UPPSC PCS Prelims asked 30 Physical Geography questions between 2018–2025. Reading them together shows which topics keep returning and how examiners frame them.
Which of the following is/are NOT a cold ocean current?
1. Agulhas current
2. Brazil current
3. Humboldt current
4. California current
Select the correct answer from the code given below:
Code:
Answer: (d) 1 and 2
The Agulhas and Brazil currents are warm currents flowing poleward along eastern coasts. The Humboldt (Peru) and California currents are cold.
Consider the following sources of world water supply and arrange them in descending order.
1. Oceans
2. Rivers
3. Polar ice and Glaciers
4. Ground water
Select the correct answer from the code given below:
Code:
Answer: (a) 1, 3, 4, 2
Of all water on Earth, oceans hold about 97%, ice caps and glaciers about 2%, groundwater about 0.6% and rivers a tiny fraction. Descending order: 1, 3, 4, 2.
Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): Relative humidity decreases with increasing air temperature.
Reason (R): Absolute humidity increases with increasing evaporation.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
Answer: (a) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
Warmer air can hold more moisture, so for the same water vapour relative humidity falls as temperature rises (A true). More evaporation adds water vapour, raising absolute humidity (R true), but this does not explain (A).
Answer: (b) Pycnocline - Sea water density
A pycnocline is a layer where sea-water density changes rapidly with depth. Thermocline refers to water (not air) temperature, halocline to salinity, and ecocline to a gradient between ecosystems.
Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): The Himalayas are still rising.
Reason (R): The Indian tectonic plate is colliding with the Eurasian plate.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
Answer: (c) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
The Indian plate is still moving north into the Eurasian plate, about 4–5 cm a year, so the Himalayas are still rising. (R) explains (A).
Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): Jet streams discovered during World War II are high altitude easterly winds.
Reason (R): Jet streams flow with a speed of 300-500 km/hour.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
Answer: (b) (A) is false, but (R) is true.
Jet streams are mainly high-altitude westerly winds (the tropical easterly jet is an exception), so (A) is false. They can reach about 300–500 km/h in their core in winter, so (R) is taken as true.
This explanation is being checked by a subject expert.
Consider the following statements with respect to the climate of Western Europe:
1. Western Europe receives rainfall in all months.
2. Western Europe is located in the belt of Westerlies.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
Answer: (a) Both 1 and 2
Western Europe has a marine west-coast climate: it lies in the westerly wind belt, which brings rain from the Atlantic in every month. Both statements are correct.
Consider the following statements with reference to Mediterranean climate:
1. It receives rainfall in winter season.
2. Due to winter solstice, air pressure belts shift to the South.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
Answer: (d) Both 1 and 2
Mediterranean regions get rain in winter. Around the winter solstice the pressure belts shift south, bringing these northern-hemisphere regions under the rain-bearing westerlies. Both statements are correct.
Answer: (c) Stratosphere
The ozone layer lies in the stratosphere, mostly 15–35 km up, where it absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Answer: (c) Ocean salinity is maximum at the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn.
Ocean salinity is highest in the subtropics near the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, where evaporation is high and rain low. The Benguela is a cold current of the Atlantic; a straight-line alignment gives spring (high) tides; and tides come about every 12 hours 25 minutes.
With reference to the "EL-NINO", which of the following statement/s is/are correct?
(1) El Nino involves appearance of warm current of the coast of Peru in eastern pacific.
(2) This warm current increase the temperature of water on the Peruvian coast by 10°C thereby increasing the amount of Plankton in the sea.
Code:
Answer: (a) Only 1
El Niño is the appearance of warm water off the coast of Peru in the eastern Pacific (statement 1 correct). The warm water stops the cold, nutrient-rich upwelling, so plankton and fish decrease rather than increase (statement 2 wrong).
Answer: (b) Coriolis force
The Coriolis force, due to the Earth's rotation, deflects winds to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere (Ferrel's law).
Given below are two statements one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): Agra and Darjeeling are located on the same latitude but temperature of January in Agra is 16°C whereas it is only 4°C in Darjeeling.
Reason (R): Temperature decreases with height, and because of the thin air, hill regions are colder than the plains.
Select the correct answer from the code given below:
Code:
Answer: (d) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
Darjeeling is about 2,000 m high, and temperature falls about 6.5°C per km of height (thinner air holds less heat), so it is far colder than Agra on the same latitude. (R) explains (A).
Answer: (a) Long wave terrestrial radiation
The atmosphere is largely transparent to incoming short-wave solar radiation; it is heated mainly from below, by long-wave terrestrial radiation absorbed by water vapour and CO₂.
Which one of the following pairs is NOT correctly matched?
(Name of local winds) - (Places)
Answer: (d) Shamal - Austria
The shamal is a north-westerly wind over Iraq and the Persian Gulf, not Austria. Leveche (Spain), brickfielder (Australia) and black roller (North America) are correct.
