India - Location Class 11 Geography Chapter 1 Competency Based Question-Answer
Important Keywords for MCQ Questions
- India's southern boundary extends up to 6°45' N at Indira Point in the Bay of Bengal.
- India's coastal boundary extends up to 12 nautical miles, which is approximately 21.9 kilometers.
- The actual distance of India from north to south is 3214 kilometers, and 2933 kilometers from east to west.
- The tropic of cancer touches 08 states of India - Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura, and Mizoram from west to east.
- India shares the longest land boundary with Bangladesh.
- India's longest coastline is the Gujarat coastline.
- India's neighbouring countries -
07 touches land boundary (Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh).
But (7+2) 09 neighbouring countries, including Sri Lanka and the Maldives (in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, respectively). - The Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar separates Srilanka from India.
- India's 3.28 million square kilometers cover about 2.4% of the whole world.
Competency-Based Questions:
Question: "The sun rises in the northeastern states about two hours earlier than in Jaisalmer." - Why does this happen?
Answer: The sun rises almost two hours earlier in Arunachal Pradesh compared to Jaisalmer because of the following:
- Arunachal Pradesh is located in the east, while Jaisalmer of Rajasthan is located in the west, and there is about a 30° longitudinal difference.
- Due to the curvature of the Earth's surface and due to the rotation of the Earth from west to east, Arunachal Pradesh experiences first daylight, and then almost two hours later, Jaisalmer of Rajasthan.
- Though the longitudinal variation causes an almost 2-hour time difference between these two places based on local time, the whole country follows one standard time (82°30'E), and therefore the watches of all places in India show the same time.
Question: Why has 82°30'E longitude been selected as the standard meridian of India instead of 82° or 83° E in round figures?
Answer: The longitude 82°30' E is selected as the standard meridian of India, because there was an international understanding between member countries for selecting the standard meridian of a country. It was decided that the value of the standard meridian should be multiplied by 7°30'. Therefore, 82°30'E longitude has been selected as the standard meridian for the country, which is located in the almost the middle of India.
82°E or 83°E is not selected as the standard meridian, as these are not multiplied by 7°30'.
Question: Differentiate between the Gulf and strait.
Answer: Meaning:
- The Gulf is a narrow part of the sea that goes deep inside the landmass.
- The Strait is a narrow water body that separates two broad landmasses.
Shape:
- The Gulf is surrounded by landmasses on three sides, and it is usually wide.
- The Strait lies between two landmasses.
Function:
- The Gulf is mainly an inlet of the sea.
- The Strait is the connector of two large oceans or seas.
Example: The Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat, the Gulf of Mannar, and Palk-strait between India and Srilanka.