[T25] UPSC Mock Round#43: Environment & Geography Practice Questions- Global Climate Risk Index 2020, Bog wetland and More

1. Prologue
2. Climate Change
3. Pollution: Air
4. Pollution: Water
5. Biodiversity Flora Fauna
6. Energy
7. Agriculture
8. Geography of India

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 answers 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 43rd set contains Environment, Agriculture and Geography from UPSC’s IES, Geologist exam conducted in 2020.
• धीरे धीरे करते हुए, so far I’ve done 43 sets x 25 questions each = 1075 MCQs मुफ्त मे अपलोड हो गए, 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

Climate Change

 Q. Greenhouse gases are known so as: (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. they trap heat in the high altitudes.
2. they act like a greenhouse on the surface of the planet.
3. the colour of some of the gases emanating from industrial plants are green.
4. these gases are produced by agricultural crops.

HINT:

• In a greenhouse the glass panel lets the light in, but does not allow heat to escape. Therefore, the greenhouse warms up, very much like inside a car that has been parked in the sun for a few hours.
• The primary greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.
• Read this NCERT Chapter for more

Q. India’s climate is most affected by which of the following two winds? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. North-East monsoon and South-West monsoon
2. North-West monsoon and South-East monsoon
3. North-East monsoon and South-East monsoon
4. North-West monsoon and South-West monsoon

HINT:

• India’s climate is affected by two seasonal winds namely:
• 1) The north-east monsoon, commonly known as winter monsoon blows from land to sea,
• 2) The south-west monsoon, known as summer monsoon, blows from sea to land after crossing the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, and the Bay of Bengal. The south-west monsoon brings most of the rainfall during a year in the country.

Q. According to the Global Climate Risk Index 2020, published by environmental think tank Germanwatch, in the year 2018 India’s rank in the list of top most climate affected nations is:(UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. 1^st
2. 3^rd
3. 5^th
4. 7^th

HINT:

• Global Climate Risk Index 2020, published by environmental think tank Germanwatch
• According to them, the most vulnerable country to climate change are Japan , Philippines, Germany, Madagascar and India.
• Germanwatch also Published a Report of the Climate Change Performance Index every year with Help of the New Climate Institute and Climate Action Network (CAN)

Pollution: Air

Q. Which one of the following is the main natural source of Methane? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. Wetlands
2. Belching by cattle
3. Leakage from pipelines
4. Burning of wood

HINT:

Methane emission from natural sources:

Within natural emission %	description
80%	Natural wetlands are responsible for approximately 80% of global methane emissions from natural sources. Wetlands, such as bogs, marshes, fens and permafrost provide a habitat favorable to microbes that produce methane during the decomposition of organic material.
11%	Termites and their mounds are estimated to be about 11% of the global methane emissions
remaining	Oceans and methane hydrates

• Separately, Human Activities that produce methane include fossil fuel production, the livestock industry, rice cultivation, biomass burning, and waste management.
• Read more from here: https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/education/info_activities/pdfs/CTA_the_methane_cycle.pdf

Q. Ozone layer depletion is concentrated in:(UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. mid-latitude regions.
2. high latitude regions.
3. equatorial regions.
4. tropical regions.

HINT:

• Most atmospheric ozone is concentrated in a layer in the stratosphere, about 9 to 18 miles (15 to 30 km) above the Earth’s surface
• The ozone layer in the stratosphere absorbs a portion of the ultraviolet radiation from the sun
• Within UV rays- the UVB, is a kind of ultraviolet light from the sun (and sun lamps) that has several harmful effects. UVB is particularly effective at damaging DNA. It is a cause of melanoma and other types of skin cancer. It has also been linked to damage to some materials, crops, and marine organisms.
• When chlorine and bromine atoms come into contact with ozone in the stratosphere, they destroy ozone molecules. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used in refrigerants are responsible for this.
• Although ozone depletion is occurring widely in the stratosphere,the depletion is particularly marked over the Antarctic region. This has resulted in formation of a large area of thinned ozone layer, commonly called as the ozone hole. Says NCERT Class12 Bioloy Ch16 on environmental issues.
• So, locate Antarctica in latitude terms!

