Read the following statements carefully regarding 'tertiary activities' and choose the correct option:
I. Tertiary activities include both production and exchange of services.
II. Tertiary activities involve the commercial output of services.
III. Tertiary activities are directly involved in the processing of raw material.
IV. The examples of tertiary activities are - plumber, doctor, publisher.
Read the following statements carefully regarding 'tertiary activities' and choose the correct option:
I. Tertiary activities include both production and exchange of services.
II. Tertiary activities involve the commercial output of services.
III. Tertiary activities are directly involved in the processing of raw material.
IV. The examples of tertiary activities are - plumber, doctor, publisher.
Options
Official answer
Correct option: B — Statements I, II and IV are correct. Tertiary activities cover production and exchange of services with commercial output (e.g. plumber, doctor, publisher); processing raw material (III) belongs to secondary activities.
Marking scheme
- 1.1 mark: selecting option B (statements I, II and IV correct).
Hint
Tertiary = services (production + exchange, commercial output); processing raw material = secondary, not tertiary.
Quick oral answer
Tertiary activities involve the production and exchange of services with commercial output — like a plumber, doctor or publisher — but not the direct processing of raw material, which belongs to secondary activities.
Common mistakes
- 1.Including statement III as correct — processing raw material is a secondary, not tertiary, activity.
- 2.Not recognising that 'exchange' (trade, transport, communication) is as much a part of tertiary activities as the direct 'production' of services.
Analysis and explanation
Tertiary activities form the service sector of the economy, distinct from the extraction (primary) and processing (secondary) sectors.
Why I, II and IV are correct
- Statement I: Tertiary activities include both the production and exchange of services — exchange covering trade, transport and communication.
- Statement II: They involve the commercial output of services rather than physical goods.
- Statement IV: Typical examples include service providers such as a plumber, doctor and publisher.
Why III is incorrect
- Direct processing of raw material is the defining feature of secondary, not tertiary, activities; tertiary workers provide services rather than transform raw material into finished goods.
Why the other options are wrong
- Options A, C and D all wrongly include statement III, confusing manufacturing/processing with service provision.
Interesting facts
Tertiary activities are also called the 'service sector' and, along with quaternary/quinary activities, dominate the economies of most developed countries today.
The classification of economic activities into primary, secondary and tertiary sectors was popularised by economist Colin Clark in the 1940s.
Question details
Q6 of 36 questions
- Board
- CBSE
- Class
- Class 12
- Subject
- Geography
- Year
- 2026
- Section
- Section A
- Marks
- 1
- Type
- MCQ
- Chapter
- Tertiary and Quaternary Activities
- Topic
- Tertiary Activities
- Bloom's level
- understand
- Syllabus topic
- Fundamentals of Human Geography Unit 7: Tertiary and Quaternary Activities — Nature and Examples of Tertiary Activities
- Author
- CBSE
- Reviewed by
- Padhantu Academic Team
Spotted a mistake or something unclear?
Tell us and we will fix it.
Frequently asked questions
What are tertiary activities?
Tertiary activities are the services sector of the economy — covering production and exchange of services such as trade, transport, communication and professional services like those of a doctor, teacher or plumber.
Why is 'processing of raw material' not a tertiary activity?
Processing raw material into finished or semi-finished goods is the core feature of secondary activities (manufacturing), not tertiary activities, which instead provide services.