Practice Test: Science and Technology- 1 - UPSC MCQ

Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project

• The TMT has been conceived as a 30-metre diameter primary-mirror optical and infrared telescope that will enable observations into deep space.
• It is proposed as a joint collaboration involving institutions in the US, Japan, China, Canada, and India.
• Indian participation in the project was approved by the Union Cabinet in 2014

CERN is the acronym in french language.

• Connective tissue (also called fibrous tissue) is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. Connective tissues, as the name implies, support and connect different tissues and organs of the body. They are widely distributed in every part of the body.
• A ligament is a fibrous connective tissue that attaches bone to bone, and usually serves to hold structures together and keep them stable. Two This tissue is very elastic. It has considerable strength.
• A tendon is a fibrous connective tissue that attaches muscle to bone. Tendons may also attach muscles to structures such as the eyeball. A tendon serves to move the bone or structure.
• Areolar connective tissue is found between the skin and muscles, around blood vessels and nerves and in the bone marrow. It fills the space inside the organs, supports internal organs and helps in repair of tissues.
• Cartilage is a strong, flexible connective tissue that protects your joints and bones. It acts as a shock absorber throughout your body. Cartilage at the end of your bones reduces friction and prevents them from rubbing together when you use your joints.

Hence option (b) is the correct answer.

• Colloidal solutions are mixtures in which microscopically dispersed insoluble particles of one substance are suspended in another substance.
• Properties of colloid:
  • A colloid is a heterogeneous mixture.
  • The size of the particles of a colloid is too small to be individually seen by the naked eye.
  • Colloids are big enough to scatter a beam of light passing through it and make its path visible.
  • They do not settle down when left undisturbed, that is, a colloid is quite stable.
• Cow Milk, milk of magnesia, blood, and shaving cream are examples of colloidal solutions.
• Tincture of iodine is an example of a homogeneous solution with iodine (solid) as the solute and alcohol (liquid) as the solvent.

Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Statement 1 is correct: E Ink displays are a special type of screen technology often used in e-readers like
the Amazon Kindle.

• The technology was originally developed in the 1990s at MIT and is now owned by E Ink Corporation.

Statement 2 is not correct: Unlike LCD and LED displays that use a backlight, E Ink displays reflect light – just like paper.

• This makes them easier on the eyes for long reading sessions. 

ISRO built India's first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the Soviet Union  in 1975. In 1980, Rohini became the first satellite to be placed in orbit by an Indian-made launch vehicle, SLV-3. On 5 November 2013, ISRO launched its Mars Orbiter Mission, which successfully entered the Mars orbit on 24 September 2014, making India the first nation to succeed on its maiden attempt, and ISRO the first Asian space agency to reach Mars orbit.

Both the Statements are not correct.

• Malaria is a life-threatening disease spread to humans by some types of mosquitoes. It is mostly found in tropical countries.
• Transmission: It is caused by plasmodium protozoa. The plasmodium parasites spread through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Blood transfusion and contaminated needles may also transmit malaria.
• The R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine has been recommended for use by the World Health Organisation (WHO) after meeting required safety, quality and effectiveness standards.

Types of parasites:

• There are 5 Plasmodium parasite species that cause malaria in humans and 2 of these species – P. falciparum and P. vivax – pose the greatest threat. The other malaria species which can infect humans are P. malariae, P. ovale and P. knowlesi.
• The vaccine has been developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India, leveraging Novavax’s adjuvant technology.
• The R21 vaccine is the second malaria vaccine recommended by WHO, following the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine, which received a WHO recommendation in 2021.

• Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants and certain other organisms transform light energy into chemical energy. During photosynthesis in green plants, light energy is captured and used to convert water, carbon dioxide, and minerals into oxygen and energy-rich organic compounds.
• Respiration in plants refers to a process in which a plant utilizes atmospheric oxygen to oxidize glucose and other respiratory substrates like fats or proteins.
• The relationship between photosynthesis and cellular respiration is such that the products of one system are the reactants of the other.
• Photosynthesis involves the use of energy from sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to produce glucose and oxygen.
• Cellular respiration uses glucose and oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water. Hence statement 3 is not correct.
• Humans, animals and plants depend on the cycle of cellular respiration and photosynthesis for survival. The oxygen produced by plants during photosynthesis is what humans and animals inhale for the blood to transport to the cells for respiration.
• The carbon dioxide produced during respiration is released from the body and absorbed by plants to help provide the energy they need for growth and development. This is the never ending cycle that sustains life on earth.
• Photosynthesis is an endothermic reaction because sunlight energy is absorbed during the process of photosynthesis by the plants.
• Respiration is a kind of burning fuel. During respiration, Carbohydrates present in food are broken down to form glucose. Glucose combines with oxygen in the cells of our body and provides energy.
  Therefore, respiration is an exothermic reaction. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
  
• Hence statement 2 is not correct.

The most popular argument regarding the origin of the universe is the Big Bang Theory. It is also called expanding universe hypothesis. The Big Bang Theory considers the following stages in the development of the universe:

• In the beginning, all matter forming the universe existed in one place in the form of a “tiny ball” (singular atom) with an unimaginably small volume, infinite temperature, and infinite density.
• At the Big Bang the “tiny ball” exploded violently. This led to a huge expansion. It is now generally accepted that the event of the big bang took place 13.7 billion years before the present.
• As it grew, some energy was converted into matter. There was particularly rapid expansion within fractions of a second after the bang. Thereafter, the expansion slowed down. Within the first three minutes of the Big Bang event, the first atom began to form.
• As the universe expanded, both the density and temperature dropped. Within 300,000 years from the Big Bang, the temperature dropped to 4,500 K (Kelvin) and gave rise to atomic matter. The universe became transparent. Hence option (c) is the correct answer.
• The expansion of the universe means an increase in space between the galaxies. With greater evidence becoming available about the expanding universe, the scientific community at present favors the argument of expanding the universe. The expansion continues even to the present day.

Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain. Japanese encephalitis is a disease caused by the mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis virus. The Japanese encephalitis virus is a virus from the family Flaviviridae. Domestic pigs and wild birds (especially herons) are reservoirs of the virus; transmission to humans may cause severe symptoms. The symptoms include high fever, headache, vomiting, confusion and, in severe cases, seizures, paralysis and coma. The disease can result in brain damage. Children and elderly people are especially at risk of developing a severe form of encephalitis. Mortality of this disease varies but is generally much higher in children.

Human blood group inheritance shows an example of codominance as well as multiple alleles. The plasma membrane of the red blood cells has sugar polymers that protrude from its surface and the kind of sugar is controlled by the gene. The gene (I) has three alleles Iᴬ, Iᴮ and i. The alleles Iᴬ and Iᴮ produce a slightly different form of sugar while allele i do not produce any sugar. i is recessive to both Iᴬ, and Iᴮ. Iᴬand Iᴮ may show codominance.

• The parents have A and AB, blood groups. Blood group A indicates that the underlying genotype may be Iᴬ Iᴬ or Iᴬ i. Blood group AB indicates co-dominance and the underlying genotype must be Iᴬ Iᴮ.
• Now two cases, In the first case (considering a person with A blood group has Iᴬ i genotype: Iᴬ i (A blood group) X Iᴬ Iᴮ (AB blood group)
  
  • So, the possible blood groups of children born in this case are A, B, and AB blood groups
• Similarly in the second case, considering a person with A blood group has Iᴬ Iᴬ genotype): Iᴬ Iᴬ (A blood group) X Iᴬ Iᴮ (AB blood group)
  
  • So, the possible blood groups of children born in this case are A and AB blood groups.
• In none of the above cases, children have O blood group.
  

Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

PRITHvi VIgyan (PRITHVI) Programme: The Union Cabinet cleared ‘PRITHVI Programme for earth observation, satellite projects with Mauritius.

