SOCIAL STUDIES
SOUTH ASIA
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY QUIZ
NAME ______________________________
PER. _____
1. Based on the climagraph, which
of these would be the most
pleasant month for an outdoor
festival in Calcutta?
A. July
B. August
C. September
D. October
2. Based on this climagraph,
Calcutta lies in which of these
climate zones?
A. tropical wet and dry
B marine west coast
C. humid continental
D. tropical wet
3. To meet their energy needs, countries of South Asia rely heavily on....
A. imported coal
B. kerosene
C. hydroelectric power
D. imported oil
4. Which country has most of the region’s mineral resources?
A. Nepal
B. India
C. Bangladesh
D. Sri Lanka
5. Most of South Asia’s forests were cut down ____.
A. in the 1970s
B. centuries ago
C. during British rule
D. in the 1980s
6. What is a cyclone similar to?
A. tornado
C. tsunami
B. earthquake
D. hurricane
7. All of the following are mountain systems along South Asia’s northern border except...
A. Hindu Kush
B. Himalaya
C. Tien Shan
D. Karakoram
8. What is the name of the legendary route through the Hindu Kush which has been used
by traders and conquering armies for over 3,000 years?
A. Thar Desert
B. Khyber Pass
C. Eastern Ghats
D. Khumbu Icefall
9. South Asia is home to what percentage of the world’s population?
A. less than 15 percent
B. more than 20 percent
C. more than 60 percent
D. less than 10 percent
10. How many seasons does South Asia experience?
A. one
B. three
C. two
D. four
11. Millions of years ago, the South Asian subcontinent split from....
A. Africa
B. Europe
C. South America
D. Central America
12. About 40% of India’s population lives....
A. near the Ganges River
C. on the Deccan Plateau
B. near the Eastern Ghats
D. near the Brahmaputra River
13. During South Asia’s cool season, monsoons blow...
A. from the Bay of Bengal
B. from the Arabian Sea
C. from the north
D. from the Persian Gulf
14. In most of the countries of South Asia ___ of the population live in rural towns.
A. about 66%
B. about 25%
C. more than 75%
D. less than 20%
15. Approximately how much rain does Bangladesh get per year?
A. 25 inches
B. 100 inches
C. 50 inches
D. 450 inches
16. Which of the following features has a steppe climate?
A. Ganges Plain
B. Kathmandu Valley
C. Deccan Plateau
D. coast of Sri Lanka
17. From which direction do the wet monsoons come?
A. southeast
B. northeast
C. southwest
D. northwest
18. The deadliest part of climbing Mt. Everest is ...
A. K2
B. Lhotse Face
C. Valley of Silence
D. Khumbu Icefall
19. Atmospheric pressure is a measure of which of the following?
A. the solar energy received by Earth
B. the speed of winds circling Earth
C. the weight of air pushing down on Earth
D. the amount of water vapor in the air
20. Why can cities on opposite sides of a mountain receive different amounts of rain?
A. cloud seeding
B. altitudinal zonation
C. the water cycle
D. the orographic effect
21. What is one way that people adapt to the semiarid climate zones in South Asia?
A. They grow thirsty crops.
B. They use drip irrigation.
C. They build houses on stilts.
D. They drive rickshaws to work.
22. Communities that lie in a rain shadow have learned to live with...
A. frequent droughts
B. water salinization
C. tropical cyclones
D. widespread flooding
23. South Asian forests are being cut down to provide building materials and ____.
A. farming tools
B. more farmland
C. prevent erosion
D. fuel
24. Water in South Asian cities is wasted and polluted by ____.
A. animals consuming too much
B. salt water seeping into aquifers
C. inefficient irrigation methods
D. old, leaky distribution pipes
25. Air pollution from South Asia is so severe that a brown cloud has formed ____.
A. over the Indian Ocean
B. over Nepal
C. and blocks 50 percent of sunlight
D. and made the region colder
26. Who was the first climber to reach the summit of Mt. Everest?
A. Broken-Hand Tim
B. Sir George Everest
C. Sir Edmund Hillary
D. Pervez Mushareff
27. Climbers on Everest stop from time to time to acclimatize to...
A. crowded trails.
B. extreme cold.
C. elevation changes.
D. windy weather.
28. What is the cause of altitude sickness, H.A.P.E., and H.A.C.E.?
A. bad water
B. strange foods
C. rugged climbs
D. thin air
29. What problem did the climber experience in the excerpt below?
The freezing wind cut through the layers of my protective clothing. Ice formed
over my goggles, making it difficult to see. I began to lose feeling in my feet. My fingers
changed color, purple at first, and later black. They had to be amputated.
A. exposure
B. snow blindness
C. the orographic effect
D. H.A.P.E.
30. What makes the Death Zone so challenging?
A. lack of sleep
C. lack of shelter
B. lack of oxygen
D. lack of daylight
31. The term monsoon means...
A. extreme weather.
C. seasonal wind.
B. prolonged drought.
D. storm surge.
32. According to the map,
which climate covers the
northern part of this region?
A. tropical savanna
B. desert
C. highlands
D. steppe
33. According to the map,
how does the climate of the
Eastern Ghats differ from
that of the Western Ghats?
A. The Western Ghats have a
tropical savanna climate; the
Eastern Ghats have a tropical
rain forest climate.
B. The Western Ghats have a
steppe climate; the Eastern
Ghats have a desert climate.
C. The Western Ghats have a
tropical rain forest climate;
the Eastern Ghats have a tropical savanna climate.
D. The Western Ghats have a tropical rain forest climate; the Eastern Ghats have a humid
subtropical climate.
34. Approximately how many people live in South Asia?
A. nearly 1.5 billion
B. 2.5 billion
C. more than 2 billion
D. nearly 3.5 billion
35. How many urban areas in South Asia have more that 12 million people?
A. four
B. six
C. five
D. seven