DAY – 48 (InstaTest-48): Insta 75 Days Revision Plan-2022: Topic – GEOGRAPHY, Tests 33, June & July 2021 CA

Solution: B

Earthquake waves get recorded in seismographs located at far off locations. However, there exist some specific areas where the waves are not reported. Such a zone is called the ‘shadow zone’.

It was observed that seismographs located at any distance within 105° from the epicentre, recorded the arrival of both P and S-waves. However, the seismographs located beyond 145° from epicentre, record the arrival
of P-waves, but not that of S-waves. Thus, a zone between 105° and 145° from epicentre was identified as the shadow zone for both the types of waves. The entire zone beyond 105° does not receive S-waves. The shadow zone of S-wave is much larger than that of the P-waves.

Solution: D

Ocean currents, abiotic features of the environment, are continuous and directed movements of ocean water. These currents are on the ocean’s surface and in its depths, flowing both locally and globally.

Currents affect the Earth’s climate by driving warm water from the Equator and cold water from the poles around the Earth.

Solution: B

Longitude and Time

• Since the earth makes one complete revolution of 360° in one day or 24 hours, it passes through 15° in one hour or 1° in 4 minutes.
• The earth rotates from west to east, so every 15° we go eastwards, local time is advanced by 1 hour. Con­versely, if we go westwards, local time is retarded by 1 hour.

Standard Time and Time Zones

• If each town were to keep the time of its own meridian, there would be much difference in local time between one town and the other.
• Most countries adopt their standard time from the central meridian of their countries.
• In larger countries such as Canada, U.S.A., China, and U.S.S.R, it would be inconvenient to have single time zone. So these countries have multiple time zones.
• Both Canada and U.S.A. have five time zones—the Atlantic, Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific Time Zones. The difference between the local time of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts is nearly five hours.

A traveler crossing the International Date Line from east to west loses a day (because of the loss in time he has made); and while crossing the dateline from west to east he gains a day (because of the gain in time he encoun­tered).

Solution: B

Lombardy is one of the twenty administrative regions of Italy, in the northwest of the country, with an area of 23,844 square kilometres. About 10 million people, forming more than one-sixth of Italy’s population, live in Lombardy and more than a fifth of Italy’s GDP is produced in the region, making it the most populous, richest and most productive region in the country. This province is severely affected by novel coronavirus.

Hubei is a landlocked province of the People’s Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means “north of the lake”, referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The provincial capital, Wuhan, serves as a major transportation hub and the political, cultural, and economic hub of central China. Wuhan is the capital of this province.

The Golan Heights, a rocky plateau in south-western Syria, has a political and strategic significance which belies its size. Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the closing stages of the 1967 Six-Day War.

Solution: B

The stratosphere is found above the tropopause and extends up to a height of 50 km. One important feature of the stratosphere is that it contains the ozone layer. This layer absorbs ultra-violet radiation and shields life on the earth from intense, harmful form of energy.

The stratosphere is the second layer. It starts above the troposphere and ends about 31 miles (50 km) above ground. Ozone is abundant here and it heats the atmosphere while also absorbing harmful radiation from the sun. The air here is very dry, and it is about a thousand times thinner here than it is at sea level. Because of that, this is where jet aircraft and weather balloons fly.

The mesosphere starts at 31 miles (50 km) and extends to 53 miles (85 km) high. The top of the mesosphere, called the mesopause, is the coldest part of Earth’s atmosphere, with temperatures averaging about minus 130 degrees F (minus 90 C). This layer is hard to study. Jets and balloons don’t go high enough, and satellites and space shuttles orbit too high. Scientists do know that meteors burn up in this layer.

The thermosphere extends from about 56 miles (90 km) to between 310 and 620 miles (500 and 1,000 km). Temperatures can get up to 2,700 degrees F (1,500 C) at this altitude. The thermosphere is considered part of Earth’s atmosphere, but air density is so low that most of this layer is what is normally thought of as outer space. In fact, this is where the space shuttles flew and where the International Space Station orbits Earth. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect. This is also the layer where the auroras occur. Charged particles from space collide with atoms and molecules in the thermosphere, exciting them into higher states of energy. The atoms shed this excess energy by emitting photons of light, which we see as the colorful Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis.

