Pariksha SaathiGeneral Studies
Physical and World Geography: Practice Questions with Answers
239 practice questions on Physical and World Geography, with answers; most also have an explanation or a worked solution. Try each one before you open its answer.
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Q.51
A solar eclipse occurs when:
- A the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon
- B the Sun comes between the Earth and the Moon
- C the Moon's shadow falls on the Sun
- D the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth
Show answer
Correct answer: (D) the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth
A solar eclipse happens on a new-moon day when the Moon blocks the Sun from the Earth. When the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon, on a full-moon day, a lunar eclipse occurs.
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Q.52
In the Northern Hemisphere the trade winds blow from:
- A north-east to south-west
- B south-east to north-west
- C west to east
- D south-west to north-east
Show answer
Correct answer: (A) north-east to south-west
Trade winds blow from the subtropical highs to the equatorial low; Coriolis deflection makes them north-easterly in the north and south-easterly in the south.
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Q.53
Consider these statements about the rock cycle: 1. Igneous and sedimentary rocks can be changed into metamorphic rocks by heat and pressure. 2. Rocks of the crust can be carried down by subduction and melted into magma. Which is/are correct?
- A Only 1
- B Only 2
- C Both 1 and 2
- D Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Correct answer: (C) Both 1 and 2
Both are correct: in the rock cycle any rock can be metamorphosed, and crustal rocks carried into the mantle melt into magma, which cools to form new igneous rock.
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Q.54
The marine west coast climate (Koppen Cfb), with mild winters and rain throughout the year, is typical of:
- A north-western Europe
- B the interior of Siberia
- C the Sahara
- D the Amazon basin
Show answer
Correct answer: (A) north-western Europe
It occurs on the west coasts of continents poleward of the Mediterranean climate, as in north-western Europe, the west coast of North America north of California, southern Chile and New Zealand, where onshore westerlies bring mild, moist air.
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Q.55
Which statement about the Earth's crust is correct?
- A The oceanic crust is thicker than the continental crust
- B The crust is the densest layer of the Earth
- C The crust has the same thickness everywhere
- D The continental crust is thickest under major mountain systems such as the Himalayas
Show answer
Correct answer: (D) The continental crust is thickest under major mountain systems such as the Himalayas
Oceanic crust averages about 5 km and continental crust about 30 km, reaching around 70 km under the Himalayas. The crust is the thinnest and least dense layer.
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Q.56
The Earth is nearest to the Sun (perihelion) around:
- A 4 July
- B 21 June
- C 3 January
- D 22 December
Show answer
Correct answer: (C) 3 January
Perihelion is about 3 January (about 147 million km) and aphelion about 4 July (about 152 million km). Seasons are caused by the axial tilt, not by this distance.
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Q.57
Crescent-shaped sand dunes of hot deserts, with horns pointing downwind, are called:
- A Yardangs
- B Loess
- C Barchans
- D Zeugens
Show answer
Correct answer: (C) Barchans
Barchans are crescent dunes deposited by wind. Yardangs and zeugens are ridges carved by wind erosion, while loess is fine wind-blown dust.
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Q.58
The Atacama desert, one of the driest places on Earth, lies mainly in which country?
- A Chile
- B Argentina
- C Brazil
- D Mexico
Show answer
Correct answer: (A) Chile
The Atacama lies in northern Chile between the Pacific coast and the Andes; the cold Peru (Humboldt) current and the Andean rain shadow keep it extremely dry.
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Q.59
Niagara Falls lies on the Niagara River, which flows between which two of the Great Lakes?
- A Lake Superior and Lake Huron
- B Lake Erie and Lake Ontario
- C Lake Huron and Lake Michigan
- D Lake Michigan and Lake Superior
Show answer
Correct answer: (B) Lake Erie and Lake Ontario
The Niagara River carries water from Lake Erie north to Lake Ontario along the USA-Canada border, and the falls lie on it. From Lake Ontario the water reaches the Atlantic by the St Lawrence River.
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Q.60
The Bushmen (San), traditionally hunter-gatherers, are the indigenous people of the:
- A Sahara desert
- B Gobi desert
- C Kalahari desert
- D Thar desert
Show answer
Correct answer: (C) Kalahari desert
The San have lived for thousands of years as hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.
