Extra Question & Answers (Part - 1): India - Size And Location - Social Studies (SST) Class 9

Q1.  What is the Easternmost longitude of India?
Ans: The Easternmost longitude of India is 97°25' E at Kibithu in district Anjaw of Arunachal Pradesh.  
Easternmost longitude of IndiaQ2. What is the longitude of the Westernmost point of India?
Ans: Guhar Moti in Kutch district, near Sir Creek in Gujarat state, is at 68°7' East longitude.  

Q3. Which Indian states have common frontiers with our neighbouring country Bhutan?
Ans:  The states of West Bengal, Asom, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim have common frontiers with Bhutan.  

Q4. Name the countries sharing a land boundary with India.
Ans: The countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.  

India's neighbouring countriesQ5. If you go to Silvassa, which union territory will you be in?
Ans:  You will be in the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, as Silvassa is its capital.  

Q6. The Southernmost latitude of the Indian Union is located in which state or union territory?
Ans: The Southernmost latitude of the Indian Union is Indira Point, located at the Southernmost tip of the Nicobar islands in the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar islands. It lies at a latitude of 6°45' North.  

Q7. Which Indian states border three countries?
Ans: The Indian states that border three countries are:

• Sikkim: Sikkim is a State in Northeast India. It is one of the fastest growing, multiethnic and multilingual Indian state. It borders Tibet in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also located close to India's Siliguri corridor near Bangladesh.
• Arunachal Pradesh: Arunachal Pradesh, situated in the north-eastern part of India is 83,743 sq km in area and has a long international border with Bhutan to the west (160 km), China to the north and north-east (1,080 km), and Myanmar to the east (440 km).
• Jammu and Kashmir: Jammu and Kashmir, formerly one of the largest princely states of India, is bounded to the east by the Indian union territory of Ladakh, to the south by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, to the southwest by Pakistan, and to the northwest by the Pakistani-administered portion of Kashmir.

Q8. Name the group of islands lying in the Arabian sea.
Ans: The Lakshadweep islands lie in the Arabian sea.  
Lakshadweep islands

Q9. Kota (in Rajasthan) is located at a latitude of about 76°E and Barpeta (in Asom) is at a latitude of about 91°E. What is the difference in local time at the two locations?
Ans: Since Barpeta is East of Kota, the local time at Barpeta will be ahead of local time at Kota. A difference of 1° longitude is the same as 4 minutes time difference. Thus, the time difference between the two towns, = 4 min x (91°E-76°E) = 60 min.  

Q10. What is unique about the 'Indira Point'?
Ans: Indira Point is the Southernmost point within the Indian Union, located in the Nicobar Islands. It was submerged under seawater by the Tsunami of 2004.  

Q11. Which countries are land neighbours of India, but are not considered as part of the Indian subcontinent?
Ans: A neighbouring country but not a part of Indian subcontinent is China. Politically, the Indian subcontinent is said to comprise the following seven States(countries): India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives. There is no consensus about the limits of the Subcontinent.

Q12. Which union territory of India has the least area?
Ans: The union territory of Lakshadweep has an area of only 32 sq km, which is the least among all the union territories.  

Q13. Which state of India has the least area?
Ans: The state of Goa has an area of 3702 sq km, which is the least among all the states (Delhi is considered a union territory, not a state).

Location of Goa in India

Q14. How many hours is the Indian Standard Time (IST) is ahead or behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)?
Ans: Since India is to the East of Greenwich (located at 0° longitude) and its standard time is calculated at 82°30' E, India is 5V2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). 

Q15. What is the latitude of the Southernmost point on the Indian mainland?
Ans: The Southernmost point on the Indian mainland is Kanyakumari at a latitude of 8°4' N. 

Q16. Which union territory was converted into a state in 1987?
Ans: Goa was a union territory when it became independent from Portuguese rule in 1961. It was made into a state in 1987. 

Q17. Is it true that the land area of Russia is more than the combined areas of Australia and India?
Ans: Russia has a land area of 17.09 million sq km. Australia and India together have a combined land area of 7.69 + 3.28 million sq km = 10.97 million sq km. Thus, this is true.  

Q18. India's contacts with the world were established first by land routes or sea routes?
Ans: The land routes, because the various passes across the mountains in the North have provided passages to the ancient travellers, while the oceans restricted such interaction for a long time.  

Q19. The Tropic of Cancer passes through which states of India?
Ans: The Tropic of Cancer passes through the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.  
Tropic of cancerQ20. Which country has a common frontier with the four Indian states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim?
Ans:  The country having a common frontier with these Indian states is Nepal.  

Q21. If you intended to visit Kavaratti during your summer vacations, which union territory of India will you be going to?
Ans:  Kavaratti is the capital of the union territory of Lakshadweep.   

Q22. In which year did the Indira Point got submerged under the seawater?
Ans: 2004 is the year when Indira Point got submerged under the seawater.  It was situated on Great Nicobar Island in the Nicobar Islands, which are located in the eastern Indian Ocean at 6^∘45′10′N and 93^∘49′36′E.

Q23. Name the imaginary line in India along which time is taken as standard time.
Ans: Standard Meridian is the imaginary line in India along which time is taken as standard time.  

Q24. What is the length of the Indian coastline?
Ans: The length of the Indian coastline is 7516.6 km.  

Q25. What is the East-West extension of India in kilometres?
Ans: The distance of the East-West extension of India is 2933 kms.
East west extension of India

Q26. What is the position of India in respect of area in the world?
Ans:  India holds 7th position in the world in terms of area. India's total landmass measures around 3.28 million sq. km.

