(Prelims) IAS General Studies – 1998 (Part 7)
91. Which one of the following types of micro organisms is most widely used in industries ?
(a) Bacteria (b) Bacteria and Fungi
(c) Bacteria and algae (d) Bacteria, microalgae and fungi
Ans: d
- Many fungi are useful to humans and have been exploited both industrially and commercially. Societies have utilized fungi for centuries in a wide variety of ways by capitalizing on the metabolism and metabolites (chemicals made from metabolism) produced. The oldest and best known example is the use of yeasts performing fermentation in brewing, wine making and bread making. Yeasts and other fungi play a critical role in drug production, food processing, bio-control agents, enzyme biotechnology, as well as research and development. The use of yeast to make alcohol and carbon dioxide uses the fermentation process to break down sugars. Up to 50% of the sugar can be converted to alcohol, but rarely surpasses 15% because the fungi are sensitive to high concentrations of alcohol.
- Bacteria are used in industry in a number of ways that generally exploit their natural metabolic capabilities. They are used in manufacture of foods and production of antibiotics, probiotics, drugs, vaccines, starter cultures, insecticides, enzymes, fuels and solvents. In addition, with genetic engineering technology, bacteria can be programmed to make various substances used in food science, agriculture and medicine. The genetic systems of bacteria are the foundation of the biotechnology industry
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Nowadays, there are numerous commercial applications of microalgae. For example, (i) microalgae can be used to enhance the nutritional value of food and animal feed owing to their chemical composition, (ii) they play a crucial role in aquaculture and (iii) they can be incorporated into cosmetics. Moreover, they are cultivated as a source of highly valuable molecules. For example, polyunsaturated fatty acid oils are added to infant formulas and nutritional supplements and pigments are important as natural dyes.
92. Many of the Greeks, Kushanas and Shakas embraced Buddhism rather than Hinduism because
(a) Buddhism was in the ascendant at that time
(b) they had renounced the policy of war and violence
(c) caste-ridden Hinduism did not attract them
(d) Buddhism provided easier access to Indian society
Ans: d
93. There are 50 students admitted to a nursery class. Some students can speak only English and some can speak only Hindi. 10 students can speak both English and Hindi. If the number of students who can speak English is 21, then how many students can speak Hindi, how many can speak only Hindi and how many can speak only English?
(a) 21, 11 and 29 respectively (b) 28, 18 and 22 respectively
(c) 37, 27 and 13 respectively (d) 39, 29 and 11 respectively
Ans: d
- English speaker = 21 and Both English and Hindi Speaker = 10 => Only English Speaker = 21-10 = 11
- Hindi speaker = total – only English speaker = 50 – 11 = 39
- Only Hindi speaker = (Hindi speaker) – ( Both English and Hindi Speaker) = 39-10 = 29
94. Match the names of outstanding Indian scientists given in List-I with area of their specialized work given in List-II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists
List-I List II
A. Dr. Raja Ramanna 1.Plant Chemistry
B. Dr. M. S. Swaminathan 2.Nuclear Physics
C. Prof U.R. Rao 3.Thermodynamics
D. Prof Meghnad Saha 4.Space Research
5.Agricultural sciences
A B C D A B C D
(a) 3 5 2 1 (b) 2 1 4 3
(c) 2 5 4 3 (d) 3 1 4 2
Ans: c
- Raja Ramanna was an Indian nuclear scientist, best known for his leadership directing the research integral for the development of Indian nuclear programme in its early stages.
- Swaminathan is an Indian geneticist and international administrator, renowned for his leading role in India’s “Green Revolution”.
- U. R. Rao is a space scientist and former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation.
- Meghnad Saha was a Bengali astrophysicist best known for his development of the Saha ionization equation, used to describe chemical and physical conditions in stars. He is also known for Thermal Ionization.
95. The satellites of which one of the following countries have helped in the preparation of a detailed and complete map of Antarctica?
(a) Canada (b) France (c) Russia (d) U.S.A.
Ans: b
96. The Indian parliamentary system is different from the British parliamentary system in that India has
(a) both a real and a nominal executive (b) a system of collective responsibility
(c) bicameral legislature (d) the system of judicial review
Ans: d
97. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer
List-I List II
A. Fruit 1.Ovule
B. Seed 2.Leaf
C. Wood 3.Stem
D. Starch 4.Ovary
A B C D A B C D
(a) 2 1 3 4 (b) 4 1 3 2
(c) 2 3 1 4 (d) 4 3 1 2
Ans: b
- In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells.
- A fruit is the ripened ovary—together with seeds—from one or more flowers. The fruits of a plant are responsible for dispersing the seeds that contain the embryo and protecting the seeds as well.
- A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant and is the principal lateral appendage of the stem.The leaves and stem together form the shoot. In the leaf, excess glucose is rapidly converted to starch, so we test leaves for starch to show that photosynthesis has happened, rather than testing for glucose.
- A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root.. In most plants stems are located above the soil surface but some plants have underground stems. Woody plants are usually perennial plants whose stems and larger roots are reinforced with wood produced from secondary xylem
98. The member of Shivaji’s Astha Pradhana who-looked after foreign affairs was
(a) Peshwa (b) Sachiv (c) Pandit Rao (d) Sumant
Ans: d
- The Ashta Pradhan was designed to encompass all the primary administrative functions of the state, with each minister being given charge of one role in the administration.The eight ministerial roles were as follows:
- Pantpradhan or Peshwa – Prime Minister, general administration of the Empire.
- Amatya – Finance Minister, managing accounts of the Empire.
- Sacheev – Secretary, preparing royal edicts.