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Q.61
Over which of the following regions is the maximum insolation received at the Earth's surface?
- A Equatorial rainforests
- B Subtropical hot deserts
- C Polar regions
- D Temperate grasslands
Show answer
Correct answer: (B) Subtropical hot deserts
Subtropical deserts have the least cloud cover, so most of the solar radiation reaches the ground. The Equator gets somewhat less because of heavy, persistent cloudiness.
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Q.62
The calm central region of a mature tropical cyclone, where air descends and winds are light, is called the:
- A eye wall
- B eye
- C front
- D trough
Show answer
Correct answer: (B) eye
The eye is a roughly circular zone of sinking air and light winds. It is surrounded by the eye wall, a ring of towering clouds with the strongest winds and heaviest rain.
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Q.63
Which river is called the 'Sorrow of China' because of its devastating floods?
- A Yangtze
- B Huang He (Yellow River)
- C Xi Jiang
- D Amur
Show answer
Correct answer: (B) Huang He (Yellow River)
The Huang He carries huge loads of yellow loess silt that raise its bed, causing destructive floods and changes of course on the North China Plain.
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Q.64
By conventional measurement, the longest river in the world is the:
- A Amazon
- B Yangtze
- C Mississippi-Missouri
- D Nile
Show answer
Correct answer: (D) Nile
The Nile is about 6,650 km long and drains into the Mediterranean. The Amazon is the largest by discharge and basin, the Yangtze the longest in Asia and the Volga the longest in Europe.
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Q.65
The longest day in the Northern Hemisphere (summer solstice) falls on:
- A 21 March
- B 21 June
- C 23 September
- D 22 December
Show answer
Correct answer: (B) 21 June
On 21 June the Sun is vertical over the Tropic of Cancer, giving the Northern Hemisphere its longest day. 22 December is its shortest day, and 21 March and 23 September are the equinoxes.
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Q.66
Fjords, deep narrow sea inlets that are drowned glacial valleys, are a characteristic feature of the coast of:
- A Egypt
- B Brazil
- C Saudi Arabia
- D Norway
Show answer
Correct answer: (D) Norway
Norway's coast is famous for fjords; they also occur in New Zealand, Chile and Greenland. Hot desert or tropical coasts had no glaciers.
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Q.67
The Bosphorus strait, on which Istanbul stands, connects the Black Sea with the:
- A Aegean Sea
- B Caspian Sea
- C Adriatic Sea
- D Sea of Marmara
Show answer
Correct answer: (D) Sea of Marmara
The Bosphorus links the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles link the Marmara to the Aegean; together they separate European Turkey (officially Türkiye since 2022) from Asian Turkey.
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Q.68
The Suez Canal links the Mediterranean Sea with the:
- A Persian Gulf
- B Red Sea
- C Black Sea
- D Arabian Sea
Show answer
Correct answer: (B) Red Sea
Opened in Egypt in 1869, the Suez Canal joins Port Said on the Mediterranean to Suez on the Red Sea, greatly shortening the Europe-Asia sea route.
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Q.69
When sand bars and spits grow across the mouth of a bay and almost close it off from the sea, the enclosed water body becomes a:
- A lagoon
- B fjord
- C estuary
- D tarn
Show answer
Correct answer: (A) lagoon
Depositional bars and spits can seal off a bay, leaving a shallow coastal lagoon such as Chilika in Odisha. A fjord is a drowned glacial valley.
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Q.70
Which planet is the largest in our solar system?
- A Jupiter
- B Saturn
- C Neptune
- D Uranus
Show answer
Correct answer: (A) Jupiter
Jupiter is the largest planet; its mass is more than twice that of all the other planets combined. Saturn is the second largest.
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Q.71
Which is the highest peak of South America?
- A Chimborazo
- B Huascaran
- C Aconcagua
- D Cotopaxi
Show answer
Correct answer: (C) Aconcagua
Aconcagua (about 6,960 m) rises in the Andes of Argentina near the Chilean border. Chimborazo and Cotopaxi are volcanoes in Ecuador, and Huascaran is in Peru.
