1. Prologue
  2. Geography
  3. Agriculture
  4. Environment  → Flora Fauna
  5. Environment →  Disasters & Development
  6. Environment  → Pollution
  7. Environment  → Organizations/ Treaties/ Laws
  8. [Free] Full length (100MCQ) walli Mock Tests with All India Ranking

Prologue

  • Time Limit: 30 minutes. 2 Marks for correct answer; -0.66 marks for wrong answers.
  • Mitron, my [T25] series contains 25 Mock MCQ sets primarily aimed at UPSC IAS/IPS Civil Service exam aspirants.
  • I usually don’t give direct answer below the MCQs but indirect hints. Because, then you’ve read the MCQ again & apply logical reasoning skills. This will improve your mental faculties compared to a scenario where direct answers are spoon-fed.
  • This 40th set contains Geography and Environment questions from UPSC’s CISF exam and Geoscientist exam 2020 and IES-2020 exam
  • धीरे धीरे करते हुए, so far I’ve done 40 sets x 25 questions each = 1000 ORIGINAL MCQs और पता भी नहीं चला!
  • Given the fact that UPSC Prelims even asks contemporary topics even from 2-3 years preceding the exam, so you should go through all of them available at Mrunal.org/Prelims

Geography

Q 01. Global climates are classified on the basis of:(UPSC-Geologist-2020)

  1. annual averages in temperature and precipitation only.
  2. annual averages in temperature only.
  3. seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation only.
  4. annual averages and seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation.

HINT:

  • The most widely used classification of climate is the empirical climate classification scheme developed by V. Koeppen.
  • Koeppen identified a close relationship between the distribution of vegetation and climate.
  • He selected certain values of temperature and precipitation and related them to the distribution of vegetation and used these values for classifying the climates.
  • This classification based on average annual and average monthly temperature and precipitation data.
  • Koeppen recognised five major climatic groups, four of them are based on temperature and one on precipitation.
Group Characteristics
A – Tropical Average temperature of the coldest month is 18° C or higher
B – Dry Climates Potential evaporation exceeds precipitation
C – Warm Temperate The average temperature of the coldest month of the (Mid-latitude) climates years is higher than minus 3°C but below 18°C
D – Cold Snow Forest Climates The average temperature of the coldest month is minus 3° C or below
E – Cold Climates Average temperature for all months is below 10° C
H – HighLand Cold due to elevation

Q. The East-West Corridor National Highway connects which of the following? (UPSC-CISF-2020)

(a) Silchar to Porbandar

(b) Jorhat to Jaisalmer

(c) Agartala to Ahmedabad

(d) Itanagar to Mapusa

HINT:

Corridor National Highway No. Areas
East-West (3,300 kms) 27 Porbandar–Rajkot-Samakhiali–Radhanpur–Kota–Jhansi–Kanpur-Lucknow–Ayodhya-Muzaffarpur–Darbhanga-Supaul-Purnia–Kishanganj-Galgalia–Bijni–Guwahati–Nagaon–Dabaka–Silchar
North–South (4,000 kms) 44 Srinagar-Udhampur-Jammu–Jalandhar–Delhi–Agra–Gwalior–Jhansi–Narsinghpur-Lakhnadon–Nagpur-Hyderabad-Bengaluru-Salem–Madurai-Kanyakumari), branch road NH 544 (Salem–Coimbatore–Palakkad-Kochi

Jhansi is the junction of North–South and East–West Corridors.

Q. The railway network in India is divided into (UPSC-CISF-2020)

(a) 8 zones.

(b) 10 zones.

(c) 17 zones.

(d) 20 zones.

