UPSC Essentials | Daily subject-wise quiz : Environment, Geography, Sci-Tech MCQs on Dark matter, SMR, UTC and more (Week 53)

1. Dark matter attracts and holds galaxies together.

2. Dark energy repels and causes the expansion of our universe.

3. The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is a unique piece of equipment with 5,000 robotic ‘eyes’ mounted in Australia.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 2

With reference to the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC), consider the following statements:

1. It is maintained by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures.

2. It is also known as “Z time”.

3. It is an internationally agreed upon standard for world time.

4. It is tracked by a weighted average of more than 400 atomic clocks placed in different parts of the globe.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) Only three

(d) All four

QUESTION 3

Consider the following statements:

1. He won the Nobel Prize in 2013 for his work which found that the particle is responsible for giving all particles mass.

2. His prediction was confirmed by the scientists at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in 2012.

The above mentioned statements refer to:

(a) Arthur B. McDonald

(b) Isamu Akasaki

(c) Peter W. Higgs

(d) Brian Schmidt

QUESTION 4

With reference to the food fortification, consider the following statements:

1. It refers to increasing the content of essential micronutrients in a food.

3. Milk and Edible Oil are fortified with Vitamin A.

4. The ‘A’ logo has been notified to identify fortified foods.

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 Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), consider the following statements:

1. They are advanced nuclear reactors with a power capacity of 30MWe to 300 MWe per unit.

2. They are not capable of producing low-carbon electricity.

3. They harness nuclear fusion to generate heat for electricity production or direct application.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

ANSWERS TO THE MCQs

1. (b)

FYI:

— The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), a unique piece of equipment with 5,000 robotic ‘eyes’, each one of which can separately capture and process light coming from a galaxy gives DESI the capability to observe 5,000 galaxies at the same time.

— It is mounted on the Nicholas W Mayall 4-meter Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, US. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

— Dark energy is the mysterious form of energy that makes up about 68% of the universe. The XENON1T experiment is the world’s most sensitive dark matter experiment and was operated deep underground at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy.

— Dark matter attracts and holds galaxies together, dark energy repels and causes the expansion of our universe. Hence, statements 1 and 2 are correct.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

2. (d)

FYI:

— The US White House officially directed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to create a time standard for the Moon, which different international bodies and private companies can use to coordinate their activities on the lunar surface.

— It was known as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) before 1972 but is now referred to as Coordinated Universal Time or Universal Time Coordinated (UTC). It is an internationally agreed upon standard for world time. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

— It is a coordinated time scale, maintained by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— It is also known as “Z time” or “Zulu Time”. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— It is tracked by a weighted average of more than 400 atomic clocks placed in different parts of the globe. Hence, statement 4 is correct.

— If a country lies on the west of the Greenwich meridian, it has to subtract from the UTC, and if a country is located on the east of the meridian, it has to add.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

3. (c)

FYI:

— Peter Higgs, the eminent theoretical physicist who first proposed the idea of what we now know as the “Higgs Boson,” died at the age of 94 on April 8.

— Higgs won the Nobel Prize in 2013 for his work which found that the particle is responsible for giving all particles mass.

— Higgs initially predicted the existence of the Higgs boson in 1964. But it took almost 50 years for it to be confirmed. Scientists used the Large Hadron Collider at CERN to confirm his theory in 2012.

— According to BBC, he had a difficult time getting his theory published in scientific journals in 1964, partly because no one understood it.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer

4. (b)

FYI:

— Food fortification is an economical, scalable, sustainable, and scientifically validated worldwide strategy that tackles the problem of vitamin deficiencies.

— To lessen the high rate of micronutrient malnutrition in India, the Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations, 2016 were operationalized by the FSSAI in October 2016. These regulations fortified staples included wheat flour and rice (with iron, vitamin B12 and folic acid), milk and edible oil (with vitamins A and D), and double-fortified salt (with iron and iodine). Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) defines fortification as “deliberately increasing the content of essential micronutrients in a food to improve the nutritional quality of food and to provide public health benefit with minimal risk to health”. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— Fortification of food is considered to be one of the most suitable methods to combat malnutrition.

— According to FSSAI norms, 1 kg of fortified rice will contain the following: iron (28 mg-42.5 mg), folic acid (75-125 micrograms), and vitamin B-12 (0.75-1.25 microgram). Rice may also be fortified with zinc (10 mg-15 mg), vitamin A (500-750 microgram RE), vitamin B-1 (1 mg-1.5 mg), vitamin B-2 (1.25 mg-1.75 mg), vitamin B-3 (12.5 mg-20 mg) and vitamin B-6 (1.5 mg-2.5 mg) per kg.

— The ‘+F’ logo has been notified to identify fortified foods. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

5. (a)

FYI:

— Within the civil nuclear domain, the Indian government is actively promoting Small Modular Reactors, or SMRs, as a promising technology that can aid in the decarbonisation of industry. This includes a resolute effort to position the nation as a leader in the technology’s diffusion.

— With a power capacity of 30MWe to 300 MWe (megawatt electrical) per unit, or around one-third that of the majority of conventional nuclear power reactors, SMRs are essentially advanced nuclear reactors. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— They can generate substantial amounts of low-carbon electricity. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

— These impact grid flexibility along with baseload power, especially given the imperative of inducting renewables into the grid.

— It harnesses nuclear fission to generate heat for electricity production or direct application. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

— Two SMR projects are currently in the operational stage worldwide: the HTR-PM demonstration SMR in China, which was grid-connected in December 2021, and the Akademik Lomonosov floating power unit in Russia, which has two modules of 35 MWe and began commercial operation in May 2020.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

Previous Daily Subject-Wise-Quiz

Daily subject-wise quiz — Polity and Governance (Week 53)

Daily Subject-wise quiz — History, Culture, and Social Issues (Week 53)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Environment, Geography, Science and Technology (Week 52)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 52)

Daily subject-wise quiz – International Relations (Week 52)

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