Question 1

Ships from which of the following countries have to cross the Strait of Hormuz to reach out to the Indian Ocean?
1. Bahrain
2. Syria
3. Qatar
4. Egypt
Select the answer using the code given below:

Accepted Answer

1 and 2. * Bahrain & Qatar (1 and 3): The Strait of Hormuz serves as the vital geographic bottleneck connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the broader Indian Ocean. Ships coming from nations inside the Persian Gulf—such as Bahrain and Qatar—must cross this strait to reach open ocean waters. * Syria & Egypt (2 and 4): Syria borders the Mediterranean, and Egypt borders the Mediterranean and Red Seas; neither country is located inside the Persian Gulf, so their ships do not pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Question 2

Tungurahua Volcano, which was declared a Global Geopark by UNESCO in 2025, is situated in which one among the following countries?

Accepted Answer

Ecuador. * Ecuador: Tungurahua, meaning "Throat of Fire" in the Quechua language, is an active stratovolcano situated in Ecuador's Eastern Andes (Cordillera Oriental), roughly 140 km south of Quito. In 2025, it was recognized as a UNESCO Global Geopark (Ecuador's second geopark after Imbabura).

Question 3

Which of the following statements with reference to Lake Turkana is/are correct?
1. It is the largest desert lake in the world.
2. The lake is situated in South Sudan along the eastern fringe of the Sahara desert.
3. The lake is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is also referred to as the 'Jade Sea'.
Select the answer using the code given below:

Accepted Answer

1 only. * Statement 1 is correct: Lake Turkana is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake. * Statement 2 is incorrect: It lies mainly in northern Kenya, with its northern tip extending into southwestern Ethiopia. It is not located in South Sudan or the Sahara desert. * Statement 3 is correct: It is Africa's fourth-largest lake, nicknamed the "Jade Sea" due to its striking turquoise color, and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Question 4

Consider the following countries:
I. Bolivia
II. Brazil
III. Colombia
IV. Ecuador
V. Paraguay
VI. Venezuela

Andes mountains pass through how many of the above countries?

Accepted Answer

Only three. * (c) Only four is correct: The Andes Mountains, the world's longest continental mountain range, extend through seven South American countries. * Among the options provided, the range passes directly through: I. Bolivia, III. Colombia, IV. Ecuador, and VI. Venezuela. * The Andes range does not pass through II. Brazil or V. Paraguay.

Question 5

Consider the following water bodies:
I. Lake Tanganyika
II. Lake Tonlé Sap
III. Patos Lagoon

Through how many of them does the equator pass?

Accepted Answer

All the three. * (d) None is correct: The Equator does not intersect any of the three listed water bodies. * Lake Tanganyika sits in the Western Rift Valley of East Africa, south of the equator (~3° to 8° S latitude). * Lake Tonlé Sap is a natural freshwater floodplain lake situated in central Cambodia (Northern Hemisphere). * Patos Lagoon is located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in extreme southeastern Brazil, far south of the equatorial line.

Question 6

Consider the following countries:
I. United Kingdom
II. Denmark
III. New Zealand
IV. Australia
V. Brazil

How many of the above countries have more than four time zones?

Accepted Answer

Only four. * United Kingdom (9 time zones): While the UK mainland uses only one time zone, its overseas territories (such as Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands, etc.) make it span across 9 time zones globally. * Denmark (5 time zones): Mainland Denmark adheres to a single time zone, but the Faroe Islands (1 zone) and Greenland (3 zones), which are part of the Danish realm, push its total to 5 time zones. * New Zealand (3 time zones): Its main islands use one time zone, while the Chatham Islands and Tokelau bring the total to three. * Australia (9 time zones): Mainland Australia is divided into 5 standard time zones; including its 3 external dependencies brings the total to 9 time zones. * Brazil (4 time zones): It spans exactly four standard time zones from west to east (Acre, Amazon, Brasília, and Fernando de Noronha time). * Therefore, three countries (UK, Denmark, and Australia) have more than four time zones.

Question 7

Consider the following statements:
I. Anadyr in Siberia and Nome in Alaska are a few kilometers from each other, but when people are waking up and getting set for breakfast in these cities, it would be different days.
II. When it is Monday in Anadyr, it is Tuesday in Nome.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

I only. * Statement I is correct: Anadyr (Siberia) and Nome (Alaska) are separated by a 20-hour time difference despite their geographical proximity, meaning breakfast time occurs on different days of the week in each city. * Statement II is incorrect: The International Date Line (IDL) runs between them. Alaska lies to the east of the IDL and Siberia lies to the west. When traveling westward across the IDL, you gain a day, and when traveling eastward, you lose a day. Therefore, when it is Monday in Anadyr, it is Sunday in Nome, not Tuesday.

Question 8

Consider the following pairs:
Country : Resource-rich in
I. Botswana : Diamond
II. Chile : Lithium
III. Indonesia : Nickel

In how many of the above rows is the given information correctly matched?

Accepted Answer

Only two. * Row I is correctly matched: Botswana is home to prominent gem mines and stands as one of the world's largest producers of diamonds. * Row II is correctly matched: Chile is situated within South America's 'Lithium Triangle' and ranks as the world's second-biggest producer of lithium. * Row III is correctly matched: Indonesia holds the world's largest proven nickel reserves, accounting for nearly 30% of the global supply. * Therefore, all three rows are correctly matched.

Question 9

Consider the following pairs:
Region : Country
I. Mallorca : Italy
II. Normandy : Spain
III. Sardinia : France

In how many of the above rows is the given information correctly matched?

