Geography Class 9 ICSE CISCE Topics and Syllabus

• Earth as a Planet 
  • Two movements of Earth: Rotation and Revolution movement.
• The Shape of the Earth 
• Earth as the Home of Humankind and the Conditions that Exist 
• Earth Grid (Geographic Grid) 
• Concept of Latitudes 
  • Latitudes
  • Northern Hemisphere
  • Southern Hemisphere
  • Important lines of latitude: Torrid Zone, Temperate Zone and Frigid Zone.
• Concept of Longitudes 
  • Eastern Hemisphere
  • Western Hemisphere
• The Great Circles 
• The Earth’s Rotation and Revolution 
• Revolution of the Earth 
  • Revolution of the earth and its inclined axis – effects: the variation in the length of the day and night and seasonal changes with Equinoxes and Solstices.

Earth as a planet
The shape of the earth. Earth as the home of humankind and the conditions that exist.

Geographic grid - Latitudes & Longitudes

• (a) Concept of latitudes: main latitudes, their location with degrees, parallels of latitude, and their uses.
• (b) Concept of longitudes - Prime Meridian, time (local, standard and time zones,
  Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and International Date Line (IDL). Eastern and
  Western hemisphere.
• (c) Using latitudes and longitudes to find location. Calculation of time.
• (d) Great Circles and their use.

Rotation and Revolution

• Rotation – direction, speed, and its effects (occurrence of day and night, the sun rising in the east and set in the west, Coriolis effect)
• Revolution of the earth and its inclined axis – effects: the variation in the length of the day and night and seasonal changes with Equinoxes and Solstices.

• Earth’s Structure 
  1. Crust
  2. Mantle
  3. Core
• Landforms of the Earth 
• Mountains 

  fold, residual, and block.

• Plateaus 
• Plains 
  • Formation and characteristics
  • Types of plains
  • Distribution of plains in the world

  1. Plains of North America
  2. Gangetic plains of India

  • Location on world map
• Rock and it's Types 
• Rock Cycle 
• Types of Volcanoes 
  • Active Valcano
  • Dormant Valcano
  • Extinct Valcano
• Distribution of Volcanoes in the World 
  • Circum Pacific Belt
  • Mid continental belt
  • Mid Atlantic Belt
• Volcanoes Effects – Constructive and Destructive 
• Earthquake and its causes 
• Earthquakes Effects: Destructive and Constructive 
• Earthquake Zones of the World 
• Weathering 
  • Meaning
  • Factors Affecting Weathering
  • Chemical Weathering 
    1. Oxidation
    2. Carbonation
    3. Solution
    4. Hydration
  • Biological Weathering 
    •  Mass movements (Mass Wasting)

    1. Rapid mass movements
    2. Slower mass movements

    • Erosion
  • Physical Weathering 
    1. Exfoliation
    2. Granular Disintegration
    3. Block Disintegration
• Denudation 

  Meaning and agents of denudation; work of
  river and wind.

• Stages of a River Course and Associated Land Forms 
  • V-shaped valley
  • waterfall
  • meander
  • delta
• Wind 

(i) Earth’s Structure
Core, mantle, crust – meaning, extent, and
composition.

(ii) Landforms of the Earth
Mountains, plateaus, plains (definition, types
and their formation):
 Mountains – fold, residual, and block.
Plateaus – intermont and volcanic.
Plains – structural and depositional.
Examples from the world and India.

(iii) Rocks- the difference between minerals and rocks,
types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary,
metamorphic, their characteristics and
formation; rock cycle.

(iv) Volcanoes
Meaning, Types – active, dormant, and extinct.
Effects – constructive and destructive.
Important volcanic zones of the world.

(v) Earthquakes
Meaning, causes, and measurement.
Effects: destructive and constructive.
Earthquake zones of the World

(vi) Weathering and Denudation
Meaning, types, and effects of weathering.
Types: Physical Weathering – block and
granular disintegration, exfoliation;
Chemical Weathering–oxidation, carbonation,
hydration and solution;
Biological Weathering – caused by humans,
plants and animals.
Meaning and agents of denudation; work of
river and wind.
Stages of a river course and associated land
forms – V-shaped valley, waterfall, meander
and delta.
Wind – deflation hollows and Sand dunes

• Hydrosphere 
  • Layers of Hydrosphere
  • Importance of Hydrosphere
• Tides 
• Ocean Currents 

  their circulation pattern and effects. (Specifically of Gulf Stream, North Atlantic Drift, Labrador Current, Kuro Shio, and Oya Shio.)

Hydrosphere
Meaning of hydrosphere.
Tides - formation, and pattern.
Ocean Currents – their circulation pattern and effects. (Specifically of Gulf Stream, North
Atlantic Drift, Labrador Current, Kuro Shio, and Oya Shio.)

