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GeographyEasyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2018, GS Paper I

Consider the following pairs: Towns sometimes mentioned in news : Country 1. Aleppo - Syria 2. Kirkuk - Yemen 3. Mosul - Palestine 4. Mazar-i-sharif - Afghanistan Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

  1. A.1 and 2
  2. B.1 and 4
  3. C.2 and 3
  4. D.3 and 4

Correct answer

B. 1 and 4

Explanation

The correct answer is B, 1 and 4. Aleppo is in Syria and Mazar-i-Sharif is in Afghanistan; Kirkuk and Mosul are both in Iraq.

Aleppo, in north-western Syria, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and its old city with the citadel is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mazar-i-Sharif is the largest city of northern Afghanistan, capital of Balkh province, known for its blue-tiled shrine and as a trade gateway to Uzbekistan. Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, is a major oil centre with a mixed Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen population, and Mosul, on the Tigris near the ruins of ancient Nineveh, is Iraq's second-largest city.

A is wrong because Kirkuk is in Iraq, not Yemen. C is wrong because Kirkuk and Mosul are both Iraqi cities. D is wrong because Mosul is in Iraq, not Palestine.

Exam tip: Iraq = Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Kirkuk, Erbil; Syria = Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Raqqa.

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Q3.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2026, GKMedium

Consider the following statements with reference to earthquakes:

1. Collapse earthquakes are most common.

2. Tsunamis are waves generated by the tremors and not an earthquake in itself.

3. High magnitude earthquakes i.e. 8+ are quite rare whereas 'tiny' types occur almost every minute.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. A.1 and 2 only
  2. B.1 and 3 only
  3. C.2 and 3 only
  4. D.1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 2 and 3 only

Statement 1 is false because tectonic earthquakes, not collapse earthquakes, are the most common type. Earthquakes are grouped by cause: tectonic (sliding of rocks along a fault), volcanic, collapse (the roofs of underground mines or caverns falling in), explosion (from nuclear or chemical blasts) and reservoir-induced.

Q4.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GKMedium

With reference to earthquakes, which of the following statements are correct?

1. Earthquakes largely occur along the converging plate boundaries.

2. Point of origin of earthquake in lithosphere is known as focus/hypocentre.

3. Intensity of earthquake decreases with distance from the epicentre.

4. Epicentre of earthquake always remains over continents only.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. A.1 and 2 only
  2. B.1, 2 and 3
  3. C.2 and 3 only
  4. D.1 and 4
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 1, 2 and 3

The first three statements are true, while statement 4 is false because many earthquakes have their epicentre under the sea.