(Prelims) IAS General Studies – 2011 (Part 1)(Prelims) IAS General Studies Solved Paper With Explanations – 2011 (Part- 1)
1. Biodiversity forms the basis for human existence in the following ways :
(1). Soil formation.
(2). Prevention of soil erosion.
(3). Recycling of waste.
(4). Pollination of crops.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
(a) 1,2,and 3 only.
(b) 2,3 and 4 only.
(c) 1 and 4 only.
(d) 1,2,3 and 4.
Answer: d.
- Biodiversity helps in all 1,2,3, and 4.
2. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener sold in the market. It consist of amino acids and provides calories like other amino acids. Yet, it is used as a low-calorie sweetening agent in food items. What is the basis of this use ?
(a) Aspartame is as sweet as table sugar, but unlike table sugar, it is not readily oxidized in human body due to lack of requisite enzymes.
(b) When aspartame is used in food processing, the sweet taste remains, but it becomes resistant to oxidation.
(c) Aspartame is as sweet as sugar, but after ingestion into the body, it is converted into metabolites that yield no calories.
(d) Aspartame is several times sweeter than table sugar, hence food items made with small quantities of aspartame yield fewer calories on oxidation.
Answer: d
- Aspartame is an artificial, non-saccharide sweetener used as a sugar substitute in some foods and beverages.It was first sold under the brand name NutraSweet. It was first synthesized in 1965.
- Aspartame is a methyl ester of the dipeptide of the natural amino acids L-aspartic acid and L-phenylalanine. Under strongly acidic or alkaline conditions, aspartame may generate methanol by hydrolysis.
- Aspartame is approximately 200 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar). Due to this property, even though aspartame produces four kilocalories of energy per gram when metabolized, the quantity of aspartame needed to produce a sweet taste is so small that its caloric contribution is negligible.
3. What was the purpose with which sir William wedderburn and W.S.Caine had set up the Indian parliamentary committee in 1893 ?
(a)To agitate for Indian political reforms in the house of commons.
(b)To campaign for the entry of Indians into the imperial judiciary.
(c)To facilitate a discussion on India’s independence in the British parliament.
(d)To agitate for the entry of eminent Indians into the British parliament.
Answer: a
-
William Wedderburn (25 March 1838 – 25 January 1918) was a Scottish civil servant in India and a politician. He attempted to bring about reforms in banking to solve the problems of peasants during his working career. Failing to find support in reforms, he retired to help found the Indian National Congress and support local self-government.Wedderburn had entered the parliament as a liberal member in 1893 and had sought to voice India’s girevances within the house.
- Caine played an active part in organising the Liberal Unionist Party, which was nicknamed the “Brand of Caine” as a result. Caine was appointed Chief Whip for the Liberal Unionists, but his extreme temperance views soon damaged the Unionist alliance with the Conservative Party. ( A temperance movement is a social movement against the consumption of alcoholic beverages. ) , Due to his opposition to alcohol he was praised by Gandhi.
4.What is the difference between a CFL and an LED lamp ?
(1)To produce light, a CFL uses mercury vapour and phosphor while an LED lamp uses semi-conductor material.
(2)The average life span of a CFL is much longer than that of an LED lamp.
(3) A CFL is less energy-efficient as compared to an LED lamp.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
(a)1 only.
(b)2 and 3 only.
(c) 1 and 3 only.
(d)1,2,and 3.
Answer: C.
LED Lights vs. Incandescent Light Bulbs vs. CFLs
|
Energy Efficiency |
|
|
|
|
Life Span (average) |
50,000 hours |
1,200 hours |
8,000 hours |
|
Watts of electricity used LEDs use less power (watts) per unit of light generated (lumens). LEDs help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and lower electric bills |
6 – 8 watts |
60 watts |
13-15 watts |
|
Kilo-watts of Electricity used |
329 KWh/yr. |
3285 KWh/yr. |
767 KWh/yr. |
|
Annual Operating Cost |
$32.85/year |
$328.59/year |
$76.65/year |
|
Environmental |
|
|
|
|
Contains the TOXIC Mercury |
No |
No |
Yes – Mercury is very toxic to your health and the environment |
|
RoHS Compliant |
Yes |
Yes |
No – contains 1mg-5mg of Mercury and is a major risk to the environment |
|
Carbon Dioxide Emissions Lower energy consumption decreases: CO2 emissions, sulfur oxide, and high-level nuclear waste. |
451 pounds/year |
4500 pounds/year |
1051 pounds/year |
|
Important Facts |
|
|
|
|
Sensitivity to low temperatures |
None |
Some |
Yes – may not work under negative 10 degrees Fahrenheit or over 120 degrees Fahrenheit |
|
Sensitive to humidity |
No |
Some |
Yes |
|
On/off Cycling |
No Effect |
Some |
Yes – can reduce lifespan drastically |
|
Turns on instantly |
Yes |
Yes |
No – takes time to warm up |
|
Durability |
Very Durable – LEDs can handle jarring and bumping |
Not Very Durable – glass or filament can break easily |
Not Very Durable – glass can break easily |
|
Heat Emitted |
3.4 btu’s/hour |
85 btu’s/hour |
30 btu’s/hour |
|
Failure Modes |
Not typical |
Some |
Yes – may catch on fire, smoke, or omit an odor |
5. Recently , “ oil zapper’’ was in the news. What is it ?
(a) It is an eco-friendly technology for the remediation of oily sludge and oil spills.
(b) It is the latest technology developed for under-sea oil exploration.
(c) It is a genetically engineered high biofuel-yielding maize variety.
(d) It is the latest technology to control the accidentally caused flames from oil wells.
Answer: a .
