DAY – 52 ( INSTA REVISION TEST – 52)INSTA REVISION PLAN 3.0, 2021

Solution: C

Chinese ‘Artificial Sun’ Experimental Fusion Reactor:

China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), also known as ‘Artificial Sun’ experiment, has set a new record, where it achieved a plasma temperature of 216 million Fahrenheit (120 million C) for 101 seconds.

Why is this significant?

It is believed that the temperature at the core of the Sun is 15 million C, which also means that the temperature produced by (EAST) is nearly seven times that of the Sun.

• It is a significant step in the country’s quest to unlock clean and limitless energy, with minimal waste products.

What is EAST?

• The mission mimics the energy generation process of the sun.
• The reactor consists of an advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device located in Hefei, China.
• It is one of three major domestic tokamaks that are presently being operated across the country.

● The EAST project is part of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) facility, which will become the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor when it becomes operational in 2035. The ITER project includes the contributions of several countries, including India, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States.

Solution: A

Scientists have shown that the geometry of space-time can cause neutrinos to oscillate.

What are neutrinos?

Detected for the first time in 1959, neutrinos are the second most abundant particles in the world, after photons, or the light particle. Neutrinos are mysterious particles, produced copiously in nuclear reactions in the Sun, stars, and elsewhere. They also “oscillate”– meaning that different types of neutrinos change into one another.

• Probing of oscillations of neutrinos and their relations with mass are crucial in studying the origin of the universe.

Sources:

Neutrinos are created by various radioactive decays; during a supernova, by cosmic rays striking atoms etc.

Features of neutrinos:

1. Neutrinos interact very weakly with everything else – trillions of them pass through every human being every second without anyone noticing.
2. A neutrino’s spin always points in the opposite direction of its motion.
3. It is now generally believed that the phenomenon of neutrino oscillations requires neutrinos to have tiny masses.

Solution: D

About Baikal- GVD:

• It is one of the three largest neutrino detectors in the world along with the IceCube at the South Pole and ANTARES in the Mediterranean Sea.
• It seeks to study in detail the elusive fundamental particles called neutrinos and to possibly determine their sources

Solution: A

Davinci+:

The Davinci+ (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) mission will:

• Measure the planet’s atmosphere to gain insight into how it formed and evolved.
• Determine whether Venus ever had an ocean.
• Return the first high resolution images of the planet’s “tesserae” geological features (These features could be comparable to continents on Earth).

Solution: A

What is the International Space Station?

• A space station is essentially a large spacecraft that remains in low-earth orbit for extended periods of time.
• The ISS has been in space since 1998.
• It is a result of cooperation between the five participating space agencies that run it: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada).
• The ISS circles the Earth in roughly 93 minutes, completing 15.5 orbits per day.
• ISS is a modular space station (habitable artificial satellite) in low Earth orbit.
• The ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which scientific experiments are conducted in astrobiology, astronomy, meteorology, physics, and other fields.

Solution: B

What is EnVision?

1. EnVision is an ESA led mission with contributions from NASA.
2. It will be launched on an Ariane 6 rocket, the spacecraft will take about 15 months to reach Venus and will take 16 more months to achieve orbit circularisation.
3. Objectives:

To study the planet’s atmosphere and surface, monitor trace gases in the atmosphere and analyse its surface composition. A radar provided by NASA will help to image and map the surface

NASA’s Artemis mission:

• Recently NASA chose SpaceX to build a lander for its Artemis programme, which plans to send humans to the Moon in this decade.
• The vehicle, which is based on Starship, will carry the next man and the first woman to land on the Moon.
• With the Artemis programme, NASA aims to demonstrate new technologies, capabilities and business approaches that will ultimately be needed for the future exploration of Mars.

About InSight Mission:

• InSight is part of NASA’s Discovery Program.
• It will be the first mission to peer deep beneath the Martian surface, mars quakes, which are seismic events similar to earthquakes on Earth.
• It will use the seismic waves generated by mars quakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior studying the planet’s interior by measuring its heat output and listening for marsquakes, which are seismic events similar to earthquakes on Earth.
• It will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior.

Solution: D

Nuclear science can be used in the all of the above given fields.

