UPSC Prelims Mock Test - 27 - UPSC MCQ

Justification: Statement 1: Taxes on crops were the most important. This was because most people were farmers. Usually, the tax was fixed at 1/6th of what was produced. This was known as bhaga or a share.

Statement 2: These could have been in the form of labour. For example, a weaver or a smith may have had to work for a day every month for the king.

Statement 3: Herders were also expected to pay taxes in the form of animals and animal produce. And hunters and gatherers also had to provide forest produce to the raja. So, 3 is incorrect.

Statement 4: There were also taxes on goods that were bought and sold, through trade. So, 4 is also incorrect.

Q Source: Page 59: NCERT 6th History: Our Pasts-I

Justification: In 2004, it was found that no tigers were left in Sariska
reserve, which the Rajasthan Forest Department largely attributed initially
to migration, but later to poaching.
The matter was taken seriously, and in 2005, the Government of Rajasthan,
in cooperation with the Government of India and Wildlife Institute of India
(WII), planned the re-introduction of tigers to Sariska from Ranthambore
tiger reserve.
It thus became the first tiger reserve in the world to have successfully
relocated tigers.

Learning: This area was a hunting preserve of the Alwar state and it was
declared a wildlife reserve in 1955.
• The area of Sariska, being a part of the Aravalli Range, is rich in
mineral resources, such as copper.
• The reserve is also the location of several sites of historical
importance such as the 16th-century Kankwadi fort, originally built
by Jai Singh II, located near the centre of the park.
• Pandupol in the hills in the centre of the reserve is believed to be one
of the retreats of Pandava.

Q Source: Page 63 (news reports): NCERT 6th Geography: The Earth Our
Habitat

Concept: The mid-day sun is exactly overhead at least once a year on all
latitudes in between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. This
area, therefore, receives the maximum heat and is called the Torrid Zone.
The mid-day sun never shines overhead on any latitude beyond the Tropic
of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The angle of the sun’s rays goes on
decreasing towards the poles.

Justification: Statement 1: As evident from the explanation above, 1 is
clearly an answer.
Statement 2: Equatorial vegetation can be found near equator, where Sun’s
rays are generally overhead.
Statement 3: Every longitude starts from a pole and meets the other pole. It
is latitude that matters in distribution of solar insolation, not the longitude.

Statement 4: Based on the same logic as above, 4 is also incorrect.

Q Source: Page 12: NCERT 6th Geography: The Earth Our Habitat

Justification: Option A: The Changthangi or Pashmina goat inhabits the
plateaus in Tibet and neighbouring areas of Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir.
They are raised for ultra-fine cashmere wool (pashmina).
Tibetan Antelope of Chiru is native to Tibet.
Option B: Chiru is an antelope, whereas Changthangi is a goat. Primate are
apes, humans etc.
Option C-D: In recent years Chiru has become endangered due to poaching
for their soft and warm wool which is usually obtained after death. This
wool is known as shahtoosh and is used to weave shawls . At present,
international trade in their products is strictly prohibited.
Q Source: Improvisation: Page 75: Geography NCERT 7th: Our Environment

Justification & Learning: Option A: Indian Independence Bill was
introduced in the British House of Commons on July 4, 1947 and passed
within a fortnight.
Option B: The date was chosen by Lord Mountbatten himself because he
had considered this date to be lucky. It was on this day during the World
War II, that the Japanese Army surrendered to the allies.
Option C: In 1929, when Jawaharlal Nehru as Congress President gave the
call for ‘Poorna Swaraj’ or total independence from British colonial rule,
January 26 was chosen as the Independence Day. Later it was declared as
the Republic Day.

