of rocks and minerals
  4. the origin and structure of the earth's interior

Explanation

Human Geography centres on the relationship between people and the earth's surface, including how human activities are distributed and organised in space. The earth's interior, climatic belts and rocks are studied in physical geography.

Question 4Human Geography: Nature, Scope and Approaches

A regional geographer who describes each region as a unique place with its own distinctive character, rather than seeking general laws, is following which approach?

  1. behavioural approach
  2. nomothetic approach
  3. idiographic approach Correct answer.
  4. quantitative approach

Explanation

The idiographic approach treats each region or case as unique and seeks a detailed description of its distinctive character. The nomothetic approach, by contrast, looks for general laws and regular patterns across cases.

Question 5Human Geography: Nature, Scope and Approaches

A study explains farmers' cropping choices in a dry district only by the amount of rainfall and ignores their access to markets and credit. This explanation reflects which approach?

  1. possibilism
  2. welfare geography
  3. environmental determinism Correct answer.
  4. quantitative spatial science

Explanation

Environmental determinism explains human activities as products of the physical environment, leaving little room for human choice. Ignoring market access and credit while blaming rainfall alone is therefore a deterministic explanation.

Question 6Human Geography: Nature, Scope and Approaches

Griffith Taylor's stop-and-go determinism is best described as which position?

  1. People can overcome every physical constraint without limit.
  2. Nature completely controls human action at all times.
  3. Physical environment has no influence on human decisions.
  4. People may alter nature but not beyond its limits. Correct answer.

Explanation

Griffith Taylor's stop-and-go determinism, also called neo-determinism, accepts that nature sets limits but allows humans to modify it within those limits. It is a middle position between full environmental determinism and unlimited possibilism.

Question 7Human Geography: Nature, Scope and Approaches

Which of the following falls within the scope of Human Geography rather than Physical Geography?

  1. climatology
  2. geomorphology
  3. oceanography
  4. cultural geography Correct answer.

Explanation

Cultural geography examines human culture, including language, religion and ethnicity, and therefore belongs to Human Geography. Geomorphology, climatology and oceanography are branches of Physical Geography.

Question 8Human Geography: Nature, Scope and Approaches

An approach that asks 'who gets what, where, and why' and examines spatial inequalities in public services is known as which approach?

  1. welfare geography Correct answer.
  2. humanistic geography
  3. behavioural geography
  4. radical geography

Explanation

Welfare geography examines the spatial distribution of well-being and asks who receives which services and resources, where, and why. It is closely concerned with inequality in access to public goods.

Question 9Human Geography: Nature, Scope and Approaches

Residents of a flood-prone town draw mental maps that exaggerate the distance to the river because they fear it. A geographer who studies such perceptions and decision-making is working within which approach?

  1. environmental determinism
  2. welfare geography
  3. regional chorology
  4. behavioural geography Correct answer.

Explanation

Behavioural geography studies how people perceive environments and how those perceptions shape decisions and spatial behaviour. Mental maps and exaggerated distances are classic behavioural evidence, not evidence of environmental control or welfare distribution.

Question 10Human Geography: Nature, Scope and Approaches

Which statement best distinguishes Human Geography from sociology?

  1. Sociology studies the earth's surface, while Human Geography studies only culture.
  2. Human Geography is a branch of sociology and has no separate methods.
  3. Human Geography ignores social institutions, while sociology studies only physical landforms.
  4. Human Geography studies spatial organisation; sociology studies social structure. Correct answer.

Explanation

Human Geography shares subject matter with sociology but asks spatial questions about location, distribution and organisation. Sociology concentrates on social structure, institutions and social relations rather than areal patterns.

Question 11World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

The Human Development Index (HDI) used by the UNDP measures development using which set of dimensions?

  1. Total population, land area, and population density
  2. Life expectancy, education, and per capita income Correct answer.
  3. Birth rate, death rate, and natural increase rate
  4. Urban population, literacy, and factory employment

Explanation

The HDI is a composite index of three dimensions: health, measured by life expectancy at birth; knowledge, measured by mean and expected years of schooling; and standard of living, measured by gross national income per capita. Birth and death rates, land area, and urban employment are not HDI components.

Question 12World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

Which continent accounts for the largest share of the world's population?

  1. Europe
  2. North America
  3. Asia Correct answer.
  4. Africa

Explanation

Asia contains about 60 per cent of the world's people, far more than any other continent, largely because of the enormous populations of China and India. Africa is the second most populous continent, while Europe and North America have much smaller shares.

