Which of the following pairs are correctly matched?

Question

Which of the following pairs are correctly matched?

1. A. I only
2. B. III only (Correct answer)
3. C. I and III only
4. D. All of the above

Correct Answer

Option B — III only

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is III only.

Key Points

• Examining each pair:
  • I. Cape of Good Hope — Vasco da Gama: INCORRECT. The Cape of Good Hope was first rounded by the Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias in 1488. Vasco da Gama later sailed past it on his way to India, reaching Calicut in 1498, but he did not discover it.
  • II. Solar System — Kepler: INCORRECT. The heliocentric model of the solar system was proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus in *De revolutionibus orbium coelestium* (1543). Johannes Kepler formulated the three laws of planetary motion, establishing that the orbits are elliptical — an important refinement, but not the discovery of the solar system.
  • III. Australia — James Cook: CORRECT. Captain James Cook charted the eastern coast of Australia in 1770 and claimed it for Britain.
• Only pair III is correctly matched.

Additional Information

• Major voyages of the Age of Discovery:
  • Christopher Columbus (1492) — reached the Americas while seeking a westward route to India.
  • Bartolomeu Dias (1488) — rounded the Cape of Good Hope.
  • Vasco da Gama (1498) — first sea route from Europe to India, landing at Calicut and received by the Zamorin.
  • Ferdinand Magellan (1519–22) — his expedition completed the first circumnavigation of the globe, though he himself died in the Philippines.
  • Amerigo Vespucci — the continent of America is named after him.
• Kepler's three laws: orbits are ellipses with the Sun at one focus; a planet sweeps equal areas in equal times; and $T^2 \propto a^3$ relating orbital period to mean distance.
• Cook's other achievements include the first recorded European contact with Hawaii and the systematic use of citrus to prevent scurvy on long voyages.