Accepted Answer

All the three. * Row I is incorrectly matched: Mallorca (or Majorca) is the largest of the Balearic Islands and is an autonomous island province of Spain, not Italy. * Row II is incorrectly matched: Normandy is a historic northern coastal region bordering the English Channel in France, not Spain. * Row III is incorrectly matched: Sardinia is a large island region located in the western Mediterranean Sea belonging to Italy, not France. * Therefore, none of the rows are correctly matched.

Question 10

Which of the following countries are well known as the two largest cocoa producers in the world?

Accepted Answer

Botswana and Namibia. * (c) Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana is correct: Approximately 70 percent of the global supply of cocoa beans originates from West African tropical ecosystems. Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and Ghana rank as the top two largest global producers of cocoa beans, collectively accounting for more than 50 percent of total worldwide production.

Question 11

Consider the following countries:
1. Finland
2. Germany
3. Norway
4. Russia

How many of the above countries have a border with the North Sea?

Accepted Answer

Only one. * The North Sea is an epicenter of western European maritime transit bounded by specific geographical borders. * Items 2 (Germany) and 3 (Norway) directly border the waters of the North Sea along its eastern coastlines. * Items 1 (Finland) and 4 (Russia) are located further east and border the enclosed Baltic Sea or Arctic waters, not the North Sea. * Therefore, exactly two of the listed countries border it.

Question 12

In how many of the above rows is the given information correctly matched?

Accepted Answer

Only one. * Row 1 is incorrectly matched: The Vosges mountain range is a classic fault-block mountain range located in Europe, not Central Asia. * Row 2 is incorrectly matched: The Alps form a premier, Cenozoic-era young fold mountain chain in Europe, not a block mountain system. * Row 3 is correctly matched: The Appalachian Mountains in North America are an ancient, weathered fold mountain system. * Row 4 is correctly matched: The Andes represent a continuous, massive active fold mountain chain spanning South America. * Therefore, exactly two rows (3 and 4) are correctly matched.

Question 13

Consider the following pairs:
Country | Animal found in its natural habitat
1. Brazil | Indri
2. Indonesia | Elk
3. Madagascar | Bonobo

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

Accepted Answer

All three. * Pair 1 is incorrectly matched: The Indri (the largest living lemur species) is strictly endemic to the tropical rainforests of Madagascar, not Brazil. * Pair 2 is incorrectly matched: The Elk is a large terrestrial mammal within the deer family native to North America and Central/East Asia, not Indonesia. * Pair 3 is incorrectly matched: The Bonobo (pygmy chimpanzee) is an endangered great ape native exclusively to the Congo Basin within the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa, not Madagascar. * Therefore, zero pairs are correctly matched.

Question 14

Consider the following countries:
1. Italy
2. Japan
3. Nigeria
4. South Korea
5. South Africa

Which of the above countries are frequently mentioned in the media for their low birth rates, or ageing population or declining population?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 4. * Item 1 is included: Italy is known for its rapidly aging population, where over 23% of the demographic was older than 65 in 2019, with models predicting its population could halve by 2100. * Item 2 is included: Japan holds the world's oldest population average and faces sharp population declines from its historical peak. * Item 3 is not included: Contrary to aging trends, Nigeria has a soaring birth rate and is projected to hold one of the world's largest working-age populations by 2100. * Item 4 is included: South Korea faces a severe demographic crisis with a plunging fertility rate that hit a record low of 0.68 in 2024, threatening its welfare stability. * Item 5 is not included: South Africa does not rank among the global frontrunners frequently highlighted for structural population halving or extreme sub-replacement drops. * Therefore, countries 1, 2, and 4 are correct.

Question 15

The longest border between any two countries in the world is between:

Accepted Answer

Canada and the United States of America. * (a) Canada and the United States of America is correct: The boundary shared between Canada and the United States stretches for a total length of 8,890 km, making it the longest international border between any two countries globally. * For comparison, the Russia-Kazakhstan border is 6,846 km, the Chile-Argentina border is 5,308 km, and the India-China border runs along 3,488 km.

Question 16

Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: Sumed pipeline is a strategic route for Persian Gulf oil and natural gas shipments to Europe.
Statement-II: Sumed pipeline connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea.

Accepted Answer

Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I. * (a) is correct: The SUMED (Suez-Mediterranean) pipeline serves as a critical, strategic transport corridor to move Persian Gulf crude oil and natural gas shipments northward toward markets in Europe and North America. This validates Statement I. * The SUMED pipeline is located entirely within Egypt and physically connects the Red Sea terminal with access points along the Mediterranean Sea, boasting an operational capacity of 2.5 million barrels of oil per day. This validates Statement II. * Because its geographic connection between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea (Statement II) is the precise reason why it serves as the strategic transit alternative to ship Persian Gulf oil to Europe (Statement I), Statement II provides the direct causal explanation for Statement I.

Question 17

Consider the following statements:
1. The Red Sea receives very little precipitation in any form.
2. No water enters the Red Sea from rivers.

Accepted Answer

1 only. * Statement 1 is correct: The geographic terrain surrounding the Red Sea experiences an extremely arid climate, resulting in exceptionally low levels of localized precipitation or rainfall in any form. * Statement 2 is incorrect: While it is factually correct that no significant or major perennial river systems drain into the Red Sea, there are various small streams, wadis, and seasonal rivulets that periodically discharge fresh water into it. Thus, stating that "no water" enters from rivers is factually inaccurate.

World Geography PYQ browser.

All World Geography PYQs + Similar Questions