RAS question
The largest ocean in the world is:
Correct answer: (D) Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world and the largest water mass on Earth.
Explanation
The Pacific Ocean is the right answer because NOAA identifies it as the largest and deepest ocean basin on Earth. It covers more than 155 million square kilometres, which is more than 30 percent of Earth’s surface, and has an average depth of about 4,000 metres. NOAA also notes that its surface area is larger than the landmass of all continents combined and that it contains almost twice as much water as the Atlantic Ocean, the second-largest body of water. These scale markers make the Pacific clearly larger than the Atlantic, Indian and Arctic oceans.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Indian Ocean is wrong because it is smaller than both the Pacific and the Atlantic, ranking third among the world’s oceans.
- (B) The Arctic Ocean is wrong because it is the smallest ocean, not the largest.
- (C) The Atlantic Ocean is wrong because NOAA describes it as the second-largest body of water, while the Pacific contains almost twice as much water.
Concept
This tests basic world physical geography, especially the ranking and scale of major oceans. RAS repeats such map-and-fact questions because they anchor broader topics such as ocean basins, relief and global physical features.