Journey to the End of the Earth Class 12: Summary, Themes and Board Answers
Updated 14 October 2026 · Fact-checked
Journey to the End of the Earth by Tishani Doshi, from Vistas, describes the author's trip to Antarctica with the Students on Ice programme. She reflects on Gondwana, the human impact on climate, the role of phytoplankton and why Antarctica holds the key to the Earth's past, present and future. The board tests extracts and answers.
What Journey to the End of the Earth is about
Journey to the End of the Earth by Tishani Doshi is a travel account of her journey from Madras to Antarctica aboard the Russian research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy, with Students on Ice, a programme that takes high school students to the ends of the world.
She wonders that India and Antarctica were once part of the supercontinent Gondwana. Antarctica, holding 90 per cent of the Earth's ice and half-million-year-old carbon records in its ice cores, is the place to study the planet's past, present and future. She warns about human impact: population growth, burning fossil fuels and global warming. The phytoplankton show that small changes have big effects: take care of 'the small things' and the big ones follow. Walking on the frozen ocean, she realises that everything connects.
What the board asks: a Vistas extract with four 1-mark parts (Q8); 40-50 word answers on Gondwana, Geoff Green's reasons, phytoplankton, and why Antarctica is the place to go (Q11); 120-150 word answers on climate change and the role of young people (Q13).
Weightage: Section C (Literature) carries 40 of the 80 theory marks; Vistas is tested through a Vistas extract (4 x 1), two of three short answers (2 x 2) and one of two long answers (5).Source: CBSE English Core (301) syllabus and sample paper 2026-27
In real board papers: asked in 2 of the 2 board papers we hold (2026 to 2026), on average 4.5 marks per paper. See the questions
Journey to the End of the Earth: summary
In our own words, in the order of the text. Read the NCERT text itself too: the board quotes from it.
The author travels aboard a Russian research vessel, the Akademik Shokalskiy, to Antarctica, the coldest, driest and windiest continent. Starting from Madras, her journey covers nine time zones, six checkpoints, three bodies of water and many ecospheres; she travels over 100 hours by car, aeroplane and ship. Facing Antarctica's white expanse, she feels relief and then deep wonder, especially that India and Antarctica were once part of one landmass.
About 650 million years ago, the supercontinent Gondwana existed, centred around present-day Antarctica, with a warmer climate and rich plant and animal life. It broke up around the time the dinosaurs died out. India moved north and pushed against Asia, forming the Himalayas; South America drifted to join North America, opening the Drake Passage and keeping Antarctica frozen. Visiting Antarctica helps us understand geology, evolution, extinction, ozone and carbon.
Antarctica stores 90 per cent of the Earth's ice. It feels like walking into a giant ping-pong ball with no human markers; in the endless summer light and silence, one loses all sense of time and perspective.
Human civilisation is only about 12,000 years old, yet humans have spread cities across the world, competed with other species for resources and burnt fossil fuels, wrapping the Earth in carbon dioxide and raising temperatures. Antarctica matters in the climate debate because it has never had a human population and its ice cores hold half-million-year-old carbon records.
Students on Ice, led by the Canadian Geoff Green, takes high school students there so that future policy-makers can see glaciers retreating and ice shelves collapsing and understand that global warming is real. Antarctica's simple ecosystem shows how small changes have big results: if ozone depletion harms the phytoplankton, the whole food chain and the carbon cycle will suffer.
Near the Antarctic Circle, the ship is stopped by ice, and all 52 people walk on a metre-thick ice pack over 180 metres of sea, with seals sunning nearby. The author realises that everything connects. After two weeks with idealistic teenagers, she feels that a lot can happen in a million years, but a day can make a great difference.
Themes and message
Climate change and human impact
In a short time humans have damaged the planet through population growth and fossil fuels; Antarctica shows the effects most clearly.
From the text: Burning fossil fuels has created 'a blanket of carbon dioxide around the world'.
Antarctica as a key to the Earth's history
Its ice holds ancient carbon records and its rocks show the story of Gondwana, helping us understand past, present and future.
From the text: The author says that to study the Earth's past, present and future, 'Antarctica is the place to go'.
Interconnectedness of life
Tiny phytoplankton support the entire food chain; small changes can have huge effects. Everything in nature is linked.
From the text: 'everything does indeed connect'
Hope through young people
Students who see climate change for themselves may become policy-makers who act to protect the planet.
From the text: Geoff Green wants to reach future policy-makers 'at an age when they're ready to absorb, learn, and most importantly, act'.
Characters
Tishani Doshi (the author)
A writer from Madras on the Students on Ice expedition.
- Curious and reflective
- Aware of environmental issues
- Hopeful about youth
She calls herself a 'sun-worshipping South Indian' and ends on a hopeful note about the teenagers.
