Geography Previous Year Questions (PYQ) with Answers – Page 3

The correct answer is A, Mercury. Mercury is a terrestrial planet, not a Jovian one. The eight planets fall into two groups. The four inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, are called terrestrial or rocky planets: they are small, dense, have solid crusts and few or no moons. The four outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, are the Jovian or giant planets, named after Jupiter, whose Roman name is Jove. They are far larger, made mostly of hydrogen and helium, have low density, ring systems and many moons. Saturn is so light that it would float on water. Mercury is also the smallest planet and the one closest to the Sun. Option B is wrong because Neptune is the outermost Jovian planet. Option C is wrong because Jupiter is the largest Jovian planet and the group is named after it. Option D is wrong because Saturn, with its bright rings, is a Jovian planet too. Exam tip: four rocky inner planets, four gas giants outside, with the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

The correct answer is B, P waves. P waves, or primary waves, are longitudinal: the particles of the medium move back and forth along the same direction in which the wave travels, squeezing and stretching the rock like a sound wave. They are the fastest seismic waves, so they reach a recording station first and give the quake its early warning. P waves pass through solids, liquids and gases alike, which is how scientists learned that the earth's outer core is liquid - S waves die out there and leave a shadow zone. Option A is wrong because L waves, the surface or long waves, arrive last, travel along the crust and cause the most destruction. Option C is wrong because there is no seismic wave called an N wave. Option D is wrong because S waves, or secondary waves, are transverse: particles move at right angles to the direction of travel, and they can pass only through solids. Exam tip: P longitudinal and fastest, S transverse and solids only, L surface and most damaging.

The correct answer is D, Intrusive igneous rocks. Granite forms when magma cools slowly deep inside the crust, so it is an intrusive, or plutonic, igneous rock. The slow cooling lets large crystals of quartz, feldspar and mica grow, which is why granite has a coarse, grainy look you can see with the naked eye. It is hard, weather-resistant and takes a fine polish, so it is used for temple floors, kitchen counters and monuments; India is one of the world's largest exporters of granite. Rocks such as gabbro and dolerite belong to the same intrusive family. Option A is wrong because extrusive rocks form when lava cools quickly at the surface, giving fine-grained rocks like basalt, the rock of the Deccan Traps. Option B is wrong because sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone are built from deposited layers. Option C is wrong because metamorphic rocks are older rocks changed by heat and pressure; granite itself turns into gneiss. Exam tip: granite intrusive, basalt extrusive, granite to gneiss, limestone to marble.

The correct answer is A, Two. Because of the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun, together with the centrifugal effect of the earth's rotation, most coasts see the sea rise and fall twice in a day. The moon's pull raises a bulge of water on the side of the earth facing it and another on the opposite side, and as the earth turns a place passes through both bulges in about twenty-four hours. These are called semi-diurnal tides, and successive high tides come about twelve hours and twenty-five minutes apart. Option B is wrong because no shore gets three tidal cycles in a day. Option C is wrong because four counts the individual tides — two high and two low — while the rise-and-fall cycle itself happens twice. Option D is wrong because a single daily high and low, called a diurnal tide, occurs only on a few coasts such as parts of the Gulf of Mexico. Exam tip: spring tides come at full moon and new moon when sun and moon pull in line, and neap tides at the quarters.

The correct answer is C, Hemant. In the traditional Indian reckoning the year is divided into six seasons of two months each, and Hemant, the pre-winter, falls in the months of Agrahayana and Pausha — that is, November and December. Taken in order from spring the six are Vasant (March-April), Grishma (May-June), Varsha (July-August), Sharad (September-October), Hemant (November-December) and Shishir (January-February). Each is tied to the Hindu lunar months rather than to fixed dates. Option A is wrong because Sharad, the autumn, comes in September and October, when the monsoon withdraws. Option B is wrong because Shishir, the winter proper, falls in January and February and is the coldest stretch of the year. Option D is wrong because Vasant is the spring of March and April, the season of Holi and of the rabi harvest. Exam tip: learn the six in order from Vasant — Vasant, Grishma, Varsha, Sharad, Hemant, Shishir — and note that Hemant sits between Sharad and Shishir.

