NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English (Vistas) Chapter 3: Journey to the End of the Earth

Complete NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Vistas Chapter 3 – “Journey to the End of the Earth” by Tishani Doshi: an original summary, theme and message, hard-word meanings, and every textbook exercise (Reading with Insight) answered fully in exam-ready style. We keep the questions exactly as in the NCERT book and add extra questions, MCQs and Assertion–Reason practice for board preparation.

Class: 12 Subject: English Book: Vistas Type: Prose (Chapter 3) Author: Tishani Doshi Session: 2026–27
On this page

About the author

Tishani Doshi (born 1975) is an award-winning Indian poet, novelist, journalist and dancer based in Chennai (the “Madras” of the essay). Her writing often explores travel, the body, nature and the relationship between human beings and the planet. “Journey to the End of the Earth” is a travel narrative drawn from her own voyage to Antarctica aboard the Russian research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy as part of the Students on Ice programme. In it she blends vivid personal observation with reflection on geology, history and the urgent science of climate change, turning a single expedition into a meditation on where humankind has come from and where it might be heading.

Summary

Early in the year, the narrator Tishani Doshi sets sail aboard the Akademik Shokalskiy towards Antarctica – the coldest, driest and windiest continent. Her journey from Madras crosses nine time zones, six checkpoints, three bodies of water and many ecospheres, taking over a hundred hours by car, aeroplane and ship. Her first feeling on reaching the vast white landscape is relief, swiftly followed by wonder – especially at the thought that India and Antarctica were once joined.

She recalls that six hundred and fifty million years ago a single southern supercontinent, Gondwana, existed around present-day Antarctica, when the climate was warm and humans did not yet exist. After the dinosaurs died out and mammals rose, the landmass broke apart into today’s continents. To visit Antarctica, she says, is to grasp this geological history – from Cordilleran folds and pre-Cambrian shields to evolution and extinction.

The continent stores ninety per cent of the world’s ice and feels like a giant ping-pong ball, empty of human markers. Doshi then turns to human impact: civilisation is barely 12,000 years old, yet the burning of fossil fuels has wrapped the planet in carbon dioxide and is warming it. Antarctica, holding half-million-year-old carbon records in its ice cores, is crucial to the climate debate. The Students on Ice programme, run by Geoff Green, takes young people there so they can witness retreating glaciers and act. Studying the tiny phytoplankton, she learns a great lesson – care for the small things and the big things will fall into place. Finally, walking on a metre-thick ice pack over deep ocean, she realises that everything on the planet truly connects.

Theme & message

The essay’s central theme is the fragile interconnectedness of life and the looming threat of climate change. By visiting Antarctica – a pristine continent that records the Earth’s past, present and future – Doshi shows how human activity in just a few thousand years has endangered systems built over millions of years. Through the example of the phytoplankton she delivers her key message: take care of the small things and the big things will take care of themselves. The narrative urges awareness, responsibility and youthful action to protect the planet before humans go “the way of the dinosaurs.”

Word meanings

Word / PhraseMeaning
Bon Voyagehave a good journey (French)
ecospheresregions/zones supporting living organisms
expansivevast, wide and open
profoundvery deep and intense
immensityenormous size or extent
amalgamatedcombined, merged into one
supercontinenta single huge landmass made of several continents
flora and faunathe plants and animals of a region
mind-bogglingoverwhelming, hard to grasp
buckleto bend or crumple under pressure
circumpolar currentan ocean current flowing around a pole
frigidextremely cold
desolateempty, bleak and lifeless
devoid ofcompletely without
australrelating to the south / southern hemisphere
ubiquitouspresent everywhere
consecratesmakes sacred or hallowed
prognosisa forecast of the likely outcome
paltryvery small, insignificant
etchingmarking or engraving deeply
unmitigatedunchecked, not lessened
pristineclean, untouched, in original condition
blaséunconcerned, indifferent
repercussionsfar-reaching effects or consequences
phytoplanktonmicroscopic single-celled sea plants
epiphaniessudden moments of insight or realisation
calving(of an ice sheet) breaking off into the sea

Reading with Insight

Questions below are reproduced verbatim from the NCERT Vistas textbook; all answers are written originally by ClearStudy.

1. ‘The world’s geological history is trapped in Antarctica.’ How is the study of this region useful to us?

ANSWERAntarctica is the only place on Earth that has never sustained a human population, so it has remained relatively ‘pristine’. Because of this, it preserves an unbroken record of the planet’s history. Its ice cores hold half-million-year-old carbon records trapped layer upon layer, allowing scientists to read the climate of the distant past.The continent also tells the story of the supercontinent Gondwana and the slow breaking-up of the landmasses, helping us understand how the present-day world took shape – from the rise of the Himalayas to the opening of the Drake Passage. Its simple ecosystem makes it the perfect natural laboratory to study how small environmental changes (such as ozone depletion affecting phytoplankton) can have huge global repercussions.Thus, studying Antarctica helps us grasp the Earth’s past, monitor its present, and predict its future, especially the impact of climate change – making it crucial for the survival and wise planning of humankind.

