UGC NET Paper 2 Geography Mock Test - 7 - UGC NET MCQ

The correct answer is (a) - (3), (b) - (4), (c) - (1), (d) - (2).

Key Points

• Geosynclinal Theory -
  • The major mountain-building idea that was supported from the 19th century and into the 20th is the geosynclinal theory.
  • The fundamental concepts for geosynclinal theory were introduced in James Hall’s presidential address to the Geological Society of America at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Montreal in 1857.
  • His ideas were extravagant at the time; therefore, he was urged in a friendly letter by the secretary of the GSA, Joseph Henry, to introduce it slowly. Because of this, his address was not published until 1882. A principle concept of the theory is that the direction of a given mountain chain corresponds to the original line of greatest sediment accumulation.
  • James Dana helped clarify the theory in his final edition (1895) of the Manual of Geology. In this piece, he recognized Hall’s beginnings and concisely formulated the theory. 
• Tetrahedral Hypothesis -
  • The tetrahedral hypothesis is an obsolete scientific theory attempting to explain the arrangement of the Earth's continents and oceans by referring to the geometry of a tetrahedron.
  • Although it was a historically interesting theory in the late 19th and early 20th century, it was superseded by the concepts of continental drift and modern plate tectonics.
  • The theory was first proposed by William Lowthian Green in 1875.
• Stationary Wave Theory -
  • R.A. Harris of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey propounded the concept of stationary waves as opposed to progressive waves.
  • This theory offers an almost satisfactory explanation for local differences in tides, their types, and their age.
  • According to Harris tide, phenomena are not due to progressive waves which originate in the southern oceans as claimed by William Whewell but are due to stationary waves which originate independently in each ocean.
  • In other words, tide phenomena are regional phenomena. The stationary wave theory can be explained with the help of an experiment.
  • If a rectangular tank or ‘developing tray’ containing water is rocked from one side to the other or is simply tilted, the water level rises along one side of the tray but falls along the other side.
  • This generates oscillation in the water contained in the tray. Such oscillations in the water are called stationary waves.
  • There is a center in the middle of the tray where there is no change in the level of water. This point is called the nodal point
  • . The water level moves rhythmically from one end of the tray to the other end along a line which is called the nodal line.
• Subsidence Theory -
  • The subsidence hypothesis of coral reef development was proposed by Charles Darwin and was formulated during his voyage on the Beagle.
  • It envisaged that fringing reefs, barrier reefs, and atolls represent successive stages in an evolutionary sequence.
  • In a remarkable deduction, Charles Darwin proposed that different types of coral reefs observed in mid-ocean came about through the subsidence of underlying volcanic foundations.
  • He envisaged that fringing reefs, barrier reefs, and atolls represented different stages as a result of the vertical growth of reefs on subsiding basements. Subsequent drilling has provided support for this idea, which can be integrated into plate tectonic theory and can also accommodate many factors associated with changes in sea level.

Material Index was devised by Alfred Weber to indicate if the optimal location was closer to either raw material source or the market.

The Material Index is part of the least cost location principle and defined as the ratio of the weight of localised materials used in the industry to the weight of the product.

The material index equals 1 when there is no weight loss in the production, while if the material index is higher than 1, there is substantial weight loss.

• Material Index = Weight of localized materials/weight of the finished products.  
• If material index > 1 then the plant would be located near the sources of materials. 
• If material index < 1 then the plant would be located near to the market.

Atmosphere: The earth is surrounded by a layer of gas called the atmosphere. This thin blanket of air is an integral and important aspect of the planet.

Key-Points

Gaseous composition of the atmosphere:

• The air in the atmosphere is a mixture of many gases like nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapors.
• The atmosphere is composed mainly of nitrogen and oxygen
• Nitrogen and oxygen are two gases that make up the bulk of the atmosphere.
• Carbon dioxide, helium, ozone, argon, and hydrogen are found in lesser quantities.
• Nitrogen is the most plentiful gas in the air. It comprises 78% of the total composition of air.
• Oxygen holding the second position by volume constitutes 21% of the atmosphere.

Hence, option 2 is the correct answer.

Important Point

In the ancient period geography grew out of exploration, mapping of areas and materials collected. Some of the most prominent geographers of the ancient times were Arabs, Greeks, Chinese, Indians and Romans.

Odyssey is the work of Homer who is a Roman geographer.

Syntaxis is the work of Ptolemy who is a Greek geographer.

Kitab-Muraj-al-Dhahab is the work of Al Masudi who is an Arab Geographer

Qi Sheng is the work of Yu Qin who is a Chinese geographer

Thus, the Correct answer is B.

Among these factors, Humid climate is a major reason since this type of climate prevails in Mumbai and is essential as thread does not break frequently in such conditions. Other reasons include cheap hydroelectricity from the nearby areas and presence of black-cotton soil from the hinterland of Mumbai.