Solution: C

Playa, (Spanish: shore or beach), also called pan, flat, or dry lake, flat-bottom depression found in interior desert basins and adjacent to coasts within arid and semiarid regions, periodically covered by water that slowly filtrates into the ground water system or evaporates into the atmosphere, causing the deposition of salt, sand, and mud along the bottom and around the edges of the depression.

Solution: A

“Crust” describes the outermost shell of a terrestrial planet. Our planet’s thin, 40-kilometer (25-mile) deep crust—just 1% of Earth’s mass—contains all known life in the universe.

Earth has three layers: the crust, the mantle, and the core. The crust is made of solid rocks and minerals. Beneath the crust is the mantle, which is also mostly solid rocks and minerals, but punctuated by malleable areas of semi-solid magma. At the center of the Earth is a hot, dense metal core.

Earth’s layers constantly interact with each other, and the crust and upper portion of the mantle are part of a single geologic unit called the lithosphere. The lithosphere’s depth varies, and the Mohorovicic discontinuity (the Moho)—the boundary between the mantle and crust—does not exist at a uniform depth.

Isostasy describes the physical, chemical, and mechanical differences between the mantle and crust that allow the crust to “float” on the more malleable mantle. Not all regions of Earth are balanced in isostatic equilibrium. Isostatic equilibrium depends on the density and thickness of the crust, and the dynamic forces at work in the mantle.

Earth’s crust is divided into two types: oceanic crust and continental crust. The transition zone between these two types of crust is sometimes called the Conrad discontinuity.

Silicates (mostly compounds made of silicon and oxygen) are the most abundant rocks and minerals in both oceanic and continental crust.

Oceanic Crust

Oceanic crust, extending 5-10 kilometers (3-6 kilometers) beneath the ocean floor, is mostly composed of different types of basalts. Geologists often refer to the rocks of the oceanic crust as “sima.” Sima stands for silicate and magnesium, the most abundant minerals in oceanic crust. (Basalts are a sima rocks.) Oceanic crust is dense, almost 3 grams per cubic centimeter

Continental Crust

Continental crust is mostly composed of different types of granites. Geologists often refer to the rocks of the continental crust as “sial.” Sial stands for silicate and aluminum, the most abundant minerals in continental crust. Sial can be much thicker than sima (as thick as 70 kilometers kilometers (44 miles)), but also slightly less dense (about 2.7 grams per cubic centimeter.

Solution: D

The solar output received at the top of the atmosphere varies slightly in a year due to the variations in the distance between the earth and the sun. During its revolution around the sun, the earth is farthest from the sun (152 million km) on 4th July. This position of the earth is called aphelion. On 3rd January, the earth is the nearest to the sun (147 million km). This position is called perihelion.

The Moon’s orbit around Earth is elliptical, with one side closer to Earth than the other.

As a result, the distance between the Moon and Earth varies throughout the month and the year. On average, the distance is about 382,900 kilometers (238,000 miles) from the Moon’s center to the center of Earth.

The point on the Moon’s orbit closest to Earth is called the perigee and the point farthest away is the apogee.

Solution: C

Coriolis Force

The rotation of the earth about its axis affects the direction of the wind. This force is called the Coriolis force after the French physicist who described it in 1844. It deflects the wind to the right direction in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere. The deflection is more when the wind velocity is high. The Coriolis force is directly proportional to the angle of latitude. It is maximum at the poles and is absent at the equator. The Coriolis force acts perpendicular to the pressure gradient force. The pressure gradient force is perpendicular to an isobar. The higher the pressure gradient force, the more is the velocity of the wind and the larger is the deflection in the direction of wind. As a result of these two forces operating perpendicular to each other, in the low-pressure areas the wind blows around it. At the equator, the Coriolis force is zero and the wind blows perpendicular to the isobars. The low pressure gets filled instead of getting intensified. That is the reason why tropical cyclones are not formed near the equator.

The wind circulation around a low is called cyclonic circulation. Around a high it is called anti cyclonic circulation. The direction of winds around such systems changes according to their location in different hemispheres.

