Geography

The Patagonian Desert, also known as the Monte Desert, is located primarily in Argentina, making option B the correct answer.

The areas around the North and South Poles within the Polar Circles are known as the Frigid Zone because they experience extremely cold temperatures year-round.

Approximately 97% of Antarctica is covered by ice, making option A the most accurate choice. While the ice coverage is very high, it is not complete (100%), and estimates commonly cite around 97%.

Each degree of longitude corresponds to a 4-minute difference in time because the Earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours, so 1 degree equals 4 minutes (24 hours × 60 minutes ÷ 360 degrees = 4 minutes per degree).

A peninsula is a landform surrounded by water on three sides. Arabia is a well-known peninsula, whereas Scandinavia is a peninsula but less commonly referred to as such, Alaska is a state with peninsulas but not a peninsula itself, and Papua New Guinea is an island, not a peninsula. Therefore, the best answer is Arabia.

Afternoon rains in equatorial regions are typically caused by convectional rainfall, which occurs when the sun heats the land surface, causing warm air to rise, cool, and condense into rain clouds.

Europe is generally recognized as having around 44 to 47 sovereign states depending on definitions and recognition of partially recognized states. The commonly accepted count including widely recognized countries and some partially recognized states is 47. Therefore, option A (47) is correct.

Europe is the only continent among the options that does not have a desert. North America, South America, and Australia all contain deserts such as the Mojave, Atacama, and Great Victoria deserts respectively.

The Palk Strait is a narrow body of water that separates India and Sri Lanka, making option B the correct answer. The other options list countries that are not separated by the Palk Strait.

There are 42 landlocked countries in the world according to the most recent global data. This means these countries have no coastline along an ocean or sea.