(Prelims) IAS General Studies – 1993 (Part 2)

16. The Swaran Singh committee considered the question of

a. more autonomy to Punjab on the model of Jammu and Kashmir

b. the suitability of the Presidential form of government for India

c. the precedence of the Directive Principles over Fundamental Rights

d. administrative reforms

Ans: c

• Sardar Swaran Singh was chairperson of the committee entrusted with the responsibility of studying the Constitution of India in 1976 during the national emergency. Soon after the declaration of the national emergency, Indira Gandhi constituted a committee under the Chairmanship of Sardar Swaran Singh to study the question of amending the constitution in the light of past experiences. Based on its recommendations, the government incorporated several changes to the Constitution including the Preamble, through the Forty-second Amendment of the Constitution of India (passed in 1976 and came into effect on 3 January 1977)

17. Chanakya, was also known as

a. Bhattasvamin

b. Rajasckhara

c. Vishnugupta

d. Visakhadatta

Ans: c

18. Which one of the following is the underground army of the African National Congress?

a. Umkhonto

b. KwaZulu

c. Xhosa

d. Ulundi

Ans: a

• Umkhonto we Sizwe (abbreviated as MK, Zulu for “Spear of the Nation”) was the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC), co-founded by Nelson Mandela of South Africa
  

19. Poison glands of snakes are homologous to

a. electric organs of fishes

b. stings of rays

c. sebaceous glands of mammals

d. salivary glands of vertebrates

Ans: d

• Snake venom is highly modified saliva containing zootoxins that facilitates the immobilization and digestion of prey, and defends against a threat. It is injected by unique fangs after a bite but some species are also able to spit. The salivary glands are exocrine glands, glands with ducts, that produce saliva.

20. Which one of the following is NOT an astronomical object?

a. Pulsar

b. Brittle Star

c. Black hole

d. Quasar

Ans: b

• A pulsar (short for pulsating radio star) is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. This radiation can only be observed when the beam of emission is pointing toward the Earth, much the way a lighthouse can only be seen when the light is pointed in the direction of an observer, and is responsible for the pulsed appearance of emission. Neutron stars are very dense, and have short, regular rotational periods. This produces a very precise interval between pulses that range from roughly milliseconds to seconds for an individual pulsar
• Brittle stars or ophiuroids are echinoderms closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomotion.
• A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light can not get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying.
• Quasar is a massive and extremely remote celestial object, emitting exceptionally large amounts of energy, which typically has a starlike image in a telescope. It has been suggested that quasars contain massive black holes and may represent a stage in the evolution of some galaxies.

21. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:

       List-I            List-II

A. Grand Slam    1.  Chess

B. Grand Prix      2.  Polo

C. Grand Master  3.  Bridge

D. Grand Racer   4. International race

      A B C D

a.   1 2 3 4

b.    2 4 3 1

 c.   3 4 1 2

d.    4 2 1 3

Ans: c

Grand Slam – Auto Racing, Chess, Baseball, Golf, Tennis, Equestrianism, rugby

Grand Prix  – Racing, Chess, Snooker, athletics, tennis circuit, Equestrianism

Grand Master – Chess

Grand Racer 

22. A zero rate of inflation obtains necessarily in a year where the annual rate of inflation

a. in every week of the year is zero

b. is falling in every week of the year

c. is both falling and rising in a year

d. is constant in every week of the year

Ans: c

23. A lot of details regarding the village administration wider the Cholas is provided by the inscriptions at

a. Thanjavur

b. Uraiyur

c. Kanchipuram

d. Uttaramerur

Ans: d

• Uttaramerur Inscriptions of Parantaka Chola I .
• Location: Uttaramerur, Kanchipuram Taluk, Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu, India
• Uttaramerur inscription testifies to the historical fact that nearly 1,100 years ago, a village had an elaborate and highly refined electoral system and even a written constitution prescribing the mode of elections. The details of this system of elective village democracy are inscribed on the walls of the village assembly (grama sabha mandapa)

24. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:

List-I (Characteristic)        List-II (Animal)

A. Wingless insect        1. Kiwi

B. Flightless bird           2. Silver fish

C. Limbless reptile       3. Turtle

D. Lungless animal     4. Snake Fish

    A B C D

a. 1 3 2 5

b. 2 1 4 5

c. 2 1 3 4

d. 3 1 4 2

Ans: b

• silverfish or fishmoth, is a small, wingless insect
• Kiwi is Flightless bird
• The snakeheads are members of the freshwater perciform fish family Channidae, native to Africa and Asia. It is a limbless cold-blooded vertebrate animal with gills and fins and living wholly in water
• Turtle is lungless

