Geography Previous Year Questions (PYQ) with Answers – Page 4

The correct answer is B, 2 and 6. The Tropic of Cancer crosses eight Indian states, and only two of them touch the sea. Running at about 23.5 degrees north, it passes from west to east through Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram. Gujarat and West Bengal have coastlines, while the other six are landlocked. The line divides India into two nearly equal halves, with the northern part in the temperate zone and the southern part in the tropical zone. A is wrong, because two coastal states, not one, lie on the line, and the total is eight. C is wrong, because 2 and 5 makes only seven states and misses one of the six landlocked ones. D is wrong, because no third coastal state such as Odisha lies on the Tropic; Odisha lies south of it. Exam tip: Tropic of Cancer, eight states from Gujarat to Mizoram; the coastal pair is Gujarat and West Bengal.

The correct answer is B, Wheat. Western disturbances are low-pressure systems that originate over the Mediterranean Sea and travel eastward with the subtropical westerly jet stream in winter, bringing light rain to Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, and snow to the Himalaya, between December and February. Wheat is the main rabi crop, sown in October and November and harvested in March and April, and it needs cool weather and a little rain during its growing period; this winter rain, called mahawat in north India, is described as gold for wheat because it saves a round of irrigation and improves the grain. A, Rice, is a kharif crop that depends on the heavy rain of the south-west monsoon. C, Bajra, is a kharif millet of the dry areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat, grown on monsoon rain. D, Cotton, is also a kharif crop, sown at the start of the monsoon and picked in autumn. Exam tip: western disturbances bring the winter rain of north-west India, which is good for the rabi crops wheat, barley, gram and mustard.

The correct answer is D, Manipur. Nepal touches five Indian states: Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim. Manipur lies far to the east in the North-East and shares its international border only with Myanmar. Bihar has the longest border with Nepal, and the India-Nepal border is an open border of about 1,750 km along which people move without a visa. Two easy memory hooks: the Kali river separates Uttarakhand from Nepal, and the Siliguri corridor of West Bengal lies between Nepal and Bangladesh. A is wrong because Sikkim lies between Nepal and Bhutan and shares its western border with Nepal. B is wrong because Bihar has the longest boundary with Nepal among all states. C is wrong because the Darjeeling district of West Bengal borders eastern Nepal. Exam tip: Nepal's five neighbours are Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim; Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal touch Myanmar.

The correct answer is B, Mahanadi river. The Malwa plateau lies in western Madhya Pradesh and south-eastern Rajasthan, between the Vindhyas in the south and the Aravallis in the north-west, and is made of Deccan lava with black soil. It slopes to the north, so its rivers, the Chambal, Kali Sindh, Parbati, Betwa and Ken, flow north to join the Yamuna. The Mahanadi has nothing to do with Malwa: it rises near Sihawa in the Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh, flows east through Odisha past the Hirakud dam and falls into the Bay of Bengal. Option A is wrong because the Chambal rises at the Janapav hills near Mhow on the Malwa plateau and carries the Gandhi Sagar dam. Option C is wrong because the Ken rises on the Kaimur hills in Panna and drains the eastern edge of the plateau. Option D is wrong because the Betwa rises near Raisen in the Vindhyas and crosses Malwa and Bundelkhand to meet the Yamuna at Hamirpur. Exam tip: Malwa rivers flow north to the Yamuna (Chambal, Betwa, Ken); the Mahanadi flows east to the Bay of Bengal.

The correct answer is D, Vembanad Lake. Vembanad in Kerala is the longest lake in India, stretching about 96 km from Alappuzha to Kochi, and it is also the largest lake of Kerala. It is a brackish backwater lagoon separated from the Arabian Sea by a narrow barrier, it is a Ramsar wetland since 2002, and the famous Nehru Trophy snake-boat race is held on it at Punnamada every August. Willingdon Island, on which Kochi port stands, was raised inside this lake. A, Shivaji Sagar Lake, is the reservoir of the Koyna dam in Maharashtra, a man-made lake. B, Indira Sagar, is the reservoir of the Indira Sagar dam on the Narmada in Madhya Pradesh, the largest reservoir in India by water volume but not the longest lake. C, Chilika Lake in Odisha is the largest brackish-water lagoon in India and Asia by area, but it is shorter than Vembanad. Exam tip: longest lake Vembanad, largest brackish lagoon Chilika, largest freshwater lake Wular.