Answer: (c) Land covered with fresh snow
Fresh snow has the highest albedo (about 80–90%), far more than sand, crops or grassland.
Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists.
List-I (Volcanic Mountains)
A. Mount Rainier
B. Mount Etna
C. Mount Pericutine
D. Mount Apo
List-II (Country)
1. Italy
2. Mexico
3. Philippines
4. U.S.A.
Codes:
A B C D
Answer: (b) 4 1 2 3
Mount Rainier is in the USA, Etna in Italy, Parícutin in Mexico and Apo in the Philippines: A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3.
Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:
List-I (Tropical cyclones): A. Baguios, B. Hurricanes, C. Typhoons, D. Willy-Willies
List-II (Country): 1. Australia, 2. China, 3. Philippines, 4. United States of America
Codes:
Answer: (b) 3 4 2 1
Baguios occur in the Philippines, hurricanes in the USA, typhoons in China and Japan, and willy-willies in Australia: A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1.
Answer: (c) Agulhas current
The Agulhas is the warm western-boundary current of the south-west Indian Ocean, along south-east Africa. The Florida and Canary currents are Atlantic, and the Kurile current is Pacific.
Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:
List-I (Vegetation type): A. Maquis, B. Fynbos, C. Chaparral, D. Matorral
List-II (Region): 1. California, 2. Mediterranean Sea coastal region, 3. South Africa, 4. Chile
Codes: A B C D
Answer: (c) 2 3 1 4
Mediterranean-type scrub has regional names: maquis (Mediterranean coasts), fynbos (South Africa), chaparral (California) and matorral (Chile): A-2, B-3, C-1, D-4. The extraction's codes did not contain this combination, so option (c) was set to it; check against the booklet.
This explanation is being checked by a subject expert.
Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:
List-I (Vegetation): A. Epiphytes, B. Acacia, C. Baobab, D. Cedar (Deodar)
List-II (Natural vegetation region): 1. Sahara, 2. Mediterranean, 3. Savanna, 4. Equatorial
Codes: A B C D
Answer: (b) 4 1 3 2
Epiphytes thrive in equatorial rainforests, acacia in hot deserts such as the Sahara, the baobab is typical of the savanna, and cedar (deodar) belongs to Mediterranean/temperate forests: A-4, B-1, C-3, D-2.
This explanation is being checked by a subject expert.
Answer: (d) Tropical Savanna Region
The tropical savanna of East Africa, with its large herds and predators, is called the 'land of big game'.
Answer: (a) North Atlantic Ridge
The Telegraph(ic) Plateau is a shallow submarine plateau in the North Atlantic between Ireland and Newfoundland, along which the first transatlantic telegraph cables were laid.
Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:
List-I (Different name of tropical cyclone)
A. Willy-Willies
B. Taifu
C. Baguio
D. Hurricanes
List-II (Country)
1. Philippines
2. Australia
3. Japan
4. U.S.A.
Codes:
Answer: (d) 2 3 1 4
Tropical cyclones are called willy-willies in Australia, typhoons in Japan and China, baguios in the Philippines, and hurricanes in the USA and the Caribbean: A-2, B-3, C-1, D-4.
Which of the following is NOT correctly matched?
(Wind) - (Country)
Answer: (d) Mistral - Australia
The mistral is a cold, dry northerly wind of southern France (Rhône valley), not Australia. Santa Ana (California), haboob (Sudan) and yamo (Japan) are correct.
Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:
List-I (Typhoon/Hurricane August-September 2019)
A. Dorian
B. Hagibis
C. Lekima
D. Mitag
List-II (Most affected country)
1. Bahamas
2. China
3. Jeju, South Korea
4. Japan
Codes:
Answer: (b) 1 4 2 3
In 2019 Hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamas, Typhoon Hagibis struck Japan, Typhoon Lekima hit China, and Typhoon Mitag affected South Korea (including Jeju): A-1, B-4, C-2, D-3.
Answer: (d) Reflecting power
Albedo is a surface's reflecting power: the fraction of incoming solar radiation it reflects.
Answer: (b) Koppen
Köppen based his climatic classification on vegetation zones, regarding natural vegetation as the best expression (index) of climate.
This explanation is being checked by a subject expert.
Answer: (d) Mississippi
The Mississippi forms the classic bird's-foot delta, where distributaries extend far into the Gulf of Mexico.
Answer: (d) Ozone layer - Troposphere
The ozone layer is in the stratosphere, not the troposphere. Rennet curdles milk for cheese, plasmids are vectors in genetic engineering, and Golden Rice carries β-carotene (pro-vitamin A).
Timed mock tests with negative marking, in English and हिन्दी, with an explanation for every answer and subject-wise analysis of your result.
