UPSC CSE Prelims Paper 1 (GS) Mock Test - 13 - UPSC MCQ

- For the LEO Satellites there is still some atmospheric drag. Even though the amount of atmosphere is far too little to breath, there is enough to place a small amount of drag on the satellite or other object.

- As a result, over time these objects slow down and their orbits slowly decay. Simply put, the satellite or spacecraft slows down and this allows the influence of gravity to pull the object towards the Earth.

- Satellites in this orbit also have a smaller dwell time i.e., the time a satellite sits over one part of globe.

- When patients slide into an MRI machine, they take with them the billions of atoms that make up the human body.

- For the purposes of an MRI scan, we’re only concerned with the hydrogen atom, which is abundant since the body is mostly made up of water and fat.

- All of the atoms are going in various directions, but when placed in a magnetic field, the atoms line up in the direction of the field.

- These hydrogen atoms have a strong magnetic moment, which means that in a magnetic field, they line up in the direction of the field.

- Closed systems are those in which no matter exchange takes place between the system and the environment.

- In isolated system, neither matter nor energy exchange takes place with the environment.

- An inverter is a device that converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC).

- An inverter is fitted in the main power line.

- A rectifier converts AC to DC. 

Although we cannot see black holes, we can detect or guess the presence of one by measuring its effects on objects around it. The following effects may be used:

1. Mass estimates from objects orbiting a black hole or spiraling into the core

2. Gravitational lens effects

3. Emitted radiation

- Refrigeration is the process of cooling a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one (while the removed heat is rejected at a higher temperature).

- In other words, refrigeration means artificial (human-made) cooling. 

- Carburetor provides a homogeneous Air-Fuel mixture according to the engine load required or throttle position.

- Combustion occurs in diesel engines when fuel is injected into highly compressed air (high temperature because of compression).

- Combustion occurs in petrol engine when the Air-fuel mixture is ignited with the help of spark plug.

- The reason for different combustion theories for diesel and petrol engines is because of nature (volatility, self-ignition temp etc. )of petrol and diesel .

Hence no presence of homogeneous air-fuel mixture is there in diesel engines so there is no question of carburettor there.

- Carbon nanotubes can exhibit remarkable electrical conductivity. 

- They also have exceptional tensile strength and thermal conductivity because of their nanostructure and strength of the bonds between carbon atoms.

- Free radicals are not charged. Ions can be positively or negatively charged.

- Neutrons are again chargeless.

- Ions always hold a charge, but free radicals are not charged species even if they have unpaired electrons.

The correct option is A.

Burning either fossil fuels or biomass releases carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas. However, the plants that are the source of biomass for energy capture almost the same amount of CO2 through photosynthesis while growing as is released when biomass is burned, which can make biomass a carbon-neutral energy source.

- Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut or cosmonaut outside a spacecraft beyond the Earth's appreciable atmosphere.

- A SAFER is a safety device worn on tethered U.S. EVAs, since the capability of returning to the spacecraft is essential.

- Plants and blue-green algae are well known to possess cell wall.

- Bacteria also have cell walls. Gram-positive bacteria possess a thick cell wall containing many layers of peptidoglycan and teichoic acids.

- In contrast, Gram-negative bacteria have a relatively thin cell wall consisting of a few layers of peptidoglycan surrounded by a second lipid membrane containing lipopolysaccharides and lipoproteins.

The question is based on Newton’s Law of Cooling which states that the rate of change of the temperature of an object is proportional to the difference between its own temperature and the ambient temperature (i.e. the temperature of its surroundings). So, A will take less time than B.

- Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.

- TV transmission satellite is in a geostationary orbit.

- Geostationary orbits can only be accomplished with equatorial orbits, and since India is in the northern hemisphere this means the satellite will always be in south direction.

- Very few communication satellites use polar orbits, or any orbit inclined out of the equatorial plane for that matter, to prevent the need for constant reaming of the receiver dish.

- The difference between a pesticide and insecticide lies in the different function each performs.

- A pesticide is a chemical substance that is used to kill, control, or repel pests, including mammals, fish, and insects.

- As the name implies, an insecticide affects only insects. This means that an insecticide is a subgroup of pesticides.

- Both pesticides and insecticides kill by poisoning, suffocating, or paralyzing.

- Sound waves can undergo interference and this phenomenon is used in auditoriums to provide better hearing experience.

- It is because of diffraction that sound can be heard around corners even though sound travel in a straight line.

- In auditoriums, destructive interference between sound from the stage and sound reflected from other parts of the hall can create dead spots in which both volume and clarity of sound are poor. Such interference can be reduced by use of sound-absorbing materials on reflecting surfaces.

- On the other hand, interference can improve an auditorium’s acoustical qualities. This is done by arranging the reflecting surfaces in such a way that the level of sound is actually increased in the area in which the audience sits.

- When sound waves pass around an obstacle or through an opening in an obstacle, the edge of the obstacle or the opening acts as a secondary sound source, sending out waves of the same frequency and wavelength (but of lower intensity) as the original source.