Geoff Green
Canadian head of the Students on Ice programme.
- Visionary
- Committed to education and the environment
He stopped taking celebrities and rich curiosity-seekers and started taking high school students.
How it is written
| Device | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Simile | Antarctica is 'like walking into a giant ping-pong ball'; seals lie on ice floes like stray dogs under a banyan tree. | Makes the strange landscape familiar to Indian readers. |
| Metaphor | Phytoplankton are 'grasses of the sea'; the 'geological clock'. | Explains scientific ideas simply. |
| Rhetorical questions | 'Will the West Antarctic ice sheet melt entirely?' | Engage readers in the climate debate. |
| Contrast | A million years set against 'what a difference a day makes!' | Shows both the vastness of geological time and the impact of a single experience. |
Key quotations
Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.
It’s like walking into a giant ping-pong ball devoid of any human markers
Author: Describing Antarctica's whiteness.
Shows the vast, empty landscape.
take care of the small things and the big things will fall into place
Author: On the phytoplankton.
Small changes in the environment have big effects.
everything does indeed connect
Author: Walking on the frozen ocean.
All life and systems on Earth are linked.
a lot can happen in a million years, but what a difference a day makes!
Author: Concluding thought.
Geological change is slow, but a single experience can change young minds.
Journey to the End of the Earth in real life
Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.
Small actions, big effects
Suppose your school stops using plastic plates at events and switches to steel ones.
How does this reflect the lesson of the phytoplankton? Answer in 40-50 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Small change.
- Less plastic in drains and seas.
- Big benefit for ecosystems.
Answer: Like protecting the tiny phytoplankton, this small step reduces plastic waste reaching drains, rivers and seas, protecting fish, birds and ecosystems. Taking care of small things, as the author says, helps the big things fall into place.
Memory hook: Small steps, big planet.
Learning by seeing
Imagine students visiting a melting glacier in Himachal on a school trip.
Which programme in the chapter does this resemble?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Students on Ice shows students melting ice.
- First-hand experience inspires action.
Answer: It resembles Students on Ice, which shows young people glaciers retreating so that they realise global warming is real.
Memory hook: Seeing is believing; believing is acting.
Human impact
Suppose your city has more hot days each summer than it did ten years ago.
Which cause does the chapter link to such warming?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Fossil fuel burning.
- Carbon dioxide blanket raises temperature.
Answer: The unchecked burning of fossil fuels, which creates a blanket of carbon dioxide that slowly raises global temperatures.
Memory hook: Fuels burn, Earth warms.
Topics in this chapter
How the board asks Journey to the End of the Earth
The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.
| Question type | How it is asked | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Vistas extract (Q8, 4 x 1) | Passages on Gondwana, human impact, phytoplankton or walking on the ocean. | Know facts and figures (650 million years, 90 per cent ice, 12,000 years, 52 people). |
| Short answer (Q11, 40-50 words) | Why study Antarctica; Geoff Green's reasons; the small-things statement; why Antarctica is the place to go. | Two specific points from the text. |
| Long answer (Q13, 120-150 words) | Global warming and our responsibility; role of youth; interconnectedness. | Use the chapter's evidence and suggest actions. |
Tricks to remember Journey to the End of the Earth
Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.
Journey numbers
9 time zones, 6 checkpoints, 3 bodies of water, 100+ hours, 2 weeks, 52 people.
Use it when: Factual questions.
Time scales
Gondwana 650 million years ago; thrived 500 million years; humans 12,000 years; ice records half a million years.
Use it when: Factual questions.
Why Antarctica: 'PIGS'
Pristine (no human population), Ice-core carbon records, Gondwana history, Simple ecosystem.
Use it when: Why it is the place to go.
Journey to the End of the Earth: extract-based questions
Read the extract, answer every part on paper, then open the answers.
Extract 1: Phytoplankton
Take the microscopic phytoplankton — those grasses of the sea that nourish and sustain the entire Southern Ocean’s food chain. These single-celled plants use the sun’s energy to assimilate carbon and synthesise organic compounds in that wondrous and most important of processes called photosynthesis.
(1) · 1 mark · Very short answer
The passage opens by calling Antarctica the perfect place to study how small changes in the environment can have big effects, because its ecosystem is simple and it has little biodiversity. Why is Antarctica a perfect place to study environmental change?
(2) · 1 mark · MCQ
Phytoplankton are called 'grasses of the sea' because they:
(a) grow on the sea bed (b) feed and sustain the ocean's food chain (c) are green in colour only (d) are eaten by cows(3) · 1 mark · Very short answer
What process do phytoplankton use?
(4) · 1 mark · Very short answer
What would happen if the ozone layer were further depleted?
Show the answersAnswers
- Because of its simple ecosystem and lack of biodiversity, small changes show big effects clearly.
- (b) feed and sustain the ocean's food chain
- Photosynthesis.
