Regarding Earth's major climatic zones: 1. Tropical zones experience minimal seasonal temperature variation 2. Temperate zones are characterized by four distinct seasons. Which of the above is/are correct?

Correct — C. Statement 1 is true. In the tropics the midday sun is high all year and overhead at least once a year, so temperature changes little between seasons. Seasons there are marked more by rainfall than by heat.

Statement 2 is true. Between the tropics and the polar circles the sun's angle swings through the year, giving spring, summer, autumn and winter.

Both → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Statement 1 only — Statement 2 is also true: the temperate zones have four seasons, because the sun's angle changes sharply between summer and winter.
• (b)
  Statement 2 only — Statement 1 is also true: with the sun high throughout the year, tropical temperatures vary little from season to season.
• (d)
  Neither 1 nor 2 — Both statements hold as general descriptions of the zones, so rejecting both throws away two true claims.

NCERT divides the Earth into three heat zones by the angle of the sun's rays.

Torrid Zone: between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, where the midday sun is overhead at least once a year.
Temperate Zones: between each tropic and its polar circle, with moderate temperatures.
Frigid Zones: beyond the polar circles, very cold.

Key facts

• Torrid Zone: between the Tropic of Cancer (23½° N) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23½° S).
• The midday sun is overhead at least once a year everywhere in the Torrid Zone.
• Temperate Zones lie between the tropics and the Arctic and Antarctic Circles (66½°).
• Frigid Zones lie between the polar circles and the poles.

Common traps

• Rejecting statement 1 because of Delhi's cold winters — Delhi lies north of the Tropic of Cancer, outside the Torrid Zone.
• Reading 'minimal variation' as 'no seasons' — tropical seasons exist, but they turn on rainfall more than temperature.

No directly related past PYQ was found.