- The spreading out of sound waves from the secondary source is called diffraction. Because of this phenomenon, sound can be heard around corners despite the fact that sound waves generally travel in a straight line.

- Ammeter is connected in series because it is a very low resistance (nearly zero) device. If it is connected in parallel, it would draw most of the current and would get damaged.

- Voltmeter is connected in parallel because it is a very high resistance device (nearly infinite), if it is connected in series, it would increase the equivalent resistance of the circuit to nearly infinite and no current would flow through the circuit.

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- Gravitational force is the weakest among the fundamental forces.

- There are four fundamental forces (that we know of) in our universe: Strong Nuclear, Electromagnetic, Weak Nuclear and Gravitational.

- The strongest one is the Strong Nuclear force, which is responsible for keeping the nuclei of atoms together.

- About one hundred times weaker than the strong nuclear force is the electromagnetic one. This is the strongest force that we experience in our everyday lives.

- In fact, whenever we touch anything we experience the Electromagnetic force. The electrons in our skin repel electrons in whatever we touch through this force.

- The Weak Nuclear force is the one responsible for most decays of particles and nuclei – which is where radioactivity comes from.

- This force is about 10 billion times weaker than the Electromagnetic force.

- The weakest of all is the Gravitational force. In fact, Gravitational force is 10 thousand billion billion billion billion times weaker than the Electromagnetic force.

- A plane mirror forms a virtual image positioned behind the mirror.
- A diverging lens (one that is thicker at the edges than the middle) a convex mirror forms a virtual image. Such an image is reduced in size when compared to the original object.

- A converging lens (one that is thicker in the middle than at the edges) or a concave mirror is also capable of producing a virtual image if the object is within the focal length. Such an image will be magnified.

- Microfinance refers to a variety of financial services that target low-income clients.

- Since the clients of microfinance institutions (MFIs) have lower incomes and often have limited access to other financial services, microfinance products tend to be for smaller monetary amounts than traditional financial services.

- These services include loans, savings, insurance, and remittances (payments). So, microfinance is not limited to loans and deposits only, it includes other financial services also.

- The International Finance Corporation (IFC) provides financing of private-enterprise investment in developing countries around the world, through both loans and direct investments.

- IFC lends money to private sector companies of its member countries only and not all countries.

- Inclusive growth is a concept that advances equitable opportunities for economic participants during economic growth with benefits incurred by every section of society.

- Disinvestment is reducing the government ownership in public sector enterprises. It is not in any way related to inclusive growth. The rest three helps in inclusive growth.

- Statement b and c essentially implies the same thing, though they are differently worded.

National treatment:

1) Treating foreigners and locals equally – Imported and locally-produced goods should be treated equally — at least after the foreign goods have entered the market.

2) The same should apply to foreign and domestic services, and to foreign and local trademarks, copyrights and patents. National treatment only applies once a product, service or item of intellectual property has entered the market. Therefore, charging customs duty on an import is not a violation of national treatment even if locally-produced products are not charged an equivalent tax.

- In participatory development (PD), people are willingly involved in a wide range of development activities, as agents and beneficiaries of development.

- Participatory development seeks to engage local populations in development projects.

-It is clear from the definition of PD that NGOs, Pressure Groups, and Cooperatives are involved in it. There might be some confusion over how state is a part of PD.

- It is actually the state activity that can facilitate or hinder PD. If state does not allow NGOs or pressure groups, how can they function?

- On the other hand, states through their policy and support can facilitate PD.

- In last few years, the role of the state in participatory development has changed from the reconstruction and development programme to growth, employment and redistribution.

Value of agricultural production. TFA runs in a clause that says farm subsidies cannot be more than 10 percent of the value of agricultural production.

Incentivizing farmers – This is done by announcing the minimum support prices (MSP) and other schemes like price stabilization fund schemes for plantation crops. The buffer stocks helps in providing food through the PDS, thus ensuring food security. It also acts as a cushion during price rises due to shortfall, thus helping in stabilizing prices.

All these are features of a boom phase of business cycle. During boom phase, the demand goes on increasing and the economy heats up. The supply is limited and hence there develops a demand-supply lag.

Large and continuous supply of warm and moist air is the most important condition for formation of tropical cyclones. Where the coriolis force is zero (like the equator), tropical cyclones do not develop. An upper level outflow of air (and not inflow) helps in formation of tropical cyclones. 

Relative humidity (RH) decreases when cold front passes over an area. Cold fronts are associated with clear sky and weather while warm fronts have clouds and rainfall.

The Arabian Sea is larger than the Bay of Bengal. The Arabian Sea is approximately 1,491 million square miles, while the Bay of Bengal contains approximately 839,000 square miles. Both are located in Asia and are northern areas of the Indian Ocean.

The entire Arabian Sea current advances towards India, whereas only a part of the Bay of Bengal current enters India, the remainder proceeding to Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia.