Pressure, Winds, Storms, and Cyclones MCQs for UPSC Prelims
115 practice questions covering Pressure, Winds, Storms, and Cyclones, organised into 2 topics.
115 questions include a written explanation.
Pick a topic below, or try the samples first.
Correct answer: C - the force acting on each unit of area
Pressure tells us how much force is shared by each unit of area, which is why the same force can give very different pressures. The total force by itself says nothing about how it is spread. Area alone is not a force, and weight is only one particular force that can cause pressure.
Q2
medium
Suppose the Sun heated every part of the Earth's surface exactly equally. What would we expect?
AMuch stronger winds everywhere on Earth
BNo change at all in the winds we have now
CFar less wind, because differences in air pressure would be much smaller
DWinds blowing only during the night
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C - Far less wind, because differences in air pressure would be much smaller
Winds arise because uneven heating creates places of higher and lower pressure, so with even heating those differences would nearly vanish and the winds would die down. Removing the cause cannot make the winds stronger or leave them unchanged. There is no reason such winds would keep to the night.
Q3
easy
When a parcel of air is heated, it
Aturns into water
Bstays exactly where it is
Cbecomes lighter for its size and rises
Dbecomes heavier for its size and sinks
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C - becomes lighter for its size and rises
Heated air spreads out, so the same amount of air takes up more space and becomes lighter for its volume, and it therefore rises. Cooler, denser air is the air that sinks. Heating certainly does set air moving, and warming air does not turn it into water; that happens only when water vapour cools and condenses.
Q4
medium
Sucking on a straw makes the drink rise because the act of sucking
Araises the air pressure inside the straw
Bmakes the liquid lighter
Cremoves the pull of gravity from the liquid
Dlowers the air pressure inside the straw
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D - lowers the air pressure inside the straw
Drawing air out of the straw leaves a lower pressure inside it than the pressure acting on the drink outside, and that difference pushes the liquid up. A higher pressure inside would push the drink down instead. Gravity keeps acting throughout, and the drink itself is unchanged.
Q5
medium
Before a cyclone reaches a village, which action is the most useful?
AStoring clean drinking water and moving cattle to a safe shelter
BOpening all the doors and windows wide
CPainting the outer walls of the house
DLeaving loose objects lying on the terrace
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A - Storing clean drinking water and moving cattle to a safe shelter
Clean water is often the first thing to run short after a cyclone, and cattle left outside are easily lost, so both steps matter. Painting the walls does nothing to protect anyone. Open doors and windows let the wind and rain in, and loose objects on a terrace are picked up by the wind and hurled about.
Q6
medium
Two places A and B lie at the same height above sea level, and the air pressure at A is higher than at B. The wind between them will blow
Afrom B to A
Bnot at all, since the two places are at the same height
Cin both directions at the same time
Dfrom A to B
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D - from A to B
Air travels from the place of higher pressure to the place of lower pressure, so it moves from A towards B. Blowing from B to A would mean air moving against the pressure difference. Wind cannot flow both ways along the same path at once, and equal height does not stop it, because it is the pressure that differs.
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