The correct answer is D, Tamil Nadu. The Shevaroy Hills, also spelt Servarayan, rise near Salem in Tamil Nadu and are part of the Eastern Ghats. Their best-known spot is the hill station of Yercaud, about 1,500 metres high, famous for coffee plantations, oranges and the Yercaud lake, which is why the range is sometimes called the "poor man's Ooty". The Shevaroys form a set with the other Eastern Ghats hills of Tamil Nadu, the Javadi, Kalrayan and Pachaimalai hills, and all four sit between the Palar and Kaveri river basins. A, Chhattisgarh, has the Maikal range and the Bastar plateau. B, Odisha, has the Garhjat hills and Mahendragiri in its stretch of the Eastern Ghats. C, Rajasthan, has the Aravalli range with Guru Shikhar as its highest point. Exam tip: Shevaroy, Javadi, Kalrayan and Pachaimalai are Tamil Nadu's Eastern Ghats hills; Yercaud sits on the Shevaroys.

The correct answer is C, Tapi. Aner, Panzara and Waghur all join the Tapi in the Khandesh region of northern Maharashtra, along with the Purna, Girna and Bori. The Tapi rises near Multai in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh, flows west for about 724 km through the Satpura and Ajanta ranges and the Khandesh plain, and enters the Gulf of Khambhat near Surat. With the Narmada it is one of the two big west-flowing rivers of the Peninsula that run through rift valleys and form estuaries instead of deltas. The Ukai dam in Gujarat is built on it. A, Kaveri, has the Kabini, Bhavani and Amaravati as tributaries. B, Mahanadi, is joined by the Seonath, Ib and Tel. D, Godavari, receives the Pranhita, Indravati and Manjra. Exam tip: Tapi group = Purna, Girna, Panzara, Waghur, Aner, Bori; Tapi and Narmada are the west-flowing pair.

The correct answer is A, Loo. The loo is a hot, dry wind that blows over the plains of north India and Pakistan in May and June, often pushing afternoon temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius and causing heat strokes. Winds are grouped as planetary, which blow across the globe all year, seasonal, which reverse with the seasons, and local, which affect a small area for a short period because of local heating and pressure differences. Other local winds worth remembering are the chinook of North America, the foehn of the Alps, the mistral of France and the sirocco of the Mediterranean. Option B is wrong because the westerlies are planetary winds blowing from the subtropical high towards the subpolar low. Option D is wrong because the easterlies, or trade winds, are also planetary winds moving towards the equator. Option C is wrong because the monsoon is a seasonal wind that reverses direction between summer and winter. Exam tip: loo, chinook, foehn, mistral and sirocco are the standard local winds.

The correct answer is A, West Bengal. Kaal Baisakhi is the name used in West Bengal for the violent evening thunderstorms of the pre-monsoon months. They strike in April and May, the Bengali month of Baishakh, with squalls, thunder, lightning and sometimes hail, which is why the name means the calamity of Baishakh. They form when strong heating over the plains meets moist air drawn in from the Bay of Bengal, building tall thunderclouds, and they are also called Nor'westers because the squalls sweep in from the north-west. They damage crops and huts, but their rain helps tea, jute and rice seedlings in Bengal and Assam, where the same storms are called Bardoli Chheerha. Option B is wrong because the pre-monsoon showers of Karnataka are called Cherry Blossom or coffee showers. Option C is wrong because Punjab gets its winter rain from western disturbances. Option D is wrong because Kerala's pre-monsoon showers are the Mango Showers. Exam tip: Kaal Baisakhi in Bengal, Mango Showers in Kerala, Cherry Blossom showers in Karnataka and Loo in the northern plains.

The correct answer is C, Ceres. Ceres is the only dwarf planet that orbits inside the main asteroid belt, the ring of rocky bodies between Mars and Jupiter. Giuseppe Piazzi spotted it in 1801 and it was first called a planet, then an asteroid, and since the International Astronomical Union's definition of 2006, a dwarf planet — the smallest of them. With a diameter of about 940 km it holds roughly a quarter of the mass of the whole belt, and NASA's Dawn spacecraft orbited it in 2015 and found bright salt deposits. Option A is wrong because Eris is a scattered-disc body far beyond Neptune, and its discovery forced the 2006 redefinition. Option B is wrong because Makemake orbits in the Kuiper belt. Option D is wrong because Haumea, with its stretched shape and a thin ring, is also a Kuiper belt object. Exam tip: of the five recognised dwarf planets — Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Makemake and Haumea — only Ceres lies inside the asteroid belt.