The correct answer is A, Central Highlands. The Narmada divides the Peninsular plateau into two parts: the Central Highlands to its north and the Deccan Plateau to its south. The Central Highlands cover a major area of the Malwa plateau, with the Aravalli range to the north-west and the Vindhya range along the south. Rivers here, such as the Chambal, Sind, Betwa and Ken, flow from south-west to north-east, which shows the slope of the land. The eastward extensions of the Central Highlands are called Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand, and the Chotanagpur plateau lies further east. Option B is wrong because the Western Ghats mark the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, along the Arabian Sea coast. Option C is wrong because the Eastern Ghats form the broken eastern edge of the Deccan Plateau. Option D is wrong because the Deccan Plateau is the triangular landmass that lies south of the Narmada. Exam tip: north of the Narmada lie the Central Highlands; south of it lies the Deccan Plateau.

The correct answer is C, Silchar to Porbandar. The East-West Corridor is one arm of the National Highways Development Project, planned together with the North-South Corridor from Srinagar to Kanyakumari. It runs for about 3,300 km from Porbandar on the Saurashtra coast of Gujarat, through Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, and across the narrow Siliguri corridor into Assam, ending at Silchar in the Barak valley. The two corridors cross at Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, a point that exams love to ask. In Rajasthan the route passes Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Kota, so it matters for Rajasthan papers too. Option A is wrong because neither Imphal nor Ahmedabad is an end point of the corridor. Option B is wrong because Dimapur and Vadodara are not its terminal cities. Option D is wrong because the corridor does not end at Kandla, a port on the Gulf of Kutch; its western end is Porbandar. Exam tip: North-South = Srinagar to Kanyakumari; East-West = Silchar to Porbandar; they meet at Jhansi.

The correct answer is A, North Sea. Both rivers flow north-west across the plains of Europe and end in the North Sea. The Rhine rises in the Swiss Alps, forms part of the borders of Switzerland, Germany and France, flows through Germany and enters the sea through the Netherlands, where Rotterdam, Europe's busiest port, stands at its mouth. The Elbe rises in the Czech Republic, flows through Germany past Dresden and reaches the North Sea below Hamburg, another major port. Because of these river ports, the North Sea coast is one of the busiest shipping zones in the world. Option B is wrong because the Mediterranean receives rivers such as the Rhone, the Ebro and the Nile. Option C is wrong because the Adriatic, an arm of the Mediterranean between Italy and the Balkans, receives the Po. Option D is wrong because the Black Sea receives the Danube, the Dnieper and the Dniester. Exam tip: Rhine and Elbe to the North Sea; Danube to the Black Sea; Rhone to the Mediterranean; Po to the Adriatic.

The correct answer is C, Mahi. The Mahi rises in the Vindhya hills in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, flows through the Banswara region of Rajasthan and then crosses Gujarat to fall into the Gulf of Khambhat, so it passes through three states. Like the Narmada, the Tapi and the Sabarmati, it is one of the few Indian rivers that flow west into the Arabian Sea. The Mahi is also known for crossing the Tropic of Cancer twice, a favourite fact of paper setters. Option A is wrong because the Ken flows only through Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, where it joins the Yamuna. Option B is wrong because the Sonar stays within Madhya Pradesh and joins the Ken. Option D is wrong because the Betwa rises in Raisen district and joins the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh, so it covers only two states. Exam tip: Mahi goes from Dhar through Rajasthan to Gujarat, three states, and crosses the Tropic of Cancer twice.

The correct answer is A, Waterways. Water transport needs no track or road to be built, and a ship or barge can carry huge loads on little fuel, so the cost per tonne is the lowest. That is why coal, iron ore, food grains, cement and containers travel across oceans and along rivers and canals in ships and barges. NCERT's geography textbook calls waterways the cheapest way of carrying heavy and bulky goods over long distances. India's inland waterways, such as National Waterway 1 on the Ganga from Prayagraj to Haldia, use the same idea. The price paid for the low cost is slow speed. B is wrong because railways are cheaper than roads for bulk goods but still cost more than waterways. C is wrong because airways are the fastest but the costliest, and suit light and valuable goods. D is wrong because roadways are best for short distances and door-to-door delivery. Exam tip: cheapest, waterways; fastest, airways; door-to-door, roadways.