Justification: NASA's Fermi (formerly Gamma-ray Large Area Space
Telescope, or GLAST) is a powerful space observatory (from 2008) that has
started to:
• Explore the most extreme environments in the Universe, where
nature harnesses energies far beyond anything possible on Earth.
• Search for signs of new laws of physics and what composes the
mysterious Dark Matter.
• Explain how black holes accelerate immense jets of material to nearly
light speed.
• Help crack the mysteries of the stupendously powerful explosions
known as gamma-ray bursts.
• Answer long-standing questions across a broad range of topics,
including solar flares, pulsars and the origin of cosmic rays.
Learning: Gamma rays are the highest-energy form of light, and the
gamma-ray sky is spectacularly different from the one we perceive with
our own eyes.
Fermi data has enabled scientists to answer persistent questions across a
broad range of topics, including supermassive black-hole systems, pulsars,
the origin of cosmic rays, and searches for signals of new physics.

Justification: Statement 1: It is a public financial market in which financial
instruments or commodities are traded for “immediate delivery”. It
contrasts with a futures market, in which delivery is due at a later date. So,
1 is incorrect.
Statement 2: There are many players in the sport market, for e.g. NCDEX
Spot Exchange Limited, Indian Bullion Spot Exchange limited. NSEL is only
one of them, which was also in news due to a scam.
Statement 3: Spot Exchange is presently recognized by Ministry of
Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution. It was regulated by the
Forward Contracts Act earlier by Forward Markets Commission. Now, since
FMC has been merged with SEBI, SEBI regulates it.

Learning: Amendments that seek to change federal provisions of the
Constitution will be first passed in the two houses separately by absolute
and special majority.
They afterwards also need to be ratified by legislatures of at least half of
the states by resolutions.
Only after this, the bill will be sent for presidential assent, and it becomes
an Act.
Assam recently became the first state to ratify the GST Bill.

Concept: Naturally occurring crude can be burnt directly to produce
energy, but because different hydrocarbons have different boiling points,
the combustion will be very uneven.
• As such, crude oil is ‘refined’ into compounds like kerosene, LPG,
paraffin wax, naphtha, etc., apart from petrol and diesel.
• Longer the carbon chain, higher is the probability of finding other
elements like sulphur and nitrogen attached to it. Petrol is a more
uniform carbon compound than diesel as petrol has shorter chains
than Diesel.
• Crucially, diesel has higher sulphur content.

Justification: Statement 2: Emissions from diesel vehicles, especially
particulate matter and black carbon, are the major reasons for air pollution
as well. Sulphates, like sulphur dioxide, released in the atmosphere may
lead to acid rain. So, statement 2 is correct.
Petrol exhaust produces carbon monoxide (CO) and some nitrous oxides
(NOx) during combustion.
Statement 1: The CO combines with oxygen again to produce carbon
dioxide (CO2), which is what comes out of the exhaust pipes of petrol
vehicles.
• The relatively high nitrogen and sulphur content in diesel results in
the formation of higher amounts of NOx, and particulate matter
containing mainly sulphurous compounds.
• CO2 is a greenhouse gas, and contributes to global warming; NOx and
particulate matter carry major health risks.

Justification: Option A: Rule of law ensures that democracy doesn’t turn
into Rule of Men.
Option B: Fundamental rights guard the citizens from the tyranny and
despotism of the rulers.
Option C: If a certain class of citizens are banned (without any intelligible
criteria) from participating in elections or running for public offices, a
democracy may not be sustained.
Option D: Many democracies practice indirect election of representatives,
for e.g. President of USA is indirectly elected. Voters elect the Electoral
College, which then elects the President.
In India, Rajya Sabha MPs are indirectly elected. So, direct election of all
representatives is not crucial for a democracy.
Q Source: Page 32: NCERT 6th: Social and Economic Life – I

Learning: At the village level there are sub-health centres where there is
usually a nurse and a village health worker. They are trained in dealing
with common illnesses.
They work under the supervision of doctors at the Primary Health Centre
(PHC) which is next in the hierarchy. Such a centre covers many villages in
a rural area.
At the Block level, there is usually a Community Health Centre with more
facilities than at PHC.
At the district level is the District Hospital that also supervises all the
health centres.
Q Source: Page 24: NCERT 7th: Social and Economic Life – II

Justification:

Statement 1 : Green plants use CO2 gas to prepare their food
through photosynthesis.

