UPSC Essentials | Daily subject-wise quiz — Environment, Geography, Science and Technology (Week 19)

QUESTION 1

With reference to black holes, consider the following statements:

1. A black hole is formed when stars collapse, leading to a space in the universe with an escape velocity.

2. Black holes are visible and do not require spatial telescopes and special tools.

3. In 2020, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez jointly got Nobel Prize in Physics for furthering the understanding of black holes.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 2

The BPal regimen trial was in the news recently. It is related to:

(a) Visceral leishmaniasis

(b) Malaria

(c) Covid-19

(d) Tuberculosis

QUESTION 3

With reference to BepiColombo, consider the following statements:

1. It is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

2. The mission helped scientists to discover that electrons rain down on the planet’s surface can cause high-energy auroras.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

QUESTION 4

With reference to the Shelf Cloud, consider the following statements:

1. A shelf cloud will usually be associated with a solid line of storms.

2. They rotate on a vertical axis.

3. These are much smaller and more compact than wall clouds.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 5

With reference to the Lonsdaleite, consider the following statements:

1. It is a rare hexagonal form of diamond.

2. It was formed by a supercritical chemical vapour deposition process that happened on the dwarf planet shortly after a catastrophic collision.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWERS TO THE MCQs

1. (b)

FYI:

— The first photograph of Sagittarius A, a supermassive black hole about 26,000 light years from Earth and situated at the centre of the Milky Way, was revealed by astronomers of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT).

— A black hole is formed when stars collapse, leading to a space in the universe with an escape velocity — the speed at which an object must travel to override a planet or an object’s gravitational force. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— For example, for a spacecraft to leave the surface of the Earth, it needs to be travelling at a speed of about 40,000 km per hour which is so great that even light cannot escape it.

— Black holes are invisible because light cannot go out and can only be tracked with the help of spatial telescopes and special tools. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

— In 2020, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences decided to award one half of the year’s Nobel Prize in physics to Roger Penrose and the other half jointly to Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez for furthering the understanding of black holes, the most “enigmatic” objects in the universe. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

— Genzel and Ghez discovered that the stars’ orbits in the center of the Milky Way are governed by an unseen and extremely hefty object. This massive asteroid has the mass of 4 million solar masses and is crammed into an area roughly the size of our solar system.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

2. (d)

FYI:

— Efforts have been made to find better medications for tuberculosis, particularly for drug-resistant forms of the illness, which are more difficult to treat and need the administration of very toxic drugs.

— The Global TB Report 2021 stated that the mortality rate due to all forms of TB between 2019 and 2020 increased by 11 per cent in India.

— ZeNix is a clinical trial testing the BPal regimen, which consists of Pretomanid, Bedaquiline and Linezolid.

— The trial was commissioned to evaluate if the efficacy of the BPal drug regimen can be maintained while reducing its toxicity through a lower dose and shortening the duration of Linezolid.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

3. (b)

FYI:

— BepiColombo, a joint mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

— The mission helped scientists discover that electrons raining down on the planet’s surface can cause high-energy auroras. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— For the first time, it was witnessed how electrons are accelerated in Mercury’s magnetosphere and precipitated onto the planet’s surface.

— Auroras occur on Earth when a stream of charged particles released by the Sun interacts with the ionosphere, our planet’s electrically charged top layer of the atmosphere. However, Mercury has a relatively thin atmosphere, and auroras occur when solar wind, the stream of particles, interacts directly with the planet’s surface.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

4. (a)

FYI:

— A shelf cloud will usually be associated with a solid line of storms. The wind will come first with rain following behind it. It may appear to rotate on a horizontal axis. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— Wall clouds will rotate on a vertical axis, sometimes strongly. The wall cloud is much smaller and more compact than a shelf cloud and is usually under a rain-free cloud base. Hence, statement 2  and 3 are not correct.

— Scud clouds are often mistakenly called wall clouds or funnel clouds. In reality, these are just rising clouds due to increased low level relative humidity. They will not rotate and will rise slowly.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

(Source: http://www.weather.gov)

5. (c)

FYI:

— A research team has confirmed the existence of lonsdaleite–a rare hexagonal form of diamond that could be stronger than conventional diamonds– in ureilite meteorites that originated from the mantle of a distant dwarf planet.

— According to scientists, the lonsdaleite may have formed from the collision of the dwarf planet with a large asteroid about 4.5 billion years ago.

— It was predicted that the hexagonal structure of lonsdaleite’s atoms could potentially make it harder than regular diamonds, which have a cubic structure. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— The research produced strong evidence that there the lonsdaleite was formed by a supercritical chemical vapour deposition process that happened on the dwarf planet shortly after a “catastrophic collision.” This chemical vapour is one of the ways used to make “lab-grown” diamonds. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— The team proposes that the lonsdaleite was formed in the meteorites from a supercritical fluid that existed at a high temperature and moderate pressure.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

Previous Daily Subject-Wise-Quiz

Daily subject-wise quiz — Polity and Governance (Week 19)

Daily Subject-wise quiz — History, Culture, and Social Issues (Week 19)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Environment, Geography, Science and Technology (Week 18)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 18)

Daily subject-wise quiz – International Relations (Week 18)

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