- The phytoplankton would be affected, harming marine animals, birds and the global carbon cycle.
Extract 2: Walking on the ocean
So there we were, all 52 of us, kitted out in Gore-Tex and glares, walking on a stark whiteness that seemed to spread out forever. Underneath our feet was a metre-thick ice pack, and underneath that, 180 metres of living, breathing, salt water.
(1) · 1 mark · Very short answer
Just before this, the Captain decides to turn around and head back north. Why did the Captain decide to turn back?
(2) · 1 mark · MCQ
How many people walked on the ocean?
(a) 25 (b) 52 (c) 100 (d) 180(3) · 1 mark · Very short answer
What lay beneath the ice pack?
(4) · 1 mark · Very short answer
What realisation did this experience give the author?
Show the answersAnswers
- The ship was stuck in thick ice between the peninsula and Tadpole Island and could not go further.
- (b) 52
- 180 metres of living, breathing salt water.
- That everything in nature does indeed connect.
Journey to the End of the Earth: board-level solved questions
Ordered from board level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.
Example 1: Usefulness of studying Antarctica · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level
Antarctica is said to hold the Earth's geological history. Why is studying it useful? Answer in 40-50 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Gondwana history.
- Ice cores: carbon records.
- Shows climate change effects.
Answer: Antarctica holds the story of Gondwana and, in its ice cores, half-million-year-old carbon records. Studying it helps us understand how the Earth evolved, how the climate has changed, and how human activity is warming the planet, so we can plan for the future.
Example 2: Geoff Green's reasons · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level
Why did Geoff Green include high school students in the Students on Ice expedition? Answer in 40-50 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Celebrities gave back little.
- Students are future policy-makers.
- Ready to absorb, learn and act.
Answer: He was tired of taking celebrities and rich curiosity-seekers who gave back little. High school students are future policy-makers; seeing melting glaciers at an age when they can absorb, learn and act, they may grow up to protect the planet.
Example 3: Small things · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level
The author draws a lesson from the phytoplankton: look after small things and big things fall into place. Explain it in the context of Antarctica. Answer in 40-50 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Phytoplankton are tiny.
- They sustain the food chain and carbon cycle.
- Protect them, protect all.
Answer: Tiny phytoplankton sustain the entire Southern Ocean food chain and the global carbon cycle. If ozone depletion harms them, marine animals, birds and the climate will suffer. By protecting such small organisms, we protect the whole system: the big things fall into place.
Example 4: Gondwana · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level
What was Gondwana, and how did it break up? Answer in 40-50 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Supercontinent 650 million years ago.
- Warm climate, rich life.
- Split when dinosaurs died; India to Asia; Himalayas.
Answer: Gondwana was a giant southern supercontinent, centred around present-day Antarctica, about 650 million years ago, with a warm climate and varied life. Around the time dinosaurs died out, it split; India moved north to form the Himalayas, and Antarctica became isolated and frozen.
Example 5: Climate change and responsibility · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
How does Tishani Doshi show the impact of human activity on the planet, and what can young people do about it? Answer in 120-150 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- 12,000 years vs geological time.
- Cities, population, fossil fuels, CO2.
- Visible melting in Antarctica.
- Youth: Students on Ice; actions.
Answer: Doshi points out that human civilisation has existed for only about 12,000 years, a few seconds on the geological clock, yet it has caused great disturbance. Growing cities and populations compete with other species for resources, and the burning of fossil fuels has created a blanket of carbon dioxide that is raising global temperatures. In Antarctica, glaciers are retreating and ice shelves collapsing, and ozone depletion threatens the phytoplankton on which the ocean's food chain depends.
She finds hope in the young. Students on Ice shows teenagers these changes at first hand, so that as future policy-makers they will act.
Young people can save energy, use public transport, reduce waste, plant trees and spread awareness. They can study science and environmental policy, and demand responsible action from leaders. As Doshi says, a single day of understanding can make a great difference.
Where the marks are
How a typical answer is marked: the value points the examiner looks for and the marks each earns.
Why did Geoff Green include high school students? (40-50 words, 2 marks) (2 marks)
| Step | Marks |
|---|---|
| Celebrities and rich tourists gave back little. | 1 |
| Students are future policy-makers, ready to learn and act; within word limit. | 1 |
Long answer on climate change (120-150 words, 5 marks) (5 marks)
| Step | Marks |
|---|---|
| Evidence from the chapter. | 2 |
| Suggestions for action. | 1 |
| Organisation. | 1 |
| Accuracy. | 1 |
Where students lose marks in Journey to the End of the Earth
The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.
