Pre 2013

1. Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched?

1. Abyssinian Plateau : Arabia
2. Atlas Mountains : North-Western Africa
3. Guiana Highlands : South-Western Africa
4. Okavango Basin : Patagonia

• Atlas mountain easy question, was also in news related to terrorism and coup in Mali/ sahel region
• Abyssinian plateau is in Ethiopia (in Africa) ( in world history, we study abyssinia defeating Italy in 1896)
• Guiana Highland= In South America
• Okavango basin/swamp= In Southern part of in Africa.

2. “Climate is extreme, rainfall is scanty and the people used to be nomadic herders.” The above statement best describes which of the following regions?

1. African Savannah
2. Central Asian Steppe
3. North American Prairie
4. Siberian Tundra

• savannah don’t have extreme climate
• Central Asian steppes have. Plus nomadic herders. Imagine mongols and Mongolia
• Prairies have farms, no nomadic life
• Tundra can not have herders, climate is just not suitable for that

Learning – difference b/w Sawannah and grasslands, names of grasslands, Koeppen classification

3. The Narmada river flows to the west, while most other large peninsular rivers flow to the east. Why?

1. It occupies a linear rift valley.
2. It flows between the Vindhyas and the Satpuras.
3. The land slopes to the west from Central India.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

1. 1 only
2. 2 and 3
3. 1 and 3
4. None

• See statement 2 was asked in this year’s CAPF exam
• 3rd is factually wrong
• 1 is given in NCERT. It also seems the only plausible reason as rift valley can force the direction

Learning – rivers and tributaries mentioned in NCERTs

4. Consider the following statements:

1. Natural gas occurs in the Gondwana beds.
2. Mica occurs in abundance in Kodarma.
3. Dharwars are famous for petroleum.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2
2. 2 only
3. 2 and 3
4. None

• Geologic history of India very important. You can answer all such questions from that.
• It’s common knowledge, Gondwana is famous for coal fields nor natural gas
• Dharwar (Karnataka) has other minerals like iron, manganese not petrol
• Mica occurs in Kodarma <kodarma mines in Jharkhand>

Learning – geologic history of India

5. Which of the following is / are the characteristic/ characteristics of Indian coal?

1. High ash content
2. Low sulphur content
3. Low ash fusion temperature

Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

• High ash ie low quality. Indian coal is low quality. We import coking coal
• Low sulphur is also common knowledge
• But ash fusion temperature is generally not given in books. This statement was wrong. Indian coal actually has high ash fusion temperature

6. Which of the following statements regarding laterite soils of India are correct?

1. They are generally red in colour.
2. They are rich in nitrogen and potash.
3. They are well-developed in Rajasthan and UP.
4. Tapioca and cashew nuts grow well on these soils.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

1. 1, 2 and 3
2. 2, 3 and 4
3. 1 and 4
4. 2 and 3 only

• Covered in titbit
• Easy question
• No major soil rich in nitrogen. Exclude 3, only option left is
• 2 is also incorrect as they occur in areas with high rainfall
• Laterite soil is found on western ghats, tapoica and cashews grow there
• Laterite soils are rich in iron and aluminum

Learning – Soils of India, characteristics and geographical spread

7. Consider the following crops

1. Cotton
2. Groundnut
3. Rice
4. Wheat

Which of these are Kharif crops?

1. 1 and 4
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1, 2 and 3
4. 2, 3 and 4

• NCERT
• Wheat everyone knows is rabi crop – wheat holi
• Eliminate 4
• Now look at 1 – cotton – kharif crop

Learning – Kharif, Rabi, Zaid season

8. Consider the following pairs :

1. Limboo (Limbu) : Sikkim
2. Karbi : Himachal Pradesh
3. Dongaria : Odisha
4. Bonda : Tamil Nadu

Which of the above pairs are correctly matched?

1. 1 and 3 only
2. 2 and 4 only
3. 1, 3 and 4 only
4. 1, 2, 3 and 4

• Tribes are asked but difficult to remember
• Dongaria – Odisha is easy as dongaria kondh tribe was in news due to POSCO project
• Karbi would be of Assam – karbi aunglong protest for separate state
• Exclude 2, include 3. You can eleminate 2 options but you still need to know about 4
• Bonda are the most primitive tribal groups in Odisha

9. Variations in the length of daytime and night time from season to season are due to

1. the earth’s rotation on its axis
2. the earth’s revolution round the sun in an elliptical manner
3. latitudinal position of the place
4. revolution of the earth on a tilted axis

Simple NCERT question taught in 5th standard that season are due to tilt. Only one option related to tilt

10. On the planet earth, most of the freshwater exists as ice caps and glaciers. Out of the remaining freshwater, the largest proportion

1. is found in atmosphere as moisture and clouds
2. is found in freshwater lakes and rivers
3. exists as groundwater
4. exists as soil moisture

• 1 and 4 can be easily excluded as they would be very low percentage
• B/w lakes and rivers v/s ground water, simple logic suggests, even lakes and rivers replenish ground water reserves so that should be more
• In any case it is taught in 7th – 8th Std. Ground water >>>> river lake water

11. During a thunderstorm, the thunder in the skies is produced by the

1. meeting of cumulonimbus clouds in the sky
2. lightning that separates the nimbus clouds
3. violent upward movement of air and water particles

Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

1. 1 only
2. 2 and 3
3. 1 and 3
4. None of the above produces the thunder

• Thunder is caused by lightning.
• When a lightning bolt travels from the cloud to the ground it actually opens up a little hole in the air, called a channel.
• Once then light is gone the air collapses back in and creates a sound wave that we hear as thunder.
• The reason we see lightning before we hear thunder is because light travels faster than sound!

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-thunderstorms.htm

12. The annual range of temperature in the interior of the continents is high as compared to coastal areas. What is / are the reason / reasons?

1. Thermal difference between land and water.
2. Variation in altitude between continents and oceans.
3. Presence of strong winds in the interior
4. Heavy rains in the interior as compared to coasts.

1. 1 only
2. 1 and 2 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. 1, 2, 3 and 4

• Similar question was asked in CAPF this year. Maximum annual range of temperature
• You know 1 is correct Ie Continentality difference in specific heat, thermal difference
• Statement 2 is a bogus statement, what does altitude has to do with any of that
• Exclude 2, include 1
• Statement 4 is also wrong, not heavy rainfall in interior but less rain fall in interior

Learning – continentality, sea breeze – land breeze

13. Consider the following:

1. Electromagnetic radiation
2. Geothermal energy
3. Gravitational force
4. Plate movements
5. Rotation of the earth
6. Revolution of the earth

Which of the above are responsible for bringing dynamic changes on the surface of the earth?

1. 1, 2, 3 and 4 only
2. 1, 3, 5 and 6 only
3. 2, 4, 5 and 6 only
4. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

• 4th is obviously correct, eliminate option 2
• But what the hell is dynamic change?? I have no idea