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TNPSC physical geography practice questions: earth, atmosphere and oceans

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · 3 min read

Geography is Unit II of the TNPSC General Studies paper, with about 5 of the 75 questions, and the Samacheer textbooks that many candidates use start with the Earth before they reach India. That is why physical geography matters even when the syllabus line says "Geography of India": the questions about latitudes, seasons and the atmosphere are the base for everything else. The five questions below cover the commonest types. The matching subject guide is TNPSC Geography.

What this topic covers

• The Earth in space: rotation, revolution, day and night, and seasons.
• Latitudes and longitudes: the Equator, tropics, the Prime Meridian and time zones.
• The atmosphere: its layers, composition, and the winds and pressure belts.
• Oceans and landforms: the oceans, trenches, ocean currents, and the main landforms.

Sample questions

Question 1

The seasons on Earth are caused mainly by:

• A. the Earth's rotation
• B. the Earth's revolution alone
• C. the tilt of the Earth's axis together with its revolution around the Sun
• D. changes in the size of the Sun

Question 2

The Prime Meridian (0° longitude) passes through:

• A. Greenwich
• B. Paris
• C. Washington
• D. Cairo

Question 3

The ozone layer is found in the:

• A. troposphere
• B. mesosphere
• C. exosphere
• D. stratosphere

Question 4

The Mariana Trench, the deepest known part of the world's oceans, lies in the:

• A. Atlantic Ocean
• B. Pacific Ocean
• C. Indian Ocean
• D. Arctic Ocean

Question 5

Indian Standard Time is ahead of Greenwich Mean Time by:

• A. 4 hours 30 minutes
• B. 5 hours
• C. 5 hours 30 minutes
• D. 6 hours

Answers and explanations

1. C. The Earth's axis is tilted at about 23½° and stays pointed in the same direction as the Earth goes round the Sun. This changes how directly the Sun's rays fall on each hemisphere over the year. Rotation causes day and night, not seasons.
2. A. The Prime Meridian passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, London. It divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
3. D. The ozone layer, which absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation, lies in the stratosphere. Weather and clouds belong to the troposphere, the lowest layer.
4. B. The Mariana Trench, in the western Pacific Ocean, contains the deepest point known, called Challenger Deep.
5. C. Indian Standard Time is based on the 82½° E meridian. The Earth turns 1° in 4 minutes, so 82.5 × 4 = 330 minutes, or 5 hours 30 minutes, ahead of Greenwich.

How to prepare physical geography

Revise from a globe or an atlas, not from notes alone. Locate the Equator, both tropics, the polar circles, the Prime Meridian and the International Date Line, and then place India: it lies in the northern and eastern hemispheres, and the Tropic of Cancer cuts across it.

Make a sheet of cause-and-effect pairs: rotation gives day and night; revolution with tilt gives seasons; the Moon and the Sun cause tides; the Coriolis effect deflects winds; warm and cold currents change coastal climates. Questions are often phrased as "what causes X?", and a pair like this answers them.

For the atmosphere, learn the layers in order with one feature each: troposphere (weather), stratosphere (ozone layer and aeroplanes), mesosphere (meteors burn up), thermosphere (auroras and satellites), exosphere (merges into space). Also remember the composition of air: nitrogen about 78 per cent and oxygen about 21 per cent.

Then move from the world to the country with TNPSC Indian geography practice and to the state with TNPSC Tamil Nadu geography practice.

Take the full topic test on PrepMatic

Geography is a small unit, so a single PrepMatic topic test of about 15 questions in 30 minutes after you finish the chapter is usually enough. The free assessment and later tests show which subjects pull your score down, so you can decide whether geography or a larger unit needs your next hour.

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