HINT:

  • 1853-April: Lord Dalhousie starts first train in India from Bombay to Thane (34 Kms).
  • Ministry of Railways → Chairman Railway Board (CRB) → 17 General Managers for each 17 Zones
  • 2009: 17th Railway zone established at Kolkata Metro Railway zone
  • Proposed: 18th Zone South Coast Railway Zone @Visakhapatnam

Q. In India, the· largest reserve of Bauxite is found in (UPSC-CISF-2020)

(a) Andhra Pradesh

(b) Gujarat

(c) Jharkhand

(d) Odisha

HINT:

As per IYB-2020
State %
Odisha 51
Andhra Pradesh 16
Gujarat 9
Jharkhand 6
Maharashtra 5

Q. Which among the following is a west flowing river? (UPSC-CISF-2020)

(a) Teesta

(b) Tapti

(c) Subarnarekha

(d) Betwa

HINT:

River State(s) Flowing East / West?
Teesta East
Tapti West
Subarnarekha East
Betwa East

Q. The river Volga merges into the (UPSC-CISF-2020)

(a) Black Sea

(b) Mediterranean Sea

(c) Caspian Sea

(d) Baltic Sea

HINT:

  • The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland body of water, variously classed as the world’s largest lake or a full-fledged sea.
  • The Countries Around Caspian Sea Are Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan. – Equation to recall Countries is “TARIK”
  • The Volga is the longest river in Europe. The river flows through Central Russia and drains into the Caspian Sea, and is widely regarded as the national river of Russia.
  • Other Rivers that drain into Caspian sea are
  • Ural River (Flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan),
  • Kura River (Flowing through Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan), T
  • erek River (Flowing through Russia, Georgia)

Q. The Trans-Siberian Railway runs from (UPSC-CISF-2020)

(a) Moscow to Vladivostok.

(b) St. Petersburg to Moscow.

(c) St. Petersburg to Vladivostok.

(d) Moscow to Sochi.

The Trans-Siberian Railway runs from (UPSC-CISF-2020)

HINT:

  • Every serious aspirant is supposed to know that Trans-Siberian railway = Russia. Therefore, UPSC-CISF examiner did not set easy options like A) Russia B) China C) Ukraine etc but gave names of various Russian cities.
  • However, answer is given in  (new) NCERT Geography Class11-12:
  • This is a trans–siberian Railways major rail route of Russia runs from St. Petersburg in the west to Vladivostok on the Pacific Coast
  • It has helped in opening up its Asian region to West European markets. It runs across the Ural Mountains Ob and Yenisei rivers
  • Homework: read about following routes from NCERT Class12 → Human Geography → Ch on Transport and Communication:
    • Trans–Canadian Railways
    • Union and Pacific Railway
    • Australian Trans–Continental Railway
    • Orient Express

Q. Which one of the following megacities has the highest population ? (UPSC-CISF-2020)

(a) Delhi

(b) Tokyo

(c) Canton

(d) Seoul

HINT:

  • UPSC-CISF examiner did not set easy options like A) China B) India but gave names of various cities.
  • If you try to ‘guess’ that Canton = Chinese city so must have a higher population – WRONG.
Name Of Mega Cities Population in crores as per UN-2018
New-Delhi, India 2.8cr
Canton (also called Guangzhou, China) 1.2cr
Seoul, S.Korea 99 lakh
Tokyo, Japan 3.7cr

Let’s also look at Indian Megacities’ Population.

City/urban aglomerate 2019
Mumbai 18,394,912
Delhi 16,349,831
Kolkata 14,035,959
Chennai 8,653,521
Bangalore 8,520,435

Agriculture

Q. Viticulture is a type of cultivation, largely a speciality of (UPSC-CISF-2020)

(a) Tropical areas.

(b) Mediterranean region.

(c) Sub-tropical areas.

(d) Semi-arid areas.

