DAY – 6 (InstaTest-6): Insta 75 Days Revision Plan-2023: Topic – GEOGRAPHY, Subject-wise Test 5, Textbook-wise Test 5 and July 2022 CA (PRELIMS 30 & MAINS 30)

Solution: D

The difference between terrestrial and Jovian planets can be attributed to the following conditions:

(i) The terrestrial planets were formed in the close vicinity of the parent star where it was too warm for gases to condense to solid particles. Jovian planets were formed at quite a distant location.

(ii) The solar wind was most intense nearer the sun; so, it blew off lots of gas and dust from the terrestrial planets. The solar winds were not all that intense to cause similar removal of gases from the Jovian planets.

(iii) The terrestrial planets are smaller and their lower gravity could not hold the escaping gases.

Solution: A

The Anthropocene Epoch is an unofficial unit of geologic time, used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems.

Officially, the current epoch is called the Holocene, which began 11,700 years ago after the last major ice age. However, the Anthropocene Epoch is an unofficial unit of geologic time, used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems. The word Anthropocene is derived from the Greek words anthropo, for “man,” and cene for “new,” coined and made popular by biologist Eugene Stormer and chemist Paul Crutzen in 2000.

Scientists still debate whether the Anthropocene is different from the Holocene, and the term has not been formally adopted by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), the international organization that names and defines epochs. The primary question that the IUGS needs to answer before declaring the Anthropocene an epoch is if humans have changed the Earth system to the point that it is reflected in the rock strata.

Solution: B

Earthquake Waves

All natural earthquakes take place in the lithosphere.

The velocity of waves changes as they travel through materials with different densities. The denser the material, the higher is the velocity. Their direction also changes as they reflect or refract when coming across materials with different densities.

There are two types of body waves. They are called P and S-waves. P-waves move faster and are the first to arrive at the surface. These are also called ‘primary waves. The P-waves are similar to sound waves. They travel through gaseous, liquid and solid materials.

Solution: B

Earth’s interior is made of different kinds of materials. Each of those materials are different from each other by their physical and chemical properties, such as temperature, density etc. Unique layers are there according to their characteristics inside the earth. All those layers are separated from each other through a transition zone. These transition zones are called discontinuities.

There are five discontinuies inside the earth.

Conrad Discontinuity:  Transition zone between SIAL and SIMA.

Mohorovicic Discontinuity:  Transition zone between the Crust and Mantle.

Repiti Discontinuity: Transition zone between Outer mantle and Inner mantle.

Gutenberg Discontinuity: Transition zone between Mantle and Core.

Lehman Discontinuity: Transition zone between Outer core and Inner core.

Solution: C

Lacoliths

These are large dome-shaped intrusive bodies with a level base and connected by a pipe-like conduit from below. It resembles the surface volcanic domes of composite volcano, only these are located at deeper depths. It can be regarded as the localised source of lava that finds its way to the surface.

Lapolith and Phacolith

As and when the lava moves upwards, a portion of the same may tend to move in a horizontal direction wherever it finds a weak plane. It may get rested in different forms. In case it develops into a saucer shape, concave to the sky body, it is called lapolith. A wavy mass of intrusive rocks, at times, is found at the base of synclines or at the top of anticline in folded igneous country. Such wavy materials have a definite conduit to source beneath in the form of magma chambers (subsequently developed as batholiths). These are called the phacoliths.

Solution: C

Convectional Current Theory

Arthur Holmes first put forth the Convectional Current Theory in the 1930s. The heart of seafloor spreading theory is convection current theory. In accordance with this theory, the intense heat produced by radioactive chemicals in the mantle (100–2900 km below the surface of the earth) searches for a way to escape and induces convection currents to emerge in the mantle. Convection currents move through the liquid asthenosphere below the solid lithosphere. Seas and oceans are created when divergent convective currents pull crustal blocks apart in opposite directions. Examples include the lake system in East Africa, the Mid-Atlantic Ridges, and others.

Arthur Holmes in 1930s discussed the possibility of convection currents operating in the mantle portion. These currents are generated due to radioactive elements causing thermal differences in the mantle portion. Holmes argued that there exists a system of such currents in the entire mantle portion. This was an attempt to provide an explanation to the issue of force, on the basis of which contemporary scientists discarded the continental drift theory.

Solution: A

Hot Spot Volcanism

A hot spot is a region deep within the Earth’s mantle from which heat rises by convection.

