Physical Geography Mock Test

Correct Answer - (c) Both 1 and 2

• Planets are formed from the protoplanetary disks that form around stars as part of the process of star formation.
• Planetesimals are small rock fragments that combine together to eventually form the planet.

Correct Answer - (c) Both 1 and 2

• Our solar system consists of the sun (the star) and 8 planets.
• All the planets were formed in the same period sometime about 4.6 billion years ago.
• Out of the eight planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are called the inner planets or Terrestrial planets as they lie between the sun and the belt of asteroids.
• The other four planets, Jupiter, Saturn,  Uranus and Neptune are called the outer planets or Jovian planets. 
• Jovian means jupiter-like planet.
• A planet designated as Jovian is a gas giant, composed primarily of hydrogen and helium gas.
• Jovian planets have not experienced removal of gasses due to low intensity of solar wind as they are far away from the sun.

Correct Answer - (d) None of the above

• Asthenosphere is not part of the lithosphere.
• The lithosphere consists of the crust and uppermost part of the mantle which is solid and brittle. 
• Lithospheric plates float on the asthenosphere which is in a semi molten state.
• The outer core is in liquid state and the inner core is in solid state.

Correct Answer - (b) 2 only

• The Mohorovicic Discontinuity, or "Moho", is the boundary between the crust and the mantle.
• The transition zone between the upper core and the lower core is called Lehmann Discontinuity.
• The transition zone between the upper mantle and the lower mantle is known as Repetti Discontinuity.

Correct Answer - (d) Surface waves are the least damaging in nature.

• Seismic Waves are divided into two major categories called Body Waves and Surface Waves.
• Body Waves:
  • Originate at focus and travel through the Earth’s interior and arrive before surface waves. 
  • They are further divided into P-waves and S-waves.
  • P-Waves create density differences in the material due to its parallel propagation.
  • S-Waves can only travel through solid rock hence they help us understand the composition of the interior of the earth.
• Surface Waves:
  • They move along the surface of the earth. 
  • Their speed is slower than body waves.
  • Surface waves are formed when body waves interact with surface rocks.

• There are two basic kinds of surface waves: 
  • Love waves
  • Rayleigh Waves
•  Surface waves are most damaging in nature.

Correct Answer - (c) Both 1 and 2

• • Types of volcanoes on basis of nature of eruption and form developed at the surface:

• Shield volcanoes:

• • • Largest of all volcanoes on earth. 
    • Eg. - Hawaiian volcanoes. 
    • Mostly made up of basalt which is very fluid hence these v volcanoes are not very steep.

• Composite Volcano: 

• • • Eruption of cooler and more viscous lavas than basalt. 
    • Explosive eruption also happens with the release of large quantities of pyroclastic material and ashes along with lava which accumulate in the vicinity.

• Caldera:

• • • Most explosive of earth’s volcanoes. 
    • They tend to collapse on themselves rather than building tall structures
    •  These collapsed depressions are called Caldera.

• Flood and basalt provinces:

• • • These volcanoes outpour highly fluid lava that flow long distances extending to hundreds of kms 
    • Eg. - Deccan Traps. 

• Mid-Oceanic Ridge Volcanoes:

• • They are the oceanic volcanoes that occur at the oceanic plate margins

Correct Answer - (d) All of the above.

• Evidence in support of continental drift theory are:
  • Matching of continents → Shoreline of Africa and South America facing each other have remarkable similarity 
  • The Belt of Ancient Rocks of the Brazilian coast matches those from western Africa.
  • Tillite of the Gondwana system in India, Africa, Australia , Antarctica , Madagascar and Falkland Island have overall resemblance.
  • Occurrence of gold deposits on the Ghana coast while presence of gold bearing veins in Brazil 
  • Distribution of Fossils across continents eg observation that lemurs occur in India, Madagascar and Africa. 

Correct Answer - (d) All of the above.

• Basic factors control the formation of soil are:
  • Parent material
  • Topography
  • Climate
  • Biological activity
  • Time
• They act simultaneously and affect each other.

Correct Answer - (a) 1 only

• In the youth stage a river has shallow V-shaped valleys with no or very narrow floodplains.
• At this stage, Downward cutting is more dominant than lateral erosion which creates steep valleys.
• With time the stream channels turn gentler and there is loss in velocity facilitating active deposition, the downward cutting becomes less dominant and lateral erosion of banks increases and as a consequence the valleys are reduced to plains.

Correct Answer - (d) All of the above

• Ocean’s salinity is generally affected by the following factors:
  • Evaporation and Precipitation 
  • Fresh water flow from rivers
  • Wind-by transferring water to other areas
  • Ocean currents 
  • Process of thawing and freezing of ice in the Polar Regions

Correct Answer - (a) 1 only

• The concentration of water vapor in the atmosphere varies from 0% to 4% by volume.
• The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere depends on temperature and location of the place.
• The concentration of water vapor decreases as we move up, hence it decreases with altitude.
• In the humid tropical areas, the concentration of water vapor in the atmosphere is high (up 4%) whereas in the cold polar regions it is quite low(close to 0%).