HINT:

  • Viticulture is the cultivation of grapes especially for wine making.
  • It’s suitable in  Mediterranean climate or dry summer climate is characterized by dry summers and mild, wet winters
  • This climate found in following countries /areas
Europe Central Spain,Portugal,Italy,France,Greece,
USA California, San francisco,Los Angeles, San Diego
South America Central Chile (Santiago)
Australia Perth and Adelaide

Q. Which one of the following nutrients is not available in fertilizers ? (UPSC-CISF-2020)

(a) Iron

(b) Nitrogen

(c) Phosphorus

(d) Potassium

HINT:

The primary nutrients supplied by fertilizers are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Their ideal ratio in soil is 4:2:1

Fertilizers Notes
Nitrogen (N)

Urea
  • Haber process: natural gas (methane) converted into ammonia (NH3) → further processing to create Urea. Therefore, Urea production requires natural gas import.
  • Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers gives Indian companies subsidy to manufacture and sell it at cheap price to farmers.
  • Urea subsidy is a Central Sector Scheme = 100%  paid by Union. (i.e. State Government not required to contribute money).
Phosphorous (P) ~80-85% demand is met via import. ISRO using remote Sensing technology to identify the potential mines for rock phosphate.
Potash (K)  100% demand is met via import.

Q 02. Which one among the following countries has the highest consumption of food in terms of kcal per day per person?(UPSC-Geologist-2020)

  1. USA
  2. Australia
  3. Netherland
  4. Saudi Arabia

HINT:

As per FAO-STAT (Food and Agricultural organisation Statical) data

Rank Country Average daily dietary energy consumption per capita (2006-08) kilocalories
1 United States 3800
33 Australia 3220
43 Saudi Arabia 3120
59 Netherland 3000

Environment  → Flora Fauna

Q 12  Recently, thousands of birds were killed in the shoreline of which one of the following lakes of India by the infection of avian botulism, a deadly neuro-mascular illness?  (UPSC-CISF-2020)

(a) Haflong lake, Assam

(b) Sukhna lake, Chandigarh

(c) Badkhal lake, Haryana

(d) Sambhar lake, Rajasthan

HINT:

  • 2019-Nov Nearly 17,500 migratory birds have died in just under two weeks at Sambhar Lake, India’s largest saltwater lake.
  • Sambhar Salt Lake, India’s largest inland salt lake, is located 80 km southwest of the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, surrounded by the Aravali hills on all sides.
  • 1990L Sambhar designated as a Ramsar wetland site since it is a key wintering area for tens of thousands of pink flamingos and other birds that migrate from northern Asia and Siberia.
  • Avian botulism is caused by the soil bacterium, Clostridium botulinum, and causes paralysis and death in birds.Avian botulism has been recognised as a major cause of mortality in wild-birds since the 1900s.
  • Humans can become sick from botulism typically by eating improperly canned or stored foods. Aside from this, humans and pets are primarily at risk only if they eat infected fish, birds or maggots.

Q. The kingdom plantae as laid down by R. Whittaker comprises which  of the following group of plants? (UPSC-CISF-2020)

(a) Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, Protista, Gymnosperms and Angiosperms

(b) Thallophyta, Pteridophyta, Fungi,Gymnosperms and Angiosperms

(c) Thallophyta, Bryophyta, Monera, Pteridophyta and Gymnosperms

(d) Thallophyta, Bryophyta, Pteridophyta,Gymnosperms and Angiosperms

HINT:

  • R.H. Whittaker proposed a Five Kingdom Classification. The kingdoms defined by him were named Thallophyta, Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, Gymnosperms, Angiosperms.
  • The main criteria for classification used by him include cell structure, thallus organisation, mode of nutrition, reproduction and phylogenetic relationships.
Thallophyta unicellular to large algae, fungi, lichens.They are simple plants without roots, stems or leaves.
Bryophyta liverworts, hornworts and mosses. They are characteristically limited in size and prefer moist habitats
Pteridophyta They produce neither flowers nor seeds. They reproduce through spores dispersion.
gymnosperms seed-producing plants
Angiosperms While they have stems, roots, and leaves. Unlike gymnosperms such as conifers, the angiosperm’s seeds are found in a flower.

Q. Tigers have a shorter  small  intestine compared to cows. The length of the small intestine differs in various animals depending. on the · (UPSC-CISF-2020)

(a) availability of water in their habitat.

(b) size of their mouth cavity.

(c) kind of habitats where they live.

(d) kind of food they eat:

HINT:

  • Cows (Herbivores) eat only plants. Plants contain cellulose which requires a longer time for digestion.
  • Tigers are carnivores. They eat only meat and flesh which can be digested in a comparatively shorter period.
  • Hence the small intestine of a tiger is shorter than that of a cow’s small intestine.

Q. Guru Ghasidas National Park is situated in (UPSC-CISF-2020)

(a) Uttar Pradesh

(b) Madhya Pradesh

(c) Chhattisgarh

(d) Jharkhand

HINT:

  • Wildlife Protection Act 1972: No human activity is permitted inside the national park except for the ones permitted by the Chief Wildlife Warden of the state
  • Presently we’ve 104 national parks covering 1.23% of land area.
  • Guru Ghasidas National Park is situated in Koriya District,Chhattisgarh.
  • 2019: Chhattisgarh government announced to setup Guru Ghasidas National Park in Koriya district as its tiger reserve.
  • Other tiger reserves in Chhattisgarh :
    • Achanakmar Tiger Reserve in Bilaspur,
    • Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve in Gariaband
    • Indravati Tiger Reserve in Bijapur district.
  • Other National Park In Chhattisgarh
    • Indravati (Kutru)
    • Kanger Valley

Environment →  Disasters & Development

Q. Which one of the following cities has been recognised as the Regional Tsunami Service Provider (RTSP) for the Indian  Ocean  region by UNESCO? (UPSC-CISF-2020)

(a) Kolkata

(b) Hyderabad

(c) Chennai

(d) Visakhapatnam

HINT:

  • Ministry of Earth Sciences → autonomous body: Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) Hyderabad → inside their office, they’ve  Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC), which is designated as one of the Regional Tsunami Service Providers by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) in 2011.
  • INCOIS also works for the early warning system of Coral Bleaching.

Q. Which one of the following regions is characterized by sensitive ecosystems, enhanced  occurrences of extreme weather events and natural catastrophes? (UPSC-IES-2020)

a. Mountain region

b. Evergreen forest region

c. Tropical region

d. Tundra region

HINT:

  • Mountain regions are characterized by sensitive ecosystems, enhanced occurrences of extreme weather events and natural catastrophes including earthquakes and landslides, and the resultant rapid loss of habitat and Genetic Diversity.
  • Here we should see the word in question “extreme weather events and natural catastrophes”: while natural disaster is possible in Tundra or Mountain Regions but Risk of Natural Catastrophic events are less in Tundra region comparative to Mountain Region.
  • Ref: https://www.eolss.net/sample-chapters/C12/E1-04-02-05.pdf

Q. Which one of the following is an iterative and evolutionary process for achieving sustainable development? (UPSC-IES-2020)

(a) Flood Control Management (FCM)

(b) Solid Waste Management (SWM)

(c) Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)

(d) Natural Ecosystem Zone (NEZ)

HINT:

  • FCM will only reduce impact of disasters and SWM will reduce the impact of pollution,
  • But by themselves, they’ll not help greatly in achieving sustainable development as compared to Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)
  • Based on the recommendations of the expert committee report of the Prof M. S. Swaminathan, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is making efforts to implement an Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Plan for India instead of a uniform Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) framework.
  • The MOEF has Launched the Integrated Coastal Zone Management project by establishing a Society of Integrated Coastal Management. (SICOM)

Under the project, SICOM would be implementing the four components as follows:

  • National Coastal Management Programme
  • ICZM-West Bengal
  • ICZM-Orissa
  • ICZM-Gujarat
  • ICZM helps in long term and sustained to use coastal natural resources and maintenance of the natural ecosystem.

Q 05. Climate Vulnerability Index Reflect Situation for,

(a) Contaminated Water Risk Pollution

(b) Solid waste Pollution

(c) Himalayan State

(d) GreenHouse Gas Situation at Arctic Region

HINT:

  • Climate Vulnerability Index is Published by the Department of Science and Technology for across 12 Himalayan States viz.
  • 12 Satte are Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir.
  • Assam and Mizoram are Most Vulnerable States in this Report.
  • The vulnerability score was calculated based on eight parameters such as  percentage of area in districts under forests, yield variability of food grain, population density, female literacy rate, infant mortality rate, percentage of population below poverty line (BPL), average man-days under MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), and the area under slope > 30%.

