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 was first to measure the circumference of Earth?
[A] Aristotle
[B] Anaximander
[C] Herodotus
[D] Eratosthenes
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Eratosthenes]
Notes:
Eratosthenes, a Greek mathematician and geographer, is credited with being the first person to accurately measure the circumference of the Earth. He did this by comparing the angle of the sun’s rays in two different locations and using simple geometry to calculate the circumference of the Earth.
2. El-Nino gets established in which of the following oceans?
[A] Indian Ocean
[B] Pacific ocean
[C] Atlantic Ocean
[D] Arctic Ocean
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Pacific ocean]
Notes:
El-Nino is the climatic cycle in the pacific ocean. This impacts climate of the entire globe. The cycle begins when warm water in the western tropical Pacific Ocean shifts eastward along the equator toward the coast of South America.
3. Leap second is always ____ ?
[A] positive one-second adjustment
[B] negative one-second adjustment
[C] positive or negative one-second adjustment
[D] two second adjustment
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [positive or negative one-second adjustment]
Notes:
A leap second is a one-second adjustment that is occasionally applied to Coordinated Universal Time. It is to accommodate the difference between precise time and imprecise observed solar time.
4. In context with the heavenly bodies, which among the following shows “lighthouse effect”?
[A] Quasar
[B] White Dwarf
[C] Red Giant
[D] Pulsar
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [ Pulsar]
Notes:
Pulsar emit radio (electromagnetic) signals at regular interval of time. Pulsars are a kind of neutron stars and the emission is detectable when the source of beam of the electromagnetic waves is towards Earth. This is known as Light house effect and is gives a pulsed nature to pulsars.
5. What percent of the earth’s surface is covered with deserts?
[A] 20%
[B] 45%
[C] 33%
[D] 10%
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [33%]
Notes:
Seen from space, the majority of the Earth’s surface is covered by oceans, that makes up 71% of the surface of the Earth, with the remaining 29% for land. Deserts actually make up 33%, or 1/3rd of the land’s surface area.
6. Sandstone is which of the following type of rock?
[A] Sedimentary Rock
[B] Metamorphic Rock
[C] Igneous Rock
[D] Calcareous Rock
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Sedimentary Rock]
Notes:
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized mineral particles or rock fragments. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar because they are the most resistant minerals to weathering processes at the Earth’s surface, as seen in Bowen’s reaction series.
7. From which of the following Pumice is derived? (UPSC Prelims 1986)
[A] Volcanic rock
[B] Sedimentary rock
[C] Igneous rock
[D] Acid lava
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Volcanic rock]
Notes:
The vesicles are actually gas bubbles that were trapped in the rock during the rapid cooling of a gas-rich frothy magma. The material cools so quickly that atoms in the melt are not able to arrange themselves into a crystalline structure. Thus, pumice is an amorphous volcanic glass known as a “mineraloid.”
8. Which one among the following covers the highest percentage of forest area in the world? (UPSC Prelims 2003)
[A] Temperate Coniferous forests
[B] Temperate Deciduous forests
[C] Tropical Monsoon forests
[D] Tropical Rain forests
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Temperate Coniferous forests]
Notes:
Temperate Coniferous forests cover the highest percentage of forest literacy rate in the world. Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome found in temperate regions of the world with warm summers and cool winters and adequate rainfall to sustain a forest.
9. Which archipelago has the largest number of islands, islets, reefs and cays?
[A] Archipelago Sea
[B] Norwegian Archipelago
[C] Malay Archipelago
[D] Great Barrier Reef
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Norwegian Archipelago]
Notes:
Norwegian Archipelago is the largest archipelago in the world in terms of the number of islands as it comprises at least 2,40,000 islands, islets, coral reefs and cays. It is located off the coast of Norway in northern Europe.
10. Which coral reef is situated in the Tongue of the Ocean?
[A] Great Barrier Reef
[B] Mesoamerican Reef
[C] Andros Barrier Reef
[D] Lyra reef
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Andros Barrier Reef]
Notes:
The Andros Barrier Reef in the Bahamas is situated into the Tongue of the Ocean. The Tongue of the Ocean is the region of much deeper water in the Bahamas.