A hot spot is fed by a region deep within the Earth’s mantle from which heat rises through the process of convection. This heat facilitates the melting of rock at the base of the lithosphere, where the brittle, upper portion of the mantle meets the Earth’s crust. The melted rock, known as magma, often pushes through cracks in the crust to form volcanoes. Hot spot volcanism is unique because it does not occur at the boundaries of Earth’s tectonic plates, where all other volcanism occurs. Instead, it occurs at abnormally hot centers known as mantle plumes. Scientific models depict these plumes of molten rock almost like a lava lamp, with a rising bulbous head fed by a long, narrow tail that originates in the mantle. As the plume head reaches the lithosphere, it spreads into a mushroom shape that reaches roughly 500 to 1000 kilometers (310 to 621 miles) in diameter. These features are called diapirs.

Solution: D

Plate tectonics

Since the advent of the concept of sea floor spreading, the interest in the problem of distribution of oceans and continents was revived. It was in 1967, McKenzie and Parker and also Morgan, independently collected the available ideas and came out with another concept termed Plate Tectonics. A tectonic plate (also called lithospheric plate) is a massive, irregularly-shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere. Plates move horizontally over the asthenosphere as rigid units.

Divergent Boundaries

Where new crust is generated as the plates pull away from each other. The sites where the plates move away from each other are called spreading sites. The best-known example of divergent boundaries is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. At this, the American Plate(s) is/are separated from the Eurasian and African Plates.

Solution: B

Depending upon the mode of formation, sedimentary rocks are classified into three major groups: (i) mechanically formed — sandstone, conglomerate, limestone, shale, loess etc. are examples; (ii) organically formed— geyserite, chalk, limestone, coal etc. are some examples; (iii) chemically formed — chert, limestone, halite, potash etc. are some examples.

Gneissoid, granite, syenite, slate, schist, marble, quartzite etc. are some examples of metamorphic rocks.

Solution: B

Geomorphic processes

The external forces are known as exogenic forces and the internal forces are known as endogenic forces. The actions of exogenic forces result in wearing down (degradation) of relief/elevations and filling up (aggradation) of basins/ depressions, on the earth’s surface. The phenomenon of wearing down of relief variations of the surface of the earth through erosion is known as gradation. The endogenic forces continuously elevate or build up parts of the earth’s surface and hence the exogenic processes fail to even out the relief variations of the surface of the earth. So, variations remain as long as the opposing actions of exogenic and endogenic forces continue.

Solution: D

Exfoliation

Exfoliation is a result but not a process. Flaking off of more or less curved sheets of shells from over rocks or bedrock results in smooth and rounded surfaces. Exfoliation can occur due to expansion and contraction induced by temperature changes. Exfoliation domes and tors result due to unloading and thermal expansion respectively.

Solution: D

Meanders

In large flood and delta plains, rivers rarely flow in straight courses. Loop-like channel patterns called meanders develop over flood and delta plains.

Meander is not a landform but is only a type of channel pattern. This is because of

(i) propensity of water flowing over very gentle gradients to work laterally on the banks;

(ii) unconsolidated nature of alluvial deposits making up the banks with many irregularities which can be used by water exerting pressure laterally; (iii) coriolis force acting on the fluid water deflecting it like it deflects the wind. When the gradient of the channel becomes extremely low, water flows leisurely and starts working laterally.

Solution: C

Any limestone or dolomitic region showing typical landforms produced by the action of groundwater through the processes of solution and deposition is called Karst topography after the typical topography developed in limestone rocks of Karst region in the Balkans adjacent to Adriatic sea.

Stalactites, Stalagmites and Pillars

Stalactites hang as icicles of different diameters. Normally they are broad at their bases and taper towards the free ends showing up in a variety of forms. Stalagmites rise up from the floor of the caves. In fact, stalagmites form due to dripping water from the surface or through the thin pipe, of the stalactite, immediately below it.

Solution: A

Distribution of Temperature

In the Arctic and Antarctic circles, the surface water temperatures are close to 0° C and so the temperature change with the depth is very slight. Here, only one layer of cold water exists, which extends from surface to deep ocean floor.

The average temperature of surface water of the oceans is about 27°C and it gradually decreases from the equator towards the poles.

The rate of decrease of temperature with increasing latitude is generally 0.5°C per latitude. The average temperature is around 22°C at 20° latitudes, 14° C at 40° latitudes and 0° C near poles. The oceans in the northern hemisphere record relatively higher temperature than in the southern hemisphere. The highest temperature is not recorded at the equator but slightly towards north of it.

Solution: D

TIDES

The periodical rise and fall of the sea level, once or twice a day, mainly due to the attraction of the Sun and the Moon, is called a tide.

Movement of water caused by meteorological effects (winds and atmospheric pressure changes) are called surges. Surges are not regular like tides. The study of tides is very complex, spatially and temporally, as it has great variations in frequency, magnitude and height.

The moon’s gravitational pull to a great extent and to a lesser extent the sun’s gravitational pull, are the major causes for the occurrence of tides. Another factor is centrifugal force, which is the force that acts to counter balance the gravity. Together, the gravitational pull and the centrifugal force are responsible for creating the two major tidal bulges on the earth.

