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. Which of the following is not a land locked country of Europe?
[A] Hungary
[B] Kosovo
[C] Czech Republic
[D] Spain
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [ Spain ]
Notes:
Spain is a sovereign state located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. The country’s mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar. Hungary, Kosovo and Czech Republic are land locked countries in Central Europe.
2. Which of the following was the first planet to have its motions plotted across the sky during the second millennium BC?
[A] Mars
[B] Venus
[C] Jupiter
[D] Saturn
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Venus]
Notes:
Venus was the first planet to have its motions plotted across the sky, as early as the second millennium BC.
3. In which of the following human geography approaches believes that physical geographies determine human behaviour and the existence of different forms of societies?
[A] Possibilism
[B] Environmental determinism
[C] Neo-determinism
[D] Stop and go determinism
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Environmental determinism]
Notes:
Environmental determinism is the belief that the environment and its physical factors like landforms, climate, mountains etc. determines the patterns of human culture and societal development.
Possibilism based upon the assumption that environment sets certain constraints or limitations, but culture is otherwise determined by social conditions. This theory says that the true and only geographical problem is that to utilisation of possibilities.
Nondeterminism or stop and go determinism which chooses middle path and it is introduced by Griffith Taylor.
4. What fraction of Earth’s total water content is in the form of oceans?
[A] 20%
[B] 30%
[C] 50%
[D] 97%
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [97%]
Notes:
Approximately 97% of the Earth’s water is in the form of oceans. The remaining 3% is found in the form of fresh water, which is distributed among the Earth’s lakes, rivers, and underground aquifers.
5. On which of the following the weight of a person will be minimum ?
[A] Venus
[B] Mars
[C] Moon
[D] Mercury
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Moon]
Notes:
100 kgs equivalent to 16.6 Kgs on Moon and 37.8 kgs on Mercury
6. Which of the following winds is also known as “ice-eater”?
[A] Harmattan
[B] Chinook
[C] Sirocco
[D] Mistral
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Chinook]
Notes:
Chinook is basically warm winds originally meant a warming wind from the ocean into the interior regions of the Pacific Northwest of the USA. Foehn is a type of dry, warm, down-slope wind that occurs in the lee (downwind side) of a mountain range. Harmattan is a dry and dusty north-easterly trade wind which blows from the Sahara Desert over the West African. Mistral is a strong, cold, north-westerly wind that blows from southern France into the Gulf of Lion in the northern Mediterranean. Sirocco is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe.
7. The largest reserve of ‘Sal’ forests is found in which of the following regions? (UPSC Prelims 1989)
[A] Nilgiri hills
[B] Dehradun valley
[C] The Aravallis
[D] Eastern Peninsula
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Eastern Peninsula]
Notes:
The largest reserve of sal forests is found in eastern peninsula. The right answer is none of these as Eastern Peninsula covers the highest range of Sal forests over Nilgiri hills, Dehradun valley and the Aravallis.
8. Which of the following is the world’s largest archipelago country?
[A] Philippines
[B] Indonesia
[C] Finland
[D] Sweden
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Indonesia]
Notes:
Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago country. It consists of five main islands namely Sumatra , Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua.
9. Which is the largest constellation in the sky?
[A] Virgo
[B] Ursa Major
[C] Ophiuchus
[D] Hydra
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Hydra ]
Notes:
There are 88 standard constellations. Among them, hydra is the largest. Followed by Virgo and Ursa Major.
10. Which is the first planet to have been discovered by the use of telescope?
[A] Jupiter
[B] Mars
[C] Saturn
[D] Uranus
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Uranus]
Notes:
Like the classical planets, Uranus is visible to the naked eye, but it was never recognised as a planet by ancient observers because of its dimness and slow orbit. Sir William Herschel first observed Uranus on 13 March 1781, leading to its discovery as a planet, expanding the known boundaries of the Solar System for the first time in history and making Uranus the first planet classified as such with the aid of a telescope.