It encompasses five ongoing sub-schemes of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), like:

• Atmosphere & Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems & Services (ACROSS);
• Ocean Services, Modelling Application, Resources and Technology (O-SMART);
• Polar Science and Cryosphere Research (PACER);
• Seismology and Geosciences (SAGE); and,
• Research, Education, Training and Outreach (REACHOUT)

Satellite for Mauritius: The Union Cabinet approved an agreement between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC) to jointly develop a ‘small satellite’.

• India and Mauritius have a history of cooperation since the 1980s when ISRO established a ground station in

In News

• News: Future quantum computers will be no match for 'space encryption' that uses light to beam data around with the 1st satellite launching in 2025. 

Key PointsQuantam Cryptography:

• It refers to various cybersecurity methods for encrypting and transmitting secure data based on the naturally occurring and immutable laws of quantum mechanics. Hence, Option 1 is correct.
• It has the potential to be far more secure than previous types of cryptographic algorithms and is even theoretically unhackable. Hence, Option 2 is correct.
• Unlike traditional cryptography, which is built on mathematics, quantum cryptography is built on the laws of physics. Specifically, quantum cryptography relies on the unique principles of quantum mechanics. Hence, Option 3 is incorrect.
• The need for Quantum cryptography arises from the fact that quantum computers will be able to break traditional encryption. Hence, Option 4 is correct.

• Reverberation: It is the phenomenon of the persistence of sound after it has been stopped due to multiple reflections from surfaces, such as furniture, people, air, etc., within a closed surface. These reflections build up with each reflection and decay gradually as they are absorbed by the surfaces of objects in the enclosed space. Hence option (d) is the correct answer.
• Pitch: The pitch of a sound is our ear's response to the frequency of sound. Whereas loudness depends on the energy of the wave. In general, the pitch is the reason behind the difference in voice quality of different individuals.
• Interference: When two or more sound waves occupy the same space, they affect one another. The waves do not bounce off of each, but they move through each other. The resulting wave depends on how the waves line up.
• Echo: When the sound is repeated when the sound wave is reflected, it is known as an echo. Echo is heard when space is large. Example: imagine standing in an empty room and shouting “Hi”.

You would be able to maintain your position relative to the Earth and the Sun without using much fuel. Lagrange point 1:

• Lagrange points are named in honor of Italian-French mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange.
• L1 stands for the first Lagrangian point — there are five such points, L1 to L5, associated with the motion of one astronomical body around another one, in Aditya missions’s case, Earth and the Sun.
• Of the five Lagrange points, three are unstable and two are stable. The unstable Lagrange points - labeled L1, L2 and L3 - lie along the line connecting the two large masses. The stable Lagrange points - L4 and L5 - form the apex of two equilateral triangles that have the large masses at their vertices. L4 leads the orbit of earth and L5 follows.
• If one is at L1, then he would be able to maintain his position with minimal fuel usage, but would need to perform regular course and attitude corrections due to the instability of L1.
  • The L1 and L2 points are unstable on a time scale of approximately 23 days, which requires satellites orbiting these positions to undergo regular course and attitude corrections.
• He would not feel a stronger gravitational pull from the Sun, and he would always see the sunlit part of the Earth, as seen from the below figure.

• Melting of ice involves a change in the state of water from solid to liquid. Since it involves a change in the state of water without forming any new substance, it is a physical change.
• When ice melts, it converts to water and the density of ice is less than of water. Hence, the volume will decrease.
• Heat is generated by exothermic processes, which raise the temperature of the surrounding environment, endothermic processes absorb heat from the environment and cool it. Heat is removed from the surrounding atmosphere to melt the ice, thus, melting of ice requires the use of energy to break the hydrogen bonds in the ice. Consequently, ice melting is an endothermic process.
• Melting of ice is just a change of state from a solid to a liquid and is still the same amount of water. It should have the same mass.

Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

• Erythroblastosis fetalis, also called hemolytic disease of the newborn, type of anemia in which the red blood cells (erythrocytes) of a fetus are destroyed in a maternal immune reaction resulting from a blood group incompatibility between the fetus and its mother.
• This incompatibility arises when the fetus inherits a certain blood factor from the father that is absent in the mother. Symptoms of erythroblastosis fetalis range from mild to severe; death of the fetus or newborn sometimes results.
• Two blood group systems, Rh and ABO, primarily are associated with erythroblastosis fetalis.
• The Rh system is responsible for the most severe form of the disease, which can occur when an Rhnegative woman (a woman whose blood cells lack the Rh factor) conceives an Rh-positive fetus. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Sensitization of the mother’s immune system (immunization) occurs when fetal red blood cells that carry the Rh factor (an antigen in this context) cross the placental barrier and enter the mother’s bloodstream.
• They stimulate the production of antibodies, some of which pass across the placenta into fetal circulation and lyse, or break apart, the red blood cells of the fetus (hemolysis).
• These antibodies usually don't cause problems during a first pregnancy.
• But Rh incompatibility may cause problems in later pregnancies, if the baby is Rh-positive. This is because the antibodies stay in your body once they have formed. The antibodies can cross the placenta and attack the baby's red blood cells. The baby could get Rh disease, a serious condition that can cause a serious type of anemia. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• It is rare for a mother to become sensitized during the course of her first Rh-positive pregnancy because the amount of fetal Rh antigen that enters maternal circulation is insufficient to cause sensitization; usually only during labour will exposure be significant.
• However, because Rh sensitivity is likely to develop during labour, the risk of the disease developing in subsequent Rh-positive pregnancies increases.
• The risk can be reduced if the mother receives injections of Rh immunoglobulin, which destroys fetal red blood cells in her bloodstream, during her first pregnancy. The fetus also is protected from Rh hemolytic disease if an ABO blood group incompatibility exists concurrently; protection is conferred by ABO antibodies, which destroy fetal blood cells in the maternal circulation before the mother develops Rh sensitivity.
• Fetal-maternal incompatibilities within the ABO blood group alone are more common than those of the Rh type, but the immune reaction is usually much less severe, unless the fetus is type A and the mother type O.

This phenomenon occurs at perigee, when moon is closest to Earth.

GSLV Mk-3 is the latest version of GSLV. It can carry up to 4500 to 5000 kg satellites. Until now, India relied on EU’s Arianespace launch vehicle to send those INSAT-4 satellites. It will consist of 3 stages. 1st stage will have solid propellant, 2nd stage will have liquid propellant and 3rd stage will be cryogenic engine. GSLV MK-3 will make ISRO a competitive player in commercial launches of foreign satellites.

Thai Sacbrood is a viral disease affecting honey bee colonies. The disease kills bees when they are larvae and hence there is no multiplication of bee colonies.

• Protein is found throughout the body—in muscle, bone, skin, hair, and virtually every other body part or tissue. It makes up the enzymes that power many chemical reactions and the hemoglobin that carries oxygen in your blood.
• Within a protein, multiple amino acids are linearly linked together by peptide bonds, thereby forming a long chain. Peptide bonds are formed by a biochemical reaction that extracts a water molecule as it joins the amino group of one amino acid to the carboxyl group of a neighboring amino acid. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, found in the bones, muscles, skin, and tendons. It is an essential component of connective tissue and plays a crucial role in holding the body’s cells together. It also gives strength and elasticity to the skin. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Both the statements are correct.

What is the Aditya-L1 mission?

• Aditya-L1 is the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun.
• The solar mission will not see the spacecraft actually go to the sun, it will instead create a space observatory at a point from which the sun can be observed even during an eclipse.
• The spacecraft will be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1), around 1.5 million km from the Earth, of the Sun-Earth system.

Statements 1 and 2 are not correct : China launched the Einstein Probe (EP) to observe mysterious transient phenomena in the universe.

• A Long March-2C carrier rocket carried a satellite called Einstein Probe.
• It is a new astronomical satellite which is shaped like a lotus in full bloom.
• It is a mission of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) dedicated to time-domain high-energy astrophysics.
• It aims to capture the first light from supernova explosions, search for X-ray signals accompanying gravitational wave events, and discover dormant black holes and other celestial objects.
• The satellite's X-ray detection technology is inspired by lobster-eye telescopes.

• Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLNs) are examples of lipid-based drug delivery systems that have distinctive properties such as high drug loading, and large surface area and can protect the drug from the environment while increasing its bioavailability.
• An SLN is generally spherical in shape and consists of a solid lipid core stabilized by a surfactant. The core lipids can be fatty acids, acylglycerols, waxes, and mixtures of these surfactants. Biological membrane lipids such as phospholipids, sphingomyelins, bile salts (sodium taurocholate), and sterols (cholesterol) are utilized as stabilizers.
  
• SLNs use physiological lipids which reduces the danger of acute and chronic bio toxicity. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• Some COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer-BionTech and Moderna) that use RNA vaccine technology coat the fragile mRNA strands with Solid lipid nanoparticles as their delivery vehicle. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

The word 'Vyommitra' is made up of two words of the Sanskrit language 'Vyom' and 'Mitra' which means space and friend respectively.

• This is the prototype of the Half-Humanoid female robot developed by ISRO.
• It was unveiled on 22 January 2020.

Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT)

• It is operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
• GMRT is the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope operating within the 110-1,460 MegaHertz frequency range

Significance: GMRT was among the six top radio telescopes used to enable the detection of the
nano-hertz gravitational waves for the first time.

• Such waves are expected to originate from a large number of dancing monster black hole pairs, several million times heavier than the Sun.

• Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is a mild, contagious viral infection common in young children.
• Symptoms include sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet. it is a mild, self-limiting disease with no significant adverse effects. It lasts seven to ten days.
  • It spreads by physical contact, sneezing, or by coming in contact with the stool of the infected child. While children below five years of age are prone to be affected by it, teenagers and adults have also been infected by the same. The infection can affect people of all ages but it usually occurs in children under the age of five.
  • Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is most commonly caused by a coxsackievirus. This virus is part of a group of viruses called enteroviruses. In some cases, other types of enteroviruses can cause HFMD.
  • An increase in cases of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) has been reported in Delhi-NCR in 2022.
  • There's no specific treatment for hand-foot-and-mouth disease. Frequent hand-washing and avoiding close contact with people who have hand-foot-and-mouth disease may help lower your child's risk of infection.
  • Hand, foot, and mouth disease is often confused with foot-and-mouth disease (also called hoof-andmouth disease), which affects cows, sheep, and pigs. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • Humans do not get the animal disease, and animals do not get the human disease.
  • Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followed by blisters inside the mouth and near the hoof that may rupture and cause lameness.
  • FMD has very severe implications for animal farming, since it is highly infectious and can be spread by infected animals comparatively easily through contact with contaminated farming equipment, vehicles, clothing, and feed, and by domestic and wild predators.
  • Humans are only extremely rarely infected by foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV).
  • Tomato Flu is caused by Coxsackievirus A16. Once infected, the virus produces red and painful blisters on the skin, hence referred to as “Tomato Flu” or “Tomato Fever”. Tomato flu has been reported from at least four states — Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, and Odisha.
  • Researchers believe that it is a different clinical presentation of hand-foot-and mouth disease (HFMD) caused by a group of enteroviruses (viruses transmitted through the intestine). Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • Tomato flu or tomato fever is characterised by fever, joint pain, and red, tomato-like rashes usually seen in children below the age of five years. This is accompanied by other symptoms of viral fevers such as diarrhoea, dehydration, nausea and vomiting, and fatigue.

• Diamond and Graphite, both are allotropes of carbon. These minerals chemically consist of carbon atoms with different physical properties. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Graphite is soft with a greasy touch and is utilized as a lubricant in the form of dispersion material or powder. Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring substance and is used in making tools that are utilized for grinding, cutting, drilling, etc. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Graphite is used in the manufacture of electrodes of carbon employed in electrolytic cells, as it is an excellent conductor of electricity. In a Diamond, each carbon atom is attached to the other four carbon atoms through strong covalent bonds. Due to the absence of free electrons, a diamond is a poor electrical conductor. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

• Pairs 1 and 4 are not correct.
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