• Composition of the Atmosphere 
• Layers of Atmosphere 
  • Troposphere
  • Stratosphere
  • Ionosphere
  • Exosphere
• Ozone in the Stratosphere 
• Depletion 
• Global Warming 
• Insolation 
• Terrestrial Radiation 
• Factors Affecting Temperature 
  • latitude
  • altitude
  • distance from the sea
  • the slope of the land
  • winds
  • ocean currents
• Atmospheric Pressure 
• Pressure Belts 
• Factors Affecting Direction and Velocity of Wind 
• Permanent Winds 

  Permanent winds – Trades, Westerlies and Polar Easterlies.

• Wind 
  • Periodic Winds 

    Periodic winds - Land and Sea breezes, Monsoons.

  • Local Winds 
    • Local winds - Loo, Chinook, Foehn, and Mistral.
  • Variable Winds 

    Variable winds - Cyclones and Anticyclones.

• Jet Streams 
• Humidity 
• Change of State of Matter 
  • Concept of Condensation (Liquefaction) 
• Precipitation 
  • Snow
  • Hailstones
  • Rainfall
• Rainfall and it's types 
  • Types of Rainfall: Convectional Rainfall, Orographic Rainfall, and Cyclonic rainfall

(i) Composition and structure of the atmosphere.
Troposphere, Stratosphere, Ionosphere and
Exosphere; Ozone in the Stratosphere, its
depletion. Global warming and its impact.

(ii) Insolation
• Meaning of insolation and terrestrial
radiation.
• Factors affecting temperature: latitude,
altitude, distance from the sea, the slope of
land, winds, and ocean currents.

(iii) Atmospheric Pressure and Winds.
• Meaning and factors that affect atmospheric pressure.
• Major pressure belts of the world.
• Factors affecting direction and velocity of wind – pressure gradient, Coriolis Effect.

• Permanent winds – Trades, Westerlies and Polar Easterlies.
• Periodic winds - Land and Sea breezes, Monsoons.
• Local winds - Loo, Chinook, Foehn, and Mistral.
• Variable winds - Cyclones and Anticyclones.
• Jet Streams- Meaning and importance.

(iv) Humidity
• Humidity – meaning and difference between relative and absolute humidity.
• Condensation – forms (clouds, dew, frost, fog, and mist).
• Precipitation - forms (rain, snow, and hail).
• Types of rainfall – relief/orographic, convectional, cyclonic/ frontal with examples from the different parts of the world. 

• Pollution and Its Types 
• Noise Pollution 
• Air Pollution and Its Causes 
• Water Pollution and Its Causes 
• Soil Pollution 
• Sources of Pollution and Major Pollutant - Radiation 
• Effects of Pollution 

  Effects - on the environment and human health.

• Preventive Measures of Pollution 

Pollution

(a) Types - air, water (fresh and marine), soil, radiation, and noise.

(b) Sources
• Noise: Traffic, factories, construction sites, loud speakers, airports.
• Air: vehicular, industrial, burning of garbage.
• Water: domestic and industrial waste.
• Soil: chemical fertilizers, bio medical waste, and pesticides.
• Radiation: X- rays; radioactive fallout from nuclear plants.

(c) Effects - on the environment and human health.

(d) Preventive Measures
Carpools, promotion of public transport, no-smoking zone, restricted use of fossil fuels,
saving energy, and encouragement of organic farming.

• Natural Regions of the World 
  • Location, area, climate, natural vegetation, and human adaptation.
  • Equatorial Region 
  • Tropical Grasslands 
  • Tropical Deserts 
  • Tropical Monsoon 
  • Mediterranean 
  • Temperate Grasslands 
  • Taiga and Tundra 

Natural Regions of the World
Location, area, climate, natural vegetation, and human adaptation.

Equatorial region

Tropical grasslands

Tropical Deserts

Tropical Monsoon

Mediterranean

Temperate grasslands

Taiga and Tundra

On an outline map of the World, candidates will be required to locate, mark, and name the following:

1. The major Natural Regions of the world - Equatorial, Tropical Monsoon, Tropical
   Deserts, Mediterranean type, Tropical grasslands, Temperate grasslands, Taiga and
   Tundra.
2. The Oceans, Seas, Gulfs and Straits - all Major Oceans, Caribbean Sea, North Sea,
   Black Sea, Caspian Sea, South China Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Carpentaria,
   Hudson Bay, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Guinea, Bering Strait, Strait of
   Gibraltar, Strait of Malacca.
3. Rivers – Mississippi, Colorado, Amazon, Paraguay, Nile, Zaire, Niger, Zambezi,
   Orange, Rhine, Volga, Danube, Murray, Darling, Hwang Ho, Yangtse Kiang, Ob,
   Indus, Ganga, Mekong, Irrawaddy, Tigris, Euphrates.
4. Mountains – Rockies, Andes, Appalachian, Alps, Himalayas, Pyrenees, Scandinavian Highlands, Caucasus, Atlas, Drakensburg, Khinghan, Zagros, Urals, Great Dividing Range.
5. Plateaus – Canadian Shield, Tibetan Plateau, Brazilian Highlands, Patagonian Plateau, Iranian Plateau, Mongolian Plateau.