AMU LAST YEAR MA/MSC GEOG QUESTION DISCUSSED

AMU Geography MSc Entrance Exam Question Paper (2022) - Detailed Breakdown

Key Concepts:

• One-dimensional diagrams, Mean calculation, Capital cities matching, Tropical diseases, Ocean currents, Tropical Jet Stream, Coriolis Effect, Map scales (RF), Prismatic Compass Survey, Book Authors, Human Geography Definitions, Latitude and Longitude, Map Projections (Mercator), Planetary Winds, Geostrophic Winds, Water Usage in India, Town Definition (Census of India), Minerals (Monazite), Time Zones (GMT & IST), Weight-Losing Industries, Al-Biruni's Contributions, Copper Mines, River Confluences, Biosphere Reserves, Plantation Crops, Monsoon, River Origins, Linguistic Families, Population Doubling, Possibilism, Atmospheric Stability, Climate Classification (Koppen), Slash and Burn Agriculture, Dependency Ratio, Human Race Theories, Waterfalls, Stream Orders, Sex Ratio, Lithosphere, Landforms (Orders), Lignite, Chemical Weathering, River Aggradation, Plate Tectonics, Plane Table Survey, Map Projections (Cylindrical Equal Area), Biomes, Soil Erosion, Ecological Pyramids, Species Diversity, Settlement Types, Aerial Photography, Median, Temperature Conversion (Celsius to Fahrenheit), Coastal Landforms, Non-Renewable Energy, Nile River, Patanjali Translation, Secondary Activities, Humboldt's Contributions, River Projects, Himalayan Ranges, Oil Fields, Monsoon Forests, Measures of Dispersion, Pressure Belts, Behavioral Geography.

1. Examination Pattern and General Advice

• The AMU Geography MSc Entrance Exam consists of 70 objective-type questions (MCQs) and 3 subjective questions.
• Each objective question carries 1 mark, and each subjective question carries 3 marks.
• There is negative marking of 1/4 for incorrect answers in the objective section. However, unanswered questions do not incur negative marks.
• Internal candidates face higher competition than external candidates.
• For external candidates, a score of 35+ in the objective section and 5+ in the subjective section is recommended.
• Subjective questions are often repetitive, so practice writing concise answers (half to one page).

2. Objective Questions Breakdown

2.1. Diagrams and Statistics

• Question 1: A bar diagram (or period bar diagram) is a one-dimensional diagram.
• Question 2: A mean calculation problem. The correct mean after adjusting for an incorrect observation is 59.73. (Formula application required).

2.2. Geography and General Knowledge

• Question 3: Matching countries with their capitals. Example: Solomon Islands - Honiara. Requires knowledge of global capitals.
• Question 4: Sleeping sickness is caused by the Tsetse fly.
• Question 5: The ocean current flowing along the edge of Greenland is the Denmark Strait Current.
• Question 19: Monazite sands of Kerala contain Thorium.
• Question 23: Khetri in Rajasthan is famous for Copper mining.
• Question 25: Simlipal Biosphere Reserve is located in Odisha.
• Question 27: Tamil Nadu experiences floods during November-December-January due to the North-East Monsoon.
• Question 28: The Godavari River originates in the Nashik district of Maharashtra.
• Question 37: The Hundru Falls near Ranchi, Jharkhand, is located on the Subarnarekha River. The river is named so because gold was found in it.
• Question 43: Neyveli in Tamil Nadu is famous for Lignite reserves.
• Question 65: Digboi is the oldest oil field in India.
• Question 68: The Hemavati River is in Karnataka.

2.3. Climatology and Oceanography

• Question 6: Regarding the Tropical Easterly Jet Stream, the incorrect statement is that it flows from West to East. Its direction is East to West.
• Question 7: Regarding the Coriolis Effect, the incorrect statement is that it is not affected by wind speed. It is affected by wind speed.
• Question 15: The Trade Winds are planetary winds.
• Question 16: Geostrophic winds do not form over the Equator.
• Question 32: A difficult question on atmospheric stability. Requires understanding of environmental lapse rate and adiabatic lapse rate.
• Question 33: In Koppen's climate classification, the letters 'S' and 'W' are associated with Dry climates.

