CSIR NET June 2016 Q114: Meteorology
Tropical cyclones (hurricanes/typhoons) form between roughly 5-20 degrees latitude, are absent at the equator (insufficient Coriolis force), are absent south of the equator in the Atlantic, and preferentially form over the WESTERN (not eastern) sides of oceans where warm water pools.
Tropical cyclones form mostly over the western parts of oceans, where warm surface waters accumulate (e.g., western Pacific, western Atlantic/Caribbean), not the eastern parts, which tend to have cooler upwelled water unfavorable for cyclogenesis. This makes the statement 'they mostly form over the eastern side of the oceans' the incorrect one. Option 2 is correct (as the false statement).
1) Correct statement (true) -- the 5-20 degree latitude band is indeed where sufficient Coriolis force and warm SSTs combine for cyclogenesis. 2) Marked correct as the INCORRECT statement -- cyclones favor the western, not eastern, ocean basins. 3) Correct statement (true) -- the equator lacks sufficient Coriolis force for cyclone formation. 4) Correct statement (true) -- the South Atlantic rarely produces tropical cyclones due to strong wind shear and cooler SSTs.