[Answerkey] Environment, Biodiversity & Geography Questions UPSC CPF/CAPF 2012 All booklets

1. Environment and Biodiversity
2. Geography:internal breakup
3. Physical Geography
4. World Geography
5. Indian Geography

Environment and Biodiversity

1. Consider the following statements :

1. The Planning Commission of India in its environment performance report, released on 26th July, 2012, ranked Himachal Pradesh as top State in the country on environmental performance index.
2. The World Bank approved an 1100 crore rupees loan for Himachal Pradesh to promote green initiatives and sustain­able development in the State.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

1 correct	http://hillpost.in/2012/07/27/planning-commission-hands-himachal-top-rank-in-environmental-performance/47189/tourism/ravinder
2 is correct	http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-28/developmental-issues/32906322_1_world-bank-loan-sq-km

Both statements are correct. Answer (C)

Note: planning Commission in its report in Oct 2012 had ranked Uttarakhand as top performing state but the question is related to July 2012 report –at that time HP was #1.

2. Green Muffler is

1. a technology for reducing air pollution
2. a method of afforestation
3. plantation along roadsides to reduce noise pollution
4. a process to reduce vibration

Green muffler scheme involves the growing green plants along roadsides to reduce noise pollution.

Answer is (C)

3. statements

1. Ecomark Is a certification mark issued by the Bureau of Indian Standard for the product conforming to a set of standards, aimed at the least impact on Ecosystem.
2. The purpose of the mark is in increase awareness among the consumers towards reducing environmental impact.

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither

Both statements are correct according to wiki. Answer (C)

4. Which one among the following not a greenhouse gas?

1. Methane
2. Ozone
3. Chlorofluorocarbon
4. Sulphur dioxide

Sulphur dioxide is not a greenhouse gas so answer is (D)

5. Which one among the following is not a goal of National Action Plan for Climate Change?

1. To promote the development and use of solar energy
2. To reduce energy consumption through supply side management
3. Afforestation of degraded forest lands
4. Improvement in water-use efficiency through pricing and other measures

Statement B is not correct because it aim to reduce energy consumption through demand-side management programs.

Answer is (B)

6. You placed a car in an open parking area in a summer day. After a few hours, you noticed that the heat is trapped inside the car. This phenomenon is known as

1. ozone depletion
2. greenhouse effect
3. solar effect
4. cosmic ray impingement

Answer is (B)

7. Which one among the statements is not correct?

1. Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats are the two biodiversity hot spots in India
2. Central American lowland and highland forests are identified as biodiversity hot spots
3. The biodiversity hot spots an mostly confined to the tropical and subtropical areas of  the world
4. The South-East asian islands are not rich In biodiversity.

Statement D is false because S.E. Asian islands are very rich in marine biodiversity due to coral-reefs.

8. Which of the following statements about National Green Tribunal is/are correct?

1. It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environ­mental disputes involving multidisciplinary issues.
2. The Tribunal shall be bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both
4. None

It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues. The Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice.  http://envfor.nic.in/modules/recent-initiatives/NGT/

Ans is (A)

9. Consider these statements

1. Creepers or climbers are commonly found in tropical rain forests
2. Epiphytes, which donot have their roots in the ground, survive in the trees in tropical rain forest.
3. All epiphytes are not creepers

Find correct statements.

1. 123
2. 23
3. 12
4. 3 only

All of them are correct, according to random google search. Answer is (A)

10. How do marine animals survive in water, without air contact?

1. They don’t require oxygen
2. they take oxygen from water
3. they only produce oxygen in their body
4. they get oxygen from water plants

They take (dissolved) oxygen from water. Answer (B)

Geography:internal breakup

Physical	7
World	3
Indian	3
Total out of 125	13

Physical Geography

1. Which one among the following statements is not correct?

1. The plane of separation between the crust and mantle is known as Mohorovicic discontinuity
2. The mantle contains more than two-third of the total material mass of the Earth
3. The mantle is composed of the heaviest materials of the Earth
4. The inner core of the Earth is in solid state

1^st statement is correct. Moho=Crust-Mantle and Gutenburg=Mantle-Core. (THM GS Manual)

2^nd statement is correct. Mantle contains more than two-third of the total material mass of the Earth. Correct (Encyclopedia of Earthquakes and Volcanoes  By Alexander E. Gates, David Ritchie, Page 73)

4^th statement is correct. The outer core is in liquid state while the inner core is in solid state.Correct (NCERT GEOGRAPHY CLASS 11, CHAPTER 3)

So we are left with answer (C)

2. Hurricanes rarely form or move within 5 degrees of the equator, because

1. Coriolis effect is weakest here
2. Coriolis effect is strongest here
3. it has low pressure
4. it has high temperature

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. (NCERT GEOGRAHPY CLASS 11, CHAPTER 10)

Answer is (A)

3. Whenever tropical cyclone moves to land, much of its severity is reduced due to

1. its source of moisture is cut off
2. friction over land kills tropical cyclone

which is correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

…With continuous supply of moisture from the sea, the storm is further strengthened. (but) On reaching the land the moisture supply is cut off and the storm dissipates. (NCERT GEOGRAHPY CLASS 11, CHAPTER 10)

Answer (A) only 1 is correct.

