UPSC Prelims 2019 GS Paper I · Q20 of 100 Geography easy

On 21st June, the Sun

  1. (a) does not set below the horizon at the Arctic Circle ✓ UPSC's answer
  2. (b) does not set below the horizon at Antarctic Circle
  3. (c) shines vertically overhead at noon on the Equator
  4. (d) shines vertically overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn

Why the answer is (a)

• On 21 June (summer solstice) the Sun is overhead at noon on the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° N), and the northern hemisphere has its longest day.

• The Arctic Circle (66.5° N) experiences 24 hours of daylight — the Sun does not set — option (a).

• The Antarctic Circle (b) has 24 hours of darkness that day; the Sun is not overhead at the Equator (c) (that happens at the equinoxes) or at the Tropic of Capricorn (d) (22 December).

• Hence option (a).

Why the other options are wrong

(b) does not set below the horizon at Antarctic Circle
The Antarctic Circle has 24-hour night on 21 June.
(c) shines vertically overhead at noon on the Equator
The Sun is overhead at the Equator only at the equinoxes.
(d) shines vertically overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn
The Sun is overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn on 22 December.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2019, held on 2 June 2019. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

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