Mistake: Saying the journey began from Delhi
Do this: It began in Madras, 13.09 degrees north of the Equator.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Calling Students on Ice a government programme of India
Do this: It is a programme headed by the Canadian Geoff Green.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Writing that phytoplankton are animals
Do this: They are microscopic single-celled plants that photosynthesise.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Answers on climate change without text evidence
Do this: Use the chapter's facts: 12,000 years, CO2 blanket, retreating glaciers, phytoplankton.
Usually costs: Content marks.
Journey to the End of the Earth: previous year questions
- Asked in 2 of the 2 board papers we hold (2026 to 2026), on average 4.5 marks per paper; 2 questions in all, counting OR alternatives. In 2 of 3 sample papers.
Counted from the real papers on our previous year papers page, not estimated. Average marks are over every board paper we hold, with an OR pair counted once. Chapter tags are ours.
Every Journey to the End of the Earth question, by year
- 2026
Set 301/1/1: Q13(A) (5 marks)
Set 301/5/1: Q8(b) (4 marks)
- For 2025
Sample paper 2024-25: Q8(A) (4 marks)
- For 2024
Sample paper 2023-24: Q8(A) (4 marks)
Practice questions on Journey to the End of the Earth
Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.
Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
What was the name of the ship?
(a) Akademik Shokalskiy (b) Gondwana (c) Students on Ice (d) Drake PassageHint
Russian research vessel.
Answer
(a) Akademik Shokalskiy
Q2 · 1 mark · Very short answerBoard level
What percentage of the Earth's ice is stored in Antarctica?
Hint
Nearly all.
Answer
90 per cent.
Q3 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why is Antarctica 'the place to go' to understand the Earth's past, present and future? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Pristine and ice cores.
Answer
Antarctica has never sustained a human population, so it is relatively pristine. Its ice cores hold half-million-year-old carbon records, and its rocks preserve the history of Gondwana. Its simple ecosystem also shows clearly how small changes today can affect the future.
Q4 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How did the author feel on first seeing Antarctica, and why? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Relief, wonder.
Answer
After over 100 hours of travel, she first felt relief, then deep wonder at the immensity and isolation of the white landscape. Above all, she marvelled that India and Antarctica were once part of the same landmass, Gondwana.
Q5 · 1 mark · Very short answerHarder board level
What does the author mean by 'what a difference a day makes'?
Hint
Teenagers.
Answer
That one day of first-hand experience can change young people's understanding and inspire them to act.
Q6 · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
'Everything does indeed connect.' Explain this idea with examples from the chapter and from your own experience. Answer in 120-150 words.
Hint
Phytoplankton, ice, seals; local examples.
Answer
Standing on a metre-thick ice pack over 180 metres of sea, with seals sunning themselves nearby, the author realises that everything connects. Her journey shows this repeatedly. India's movement north millions of years ago created the Himalayas, while the Drake Passage kept Antarctica frozen. Burning fossil fuels in distant cities raises temperatures that melt Antarctic ice. Ozone depletion harms tiny phytoplankton, and their loss would affect marine animals, birds and the global carbon cycle.
We see similar links around us. Cutting trees in hills can cause floods in the plains. Plastic thrown in a drain ends up harming fish and birds in rivers and seas. Polluted air from vehicles affects the health of people far away.
The lesson is that our small actions have wide effects. Caring for one part of nature helps the whole system, and harming one part harms all of us.
Test your recall
Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.
1.Who wrote the chapter?Show answer
Tishani Doshi.
2.What was Gondwana?Show answer
A giant southern supercontinent centred around present-day Antarctica.
3.How did the Himalayas form?Show answer
India pushed northwards and jammed against Asia, buckling its crust.
4.How old is human civilisation, according to the chapter?Show answer
About 12,000 years.
5.Who heads Students on Ice?Show answer
The Canadian Geoff Green.
6.What are phytoplankton?Show answer
Microscopic single-celled plants that sustain the Southern Ocean's food chain.
7.What animals did they see on the ice floes?Show answer
Crabeater seals.
Quick revision checklist
The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?
- Can you describe the journey and the first impressions?
- Can you explain Gondwana and its break-up?
- Can you explain the human impact on climate?
- Can you explain Geoff Green's reasons?
- Can you explain the phytoplankton lesson?
- Can you write 120-150 words on climate change and youth?
Journey to the End of the Earth: frequently asked questions
What is the theme of Journey to the End of the Earth?
Antarctica as a key to the Earth's past, present and future, the human impact on climate, and the hope that young people can protect the planet.
Why is the chapter called Journey to the End of the Earth?
Because Antarctica lies at the bottom of the world, the farthest point of the author's journey.
What is Students on Ice?
A programme that takes high school students to the polar regions to inspire understanding of and respect for the planet.
What is the significance of walking on the ocean?
It made the author realise that everything in nature is connected.
Based on: CBSE English Core (301) syllabus 2026-27; NCERT Vistas, Supplementary Reader in English for Class XII