Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: D,A,C,F,G,B,E
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
Knowing the relative sizes of continents is a basic requirement in world geography. Continents vary widely in land area, from the massive landmass of Asia to the comparatively small area of Australia. This question requires you to arrange all seven continents from largest to smallest, but instead of their full names it uses letter codes, which tests both your knowledge of continent sizes and your ability to translate that into the correct coded sequence.
Given Data / Assumptions:
• The continents and their codes are given as follows:
A) Africa
B) Europe
C) North America
D) Asia
E) Australia
F) South America
G) Antarctica
• You must arrange them from largest to smallest by land area.
• The options list different sequences of these letter codes.
Concept / Approach:
The standard ranking of continents by land area from largest to smallest is: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Australia. To answer correctly, you must first recall this order and then convert it into a sequence of the letter codes provided in the question. Asia corresponds to D, Africa to A, North America to C, South America to F, Antarctica to G, Europe to B, and Australia to E. Joining these codes produces the sequence D,A,C,F,G,B,E, which you then match with the options to find the correct choice.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Write down the known order of continents by area: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Australia.
Step 2: Map each continent to its given letter code: Asia (D), Africa (A), North America (C), South America (F), Antarctica (G), Europe (B), Australia (E).
Step 3: Replace the continent names in your order with their letter codes to get D, A, C, F, G, B, E.
Step 4: Look at the options and identify which one exactly matches the sequence D,A,C,F,G,B,E.
Step 5: Select option “D,A,C,F,G,B,E” as the correct answer.
Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify by checking approximate land areas. Asia is clearly the largest, followed by Africa. North America and South America come after these two. Antarctica is bigger than Europe and Australia, even though it is covered in ice. Europe has a larger area than Australia. Putting these comparisons together again produces the same order: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Australia. Mapping these back to the letter codes once more confirms D,A,C,F,G,B,E as correct.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
A,C,B,F,E,D,G: This sequence starts with Africa and North America, leaving out Asia as the largest continent, so it is incorrect.
D,B,F,C,G,A,E: This puts Europe immediately after Asia and misplaces Africa and the Americas, so it does not match the correct order.
E,A,C,D,G,F,B: This starts with Australia, the smallest continent by land area, so it is clearly wrong.
A,D,C,G,F,B,E: This switches Africa and Asia at the top, again violating the known largest first rule, and therefore is incorrect.
Common Pitfalls:
Students often underestimate the size of Antarctica or confuse it with being smaller than Europe or Australia because it is uninhabited and shown differently on maps. Another common error is mixing up the order of North and South America or the relative positions of Europe and Australia. To avoid these problems, remember the simple pattern from largest to smallest and practice mapping names to codes whenever such letter based questions appear.
Final Answer:
From largest to smallest by land area, the correct letter sequence is D,A,C,F,G,B,E.
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