The correct answer is option 4.

Key Points

Tectonic Plates:

• A tectonic plate (also called a lithospheric plate) is a massive, irregularly-shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere.
• A tectonic plate may be a continental plate or an oceanic plate, depending on which of the two occupies the larger portion of the plate.

The Major and Minor Plates: The Earth’s lithosphere is divided into seven major and some minor plates.

• Young Fold Mountain ridges, oceanic trenches, and/or transform faults surround the major plates. These include:
  • The Antarctic (and the surrounding oceanic) plate. Hence, option 4 is correct.
  • The North American plate (with the western Atlantic floor separated from the South American plate along the Caribbean islands)
  • The South American plate (with the western Atlantic floor separated from the North American plate along the Caribbean islands)
  • The Pacific plate
  • The India-Australia-New Zealand plate
  • Africa with the eastern Atlantic floor plate
  • Eurasia and the adjacent oceanic plate
• Some important minor plates include:
  • Cocos plate: Between Central America and the Pacific plate
  • Nazca plate: Between South America and the Pacific plate
  • Arabian plate: Mostly the Saudi Arabian landmass
  • Philippine plate: Between the Asiatic and Pacific plate
  • Caroline plate: Between the Philippine and Indian plates (North of New Guinea)
  • Fuji plate: North-east of Australia
  • Juan De Fuca plate: South-East of North American Plate. Hence, options 1, 2 and 3 are not correct.

Concept:

Malthus Theory:

• The theory of exponential population and arithmetic food supply growth is the Malthusian theory of population.
• Thomas Robert Malthus proposed this theory.
• It was believed by him that preventive and positive checks are the two factors that can establish a balance between population growth and food supply.

Major elements of Malthus' theory:

• Checks on Population
  • When the increasing population rate is greater than the food supply, there exists a condition of disequilibrium.
  • The result of this is that people will not get enough food even for survival.
  • People will die due to a lack of food supply.
  • Adversities such as epidemics, wars, starvation, famines, and other natural calamities are named positive checks by Malthus.
  • Then there are man-made checks which are named preventive checks by Malthus.

​Explanation:

Key points of Malthus' theory:

• Thomas Malthus warned that without any checks, the population would theoretically grow at an exponential rate, rapidly exceeding its ability to produce resources to support itself.
• Malthus argued that an exponentially growing population will self-correct through war, famine, and disease.
• Malthus stated that to avoid a catastrophe such as famine and war, people should opt an intentional population control, such as birth control and celibacy.
• Malthusian catastrophes refer to naturally occurring checks on population growth such as famine, disease, or war.
• These Malthusian catastrophes have not taken place on a global scale due to progress in agricultural technology.
• However, many argue that future pressures on food production, combined with threats such as global warming, make overpopulation a still more serious threat in the future.

Key terms:

Explanation:

GIS (Geographical Information System):

• Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is defined as the capturing, storing, processing, and presentation of spatially referenced data.

• This spatial data can be manipulated in different formats and patterns. One of the most important formats is the vector data model which holds topological relationships between geographic features.

• These vector data can be derived from different methods, for example, using scanning of analog maps into raster formats and then digitizing them into vector forms.

Vector Data Model:

• Vector data is used in GIS because of the precise nature of its representation method, storage efficiency, the quantity of its cartographic output, and the availability of functional tools for operations like map projection, overlay, and analysis.

• In vector data models, points, lines, and polygons are used to represent spatial features or objects with clear spatial locations and boundaries.

• Examples of vector data features are; boreholes as point features, drainage gutters as line features, and buildings as polygon features.

• Vector data structure can be grouped into four classes namely:

1. Simple features (non-topological).

2. Topological features.

3. Network data model and TIN data model.

4. Georelational data model and Object-Based Data Model.

• Census 2011 was conducted in two phases:

1. The first phase, called the House Listing or Housing Census was conducted between April and September, 2010 across the country, depending on the convenience of different States/UTs.
2. The second phase, called the Population Enumeration, began simultaneously all over the country from February 9, 2011 and continued up to February 28, 2011.

• The landmark of Census 2011 is the creation of the National Population Register (NPR) which will build up a comprehensive identity database of usual residents of the country. It will have the biometric data and Unique Identification (UID) number of every person (15 years and above).
• National Identity Cards will be given in a phased manner to all usual residents by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India.
• India's population as on 1 March 2011 stood at 1,210,193,422 (623.7 million males and 586.4 million females) in comparison to a total of 1, 028, 737, 436 in the year 2001. In absolute terms, the population of India has increased by more than 181 million during the decade 2001-2011.
• The percentage decadal growth of population during 2001-2011 has registered the sharpest decline since independence. It declined from 23.87 per cent for 1981-1991 to 21. 54 per cent for the period 1991-2001, a decrease of 2.33 per cent. For 2001-2011, decadal growth has become 17.64 per cent, a further decrease of 3.90 percentage point.

