SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY TEST 18 - GEOGRAPHY - FULL TEST - ANSWER KEY 1. Ans (a) Explanation: Soil found in Tropical deciduous forest rich in nutrients. 2. Ans (b) Explanation: Sea breeze is caused due to the heating of land and it occurs in the day time 3. Ans (c) Explanation: • Days are hot, and during the hot season, noon temperatures of over 100°F. are quite frequent. When night falls the clear sky which promotes intense heating during the day also causes rapid radiation in the night. Temperatures drop to well below 50°F. and night frosts are not uncommon at this time of the year. This extreme diurnal range of temperature is another characteristic feature of the Sudan type of climate. • The savanna, particularly in Africa, is the home of wild animals. It is known as the ‘big game country. • The leaf and grass-eating animals include the zebra, antelope, giraffe, deer, gazelle, elephant and okapi. • Many are well camouflaged species and their presence amongst the tall greenish-brown grass cannot be easily detected. The giraffe with such a long neck can locate its enemies a great distance away, while the elephant is so huge and strong that few animals will venture to come near it. It is well equipped will tusks and trunk for defence. • The carnivorous animals like the lion, tiger, leopard, hyaena, panther, jaguar, jackal, lynx and puma have powerful jaws and teeth for attacking other animals. 4. Ans (b) Explanation: Rivers of Tamilnadu • The Thamirabarani River (Porunai) is a perennial river that originates from the famous Agastyarkoodam peak of Pothigai hills of the Western Ghats, above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram taluk. • The Noyyal River is a small river in Western Tamil Nadu, and a tributary of Kaveri River. It rises from the Vellingiri hills in the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, very close to Kerala border, and flows through many villages and the cities of Coimbatore and Tirupur, finally draining into the Kaveri River at Noyyal, a village in Karur district named after the river itself. • Palar is a river of southern India. It rises in Nandi Hills, India in Kolar district of Karnataka state and flows 93 kilometres (58 mi) in Karnataka, 33 kilometres (21 mi) in Andhra Pradesh and 222 kilometres (138 mi) in Tamil Nadu before its confluence into the Bay of Bengal at Vayalur about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Chennai. The cities of Ramanaickenpet, Vaniyambadi, Ambur, Gudiyatham, Vellore, Melvisharam, Arcot, Ranipet, Walajapet (Anaicut), Kanchipuram, and Chengalpattu are located on banks of Palar River. Of all the total of seven tributaries, the chief tributary is Cheyyar River. 5. Ans (c) Explanation: Biosphere reserves • The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is an International Biosphere Reserve in the Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills ranges of South India. The Western Ghats, Nilgiri Sub-Cluster (6,000+ km²), conjoining the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, is a World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO in 2012. It includes the Mudumalai, Mukurthi, Sathyamangalam, Nagarhole, Wayanad, and Bandipur national parks. • The reserve encompasses 5,520 km² in the states of Tamil Nadu (2537.6 km²), Karnataka (1527.4 km²) and Kerala (1455.4 km²). It forms an almost complete ring around the Nilgiri Plateau. • The Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve was established in 2001 and includes 3,500.36 km2 (1,351.50 sq mi) of which 1828 km² is in Kerala and 1672.36 km² is in Tamil Nadu. • Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve became part of World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2016. SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY 6. Ans (c) Explanation: • The Westerlies, anti-trades, or Prevailing Westerlies, are prevailing winds from the west toward the east in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude. • They originate from the high pressure areas in the horse latitudes and tend towards the poles and steer extra tropical cyclones in this general manner. • Tropical cyclones which cross the subtropical ridge axis into the Westerlies recurve due to the increased westerly flow. • The winds are predominantly from the southwest in the Northern Hemisphere and from the northwest in the Southern Hemisphere. • The Westerlies are strongest in the winter hemisphere and at times when the pressure is lower over the poles, while they are weakest in the summer hemisphere and when pressures are higher over the poles. • The Westerlies are particularly strong, especially in the southern hemisphere, where there is less land in the middle southern latitudes to cause the flow pattern to amplify, or become more north- south oriented, which would slow the Westerlies. • The strongest westerly winds in the middle latitudes can come in the Roaring Forties, between 40 and 50 degrees latitude. • The Westerlies play an important role in carrying the warm, equatorial waters and winds