Q. Which of the following particulate matters (size based) are notified pollutants in National Ambient Air Quality Standards(NAAQS)? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. PM 10 and PM 3.5
2. PM 9 and PM 2.5
3. PM 10 and PM 2.5
4. PM 5 and PM 3.5

HINT:

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards covers 12 pollutants to control air pollution under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. namely,

1. SO2, μg/m3
2. NO2, μg/m3
3. PM10, μg/m3
4. PM2.5, μg/m3
5. O3, μg/m3
6. Lead (Pb), μg/m3
7. CO, mg/m3
8. Ammonia (NH3) μg/m3
9. Benzene
10. Benzopyrene (BaP)
11. Arsenic (As), ng/m3
12. Nickel (Ni), ng/m3

Pollution: Water

Q. The broad estimates of sea level rise due to global warming by 2100 is approximately:(UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. 10 cm
2. 20 cm
3. 30 cm
4. 40 cm

HINT:

• Sea level may rise 1.1 metre by 2100, says IPCC report in 2019. But since no option is matching this, we’ve to explore elsewhere:
• According to the Fourth (2017) National Climate Assessment (NCA) of the United States,

Sea Level Rise	By Expecting Year
16–21 cm (6.3–8.3 in)	1900 and 2016
7.5 cm (3.0 in)	1993 to 2017
30 cm (12 in)	2100

Q. Thermal pollution which involves release of excessive amounts of heated water in aquatic systems is harmful. It is because of hot water:(UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. kills aquatic plants.
2. causes oxygen starvation.
3. kills aquatic microbes.
4. causes CO₂ depletion.

HINT:

• Most forms of thermal pollution involve temperature increases
• With increasing temperature  →  Oxygen’s solubility and available in water decreases. Find appropriate synonyms or matching phrases from given options!

Q. The biological oxygen demand (BOD) of unpolluted river water is:(UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. 10 – 20 mg O₂/dm³/5 day.
2. 5-10 mg O₂/dm³/5 day.
3. less than 5 mg O₂/dm³/5 day.
4. more than 20 mg O₂/dm³/5 day.

HINT:

• NCERT Environmental Chemistry book says
• Amount of oxygen required by bacteria to break down the organic matter present in a certain volume of a sample of water, is called Biochemical Oxygen Demand(BOD).
• Clean Water would have a BOD value of less than5 ppm whereas highly polluted water could have a BOD value of 17 ppm or more.
• But this is not helping us with ‘units’ because options contained units in the form of  mg O₂/dm³/5 day.
• As per this google book, BOD is measured as mass (mg) of Oxygen used by 1 dm3 of water stored in darkness for 5 days.

Water type	BoD in mg O2/dm3/5 day.
Unpolluted river	15
Heavily polluted	100 times higher than 15

Q. Which one of the following is the common term to describe the main source of water for human withdrawals? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. Green water
2. Hard water
3. Blue water
4. Storm water

HINT:

Water withdrawals are defined as freshwater taken from ground or surface water sources, either permanently or temporarily, and conveyed to a place of use.

Water	Definition
Green water	Green water is the amount of rainfall that is either intercepted by the vegetation,or enters the soil and is picked up by plants and evapotranspiration back into the atmosphere.
Hard water	It is water that has high mineral content. Hard water is formed when water percolates through deposits of limestone, chalk or gypsum which are largely made up of calcium and magnesium carbonates, bicarbonates and sulfates.
Blue water	Blue water is the ​freshwater: ​surface and ​groundwater. It is stored ​in lakes, ​streams ​groundwater, ​glaciers and ​snow.
Storm water	Storm Water is water that originates from rain, including snow and ice melt. Stormwater can soak into the soil (infiltrate), be stored on the land surface in ponds and puddles, evaporate, or runoff.
Grey water	Grey water is ​the product ​water of ​domestic ​activities: ​bathing, ​laundry and ​dishwashing or ​polluted water ​due to ​pesticides in ​agriculture and ​nutrients from ​fertilizers. ​
Black Water	It was in ​contact with ​faecal matter ​containing ​harmful ​bacteria and ​disease-​causing ​pathogens. ​Like,Toilet Water.