- Mantri – Interior Minister, managing internal affairs especially intelligence and espionage.
- Senapati – Commander-in-Chief, managing the forces and defense of the Empire.
- Sumant – Foreign Minister, to manage relationships with other sovereigns.
- Nyayadhish – Chief Justice, dispensing justice on civil and criminal matters.
- Panditrao – High Priest, managing internal religious matters.
99. Panchayat Raj was first introduced in Indiain October,1959 in
(a) Rajasthan (b) Tamil Nadu
(c) Kerala (d) Karnataka
Ans: a
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Nehru inaugurated Panchayati Raj System in Rajasthan on: 2nd October 1959. Second state was Andhra Pradesh.
100. Some people in Manipur live in houses built on floating is lands of weeds and decaying”. vegetation held together by suspended silt. These islands are called
(a) Tipis (b) Burkhans
(c) Phoomdis (d) lzba
Ans: c
- Phumdis are a series of floating islands, exclusive to the Loktak Lake in Manipur state, in northeastern India. They cover a substantial part of the lake area and are heterogeneous masses of vegetation, soil and organic matter, in different stages of decay. The largest single mass of phumdi is in the southeastern part of the lake, covering an area of 40 km2 (15.4 sq mi). This mass constitutes the world’s largest floating park, named Keibul Lamjao National Park. The park was formed to preserve the endangered Eld’s Deer subspecies, called Sangai in the Manipuri language, indigenous to this area
101. The Ashokan major rock edicts which tell us about the Sangam Kingdom include rock edicts
(a) I and X (b) I and XI
(c) II and XIII (d) II and XI V
Ans: c
102. Which one of the following east flowing rivers of India rift valley due to down warping ?
(a) Damodar (b) Mahanadi
(c) Son (d) Yamuna
Ans a
103. According to the World Development Report, low income economies are those for which the per capita GNP in 1994 was
(a) US $ 925 or less (b) US $ 825 or less
(c) US $ 725 or less (d) US $ 525 or less
- New Data:
- For the current 2015 fiscal year, low-income economies are defined as those with a GNI per capita, calculated using the World Bank Atlas method, of $1,045 or less in 2013; middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of more than $1,045 but less than $12,746; high-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of $12,746 or more. Lower-middle-income and upper-middle-income economies are separated at a GNI per capita of $4,125.
104. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer
List-I List II
A. Theory of Mutation 1. Beadk and Tatum
B. Theory of Evolution 2. Jacob and Monod
C. One gene one enzyme hypothesis 3. Darwin
D. Operon concept 4. De Vries
A B C D A B C D
(a) 3 4 1 2 (b) 4 3 1 2
(c) 4 3 2 1 (d) 3 4 2 1
Ans: b
- Hugo de Vries (1848—1935), a Dutch botanist, one of the independent rediscoveries of Mendelism, put forward his views regarding the formation of new species in 1901. He also met some of the objections found in Darwin’s theory. According to him, new species are not formed by continuous variations but by sudden appearance of variations, which he named as mutations. Hugo de Vries stated that mutations are heritable and persist in successive generations.
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Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is the widely held notion that all life is related and has descended from a common ancestor: the birds and the bananas, the fishes and the flowers — all related. Darwin’s general theory presumes the development of life from non-life and stresses a purely naturalistic (undirected) “descent with modification”. That is, complex creatures evolve from more simplistic ancestors naturally over time. – See more at: http://www.darwins-theory-of-evolution.com/#sthash.8cp7ufdK.dpuf
- The one gene–one enzyme hypothesis is the idea that genes act through the production of enzymes, with each gene responsible for producing a single enzyme that in turn affects a single step in a metabolic pathway. The concept was proposed by George Beadle and Edward Tatum in an influential 1941 paper on genetic mutations.
- In genetics, an operon is a functioning unit of genomic DNA containing a cluster of genes under the control of a single promoter. The genes are transcribed together into an mRNA strand . The 1965 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was awarded to François Jacob, André Michel Lwoff and Jacques Monod for their discoveries concerning the operon and virus synthesis.
105. What is the correct sequence of the following events ?
1. Tilak’s Home Rule League.
2. Kamagatamaru Incident.
3. Mahatma Gandhi’s arrival in India.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:
(a) 1, 2, 3 (c) 2, 1, 3 (b) 3, 2, 1 (d) 2, 3, 1
Ans: b
- The Komagata Maru incident involved a Japanese steamship, Komagata Maru, that sailed from Hong Kong, Shanghai, China to Yokohama, Japan and then to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1914, carrying 376 passengers from Punjab, British India. Of them 24 were admitted to Canada, but the 352 other passengers were not allowed to land in Canada, and the ship was forced to return to India. The passengers consisted of 340 Sikhs, 24 Muslims, and 12 Hindus, all British subjects. This was one of several incidents in the history of early 20th century involving exclusion laws in both Canada and the United States designed to keep out immigrants of only Asian origin.
- Komagata Maru arrived in Calcutta on September 27. Upon entry into the harbour, the ship was stopped by a British gunboat, and the passengers were placed under guard. The government of the British Raj saw the men on Komagata Maru not only as self-confessed lawbreakers, but also as dangerous political agitators. When the ship docked at Budge Budge, the police went to arrest Baba Gurdit Singh and the 20 or so other men that they saw as leaders.Shots were fired, 19 of the passengers were killed.
- Tilak founded the first League in 1916 in the city of Poona (now Pune), Maharashtra. With the League’s national headquarters in Delhi, the main cities of activity were Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.
- Gandhi left South Africa forever and returned to India in July 1914.
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