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Q1. Which one of the following rocks approximates the average bulk composition of the continental crust?
While the upper crust is felsic (granitic) and the lower crust is mafic (gabbroic), the overall bulk composition of the continental crust averages out to an intermediate-felsic rock like granodiorite or andesite.
Q2. The estimated age of the universe is:
While modern estimates place the age of the universe at roughly 13.8 billion years, 13.5 billion years is the accepted standard estimate among the provided options.
Q3. A saw-tooth movement of sediment particles on the beach affected by alternating swash and backwash action is known as:
When waves strike the shore at an angle, the swash pushes sand diagonally up the beach, and gravity pulls it straight back down in the backwash, creating a zig-zag movement called beach drift.
Q4. During the process of evaporation, ocean experiences:
When water evaporates from the ocean surface, it absorbs energy to change phase from liquid to gas. This energy leaves the ocean and enters the atmosphere as latent heat.
Q5. Infiltration occurs at the capacity rate of the medium:
When rainfall intensity exceeds the soil's maximum infiltration capacity, the soil absorbs water at its absolute capacity rate, and the excess unabsorbed water becomes surface runoff.
Q6. The relative abundance of elements, in decreasing order, in the Earth is:
When considering the whole Earth (including the massive iron-nickel core), Iron is the most abundant element by mass (~35%), followed by Oxygen (~30%), Silicon (~15%), and Magnesium (~13%).
Q7. One of the following landforms of glacial erosion and deposition is not streamlined:
Whalebacks, drumlins, and roches moutonnées are all aerodynamically streamlined by the flow of ice over them. Ground moraine is simply an irregular, unorganized sheet of till deposited beneath the glacier.
Q8. Which one of the following statements about Western disturbances is FALSE?
Western disturbances are extratropical cyclonic storms driven by mid-latitude Westerlies (Rossby waves). They are entirely unrelated to equatorial Kelvin waves.
Q9. If there is no change in the mean sea level, the submerged coast will:
Wave refraction concentrates erosional energy on exposed headlands causing them to retreat, while diverging energy in bays allows sediment to drop out and prograde, ultimately straightening the coastline over time.
Q10. An irregular coastline eventually becomes straight because erosion of headland proceeds at a faster rate due to:
Wave refraction causes wave energy to converge on headlands (increasing erosion) and diverge in bays (increasing deposition), straightening the coast over time.