Solution: A

Solution: D

As igneous rocks form out of magma and lava from the interior of the earth, they are known as primary rocks. The igneous rocks (Ignis – in Latin means ‘Fire’) are formed when magma cools and solidifies. You already know what magma is. When magma in its upward movement cools and turns into solid form it is called igneous rock. The process of cooling and solidification can happen in the earth’s crust or on the surface of the earth. Igneous rocks are classified based on texture. Texture depends upon size and arrangement of grains or other physical conditions of the materials. If molten material is cooled slowly at great depths, mineral grains may be very large. Sudden cooling (at the surface) results in small and smooth grains.

Intermediate conditions of cooling would result in intermediate sizes of grains making up igneous rocks. Granite, gabbro, pegmatite, basalt, volcanic breccia and tuff are some of the examples of igneous rocks.

Solution: B

Water vapour present in the air is known as humidity. It is expressed quantitatively in different ways. The actual amount of the water vapour present in the atmosphere is known as the absolute humidity. It is the weight of water vapour per unit volume of air and is expressed in terms of grams per cubic metre. The ability of the air to hold water vapour depends entirely on its temperature. The absolute humidity differs from place to place on the surface of the earth. The percentage of moisture present in the atmosphere as compared to its full capacity at a given temperature is known as the relative humidity. With the change of air temperature, the capacity to retain moisture increases or decreases and the relative humidity is also affected. It is greater over the oceans and least over the continents.

The air containing moisture to its full capacity at a given temperature is said to be saturated. It means that the air at the given temperature is incapable of holding any additional amount of moisture at that stage. The temperature at which saturation occurs in a given sample of air is known as dew point.

Solution: C

Solar eclipse and lunar eclipse differences (Surya Grahan vs Chandra Grahna)

Solar eclipse (Surya Grahan)

• A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes in between the earth and the sun.
• During a solar eclipse, the moon partially or fully hides the sun’s rays for a few minutes.
• Happens once in 18 months.
• The three types of solar eclipses are total solar eclipse, partial solar eclipse, and annular solar eclipse.
• Solar eclipse is seen from few places only.
• Happens during a day
• A solar eclipse happens on a new moon day.
• It is not safe to see a solar eclipse through naked eyes. You need protective glasses to avoid any harm to the eyes.

Lunar eclipse (Chandra Grahan)

• A lunar eclipse happens when the earth passes in between the moon and the sun.
• During a lunar eclipse, the earth’s shade partially or fully hides the moon for a brief period of time.
• Occurs two times in a year.
• The three types of lunar eclipses are total lunar eclipse, partial lunar eclipse and a penumbral lunar eclipse.
• Lunar eclipses are spotted from many places.
• Occurs during nights
• A lunar eclipse happens on a full moon day.
• It is perfectly safe to see a lunar eclipse with naked eyes. You do not need any protective covering to view it.

Solution: D

The International Date Line, shown here as a yellow line, defines the boundary between calendar dates.

The International Date Line, established in 1884, passes through the mid-Pacific Ocean and roughly follows a 180 degrees longitude north-south line on the Earth. It is located halfway round the world from the prime meridian—the zero degrees longitude established in Greenwich, England, in 1852.

The International Date Line functions as a “line of demarcation” separating two consecutive calendar dates. When you cross the date line, you become a time traveler of sorts! Cross to the west and it’s one day later; cross back and you’ve “gone back in time.”

Despite its name, the International Date Line has no legal international status and countries are free to choose the dates that they observe. While the date line generally runs north to south from pole to pole, it zigzags around political borders such as eastern Russia and Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

The Dateline Is Not Straight

The dateline runs from the North Pole to the South Pole and marks the divide between the Western and Eastern Hemisphere. It is not straight but zigzags to avoid political and country borders and to not cut some countries in half.

Solution: A

Geomagnetic Poles

The Geomagnetic poles (dipole poles) are the intersections of the Earth’s surface and the axis of a bar magnet hypothetically placed at the centre the Earth.

There is such a pole in each hemisphere, and the poles are called as “the geomagnetic north pole” and “the geomagnetic south pole”, respectively.

    Approximately, geomagnetic dipole is currently tilted at an angle of about 11 degrees to Earth’s rotational axis.

On the other hand, the magnetic poles (the magnetic north pole and the magnetic south pole) are the points at which magnetic needles become vertical.