Solution: B

Algal biomass is produced through cultivation of algae, which is seaweed. Several species such as Gracilaria verrucosa, Spirulina can be cultivated. The biomass produced can be used in solid state (dry algae), or liquid state (bio diesel) or gaseous state (biogas)

Algal biomass is useful in power generation plants and food processing industries too. It also provides green bleach and ensures clean environment by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. These apart, algaculture generates employment and creates rural livelihood

Algae caters to a wide range of necessities, including food, nutrition, energy, fertilizer, plastic, and pigments. Algae can also be used for production of bio-degradable plastic. The enriched algae can itself be used as fertilizer.

Algae store energy in the form of oils and carbohydrates, which, combined with their high productivity, means they can produce from 2,000 to as many as 5,000 gallons of biofuels per acre per year.

The chemicals in effluents and sewage drained into the sea are better treated by algae than the sewage treatment plants. Also, the algae, in the process of treating fertilizer, gets enriched and becomes useful as soil conditioners.

Solution: A

The remains of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro reveal a remarkable sense of town planning. The towns were laid out in a rectangular grid pattern. The roads ran in north-south and east-west direction and cut each other at right angles.

The big roads divided the city into a number of blocks, while the smaller lanes were used to connect the individual houses and apartments to the main roads.

Mainly three types of buildings have been found in the excavation sites – dwelling houses, public buildings and public baths.

The Harappans used burnt mud bricks of standardised dimensions for the purpose of construction. Many layers of well-baked brick were laid out and then joined together using gypsum mortar.

Solution: C

India conducted a successful first test flight of the indigenously developed Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) from a base off the Odisha coast. The only other countries that possess this technology are the US, Russia and China.

The HSTDV is an unmanned scramjet (allowing supersonic combustion) demonstration vehicle that can cruise up to a speed of mach 6 (or six times the speed of sound) and rise up to an altitude of 32. km in 20 seconds.

It has a range of uses, including missiles of the future, and energy-efficient, low cost and reusable satellite-launch vehicle.

In scram-jet technology, combustion of fuel takes place in a chamber in the missile at supersonic speeds. This is different from a ram jet system where the system collects the air it needs from the atmosphere during the flight at subsonic speeds and the propellants burn in the combustion
chamber.

Solution: D

According to world biogeographic classification, India represents two of the major realms (the Palearctic and Indo-Malayan) and three biomes (Tropical Humid Forests, Tropical Dry/Deciduous Forests and Warm Deserts/Semi-Deserts).

The Wildlife Institute of India has proposed a modified classification which divides the country into ten biogeographic regions: Trans- Himalayan, Himalayan, Indian Desert, Semi-Arid, Western Ghats, Deccan Peninsula, Gangetic Plain, North-East India, Islands and Coasts. In the light of Biodiversity Convention, India holds a unique position with the priority of conservation of natural resources and sustainable development.

Infact, within only about 2 per cent of world’s total land surface, India is known to have over 7.50 per cent of the species of animals that the world holds and this percentage accounts nearly for 92,037 species so far known, of which insects alone include 61,375 species. It is estimated that about two times that number of species still remain to be discovered in India alone.

Solution: B

Keeping in mind the need for having a dedicated national fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide relief to the affected, a public charitable trust under the name of ‘Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund)’ has been set up.

Objectives:

• To undertake and support relief or assistance of any kind relating to a public health emergency or any other kind of emergency, calamity or distress, either man-made or natural, including the creation or upgradation of healthcare or pharmaceutical facilities, other necessary infrastructure, funding relevant research or any other type of support.
• To render financial assistance, provide grants of payments of money or take such other steps as may be deemed necessary by the Board of Trustees to the affected population.
• To undertake any other activity, which is not inconsistent with the above Objects.

Constitution of the Trust :

• Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the PM CARES Fund and Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Finance, Government of India are ex-officio Trustees of the Fund.
• The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees (Prime Minister) shall have the power to nominate three trustees to the Board of Trustees who shall be eminent persons in the field of research, health, science, social work, law, public administration and philanthropy.
• Any person appointed a Trustee shall act in a pro bono capacity.

