Food for thought - UPSC (IAS) prelims special

1. Ozone hole results in

a. More UV radiation reaching the earth

b. Cooling of the earth

c. Warming of the earth

d. Increased incidence of skin cancers

e. Decrease in photosynthetic activity of plants

2. Which of the following are greenhouse gases

a. CH4

b. Co2

c. Co

d. O3

e. H2O

3. Consider the points about Polar vortex which brought havoc in US recently by bringing the temperatures down to record low levels

a. Polar vortex is cold air surrounded by Jet streams at the poles

b. Global warming causes intensifying of polar vortex

c. Polar vortex also leads to ozone depletion

d. Arctic polar vortex is more regular and contained than that of Antarctic one

which of the above statements are true

4. Consider the following statements regarding ozone hole (thinning of ozone layer)

a. Ozone hole is more pronounced over arctic than on Antarctic

b. Ozone hole is more pronounced in summer than in winter

c. It is more pronounced at poles than in any other latitude because of more pollution created by western countries like US and UK

which of the above statements is/are true?

5. Which of the following statements regarding Jet streams is true

a. They are fast flowing winds high in the troposphere

b. They are caused by temperature difference but earths rotation does not play any role, unlike other winds like westerlies and trade winds

c. There are two types of Jet streams, namely polar and subtropical in both the hemispheres

d. Polar jet streams are slower than subtropical jet streams

e. In winter the speed of jet streams si compared to summer

f. Global warming makes the jet streams move faster

Food for thought - UPSC (IAS) prelims special

*These questions are from pressure belts and winds chapter of geography (not from NCERT)

1. The atmosphere is rarefied at high altitudes and dense near the earth surface hence the pressure reduces as one goes up. The reason for this effect is/are

a.Temperature

b. Humidity

c. Gravity

d. Composition of air

2. Which of the following statements are true

a. Moist air weighs heavier than dry air

b. Moist air exerts low pressure than dry air

3. Identify  correct statements

a. When isobars are far apart, there is marked difference in the pressure b/w the two areas and the weather is stormy

b. When the isobars are close, there is less difference in the pressure b/w the two places and the weather is calm

c. Isobars are more regular on earth than on oceans

4. There are two low pressure belts on the globe one is near equator (0-5) and the other is around poles (60-65). With reference to these low pressure regions consider the following statements

a. The low pressure region at the equator is caused by temperature and earth rotation effects

b. Low pressure region around poles is cause purely because of temperature effect, earth rotation does not play any role

5. Identify true statements

a. offshore winds blow from sea to land whereas onshore winds blow from land to sea

b. Trade winds are offshore winds whereas westerlies are onshore winds

Food for thought - UPSC (IAS) prelims special

1. Consider the following statements with reference to Essential Commodities Act

a. Under the Essential Commodities Act state govts can restrict the amount of stock to be held by traders

b. hence can control the hoarding and black marketing

c. Under the Essential Commodities Act state can restrict only distribution of commodities but not the production

d. Onion and Potato are covered under the essential commodities act

e. Centre can bring additional commodities to be covered only by modifying the act in the parliament

2. Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures, which allows countries to protect their citizens from consuming food or related items if there is scientific evidence to prove that the particular product is harmful, are related to which organisation

a. United nations

b. World health organisation

c. World trade organisation

d. World food organisation

3. Compensatory afforestation implies

a. Afforestation practised by government for the loss of forests

b. Paying money to tribals who lose their homes in the forest

c. Afforestation practised by industries for the loss of forest due to setting up of the industries

4. Which of the following are part of MDG

a. reduction in IMR

b. Reduction in MMR

c. Combating AIDs

d. Environment protection

Food for thought - UPSC (IAS) prelims special

*These questions are based on NCERT 12th Geography, India people and economy

1. Which of the following crops are grown in Zaid season

a. watermelons

b. Ground nuts

c. Cucumber

2. Green revolution has resulted in

a. Decrease in soil fertility

b. Increase in regional disparities disparities

c. Increase in use of fertilizers and pesticides

3. Which of the following sectors use the water the most

a. Industry

b. Agriculture

c. Domestic

4. Watershed management involves

a. Conservation, regeneration and judicious use of water resources

b. Conservation, regeneration and judicious use of Land resource

c. Conservation, regeneration and judicious use of plants

d. Conservation, regeneration and judicious use of animals

5. Which of the following statements are correct regarding HDI

a. Human development index (HDI) is published by World bank

b. HDI is published biennially

c. HDI takes into account of Income, Education, Health and Inequality

Food for thought - UPSC (IAS) prelims special

*These questions are based on NCERT 11th Indian geography

1. Consider the following statements with reference to forest area and forest cover as mentioned in State of Forest Report 2011

a. The forest area is the area notified and recorded as the forest land irrespective of the

existence of trees

b. Forest cover is the area occupied by forests with canopy

Identify the correct statements

2. As per the State of Forest Report 2011 which of the following statements are correct

a. Madhya Pradesh has the highest forest cover

b. Arunachal Pradesh has the highest percentage of (wrt geographical area) forest cover

c. Andhra Pradesh and NE states show a decline in forest cover compared to last survey