Question 13World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

Arithmetic population density is calculated by dividing a region's population by its:

  1. total land area Correct answer.
  2. urban area
  3. number of households
  4. cultivated area

Explanation

Arithmetic density divides total population by total land area, giving persons per square kilometre. Cultivated area is used for physiological density, and urban area is used for other specialised density measures, not arithmetic density.

Question 14World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

A district has a population of 1,200,000 and a total area of 4,000 square kilometres. What is its arithmetic population density?

  1. 30 persons per square kilometre
  2. 300 persons per square kilometre Correct answer.
  3. 480 persons per square kilometre
  4. 3,000 persons per square kilometre

Explanation

Arithmetic density equals population divided by land area: 1,200,000 ÷ 4,000 = 300 persons per square kilometre. The other figures result from misplacing the decimal point or using an incorrect area.

Question 15World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

Physiological density differs from arithmetic density because it relates population to:

  1. urban area
  2. coastline length
  3. total land area
  4. cultivated land area Correct answer.

Explanation

Physiological density relates population to the amount of cultivated land, showing how many people a unit of farmland must support. Arithmetic density uses total land area instead, so the two measures can give very different pictures of population pressure.

Question 16World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

In a country, the crude birth rate is 32 per 1,000 and the crude death rate is 12 per 1,000. What is the natural increase rate?

  1. 20 per 1,000 Correct answer.
  2. 24 per 1,000
  3. 8 per 1,000
  4. 44 per 1,000

Explanation

The natural increase rate is the crude birth rate minus the crude death rate: 32 − 12 = 20 per 1,000. It is expressed per 1,000 population, not as total population or area.

Question 17World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

The dependency ratio in population studies expresses the number of:

  1. children and elderly people per 100 working-age people Correct answer.
  2. rural residents per 100 urban residents
  3. working-age people per 100 children
  4. females per 1,000 males

Explanation

The dependency ratio compares the dependent population, usually children under 15 and persons aged 65 and over, with the working-age population, normally expressed per 100 working-age persons. It shows how many dependents each 100 workers must support.

Question 18World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

In the first stage of the demographic transition model, a population typically shows:

  1. declining birth rate and high death rate
  2. high birth rate and high death rate Correct answer.
  3. high birth rate and low death rate
  4. low birth rate and low death rate

Explanation

In Stage 1 of the demographic transition model, both birth rates and death rates are high, so population growth is slow and fluctuating. Stage 2 is marked by high birth rates but falling death rates.

Question 19World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

A country enters a demographic dividend when:

  1. its working-age population grows faster than its dependent population Correct answer.
  2. its rural population exceeds its urban population
  3. its death rate falls while its birth rate remains high
  4. its total population begins to decline

Explanation

A demographic dividend occurs when the working-age population expands faster than the dependent population, lowering the dependency ratio and creating a potential boost to savings and productivity. It requires supportive education, health, and employment policies to be realised.

Question 20World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

A broad-based population pyramid with a narrow top most directly indicates:

  1. high birth rates and a large young dependent population Correct answer.
  2. a balanced sex ratio at every age
  3. low birth rates and an ageing population
  4. rapid in-migration of elderly people

Explanation

A broad base shows a large number of children relative to older age groups, which reflects high birth rates and a high youth dependency burden. A narrow base with a wide top would suggest low birth rates and an ageing population.

Question 21World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

The dense concentration of population in the Nile valley is primarily explained by which physical factor?

  1. extensive coniferous forests and timber trade
  2. high altitude and cool climate
  3. rich mineral deposits and mining industries
  4. fertile alluvium and reliable water Correct answer.

Explanation

River valleys such as the Nile offer fertile alluvial soil and dependable fresh water, which support intensive agriculture and dense settlement. High altitude, mineral deposits and coniferous forests do not explain the concentration of people in that desert region.

Question 22World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

In population geography, the sex ratio is conventionally expressed as the:

  1. number of literates per 1,000 persons
  2. number of children per 1,000 women
  3. number of females per 1,000 males Correct answer.
  4. number of males per 100 females

Explanation

Sex ratio is conventionally stated as the number of females per 1,000 males in a population. This convention allows comparison of the balance between males and females across regions.

Question 23World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

The permanently inhabited portion of the Earth's surface is called the:

  1. demographic transition
  2. carrying capacity
  3. non-ecumene
  4. ecumene Correct answer.

Explanation

The ecumene is the part of the Earth's surface that is permanently inhabited and used by people. The remaining sparsely inhabited or uninhabited areas are called the non-ecumene.

