UPSC Prelims 2008 · General Studies

Question 24: Geography

Consider the following pairs: Tributary River – Main River

1.Chambal : Narmada
2.Sone : Yamuna
3.Manas : Brahmaputra

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

a1, 2 and 3

b1 and 2 only

c2 and 3 only

d3 only

AnswerThe answer is (d).

Only pair 3 is correct. The Manas rises in the Himalaya and joins the Brahmaputra. The Chambal is a tributary of the Yamuna, not of the Narmada, which flows west to the Arabian Sea on its own. The Sone is a right-bank tributary of the Ganga, not of the Yamuna. Remember: Chambal to Yamuna, Sone to Ganga, Manas to Brahmaputra.

1. The Chambal is a tributary of the Yamuna, not the Narmada.
2. The Sone is a tributary of the Ganga, not the Yamuna.
3. The Manas is a tributary of the Brahmaputra.

How you could have got this

If you were sure statement 2 is not correct, (a), (b) and (c) go: each of them includes 2.
What you needed to know: The Sone is a tributary of the Ganga, not the Yamuna.

Only (d) is left. You didn’t need statements 1 or 3.

This follows an unofficial answer: UPSC has not published its key for this year, and if that answer is wrong, so is this path.

Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.

Why each option is right or wrong

(a) Pairs 1 and 2 are wrong, so all three cannot be correct.
(b) Both listed pairs are wrong: the Chambal joins the Yamuna and the Sone joins the Ganga.
(c) Pair 2 is wrong; the Sone joins the Ganga, not the Yamuna.
(d) Only the Manas-Brahmaputra pair is right.

Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2008, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.