3. As per the national forest policy which of the following statements are correct

a. It wants to increase the forest cover by 50% of geographical area

b. Social forestry is envisaged as a method to increase the forest cover

c. Community assistance is sought to protect forests

4. Social forestry involves

a. Urban forestry

b. Rural forestry

c. Agro forestry

5. Which of the following statements are true

a. Agroforestry is the raising of trees and agriculture crops on the same land

b. Farm forestry is growing of trees for commercial and non-commercial purposes on their farm lands

6. What is the difference between a Wildlife sanctuary and a National Park

a. In wild life sanctuary people can not claim certain rights over land and resources

b. In a National Park, certain rights are allowed

c. Grazing is allowed in National park but not in sanctuary

7. Which of the following acts deal with protection of forest and wild life

a. Indian Forest Act, 1927,

b. Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980,

c. Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

d. Biological Diversity Act, 2002

e. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.

8. Which of the following are true with reference to biosphere reserve

a. Even research activities are not allowed inside a core region of Biosphere reserve

b. In buffer zone tourism, fishing and grazing are not allowed

9. Which of the following statements are true

a. The Biosphere Reserves protects specific flagship species

b. Protected areas (National parks and Sanctuaries) put emphasis on Conservation of overall

biodiversity and landscape rather than some flagship species

10. Match the following species with the biosphere reserve

a. Dugong or sea cow    1. Great Nicobar reserve

b. Red panda            2. Panchmarhi

c. Lion tailed macaque    3. Gulf of Mannar

d. Flying squirrel        4. Norkek

e. Saltwater crocodile    5. Nilgiri

Food for thought - UPSC (IAS) prelims special

These questions are based on class 12 biology book chapter 16

1. Identify the correct statements

a. Catalytic convertor is used in industries to treat effluent gases of the dust particles

b. Electrostatic separator is used to clean exhaust gases from automobiles

2. Lead is added to petrol

a. To make petrol more efficient

b. To increase the mileage of petrol

c. To protect the engine from damage

d. To reduce of pollutants in exhaust gases

3. Which of the following are air pollutants

a. Exhaust gases from industries

b. Exhaust gases from automobiles

c. Noise

4. Which of the following measure reduce air pollution

a. Use of CNG instead of diesel or petrol in vehicles

b. Usage of low ‘S’ content fuel

c. Use of catalytic converters

5. If there is lot of organic matter (sewage) in water then

a. Its BOD is low

b. Dissolved oxygen in such water will be very high

6. Identify the correct statements

a. Kyoto protocol envisages control of green house gases

b. Montreal protocol envisages control of ozone

7. Identify the correct statements

a. Biomagnification refers to increase in concentration of the toxic substance in successive trophic levels

b. Bioaccumulation refers to the accumulation of toxic substances, such as pesticides, or other organic chemicals in an organism (i.e in one trophic level)

c. Bioconcentration is a related but more specific term, referring to uptake and accumulation of a substance from water alone unlike bioaccumulation which involves uptake from water, air, soil etc

Food for thought - UPSC (IAS) prelims special

These questions are based on class 12 biology book chapter 14

1. Identify the true statements regarding trophic levels in a food chain

a. Theoretically the number of trophic levels in a food chain can be unlimited

b. A given species may occupy more than one trophic level

c. In each successive trophic level the energy increases

2. Identify the correct statements regarding biomass pyramids

a. The pyramid of biomass in grassland is generally upright

b. The pyramid of biomass in sea is generally inverted

c. In most ecosystems, all the  pyramids of number, energy  and biomass are always upright

d. Pyramid of energy is always upright, can never be inverted

3. In an ecological succession pioneer species represent

a. The species which is most important

b. The species which appears first

c. The species which is in great number

4. In an ecological succession climax community represents

a. Beyond which no more succession takes place

b. A community having many species

c. A community having more biomass productivity

5. All ecological succession whether taking place in water or on land, proceeds to a similar climax community that is

a. Lichens

b. Phytoplankton

c. Zooplankton

d. Forests