Geography Mixed Quiz: Set 19

The correct answer is A, Granite. Granite is an igneous rock, not a sedimentary one. It forms when magma cools slowly deep inside the crust, so its crystals of quartz, feldspar and mica are large enough to see; because it cooled below the surface it is called an intrusive or plutonic rock. Sedimentary rocks are different: they are built up in layers from sediment that water, wind or ice deposits and then compacts and cements. Option B is wrong because sandstone is sedimentary, made of cemented sand grains. Option C is wrong because loess is sedimentary too, a fine silt carried and dropped by wind, and it makes the fertile soil of northern China. Option D is wrong because shale is sedimentary, formed from compressed clay and mud. Granite turns into the metamorphic rock gneiss under heat and pressure. Exam tip: granite and basalt igneous; sandstone, shale, limestone and loess sedimentary; marble, gneiss, slate and quartzite metamorphic.

The correct answer is C, Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest. Tropical dry deciduous forest covers the largest share of India's forest area. It grows in the wide belt that gets roughly 70 to 100 cm of rain a year — much of the peninsular plateau, central India, the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats and parts of the plains — and its trees, teak, sal, sandalwood, bamboo, khair and axlewood, shed their leaves in the dry months to save water. These forests are the most used for timber and were the most cleared for cultivation. Option A, tropical dry evergreen forest, is confined to a narrow strip along the Coromandel coast of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Option B, tropical semi evergreen forest, lies on the wetter margins of the Western Ghats, in the north east and in the Andamans. Option D, Himalayan moist temperate forest, is a mountain type between about 1,500 and 3,000 metres, with oak, deodar and pine. Exam tip: rainfall decides the type — above 200 cm evergreen, 100 to 200 cm moist deciduous, 70 to 100 cm dry deciduous.

The correct answer is C, Loo - Hot wind. The Loo is the strong, dry and very hot wind that blows over the plains of north and north-west India during the day in May and June. It moves from the west towards the east across Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, often pushing afternoon temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius, and long exposure to it can cause heat stroke. It dies down once the monsoon arrives in late June. A is wrong because Kaal Baisakhi is not an autumn wind; it is the violent evening thunderstorm of April and May in West Bengal, Odisha and Assam that brings sudden rain and squalls. B is wrong because trade winds are the steady tropical winds blowing from the subtropical high pressure belts towards the equator, not winter snow storms. D is wrong because the Loo is a summer wind, not a winter stormy wind. Exam tip: Loo - hot summer wind of the northern plains; Kaal Baisakhi - pre-monsoon thunderstorm of eastern India; mango showers - pre-monsoon rain of Kerala and Karnataka.

The correct answer is C, A is true, but R is false. Iron and steel is indeed a heavy industry, but not because of light raw materials.

Industries are classified by the weight of the material they handle. A heavy industry uses bulky, heavy raw materials and turns out bulky products, so iron and steel, which consumes iron ore, coking coal, limestone, dolomite and manganese by the tonne, is the classic example. A light industry uses light raw materials and gives light finished goods, and it is here that cotton, rubber, silk and electronics belong. That is why the reason given is false: cotton and rubber are never the inputs of an iron and steel plant.

A is wrong as a choice because the reason is false. B is wrong for the same reason. D is wrong because the assertion about iron and steel being a heavy industry is perfectly true.

Exam tip: Heavy industry - iron and steel, cement, shipbuilding; light industry - cotton textiles, electronics, rubber goods.

The correct answer is D, Pacific Ocean. El Nino is the warming of surface water in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific.

In a normal year the trade winds push warm water westwards towards Australia and Indonesia, and cold water rises along the coast of Peru and Ecuador. In an El Nino year the trade winds weaken, warm water spreads back eastwards and the cold upwelling off South America is cut off, which hurts the anchovy catch there. The name means 'the child' in Spanish, because fishermen noticed it around Christmas. For India an El Nino year often means a weaker monsoon; the opposite phase, with colder than normal Pacific water, is called La Nina.

A is wrong: the Arctic Ocean is polar and has no such cycle. B is wrong: the Indian Ocean has its own Indian Ocean Dipole, not El Nino. C is wrong: the Atlantic has a much weaker Atlantic Nino.

