Which of the following statements regarding tropical cyclones is/are correct ? 1. These storms develop during the summer and autumn in every tropical ocean except the South Atlantic and eastern South Pacific Oceans. 2. Tropical cyclones that occur in the North Atlantic and eastern North Pacific Oceans are known as typhoons. 3. Tropical cyclones that occur in the Indian and South Pacific Oceans are called cyclones. Select the answer using the code given below :
- A.3 only
- B.1 and 2 only
- C.1 and 3 only
- D.1, 2 and 3
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, 1 and 3 only. Tropical cyclones of the North Atlantic and eastern North Pacific are called hurricanes, not typhoons, so statement 2 is wrong.
Tropical cyclones need warm sea water above about 27°C, enough Coriolis force to start rotation and weak wind shear. These conditions occur over tropical oceans in summer and autumn, but the South Atlantic and the eastern South Pacific have cool currents and strong shear, so storms almost never form there. The same kind of storm carries different regional names: hurricanes in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, typhoons in the western North Pacific near China, Japan and the Philippines, cyclones in the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific, and willy-willies in north-western Australia.
A is wrong because statement 1 is also correct. B is wrong because it includes statement 2, which wrongly calls Atlantic storms typhoons, and leaves out the correct statement 3. D is wrong because statement 2 is false.
Exam tip: hurricane in the Atlantic, typhoon in the western Pacific, cyclone in the Indian Ocean, willy-willy in Australia.
Practice Questions
View allWhich one of the following is not a minor plate ?
- A.Cocos Plate
- B.Nazca Plate
- C.Caroline Plate
- D.Antarctic Plate
Show answer
The Antarctic Plate, carrying Antarctica and the ocean around it, is one of the seven major lithospheric plates. Plate tectonics divides the lithosphere into seven major plates and several minor ones.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements with reference to shadow zones in an event of an earthquake is/are correct ? 1. Zone between 105° and 145° from epicentre was identified as the shadow zone for both P-waves and S-waves 2. The shadow zone of P-waves is much larger than that of the S-waves Select the answer using the code given below:
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
The band between 105° and 145° from the epicentre receives neither P-waves nor S-waves, but it is the S-wave shadow zone that is much larger, so statement 2 is wrong.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements about Ring of Fire is/are correct ? 1. It is a zone of convergence plate boundaries 2. It is an active seismic and volcanic zone 3. It is associated with deep trench Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- A.1 and 2 only
- B.2 and 3 only
- C.1 only
- D.1, 2 and 3
Show answer
The Ring of Fire around the Pacific is a belt of convergent plate boundaries, full of active volcanoes and earthquakes and lined by deep ocean trenches.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following rivers is not a tributary of river Brahmaputra ?
- A.River Manas
- B.River Kameng
- C.River Mahananda
- D.River Subansiri
Show answer
The Mahananda rises in the Darjeeling hills, flows through north Bengal and Bihar and joins the Ganga, not the Brahmaputra.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements is/are correct ? 1. Oceanic trenches are very significant in the study of plate movements 2. Oceanic trenches are associated with active volcanoes and strong earthquakes Select the answer using the code given below:
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Oceanic trenches mark the places where one plate sinks beneath another, so they are key evidence for plate movement and are lined by volcanoes and earthquakes.
Read the full explanation →