revolution-of-the-earth MCQs for UPSC Prelims

25 practice questions on revolution-of-the-earth from the Earth, Moon, and the Sun section of the UPSC Prelims syllabus. 25 come with a written explanation. Try the sample set below - the answer stays hidden until you ask for it.

7 Easy 13 Medium 5 Hard

Sample questions

Q1
medium

A leap year is needed because one revolution of the Earth around the Sun takes about

  1. A $366$ days
  2. B exactly $365$ days
  3. C $365\frac{1}{4}$ days
  4. D $360$ days
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: C - $365\frac{1}{4}$ days

The real journey takes roughly a quarter of a day more than $365$ days, and the calendar quietly ignores that quarter each year. If the journey took exactly $365$ days, no correction would ever be needed. A year of $366$ or $360$ days would not match the Earth's motion at all.

Q2
hard

About how many times does the Earth spin on its axis while it makes one complete journey around the Sun?

  1. A About $12$ times
  2. B About $24$ times
  3. C About $30$ times
  4. D About $365$ times
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: D - About $365$ times

One journey around the Sun takes about $365$ days, and each day is one spin, so the Earth spins about $365$ times in that period. The figure $12$ is the number of months in a year, and $30$ is roughly the number of days in a month. The figure $24$ is the number of hours in a single day.

Q3
medium

A place on the Earth has its summer when that part of the Earth is

  1. A tilted away from the Sun, so sunlight falls for longer hours
  2. B exactly upright with respect to the Sun
  3. C turned away from the Moon
  4. D tilted towards the Sun, so sunlight falls more directly and for longer hours
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: D - tilted towards the Sun, so sunlight falls more directly and for longer hours

Leaning towards the Sun brings the sunlight down more steeply and stretches the daylight hours, so the ground warms up and the season is summer. Being tilted away gives slanting rays and short days, which is winter. The axis is never upright, and the Moon plays no part in the seasons.

Q4
easy

The seasons on the Earth are caused by

  1. A the tilt of the Earth's axis together with its journey around the Sun
  2. B the daily spin of the Earth on its axis
  3. C the changing shape of the Moon
  4. D the movement of clouds around the Earth
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A - the tilt of the Earth's axis together with its journey around the Sun

Because the axis stays tilted while the Earth travels around the Sun, each half of the planet leans towards the Sun for part of the year and away from it for another part, and that gives the seasons. The daily spin gives day and night instead. The Moon's shape and the weather's clouds have nothing to do with the yearly cycle of seasons.

Q5
medium

In a leap year the extra day is added to

  1. A December, which then has $32$ days
  2. B January, which then has $32$ days
  3. C June, which then has $31$ days
  4. D February, which then has $29$ days
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: D - February, which then has $29$ days

By long custom the extra day is put at the end of February, so that month has $29$ days instead of its usual $28$. The other months keep their normal lengths in every year, and no month of our calendar ever has $32$ days.

Q6
medium

Which of these is an example of revolution rather than rotation?

  1. A The Earth completing one journey around the Sun
  2. B The Earth turning once about its own axis
  3. C The hands of a clock turning about their centre
  4. D A potter's wheel turning on its stand
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A - The Earth completing one journey around the Sun

Revolution means going around another body, and only the Earth's yearly journey around the Sun does that. The Earth spinning on its axis, a potter's wheel and the hands of a clock all turn about their own centres, and turning in place is rotation.

Q7
medium

In a period of about six months, the Earth completes

  1. A half a revolution around the Sun
  2. B a quarter of a revolution around the Sun
  3. C two full revolutions around the Sun
  4. D one full revolution around the Sun
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A - half a revolution around the Sun

One revolution takes about twelve months, so six months carries the Earth halfway around its orbit, to the opposite side of the Sun. A full revolution would need about twelve months and two revolutions about twenty four months. A quarter of a revolution would take about three months.

Q8
hard

At one place sunlight falls almost straight down, while at another it arrives very slanting. The same amount of sunlight is therefore spread over a larger patch of ground at the second place. That place will be

  1. A cooler, because the sunlight is shared over a bigger area
  2. B cooler, because slanting sunlight loses its colour
  3. C exactly as warm, because the Sun is the same for both
  4. D hotter, because slanting rays are stronger
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A - cooler, because the sunlight is shared over a bigger area

Spreading the same sunlight over more ground means each square metre receives less of it, so the surface warms up less and the place stays cooler. Slanting rays are not stronger; they are weaker for exactly this reason. The Sun being the same does not help, because what matters is how concentrated its light is, and the colour of the light is not the point.

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