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Q8 (IAS/2024) Geography › Maps & Locations › World physical geography Official Key

Consider the following countries : 1. Finland 2. Germany 3. Norway 4. Russia How many of the above countries have a border with the North Sea ?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: B
Explanation

The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.[2] From this comprehensive list of countries bordering the North Sea, we can analyze each option:

**Germany** and **Norway** are explicitly mentioned as countries bordering the North Sea, giving us two countries from the list.

**Finland** does not border the North Sea. Finland is located on the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia, far to the northeast of the North Sea region.

**Russia** also does not border the North Sea. While Russia has extensive coastlines on the Baltic Sea, Arctic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean, it is not among the countries surrounding the North Sea.

Therefore, only two of the four countries listed (Germany and Norway) have a border with the North Sea, making option B the correct answer.

Sources
  1. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea
  2. [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea
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PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. Consider the following countries : 1. Finland 2. Germany 3. Norway 4. Russia How many of the above countries have a border with the …
At a glance
Origin: Mostly Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 0/10 · 7.5/10
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This is a classic 'Mental Map' question, not a text-based one. It tests if you have visualized the European coastline rather than memorized lists. If you studied the Ukraine war or NATO expansion without opening your Atlas to trace the Baltic vs. North Sea divide, you missed the fundamental geographic context.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Does Finland border the North Sea?
Origin: Weak / unclear Fairness: Borderline / guessy
Indirect textbook clues
Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 30: Climatic Regions > Mixed Farming > p. 459
Strength: 5/5
“• The most important animals kept on the mixed farm are cattle. The countries bordering the North Sea (Britain, Denmark, and the Netherlands) are some of the most advanced dairying countries where cattle are kept on a scientific and intensive basis.”
Why relevant

Gives an explicit example list of countries that border the North Sea (Britain, Denmark, and the Netherlands), which provides a pattern of which northern European states touch that sea.

How to extend

Compare this list with a map of northern Europe to see whether Finland appears among North Sea littoral states; if it does not, that weakens the statement.

Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 33: Ocean temperature and salinity > Marginal Seas > p. 519
Strength: 4/5
“• The North Sea, in spite of its location in higher latitudes, records higher salinity due to more saline water brought by the North Atlantic Drift. Baltic Sea records low salinity due to the influx of river waters in large quantities.• The Mediterranean Sea records higher salinity due to high evaporation. Salinity is, however, very low in the Black Sea due to the enormous freshwater influx by rivers.”
Why relevant

Contrasts the North Sea and the Baltic Sea (salinity differences), treating them as separate marginal seas in northern Europe.

How to extend

Use a map to locate Finland relative to the Baltic and North Sea—if Finland lies on the Baltic rather than the North Sea, the statement is unlikely.

FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Geography Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 12: Water (Oceans) > HORIZONTAL DISTRIBUTION OF SALINITY > p. 105
Strength: 4/5
“The North Sea, in spite of its location in higher latitudes, records higher salinity due to more saline water brought by the North Atlantic Drift. Baltic Sea records low salinity due to influx of river waters in large quantity. The Mediterranean Sea records higher salinity due to high evaporation. Salinity is, however, very low in Black Sea due to enormous fresh water influx by rivers. See the atlas to find out the rivers joining Black Sea. The average salinity of the Indian Ocean is 35 o/oo. The low salinity trend is observed in the Bay of Bengal due to influx of river water.”
Why relevant

Repeats the distinct identities of the North Sea and Baltic Sea, reinforcing that they are different coastal basins in the same region.

How to extend

A student can recall that Finland is in northern Europe and then check which of these named seas borders Finland on a map.

Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 23: The Cool Temperate Continental (Siberian) Climate > Distribution > p. 216
Strength: 3/5
“In Europe the countries that have a similar type of climate and forest are mainly in northern Europe, Sweden and Finland. There are short stretches of natural coniferous forest, due to high altitude, in Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Austria and other parts of Europe. In North America, this sub-Arctic belt stretches from Alaska across Canada into Labrador, and is found on the high Rocky Mountains farther south. The Siberian Climate is conspicuously absent in the southern hemisphere because of the narrowness of the southern continents in the high latitudes. The strong oceanic influence reduces the severity of the winter and coniferous forests are found only on the mountainous uplands of southern Chile, New Zealand, Tasmania and south-east Australia.”
Why relevant

Places Finland in northern Europe among countries with a particular climatic/forest zone, linking Finland to the general northern European region.

How to extend

Combine this regional placement with a physical map to determine which adjacent sea (Baltic or North Sea) Finland's coasts meet.

Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 2: The Earth's Crust > Types of Plain > p. 25
Strength: 2/5
“Rivers, in their course from source to sea, deepen their valleys and widen their banks. The projecting spurs are cut back so that the level ground bordering the river is constantly widened. At the same time the higher land between the rivers is gradually lowered. In glaciated regions, glaciers and ice-sheets scoured and levelled the land, forming ice-scoured plains. Hollows scooped out by the ice are now filled by lakes. There are extensive ice-scoured plains in northern Europe and northern Canada. Finland is estimated to have 35 000 lakes, occupying l0 per cent of the total land surface of the country.”
Why relevant

Describes Finland as having many inland lakes and being in northern Europe, implying a coastline context different from countries primarily noted as North Sea littorals.

How to extend

Use this hint about Finland's landscape plus a map to see whether its coastline aligns with the North Sea coasts listed elsewhere.

Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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