World & Physical Geography MCQs
World Geography Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) Quiz for State and UPSC Civil Services Examinations. Objective Questions on Physical Geography and World Geography for competitive examinations.
1. Who among the following published Geographike hyphegesis or “Guide to Geography” in 2nd Century A.D?
[A] Ptolemy
[B] Strabo
[C] Herodotus
[D] Aristotle
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Ptolemy]
Notes:
Ptolemy made a number of contributions to geography. His book Geographike hyphegesis or “Guide to Geography” compiled and summarize much of the Greek and Roman geographic information accumulated at that time.
Geographia was written by Strabo
2. Which among the following natural satellites of our solar system is smaller than Moon?
[A] Callisto
[B] Titan
[C] Lo
[D] Europa
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Europa]
Notes:
Europa, or Jupiter II is the smallest of the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter. It is the sixth-closest to the planet of all the 79 known moons of Jupiter. It is the sixth-largest moon in the Solar System and is smaller than earth’s moon.
3. The “Planetoids” are located between which among the following?
[A] Mars and Jupiter
[B] Saturn & Jupiter
[C] Mercury and Venus
[D] Earth & Mars
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Mars and Jupiter]
Notes:
Asteroids also called the inner solar system are minor planets which are neither categorised as a planet or a comet. They are in direct orbit around the Sun. They primarily remain on the circumstellar disk of gas around new stars and also the debris of the disk together. They are also known as planetoids and range in size from hundreds of miles to few feet. Most of them are irregular in shape. They are majorly present in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
4. Which line marks the boundary of the zone where the Sun never sets during June solstice and never rises during December Solstice?
[A] Antarctic Circle
[B] Arctic Circle
[C] Tropic of Cancer
[D] Tropic of Capricorn
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Arctic Circle]
Notes:
The Arctic Circle is an imaginary line around the arctic. It’s defined as the latitude above which the sun does not set on the day of the summer solstice and never rises during the December Solstice. This is because the arctic and Antarctic circle have sunlight for 6 months continuously.
5. Which country is called “Land of the Cakes”?
[A] Scotland
[B] Switzerland
[C] Norway
[D] India
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Scotland]
Notes:
Scotland is called the land of cakes. It is famous for the oatmeal cakes. In the ancient days oatmeal cakes are made only in Scotland.
6. Which among the following planet in Solar System has the fastest rotation?
[A] Mercury
[B] Venus
[C] Mars
[D] Jupiter
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Jupiter]
Notes:
Jupiter is the planet that has the fastest rotation. It has an orbital period of 12 years. It is the fifth planet from the sun.
7. Which among the following is the most suitable common word for roaring forties, furious fifties and stormy sixties ?
[A] Trade winds
[B] Cyclones
[C] Westerlies
[D] Polar winds
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [ Westerlies]
Notes:
The prevailing westerlies are one of the five primary wind zones, known as wind belts, that comprise our atmosphere’s circulatory system. They reach from where the horse latitudes leave off to approximately 60 degrees north and south latitude. The prevailing westerlies tend to be very unpredictable, but they are known to originate in the west more often than not. Wind speeds can be great in areas with few landmasses to interfere with the westerlies, especially around 40 to 50 degrees south latitude, which is nicknamed “the roaring 40s. Westerlies, anti-trades,or Prevailing Westerlies, are prevailing winds in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude, blowing from the high pressure area in the horse latitudes towards the poles.
8. Which of the following correctly defines a Tidal flat?
[A] a submerged lagoon bed that only emerge at low tide
[B] an artificial water body that is subject to ebb and flow of tides
[C] an area along a coast where a river empties into an ocean or sea
[D] an equatorial region where tidal range is lowest
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [a submerged lagoon bed that only emerge at low tide]
Notes:
First option is the correct answer. Tidal flat is a lagoon bed that only emerge at low tide, and hence is not suitable for colonisation by pioneer plants.
9. Which of the following are found in Diamond and Emerald? (UPSC Prelims 1982)
[A] Carbon and silicon
[B] Carbon and zinc
[C] Silicon, aluminium and beryllium
[D] Carbon and calcium
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Carbon and silicon]
Notes:
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium.
10. At which of the following time periods the first bird is believed to have appeared on the surface of the earth? (UPSC Prelims 1994)
[A] 300 million years ago
[B] 200 million years ago
[C] 150 million years ago
[D] 100 million years ago
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [150 million years ago]
Notes:
The first bird is believed to have appeared on the surface of the earth 150 million years ago.