14th October 2020, Static Quiz on Indian Geography

Solution: A
Justification: Blown towards the earth by the solar wind, the charged particles are largely deflected by the earth’s magnetic field. However, the earth’s magnetic field is weaker at either pole and therefore some particles enter the earth’s atmosphere and collide with gas particles. These collisions emit light that we perceive as the dancing lights of the north (and the south).

Solution: C
Justification: Statement 1: These organic compounds such as the amino acids, nucleic acids, proteins,
vitamins and pigments.
Statement 2: Generally, nitrogen is usable only after it is fixed. Ninety percent of fixed nitrogen is biological. Only a few types of organisms like certain species of soil bacteria and blue-green algae are capable of utilizing it directly in its gaseous form.

Solution: D
Justification: There is a difference between the solar energy received and solar energy circulated (which affects the temperature of a region). All the factors from options A to C only circulate the solar energy that is already received by the earth; they do not as such directly affect the solar energy incident on the earth. There is a minor case for the cloudiness created by movement of ocean currents or winds that often blocks solar insolation; but the major cause for variation is earth’s curvature.

Solution: A
Justification: Statement 1: Generally, at the same latitude the insolation is moreover the continent than over the oceans because oceans are cloudier due to greater evaporation. Similarly, in the equator, evaporation is high, cloudiness is high and rains are frequent. Clouds reflect incoming solar insolation and send it back to space.
Statement 2: Zero Coriolis force would mean that winds are not deflected with great force at the equator, as they are the sub-tropics. But, the direction of the wind will only affect the distribution of heat, and not the amount of insolation actually received from the Sun.

Solution: B
Justification: Usually, within the lower atmosphere (the troposphere) the air near the surface of the Earth is warmer than the air above it, largely because the atmosphere is heated from below as solar radiation warms the Earth’s surface, which in turn then warms the layer of the atmosphere directly above it. Given the right conditions, the normal vertical temperature gradient is inverted such that the air is colder near the surface of the Earth. This can occur when, for example, a warmer, less-dense air mass moves over a cooler, denser air
mass. It can also happen in valleys are the cold air slides down the mountain slope and warm air moves up.

Solution: B
Justification: Ocean Waves do not induce movement of water in the ocean from one place to another. Movement of water is done by ocean currents. If water is not moved from one place to the other, there is no circulation of temperature, nutrients, water density or salinity. So, ocean waves affect the temperature distribution the least. Ocean ‘currents’ do. Ocean currents, warm or cold, carry heat/coolness from one sea region to the other and affect the temperature distribution.

Solution: A
Justification: Statement 1: This is due to greater evaporation. Similarly, in the equator, evaporation is high, cloudiness is high and rains are frequent. Clouds reflect incoming solar insolation and send it back to space.
Statement 2: Despite the varied terrain and relief, the amount of insolation received by land isn’t affected so significantly as to cause such a difference in the total insolation received by land and seas.

Solution: B
Justification: The earth receives almost all of its energy from the sun. The earth in turn radiates back to space the energy received from the sun. As a result, the earth neither warms up nor does it get cooled over a period of time.

Solution: A
Justification: Only a very small fraction (0.1 percent) is fixed in photosynthesis. More than half is used for plant respiration and the remaining part is temporarily stored or is shifted to other portions of the plant. This energy captured from the Sun further reduces when we pass to higher trophic levels.

Solution: C
Justification: The opposite direction of circulation is due to the Coriolis Effect. The surface air that flows from these subtropical high-pressure belts toward the Equator is deflected toward the west in both hemispheres by the Coriolis Effect. These winds blow predominantly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere.
Option A: Tropical cyclones typically form over large bodies of relatively warm water, so they are equally
predominant in both the hemispheres wherever there are conducive conditions.