Exam tip: El Nino - warm Pacific, weak Indian monsoon; La Nina - cold Pacific, usually a good monsoon.

The correct answer is C, Mexico. Milpa is the name given to shifting cultivation in Mexico and in the neighbouring parts of Central America, where maize, beans and squash are grown together on a patch cleared from the forest. In shifting cultivation a plot is cleared by cutting and burning the trees, cropped for two or three years until the ash-fed soil loses its fertility, and then left fallow while the farmer moves to a fresh patch. Because the same practice grew up in forest belts across the world, it carries a different local name in each region. A is wrong because in India it is called jhum in the north-east, podu in Andhra Pradesh and bewar or dahiya in Madhya Pradesh. B is wrong because in Malaysia and Indonesia it is known as ladang. D is wrong because in Brazil it is called roca or coivara. Exam tip: milpa in Mexico, ladang in Malaysia, roca in Brazil, chena in Sri Lanka and jhum in north-east India.

The correct answer is C, Arabian sea. Lakshadweep is a group of small coral islands, atolls and reefs lying off the Malabar coast of Kerala in the Arabian Sea, built on a submarine ridge. It is the smallest union territory of India by area, and Kavaratti is its administrative headquarters.

Option A, the Bay of Bengal, holds India's other island group, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which are of volcanic and tectonic origin rather than coral, so the two are easy to swap in a hurry. Option B, the Pacific Ocean, lies far to the east of Asia and washes no part of India. Option D, the Atlantic Ocean, lies on the other side of Africa and has no Indian territory in it at all. Remember the simple pair: coral Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea in the west, volcanic Andaman and Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal in the east.

The correct answer is A, Zanskar Range. Zoji La, or the Zojila pass, lies in the Zanskar range of the Himalayas at a height of about 3,528 metres. It is on the Srinagar to Leh highway between Sonamarg in the Kashmir valley and Drass in the Kargil district, and it is the gateway to Ladakh. Heavy snow closes it in winter, which is why the Zojila tunnel is being built to keep the route open through the year and give the armed forces year-round access to Ladakh. Option B is wrong because the Ladakh range holds the Khardung La and Chang La passes. Option C is wrong because the eastern Karakoram range holds the Karakoram pass and Saser La on the old trade route to Central Asia. Option D is wrong because the Dhauladhar range runs through Himachal Pradesh above Dharamshala and Kangra. Exam tip: Zoji La in the Zanskar range for Kashmir to Ladakh, Khardung La in the Ladakh range beyond Leh.

The correct answer is C, Himadri or Greater Himalaya. The Himadri is the innermost and northernmost of the three parallel Himalayan ranges, with an average height of about 6,000 metres. It is the most continuous of the three, carries the loftiest peaks and stays under snow through the year, which is why the largest Himalayan glaciers, such as Gangotri and Yamunotri, lie in it. Option A is wrong because the Shiwalik is the outermost and lowest range, only about 900 to 1,100 metres high and built of loose sediment washed down by rivers. Option B is wrong because the Himachal or Lesser Himalaya lies between the other two, at about 3,700 to 4,500 metres, and holds the hill stations and the Kashmir, Kangra and Kullu valleys. Option D is wrong because the Purvanchal hills are the eastern extension beyond the Brahmaputra bend, not one of the three parallel ranges.

