Size

Direct answer: C, 7516.6 km. A length measures distance from one point to another and is expressed in units such as kilometres. Area measures the surface covered and is expressed in square kilometres. India’s coastline is represented by a distance in kilometres, so 7516.6 km is a length. A, 2.4%, is a percentage, which expresses a share or proportion rather than a direct length. B, 3.28 million square kilometres, is an area because the unit is square kilometre. D, seventh rank, is a position in a comparison and has no measurement unit. Thus the unit gives the best clue: km means length, while square km means area. Memory cue: ordinary km measures a line; km² measures a surface.

Direct answer: A, the land boundary is larger. The two figures are measurements of length, so they can be compared directly because both use kilometres. India’s land boundary is about 15,200 km, while the total coastline is about 7,516.6 km. Since 15,200 is greater than 7,516.6, the land boundary is longer. A is correct and also gives the correct reason. B reverses the numerical comparison: 7,516.6 is not greater than 15,200. C is wrong because using the same unit does not make two measurements equal; it only makes comparison possible. D is wrong because boundaries and coastlines are lengths, not areas. A useful check is to compare the first digits: 15 thousand is already more than 7.5 thousand. Memory cue: same unit permits comparison, but the numbers decide the result.

Direct answer: A, 281 km. The north-south extent is about 3,214 km and the east-west extent is about 2,933 km. To find the difference, subtract the smaller extent from the larger one: 3,214 − 2,933 = 281 km. Therefore, the north-south extent exceeds the east-west extent by 281 km. A is correct because it is the result of the required subtraction. B, 1,416.6 km, does not come from comparing these two standard extent figures. C, 7,683.4 km, is much too large and resembles an unrelated addition or mistaken operation. D, 9,100 km, is also unrelated to the subtraction. A common error is to add the two extents or confuse coastline data with geographical extent. Memory cue: difference means subtract; write the larger value first, then subtract the smaller value.

Correct answer: A. The two figures describe entirely different things and use different units. The value 7,516.6 km is measured in kilometres, a unit of length. It describes the total coastline of India, including the mainland and the islands. The value 2.4% is a percentage. It expresses India’s share of the total geographical area of the world; it is not a distance. Option B is wrong because a coastline is a maritime boundary, whereas a land boundary lies along land borders with neighbouring countries. Option C is wrong because east–west extent is a distance measured in kilometres, not a percentage, and 2.4% does not describe direction. Option D is wrong because neither number is a rank. A rank would be written as first, seventh, or another position in an ordered list. The safest method is to read the units before interpreting the figures: km means length, while % means proportion or share.