Statement 2: Argon is the next abundant gas.

Statement 3: Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere does not absorb the
incoming visible radiations coming from the sun blocks the out going
infrared radiations radiated by earth. By absorbing infrared radiations, the
atmosphere gets heated. This is known as Green house Effect. The heated
atmosphere keeps the earthworm. Thus carbon dioxide helps in keeping
the earth warmer by blocking the infrared radiations.

Statement 4: When carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by seawater,
chemical reactions occur that reduce seawater pH, carbonate ion
concentration, and saturation states of biologically important calcium
carbonate minerals.
• It is called "ocean acidification".
• Calcium carbonate minerals are the building blocks for the skeletons
and shells of many marine organisms.

Learning: Volcanic outgassing and wildfires are two significant natural
sources of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere. Respiration, the process by which
organisms liberate energy from food, emits carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide is the most abundant gas in the atmospheres of Mars and
Venus.

Q Source: Improvisation: Page 35: NCERT 6th Geography: The Earth Our
Habitat

Justification: USSD is a GSM based technology i.e. used to send text
between a mobile phone and an application program in the network.
Unlike Short Message Service (SMS) messages, USSD messages create a
real-time connection during a USSD session. So they are more responsive
than services that use SMS.
Statement 1: So, it can be used even without any internet connection as it
does not require any data. 1 will be wrong.
Statement 2: The Union Bank of India (UBI) has recently launched an
Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) based *99# mobile
application for their customers for basic banking needs.

It was launched in partnership with National Payments Corporation of
India (NPCI), the umbrella organisation for all retail payments system in
the country.

Learning: It is Mohenjodaro. The Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro are
the best preserved urban settlement in South Asia dating back to the
beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, and exercised a considerable influence
on the subsequent development of urbanization.
• The archaeological ruins are located on the right bank of the Indus
River
• It was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley
Civilization.
• The Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro are being protected by
National and Regional laws including the Antiquities Act 1975
• The discovery of Moenjodaro in 1922 revealed evidence of the
customs, art, religion and administrative abilities of its inhabitants.

Q Source: Recent movie + Improvisation: Chapter 4: NCERT 6th History:
Our Pasts-I

Justification: FAO has provided the relevant statistics, where largest
Tropical moist deciduous is followed by tropical dry deciduous. So,
deciduous forests cover the largest forest area in India, more than 60%!
Tropical wet evergreen forests follow and then semi-evergreen forests.

Q Source: Improvisation: Page 59: NCERT 6th Geography: The Earth Our
Habitat

Justification: Geoglogy of India can be categorized in following eras, in
increasing chronological order.

• Precambrian super-eon
• Phanerozoic
o Palaeozoic
§ Lower Paleozoic
§ Upper Paleozoic
o Mesozoic
o Cenozoic
§ Tertiary period
§ Quaternary period
Option (a): Khasi hills, one of youngest, belong to Tertiary period (to which
a large area in North-east also belongs).
Option (b): Shiwaliks are part of Himalayas, so given the reasoning below,
this (b) will also be incorrect.
Option (c): The alluvium which is found in the Indo-Gangetic plain belongs
to the Quaternary period. It was eroded from the Himalayas by the rivers
and the monsoons. Since Himalayas were formed after Deccan traps, and
are very young, (c) can’t be the answer.
The Deccan plateau in India is one of the oldest plateaus in India made
mainly from igneous rocks.
We will be covering more questions on this area in later tests.
Q Source: Improvisation: Page 42: NCERT 6th Geography: The Earth Our
Habitat

Justification: Statement 1: It was established by the UN General Assembly
in December 1992 to ensure effective follow-up of United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the
Earth Summit.
At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20),
Member States agreed to establish a high level political forum that replaced
the Commission on Sustainable Development. The body no longer exists.
Statement 2: The Commission was responsible for reviewing progress in
the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration on Environment
and Development; as well as providing policy guidance to follow up the
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) at the local, national, regional
and international levels.
Statement 3: The CSD met annually in New York, in two-year cycles,
opening its sessions to broad participation from both governmental and
non-governmental actors.