The correct answer is B, 3 p.m. Places east of Greenwich are ahead in time, and every degree of longitude adds 4 minutes. The Earth turns through 360° in 24 hours, so it covers 15° in one hour, or 1° in 4 minutes. For 45° East the difference is 45 × 4 = 180 minutes, which is 3 hours. Because the place lies east of Greenwich, we add these 3 hours to 12 noon and get 3 p.m. The short rule is 'East gains, West loses'. A is wrong because 9 a.m. comes from subtracting 3 hours, which would be right only for 45° West. C is wrong because 10 a.m. would be the time at a place 30° West of Greenwich. D is wrong because 2 p.m. would be the time at a place only 30° East of Greenwich. Exam tip: 1° = 4 minutes and 15° = 1 hour; add time going east, subtract going west. India's Standard Meridian at 82½° E is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich.

The correct answer is A, Only 1. Statement 1 is correct: the Ramganga rises in the Garhwal hills of Uttarakhand, flows through Corbett National Park, where the Kalagarh dam stands on it, then passes through Moradabad and Bareilly districts and joins the Ganga on its left bank near Kannauj. Statement 2 is wrong: the Betwa, the ancient Vetravati, rises in the Vindhyan region of Madhya Pradesh, flows past Orchha and through the Jhansi area of Bundelkhand, and joins the Yamuna near Hamirpur in Uttar Pradesh, not near Prayagraj. At Prayagraj it is the Yamuna itself that meets the Ganga, at the Sangam. Option B is wrong because statement 2 puts the Betwa’s confluence in the wrong place. Option C is wrong because it accepts the wrong statement and rejects the right one. Option D is wrong because statement 1 is correct. Exam tip: Ramganga into the Ganga at Kannauj, Betwa into the Yamuna at Hamirpur, Yamuna into the Ganga at Prayagraj.

The correct answer is A, Devprayag. At Devprayag in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, the Bhagirathi, coming from the Gangotri glacier, meets the Alaknanda, and from this confluence onwards the river is called the Ganga. Devprayag is the last of the five sacred confluences on the Alaknanda, known as the Panch Prayag. Going downstream, the Alaknanda meets the Dhauliganga at Vishnuprayag, the Nandakini at Nandprayag, the Pindar at Karnaprayag, the Mandakini at Rudraprayag and finally the Bhagirathi at Devprayag. Setters often mix up these pairs, so learning them in order helps. Option B is wrong because Vishnuprayag is where the Dhauliganga joins the Alaknanda. Option C is wrong because Rudraprayag is where the Mandakini, flowing down from Kedarnath, joins the Alaknanda. Option D is wrong because Karnaprayag is where the Pindar joins the Alaknanda. Exam tip: Vishnu, Nand, Karna, Rudra, Dev is the Panch Prayag order from upstream to downstream, ending with the Bhagirathi at Devprayag.

The correct answer is A, Mohana and Lilajan rivers. The Lilajan and the Mohana meet a few kilometres below Bodh Gaya, and from there the combined stream is called the Phalgu. The Lilajan is the old Niranjana, on whose bank the Buddha attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. The Phalgu then flows past the city of Gaya, where the Vishnupad temple stands on its bank and Hindus offer pind-daan to their ancestors. For much of the year its bed looks like dry sand, with water flowing beneath it, so it is often called an underground river. Option B is wrong because the Son is a large separate tributary of the Ganga that rises at Amarkantak and joins the Ganga near Patna. Option C is wrong for the same reason, as the Son plays no part in forming the Phalgu. Option D is wrong because only one pair, the Lilajan and the Mohana, forms it. Exam tip: Lilajan plus Mohana make the Phalgu, flowing from Bodh Gaya to Gaya.

The correct answer is D, Titanium. Ilmenite (FeTiO3) and rutile (TiO2) are the main ores of titanium, and India has large deposits of them in its beach sands. These heavy mineral sands occur mainly along the coasts of Kerala (Chavara), Tamil Nadu (Manavalakurichi) and Odisha (Chhatrapur), often together with monazite, zircon and garnet. Titanium is light, strong and does not rust, so it is used in aircraft, spacecraft and medical implants, while titanium dioxide is the white pigment in paints, paper and toothpaste. Option A is wrong because aluminium comes from bauxite, found mainly in Odisha and Jharkhand. Option B is wrong because copper comes from ores like chalcopyrite, mined at Khetri in Rajasthan and Malanjkhand in Madhya Pradesh. Option C is wrong because iron is taken from haematite and magnetite; ilmenite does contain iron, but it is mined for its titanium. Exam tip: ilmenite and rutile give titanium, monazite gives thorium and rare earths, and all three come from the black sands of the south-west and east coasts.