Question 24World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

At an annual population growth rate of 2 per cent, the doubling time of a population according to the Rule of 70 is approximately:

  1. 140 years
  2. 35 years Correct answer.
  3. 70 years
  4. 14 years

Explanation

The Rule of 70 estimates doubling time by dividing 70 by the annual growth rate in per cent. For a 2 per cent growth rate, 70 divided by 2 gives approximately 35 years.

Question 25World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

Agricultural population density is calculated by dividing the agricultural population by the:

  1. cultivated land area Correct answer.
  2. arable land plus permanent pasture
  3. total geographical area
  4. urban built-up area

Explanation

Agricultural density measures the number of agricultural workers or agricultural population per unit of cultivated land. It is distinct from arithmetic density, which uses total area, and from physiological density, which uses arable land.

Question 26World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

A population pyramid that is narrow at the base and broad in the older age groups most directly indicates:

  1. a large influx of young migrant workers
  2. high birth rates and a rapidly growing young population
  3. declining birth rates and an ageing population Correct answer.
  4. high infant mortality and short life expectancy

Explanation

A narrow base shows fewer births in recent years, while a broad upper section shows a large share of older people. Together these features indicate falling birth rates and population ageing.

Question 27World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

In the demographic transition model, the death rate begins to fall in Stage 2 mainly because of:

  1. improved sanitation, medicine and food Correct answer.
  2. government policies encouraging larger families
  3. large-scale emigration of young adults
  4. widespread adoption of family planning programmes

Explanation

In Stage 2, death rates fall because of better sanitation, medical care, food supply and public health measures. Birth rates remain high, so natural increase is rapid.

Question 28World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

A country has an HDI value of 0.850. According to UNDP classification, it falls in the category of:

  1. high human development
  2. medium human development
  3. very high human development Correct answer.
  4. low human development

Explanation

UNDP classifies HDI values of 0.800 and above as very high human development. A value of 0.850 therefore falls in the very high category.

Question 29World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

The capability approach to human development, associated with Amartya Sen, gives primary importance to:

  1. reducing population growth to replacement level
  2. raising per capita income above a fixed international threshold
  3. expanding people's freedoms and real choices Correct answer.
  4. maximizing gross domestic product through industrialization

Explanation

Amartya Sen's capability approach sees development as the expansion of people's freedoms and real choices. It criticizes approaches that judge development mainly by income or output alone.

Question 30World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

In a country, 30 per cent of the population is below 15 years, 60 per cent is in the 15–59 age group and 10 per cent is above 60 years. What is the dependency ratio?

  1. 50
  2. 150
  3. 66.7 Correct answer.
  4. 40

Explanation

The dependent population is 30 per cent below 15 plus 10 per cent above 60, giving 40 per cent. Dividing 40 by the 60 per cent working-age population and multiplying by 100 gives 66.7 dependents per 100 workers.

Question 31World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

The number of live births per 1,000 people in a population during a given year is known as the:

  1. replacement level of fertility
  2. natural increase rate
  3. crude birth rate Correct answer.
  4. total fertility rate

Explanation

The crude birth rate relates live births in a year to the total mid-year population and is expressed per 1,000 people. It is called 'crude' because it uses the whole population, not just women of childbearing age. The other measures describe fertility per woman, the balance of births over deaths, or the fertility needed for long-run stability.

Question 32World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

In population geography, the term 'population composition' refers to:

  1. the age, sex and occupational structure of the people Correct answer.
  2. the number of people supported per unit of cultivated land area
  3. the annual difference between the number of births and deaths
  4. the total count of people living within a defined territory at a given time

Explanation

Population composition describes the internal structure of a population rather than its size or density. It is usually studied through age, sex, occupation, education and ethnic characteristics. Count, density and natural increase are separate concepts in population geography.

Question 33World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

In the fourth stage of the demographic transition model, a country typically has:

  1. high birth rates and rapidly falling death rates
  2. rising birth rates with rapid population growth
  3. high death rates caused by famine and disease
  4. low and roughly equal birth and death rates Correct answer.

Explanation

Stage 4 is reached when both birth and death rates have fallen to low levels, so natural increase is close to zero. Population size then changes only slowly and may even decline if deaths exceed births. This contrasts with the high-fertility, high-mortality conditions of Stage 1.

Question 34World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

In most human populations, the sex ratio at birth is closest to:

  1. 100 males per 100 females
  2. 80 males per 100 females
  3. 105 males per 100 females Correct answer.
  4. 120 males per 100 females

Explanation

Biologically, slightly more boys than girls are born, at roughly 105 male births for every 100 female births. This male-biased ratio at birth roughly offsets higher male mortality in infancy and childhood. Values well above or below this range usually indicate data problems or unusual social conditions.