The correct answer is option 4.

Key Points

​

• Bushmen are southern Africa's original inhabitants and have done so for tens of thousands of years. In Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Angola, there are 100,000 Bushmen.
• An ethnic group known as the Pygmies is present in the Central African Republic, Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, Zaire, Rwanda, and Uganda.
• Eskimo, are a group of culturally and linguistically distinctive Indigenous peoples of the Arctic and subarctic regions. Their ancestral lands include Arctic Canada, northern and southwestern Alaska in the United States, and a portion of Chukotka in Russia's Far East.
• The Gond are a group of indigenous people who live in central and south-central India and are now formally recognised as Scheduled Tribes.

The correct answer is (b) and (d).
Key Points

• The German concept of Lebensraum comprises policies and practices of settler colonialism that proliferated in Germany from the 1890s to the 1940s.
• For Ratzel, the Lebensraum was of fundamental significance when the scientist wants to understand the spatial characteristics of life, as life cannot be separated from its spatial requirements.
• In Ratzel’s own words: “ new form of life needs space in order to come into existence, and yet more space to establish and pass on its characteristics”
• For Ratzel the same laws that governed organic differentiation governed the differentiation of human societies and states.
• The focus on overpopulation and its detrimental effects were common in nineteenth-century social science.
• The key event influencing and to some degree shaping German geographical thought during the second half of the 19th century was the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.

Hence, options (a) and (c) only are correct only to Ratzel's concept of Lebensraum.

The correct answer is Krishna.

Key Points

Answer: Option 3) Concentration of economic activity in specific geographic areas

The growth pole theory, developed by French economist Francois Perroux, emphasizes the role of concentrated economic activity in specific geographic areas, known as growth poles, in driving regional development.

• According to Perroux's theory, the primary driver of economic growth and development in a region is:

• Concentration of economic activity in specific geographic areas: Perroux argued that economic growth is not evenly distributed across a region, but rather tends to concentrate in certain geographic areas due to the presence of agglomeration economies and other factors. These growth poles, characterized by the presence of large-scale industries, infrastructure, and skilled labor, generate positive externalities and spillover effects that spread to surrounding areas, stimulating economic growth and development.
• Perroux's growth pole theory has been influential in regional development planning and policy. It has been used to justify government policies aimed at promoting the development of growth poles and linking them to surrounding regions.
• Critics of the growth pole theory argue that it can lead to increased inequality between regions, as growth tends to be concentrated in a few select areas.

Answer: Option 4) Self-reinforcing processes leading to cumulative growth.

• According to Myrdal, the main driver of economic growth is:

• Self-reinforcing processes leading to cumulative growth: Myrdal argued that economic growth is not a smooth and evenly distributed process, but rather a cumulative one, where certain factors and processes reinforce each other, leading to increasing disparities and imbalances. He identified several mechanisms through which this cumulative process operates:
• Spread effects: Positive developments in one sector or region can spread to other sectors and regions, leading to a virtuous cycle of growth.
• Backwash effects: Negative developments in one sector or region can have negative impacts on other sectors and regions, leading to a vicious cycle of decline.
• Linkages: Economic activities in different sectors and regions are interconnected, and growth in one sector can lead to increased demand for goods and services from other sectors, creating a multiplier effect.

• Myrdal's theory has been influential in development economics, and has been applied to various contexts, including regional development, industrialization, and poverty reduction.
• Critics of Myrdal's theory argue that it is too deterministic and does not adequately account for the role of government intervention and policy in shaping economic outcomes.
• Despite these criticisms, Myrdal's theory remains a valuable framework for understanding the complex dynamics of economic growth and decline.

The correct answer is Core.

• The innermost layer of the earth is called the Core.

Key Points

• Core:
  • The core is the innermost layer of the earth and the earth's centre.
  • It is about 3500 km in radius.
  • The outer part of the core is believed to have the properties of a liquid and the innermost part of the core may be called solid or crystalline.
  • This layer is also known as Nife (nickel and iron).
  • The temperature of the core is between 2200°C and 2750°C.
  • The density of this part of the earth is 17.2 gm/cm3.

Additional Information

• The outermost solid cover or shell of the earth is known as the earth’s crust.
  • This layer is also called Sial (silica and aluminum).
• The mantle is the intermediate layer of the earth in terms of both its location and density.
  • The mantle layer is also known as Sima (silica and magnesium).

Condensation, evaporation and precipitation are the processes involved in a water cycle.