The correct answer is B, West Bengal and Assam. Nor'westers are violent pre-monsoon thunderstorms that strike eastern India, especially West Bengal and Assam, in the afternoons and evenings of April and May. They form when hot dry air from the Chotanagpur plateau meets moist air drawn in from the Bay of Bengal; the towering clouds bring squally winds, lightning and short but heavy showers. In West Bengal they are called Kalbaisakhi, the calamity of the month of Baisakh, and in Assam they are known as Bardoli Chheerha, where they help the tea crop. A is wrong because Kerala and Karnataka get the pre-monsoon mango showers, which ripen mangoes and help coffee. C is wrong because Gujarat and Maharashtra lie in the west and get no Nor'westers. D is wrong because Rajasthan and Punjab instead feel the hot dry summer wind called loo. Exam tip: Kalbaisakhi - Bengal; Bardoli Chheerha - Assam; mango showers - Kerala and Karnataka; loo - north-west India.

The correct answer is D, Granite. Granite forms when magma cools slowly deep inside the Earth's crust, so it is an intrusive or plutonic igneous rock. Slow cooling gives the minerals time to grow, which is why granite shows large, clearly visible grains of quartz, feldspar and mica. It is hard and long-lasting, so it is widely used in buildings, monuments and kitchen tops. Option A is wrong because sandstone is a sedimentary rock made of sand grains pressed and cemented together; the Red Fort in Delhi is built of red sandstone. Option B is wrong because slate is a metamorphic rock formed when shale is changed by heat and pressure. Option C is wrong because basalt is an extrusive igneous rock: lava cools quickly on the surface, giving fine grains, and the Deccan Traps are made of basalt. Exam tip: intrusive means it cools inside, slowly, with big crystals (granite); extrusive means it cools outside, fast, with fine grains (basalt).

The correct answer is B, Godavari, Krishna, Mahanadi, Tapi. The Godavari, about 1,465 km long, is the longest river of peninsular India and is called the Dakshin Ganga; it rises at Trimbakeshwar near Nashik in Maharashtra. The Krishna, about 1,400 km long, rises near Mahabaleshwar. The Mahanadi flows about 851 km from Chhattisgarh through Odisha to the Bay of Bengal, and the Tapi, about 724 km long, rises in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh and flows west into the Arabian Sea. Option A is wrong because it puts the Mahanadi first, though it is shorter than the Godavari, the Krishna and the Narmada. Option C is wrong because the Narmada, about 1,312 km long, is shorter than the Godavari, and the Mahanadi cannot come before the Godavari either. Option D is wrong because the Krishna is longer than the Narmada, so the Narmada cannot come second. Exam tip: peninsular rivers by length are Godavari 1,465, Krishna 1,400, Narmada 1,312, Mahanadi 851 and Tapi 724 km.

The correct answer is D, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal. According to Census 2011, these were India's four most populous states in exactly this order. Uttar Pradesh had about 19.98 crore people, which was 16.5 per cent of India's total population of about 121 crore. Maharashtra came second with about 11.24 crore, Bihar third with about 10.41 crore and West Bengal fourth with about 9.13 crore. The ranking by density is different: Bihar was the most densely populated state, with 1,106 persons per square kilometre, followed by West Bengal. The least populous state was Sikkim, with about 6.1 lakh people. Option A is wrong because it puts Bihar above Maharashtra. Option B is wrong because it puts West Bengal in second place, when it was fourth. Option C is wrong because it puts West Bengal above Bihar. Exam tip: Census 2011 top four by population are UP, Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal; by density, Bihar comes first.

The correct answer is B, Wular Lake. NCERT's geography textbook describes Wular Lake in Jammu and Kashmir as a lake formed as a result of tectonic activity, that is, by movements of the Earth's crust. It lies in the Kashmir Valley in Bandipora district, and the Jhelum river flows into it and out of it, so the lake soaks up the river's floodwater. Wular is the largest freshwater lake in India and has been a Ramsar wetland since 1990. Its area changes a lot with the seasons, roughly from 30 to 260 square kilometres. Option A is wrong because Chilika in Odisha is a lagoon, a coastal lake cut off from the sea by a sand bar. Option C is wrong because Kolleru in Andhra Pradesh is a shallow lake lying between the deltas of the Godavari and the Krishna. Option D is wrong because Sambhar in Rajasthan is an inland salt lake of the dry region, fed by seasonal streams and known for salt production. Exam tip: Wular = largest freshwater lake and tectonic; Chilika = largest lagoon; Sambhar = largest inland salt lake.

