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1. Solution: a)
Formation of coral reefs depends on temperature conditions, and not the meeting of warm
or cold currents.
Mangroves exist near coasts, so no cold and warm currents can meet there.
Sea grass is also found in shallow areas where the meeting of cold and warm currents is not
possible.
2. Solution: c)
Mechanism of tropical cyclones
Heating of ocean water creates a low pressure area to fill which wind from several high
pressure areas converge at high speeds. Due to the presence of coriolis force, they start
circulating around the low pressure zone.
The evaporated moisture from the ocean's low pressure area condenses above in the form of
cumulonimbus clouds. This latent heat of condensation from the moisture feeds more heat
to the cyclone and intensifies it.
On reaching the land, the cyclone dissipates as its moisture supply is cut off.
Extra-tropical cyclones
Forms along polar fronts - Derives its energy from a meeting and circulation of
warm and cold air fronts
Mechanism
Initially the front is stationary. Then, Cold air blows from the North of the front; and warm
air blows from the south of the front.
When the pressure drops along the front, warm air moves northwards and cold air
southwards. Due to this movement across the front, an anti-clockwise cyclonic circulation
starts. This leads to the formation of the well developed extra-tropical cyclone with a warm
and cold front.
3. Solutions: c)
The Rh antigen similar to one present in Rhesus monkeys (hence Rh), is also observed on the
surface of RBCs of majority (nearly 80 per cent) of humans. Such individuals are called Rh
positive (Rh+ve) and those in whom this antigen is absent are called Rh negative (Rh-ve).
An Rh-ve person, if exposed to Rh+ve blood, will form specific antibodies against the Rh
antigens. Therefore, Rh group should also be matched before transfusions. A special case of
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4. Solution: d)
Transpiration is affected by several external factors: temperature, light, humidity, wind
speed. Plant factors that affect transpiration include number and distribution of stomata, per
cent of open stomata, water status of the plant, canopy structure etc.
The transpiration driven ascent of xylem sap depends mainly on the following physical
properties of water:
Cohesion mutual attraction between water molecules.
Adhesion attraction of water molecules to polar surfaces (such as the surface of
tracheary elements).
Surface Tension water molecules are attracted to each other in the liquid phase more
than to water in the gas phase.
These properties give water high tensile strength, i.e. , an ability to resist a pulling force,
and high capillarity, i.e., the ability to rise in thin tubes. In plants capillarity is aided by the
small diameter of the tracheary elements the tracheids and vessel elements.
5. Solution: a)
The insolation received at the surface varies from about 320 Watt/m2 in the tropics to about
70 Watt/m2 in the poles. Maximum insolation is received over the subtropical deserts,
where the cloudiness is the least. Equator receives comparatively less insolation than the
tropics. Generally, at the same latitude the insolation is more over the continent than over
the oceans. In winter, the middle and higher latitudes receive less radiation than in summer.
6. Solution: a)
Explanation for Q 2 and 3 are given together. The phenomena of formation of red haze is
complex and chemical, hence only the information given is important.
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Fig. 1 The dispersal of volcanic aerosols has a drastic effect on the Earth's atmosphere.
Following an eruption, large amounts of sulphur dioxide (SO2), hydrochloric acid (HCL)
and ash are spewed into the Earth's stratosphere. Hydrochloric acid, in most cases,
condenses with water vapor and is rained out of the volcanic cloud formation. Sulphur
dioxide from the cloud is transformed into sulphuric acid (H2SO4). The sulphuric acid
quickly condenses, producing aerosol particles which linger in the atmosphere for long
periods of time. The interaction of chemicals on the surface of aerosols, known as
heterogeneous chemistry, and the tendency of aerosols to increase levels of chlorine which
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8. Solution: d)
For a comprehensive understanding refer to:
http://www.preservearticles.com/2012021623388/what-are-the-harmful-effects-ofhydrocarbons.html
9. Solution: d)
This question is important as these gases can combine and become sources of tropospheric
pollution. Dinitrogen and dioxygen are the main constituents of air.
These gases do not react with each other at a normal temperature. At high altitudes when
lightning strikes, they combine to form oxides of nitrogen. NO2 is oxidised to nitrate ion, 3
NO which is washed into soil, where it serves as a fertilizer. In an automobile engine, (at
high temperature) when fossil fuel is burnt, dinitrogen and dioxygen combine to yield
significant quantities of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide ( NO2 ).