Question 35World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

A population pyramid whose base has narrowed sharply over the past two decades while the 20–39 age group remains large most directly indicates:

  1. a recent and rapid fall in birth rates Correct answer.
  2. a large inflow of elderly migrants
  3. a sudden rise in infant mortality
  4. an increase in the death rate among young adults

Explanation

A narrowing base means fewer children are being born in recent years than in earlier cohorts, which is the signature of falling fertility. The large 20–39 group reflects the survival of earlier high-fertility cohorts, so the pyramid shows a fertility transition under way. Mortality crises or migration of older people would distort other parts of the pyramid, not produce a shrinking base.

Question 36World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

The Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) differs from the standard HDI mainly because it:

  1. uses only health and education indicators, omitting income
  2. replaces income with a measure of political freedom
  3. measures inequality between countries rather than within them
  4. discounts each dimension for inequality within it Correct answer.

Explanation

The IHDI uses the same three dimensions as the HDI but reduces each dimension's value in proportion to the inequality observed within the country. The gap between the HDI and the IHDI therefore shows how much average achievement is lost to inequality. It is a distribution-sensitive refinement, not a different set of dimensions.

Question 37World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

In Stage 3 of the demographic transition model, the birth rate falls faster than the death rate, so the population:

  1. starts to decline sharply
  2. grows at an accelerating rate
  3. stabilises immediately at zero growth
  4. continues to grow but at a slowing rate Correct answer.

Explanation

In Stage 3 the death rate has already fallen and the birth rate begins to decline, but births still exceed deaths, so the population keeps growing. Because the gap between the two rates narrows, the rate of growth steadily slows. Sustained decline or zero growth comes only later, in Stage 4 and beyond.

Question 38World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

The very high rural population densities of the Monsoon Asia plains are best explained by a combination of:

  1. fertile alluvium, dependable rainfall and long growing seasons Correct answer.
  2. a cool temperate climate and highly mechanised farming
  3. abundant mineral wealth and very limited farmland
  4. high plateau terrain with nomadic pastoralism

Explanation

Monsoon Asia's plains combine flat, fertile alluvial soils with dependable seasonal rainfall and long frost-free growing seasons, allowing intensive wet-rice cultivation to support very large rural populations. Mechanised temperate farming uses little labour, while mineral wealth or pastoralism supports only sparse populations. Soil, water and growing season therefore explain the density pattern.

Question 39World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

The global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) measures acute poverty across how many dimensions?

  1. Three Correct answer.
  2. Four
  3. Two
  4. Five

Explanation

The global MPI assesses overlapping deprivations in three dimensions: health, education and standard of living, measured through ten indicators. A household is counted as multidimensionally poor when it is deprived in at least one-third of the weighted indicators. This goes beyond income poverty by capturing deprivations directly.

Question 40World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth, Composition and Human Development

In the Gender Inequality Index, a value close to 1 indicates:

  1. the maximum loss in human development due to gender inequality Correct answer.
  2. a country with the highest possible female life expectancy
  3. near-perfect gender equality
  4. complete parity between male and female literacy rates

Explanation

The GII ranges from 0 to 1, where 0 means no disadvantage for women and 1 means maximum disadvantage. Higher values therefore indicate a greater loss of human development caused by gender inequality in reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market. Low values, not high ones, signal parity.

Question 41Economic Activities: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary

In the four-sector classification of economic activities, which statement best defines a primary activity?

  1. It converts raw materials into finished manufactured goods inside factories and workshops.
  2. It draws raw materials directly from nature, such as fish and minerals. Correct answer.
  3. It collects, processes and transmits information and specialised knowledge to clients and organisations.
  4. It provides intangible services such as banking, education, insurance and transport to people and firms.

Explanation

Primary activities directly exploit natural resources: crop cultivation, grazing, fishing, forestry and mining. They stand at the start of the production chain, supplying food and raw materials to other sectors. Manufacturing, services and knowledge work belong to the sectors that follow.

Question 42Economic Activities: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary

Which of the following is a typical example of a quaternary activity?

  1. Research and development in a biotechnology laboratory Correct answer.
  2. Cultivation of cotton on black soil
  3. Retail sale of cloth in a shop
  4. Cotton spinning in a textile mill

Explanation

Quaternary activities are concerned with the creation, collection, processing and dissemination of information and knowledge. Research and development, consultancy, software design and specialised teaching are standard examples. Industrial production, retailing and farming belong to earlier sectors of the economy.