Other details:

• The fund consists entirely of voluntary contributions from individuals/organizations and does not get any budgetary support. The fund will be utilised in meeting the objectives as stated above.
• Donations to PM CARES Fund would qualify for 80G benefits for 100% exemption under the Income Tax Act, 1961. Donations to PM CARES Fund will also qualify to be counted as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure under the Companies Act, 2013
• PM CARES Fund has also got exemption under the FCRA and a separate account for receiving foreign donations has been opened. This enables PM CARES Fund to accept donations and contributions from individuals and organizations based in foreign countries. This is consistent with respect to Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF). PMNRF has also received foreign contributions as a public trust since 2011.

Solution: D

Climate Change Action Programme (CCAP) is a central scheme which was approved by the Cabinet in January 2014 at a total cost of Rs. 290 crore for duration of five years. Its objective is to create and strengthen the scientific and analytical capacity for assessment of climate change in the country, putting in place appropriate institutional framework for scientific and policy initiatives and implementation of climate change related actions in the context of sustainable development. Some of the components of the CCAP scheme include the National Carbonaceous Aerosols Programme (NCAP), Long Term Ecological Observatories (LTEO), and Coordinated Studies on Climate Change for North East Region (CSCCNER).

NCAP is a multi-institutional programme developed with a view to monitor and study carbonaceous aerosols including black carbon.

LTEO is another project under the CCAP scheme with a total budget allocation of Rs. 40 crore for duration of 5 years. It aims at creating a network of field sites at various ecological regions in the country viz. Western Himalayas, Eastern Himalayas, North-Western Arid Zone, Central Indian Forests, Western Ghats, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Jammu & Kashmir, and Sundarbans, for undertaking long term observations of the effects of climate change.

These field sites will be used by several institutions and scientists with expertise in various disciplines to identify patterns and drivers of change in the natural ecosystems.

The project will focus on monitoring climatic variables, carbon stock, hydrology, groundwater, forests dynamics, sensitivity of tree species, fire ecology etc.

Under the project, it is proposed to establish 31 weather stations across all the LTEO field sites for recording bioclimatic variable etc. A Coordination Cell will be established at the Centre for Ecological Science, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore for proper implementation of the LTEO project. 11 activities have been shortlisted for funding under this project during the year 2017.

Solution: D

Like the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker is also elected by the Lok Sabha itself from amongst its members. He is elected after the election of the Speaker has taken place. The date of election of the Deputy Speaker is fixed by the Speaker.

The Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker’s office when it is vacant. He also acts as the Speaker when the latter is absent from the sitting of the House. In both the cases, he assumes all the powers of the Speaker. He also presides over the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament, in case the Speaker is absent from such a sitting.

It should be noted here that the Deputy Speaker is not subordinate to the Speaker. He is directly responsible to the House

The institutions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker originated in India in 1921 under the provisions of the Government of India Act of 1919 (Montague–Chelmsford Reforms).

At that time, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker were called the President and Deputy President respectively and the same nomenclature continued till 1947.

Solution: D

Convertibility is the ease with which a country’s currency can be converted into gold or another currency through global exchanges.

• India’s rupee is a partially convertible currency—rupees can be exchanged at market rates in certain cases, but approval is required for larger amounts.
• Making the rupee a fully convertible currency would mean increased liquidity in financial markets, improved employment and business opportunities, and easy access to capital.
• Some of the disadvantages include higher volatility, an increased burden of foreign debt, and an effect on the balance of trade and exports.

The Tarapore Committee, which was tasked with assessing the full convertibility of the rupee, has noted these benefits after full rupee convertibility, including:

Indian businesses will be able to issue foreign currency-denominated debt to local Indian investors.

Indian businesses will be able to hold foreign currency deposits in local Indian banks for capital requirements.

Indian banks will be able to borrow and/or lend to foreign banks in foreign currencies.

Easy options to buy/sell gold freely and offer gold-based deposits and loans with higher (or even uncapped) limits.

There is a possibility that all these benefits may come with a cap (i.e. have to adhere to government restrictions), but they can be uncapped as well.

Solution: C

Justification: Statement 1 and 2:  Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne virus that causes a disease. It is transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. Its symptoms are characterised by abrupt fever and severe joint pain

Many incidents of the disease were recently reported in Delhi.