25. In Jainism perfect knowledge is referred to as

a. jina

b. ratna

c. kaivalya

d. nirvana

Ans: c

• Jina means a conqueror
• Kevala jnana or kaivalya means omniscience in Jainism and is roughly translated as absolute knowledge or supreme knowledge

26. There communicable diseases prevalent in developing countries caused by unsafe drinking water and bad sanitation are

a. acute diarrhoea, cancer and gout

b. malaria, acute diarrhoea and schistosomiasis

c. onchocerciasis, leukaemia and arthritis

d. rheumatism, malaria and AIDS

Ans: b

• Schistosomiasis(also known as bilharzia, snail fever, and Katayama fever) is a disease caused by parasitic worms of the Schistosoma type. It may infect the urinary tract or the intestines. Signs and symptoms may include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody stool, or blood in the urine.The disease is spread by contact with water contaminated with the parasites.
• Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by parasitic protozoans (a group of single-celled microorganism) belonging to the genus Plasmodium. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, fatigue, vomiting and headaches. In severe cases it can cause yellow skin, seizures, coma or death.The disease is transmitted by the biting of mosquitos, and the symptoms usually begin ten to fifteen days after being bitten.
• Diarrhoea can be of sudden onset and lasting for less than four weeks (acute) or persistent (chronic). Infection of the gut is the common cause. This is of sudden onset and is called acute infectious diarrhoea. Many bacteria, viruses and other germs can cause diarrhoea. Sometimes the germs come from infected food (food poisoning). Infected water is a cause in some countries. Sometimes it is just “one of those germs going about”. Viruses are easily spread from one person to another by close contact, or when an infected person prepares food for others.
• Leukemia is a group of cancers that usually begins in the bone marrow and results in high numbers of abnormal white blood cells
• Rheumatism or rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting the joints and/or connective tissue.
• Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness and Robles disease, is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus.Symptoms include severe itching, bumps under the skin, and blindness. It is the second most common cause of blindness due to infection, after trachoma. The parasite worm is spread by the bites of a black fly of the Simulium type
• Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints.

27. Consider the Climograph given below: The above Climograph relates to

a. North-western region of India

b. Southern region of India

c. Mid-central region of India

d. North-eastern region of India

Ans: c

28. The Employment Guarantee Scheme, a rural work programme, was first started in

a. West Bengal

b. Punjab

c. Kerala

d. Maharashtra

Ans: d

29. Who among the following is NOT associated with medicine in ancient India?

a. Dhanvantri

b. Bhaskaracharya

c. Charaka

d. Susruta

Ans: b

• Dhanvantri  appears in the Vedas and Puranas as the physician of the gods (devas), and the god of Ayurvedic medicine.
• Bhāskara (also known as Bhāskarāchārya (“Bhāskara the teacher”), and as Bhāskara II (1114–1185), was an Indian mathematician and astronomer. He was born in Bijapur in modern Karnataka
• Charaka, was one of the principal contributors to the ancient art and science of Ayurveda, a system of medicine and lifestyle developed in Ancient India. He is sometimes dated to c. 800 BC. He was a native of Kashmir.
• Suśruta (Devanagari सुश्रुत, an adjective meaning “very famous”) is an ancient Indian surgeon commonly attributed to as the author of the treatise Sushruta Samhita. He is dubbed as the “founding father of surgery” and the Sushrut Samhita is identified as one of the best and outstanding commentary on Medical Science of Surgery. His period is usually placed between the period of 1200 BC – 600 BC

30. Which one of the following is used for dating archaeological, specimens in wood, bones and shells?

a. U − 238

b. Argon isotope

c. C − 14

d. Sr − 90

Ans: c

• Carbon-14, ¹⁴C, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with a nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby (1949) to date archaeological, geological and hydrogeological samples. Carbon-14 was discovered on 27 February 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben,
• There are three naturally occurring isotopes of carbon on Earth: 99% of the carbon is carbon-12, 1% is carbon-13, and carbon-14 occurs in trace amounts, i.e., making up about 1 part per trillion (0.0000000001%) of the carbon in the atmosphere. The half-life of carbon-14 is 5,730±40 years. Carbon-14 decays into nitrogen-14 through beta decay.
• Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses (¹⁴C) to determine the age of carbonaceous materials up to about 60,000 years old. Plants fix atmospheric carbon during photosynthesis, so the level of ¹⁴C in plants and animals when they die approximately equals the level of ¹⁴C in the atmosphere at that time. However, it decreases thereafter from radioactive decay, allowing the date of death or fixation to be estimated.

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