Question 43Economic Activities: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary

The tertiary sector is described as the service sector mainly because

  1. its workers provide services rather than produce tangible goods Correct answer.
  2. its output consists of harvested crops and mined minerals
  3. its firms own and operate most of the country's factories
  4. its activities are confined to government administration and defence

Explanation

Tertiary activities produce services rather than tangible commodities; workers sell skills, expertise, convenience and care. Banking, trade, transport, insurance, education and health care are examples. Because the output cannot be touched or stored, the sector is called the service sector.

Question 44Economic Activities: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary

The seasonal movement of herders with their livestock between highland summer pastures and lowland winter pastures is called

  1. sedentary farming
  2. shifting cultivation
  3. ranching
  4. transhumance Correct answer.

Explanation

Transhumance is a primary activity in which pastoralists move their herds regularly with the seasons, using upland pastures in summer and lowland pastures in winter. It is a response to seasonal differences in pasture and climate and is common in mountain regions.

Question 45Economic Activities: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary

An electronics assembly unit uses light, high-value components and sells its output across the country, so transport cost does not tie it to any raw material source. Such an industry is best described as

  1. a weight-losing industry
  2. a weight-gaining industry
  3. a footloose industry Correct answer.
  4. a plantation-based industry

Explanation

Footloose industries use light, high-value or low-weight inputs, so assembly and transport costs are low relative to output value. Electronics, garment making and software units can therefore be sited in many different regions. Their location is decided more by labour, capital and amenities than by raw materials.

Question 46Economic Activities: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary

Near Thanjavur, a family makes palm-leaf baskets at home from locally gathered leaves, using hand tools, and sells them in the weekly market. This unit is best classified as

  1. a mineral-based industry
  2. a public sector undertaking
  3. a cottage industry Correct answer.
  4. a large-scale heavy industry

Explanation

Cottage industries use local raw materials, simple hand tools and family labour in the home, with small capital and limited output. Palm-leaf weaving fits every one of these features. Heavy industry requires large capital, machinery and wage labour, which household craft does not.

Question 47Economic Activities: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary

Which pair of activity and economic sector is correctly matched?

  1. Crushing sugarcane in a mill - primary activity
  2. Depositing money in a bank - primary activity
  3. Teaching in a school - secondary activity
  4. Smelting of bauxite into aluminium - secondary activity Correct answer.

Explanation

Smelting changes bauxite ore into aluminium, so it is a manufacturing step and part of the secondary sector, although the ore itself was won by mining. The other pairs wrongly place manufacturing, financial and educational activities in the primary or secondary sector.

Question 48Economic Activities: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary

Which tertiary activity is directly responsible for moving raw materials from farms and mines to factories, and finished products from factories to consumers?

  1. Banking
  2. Transport Correct answer.
  3. Insurance
  4. Advertising

Explanation

Transport is the tertiary activity that physically carries goods between producers and consumers, linking primary and secondary production with markets. Banking finances trade, insurance spreads the risk of loss, and advertising promotes products, but none of them moves goods from place to place.

Question 49Economic Activities: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary

Quaternary activities such as consultancy, software design and financial analysis tend to concentrate in metropolitan centres mainly because they

  1. need extensive areas of cheap land for storing bulky raw materials
  2. must be located close to mineral deposits and power stations
  3. require heavy machinery close to sources of coal and iron ore
  4. depend on frequent face-to-face contact, skilled professionals and reliable telecommunications Correct answer.

Explanation

Quaternary work is information-intensive and depends on professional contacts, specialised skills, good telecommunications and airport links rather than on raw materials. Metropolitan areas offer these agglomeration advantages, so firms cluster there despite high rents and congestion.

Question 50Economic Activities: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary

A garment firm keeps its design, branding and finance offices in a metropolitan city while shifting cutting and stitching to a small town with abundant low-cost labour. This arrangement best illustrates

  1. a spatial split between knowledge-based control functions and routine assembly work Correct answer.
  2. the complete disappearance of all tertiary activities from large metropolitan cities
  3. the gradual expansion of primary activities into small towns and villages
  4. a manufacturing unit tied firmly to the location of its raw materials

Explanation

Modern firms often separate knowledge-based control functions such as design, branding and finance from routine, labour-intensive production. Control and research stay in metropolitan centres where skilled workers and clients gather, while assembly moves to low-wage locations to reduce costs. This division of functions is a common feature of the present-day economy.