UPSC Essentials | Daily quiz by subject — Environment, geography, science and technology (week 34)

UPSC Essentials presents its thematic quiz initiative. These quizzes are designed to help you review some of the most important topics in the static part of the syllabus. Every day we will cover a new topic. Try today’s topic quiz on Environment, Geography, Science and Technology to check your progress. Come back tomorrow to fix the problem Economics quiz.

Contents

QUESTION 2 QUESTION 3 QUESTION 4 QUESTION 5 ANSWERS TO MCQS 1 C)2.(a)3.(a)4.(b)5.(d)Daily quiz by previous topic

1. These are artificial antibodies that mimic the activity of our immune system.

2. These are designed to target a specific virus or part.

3. Monoclonal antibodies are not used for the treatment of COVID-19.

4. These antibodies bind to specific parts of the Spike protein, blocking its ability to infect healthy cells.

How many of the above statements are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) Only three

(d) The four

QUESTION 2

The trajectory of a celestial object changes due to asymmetric radiation of thermal energy. The phenomenon is known as

(a) Yarkovsky effect

(b) Rashomon effect

(c) Pygmalion Effect

(d) Doppler effect

QUESTION 3

In reference to green hydrogen, consider the following statements:

1. It is hydrogen gas generated from fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage.

2. Green Hydrogen Mission aims to produce 5 million tonnes of fuel per year from 2050.

3. Green hydrogen can decarbonize the steel sector.

How many of the above statements are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) The three

(d) None

QUESTION 4

In reference to the CALIPSO mission, consider the following statements:

1. It was jointly launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

2. The satellite’s Lidar and radar instruments direct the energy beams toward Earth and measure how they reflect off clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere.

3. The satellite was located in a sun-synchronous orbit.

How many of the above statements are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) The three

(d) None

QUESTION 5

Consider the following Ramsar sites:

(Ramsar Site) (State/UT)

1. Pong Dam Lake Jammu and Kashmir

2. Ansupa Lake in Sikkim

3. Sasthamkotta Lake Tamil Nadu

4. Nandur Madhameshwar Karnataka

How many of the pairs given above match correctly?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) The three

(d) None

ANSWERS TO MCQS

1 C)

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

— Our body produces antibodies, which are proteins, to fight a viral infection.

— Monoclonal antibodies are artificial antibodies that mimic the activity of our immune system. Therefore, statement 1 is correct.

— They are produced through a process that involves extracting specific antibodies from human blood and then cloning them.

— These monoclonal antibodies are designed to specifically target a virus or a specific part of it. For example, the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 is the target of the cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies called REGEN-COV2. Statement 2 is therefore correct.

— Monoclonal antibodies bind to specific parts of the Spike protein, blocking its ability to infect healthy cells. Statement 4 is therefore correct.

— In addition to Covid-19, monoclonal antibodies have been used in the treatment of cancers as well as Ebola and HIV. Therefore, statement 3 is not correct.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

2.(a)

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

— Bennu and other near-Earth asteroids could be dangerous to Earth, so accurately predicting their orbits is essential.

— Yarkovsky effect is a phenomenon that changes the trajectory of a celestial object due to asymmetric radiation of thermal energy.

— The day side of a rotating asteroid heats up when sunlight hits it; As the asteroid rotates, the night side cools and releases heat, creating a small thrust that, over time, can change the direction of the asteroid.

— Characteristics such as the shape, brightness and surface characteristics of an asteroid influence the Yarkovsky effect, and understanding how will allow scientists to better predict the orbit of Bennu and other near-Earth asteroids.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

(Other source: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov)

3.(a)

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

— Hydrogen, the most common element in nature, exists only in combination with other elements and must be extracted from natural compounds like water (which is a combination of two hydrogen atoms and of an oxygen atom).

— Hydrogen produced from fossil fuels is called gray hydrogenwhich constitutes most of the hydrogen produced today. Therefore, statement 1 is not correct.

— Hydrogen produced from fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage options is called blue hydrogen.

— Green hydrogen is hydrogen gas produced by water electrolysis – an energy-intensive process for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen – using renewable energy to do it.

— India has an ambitious project Green Hydrogen Mission which aims to produce 5 million tonnes of fuel per year from 2030. Statement 2 is therefore not correct.

— Green hydrogen has particular advantages:

(i) It is a clean-burning molecule that can be used to decarbonize various industries, such as transportation, chemicals, iron and steel. Therefore, statement 3 is correct.

(ii) Hydrogen can be produced by channeling renewable energy that the grid is unable to store or use.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

4.(b)

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

– THE CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) has recorded more than 10 billion LIDAR measurements and contributed to the creation of thousands of scientific reports during its 17 years of operation.

— It was jointly launched by NASA and CNES (National Center for Space Studies) as well as the cloud profiling radar system on the CloudSat satellite. Therefore, statement 1 is not correct.

— The satellite’s Lidar and radar instruments direct energy beams toward Earth and track their reflection off clouds and atmospheric aerosols. Statement 2 is therefore correct.

— The two satellites were launched on April 28, 2003 and circled the planet in a sun-synchronous orbit from the North Pole to the South Pole. Therefore, statement 3 is correct.

— They measured the altitude of clouds and layers of airborne particles like dust, sea salt, ash and soot while probing the “vertical structure” of the atmosphere.

— Scientists were able to develop increasingly complex models to understand complex atmospheric processes such as particle transport, precipitation, cloud formation and atmospheric convection thanks to observations from the two satellites.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.