 Q 20. The salt in seawater comes from:(UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. rain.
2. chemical exchange between sea water and its substratum as well as hydrothermal emissions.
3. evaporation of water and concentration of dissolved salts.
4. mixing of different density waters during natural warm and cold current movements.

HINT:

• As per NCERT
• All waters in nature, whether rain water or ocean water, contain dissolved mineral salts
• Factors affecting ocean salinity depend mainly on evaporation and precipitation,
• Salinity is the amount of salt in grams present in1000 grams of water.The average salinity of the oceans is 35 parts per thousand (ppt)
• Dead Sea-350 ppt, (Countries Boundaries: Israel,Jordan and West Bank). Man can’t drown because high salinity = high density

Biodiversity Flora Fauna

Q. Bog ecosystem wetland receives water only from:(UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. Rain
2. Streams
3. Rivers
4. Groundwater

HINT:

• A bog is a freshwater wetland
• It has spongy ground consisting mainly of partially decayed plant matter called peat.
• Bogs are generally found in cool, northern climates.
• The world’s largest wetland is a series of bogs in the Siberia region of Russia.
• Often the only source of water for a bog is rainwater, says Britannica. Find synonym accordingly.

Q. The National Commission on Agriculture (1976) has classified social forestry into how many categories? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. Three
2. Four
3. Five
4. Six

HINT:

• The National Commission on Agriculture (1976) has classified social forestry into three categories. These are Urban forestry, Rural forestry and Farm forestry.

Types of Forest	Description
Urban forestry	. trees on public and privately owned lands in and around urban centres such as green belts, parks, roadside avenues, industrial and commercial green belts, etc
Rural forestry	In rural areas
Agro forestry	raising of trees and agriculture crops on the same land inclusive of the waste patches.

Q. Which one of the following ecosystems has the highest net primary productivity? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. Rainforest
2. Extreme desert
3. Lakes and streams
4. Mid-latitude grassland

HINT:

• NPP (Net primary productivity) = GPP (Gross primary productivity) – R ( respiration losses)
• Net primary productivity is the available biomass for the consumption of heterotrophs (herbivores and decomposers).
• According to Britannica:

Ecosystem	Terrestrial	Aquatic
Highest NPP	swamps and marshes and tropical rainforests	estuaries, algal beds, and reefs.
Lowest NPP	deserts	??

Q. Which one of the following Indian States does NOT have mangrove forest? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. Odisha
2. Telangana
3. Andhra Pradesh
4. West Bengal

HINT:

Serial Number	Mangroves Tree in State/Union Territories
1	West Bengal
2	Orissa
3	Andhra Pradesh
4	Tamil Nadu
5	Andaman Nicobar
6	Kerala
7	Karnataka
8	Goa
9	Maharashtra
10	Gujarat

• Besides, Telangana is a landlocked state which is not situated at the coast so less likely to have Mangroves

Q. Which of the following organisms are included in Kingdom Protista as given by R Whittakar? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. Nostoc, mycoplasma and protozoans
2. Bacteria, amoeba and protozoan
3. Anabaena, bacteria and paramecium
4. Unicellular algae, diatoms, slime moulds and protozoans

HINT:

• NCERT Class12 Biology ch2
• R.H.  Whittaker (1969) proposed a Five Kingdom Classification.The kingdoms defined by him were named Monera, Protista, Fungi,Plantae and Animalia
• KINGDOM PROTISTA: All single-celled eukaryotes are placed under Protista, but the boundaries of this kingdom are not well defined.
• Diatoms, golden algae (desmids), Euglenoids, Slime moulds and Protozoans under Protista.
• Protists reproduce asexually and sexually by a process involvingcell fusion and zygote formation.
• Their cell body contains a well definednucleus and other membrane-bound organelles.