Key Points

• The process by which water continually changes its form and circulates between oceans, atmosphere and land is known as the water cycle.
• At first, the sun’s heat causes evaporation of water into vapour. This process is called as evaporation.
• When the water vapour cools down, it condenses and forms clouds. It is called condensation.
• From there it may fall on the land or sea in the form of rain, snow or sleet. This is known as precipitation.
• Given below diagram explains about the water cycle:

Hence, we can conclude that the processes involved in a water cycle are evaporation, condensation and precipitation.

The correct answer is due to moderating effect of the seas.

Key Points

• Coastal areas experience fewer contrasts in temperature conditions because of the moderating effect of the seas.
• The large water bodies help in moderating temperature.
• Water has a higher heat capacity than soil and rock, so the ocean takes longer to heat and cool the land.
• It means that the water takes more time to get hot or cold than land.
• Thus on hot days, water absorbs heat keeping the air cool.
• When the air gets cool, water slowly releases heat into the atmosphere, raising air temperatures.
• The temperatures on land change more rapidly than temperatures on water.

Thus, we can say the coastal areas experience fewer contrasts in temperature conditions due to the moderating effect of the seas.

The correct answer is J R Kjellen.
Key Points

• The word geopolitics was originally coined by the Swedish political scientist Rudolf Kjellén about the turn of the 20th century, and its use spread throughout Europe in the period between World Wars I and II (1918–39) and came into worldwide use during the latter.

Geopolitics

• Geopolitics is a concept that emerged in the early 20th century and has become increasingly relevant in today's world. It is a framework that helps us understand how countries, businesses, and other groups attempt to achieve their political goals by controlling geographic features of the world.
• These features are referred to as geographical entities and include places, regions, territories, scales, and networks that make up the world.
• Geopolitics focuses on the use of power and how countries and other groups compete to control these entities within the international community.
• The control of geographical entities is seen as a means to achieve political objectives, and therefore, geopolitics is always looked at from an international and global dimension.
• It involves the struggle for the control of geographical entities with the use of such entities for political advantage.

The two main research areas, urban conflicts and the development of the concepts of electoral geography such as the geography of voting, geographical influences in voting, the geography of representation led to the development of urban political geography. Radical geography was created as after the political events of the Cold war, the geography became more politicized and this also led to Marxist geography.

Alfred Wegener based his theory of the basis of the following premises. Firstly, the geological formations and fossil remains of the present far away continents showed similarities. Secondly, some of the continents showed complementary coastlines, such as the East coast of South America matches the West coast of Africa. Polar Wandering or Paleomagnetism and geological matching are some of the evidences which were cited by Wegener to show that the continents were close once.

The Pacific Ocean is a geologically active area. There are many active fault lines in the area of ring of fire and several active volcanoes. Thus, the Pacific Ocean has the most number of tsunamis, nearly 80 %.

Thus, the correct answer is C.

There are a certain number of reasons behind this shifting which are:- Peninsular Indian comprises of a tropical climate which provides higher yield per unit area. Secondly, the sucrose content is high; Thirdly, large sugar lobby and better managed cooperative sugar mills in the south are also a reason.

Exfoliation is one of the processes of Mechanical weathering where the expansion and contraction phases occur more on the outer rock layers than in the inner layers due to which the layers of concentric shells get peeled off from the main rock mass.

As per the Puranas, the East African and Madagascar region was called as Shalmali. The silk-cotton was called salmala and it was found in the said region. The area had moderate rainfall and was located on margin of equatorial region, which led to blossom of silk-cotton trees. Thus, both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

Thus, the correct answer is A.

The swamp forests are found in and around deltas, estuaries and creeks. In India, they are confined to deltas of Ganga, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery. The can survive in fresh as well as brackish waters. The most prominent example is Sunderban forest in the delta of Ganga River.

Namcha Barwa is a mountain in the Tibetan Himalaya. The traditional definition of the Himalaya extending from the Indus River to the Brahmaputra would make it the eastern anchor of the entire mountain chain, and it is the highest peak of its own section as well as Earth's easternmost peak over 7,600 metres (24,900 ft)

Todas tribes is not found in Central India. Toda Tribe is the most ancient and unusual tribe of Nilgiri Hills of Tamil nadu. The todas have their own language.

Chatham Saw Mill is the saw mill situated in Chatham Island of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India. It was set up in 1883 with the primary objective to meet the local requirements of saw and timber for the constructional works.

Standard sea-level pressure, by definition, equals 760 mm (29.92 inches) of mercury, 14.70 pounds per square inch, 1,013.25 × 10³ dynes per square centimetre, 1,013.25 millibars, one standard atmosphere, or 101.325 kilopascals.

The temperature of air measured using a maximum-minimum thermometer can be used to show the difference in temperature over a period of time, usually one day. The difference between the daily maximum and the daily minimum is called the diurnal range.