2. What are Geoff Green’s reasons for including high school students in the Students on Ice expedition?

ANSWERGeoff Green, the Canadian who heads the Students on Ice programme, grew tired of taking celebrities and rich, retired curiosity-seekers to Antarctica, because they could ‘give back’ only in a limited way. He therefore chose to take high school students instead.His reasoning is that these students are the future generation of policy-makers and are at an impressionable age when they are most ready to absorb, learn and, above all, act. By offering them a life-changing, first-hand experience of melting glaciers and collapsing ice shelves, he hopes to inspire in them a new understanding of and respect for the planet. Young people who personally witness the reality of global warming are far more likely to take it seriously and work to protect the environment than older people who can only respond passively.

3. ‘Take care of the small things and the big things will take care of themselves.’ What is the relevance of this statement in the context of the Antarctic environment?

ANSWERIn Antarctica this statement is best illustrated by the phytoplankton – tiny, single-celled ‘grasses of the sea’. Though microscopic, they use sunlight to assimilate carbon through photosynthesis and form the foundation of the entire Southern Ocean’s food chain, nourishing all marine animals and birds and influencing the global carbon cycle.Scientists warn that further depletion of the ozone layer will damage these ‘small things’, which will in turn endanger the ‘big things’ – the whole web of marine life and the planet’s climate balance. The phytoplankton therefore become a metaphor for existence: if we protect the smallest, seemingly insignificant elements of nature, the larger systems will remain healthy and balanced on their own. The lesson is one of mindful, responsible care for every part of the environment.

4. Why is Antarctica the place to go to, to understand the earth’s present, past and future?

ANSWERPast: Antarctica was the heart of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana, so it carries the memory of how the continents formed and drifted apart. Its half-million-year-old ice cores store carbon records that reveal the climate of long ago, while its rocks display Cordilleran folds and pre-Cambrian granite shields.Present: Because it has never had a human population, the continent is the world’s most pristine environment and a perfect natural laboratory. Here one can see directly how today’s human-made changes – retreating glaciers, collapsing ice shelves – are unfolding.Future: With ninety per cent of the Earth’s ice and a simple, sensitive ecosystem, Antarctica shows how small environmental changes can trigger massive consequences, helping us forecast the impact of global warming. As the author concludes, if we want to study and examine the Earth’s past, present and future, Antarctica is the place to go.

Extra questions

Short answer (30–40 words)

1. What was the name of the vessel and where did the narrator’s journey begin?

ANSWERThe narrator travelled on the Russian research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy. Her journey began in Madras, 13.09 degrees north of the Equator, and involved crossing nine time zones, six checkpoints and three bodies of water before she reached Antarctica.

2. What was Gondwana and what happened to it?

ANSWERGondwana was a giant southern supercontinent that existed about 650 million years ago, centred around present-day Antarctica, when the climate was warm and humans had not yet appeared. Around the time the dinosaurs died out, it broke apart into the separate continents we know today.

3. What were the narrator’s first emotions on setting foot on Antarctica?

ANSWERHer first emotion was relief after travelling more than a hundred hours, followed by an immediate and profound wonder – wonder at the continent’s immensity and isolation, and at the idea that India and Antarctica were once part of the same landmass.

4. Why does the author call human history a ‘few seconds on the geological clock’?

ANSWERHuman civilisation is only about 12,000 years old, an extremely short span compared with the Earth’s billions of years. Yet in this brief time humans have damaged Nature greatly, which is why the author compares our history to a mere few seconds on the geological clock.

5. What ‘revelation’ did the narrator have while walking on the ocean?

ANSWERWalking on a metre-thick ice pack with 180 metres of living salt water beneath, and seeing Crabeater seals sunning themselves nearby, she realised the beauty of balance in nature and that ‘everything does indeed connect’ – every part of the planet is linked to every other.

Long answer (100–120 words)

6. How does ‘Journey to the End of the Earth’ make us aware of the dangers of climate change?

ANSWERDoshi shows that although human civilisation is barely 12,000 years old, the unmitigated burning of fossil fuels has wrapped the planet in a blanket of carbon dioxide that is steadily raising global temperatures. Antarctica, holding ninety per cent of the world’s ice and half-million-year-old carbon records, lies at the centre of the climate debate. She points to retreating glaciers and collapsing ice shelves that visitors can see with their own eyes, and warns that ozone depletion threatens the phytoplankton on which the entire ocean food chain depends. By placing humans against the vast scale of geological time, she makes us realise how quickly we are endangering the planet and how urgently we must act.