Q27. Name the water bodies that separate Sri Lanka from India?
Ans: Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar are water bodies that separate Sri Lanka from India.  

Q28. What is the length of the Indian land boundary?
Ans: The length of the Indian land boundary is 15200 km.  

Q29. If you want to visit Lakshadweep during your winter holiday, which water body you have to cross?
Ans: We have to cross the Arabian sea if we visit Lakshadweep.  

Q30. How many countries in the world are larger than India in terms by land area? Name them according to their position?
Ans: There are six countries in the world larger than India. They are Russia, Canada, China, the United States of America, Brazil and Australia.  

Q31. What is the North-South extension of India in kilometres?
Ans: The distance of the North-South extension of India is 3214 kms.  

Q32. Which latitudinal line divides India into approximately two equal parts?
Ans: The latitudinal line that divides India into two equal parts is the Tropic of Cancer.

Q33. What is the time difference between IST and GMT? 
Ans: 

• Indian Standard Time (IST) is 5:30 hrs ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).  
• Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London which is measured at midnight. 
• Indian Standard Time (IST) is the time zone observed throughout India. It does not take into account daylight saving time along with other seasonal factors.

Q34. Why days and nights are almost of equal duration at Kanyakumari? 
Ans: The day and night are nearly of the same duration at the equator. As Kanyakumari is quite near the equator at 8°4'N the day-night difference is hardly one hour there, and therefore, the duration of day and night is hardly felt at Kanyakumari.

Q35. Which country shares the longest boundary with India?
Ans: Bangladesh shares the longest boundary with India. It is   4053 km long. 
Bangladesh sharing border with IndiaQ36. Which state has the longest coastline in India?
Ans: Gujarat has the longest coastline in India along its kathiawar region. The length of the Gujarat coastline is about 1600 km surrounded by the Arabian sea.

Q37. Just before independence, how were the Provinces and states in India organised?
Ans: Just before independence in 1947, there were two types of states in India. The Provinces and the Princely states. Provinces were ruled directly by British officials who were appointed by the Viceroy. Princely states were ruled by local, hereditary rulers, who acknowledged the sovereignty of the British in return for local autonomy. Examples of the rulers of Princely states are the Nizam of Hyderabad and Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir.  

Q38. What is the strategic significance of India's location in Asia?
Ans: The Indian landmass has a central location between East and West Asia. The trans-Indian Ocean routes which connect the countries of Europe in the West and the countries of East Asia provide a strategic central location to India. Location of India in AsiaThe various passes across the mountains in the North have provided passages to the ancient travellers. These routes have contributed in the exchange of ideas and commodities since ancient times. Thus, India is very strategically located. 

Q39. Give the reasons for selecting longitude 82°30' as the Standard Meridian of India.
Ans:   The latitudinal and longitudinal extent of the Indian mainland is about 30°. Thus, from Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, there is a time difference of almost two hours. So the local time along the Standard Meridian of India (82°30' E) passing through Mirzapur (in Uttar Pradesh) is taken as the Indian Standard Time for the whole country. This is near to the centre of the country and also an exact multiple of a half hour related to Greenwich in England, which is at 0° longitude.  
Indian Standard Time

Q40. Why is the difference between day and night durations not felt at Kanyakumari, but not so in Kashmir?
Ans: Since, the axis of rotation of the Earth is tilted at 23.5° to the perpendicular, the circle of illumination of the Earth varies from summer to winter. At the equator, it does not cause any time difference between day and night throughout the year, but North or South of it the durations vary. Kanyakumari is close to the equator, while Kashmir is far away. So, this difference is felt in Kashmir in winter or summer, but not at Kanyakumari.  

Q41.  Why 82°30'E has been selected as the Standard Meridian of India?
Ans: From Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, there is a time lag of two hours. Hence, time along the Standard Meridian of India (82° 30' E) passing through Mirzapur (in Uttar Pradesh) is taken as the standard time for the whole country. Otherwise different regions of India would have different times, which would create problems; so, to have one common standard time for the whole country, this has been selected and called Indian Standard Time (1ST) 

Q42. Classify the states into four groups each having common frontiers with (a) Pakistan (b) China (c) Myanmar (d) Bangladesh
Ans: States having common frontiers with
(a) Pakistan Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir
(b) China Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir
(c) Myanmar Manipur,   Nagaland,   Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram
(d) Bangladesh West Bengal, Asom, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram  

Q43. The Sun rises two hours earlier in Arunachal Pradesh as compared to Gujarat in the West, but the watches show the same time. How does this happen?
Ans: From Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, there is a time lag of two hours, but the watches show the same time because the time along the Standard Meridian of India (82°30' E) passing through Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh is taken as the standard time for the whole country. Because the same standard time for the whole country has been adopted, the watches show the same time in Arunachal Pradesh and Gujarat and in all parts of the country.  

Q44. India before 1947, there were two types of states in India? The Provinces and the Princely states. Provinces were ruled directly by British officials who were appointed by the viceroy. Princely states were ruled by local, hereditary rulers, who acknowledged British sovereignty in return for local autonomy. At the time of independence, the ruler of the Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, Hari Singh, acceded to India and not to Pakistan, although the majority of the population in the state was Muslim. If you had been in place of the ruler, what would you have done and why?
Ans: I would have still acceded to India, as Pakistan is not a secular country, whereas India is a secular country. Since there are a significant number of the people of Jammu and Kashmir are not Muslims, they would have been persecuted if the state acceded to Pakistan. In India, people of all religions and faiths are treated equally and so the ruler's decision was a wise one.