Justification: Statement 1: It results in inflating the cost of capital for
economic activities and banks may charge higher interest rates on some
products to compensate NPAs.
NPA is any asset of a bank which is not producing any income. It affects the
profitability & liquidity of the banks.
Statement 2: It adversely affects the value of bank in terms of market
credit and widens assets and liability mismatch. This may even lead to bank
defaults.
It shakes consumer’s confidence in the banking deposits, and forces them
to withdraw savings in banks, thus lowering the savings ratio.

Learning: Savings ratio is the total amount of a person’s income not spent
on consumption and invested in either bank deposits, bonds or other
market instruments.
In any economy, savings finance investments. Higher savings increase
liquidity in the market and reduce the cost of credit resulting in higher
economic growth.

So, it is very important that the banking system of an economy is robust.

Justification: Sultanpur and Kanpur both are in UP, Chandigarh and
Rewari both in Haryana; Patna and Kolkata situated not far by.
The difference in time is created by longitude differences. Difference of 15
degrees creates a difference of 1 hour.
Based on the longitudes of Dwarka (Gujarat) and Dibrugarh (Assam), there
will be a difference of about 1 hour and 45 minutes in the local times of
Dwarka and Dibrugarh.

Q Source: Page 15: NCERT 6th Geography: The Earth Our Habitat

Justification: Statement 1: The image below explains statement 1. Notice
how on Summer equinox, Tropic of Cancer receives direct overhead rays of
the Sun, while in Winter solstice, it is the Tropic of Capricorn.
On an equinox, when days and nights are equal in duration, Sun is directly
overhead the equator, causing equal days and nights.

Statement 2: Both are caused due to axial tilt of the earth, its revolution
and also rotation (to cause day and night). The diagram above makes it
clear.

Q Source: Page 19: NCERT 6th Geography: The Earth Our Habitat

Justification: Statement 1: She is not an elected person but is appointed by
the government.
Statement 2: Role of Panchayat Secretary is defined by State
rules/regulations and laws. In the state of AP, some of her roles are:
• She shall maintain the required registers of the Gram Panchayat.
• She is subordinate to the Gram Panchayat and shall function under
the control of the Sarpanch of the Gram Panchayat.
• She shall attend the meeting of the Gram Panchayat or any committee
thereon.
• She shall take the responsibility of the protection of Panchayat lands
and properties.
• She shall report of encroachments, damage or misuse of Panchayat
lands and buildings if any to the higher authorities.
• She shall assist Grama Sabha in the identification of beneficiaries,
disbursement of loans and their recoveries.
Q Source: Page 44: NCERT 6th: Social and Economic Life – I

Justification: It connects the Pacific and Arctic oceans.
The International Date Line runs around the Bering strait.
This strait separates the United States and Russia by around 85 km, with a
water depth that measures only 30–50 meters!
In the last few decades some factions have discussed the construction of a
bridge over the strait, however, financial and weather concerns have
continually stalled the project.

Q Source: Page 35: NCERT 6th Geography: The Earth Our Habitat

Learning: Communicable diseases are caused by pathogens passed from
one human to another.

Pathogens are viral, bacterial, parasitic and fungal. Methods of transmission
include mucus, blood, breath, saliva and sexual contact.
Contaminated surfaces, such as doorknobs, counter tops and playground
equipment, provide a medium for passing disease from one human to
another.
So, all options other than C are correct.
Option C can control cardiovascular non-communicable diseases.

