Land, including all continents and islands, covers about what fraction of the total surface area of Earth, with the rest being covered by water?

Introduction / Context:
Earth is often called the blue planet because water covers most of its surface. However, the distribution between land and water is an important basic fact in geography. This question asks what approximate fraction of the total surface area is covered by land, with the remainder occupied by oceans and other water bodies.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Earth surface is divided into land areas and water areas.
• Oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers cover the majority of the surface.
• The previous question suggested that about 70 to 80 percent is water.
• The options give possible percentages of land coverage such as 20, 30, 35, and 40 percent.

Concept / Approach:
If about 71 percent of Earth surface is water, then the remaining area, about 29 percent, must be land. For simple general knowledge questions, this is usually rounded to 30 percent. Therefore, land covers roughly one third of the surface, while water covers roughly two thirds. Comparing this with the options, 30 percent is the closest and most accurate value, while higher percentages would imply too much land compared to what maps and measurements show.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
Data from global mapping projects give total land area of about 149 million square kilometres and total surface area of about 510 million square kilometres. Dividing land area by total area gives roughly 0.29, or 29 percent. This supports the rounded value of about 30 percent land coverage and about 70 percent water coverage used in education and quiz questions.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Twenty percent is wrong because it would suggest that land is much smaller than it actually is.
• Thirty five percent is wrong because it gives land too much area compared with the established figure of 29 percent.
• Forty percent is even more inaccurate and would imply that the blue planet is far less dominated by oceans than we know it to be.

Common Pitfalls:
Some learners memorise only that water covers most of Earth but forget the approximate percentages. A simple way to remember is that roughly three quarters of the surface is water and about one quarter to one third is land. Expressed as rounded percentages, water is about 70 percent and land is about 30 percent.

Final Answer:
About 30 percent of the total surface area