13 questionswith explanationsfor RAS, Patwari, VDO and other Rajasthan exams
Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak of Africa, is located in which country?
Answer: (1) Tanzania
Explanation
Kilimanjaro (about 5,895 m) is a dormant volcano in north-eastern Tanzania, close to the Kenyan border. Mount Kenya, in Kenya, is only Africa's second-highest peak.
Mount Fuji, the highest mountain of Japan, is a:
Answer: (3) Volcanic cone
Explanation
Fuji (3,776 m) on Honshu island is a volcanic cone that last erupted in 1707. Fold mountains such as the Himalaya and the Alps are formed by compression of crustal rocks, not by eruptions.
The shore of which water body, bordering Jordan and Israel, is the lowest exposed land elevation on Earth (over 400 m below sea level)?
Answer: (4) Dead Sea
Explanation
The Dead Sea shore lies more than 400 m below sea level and its water is extremely salty. Lake Assal in Djibouti, about 155 m below sea level, is only Africa's lowest point, and the Caspian Sea surface is about 28 m below sea level.
The Victoria Falls, on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, lie on which river?
Answer: (2) Zambezi
Explanation
The Zambezi plunges over the Victoria Falls, known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya ('the smoke that thunders') and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1989. The Limpopo, further south, forms part of the South Africa–Botswana and South Africa–Zimbabwe borders, so it does not reach the Zambia–Zimbabwe border.
Which variety of coal has the highest carbon content and the highest calorific value?
Answer: (1) Anthracite
Explanation
Anthracite is the highest-ranked coal, with over 80% carbon; the order of rising carbon is peat, lignite, bituminous, anthracite. In India it occurs only in small amounts in Jammu and Kashmir, so most Indian coal is bituminous.
The Banihal Pass, which connects Jammu with the Kashmir Valley, crosses which mountain range?
Answer: (4) Pir Panjal
Explanation
The Banihal Pass (about 2,800 m) lies in the Pir Panjal range, and road and rail tunnels now run beneath it. The Zaskar range lies east of the Kashmir Valley, in Ladakh, so this route does not cross it.
Which of the following States does NOT share a border with Bangladesh?
Answer: (3) Manipur
Explanation
West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram border Bangladesh; Mizoram borders both Bangladesh and Myanmar. Manipur borders only Myanmar internationally, not Bangladesh.
Which of the following pairs of mountain range and continent is correctly matched?
Answer: (2) Atlas – Africa
Explanation
The Atlas mountains run across north-western Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia). The Andes are in South America, the Rockies in North America and the Alps in Europe.
Consider the following statements about India's maritime zones under the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones Act, 1976: 1. The territorial waters extend up to 12 nautical miles from the baseline. 2. The contiguous zone extends up to 18 nautical miles from the baseline. 3. The Exclusive Economic Zone extends up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (2) 1 and 3 only
Explanation
Under the 1976 Act the territorial waters reach 12 nautical miles (Section 3), the contiguous zone 24 nautical miles (Section 5) and the Exclusive Economic Zone 200 nautical miles (Section 7) from the baseline, so statement 2 (18) is wrong. In the EEZ the Union has sovereign rights over living and non-living resources, including energy from tides, winds and currents.
Istanbul, which lies partly in Europe and partly in Asia, is divided by which strait?
Answer: (4) Bosphorus
Explanation
The Bosphorus links the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and separates European and Asian Turkey. The Dardanelles, further south-west, links the Marmara with the Aegean Sea, so it is the wrong choice here.
The Okavango Delta, a vast inland delta listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, lies mainly in which country?
Answer: (3) Botswana
Explanation
The Okavango river rises in the highlands of Angola, crosses the Caprivi Strip of Namibia and spreads out into the Kalahari of north-western Botswana, where its water evaporates instead of reaching the sea. The Okavango Delta was inscribed as the 1,000th UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. Zambia lies to the north-east and is drained by the Zambezi.
Which country has, in recent years, been the world's largest producer of cocoa beans?
Answer: (1) Côte d'Ivoire
Explanation
Côte d'Ivoire has led world cocoa output for decades and grows close to two-fifths of the world's beans (ICCO data); its neighbour Ghana has usually been second, though its harvests have fallen in recent seasons. Indonesia and Brazil produce far less.
Which of the following is NOT a tributary of the Mahanadi?
Answer: (3) Sabari
Explanation
The Sabari rises in the Eastern Ghats of Odisha and joins the Godavari at Kunavaram in Andhra Pradesh, so it is a tributary of the Godavari. The Seonath (the largest), the Hasdeo and the Ib are left-bank tributaries of the Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh and Odisha (Central Water Commission, Mahanadi basin).