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

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Question for this week:How to make notes from The Indian Express?

You can send your queries at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com or join Telegram: The Indian Express UPSC Hub or ask me Live! on August 9 at 8 PM.

QUESTION 1

India has signed the deal of “MH-60R helicopter” to boost the Indian Navy’s efforts to expand its role in the Indian Ocean Region with:

(a) Russia

(b) Germany

(c) USA

(d) France

QUESTION 2

With reference to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), consider the following statements:

1. It is a complex machine built to study particles that are the smallest known building blocks of all things.

2. It has found the first evidence of the rare process by which the Higgs boson decays into a Z boson and a photon.

3. The LHC uses a distribution system of liquid Bromine to keep its critical components ultra cold at minus 271.3 degrees Celsius.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 3

Consider the following statements :

Statement-I :

Sound is used by marine creatures to travel, obtain food, and protect themselves.

Statement-II :

Although sound travels slower in water than in air, it is a significant medium of communication because it can transmit a large amount of information across vast distances.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

(a) Both Statement I and Statement II are correct and Statement II is the correct explanation for Statement I

(b) Both Statement I and Statement II are correct and Statement II is not the correct explanation for Statement I

(c) Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect

(d) Statement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct

QUESTION 4

With reference to the lab-grown diamonds, consider the following statements:

1. They are produced using specific technology which mimics the geological processes that grow natural diamonds.

2. White Sapphire is used as a diamond simulant to look like a diamond.

3. The most common method to produce lab-grown diamonds is by use of the low-pressure, high-temperature method.

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 Lithium-ion batteries, consider the following statements:

1. They use aqueous electrolyte solutions, where ions transfer to and fro between the anode and cathode.

2. The energy density of lithium-ion batteries is nearly four times that of nickel-cadmium batteries.

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 MCQs

1. (c)

FYI:

— The 24 multi-role MH-60 Romeo helicopters are expected to boost the Indian Navy’s efforts to expand its role in the Indian Ocean Region.

— The MH-60 Romeo Seahawk, made by defence giant Lockheed Martin, is one of the most advanced naval helicopters in the world, used by the US Navy among others. It will be purchased directly from the US government under a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement with the US Department of Defence (DoD).

— It is the most capable and mature Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) multi-mission helicopter available in the world today.

— The MH-60 is designed to hunt down submarines and will add to the strategic depth and combat capability of the Indian Navy.

— It is capable of launching Hellfire missiles from the right and left extended pylons.

— It also has an advanced system for passive detection, location, and identification of emitters. It can not only track and hunt ships but is also used by the US Navy as an anti-submarine weapon.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

2. (b)

FYI:

— The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which hosts the Large Hadron Collider,(LHC) said that scientists at the organisation found the first evidence of the rare process by which the Higgs boson decays into a Z boson and a photon. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— The Large Hadron Collider is a giant, complex machine built to study particles that are the smallest known building blocks of all things. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— It has a 27-km-long track loop buried 100 metres underground on the Swiss-French border. In its operational state, it fires two beams of protons almost at the speed of light in opposite directions inside a ring of superconducting electromagnets.

— The magnetic field created by the superconducting electromagnets keeps the protons in a tight beam and guides them along the way as they travel through beam pipes and finally collide.

— The LHC uses a distribution system of liquid helium to keep its critical components ultracold at minus 271.3 degrees Celsius, which is colder than interstellar space. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

3. (c)

FYI:

— A new study has found that noise generated by human activity makes it harder for dolphins to communicate and coordinate with each other.

— Marine animals are known to use sound to navigate, find food and protect themselves. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— As sound travels faster in water than air, it makes for an important mode of communication because it can convey a lot of information quickly and over long distances. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

— Scientists believe that fish species rely on sounds during reproductive activities, including mate attraction, courtship and mate choice.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

4. (b)

FYI:

— Lab-grown diamonds are diamonds that are produced using specific technology which mimics the geological processes that grow natural diamonds. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— They are not the same as “diamond simulants” – LGDs are chemically, physically and optically diamond and thus are difficult to identify as lab-grown.

— The materials such as Moissanite, Cubic Zirconia (CZ), White Sapphire, YAG, etc. are “diamond simulants” that simply attempt to “look” like a diamond, they lack the sparkle and durability of a diamond and are thus easily identifiable. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— There are multiple ways in which LGDs can be produced. The most common (and cheapest) is the “High pressure, high temperature” (HPHT) method. As the name suggests, this method requires extremely heavy presses that can produce up to 730,000 psi of pressure under extremely high temperatures (at least 1500 celsius). Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

— Usually, graphite is used as the “diamond seed” and when subjected to these extreme conditions, the relatively inexpensive form of carbon turns into one of the most expensive carbon forms.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

5. (c)

FYI:

— The energy density of lithium-ion cells used in today’s mobile phones and electric vehicles is nearly four times higher than that of older-generation nickel-cadmium batteries. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— Lithium-ion batteries use aqueous electrolyte solutions, where ions transfer to and fro between the anode (negative electrode generally made of graphite) and cathode (positive electrode made of lithium), triggering the recharge and discharge of electrons. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— The lithium-ion batteries are seen as sufficiently efficient for phones and laptops, they still lack the range that would make EVs a viable alternative to internal combustion engines.

— One major problem is that lithium metal is extremely reactive. The main form of lithium corrosion are dendrites, which are branched lithium structures that grow out from the electrode and can potentially pierce through the separator and on to the other end, short-circuiting the cell.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.