4. Asteroid belt is situated between

1. Mars and Jupiter
2. Earth and Mars
3. Jupiter and Saturn
4. Venus and Earth

It is between Mars and Jupiter. (NCERT SCIENCE CLASS 8, CHAPTER 17, FIG 17.25)

Answer (A)

5. What do you call the total system of parallels and meridians that form a network of intersecting lines?

1. Geographic pattern
2. Geographic arrangement
3. Geographic grid
4. Geographic polygon

They form the basis for the geographical grid. A network of intersecting lines is drawn for the purpose of fixing the locations of different features. The grid consists of two sets of horizontal and vertical lines,  which are called parallels of latitudes and the meridians of longitudes. (NCERT class-11-Practical-Work-in-Geography, Chapter 3)

Answer (C)

6. Why does the Earth assume the shape of an oblate ellipsoid?

1. The Earth’s rotation causes the Earth to bulge slightly at the equator and flatten at the poles
2. The Earth’s rotation causes the Earth to bulge slightly at the poles and flatten at the equator
3. The Earth’s revolution causes the Earth to bulge slightly at the equator and flatten at the poles
4. The Earth’s revolution causes the Earth to bulge slightly at the poles and flatten at the equator

The rotation of the earth over its axis produces bulging at the equator. Hence, the actual shape resembles that of an oblate spheroid. NCERT class-11-Practical-Work-in-Geography, Chapter 3)

Answer is (A).

7. Which one among the following is a mechanically formed sedimentary rock?

1. Salt rock
2. Limestone
3. Sandstone
4. Gypsum

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; (NCERT GEOGRAHPY CLASS 11, CHAPTER 5)

Answer is (C)

World Geography

1. match

Arcuate delta	Nile Delta
Bird’s-foot delta	Mississippi Delta
Cuspate delta	Tiber Delta
Estuarine delta	Seine Delta

^ Answer already matched.

• Arcuate (fan-shaped) delta – e.g., Nile River.
• Bird-foot (shaped like a bird foot) delta – e.g., Mississippi River
• Estuarine delta – e.g., Seine River of France
• Cuspate (tooth-shaped) delta – e.g., Tiber River of Italy.

Check http://www.americaswetlandresources.com/background_facts/detailedstory/RiverDelta.html for photos

2. Which one among the following is a dormant volcano?

1. Mount Kilimanjaro
2. Mount Stromboli
3. Mount Etna
4. Mount Mayon

Kilimanjaro is an example of Dormant Volcano (India and World Geography, Majid Hussain, page 2.17)

Answer is (A)

3. Which one among the following is a cold current in the Atlantic Ocean?

1. Gulf Stream
2. Benguela Current
3. Peru Current
4. Brazil Current

According to the table given in India and World Geography, Majid Hussain, Page 4.11

Name	Ocean	Type
Gulf Stream	N.Atlantic	Warm
Benguela Current	S.Atlantic	Cold
Peru Current	Pacific	Cold
Brazil Current	S.Atlantic	warm

So, (B) is the answer.

Indian Geography

1 Which among the following, shares boundaries with the largest number of States?

1. MP
2. Chattisgarh
3. Maharashtra
4. Assam

Given	States sharing boundry	Total
mp	maha, guj, raj, up,chhattis	5
Chattisgarh	mp,up,jhar,odi,andhra, maha	6
Maharashtra	guj, mp, chhatis, andhra,karn, goa	6
Assam	megha, Aruna, naga,mani,mizo, tripu, W.Bengal	7

Ans. (D) Assam, unless I made some mistake in map reading hahaha.

2. Which one among the following Indian States shares international boundaries with three nations?

1. Uttaranchal
2. Himachal Pradesh
3. Arunachal Pradesh
4. Assam

It is Arunanchal Pradesh (Bhutan, China, Myanmaar)

Answer (C)

3. Which one among the following is the nearest from the ‘Zero Mile Centre’ of India?

1. Taj Mahal (Agra)
2. Charminar (Hyderabad)
3. Gateway Of India (Mumbai)
4. Victoria Memorial (Kolkata)

Nagpur is at the geographical centre-point of India and the zero mile marker is located here. Hence, Nagpur is called the zero mile centre of India.

• Nagpur to Mumbai = about 800kms
• Nagpur to Hyderabad=about 500kms
• So (B) Charminar is the nearest place.