- Oilzapper (Bioremediation) Technology: for the bioremediation of oil contaminated sites, oily sludge and drill cuttings.
TERI developed an easy and cost-effective bioremediation process. Providing great significance to bioremediation in the worldwide effort to tackle incidents of oil spills, TERI has developed OILZAPPER – a consortium of crude oil and oily sludge degrading bacteria – deriving from various bacterial cultures existing in the natural environment.
6. A married couple adopted a male child. A few years later, twin boys were born to them. The blood group of the couple is AB positive and O negative. The blood group of the three sons is A positive, B positive , and O positive. The blood group of the adopted son is ?
(a)O positive .
(b)A positive.
(c)B positive .
(d)Cannot be determined on the basis of the given data.
Answer: a
Child Blood Type:
| Father’s Blood Type | |||||
| A | B | AB | O | ||
| Mother’s Blood Type |
|||||
| A | A/O | A/B/AB/O | A/B/AB | A/O | |
| B | A/B/AB/O | B/O | A/B/AB | B/O | |
| AB | A/B/AB | A/B/AB | A/B/AB | A/B | |
| O | A/O | B/O | A/B | O | |
- From above table, it is clear that real children will be A and B. So adopted child will be O+.
7. Mahatma Gandhi said that some of his deepest convictions were reflected in a book titled, “unto this last’’ and the book transformed his life. What was the message from the book that transformed mahatma Gandhi ?
(a)Uplifting the oppressed and poor is the moral responsibility of an educated man
(b)The good of individual is contained in the good of all.
(c)The life of celibacy and spiritual pursuit are essential for a noble life.
(d)All the statements (a), (b) and (c) are correct in this context.
Answer: b.
- Unto This Last is an essay and book on economy by John Ruskin, first published in December 1860. Unto This Last had a very important impact on Gandhi’s philosophy. He discovered the book in March 1904 through Henry Polak, whom he had met in a vegetarian restaurant in South Africa. Polak was chief editor of the Johannesburg paper The Critic. Gandhi decided immediately not only to change his own life according to Ruskin’s teaching, but also to publish his own newspaper, Indian Opinion, from a farm where everybody would get the same salary, without distinction of function, race or nationality, which for that time, was quite revolutionary. Thus Gandhi created Phoenix Settlement. Gandhi translated Unto This Last into Gujarati in 1908 under the title of Sarvodaya (Well Being of All). In Unto This Last, Gandhi found an important part of his social and economic ideas.
- The statement A is incorrect because from Ruskin’s writing Gandhi derived the massage that “the job of a lawyer is equal to a job of a barber, and both have right to earn their livelihood”
- Statement B is correct because Gandhi clearly mentioned in one of his writing that The good of individual is contained in the good of all, this is something which inspired him to translate the book into “sarvodaya”.
- Statement C is incorrect, what Gandhi derived from this book was of a “life of labour” and not life of celibacy. Celibacy or Brahamcharya was something which actually came out of his own guilt beginning as early as the days of death of his father.
8. With reference to Indian freedom struggle, Usha Mehta is well-known for ?
(a)Running the secret congress radio in the wake of quit India movement.
(b)Participating in the second round table conference.
(c)Leading a contingent of Indian national army.
(d)Assisting in the formation of Interim government under Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
Answer: a
9. A new optical disc format known as the blu-ray disc (BD) is becoming popular. In what way is it different from the traditional DVD ?
1.DVD supports standard definition video while BD supports high definition video.
2.Compared to a DVD, the BD format has several times more storage capacity.
3.Thickness of BD is 2.4 mm while that of DVD is 1.2 mm.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
(a)1 only.
(b)1 and 2 only.
(c)2 and 3 only.
(d)1,2 and 3.
Answer: b
- Both have thickness of 1.2mm
- Although Blu-ray discs look exactly the same as DVDs in size and shape there are many differences between the media, including storage capacity, laser technology, disc construction, image resolution and player compatibility.
- Storage Capacity: Single layer DVDs can store about 4.7 GB of data.Single layer Blu-ray discs store approximately 25 GB of data
- Laser Technology:DVD players use a red laser at 650nm wave length to read DVD discs. As the disc spins the laser reads the information encoded on the media and produces an image and sound on your television.Blu-ray players use a blue laser to read the stored information. Blue laser wavelengths are shorter than the red at 405nm and are about two and a half times smaller in diameter than red lasers. This allows for closer and more precise reading of information stored on the disc.
- Image Resolution:Image resolution is measured by the number of vertical lines times the number of horizontal lines of light in a picture. It is represented by the number of horizontal lines going across the screen like 480, 720 or 1080. The higher the number the higher the resolution and more detailed the picture. DVDs have a standard definition resolution of 480 .Blu-ray was designed for high definition 1080 display. .
10.With reference to the period of Indian freedom struggle, which of the following was/were recommended by the Nehru report ?
1.Complete independence for India.
2.Joint electorates for reservation of seats for minorities.
3.Provision of fundamental rights for the people of India in the constitution.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
(a)1 only.
(b)2 and 3 only.
(c)1 and 3 only.
(d)1,2 and 3.
Answer: b
- The Nehru Report in August 1928 was a memorandum outlining a proposed new dominion status constitution for India. It was prepared by a committee of the All Parties Conference chaired by Motilal Nehru with his son Jawaharlal acting as secretary. There were nine other members in this committee, including two Muslims. However, the final report was signed by only eight persons: Motilal Nehru, Ali Imam, Tej Bahadur Sapru, M.-S. Aney, Mangal Singh, Shuaib Qureshi, Subhas Chandra Bose, and G. R. Pradhan. Shuaaib Qureshi disagreeing with some of the recommendations.
- It asked for dominion status, joint electorate instead of any separate electorate.
Next Page (Part 2)
