The Tropic of Cancer passes through how many coastal and landlocked States of India, respectively?
- (a)1 and 7
- (b)2 and 6
- (c)2 and 5
- (d)3 and 5
Correct — B, 2 and 6. The Tropic of Cancer, at 23 degrees 30 minutes north, crosses eight Indian states. Running from west to east they are Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram. Of the eight, only two touch the sea: Gujarat on the Arabian Sea at the western end, and West Bengal on the Bay of Bengal in the middle of the line. The remaining six — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Tripura and Mizoram — are all landlocked. Two coastal and six landlocked is what the question asks for, in that order.
- (a)1 and 7 — Counts eight states in total, which is right, but treats only one of them as coastal. West Bengal's coast is easy to overlook because the state is remembered for the Ganga plain, yet the Tropic passes through it and it fronts the Bay of Bengal.
- (c)2 and 5 — Gets the coastal pair right and then loses a landlocked state, giving seven in all. The one most often dropped is Tripura, which the Tropic clips in the north-east before entering Mizoram.
- (d)3 and 5 — Eight in total again, but with a third coastal state added. No other state on the line reaches the sea — Odisha and Andhra Pradesh have coasts but lie well south of 23 and a half degrees north.
The Tropic of Cancer marks the northernmost latitude at which the sun can be directly overhead, which it is at the June solstice. In India it runs almost across the middle of the country, so roughly half the land area lies in the tropical zone and half in the sub-tropical, which is one reason the Indian climate is so varied. The eight states it passes through span the whole width of the country, from the Arabian Sea coast of Gujarat to the hills of Mizoram on the Myanmar frontier.
Every wrong option here is the correct answer with one state misplaced, so the marks go to whoever can list the eight in order rather than recall a total. Going west to east and naming them — Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura, Mizoram — makes both counts fall out at once. Two states account for the usual errors. Tripura is small and sits at the far end of the line, so it gets left off; and West Bengal is not thought of as coastal by candidates who picture it as a river-plain state. Note that the line runs a little north of the great eastern-coast states, which is why Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are not on it at all.
- The Tropic of Cancer lies at 23 degrees 30 minutes north and passes through eight Indian states.
- West to east those states are Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.
- Only Gujarat and West Bengal among them have a coastline; the other six are landlocked.
- The Tropic divides India into a tropical southern half and a sub-tropical northern half.
- India's standard meridian, 82 degrees 30 minutes east, crosses the Tropic near the Chhattisgarh country and passes through Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh.
List the eight in geographical order and both halves of the answer follow without any counting from memory.
- Forgetting Tripura and reporting seven states in total.
- Not counting West Bengal as coastal.
- Adding Odisha or Andhra Pradesh, which have coasts but lie south of the Tropic.
As a count like this one, as a which-state-is-not-on-the-line item, or as a clue-based state identification in which the Tropic is one of the clues.
Among the following cities, which one is nearest to the Tropic of Cancer?
- (a) Delhi
- (b) Kolkata
- (c) Jodhpur
- (d) Nagpur
Answer(b) Kolkata
The same line placed on the map by city rather than by state. Kolkata sits just south of it, which is a useful anchor for remembering that the Tropic crosses West Bengal — the coastal state most often left out of the count here.
The Tropic of Cancer does not pass through which one of the following States?
- (a) Manipur
- (b) West Bengal
- (c) Gujarat
- (d) Jharkhand
Answer(a) Manipur
The list of eight tested by exclusion. Three of the eight appear as decoys there and Manipur, which lies north of the line, is the odd one out — the same recall that decides both halves of the count in this item.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Tropic of Cancer passes through how many States of India?
- (a)Six
- (b)Seven
- (c)Eight
- (d)Nine
Answer(c) Eight — Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following States lying on the Tropic of Cancer has a coastline?
- (a)Jharkhand
- (b)West Bengal
- (c)Chhattisgarh
- (d)Tripura
Answer(b) West Bengal — it fronts the Bay of Bengal, and only Gujarat besides it is both coastal and on the Tropic.