The correct answer is A, Dang. Dang is not a South Indian tribe. The name belongs to the Dangs district of southern Gujarat, whose tribal people are mainly Bhil, Warli and Konkana, all of western India. The other three are communities of the Nilgiri hills, where Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka meet. The Toda are pastoralists known for their barrel-shaped huts and their buffalo-centred rituals. The Badaga are farmers of the Nilgiri plateau who speak a tongue close to Kannada. The Irula, a Scheduled Tribe of Tamil Nadu, are known for snake catching and for collecting forest produce. Option B is wrong because the Toda are the best known tribe of the Nilgiris. Option C is wrong because the Badaga live on the same plateau, around Udhagamandalam. Option D is wrong because the Irula are spread across Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Exam tip: remember Toda, Kota, Kurumba, Badaga and Irula as the five main Nilgiri tribes, and place Bhil, Warli and the Dangs in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The correct answer is D, Maharashtra. Maharashtra has by far the largest number of large dams in India, more than two thousand of the roughly 5,300 listed in the National Register of Large Dams, which is close to half the country's total. The rivers of its Deccan plateau, its dependence on irrigation for sugarcane and its long record of building storage projects explain the number, and Koyna, Jayakwadi, Ujani and Bhatsa are among its best known dams. Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat come next on the list. A is wrong because Rajasthan is dry and has few perennial rivers to dam, so its count is much smaller. B is wrong because Tamil Nadu has thousands of tanks but far fewer large dams. C is wrong because Gujarat, though high on the list and home to the Sardar Sarovar, stands behind Maharashtra. Exam tip: most large dams - Maharashtra, then Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat; a large dam is one more than 15 metres high.

The correct answer is D, Sikkim. Sikkim does not touch Myanmar. Its neighbours across the border are Nepal to the west, China in the north and east, and Bhutan to the south-east. Only four Indian states share the border with Myanmar - Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram - and that border runs for about 1,643 km. Option A is wrong because Arunachal Pradesh meets Myanmar along its south-eastern edge. Option B is wrong because Mizoram has a long stretch of the Myanmar border besides its border with Bangladesh. Option C is wrong because Manipur meets Myanmar on the east, and Moreh in Manipur is the main trading town on that border. Sikkim is India's least populated state and shares borders with three countries, but Myanmar is not one of them. Exam tip: remember the Myanmar border states as A-N-M-M - Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.

The correct answer is B, Red laterite soil. Cashew grows best on red laterite soil, which is coarse, well drained and slightly acidic, exactly what the crop needs. Laterite soil forms in areas of heavy rain and high temperature, where running water washes away the lime and silica and leaves behind iron and aluminium oxides. It is poor in nitrogen and organic matter, so ordinary food grains do badly on it, but plantation crops such as cashew, tea, coffee, rubber and coconut do well. This is why the cashew belt runs along the laterite coasts of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. Option A is wrong because black or regur soil holds moisture and is the cotton soil of the Deccan. Option C is wrong because red and yellow soil is used mainly for millets, pulses and groundnut. Option D is wrong because alluvial soil of the plains suits wheat, rice and sugarcane. Exam tip: laterite soil means plantation crops, cashew above all.

The correct answer is C, Pisciculture. The Blue Revolution means the rapid rise in fish production, so it belongs to pisciculture, the rearing of fish. In India it began with the Fish Farmers Development Agency set up in the early 1970s, and Dr Hiralal Chaudhuri, who worked out induced breeding in carp, is called its father. The effort continued through the Neel Kranti Mission and then the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, and India today is among the largest fish producers in the world, with inland fisheries giving most of the catch. Option A is wrong because floriculture, the growing of flowers, comes under the Golden Revolution in horticulture. Option B is wrong because sericulture is the rearing of silkworms for silk. Option D is wrong because horticulture, the growing of fruit and vegetables, is linked to the Golden Revolution. Exam tip: Blue for fish, White for milk, Yellow for oilseeds, Green for food grains.

The correct answer is B, Tropical Deciduous Forests. These are called monsoon forests because they grow where rainfall comes with the monsoon, between about 70 and 200 centimetres a year, and the trees shed their leaves for six to eight weeks in the dry season to save water. They are the most widespread forests of India, covering much of the northern plains, the Deccan plateau and the lower Himalayan slopes. The moist type, with over 100 centimetres of rain, gives teak, sal, shisham, sandalwood and bamboo, while the drier type gives teak, axlewood and bel. Option A is wrong because montane forests are the belts of oak, deodar, pine and fir that change with height in the mountains. Option C is wrong because tropical evergreen forests grow in very wet areas above 200 centimetres of rain and never shed all their leaves together. Option D is wrong because mangrove forests are tidal forests of deltas and coasts. Exam tip: monsoon forest means tropical deciduous, and sal and teak are its trees.