Correct Answer - (a) 1 and 3 only

• Major ocean currents of Atlantic Ocean:
  • Falkland Current(Cold)
  • Labrador Current(Cold)
  • Brazil Current(Warm)
  • Benguela Current(Cold)
  • Canary Current(Cold)
  • Gulf Stream(Warm)
• Agulhas current  is found in the south-west Indian Ocean.
• Humboldt current is found in the south pacific ocean.

Correct Answer - (b) Granite

• Rocks formed when molten lava comes on the earth’s surface, cools down and becomes solid are called extrusive Igneous rocks.
• Eg. - Basalt
• Rocks formed when molten lava cools down deep inside the earth’s crust and becomes solid are called intrusive Igneous rocks.
• Eg. - Granite
• Granite is a light-colored igneous rock with grains large enough to be visible with the unaided eyes.

Correct Answer - (b) Atlantic Ocean 

• The Panama Canal owned and administered by the Republic of Panama connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the narrow Isthmus of Panama.
• The canal, which was completed in August 1914, is one of the two most strategic artificial waterways in the world, the other being the Suez Canal.

Correct Answer - (a) 3 Only 

• Atmospheric gasses like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor and

Chlorofluorocarbons are capable of trapping the out-going infrared radiation from the earth.

• They are called Greenhouse Gases.
• Sulfur dioxide(SO2) is not a Greenhouse Gas.

Correct Answer - (b) 1 and 2 Only 

• Depletion of ozone layer permits passage of UV radiation on earth’s atmosphere.
• This causes sunburn, cataract in eyes leading to blindness, skin cancer, reduced productivity of forests. 
• Respiratory problems like Lung Cancer occur due to air pollution.

Correct Answer - (c) Both 1 and 2 

• Wheat is a Rabi crop. 
• It is sown in mid-October/November and harvested in March. 
• It grows well in cool and moist climate and ripens in a warm and dry climate. 
• The cool winters and the hot summers are conducive to a good crop produce. 
• A cloudless sky having bright sunshine during ripening and harvesting periods will make better quality wheat.

Correct Answer - (c) Both 1 and 2 

• The lateritic soils are particularly found in areas of high(>200cm) and seasonal rainfall. 
• The alternating wet and dry seasons lead to the leaching away of the siliceous matter of the rocks leaving behind the compounds of iron and aluminum.
• These soils when wet are as soft as butter but become hard on drying. Therefore, these are widely used as bricks for use in house construction.
• The lateritic soils are reddish brown in color due to the presence of iron oxide.
• The humus content of the soil is removed fast by bacteria that thrives well in high temperatures. Hence, These soils are poor in organic matter.

Correct Answer - (c) Both 1 and 2 

• A deciduous forest is a biome dominated by deciduous trees which lose their leaves seasonally.
• Another name for these forests is broad-leaf forests because of the wide, flat leaves on the trees. 
• They are generally found in the areas where rainfall is between 70 and 200 cm.
• Trees in tropical deciduous forests lose their leaves in the dry season and regrow them in the rainy season. 
• In temperate deciduous forests, trees lose their leaves in the fall and regrow them in the spring.
• Deciduous forests are further divided into moist and dry deciduous forests on the basis of the availability of water.

Correct Answer - (b) 2 only

• Within the visible range of light, red light waves are scattered the least by atmospheric gas molecules. 
• So at sunrise and sunset, when the sunlight travels a long path through the atmosphere to reach our eyes, other lights are mostly scattered, leaving mostly red and yellow light remaining. 
• The result is that the sunlight takes on an orange or red cast and the sun seems red.

Correct Answer - (a) 1 only

• Albedo is a measure of how much light that hits a surface is reflected without being absorbed.
• It is to be noted that white and bright surfaces have more albedo than dark and rugged surfaces.
• Hence, Ice capped fields have more albedo. When Polar ice melts, It decreases the  albedo of the earth.

Correct Answer - (c) Cool air of high mountain areas 

•  In mountainous regions, during the night the slopes get cooled and the dense air descends into the valley as the mountain wind also known as Katabatic wind.

Correct Answer - (c) Both 1 and 2

• The pattern of planetary winds is affected by both the rotation of earth and distribution of continents and oceans.
• Coriolis force, which is caused by the earth’s rotation, is responsible for deflecting winds towards the right in the northern hemisphere and towards the left in the southern hemisphere. 

Correct Answer - (d) 2 and 3 Only

• For the formation of Tropical Cyclones the sea surface temperature should be higher than 27° C.
• Presence of the coriolis force and a pre-existing weak low-pressure area are the important requirements for a tropical cyclone to start.
• A tropical cyclone is an intense low pressure area or a whirl in the atmosphere over tropical or subtropical waters circulating either anticlockwise (in the northern hemisphere) or clockwise (in the southern hemisphere). 

Correct Answer - (c) 1 and 3 Only

• In a cold front, the cold air mass will be advancing and undercutting the warm air.
• The gradient of the cold front is usually much steeper than that of the warm front and the rapid ascent of warm moist air at the front causes rapid cooling, condensation and the development of cumulonimbus clouds. 
• In a warm front, the warm air mass will be advancing and overriding the cold air.