to the western coasts of continents, especially in the southern hemisphere because of its vast oceanic expanse (Source: Wiki and G.C.Leong) 7. Ans (c) Explanation: • Humidity is a measure of the dampness of the atmosphere which varies greatly from place to place at different times of day. The actual amount of water vapour present in the air, which is expressed in grams per cubic metre, is called the absolute humidity. But more important from the point of view of weather studies is the relative humidity. This is the ratio between the actual amount of water vapour and the total amount the air can hold at a given temperature, expressed as a percentage. Warm air can hold more water vapour than cold air, so if it contains only half the amount it could carry, the relative humidity is 50 percent. • A device used to measure humidity is called a psychrometer or hygrometer 8. Ans (d) Explanation: • The planetary winds are probably the dominant influence on the flow of ocean currents. The strongest evidence of prevailing winds on current flows is seen in the North Indian Ocean. Here the direction of the currents changes completely with the direction of the monsoon winds which come from the north-east in winter and south-west in summer. • There is much difference in the temperature of ocean waters at the equator and at the poles. As warm water is lighter and rises, and cold water is denser and sinks, warm equatorial waters move slowly along the surface pole wards, while the heavier cold waters of the Polar Regions creep slowly along the bottom of the sea equator wards. • The Salinity of ocean water varies from place to place. Waters of high salinity are denser than waters of low salinity. Hence waters of low salinity flow on the surface of waters of high salinity while waters of high salinity flow at the bottom towards waters of low salinity. • The earth’s rotation deflects freely moving objects, including ocean currents, to the right. In the northern hemisphere this is a clockwise direction (e.g. the circulation of the Gulf Stream Drift and the Canaries Current). In the southern hemisphere it is an anti-clockwise direction (e.g. the Brazilian Current and the West Wind Drift). 9. Ans (d) Explanation: Cities • Also knows as Little Japan, The economy of Sivakasi is dependent on three major industries: fire crackers, match manufacturing and printing. The major issues in the fireworks industry in Sivakasi is child labour and frequent accidents. SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY • Bhavani is also known as the Carpet city, as the leading business of the town is known for its carpet industry. Bhavani Jamakkalam refers to blankets and carpets manufactured in Bhavani. It has been recognized as a Geographical indication by the Government of India. • Tuticorin, also known as Thoothukudi, lies in the Coromandel Coast off Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is known as "Pearl City" due to the pearl fishing carried out in the town. It is a commercial seaport which serves the inland cities of Southern India and is one of the sea gateways of Tamil Nadu. The 21 islands between Thoothukudi and Rameswaram shores in the Gulf of Mannar are noted as the first Marine Biosphere Reserve of India, and have around 36,000 species of flora and fauna. This protected area is called Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. • The majority of the people of the city are employed in salt pans, sea-borne trading, fishing, and tourism. Salt Capital of Tamil Nadu is Tutucorin. • Namakkal is famous for its Lorry body building industries and Poultry farms. It is India's 2nd biggest egg producing region (producing 3 crore eggs per day). Nationwide Namakkal is known for body building for truck, trailer, tanker and rig unit. ∗ Karur - Bus Body Building, ∗ Vellore - Tannery or Leather exports, ∗ Coimbatore - Manchester of south India, Pump City, Wet grinder and "Kovai Cora Cotton" - GI Tag ∗ Kanchipuram - Silks - GI Tag ∗ Tiruppur - Knitwear Industry 10. Ans (a) Explanation: Hills of South India 11. Ans (a) Explanation: The Chilean and the Peruvian coasts are rainless because of the effect of the cold Humboldt current. The cold current contributes to atmospheric stability and does not help in the formation of clouds. 12. Ans (c) Explanation: This type of rainfall is independent of relief or convection. It is purely associated with cyclonic activity whether in the temperate regions (depressions) or tropical regions (cyclones). Basically it is due to the convergence (meeting) of two different air masses with different SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY temperatures and other physical properties. As cold air is denser, it tends to remain close to the ground. The warm air is lighter and tends to rise over the cold air as shown in figure. In ascent, pressure decreases the air expands and cools, condensation takes place and light showers called cyclonic or frontal rain occur. The heavier and colder air masses eventually pushes up the warmer and lighter air and the sky is clear again.