The correct answer is B, Puducherry with its units at Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe, and Yanam. Puducherry is the only Union Territory spread over both coasts of India. Puducherry and Karaikal lie on the east coast within Tamil Nadu, Yanam lies on the east coast in Andhra Pradesh, and Mahe lies on the west (Malabar) coast within Kerala. All four were French settlements; they came to India in 1954 and formally became part of India in 1962. Option A is wrong because the Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie only in the Bay of Bengal, on the eastern side. Option C is wrong because Lakshadweep lies only in the Arabian Sea, off the Kerala coast. Option D is wrong because Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu lie only on the western side, near Gujarat and Maharashtra. Exam tip: Puducherry has four districts in three states: Puducherry and Karaikal (Tamil Nadu), Yanam (Andhra Pradesh) and Mahe (Kerala).

The correct answer is B, Meghalaya. Bamboo drip irrigation is a two-hundred-year-old practice of the Khasi and Jaintia hills of Meghalaya. Water from a hill spring or stream is led through split bamboo pipes, channels and diversion sections down the slope, and the flow is cut down stage by stage until the last narrow pipe drips water right at the root of the plant. Around eighteen to twenty litres a minute entering the system come out as twenty to eighty drops a minute at the plant. It is used mainly for betel leaf and black pepper grown along with areca nut, needs no pump or electricity, and is studied as a model of water harvesting on steep ground where channels cannot be dug. Option A is wrong because Chhattisgarh relies on tank and canal irrigation. Option C is wrong because Telangana depends on tanks, borewells and lift irrigation. Option D is wrong because Maharashtra is known for modern plastic drip irrigation, not the bamboo system. Exam tip: bamboo drip - Meghalaya, zabo - Nagaland, apatani - Arunachal Pradesh, kuhl - Himachal Pradesh, ahar-pyne - Bihar.

The correct answer is A, Nuclear energy. Nuclear power is produced by the fission of uranium and thorium, which are mined ores present in fixed quantities in the Earth's crust, so once used they cannot be replaced within human time. That makes nuclear energy a non-renewable source, in the same class as coal, petroleum and natural gas, even though it releases very little carbon dioxide. A renewable source, by contrast, is one nature refills continuously, such as sunlight, wind, flowing water, biomass and geothermal heat. B is wrong because hydropower uses the water cycle, which the sun keeps running, and is renewable. C is wrong because biomass comes from plants and animal waste that can be grown again. D is wrong because energy from waste uses refuse that households and industry keep producing. Exam tip: renewable means solar, wind, hydro, biomass, geothermal, tidal; non-renewable means coal, oil, gas and nuclear fuels.

The correct answer is C, Salem - Tamil Nadu. The Salem Steel Plant lies in Salem district of Tamil Nadu, so this is the only correctly matched pair. It is a SAIL unit set up in 1981 and is known for stainless steel cold-rolled coils and sheets rather than ordinary construction steel. The other three pairs name the wrong state. A is wrong because the Bokaro Steel Plant, built with Soviet help in the 1960s, stands in Jharkhand, which was carved out of Bihar in 2000. B is wrong because the Durgapur Steel Plant, built with British help, is in West Bengal and not in Odisha. D is wrong because the Rourkela Steel Plant, India's first public sector integrated plant and built with West German help, is in Odisha and not in West Bengal. Exam tip: Rourkela-Germany-Odisha, Durgapur-Britain-West Bengal, Bhilai-Russia-Chhattisgarh, Bokaro-Russia-Jharkhand.

The correct answer is D, 16.68 percent. In the Census of 2011 the male literacy rate was 82.14 per cent and the female literacy rate was 65.46 per cent, so the gap between them was 16.68 percentage points. Overall literacy stood at 74.04 per cent. The gap had been more than twenty one points in 2001, so it narrowed over the decade because female literacy rose faster than male literacy. Kerala had the highest literacy at 93.91 per cent and Bihar the lowest at 61.80 per cent, while the union territory of Lakshadweep stood second after Kerala. A, B and C are wrong because 14.96, 15.23 and 17.98 do not match the difference between the two published figures. Exam tip: Census 2011 literacy, total 74.04, male 82.14, female 65.46, gap 16.68, Kerala highest and Bihar lowest.