Q. Which one of the following represents the correct hierarchical sequence of taxonomic categories in ascending order? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. Species → Genus  → Order → Class  → Family
2. Genus → Species → Order → Family → Class
3. Species  → Genus  → Family → Order → Class
4. Species → Genus  → Order → Family → Class

HINT:

• In biological classification, taxonomic rank is the relative level of a group of organisms (a taxon) in a taxonomic hierarchy.
• The ascending order will be

1. subspecies
2. species
3. genus
4. family
5. order
6. class
7. phylum (in plants division)
8. kingdom

Q. Pursuant to the ratification of Convention on Biological Diversity, India legislated Biodiversity Act in the year:(UPSC-Geologist-2020)

(a) 1992

(b) 1994

(c) 2002

(d) 2014

HINT:

• The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty.
• CBD has two supplementary agreements – Cartagena Protocol and Nagoya Protocol.
• India ratified Convention on Biological Diversity on February 18, 1994.
• India enacted Biological Diversity Act, 2002 with a statutory body National Biodiversity Authority (NBA, 2003) headquartered in Chennai to implement the provisions under the Act.
• State Biodiversity Boards (SBB) has been created in 29 States across India.

Energy

Q 10. India has committed to reduce emission intensity of its GDP from 2005 levels by 33-35 per cent by the year:(UPSC-Geologist-2020)

(a) 2022

(b) 2030

(c) 2032

(d) 2035

HINT:

• As per IYB2020 Ch11 on Energy:
• India has made voluntary commitment of reducing emission intensity of its GDP by 33-35 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030, under the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Q. Which one of the following is NOT a renewable source of energy? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. Wind
2. Sunlight
3. Nuclear minerals
4. Biofuels

HINT:

• Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources, which are naturally replenished on a human timescale such as:
• Solar energy – energy generated from the sun
• Hydel energy – energy derived from water
• Biomass – energy from firewood, animal dung, biodegradable waste and crop residues, when it is burnt.
• Geothermal energy- energy from hot dry rocks,  magma, hot water springs, natural geysers, etc.
• Ocean thermal – energy from waves and also from  tidal waves.
• So, eliminate accordingly.

Agriculture

Q. Which one of the following countries is the top producer of cereals in the world? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. USA
2. Russia
3. India
4. China

HINT:

• As per World Bank data (2017) largest producers of cereals are: China > USA > India > Russia

Q. Which one of the following states in India produces the largest marketable surplus of wheat? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. Maharashtra
2. Haryana
3. Uttar Pradesh
4. Punjab

HINT:

Q. Which among the following states in India is known as ‘Fruit Bowl’ of the country? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. Kerala
2. Himachal Pradesh
3. Maharashtra
4. Karnataka

HINT:

• Himachal Pradesh  is called the Fruit bowl of India because of its large orchards of apricot pear,apple ,orange etc.

Geography of India

Q. The state of Telangana is drained by two major rivers. What are they? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. Mahanadi and Godavari
2. Mahanadi and Krishna
3. Godavari and Krishna
4. Krishna and Kaveri

HINT:

River	Decripation
Godavari	Source – Trimbak plt Left bank tri: Penganga, Wardha, Wainganga (combined = Pranhita), Indravati (fall), Sabari and sileru Right bank tri: Manjara Passing State: MH, CH, TS, AP, Odisha
Krishna	Source – Mahabaleshwar Left bank tri: Musi, Sina,Bhima, Ghat prabha, Malprabha, Tungabhadra, Hagari Passing State: MH, KN, TS, AP

Q. Which one among the following states does NOT share a boundary with Chhattisgarh? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. Bihar
2. Telangana
3. Andhra Pradesh
4. Uttar Pradesh

HINT:

• Boundaries connected With Chhattisgarh State are MH, TS, MP, UP, JH, OR
• Chhattisgarh State :
• State Animal‎: ‎Wild Asian Buffalo
• State Bird‎: ‎Hill Myna
• Koriya is District in Chhattisgarh where Tropic of Cancer and IST Line Cross to each other.

Q. Which one among the following Union Territories is largest in terms of area? (UPSC-Geologist-2020)

1. Chandigarh
2. Lakshadweep
3. Daman and Diu
4. Puducherry

HINT:

State	area
Chandigarh	114 sq km
Lakshadweep	32 sq. km
Daman and Diu	112 sq. km
Puducherry	479 sq km

Visit Mrunal.org/prelims for Previous Rounds of [T25] Mock MCQ Question / Answers.