2.4. Human and Economic Geography

• Question 17: The highest proportion of total water used in India is for Irrigation.
• Question 18: According to the Census of India, a town should not have more than 75% of its male working population engaged in primary economic activities.
• Question 21: Cotton textile industry is an example of a pure raw material industry (does not lose weight during manufacturing).
• Question 26: Wheat is not a plantation crop.
• Question 29: Munda, Ho, and Khasi languages belong to the Austric linguistic family.
• Question 30: The world population doubled from 2 billion to 4 billion by 1975.
• Question 34: Slash and burn agriculture is also called Primitive Subsistence Agriculture.
• Question 35: The total dependency ratio is calculated as (Young Population + Aged Population) / Working Population * 100.
• Question 36: Joseph Deniker introduced the "zonal" theory regarding the evolution and distribution of human races.
• Question 61: Catching fish is not a secondary activity; it is a primary activity.

2.5. Geomorphology and Environmental Geography

• Question 38: Streams that flow parallel to the main river due to natural levees are called Yazoo streams. Braided channels are different; they interweave and then join the main stream.
• Question 41: Tombolo is a third-order landform. First-order: continents and oceans; Second-order: mountains.
• Question 42: Sea caves are not formed by glacial processes.
• Question 44: Hydration and Hydrolysis are processes of chemical weathering.
• Question 45: A river aggrades (deposits sediment) when there is a low water-to-sediment ratio.
• Question 46: Plate tectonics theory considers plates as fragments of the Lithosphere.
• Question 50: Afforestation can prevent soil erosion.
• Question 51: The incorrect statement is that species diversity increases as we move away from the equator towards the poles. It decreases.
• Question 52: The Amazon rainforest has the greatest biodiversity on Earth. India has 2.4% of the world's land area but is rich in global species diversity.
• Question 66: Monsoon forests are characterized by trees shedding their leaves once a season.

2.6. Cartography and Surveying

• Question 8: A map scale problem. Requires applying the RF formula.
• Question 9: Regarding map scales, the statement "The unit of distance is always written with the representative fractional scale" is incorrect.
• Question 10: An alidade is not used in a prismatic compass survey.
• Question 13: The longest parallel of latitude lies midway between the poles.
• Question 14: The incorrect characteristic of Mercator projection is that rhumb lines are curved, and great circles are straight lines.
• Question 47: In plane table surveying, fieldwork and plotting are done simultaneously.
• Question 48: The Cylindrical Equal Area Projection was invented by Johann Heinrich Lambert.
• Question 53: Settlements are shown in red color on topographical sheets.
• Question 54: Definitions of aerial photography and photogrammetry.
• Question 67: Mode is not a measure of dispersion.

2.7. Population Geography and Demography

• Question 39: Sex ratio is calculated as (Number of Females / Number of Males) * 1000.

2.8. Miscellaneous

• Question 20: The time difference between GMT and IST is +5:30 hours.
• Question 56: -40°C is equal to -40°F.
• Question 57: The coast of southwest Ireland is a classic example of a ria coast.
• Question 58: Coal is a non-renewable source of energy.
• Question 59: Herodotus called Egypt the "gift of the Nile."
• Question 60: Al-Biruni translated Patanjali from Sanskrit.
• Question 62: Alexander von Humboldt contributed to the concepts of Isotherm, Unography and Cosmological concept.
• Question 63: The Nagarjuna Sagar project is constructed on the Krishna River.
• Question 64: The Shivalik range is also known as the Outer Himalayas.
• Question 69: Dynamic pressure belts are produced by the movement of earth.

2.9. Book and Author Matching

• Question 11: Matching books with their authors.
  • The Making of Geography - R.E. Dickinson
  • Social Well-Being: A Spatial Perspective - Paul Knox
  • Geography: A Modern Synthesis - Peter Haggett
  • Human Geography: A Welfare Approach - David Smith
• Question 22: Matching books with their authors.
  • Muruj-adh-dhahab - Al-Masudi
  • Al-Qanun al-Masudi - Al-Biruni
  • Geography of Strabo - Rafiullah
  • Geography of Ptolemy - Assimily

2.10. Human Geography Definitions

• Question 12: Ellen Churchill Semple defined human geography as the study of the changing relationship between the unresting man and unstable earth.
• Question 31: George Tatham used the term "Pragmatic Possibilism" in place of Griffith Taylor's concept of "Stop and Go Determinism."
• Question 70: Julian Wolpert is credited with writing the papers "The Decision Process in a Spatial Context" (1964) and "Behavioral Aspects of the Decision to Migrate" (1965).

3. Conclusion

The AMU Geography MSc Entrance Exam requires a strong foundation in core geographical concepts, including climatology, geomorphology, human geography, and cartography. A good understanding of Indian geography and current affairs is also essential. While some questions are straightforward, others require in-depth knowledge and analytical skills. Focus on mastering fundamental concepts and practicing problem-solving to increase your chances of success.