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Q.72
The fraction of incoming solar radiation reflected back to space by the Earth and its atmosphere is called:
- A Albedo
- B Insolation
- C Terrestrial radiation
- D Heat budget
Show answer
Correct answer: (A) Albedo
Albedo is the percentage of insolation reflected (about 35 per cent for the Earth as a whole). Snow has a very high albedo, dark soil and forest a low one.
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Q.73
Which earthquake waves travel fastest and are the first to be recorded on a seismograph?
- A S-waves
- B Surface (L) waves
- C P-waves
- D Tsunami waves
Show answer
Correct answer: (C) P-waves
P (primary) waves are longitudinal, move fastest and pass through solids, liquids and gases, so they arrive first. S-waves arrive next, and surface waves arrive last but cause the most damage.
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Q.74
Eclipses do not occur at every new moon and full moon because:
- A the Moon's orbit is a perfect circle
- B the Earth's axis is tilted at 23.5 degrees
- C the Sun is much larger than the Moon
- D the Moon's orbit is inclined at about 5 degrees to the plane of the Earth's orbit
Show answer
Correct answer: (D) the Moon's orbit is inclined at about 5 degrees to the plane of the Earth's orbit
Because of this tilt the Moon usually passes a little above or below the Sun-Earth line. An eclipse happens only when a new or full moon falls close to the points where the two orbital planes cross.
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Q.75
Thick deposits of fine, yellowish wind-blown dust, found extensively in northern China, are called:
- A laterite
- B moraine
- C loess
- D alluvium
Show answer
Correct answer: (C) loess
Wind carries fine silt far from deserts and deposits it as loess; the Loess Plateau of northern China is the best-known example. Moraine is glacial debris and alluvium is river-borne sediment.
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Q.76
The Pampas grasslands are found in:
- A North America
- B South America (Argentina)
- C Australia
- D Central Asia
Show answer
Correct answer: (B) South America (Argentina)
Pampas are the temperate grasslands of Argentina. Prairies are in North America, steppes in Eurasia, downs in Australia, veld in South Africa and savanna in Africa.
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Q.77
Unusually high and low tides, with a greater than normal tidal range, occur when the Moon is at:
- A apogee (farthest from the Earth)
- B its first quarter
- C its last quarter
- D perigee (closest to the Earth)
Show answer
Correct answer: (D) perigee (closest to the Earth)
At perigee the Moon's gravitational pull on the Earth is stronger, so high tides are higher and low tides lower than usual. At apogee, when the Moon is farthest, the tidal range is smaller than average.
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Q.78
Which of the following pairs of people and homeland is NOT correctly matched?
- A Maori - New Zealand
- B Kirghiz - Amazon basin
- C Sami (Lapps) - northern Scandinavia
- D Aborigines - Australia
Show answer
Correct answer: (B) Kirghiz - Amazon basin
The Kirghiz are traditionally nomadic herders of the steppes and mountains of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan), not the Amazon. The other three pairs are correct.
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Q.79
Which statement about earthquake scales is correct?
- A Richter measures magnitude (energy) and Mercalli measures intensity (observed damage)
- B Richter measures intensity and Mercalli measures magnitude
- C Both scales measure magnitude
- D Mercalli runs 0 to 10 and Richter 1 to 12
Show answer
Correct answer: (A) Richter measures magnitude (energy) and Mercalli measures intensity (observed damage)
The Richter scale is logarithmic and measures energy released (magnitude); the Mercalli scale grades intensity from I to XII on observed effects.
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Q.80
Which group of minerals is the most common in the Earth's crust?
- A Feldspar
- B Mica
- C Quartz
- D Pyroxene
Show answer
Correct answer: (A) Feldspar
Feldspars, aluminium silicates containing sodium, potassium or calcium, are the most abundant minerals of the crust. Their share is commonly given as about half, though estimates range from about 40 to 60 per cent. Quartz, a major part of sand and granite, is less abundant.
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Q.81
The term Roaring Forties refers to:
- A strong westerly winds between 40 and 50 degrees S
- B trade winds near 40 degrees N
- C polar easterlies
- D monsoon winds of the Bay of Bengal
Show answer
Correct answer: (A) strong westerly winds between 40 and 50 degrees S
With no land to obstruct them, the westerlies between 40 and 50 degrees S blow very strongly; further south they are the Furious Fifties and Shrieking Sixties.