Solution: B

The major tectonic plates are Antarctica and the surrounding oceanic plate, North American Plate, South American Plate, Pacific Plate, African Plate, Indo-Australian Plate, and Eurasian Plate. Hence, Antarctic Plate is not a minor plate.

Some important minor plates are:
(i) Cocos plate: Between Central America and Pacific plate
(ii) Nazca plate: Between South America and Pacific plate
(iii) Arabian plate: Mostly the Saudi Arabian landmass
(iv) Philippine plate: Between the Asiatic and Pacific plate.

Solution: B

• The second edition of United Nations Ocean conference titled ‘Our Ocean, Our Future: call for action’ ended with the Lisbon Declaration
• It was co-hosted by Kenya and Portugal in Lisbon
• The first UNOC was held in New York, United Nations headquarter in 2017.

The Lisbon declaration calls for:

• Protecting at least 30% of national Maritime zones by 2030
• Achieving carbon neutrality by 2040
• Allocating funds to research on ocean acidification, climate resilience and surveillance
• Scaling up science based and innovative actions to address Ocean emergency
• Support implementation of sustainable development goal (SDG14: life below water) by empowering women and girls recognising their participation is crucial to building a sustainable Ocean based economy
• Protecting biodiversity in areas beyond National jurisdiction which lie outside the exclusive Economic zone of countries (200 miles)

Solution: C

• Project ELLORA or Enabling Low Resource Languages is an initiative launched by Microsoft in 2015
• This initiative intends to bring rare Indian languages such as Gondi and Mundari online
• Under the project, researchers are building digital resources of the languages so as to preserve them
• Researchers are taking the help of artificial Intelligence and the local community in the data collection process
• By this way, researchers hope to create a dataset that is both accurate and culturally relevant.

Solution: A

• The iCET initiative was launched by India and US in 2022.
• It is operated by the National Security Councils of both the countries.
• Under this initiative India will share it score technology with the US and expect the same from the US.

The initiative is expected to form linkage between Government, academia and industry of the two Nations.

• Under the initiative six areas of cooperation has been identified
• The areas include scientific research and development, Quantum and artificial intelligence, Defence innovation, space, advanced telecom that would include 6G and semiconductor development.
• The technology development and co production under the initiative would gradually be expanded to QUAD and then to NATO, followed by Europe and rest of the world.

Solution: D

Critical Wildlife Habitats

• The Critical Wildlife Habitats have been envisaged in Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. 
• This act defines the Critical Wildlife Habitats (CWH) as the “areas of national parks and sanctuaries where it has been specifically and clearly established, case by case, on the basis of scientific and objective criteria, that such areas are required to be kept as inviolate for the purposes of wildlife conservation”
• The above definition makes it very clear that the Critical Wildlife Habitats are absolutely free of human presence. But the same act duly recognizes the traditional rights of the Forest dwellers.

Solution: D

DNA Profiling:

DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting, DNA testing, or DNA typing) is a forensic technique used to identify individuals by characteristics of their DNA.  A DNA profile is a small set of DNA variations that is very likely to be different in all unrelated individuals.

Benefits:

• Help to convict serious criminals and possibly even preventing crime.
• Useful in the aftermath of a natural disaster for disaster victim identification.
• Identification of missing persons and human remains
• Medical research purposes
• Establishing parentage or blood relations between individuals.
• DNA fingerprinting is used in the study of animal and floral populations
• To address the issue of thousands of unclaimed dead bodies that are reported annually
• This can also be used in the area of wild life crimes

Solution: B

Minimum Tillage

It involves considerable soil disturbance, though to a much lesser extent than that associated with conventional tillage. Minimum tillage is aimed at reducing tillage to the minimum necessary for ensuring a good seedbed, rapid germination, a satisfactory stand and favourable growing conditions.

Tillage can be reduced in two ways:

1. By omitting operation which do not give much benefit when compared to the cost.
2. By combining agricultural operations like seeding and fertilizer application.

Advantages of minimum tillage

• • Improved soil conditions due to decomposition of plant residues in situ;
  • Higher infiltration caused by the vegetation present on the soil and channels formed by the decomposition of dead roots;
  • Less resistance to root growth due to improved structure;
  • Less soil compaction by the reduced movement of heavy tillage vehicles and less soil erosion compared to conventional tillage.

Note: These advantages are evident on coarse and medium textured soils and appear after two to three years of practicing minimum tillage.

Disadvantages of minimum tillage

• Seed germination is lower with minimum tillage.
• In minimum tillage, more nitrogen has to be added as rate of decomposition of organic matter is slow.
• Nodulation is affected in some leguminous crops like peas and broad beans.
• Sowing operations are difficult with ordinary equipment.
• Continuous use of herbicides causes pollution problems and dominance of perennial problematic weeds.