Statement 3:  Since it is a viral disease, it is obvious that anti-biotics cannot be developed for the disease. Moreover, there is no commercial chikungunya vaccine. Chikungunya treatment is directed primarily at relieving the symptoms.

Researchers from United States have developed the first vaccine for Chikungunya fever made from an insect-specific Eilat virus.

Solution: B

Based on new evidence assessing benefits and risks, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended the use of the HIV drug dolutegravir (DTG) as the preferred first-line and second-line treatment for all populations, including pregnant women and those of childbearing potential.

Solution: B

Justification:  Single-cell protein (SCP) refers to protein derived from cells of microorganisms such as yeast, fungi, algae, and bacteria, which are grown on various carbon sources for synthesis.

The dried cells of microorganisms or the whole organism is harvested and consumed. SCP is a protein source for human food supplements and animal feeds. SCP production may have potential for feeding the ever-increasing world population.

Massive quantities of SCP can be produced in a single day. As a source of protein it is very promising with potential to satisfy the world shortage of food while population increases.

There are several carbon sources that are used as energy sources for microorganisms for growing and producing SCP.

There is another question on SCP in the test.

Solution: C

Justification & Learning:  JWST is the largest-ever space telescope is expected to launch in 2018.

• It is the formal successor to the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope. After its launch it will be the premier observatory of the next decade.  
• It has a total area of 270 square feet. Hubble’s mirror has an area of just 48 square feet. Thus, JWST will be able to see much fainter objects than Hubble.
• It will have cameras and spectrometers that are able to record extremely faint signals.
• It will help in broad range of investigations across the fields of astronomy and cosmology. It will help to understand the origins of the universe, evolution of our own Solar System, search for signs of life on faraway planets. It can also analyze the atmospheres of exoplanets that pass in front of their stars.

Solution: A

Justification: Statement 1:  While light from distant stars may be blocked out by interstellar dust, gravitational waves will pass through essentially unimpeded. This feature allows G-Waves to carry information about astronomical phenomena never before observed by humans. With this detection we will be able to turn the Universe into our own laboratory.

Statement 2 and 3: Not all movements lead to massive or noticeable Gravitational waves.

Two objects orbiting each other in a planar orbit such as a planet orbiting the Sun or a binary star system or the merging of two black holes will radiate Gravitational waves! But, if the objects are really small and their gravitational pull and the way they bend space-time curve is not significant, they won’t create noticeable gravitational waves. It is extremely hard to track the G-waves of even big events like black hole formation

Solution: D

All the statements are correct.

A blockchain is, in the simplest of terms, a time-stamped series of immutable record of data that is managed by cluster of computers not owned by any single entity. Each of these blocks of data (i.e. block) are secured and bound to each other using cryptographic principles (i.e. chain).

The blockchain network has no central authority — it is the very definition of a democratized system. Since it is a shared and immutable ledger, the information in it is open for anyone and everyone to see.

A blockchain carries no transaction cost. (An infrastructure cost yes, but no transaction cost.)

Solution: D

Justification: The fullerenes are a large class of allotropes of carbon and are made of balls, ‘cages’ or tubes of carbon atoms.

Statement 1:  Nanotubes are cylindrical fullerenes. Their unique molecular structure results in extraordinary macroscopic properties, including high tensile strength, high electrical conductivity, high ductility, high heat conductivity, and relative chemical inactivity.

Nanotubes can be used to reinforce graphite in tennis rackets because they are very strong. Due to the above mentioned properties, they are also used as semiconductors in electrical circuits.

Statement 3:  The nanotube’s structure allows it to be used as a container for transporting a drug in the body. A molecule of the drug can be placed inside the nanotube cage. This keeps the drug ‘wrapped up’ until it reaches the site where it is needed. In this way, a dose that might be damaging to other parts of the body can be delivered safely to, for example, a tumour.

Solution: C

Justification: Statement 1:  It operates on fire and forget principal and is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against sea and land targets.

Statement 2:  It is capable of carrying a warhead and has top supersonic speed of Mach 3 (that is, three times the speed of sound).

Statement 3:  It is two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant.

