UPSC 2005 Geography Questions with Answers

Explanation

Assertion (a) is true: The conditions on Venus are extremely harsh for human life, and its atmosphere and surface are inhos-pitable for humans. Venus has an extremely high surface temperature, high atmospheric pressure, and a toxic atmosphere primarily composed of carbon dioxide (96.5%), with clouds of sulfuric acid. Reason (R) is true: The atmosphere of Venus is composed primarily of carbon dioxide (CO), with small amounts of nitrogen and trace gases. CO constitutes about 96.5% of the atmosphere, and this contributes to a runaway greenhouse effect that traps heat and causes extreme surface temperatures around 465°C. Assertion A and Reason R are true and R correctly explains A as the inhospitability of Venus for humans is explained by the presence of carbon dioxide in the environment.

Explanation

Assertion (A) is true: The Moon is tidally locked to the Earth, meaning that the same hemisphere of the Moon is always facing Earth. This occurs because the Moon’s rotational period (the time it takes to spin once on its axis) is equal to its orbital period (the time it takes to complete one revolution around the Earth). As a result, only about 59% of the Moon’s surface is ever visible from Earth due to lunar libration (a slight wobbling motion). The remaining 41% is permanently hidden from direct view from Earth and is called the far side of the Moon (often incorrectly referred to as the "dark side"). Reason (R) is false: The actual time the Moon takes to rotate on its own axis is 27.3 days, not 23.5 days. The Moon’s orbital period around the Earth is also 27.3 days (called the sidereal month) not 23 and a half days. Since these two periods are equal, the same face of the Moon always faces Earth, which is a result of synchronous rotation (tidal locking)

Explanation

Assertion (A) is false: Wind patterns in the Northern Hemisphere move clockwise around high-pressure systems and counterclockwise around low-pressure systems. In the Southern Hemisphere, the pattern is opposite: counterclockwise around high-pressure systems and clockwise around low-pressure systems. The statement in the Assertion (A) is incorrect because it gener-alizes wind patterns without distinguishing between high-pres-sure and low-pressure systems. Reason (R) is true: The Coriolis effect, caused by the Earth’s rotation, deflects winds to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. This influences the direction of wind patterns, making R correct. Conclusion:

Since A is false but R is true, the correct answer is (d):

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect: The Earth’s magnetic axis is tilted at approximately 11 degrees relative to its geographic axis (the axis around which the Earth rotates). The 23.5-degree tilt refers to the Earth’s rotational axis relative to its orbit around the Sun, which is responsible for the seasons, not the magnetic field.

Statement 2 is correct: The North Magnetic Pole is currently located in the Arctic region of Northern Canada, specifically on Ellesmere Island. The magnetic poles are not fixed and move over time due to changes in the Earth’s magnetic field.

Statement 3 is correct: The magnetic equator is an imaginary line where the Earth’s magnetic field is entirely horizontal (no dip angle). The magnetic equator passes near Thumba in South India. The Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station was established in this location due to its proximity to the magnetic equator.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: The total land area of the Earth is approximately 1475 lakh square kilometers or 147.5 million square kilometers. The Earth’s surface area is about 510 million square kilometers, with land covering roughly 29% of it.

Statement 2 is incorrect: About 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water and 29% is land. This gives a land-to-water ratio of approximately 1:2.4 and not 1:4 as mentioned in the question.

Statement 3 is correct: The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean, covering an area of about 168 million square kilometers. It contains the maximum percentage of Earth’s water, contributing significantly to the planet’s hydrosphere.

Explanation

The correct order of continents in terms of their percentage of Earth’s land area is:

Asia > Africa > North America > South America > Antarctica > Europe > Australia. The sequence that accurately reflects the decreasing order of land area is:

Africa: Second largest continent, covering 20.3% of Earth’s land area. North America: Third largest continent, covering 16.3% of Earth’s land area. South America: Fourth largest continent, covering 12.0% of Earth’s land area. Europe: Sixth largest continent, covering 6.8% of Earth’s land area.

Explanation

While North-East India has a high proportion of tribal communities relative to its total population, it does not account for over half of India’s total tribal population.The largest tribal populations are actually concentrated in central In-dia--states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand. As per Census 2011, the North-Eastern states account for approximately 12-15% of the total Scheduled Tribe population in India, not more than half. Statements (a), (c) and (d) are correct:

The Constitution of India does not provide a specific definition for Scheduled Tribes. Instead, under Article 342, the President is empowered to specify the tribes or tribal communities to be recognized as Scheduled Tribes in consultation with the respective state governments. The Todas are an indigenous tribe residing in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu. They are known for their distinct culture, traditional barrel-vaulted houses, and pastoral lifestyle centered around buffalo herding. Lotha is both a language and the name of a tribe in Nagaland. The Lotha Naga people predominantly inhabit the Wokha district of Nagaland.

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect: India was the first country to launch a National Programme for Family Planning in 1952. The Mission Parivar Vikas, one of the key flagship Family Planning Programmes of Government of India was launched in 2016 for increasing access to contraceptives and family planning services.

Statement 2 and 3 are correct:

The National Population Policy of India 2000, aimed to achieve a replacement level of fertility (2.1 children per woman) by 2010, with a target population of about 111 crores. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) represents the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her reproductive years, based on current fertility rates. Kerala was the First State in India to achieve replacement level fertility. The Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) 2021 study notes that India’s TFR was 1.9 in 2021, below the replacement level of 2.1.

Explanation

Uttar Pradesh had the largest absolute number of Scheduled Caste (SC) population in both the 2001 and 2011 censuses. However, in terms of the percentage of SC population relative to the total population, Punjab (not Bihar) recorded the highest proportion in both years. In 2001, Punjab’s SC population constituted approximately 28.85% of its total population, which increased to around 31.94% in 2011. In comparison, Uttar Pradesh’s SC population percentage was 21.15% in 2001 and slightly declined to 21.1% in 2011.

Option (b) is incorrect: The percentage decadal growth rate of the country has declined significantly from 21.5% for the period 1991-2001 to 17.6 % during 2001-2011.

Option (c) is incorrect: Sikkim was the state with the least population (approximately 5.4 lac) in 2001 as well as in 2011 (approximately 6.07 lac).

Option (d) is correct: The sex ratio represents the number of females per 1,000 males in a population. Pondicherry (now Puducherry) had a higher proportion of females compared to males(1001 females over 1000 male), resulting in the high-est sex ratio among Union Territories, according to the Census 2001 data.

Explanation

In 2001 Uttar Pradesh had the highest Population while Maharashtra ranked the second. In 2011 the same trend continued with Uttar Pradesh having the highest population (199,812,341) while Maharashtra followed(11,23,74,333) it at second.