UPSC Essentials: Daily Subject-wise quiz — Environment, Geography, Science and Technology (Week 5)

QUESTION 1

With reference to the E-waste (Management) Rules 2022, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. The rules apply to every manufacturer and producer involved in the recycling and processing of e-waste.

2. Recycle of waste batteries is covered under the E-waste (Management) Rules 2022.

3. Radio-active wastes is not covered under the E-waste (Management) Rules 2022.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1 and 3 only

(c) 1, 2 and 3

(d) 2 and 3 only

QUESTION 2

The “Mishti” initiative was recently in the news. It is related to:

(a) Facilitate mangrove plantations along India’s coastline and on salt pan lands.

(b) Reduce the air pollution levels in Northern Capital Region.

(c) Facilitate treatment for wastewater released from industries.

(d) Planting trees along the National Highways.

QUESTION 3

Consider the following statements about NISAR Satellite:

1. It has been built by US and Indian space agencies.

2. It is a single-frequency imaging radar satellite.

Which of the statements 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 Lymphatic Filariasis (LF), consider the following statements:

1. It occurs when filarial parasites are transmitted to humans through birds.

2. The infection is usually acquired during old age.

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 5

Consider the following statements about Red Sanders:

1. It is a fragrant variety of sandalwood that mainly grows in rainforests.

2. It is a protected species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora.

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 6

Which of the following statements is/are correct about Mammatus clouds?

1. They are seen far from the oceans, usually over landlocked countries.

2. These clouds appear opaque or translucent.

3. These clouds are usually formed in association with large cumulonimbus clouds.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

QUESTION 7

With reference to carbon dating technique, consider the following statements:

1. The dating method is based on the fact that Carbon-14 (C-14), an isotope of carbon with an atomic mass of 14, is radioactive, and decays at a well known rate.

2. It is used as a direct method to determine the age of non-living things like rocks.

3. It can be used indirectly to determine the age of ice cores in glaciers and polar regions.

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

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 only

(d) 1 and 3 only

QUESTION 8

What is Project WARDEC?

(a) India’s upcoming AI-powered wargame centre.

(b) Russia’s military modernization project in the wake of war against Ukraine.

(c) Joint naval exercise in the South China Sea.

(d) US’ upcoming plan for the chip war against China.

ANSWERS TO MCQs

1. (b)

FYI:

— Ministry has notified the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 on November 2, 2022. These rules will replace the E-waste (Management) Rules, 2016 and will be effective from  April 1, 2023. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— These rules will launch a new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regime for e-waste recycling. 

— E-waste (Management) Rules 2022 shall apply to every manufacturer, producer refurbisher, dismantler and recycler involved in the manufacture, sale, transfer, purchase, refurbishing, dismantling, recycling and processing of e-waste or electrical and electronic equipment listed in Schedule I, including their components, consumables, parts and spares which make the product operational. 

— The rules shall not apply to:

(a) Waste batteries as covered under the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

(b) Packaging plastics covered under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.

(c) Microenterprise as defined in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006.

(d) Radio-active wastes as covered under the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962. Hence, statement 3 is  correct.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

Other Source: (pib.gov.in)

2. (a)

FYI:

— MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes)

— This new program will facilitate mangrove plantations along India’s coastline and on salt pan lands.

— The programme will operate through “convergence between MGNREGS, Campa Fund and other sources

— This new programme will aim at the intensive afforestation of coastal mangrove forests.

— India has such forests on both its Eastern and Western coasts with the Sundarbans in Bengal being one of the largest mangrove forests on the planet.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

3. (a)

FYI:

— NISAR Satellite is Jointly developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It is an Earth-observation satellite, called NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar).

— NISAR has been built by space agencies of the US and India under a partnership agreement signed in 2014. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— The 2,800 kilograms satellite consists of both L-band and S-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments, which makes it a dual-frequency imaging radar satellite. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

— NASA has provided the L-band radar, GPS, a high-capacity solid-state recorder to store data, and a payload data subsystem, ISRO has provided the S-band radar, the GSLV launch system and spacecraft.

— The important component of the satellite is its large 39-foot stationary antenna reflector. It is made of a gold-plated wire mesh, the reflector will be used to focus “the radar signals emitted and received by the upward-facing feed on the instrument structure”.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

4. (d)

FYI:

— The Government of India (GoI) launched a Mass Drug Administration (MDA) campaign on February 10, 2022, for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) in 10 endemic districts of Odisha.

— The MDA campaign has been rolled out in several schools in Odisha to meet the country’s goal to eliminate LF by 2027.

— Lymphatic Filariasis commonly known as elephantiasis or haathipao (elephant’s foot in Hindi), is a neglected tropical disease, which occurs when filarial parasites are transmitted to humans through mosquitoes. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

— The infection is usually acquired in childhood causing hidden damage to the lymphatic system. The painful and profoundly disfiguring visible manifestations of the disease, lymphoedema, elephantiasis and scrotal swelling occur later in life and can lead to permanent disability. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

— These patients are not only physically disabled but suffer mental, social and financial losses contributing to stigma and poverty.

— MDA is the WHO-recommended preventive chemotherapy strategy for LF elimination that involves administering an annual dose of medicines to the entire at-risk population. The medicines used have a limited effect on adult parasites, but effectively reduce the density of microfilariae in the bloodstream and prevent the spread of parasites to mosquitoes. 

