Arrange the following continents in ascending order of their area. (A…

The correct answer is Option (2) → (D), (A), (C), (B)

(D) North America — first, the smallest of the four in the table. Northern America has a land area of 18,651,660 sq km.

(A) Europe — second, with 22,134,900 sq km.

(C) Africa — third, with 29,648,481 sq km.

(B) Asia — last, the largest, with 31,033,131 sq km.

So the ascending order by the book’s table is (D), (A), (C), (B), which is Option (2).

Note 1: This question is taken from the pre-rationalised NCERT book. The latest edition (2026-27) does not have this part. An extract of the pre-rationalised NCERT book is given below for the benefit of students.

Note 2: The land areas in this table of the pre-rationalised NCERT book are not the areas of the continents. The table divides the world into regions: it lists ‘Latin America and the Caribbean’ as a separate region, so its ‘Northern America’ is smaller than the continent of North America. As continents, Asia covers about 44.6 million sq km, Africa about 30.4, North America about 24.7 and Europe about 10.2. By these, the order would be Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, which is not among the options. NTA’s answer follows the table in the book.