Home › PYQs › World Geography › All questions › 2006 · Mixed facts
UPSC Prelims 2006 · World Geography · Air, Winds and Climates
Consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Length of a terrestrial mile is lesser than that of a nautical mile.
- Harmattan is a dusty land-wind of the East African Coast.
- Greece and Albania form a part of the Iberian Peninsula.
- (a) 1, 2 and 3
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 3 only
- (d) 1 only
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (d) 1 only
Only the mile comparison is right.
Statement by statement
1. ✓ CORRECT A statute mile is 1.609 km; a nautical mile is 1.852 km — longer.
2. ✗ WRONG The Harmattan is a dry, dusty wind of WEST Africa.
3. ✗ WRONG Greece and Albania are on the Balkan peninsula; Iberia is Spain and Portugal.
The idea
A mixed-fact question requires separate checks for units, wind regions and land regions. Familiar names from one part cannot validate the others. A nautical mile is tied to navigation, a local wind to its source and path, and a peninsula to its geographic position. Keep these three associations independent.
Why the others are wrong
(a) Accepts two wrong statements.
(b) Accepts two wrong statements.
(c) Accepts the Iberian claim.
Elimination technique
Spain and Portugal, rather than Greece and Albania, are the secure Iberian anchor. Reject statement 3: that removes (a), (b) and (c) at once. The mile comparison confirms the only remaining code.
Also know
A nautical mile is exactly 1,852 metres, and a knot is one nautical mile per hour. Harmattan brings Saharan dust towards the Gulf of Guinea; Sirocco carries warm Saharan air towards the Mediterranean. Spain and Portugal form the main Iberian lands. Greece and Albania are Balkan countries, and the Scandinavian Peninsula is a different northern European region.
🔒 Harmattan = “doctor wind”, West Africa (Guinea coast).
Solve this chapter interactively →All World Geography questions