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

Source: (http://www.who.int)

5. (b)

FYI:

— Red Sanders, botanical name Pterocarpus santalinus, is a non-fragrant variety of sandalwood that mostly grows in rocky, hilly regions. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

—The saplings reach 8 to 10 m in 3-4 years, but growth slows down after that. The trunks are slender, and it takes at least 20-25 years for the tree’s beautiful, deep redwood to be of use.

It grows in the thorny scrub/dry deciduous forests of the central Deccan, between 500 ft and 3000 ft. Geographically, only in a small pocket of roughly 5,200 sq km in the Palakonda and Seshachalam hills in the districts of Kadapa and Chittoor, in some contiguous areas of Anantapur district, in the Nallamalla forests in Kurnool and Prakasam, and in parts of Nellore district. Some contiguous patches in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka see some wild growth.

— Red Sanders is a fast-disappearing species restricted to a tiny geographical area. Felling is illegal, export is highly restricted. 

— Red Sanders is a protected species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

6. (c)

FYI:

— Mammatus clouds are some of the most unusual and distinctive cloud formations with a series of bulges or pouches emerging from the base of a cloud.

— Mammatus clouds are some of the most unusual and distinctive cloud formations with a series of bulges or pouches emerging from the base of a cloud.

— The shape of Mammatus formations can vary widely; from the classic protruding shape to a more elongated tube hanging from the cloud above.

— Mammatus clouds are usually seen on the ocean and sea coasts. Hence, statement 1 is not correct

— They may appear as smooth, ragged or lumpy lobes and may be opaque or translucent. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— Mammatus clouds are usually formed in association with large cumulonimbus clouds. Typically, turbulence within the cumulonimbus cloud will cause Mammatus to form, especially on the underside of the projecting anvil as it rapidly descends to lower levels. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

7. (d)

FYI:

— Carbon dating is a widely-used method to establish the age of organic materials, things that were once living. Living things have carbon in them in various forms. The dating method is based on the fact that Carbon-14 (C-14), an isotope of carbon with an atomic mass of 14, is radioactive, and decays at a well known rate. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

This is how it works:

— The most abundant isotope of carbon in the atmosphere is C-12. A very small amount of C-14 is also present. The ratio of C-12 to C-14 in the atmosphere is almost static, and is known.

— Plants get their carbon through photosynthesis; animals get it mainly through food. Because plants and animals get their carbon from the atmosphere, they too acquire C-12 and C-14 in roughly the same proportion as is available in the atmosphere.

— When they die, their interactions with the atmosphere stops. While C-12 is stable, the radioactive C-14 reduces to one half of itself in about 5,730 years — known as its ‘half-life’. The changing ratio of C-12 to C-14 in the remains of a plant or animal after it dies can be measured, and can be used to deduce the approximate time when the organism died.

But what about non-living things?

— Though extremely effective, carbon dating cannot be applied in all circumstances. It cannot be used to determine the age of non-living things like rocks, for example. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

— Also, the age of things that are more than 40,000-50,000 years old cannot be arrived at through carbon dating. This is because after 8-10 cycles of half-lives, the amount of C-14 becomes almost very small and is almost undetectable.

— But there are other methods to calculate the age of inanimate things, many of which are based on the same principle as carbon dating. So, instead of carbon, decays of other radioactive elements that might be present in the material become the basis for the dating method.

— These are known as radiometric dating methods. Many of these involve elements with half-lives of billions of years, which enable scientists to reliably estimate the age of very old objects.

— Two commonly employed methods for dating rocks are potassium-argon dating and uranium-thorium-lead dating. The radioactive isotope of potassium decays into argon, and their ratios can give a clue about the age of rocks. Uranium and thorium have several radioactive isotopes, and all of them decay into the stable lead atom. The ratios of these elements present in the material can be measured and used to make estimates about age.

— In some situations, carbon dating can be used indirectly as well. For example, a way in which the age of ice cores in glaciers and polar regions is determined by studying carbon dioxide molecules trapped inside large ice sheets. The trapped molecules have no interaction with the outside atmosphere, and are found in the same state as when they were trapped. Determining their age gives a rough estimate of the time when the ice sheets were formed. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

8 (a)

FYI:

— The Army Training Command signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Gandhinagar-based Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) to develop a ‘Wargame Research and Development Centre’ in New Delhi. The project, which has been given a prototype name ‘WARDEC’, will be a first-of-its-kind simulation-based training centre in India that will use artificial intelligence (AI) to design virtual reality wargames.

Previous Quizzes:

Polity and Governance (Week 3)

Polity and Governance (Week 4)

Polity and Governance (Week 5)

History, Culture, and Social Issues (Week 3)

History, Culture, and Social Issues (Week 4)

History, Culture, and Social Issues (Week 5)

UPSC Weekly Quiz (Current Affairs)

UPSC Essentials: Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 3)

UPSC Essentials: Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 4)

UPSC Essentials: Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 5)

Environment, Geography, Science and Technology (Week 3)

Environment, Geography, Science and Technology (Week 4)

International Relations (Week 3)

International Relations (Week 4)

International Relations (Week 5)

Tomorrow’s Quiz: Weekly Current Affairs Quiz 

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