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Q.82
Koppen's scheme of climate classification is based mainly on:
- A the direction of planetary winds
- B the distribution of ocean currents
- C selected values of temperature and precipitation related to the distribution of vegetation
- D latitude alone
Show answer
Correct answer: (C) selected values of temperature and precipitation related to the distribution of vegetation
Koppen saw a close link between climate and natural vegetation, so he used temperature and precipitation thresholds tied to vegetation types. Capital and small letters name the climate groups and types.
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Q.83
A difference of 1 degree of longitude corresponds to a time difference of:
- A 4 minutes
- B 1 minute
- C 15 minutes
- D 1 hour
Show answer
Correct answer: (A) 4 minutes
The Earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours, i.e. 15 degrees per hour or 4 minutes per degree. This is the basis of all time-zone calculations.
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Q.84
The cold Benguela current, which adds to the dryness of the Namib desert, flows along the:
- A south-western coast of Africa
- B eastern coast of Africa
- C western coast of South America
- D eastern coast of Australia
Show answer
Correct answer: (A) south-western coast of Africa
The Benguela flows northward along the coasts of South Africa and Namibia. Cold coastal currents chill the air above them and discourage rain, helping to create coastal deserts such as the Namib and the Atacama.
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Q.85
On 21 March and 23 September the Sun is overhead at the Equator. On these days:
- A day and night are nearly equal all over the world
- B the North Pole has 24 hours of daylight
- C the Southern Hemisphere has its longest day
- D the Earth is nearest to the Sun
Show answer
Correct answer: (A) day and night are nearly equal all over the world
At the equinoxes neither pole is tilted towards the Sun, so the circle of illumination passes through both poles and day and night are of about equal length everywhere.
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Q.86
The Strait of Malacca connects:
- A the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden
- B the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman
- C the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea
- D the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea
Show answer
Correct answer: (C) the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea
Lying between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, the Strait of Malacca is the world's busiest sea lane, linking the Indian Ocean with the Pacific via the South China Sea.
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Q.87
The Matterhorn in the Alps, a sharp pyramid-shaped peak formed by glaciers cutting back into a mountain from several sides, is an example of a:
- A drumlin
- B esker
- C moraine
- D horn (pyramidal peak)
Show answer
Correct answer: (D) horn (pyramidal peak)
When cirques erode headward around a summit, they leave a sharp pyramidal peak called a horn. Drumlins, eskers and moraines are glacial deposits, not erosional peaks.
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Q.88
The Pacific Ring of Fire, home to about three-fourths of the world's active volcanoes, is associated with:
- A the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
- B the boundaries of the Pacific plate
- C the Great Rift Valley
- D the Himalayan belt
Show answer
Correct answer: (B) the boundaries of the Pacific plate
Plate boundaries ringing the Pacific (Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Chile, Alaska and others) host most of the world's active volcanoes and earthquakes.
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Q.89
An ox-bow lake is formed by:
- A a glacier
- B a river meander
- C the wind
- D groundwater
Show answer
Correct answer: (B) a river meander
In the old stage, on the floodplain, a river cuts across the neck of a meander and the abandoned loop becomes an ox-bow lake.
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Q.90
The process by which loose sediments are compacted and cemented into sedimentary rock is called:
- A metamorphism
- B lithification
- C weathering
- D crystallisation
Show answer
Correct answer: (B) lithification
Layers of deposited sediment are pressed together and cemented over time; this rock-forming process is lithification. Metamorphism changes existing rocks through heat and pressure.
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Q.91
Spring tides (the highest high tides) occur when:
- A the Sun, Moon and Earth are at right angles
- B the Sun, Moon and Earth are in a straight line (new and full moon)
- C the Moon is at apogee
- D there is a solar eclipse only
Show answer
Correct answer: (B) the Sun, Moon and Earth are in a straight line (new and full moon)
On new and full moon the pulls of the Sun and Moon combine to give spring tides; at the first and third quarters, at right angles, neap tides occur.