The correct answer is D, Bolivia. A landlocked country has no coastline on an open sea or ocean. South America has only two such countries, Bolivia and Paraguay. Bolivia once had a Pacific coast, but it lost that coastal province to Chile in the War of the Pacific (1879–1884) and has been landlocked ever since. It still keeps a navy, which patrols Lake Titicaca, the lake it shares with Peru and one of the highest navigable lakes in the world. La Paz is the seat of government, while Sucre is the constitutional capital. Option A is wrong because Uruguay lies on the Atlantic coast, and its capital Montevideo stands on the Rio de la Plata estuary. Option B is wrong because Suriname has an Atlantic coastline in the north of the continent, with Paramaribo as its port capital. Option C is wrong because Peru has a long Pacific coast, with Lima and the port of Callao. Exam tip: South America’s two landlocked countries are Bolivia and Paraguay.

The correct answer is A, 82° 30′ E longitude. India keeps one standard time for the whole country, Indian Standard Time, based on the 82° 30′ E meridian, which passes near Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. Since the Earth turns one degree every 4 minutes, 82.5 degrees gives 330 minutes, so IST is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. The meridian was chosen because it runs roughly through the middle of India’s east-west spread of about 30 degrees of longitude, from about 68° 7′ E in Gujarat to 97° 25′ E in Arunachal Pradesh. That spread makes the sun rise nearly two hours earlier in Arunachal than in Gujarat. The line passes through five states: Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. Option B is wrong because 83° 30′ E is one degree too far east. Option C is wrong because 82° E is half a degree short of the standard meridian. Option D is wrong because 82° 50′ E is not the chosen line either. Exam tip: 82° 30′ E × 4 minutes = 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of GMT.

The correct answer is B, North Atlantic Ocean. The Sargasso Sea lies in the middle of the North Atlantic and is the only sea in the world with no coastline. Instead of land, it is bounded by four ocean currents that circle clockwise around it: the Gulf Stream on the west, the North Atlantic Current on the north, the Canary Current on the east and the North Atlantic Equatorial Current on the south. Because it sits in the calm centre of this gyre, its water is warm, clear and very salty. It is named after sargassum, a brown seaweed that floats on its surface in huge mats, and it is the breeding ground of the American and European eels. Option A is wrong because the Arctic Ocean lies around the North Pole, far from this sea. Option C is wrong because the Sargasso Sea is north of the equator, not in the South Atlantic. Option D is wrong because the Indian Ocean is on the other side of Africa. Exam tip: Sargasso Sea means North Atlantic, no coastline, walled by currents, named after floating seaweed.

The correct answer is D, Altitude and slope determine the rate of humus formation. Altitude and slope, which together make up relief, decide how much soil collects at a place, not how fast humus forms. Humus is the dark organic matter made when dead leaves and animals rot, and its rate of formation depends on climate and on the living things in the soil: plants, animals and micro-organisms. NCERT lists five factors of soil formation. Parent rock gives the soil its colour, texture and minerals; climate, meaning temperature and rainfall, sets the rate of weathering and humus formation; relief, meaning altitude and slope, controls how much soil accumulates; time decides the thickness of the soil profile; and flora, fauna and microbes affect humus. A is wrong as a choice because temperature and rainfall really do control weathering. B is wrong because time does decide how thick the profile grows. C is wrong because parent rock does fix the colour of soil. Exam tip: relief = accumulation of soil; climate and organisms = humus; parent rock = colour and texture; time = thickness.

The correct answer is B, Second half of the month of June. The longest day in the northern hemisphere is the summer solstice, which falls on 20, 21 or 22 June, usually 21 June. On that day the Sun is overhead at the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° N), because the North Pole is tilted most towards the Sun. Places north of the equator get their longest daylight and shortest night, and north of the Arctic Circle the Sun stays above the horizon for 24 hours. At the same time the southern hemisphere has its shortest day. The other solstice, around 22 December, puts the Sun over the Tropic of Capricorn and gives the north its shortest day. Option A is wrong because in the first half of June the days are still growing longer. Option C is wrong because by early July the days have started getting shorter. Option D is wrong for the same reason, as the days keep shortening through July. Exam tip: 21 June Tropic of Cancer, 22 December Tropic of Capricorn, 21 March and 23 September equinoxes.