The correct answer is D, Sambhar. Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan is a saltwater lake, in fact the largest inland salt lake in India, so it is the odd one out. It lies near Jaipur, and its brine has been used to make salt for centuries. It was declared a Ramsar wetland in 1990 and draws flamingos in winter. Most salt lakes in India lie in dry Rajasthan, where evaporation is high and the water does not drain out to the sea. A is wrong because Bhimtal in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand is a freshwater lake. B is wrong because Loktak in Manipur is the largest freshwater lake in north-east India, famous for its floating 'phumdis' and the Keibul Lamjao National Park. C is wrong because Barapani, also called Umiam Lake, near Shillong in Meghalaya, is a freshwater reservoir. Exam tip: Sambhar is India's largest inland salt lake, while Chilika in Odisha is the largest brackish-water lagoon.

The correct answer is C, western disturbance. Western disturbances are low-pressure systems that start over the Mediterranean Sea and are carried east towards India by the westerly jet stream in winter. They bring light rain to Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh, and snowfall to Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. This small winter rain, locally called 'mahawat', is very useful for rabi crops, especially wheat. A is wrong because the south-west monsoon brings rain from June to September, not in winter. B is wrong because the north-east monsoon gives winter rain mainly to the Tamil Nadu coast, not to the north-west. D is wrong because the retreating monsoon of October and November mostly affects the east coast and the south, and brings cyclones in the Bay of Bengal. Exam tip: winter rain in the north-west comes from western disturbances from the Mediterranean; winter rain in Tamil Nadu comes from the north-east monsoon.

The correct answer is A, Yamuna. All three rivers join the Yamuna, the longest tributary of the Ganga, which rises at the Yamunotri glacier in Uttarakhand and meets the Ganga at Prayagraj. The Tons is its largest tributary and joins it in the hills of Uttarakhand. The Hindon rises in the Shivaliks near Saharanpur and joins it near Greater Noida. The Chambal rises near Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, flows through the Kota region of Rajasthan with its famous ravines, and joins the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh. Other tributaries to remember are the Betwa, Ken and Sind from the south. B is wrong because the Mahanadi flows east through Chhattisgarh and Odisha and is fed by rivers like the Seonath, Hasdeo and Ib. C is wrong because the Kaveri of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu takes the Hemavati, Kabini and Bhavani. D is wrong because the Tapi flows west from Multai in Madhya Pradesh to the Gulf of Khambhat, with the Purna as a tributary. Exam tip: Yamuna tributaries from the south are Chambal, Sind, Betwa, Ken; from the north, Tons and Hindon.

The correct answer is D, Krishna and Tungabhadra. Going south from Gulbarga you first cross the Krishna and then reach the Tungabhadra, on whose south bank Hampi stands. The land between these two rivers is the Raichur Doab, a fertile tract that the Bahmani Sultanate and the Vijayanagara Empire fought over for nearly two centuries. Gulbarga, now Kalaburagi, was the first Bahmani capital from 1347, while Hampi was the capital of Vijayanagara, founded in 1336. The Tungabhadra is itself a tributary of the Krishna and joins it further east, near Kurnool. A is wrong, because the Narmada flows far to the north through central India, and the Godavari also lies north of Gulbarga. B is wrong, because the Mahanadi drains Chhattisgarh and Odisha, far from this region. C is wrong, because the Kaveri flows well south of Hampi and the Periyar is a river of Kerala. Exam tip: the Raichur Doab lies between the Krishna and the Tungabhadra; Hampi is on the Tungabhadra.

The correct answer is D, 1, 2 and 3. All three statements are true. Statement 1: the size of an eruption is rated on the Volcanic Explosivity Index, a scale from 0 to 8 based on the volume of material thrown out and the height of the eruption column; each step up means roughly ten times more material. Statement 2: Iceland sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where two plates move apart, and the Philippines lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, so both were built by volcanic activity. Statement 3: volcanic ash and lava weather into deep, mineral-rich soils, which is why Java in Indonesia supports dense farming and the Deccan's black soil, formed from basalt lava, grows cotton so well. A is wrong, because it leaves out statement 3, which is true. B is wrong, because it drops statement 1, and the index is the standard measure. C is wrong, because it drops statement 2, though both Iceland and the Philippines are volcanic. Exam tip: VEI runs from 0 to 8; Iceland sits on a ridge, the Philippines on the Ring of Fire; basalt gives black soil.