The difference in the position of magnetic poles and geomagnetic poles is due to the uneven and complex distribution of the earth’s magnetic field.

Solution: D

Solution:

The Sri Lankan government said that the massive star sapphire cluster found in the country last year has been registered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest ever.

Solution: B

Solution:

• Wildlife Institute of India in collaboration with the Wildlife Trust of India assessed potential sites and as long back as 2010 recommended Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh; Shahgarh landscape in Jaisalmer (Rajasthan); and Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh for introduction of the African Cheetah.

Solution: C

Solution:

• REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION–POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION

RT-PCR uses RNA as a starting material for in vitro nucleic acid amplification. The discovery of retroviral reverse transcriptase in the early 1970s ultimately made RT-PCR possible which has become critical in diagnosis of viral diseases.

Solution:C

Solution:

• Dimorphos is a small asteroid satellite that was discovered in 2003. It is the minor-planet moon of a synchronous binary system with 65803 Didymos as the primary asteroid.

Solution: A

Solution:

• VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) is a lunar rover developed by NASA (Ames Research Center), and currently planned to be delivered to the surface of the Moon in November 2023.The rover will be tasked with prospecting for lunar resources in permanently shadowed areas in the lunar south pole region, especially by mapping the distribution and concentration of water ice. The mission builds on a previous NASA rover concept called Resource Prospector, which was cancelled in 2018.

Solution : A

Gosikhurd Project – Maharashtra

Shahpur Kandi – Punjab

Saryu Nahar Pariyojna – Uttar Pradesh 

Teesta Barrage Project – West Bengal

Solution : A 

Solution:  ActNow Campaign Launched by United Nations which guides people on the individual choices they can make to limit global warming and reduce climate change. 

Solution : C 

Solution : Flex-fuel vehicles (FFV): Have engines that can run on flexible fuel — a combination of petrol and ethanol, which can include up to 100% ethanol.  

Flex Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicles (FFV-SHEV): When FFV is integrated along with strong hybrid electric technology, it is referred as FFV-SHEVs. Government has advised the Automobile Manufacturers in India, to start manufacturing Flex Fuel Vehicles BS-6 Norms. 

Solution: B

Solution: RBI released India’s first composite Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index)It captures information on various aspects of financial inclusion on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents complete financial exclusion and 100 indicates full financial inclusion.

FI-Index doesn’t have a base year

Solution : A

Solution: QR code is a machine-scannable image that can instantly be read using a Smartphone camera.  Every QR code consists of a number of black squares and dots which represent certain pieces of information.  A QR code is two-dimensional, it contains information in both the vertical and horizontal directions. Can be scanned from any direction for 360 degrees.  

More Secure – as it is possible to encode the information in bar codes. 

Correct Answer : D

Explanation:

Ashok is the son of Seeta whose brother is Rajinder. So, Rajinder is the maternal uncle of Ashok.

Correct Answer : D

Explanation:

Let total no. of questions be x.

Now, Right questions = 12 = 60% of x =>0.6x = 12

x = 20

Correct Answer : C

Explanation:

Total number of candidates = 100%

Percentage of candidates passed in both the subjects = {100 – (25 + 17 + 35)} % = 23%

Correct Answer : C

Explanation:

Suppose three people have been given a, b and c number of items. Then, a × b × c = 30

Now, There can be 5 cases :

Case I : When one of them is given 30 items and rest two 1 item each. So, the number of ways for (30 × 1 × 1) = 3! / 2! = 3

(As two of them have same number of items)

Case II : Similarly, number of ways for (10 × 3 × 1) = 3! = 6

Case III : Number of ways for (15 × 2 × 1) = 3! = 6

Case IV : Number of ways for (6 × 5 × 1) = 3! = 6

Case V : Number of ways for (5 × 3 × 2) = 3! = 6

Here, either of these 5 cases are possible.

Hence, total number of ways = 3 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 27

Correct Answer : A

Explanation:

The passage informs,

1. With statistics that GDP growth rate will be low if climate risk is not handled
2. Handling climate risk needs green growth approach
3. Thus high growth and green growth are two sides of same coin unlike common

perception

4. Hence,

Economic health that is GDP growth and climate sustainability are related Without green growth high growth is not feasible

Hence 1 only is true. A is the answer.