Question

Chemical industries are located near ______.
a. Iron and steel industries
b. Thermal power plant
c. Oil refineries
d. Automobile industries

Answer 1

Hint: Chemical industries need to be situated in places where they get easy access to such raw materials that support their production. These raw materials are by-products of mineral oil.

Complete answer:
Let us have a look at the options.
Option a: Iron and steel industries produce materials which go into construction activities, further manufacture of machinery and so on. This industry does not exactly aid the chemical industry in a direct way. So, this is an incorrect option.
Option b: Thermal power plants are situated near coal mines and they generate electricity, which through various means, is transported to far away places from where they actually are situated. Again, they have no direct link with the chemical industry and hence, do not determine the latter’s location.
Option c: As stated earlier, the raw materials needed to carry out production in chemical industries are by-products of mineral oil. These by-products are processed in oil refineries. Hence, staying near oil refineries eases up the production process for chemical industries by providing raw material. Thus, this is the correct option.
Option d: Automobile industries, again, facilitate the production of chemical industries in no direct way and there can not be any definite reason why the latter should situate in proximity to the former. Hence, it is not a correct option.
Hence, option, ‘c. Oil refineries’ is the correct answer.

Note: Note that any industry would like to minimise its cost of production, and for that to happen, it is essential that it gets its raw materials with relative ease and low cost. That’s why, it is a natural tendency of industries to be situated near the areas of production of its raw materials. Chemical industries are no exception in this regard.