7. Discuss the significance of the phytoplankton in the essay.

ANSWERThe phytoplankton are tiny, single-celled ‘grasses of the sea’, yet they are immensely important. Using the sun’s energy, they assimilate carbon and synthesise organic compounds through photosynthesis, nourishing and sustaining the entire Southern Ocean’s food chain and influencing the global carbon cycle. Scientists warn that further ozone depletion will harm their activity, which would in turn affect all the marine animals and birds of the region. For the author they become a powerful metaphor for existence and a lesson in ecology: ‘take care of the small things and the big things will take care of themselves.’ They prove that even the smallest organisms can decide the fate of the whole planet.

MCQs & Assertion–Reason

1. The author travelled to Antarctica aboard the vessel:

(a) Titanic   (b) Akademik Shokalskiy   (c) Endurance   (d) Beagle

2. The ancient supercontinent centred around present-day Antarctica was called:

(a) Pangaea   (b) Laurasia   (c) Gondwana   (d) Eurasia

3. The narrator’s journey began in:

(a) Mumbai   (b) Madras   (c) Kolkata   (d) Delhi

4. Roughly how long ago did Gondwana exist?

(a) 12,000 years   (b) 1 million years   (c) 650 million years   (d) 100 hours

5. The programme the narrator was working with was called:

(a) Students on Ice   (b) Ice Patrol   (c) Polar Watch   (d) Earth Watch

6. Students on Ice is headed by:

(a) Tishani Doshi   (b) Geoff Green   (c) Robert Scott   (d) Roald Amundsen

7. What percentage of the Earth’s total ice is stored in Antarctica?

(a) 50 per cent   (b) 70 per cent   (c) 90 per cent   (d) 99 per cent

8. The ‘grasses of the sea’ that sustain the ocean food chain are:

(a) seaweed   (b) phytoplankton   (c) algae blooms   (d) krill

9. The largest recorded iceberg was said to be the size of:

(a) Belgium   (b) India   (c) Australia   (d) a city

10. The author’s key lesson from the phytoplankton is:

(a) bigger is better   (b) take care of the small things and the big things will take care of themselves   (c) ignore the small things   (d) science cannot help us

Answer key: 1-(b)   2-(c)   3-(b)   4-(c)   5-(a)   6-(b)   7-(c)   8-(b)   9-(a)   10-(b)

Assertion–Reason – choose: (a) A and R true, R explains A; (b) A and R true, R does not explain A; (c) A true, R false; (d) A false, R true.

1. Assertion (A): Antarctica is the perfect place to study how small environmental changes can have big repercussions.

Reason (R): It has a simple ecosystem and a lack of biodiversity.

2. Assertion (A): Antarctica remains relatively pristine.

Reason (R): It is the only place in the world that has never sustained a human population.

3. Assertion (A): Geoff Green prefers taking high school students rather than celebrities to Antarctica.

Reason (R): Students are at an age when they are ready to absorb, learn and act.

4. Assertion (A): Human civilisation has existed for a very long part of the Earth’s history.

Reason (R): Humans have existed for only about 12,000 years, a few seconds on the geological clock.

5. Assertion (A): The phytoplankton are vital to the Southern Ocean’s food chain.

Reason (R): They use the sun’s energy to assimilate carbon and synthesise organic compounds through photosynthesis.

Answer key: 1-(a)   2-(a)   3-(a)   4-(d)   5-(a)

Exam tips

How to score full marks

Remember the key figures examiners love: the vessel Akademik Shokalskiy, supercontinent Gondwana (650 million years ago), human history of 12,000 years, 90 per cent of Earth’s ice, the phytoplankton metaphor, and Geoff Green’s Students on Ice. For 6-mark questions, structure long answers around past, present and future. Always link your answer to the central theme of climate change and interconnectedness, and end with the lesson ‘take care of the small things and the big things will take care of themselves.’

FAQs

Who is the author of ‘Journey to the End of the Earth’?

The essay is written by Tishani Doshi, an Indian poet, writer and dancer, based on her own expedition to Antarctica with the Students on Ice programme.

What is the main message of the chapter?

The main message is that life on Earth is deeply interconnected and that human-caused climate change is a serious threat; we must care for even the smallest parts of nature, as the phytoplankton example shows.

Why is Antarctica important for studying climate change?

Antarctica has never had a human population, so it is pristine, and its ice cores hold half-million-year-old carbon records. Its simple ecosystem makes it ideal for seeing how small environmental changes lead to big consequences.

Questions are taken verbatim from the NCERT Vistas textbook; summaries and answers are written originally by ClearStudy.

Scroll to Top