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GeographyEasyAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2024, GAT

Which of the following statements regarding clouds is/are correct? 1. Clouds are classified on the basis of altitude and their form. 2. According to altitude they are classified as High, Middle and Low clouds. 3. Stratus, Nimbostratus and Stratocumulus are high clouds. Select the answer using the code given below:

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

Correct answer

B. 1 and 2 only

Explanation

The correct answer is B, 1 and 2 only. Clouds are grouped by height and shape into high, middle and low families, but stratus, nimbostratus and stratocumulus are low clouds, not high ones.

By form, the basic cloud types are cirrus (feathery), cumulus (heaped) and stratus (layered), with nimbus added for rain-bearing clouds. By altitude, high clouds lie above about 6 km and include cirrus, cirrostratus and cirrocumulus; middle clouds, between about 2 and 6 km, carry the prefix alto, as in altostratus and altocumulus; low clouds, below about 2 km, include stratus, stratocumulus and nimbostratus, the grey layer that gives steady rain.

A is wrong because statement 2, the high-middle-low grouping, is also correct.

C is wrong because statement 3 is false; those three are low clouds.

D is wrong for the same reason, since it includes statement 3.

Exam tip: cirro- = high, alto- = middle, strato-/nimbo- = low; cumulonimbus spans all heights and brings thunderstorms.

Practice Questions

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Q1.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2018, GKHard

Statement I : Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth.

Statement II : The Earth rotates from west to east.

  1. A.Both the statements are individually true and Statement II is the correct explanation of Statement I
  2. B.Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I
  3. C.Statement I is true but Statement II is false
  4. D.Statement I is false but Statement II is true
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I

Both statements are true, but the direction in which the Earth spins does not explain why tides occur. Tides are caused mainly by the Moon's pull, with the Sun adding a smaller pull; the Moon's tide-raising force is roughly twice the Sun's because it is so much closer.

Q3.GeographyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2023, Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements :

1. Many of the world's largest mountain chains exist beneath the sea.

2. Some mountain chains are revealed as island arcs.

3. The mid-oceanic ridges form the longest mountain chains.

4. The mid-Atlantic ridge rises thirty-three metres above the floor of the Atlantic.

Which of the statements given above are correct ?

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

Statement 4 is wrong: the Mid-Atlantic Ridge rises thousands of metres above the ocean floor, not thirty-three metres. The ocean floor has relief as varied as the land.

Q5.GeographyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2023, Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements :

1. The Great Northern Plains are formed by basins of three distinct river systems - the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.

2. They are one of the most densely populated areas on Earth.

3. Between the Yamuna at Delhi and the Bay of Bengal, nearly 1600 km away, there is a drop of only 200 metres in elevation.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

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

All three statements correctly describe the Northern Plains of India. The Northern Plains were built from alluvium laid down by the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra and their tributaries, which together drain the Himalayas.