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Q.92
Arrange the following canals in the order in which they were opened, earliest first: 1. Panama Canal 2. Suez Canal 3. Kiel Canal
- A 1, 2, 3
- B 2, 1, 3
- C 3, 2, 1
- D 2, 3, 1
Show answer
Correct answer: (D) 2, 3, 1
The Suez Canal opened in 1869, the Kiel Canal in 1895 and the Panama Canal in 1914.
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Q.93
Which river crosses the Tropic of Capricorn twice?
- A Limpopo
- B Zambezi
- C Orange
- D Congo
Show answer
Correct answer: (A) Limpopo
The Limpopo rises south of the Tropic in South Africa, arcs north and then east along South Africa's borders with Botswana and Zimbabwe, then turns south-east through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn twice.
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Q.94
Arrange the major relief divisions of the ocean floor in order from the coast towards the open ocean:
- A Continental slope, continental shelf, deep sea plain, oceanic deeps
- B Continental shelf, continental slope, deep sea plain, oceanic deeps
- C Continental shelf, deep sea plain, continental slope, oceanic deeps
- D Deep sea plain, continental shelf, continental slope, oceanic deeps
Show answer
Correct answer: (B) Continental shelf, continental slope, deep sea plain, oceanic deeps
The gently sloping continental shelf ends at the shelf break; the steep continental slope then descends to the flat deep sea (abyssal) plain, and the deepest parts are the oceanic deeps or trenches.
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Q.95
Which Japanese city is often called the 'Manchester of Japan' for its cotton textile industry?
- A Kyoto
- B Sapporo
- C Nagasaki
- D Osaka
Show answer
Correct answer: (D) Osaka
Osaka grew into a major cotton-textile centre, earning comparison with Manchester in England, the historic home of the cotton industry.
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Q.96
The Oder-Neisse Line, fixed after the Second World War, forms the boundary between:
- A Germany and Poland
- B France and Germany
- C Poland and Russia
- D Austria and Germany
Show answer
Correct answer: (A) Germany and Poland
At the Potsdam Conference of 1945 the German lands east of the Oder and Neisse rivers were placed under Polish administration, making the rivers the de facto Germany-Poland border; reunited Germany confirmed it as the final border by treaty in 1990.
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Q.97
The Mediterranean type of climate is characterised by:
- A rain throughout the year
- B wet summers and dry winters
- C no rainfall at all
- D dry summers and wet winters
Show answer
Correct answer: (D) dry summers and wet winters
Found on west coasts between 30 and 45 degrees (California, central Chile, Cape Town, Perth), this climate has winter rain and is known for citrus fruits and grapes.
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Q.98
The International Date Line does not follow the 180 degree meridian exactly. It bends mainly:
- A to follow the boundary of the Pacific plate
- B to avoid splitting land areas and island groups between two different calendar dates
- C because the Earth is not a perfect sphere
- D to follow the path of the Kuroshio current
Show answer
Correct answer: (B) to avoid splitting land areas and island groups between two different calendar dates
The Date Line zig-zags around eastern Siberia, the Aleutian Islands and some Pacific island groups so that these land areas and island groups are not split between two dates.
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Q.99
The Strait of Gibraltar connects the Mediterranean Sea with the:
- A Atlantic Ocean
- B Red Sea
- C Black Sea
- D Indian Ocean
Show answer
Correct answer: (A) Atlantic Ocean
The Strait of Gibraltar separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa and is the Mediterranean's only natural opening to the open ocean. The link to the Red Sea is the man-made Suez Canal.
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Q.100
The Durand Line, drawn in 1893, is the boundary between:
- A India and China
- B Afghanistan and Pakistan
- C India and Pakistan
- D Iran and Afghanistan
Show answer
Correct answer: (B) Afghanistan and Pakistan
Sir Mortimer Durand fixed this line in 1893 between British India and Afghanistan; it is now the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, though Afghanistan has not formally recognised it.
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How these questions were made
Authored by an AI assistant (Claude) from its own general knowledge of stable, well-established facts (no live lookup) - not reviewed by a subject-matter expert; verify against an official source before relying on any fact.