Solution: C

India produces as many as 88 minerals which include 4 fuel minerals, 3 atomic minerals, 26 metallic & non-metallic minerals and 55 minor minerals (including building and other materials and the recently notified 31 additional minerals).

The central government has the power to notify “minor minerals” under section 3 (e) of the MMDR Act, 1957. On the other hand, as per Section 15 of the MMDR Act, 1957 State Governments have complete powers for making Rules for grant of concessions in respect of extraction of minor minerals and levy and collection of royalty on minor minerals.

In addition to the minor minerals specified in Section 3(e) of the MMDR Act, the Central Government has declared the following minerals as minor minerals:

• boulder,
• shingle,
• chalcedony pebbles used for ball mill purposes only,
• lime shell, kankar and limestone used in kilns for manufacture of lime used as building material,
• murrum,
• brick-earth,
• fuller’s earth,
• bentonite,
• road metal,
• reh-matti,
• slate and shale when used for building material,
• marble,
• stone used for making household utensils,
• quartzite and sandstone when used for purposes of building or for making road metal and household utensils,
• saltpeter and
• ordinary earth (used or filling or leveling purposes in construction or embankments, roads, railways, building).

Solution: D

In India, the PIL is a product of the judicial activism role of the Supreme Court. It was introduced in the early 1980s. Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer and Justice P.N. Bhagwati were the pioneers of the concept of PIL.

A Public Interest Litigation can be filed before the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution or before the High Court of a State under Article 226 of the Constitution under their respective Writ Jurisdictions.

http://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l171-Public-Interest-Litigation.html

Solution: A

Arms trade

Source: SIPRI    

Context: Ukraine became the world’s third-largest arms importer in 2022 after Qatar and India, accounting for 2% of global arms imports in the past five years (as per the new data on global arms transfers Report by SIPRI)

Other Major Findings of the Report

Global:

• Europe: Between 2013-2017 and 2018-2022, European countries increased their imports of major arms by 47%, while global transfers of arms decreased by about 5%
• US (top exporter): The US’s share of global arms exports increased from 33% to 40%, while Russia’s share (2^nd most top exporter) fell from 22% to 16%, and France’s (3^rd most top exporter) share increased from about 7% to 11%.

India

• India’s share of global arms import was highest in the past five years, followed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Australia.
• India’s arms import has decreased
• Russia> France> US> and Israel were the major exporter to India

Ans. B) Highlight the role that cotton played in oppression of India

The key focus of the passage becomes clear from the phrase that India paid for its own oppression because of cotton which means that the passage focusses on the role cotton played in oppression of India. Hence B.

Ans. D)  Meeting the financing gap needed for infrastructure services will be one of the biggest challenges in development.

The last line of 2^nd para makes it clear that even meeting basic needs of people would require huge investment in developing countries and thus matching their expectations through investment in infrastructure is going to prove to be a tedious task.

Solution: c) 480km

Explanation:

Let ‘D’ km be distance to be covered.

Let ‘S’ km/h be original speed of car.

Let ‘T’ h be original time taken.

By formula for D, we have

D= TS ———–> Eq.1

Case 1: If speed increased by 6 km/h, the time taken is 4h less i.e,

D=TS + 6T – 4S – 24 ———-> Eq2

From Eq1 and Eq2,

TS = TS + 6T – 4S – 24

6T – 4S – 24=0 ————> Eq3

Case 2: If speed decreased by 4 km/h, the time taken is 4h more i.e,

D= (T+4) (S-4)

D= TS – 4T + 4S – 16———–>Eq4

From Eq1 and Eq4,

TS = TS – 4T + 4S – 16

4T – 4S + 16 = 0 ———–> Eq5

Solving Eq3 and Eq5,

T = 20 h

S = 24 km/h

Therefore,

D = TS = 20 X 24 = 480 km.

Solution: D) 25m

Explanation:

In a race of 200m, when A completes 200m,

Distance covered by B = 200 – 31 = 169m

Distance covered by C = 200 – 18 = 182m

In a race of 350m, when C completes 350m,

The distance covered by B = (169 × 350)/182

= 325m

Thus, C beats B by 25 metres in 350m race.

Solution: D) 16km/hr

Explanation:

Let the speed of the boat in still water be ‘b’ km/hr.

Therefore, the effective speed in downstream and upstream are (b+6) and (b-6) respectively.

Time for downstream = 11/(b+6)

Time for upstream = 5/(b-6)

As per the given condition,

1 hour =

(b+6)(b-6) = 11 (b-6) + 5 (b+6)

b2 – 36 = 11b – 66 + 5b + 30

b2 – 36 = 16b – 36

b2 = 16b

b = 16 km/hr