Q. Which of the following practices are adopted for river basin water resources management? (UPSC-IES-2020)

1. Soil conservation in catchments of river valley projects and flood-prone rivers

2. Soil and land use surveys

3. Control of shifting cultivation

4. Deforestation

Answer codes:

(a) 1, 2 and 4

(b) 1, 3 and 4

(c) 2, 3 and 4

(d) 1, 2 and 3

HINT:

  • Deforestation can’t be “practice adopted” in river basin water resources management, infact has to be ‘practice discouraged/reduced’. So go by elimination method.

Environment  → Pollution

Q. Which one of the following gases is colourless with strong odour, irritates mucous  membranes at common levels, can cause cough, fatigue and interference with lung functions at higher concentration? (UPSC-IES-2020)

(a) Carbon monoxide

(b) Hydrogen

(c) Ozone

(d) Nitrogen

HINT:

  • Here we shall focus the word in question colourless with strong odour.
  • Here all the gases are colourless but when we check strong odour – it’s Ozone.
  • Ozone irritates the mucous membranes of the nose, throat and airways
  • 1987: Montreal Protocol designed to stop the production and import of ozone depleting substances and reduce their concentration in the atmosphere to help protect the earth’s ozone layer.
  • It outlawed CFCs and HCFCs.
  • But then industries started using HFCs as replacements.
  • While Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) may not harm Ozone layer but they’re  greenhouses gases responsible for globalwarming so,
  • 2016: Kigali Agreement (capital city of Rwanda) aims to phase out  Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by mid-2040s.

Q. Which of the following are the suggested ways of reducing NOx emissions from stationary sources? (UPSC-IES-2020)

1. By reducing the peak temperature.

2. By increasing the availability of N2 for reaction with O2.

3. By minimizing the availability of O2 for reaction with N2.

Answer codes:

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1 and 3 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

HINT:

  • NOx gases are usually produced from the reaction among nitrogen and oxygen during combustion of fuels, such as hydrocarbons. So, if #2 is done (increasing the availability of N2 for reaction with O2.) then it’ll further increase NoX emission. So go by elimination method!

Q. Which one of the following is a hygienic way of disposing solid waste and is more suitable if the waste contains more hazardous material and organic content? (UPSC-IES-2020)

(a) Composting

(b) Incineration

(c) Oxidation

(d) Subgrading

HINT:

  • Focus on words of hazardous material and organic content.
  • First option Composting is not possible due to Hazardous Word.
  • Option (c) Oxidation and Option (d) Subgrading is not suitable for hazardous material and organic content.
  • Incineration is burning the waste under controlled conditions. Here, pathogens and toxins can be destroyed by high temperatures, so it’s more suitable among the given options.
  • Waste management in India falls under the purview of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
  • 2016 this ministry released the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2016 to replace Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000

Environment  → Organizations/ Treaties/ Laws

Q. NEPA stands for:  (UPSC-IES-2020)

(a) National Ecological Physical Area

(b) Natural Environmental Policy Act

(c) National Environmental Policy Act

(d) Natural Ecological Primary Area

HINT:

  • The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law developed during the 1960s, amid increased industrialization, urban and suburban growth, and pollution across the United States.
  • more than 100 nations around the world have enacted national environmental policies modeled after NEPA.

Q. Basel Convention provides:  (UPSC-IES-2020)

(a) Indian standards for pollution measurement and prevention

(b) International guidelines to control the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes between different countries

(c) Indian standards for the disposal of municipal and industrial wastes

(d) International standards to categorize pollution in air and wastewater

HINT:

  • 1989: United Nations’ Basel Convention: Prohibiting Trans bountrieng Moments of Hazardous Waste
  • 2019: more reforms under. Now BASEL prohibits export of hazardous wastes from member states of the European Union, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and Liechtenstein to all other countries.

[Free] Full length (100MCQ) walli Mock Tests with All India Ranking

UPSC Prelims Mocktests

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