Q Source: Page 29: NCERT 7th: Social and Economic Life – II

Justification: Statement 1: It causes plate movements (tectonics), results in
volcanic eruptions and is therefore a significant factor in the evolution of
landforms on earth.

Statement 2: If Vegetation cover is high, it protects the surface from rain
splash as root mass is sufficient to stabilize the materials on the slope.

Justification: Statement 1: It causes plate movements (tectonics), results in
volcanic eruptions and is therefore a significant factor in the evolution of
landforms on earth.
Statement 2: If Vegetation cover is high, it protects the surface from rain
splash as root mass is sufficient to stabilize the materials on the slope.

Justification: Option A: The 61st Amendment Act lowered the voting age
from 21 to 18 years thus introducing “adult” suffrage. But, women already
enjoyed the right to vote in India.
Option C: The constitution provided for universal franchise (21 years age
or later) without discrimination of caste, creed or gender.

Some British Acts did increase the level of electoral participation in India,
but they never introduced universal adult franchise. We will be covering
such Acts in the coming tests.
Q Source: Page 32: NCERT 6th: Social and Economic Life – I

Justification: Northern blotting can be used to analyze a sample of RNA
from a particular tissue or cell type in order to measure the RNA
expression of particular genes.
Application: Northern blotting allows one to observe a particular gene's
expression pattern between tissues, organs, developmental stages,
environmental stress levels, pathogen infection, and over the course of
treatment.

Learning: Some other related terms are:
• A microarray is a laboratory tool used to detect the expression of
thousands of genes at the same time.
• A proteome is the complete set of proteins expressed by an organism.

Justification: Both Bihar and Jharkhand don’t touch MP, as UP land
boundary comes before that.
Extent of Maharashtra should be noted carefully. Many map based
questions use the extent of MH and UP to confuse you in state land borders
and their extent.

Q Source: Map based questions: India

Justification: Option B: The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and
promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational
measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other
related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
• The FATF is therefore a “policy-making body” which works to
generate the necessary political will to bring about national
legislative and regulatory reforms in these areas.
Option C: The FATF has developed a series of Recommendations that are
recognised as the international standard for combating of money
laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction
Option D: The FATF monitors the progress of its members in implementing
necessary measures, reviews money laundering and terrorist financing
techniques and counter-measures, and promotes the adoption and
implementation of appropriate measures globally.
• In collaboration with other international stakeholders, the FATF
works to identify national-level vulnerabilities with the aim of
protecting the international financial system from misuse.

• The FATF's decision making body, the FATF Plenary, meets three
times per year.

Justification: Option (a): Mangroves are found in A&N islands and even
near the western coast of India, but not in NE states, or on the Western
slope of Western Ghats.
Option (b): Temperate forests are found in temperate latitudes or at higher
altitudes. A&N islands do not host temperate forests.
Option (d): Corals are found largely in A&N, Lakshadweep, Gulf of Mannar
(near TN) and Gulf of Kutch.
Option (c): Tropical moist forests include evergreen forests; Tropical Semi-
Evergreen Forests, Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests and Littoral and
Swamp Forests.
• The Middle Andamans harbours mostly moist deciduous forests.
North Andamans is characterised by the wet evergreen type.
• Western Ghats and NE states harbour both deciduous and evergreen
forests.
• We will be covering more questions specific to vegetation in various
parts of India in later tests.

Q Source: Page 58: NCERT 6th Geography: The Earth Our Habitat

Learning: The composition of ring particles varies; they may be silicate or
icy dust. Larger rocks and boulders may also be present. Sometimes rings
will have small moons that orbit near the inner or outer edges of rings or
within gaps in the rings.
For e.g. the ring swirling around Saturn consists of chunks of ice and dust.
Recent evidence suggests that ring systems may be found around other
types of astronomical objects, including minor planets, moons, and brown
dwarfs.
Q Source: Page 2 (Side Box): NCERT 6th Geography: The Earth Our Habitat