Arrange the following Indian cities according to their locations from west to east : 1. Bilaspur 2. Jodhpur 3. Bhopal 4. Ranchi Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- (a)3-2-1-4
- (b)2-3-1-4
- (c)4-1-2-3
- (d)2-1-3-4
Correct — B, 2-3-1-4. Ordering by longitude gives Jodhpur in western Rajasthan at about 73 degrees east, then Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh at about 77 degrees east, then Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh at about 82 degrees east, and finally Ranchi in Jharkhand at about 85 degrees east. So the west-to-east sequence is Jodhpur, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Ranchi, which is 2-3-1-4. The states themselves give the order away without any need for exact figures: Rajasthan lies west of Madhya Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh west of Chhattisgarh, and Chhattisgarh west of Jharkhand. Note that Bilaspur here is the Chhattisgarh city, not the Bilaspur of Himachal Pradesh.
- (a)3-2-1-4 — This puts Bhopal west of Jodhpur. Jodhpur sits in the Thar country of western Rajasthan, some four degrees of longitude further west than Bhopal, so the first two are the wrong way round.
- (c)4-1-2-3 — This is the sequence read from east to west, and it also misplaces Jodhpur and Bhopal. Ranchi is the easternmost of the four, so a west-to-east list cannot begin with it.
- (d)2-1-3-4 — Jodhpur first is right, but Bilaspur is then placed ahead of Bhopal. Bilaspur is in Chhattisgarh, roughly five degrees of longitude east of Bhopal, so it belongs third and not second.
Ordering places by longitude is a standard map-sense question. India spans roughly 68 degrees to 97 degrees east, and a rough longitude for each state capital is enough to answer nearly all such items. A useful mental ladder across the middle of the country runs Jaisalmer and Jodhpur in the west, then Ahmedabad and Udaipur, then Bhopal and Nagpur near the middle, then Raipur and Bilaspur, then Ranchi and Kolkata towards the east.
Do not try to recall coordinates. Convert each city to its state first, then order the states, because state boundaries in this belt run roughly north to south. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand is a straight west-to-east march across peninsular India's northern edge. The one real snare in this item is the name Bilaspur, which belongs both to a Chhattisgarh district headquarters and to a town in Himachal Pradesh; the Himachal one would sit near 76 degrees east and would change the order, so the surrounding cities make clear which is intended.
- Jodhpur is in western Rajasthan at about 73 degrees east; Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh at about 77 degrees east.
- Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh lies at about 82 degrees east and Ranchi in Jharkhand at about 85 degrees east.
- India extends from about 68 degrees 7 minutes east to about 97 degrees 25 minutes east.
- The Indian Standard Time meridian of 82 degrees 30 minutes east passes close to Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh.
- Ordering cities by their states is usually enough for a west-to-east question in this belt.
- Jodhpur, Rajasthan — about 73° E (item 2)
- Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh — about 77° E (item 3)
- Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh — about 82° E (item 1)
- Ranchi, Jharkhand — about 85° E (item 4)
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand — the state order alone gives 2-3-1-4, option (b).
- Reading the list from east to west when the stem asks west to east.
- Confusing Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh with Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh.
- Assuming Bhopal, because it is central India, must be the westernmost of a set that includes a Rajasthan city.
NDA sets ordering items on longitude, latitude or altitude, and the fastest route is always to convert each place to its state before ordering.
With reference to the Himalayan rivers joining the Ganga downstream of Prayagraj from West to East, which one of the following sequences is correct?
- (a) Ghaghara — Gomati — Gandak — Kosi
- (b) Gomati — Ghaghara — Gandak — Kosi
- (c) Ghaghara — Gomati — Kosi — Gandak
- (d) Gomati — Ghaghara — Kosi — Gandak
Answer(b) Gomati — Ghaghara — Gandak — Kosi
The identical west-to-east ordering task, applied to tributaries instead of cities — same method, and the same reward for holding a rough map in your head rather than a table of coordinates.
Consider the following places of India : 1. Itanagar 2. Imphal 3. Agartala 4. Aizawl Which one of the following is the correct chronological order of the above places in terms of sunrise time?
- (a) 3–2–1–4
- (b) 2–1–4–3
- (c) 1–4–3–2
- (d) 4–3–2–1
Answer(b) 2–1–4–3
The same longitude ordering wearing a different hat: sunrise time in India is decided entirely by how far east a place lies, so the question is once again 'sort these by longitude'.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of these cities lies farthest east?
- (a)Nagpur
- (b)Ranchi
- (c)Bhopal
- (d)Jodhpur
Answer(b) Ranchi — the Jharkhand capital at about 85 degrees east, east of Nagpur, Bhopal and Jodhpur.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The standard meridian of India, 82 degrees 30 minutes east, passes closest to
- (a)Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh
- (b)Jodhpur in Rajasthan
- (c)Guwahati in Assam
- (d)Kochi in Kerala
Answer(a) Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh — Indian Standard Time is set by this meridian, five and a half hours ahead of Greenwich.