Statement 4: The BrahMos Missile already been deployed by Indian Army and Indian Navy in anti-ship and precision strike roles respectively. The air version is at present undergoing testing.

However, Russia was unable to supply crucial updates to the Brahmos to increase it range due to non-member restrictions for India under the MTCR regime. Now that India has become a MTCR member, Russia has supplied these crucial inputs to India.

Solution: B

Animal Welfare board was established in 1962 under Section 4 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the Animal Welfare Board of India is a statutory advisory body advising the Government of India on animal welfare laws, and promotes animal welfare in the country of India.

Animal Welfare Board of India was started under the stewardship of Late Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale, well known humanitarian.

The Board was initially within the jurisdiction of the Government of India’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture. In 1990, the subject of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was transferred to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, where it now resides.

• The Board consists of 28 Members, who serve for a period of 3 years.
• It works to ensure that animal welfare laws in the country are followed and provides grants to Animal Welfare Organisations.

The Board oversees Animal Welfare Organisations (AWOs) by granting recognition to them if they meet its guidelines

Solution: C

Justification: Statement 1:  Stem cells are distinguished from other cell types by two important characteristics:

1. First, they are unspecialized cells capable of renewing themselves through cell division, sometimes after long periods of inactivity.
2. Second, under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, they can be induced to become tissue- or organ-specific cells with special functions. In some organs, such as the gut and bone marrow, stem cells regularly divide to repair and replace worn out or damaged tissues. In other organs, however, such as the pancreas and the heart, stem cells only divide under special conditions.

Statement 2:  What are the similarities and differences between embryonic and adult stem cells?

One major difference between adult and embryonic stem cells is their different abilities in the number and type of differentiated cell types they can become. Embryonic stem cells can become all cell types of the body because they are pluripotent. Adult stem cells are thought to be limited to differentiating into different cell types of their tissue of origin. Embryonic stem cells can be grown relatively easily in culture.

Adult stem cells are rare in mature tissues, so isolating these cells from an adult tissue is challenging, and methods to expand their numbers in cell culture have not yet been worked out. This is an important distinction, as large numbers of cells are needed for stem cell replacement therapies.

Statement 3: Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are adult cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell–like state by being forced to express genes and factors important for maintaining the defining properties of embryonic stem cells. Although additional research is needed, iPSCs are already useful tools for drug development and modeling of diseases, and scientists hope to use them in transplantation medicine.

Japan approves stem cells trial to treat spinal cord injuries. A team of Japanese researchers will carry out an unprecedented trial using human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) to treat spinal cord injuries.

Solution: B

Total students = 30000 * 0.18 = 5400
Girls among them = 12000 * 0.14 = 1680

Therefore, number of boys = 5400 – 1680 = 3720

Thus, difference = 3720 – 1680 = 2040.

Hence, option (b) is correct.

Solution: D

Total students in school C = 30000 * 0.23 = 6900

Total girl students in school C = 12000 * 0.18 = 2160

Total students in school E = 30000 * 0.16 = 4800.

Total girls students in school E = 12000 * 0.20 = 2400.

Therefore, total boys students in school E =  4800 – 2400 = 2400.

Thus required percent = (2160/2400) * 100 = 90%

Hence, option (d) is correct.

Solution: D

Boys in school A = (30000 * 0.10) – (12000 * 0.15) = 1200

Boys in school B = (30000 * 0.09) – (12000 * 0.12) = 1260

Boys in school C = (30000 * 0.23) – (12000 * 0.18) = 4740.

Therefore, average = (1200+1260+4740)/3 = 2400.

Hence, option (d) is correct.

Solution: C

The number of girls in School F = 12000 * 0.21 = 2520

The number of girls in School A = 12000 * .15 = 1800

Thus, required percent = ((2520 – 1800)/1800) * 100 = 40 %.

Hence, option (c) is correct.

Solution: B

The number of boys in School F = (30000 * 0.24) – (12000 * 0.21) = 4680

The number of boys in School D = (30000 * 0.18) – (12000 * 0.14) = 3720.

Thus, required percent = ((4680 – 3720 )/3720) * 100 = 25.8 %.

Hence, option (b) is correct.