10. Solution: a)
Humid Sub-tropical
Air masses unstable and cause rainfall throughout the year of 75-150 cm annually
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Found in
o
NE Argentina
Southern Japan
Moderate summer in summer (15-20* C) and in winter it is warmer than its latitude
because of sea effect (4-10*C)
Found in
o
SE Australia
Southern Chile
NW Europe
North of California
New Zealand
11. Solution: d)
Auxins (from Greek auxein : to grow) was first isolated from human urine. The term
auxin is applied to the indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and to other natural and synthetic
compounds having certain growth regulating properties. They are generally produced by
the growing apices of the stems and roots, from where they migrate to the regions of their
action. Auxins like IAA and indole butyric acid (IBA) have been isolated from plants. NAA
(naphthalene acetic acid) and 2, 4-D (2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic) are synthetic auxins. All
these auxins have been used extensively in agricultural and horticultural practices. They
help to initiate rooting in stem cuttings, an application widely used for plant propagation.
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14. Solution: d)
Acid rain refers to the ways in which acid from the atmosphere is deposited on the earths
surface. Oxides of nitrogen and sulphur which are acidic in nature can be blown by wind
along with solid particles in the atmosphere and finally settle down either on the ground as
dry deposition or in water, fog and snow as wet deposition.
Acid rain is a byproduct of a variety of human activities that emit the oxides of sulphur and
nitrogen in the atmosphere.
Burning of fossil fuels (which contain sulphur and nitrogenous matter) such as coal and oil
in power stations and furnace or petrol and diesel in motor engines produce sulphur dioxide
and nitrogen oxides. SO2 and NO2 after oxidation and reaction with water are major
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15. Solution: a)
It has been observed that some plants require a periodic exposure to light to induce
flowering. It is also seen that such plants are able to measure the duration of exposure to
light. For example, some plants require the exposure to light for a period exceeding a well
defined critical duration, while others must be exposed to light for a period less than this
critical duration before the flowering is initiated in them. The former group of plants are
called long day plants while the latter ones are termed short day plants. The critical
duration is different for different plants. There are many plants, however, where there is no
such correlation between exposure to light duration and induction of flowering response;
such plants are called day-neutral plants. It is now also known that not only the duration of
light period but that the duration of dark period is also of equal importance. Hence, it can be
said that flowering in certain plants depends not only on a combination of light and dark
exposures but also their relative durations. This response of plants to periods of day/night is
termed photoperiodism.
16. Solution: c)
Agent Orange was a powerful mixture of chemical defoliants used by U.S. military forces
during the Vietnam War to eliminate forest cover for North Vietnamese and Viet Cong
troops, as well as crops that might be used to feed them. The U.S. program of defoliation,
codenamed Operation Ranch Hand, sprayed more than 19 million gallons of herbicides over
4.5 million acres of land in Vietnam from 1961 to 1972. Agent Orange, which contained the
chemical dioxin, was the most commonly used of the herbicide mixtures, and the most
effective. It was later revealed to cause serious health issuesincluding tumors, birth defects,
rashes, psychological symptoms and canceramong returning U.S. servicemen and their
families as well as among the Vietnamese population.
17. Solution: a)
Cars driven by polluting fuels should run on less polluting fossil fuels. If not, then catalytic
converters must be used in cars to reduce the effect of exhaust fumes on the atmosphere. The
main component of the converter is a ceramic honeycomb coated with precious metals
Pd, Pt and Rh. The exhaust gases containing unburnt fuel, CO and NOx, when pass through
the converter at 573 K, are converted into CO2 and N2.
18. Solution: b)
Explanation for Q10 and 11 are given together.
19. Solution: c)
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20. Solution: a)
La Nina is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that is the counterpart of El Nio as
part of the broader El NioSouthern Oscillation climate pattern. The name La Nia
originates from Spanish, meaning "the girl", analogous to El Nio meaning "the boy". It has
also in the past been called anti-El Nio, and El Viejo (meaning "the old man").[1] During a
period of La Nia, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern CentralPacific
Ocean will be lower than normal by 35 C. In the United States, an appearance of La Nia
happens for at least five months of La Nia conditions. It has extensive effects on the
weather in North America, even affecting the Atlantic Hurricane Season. La Nia often,
though not always, follows an El Nio.
21. Solution: a)
In India, as in Vietnam and many other colonies, the growth of modern nationalism is
intimately connected to the anti-colonial movement. People began discovering their unity in
the process of their struggle with colonialism. The sense of being oppressed under
colonialism provided a shared bond that tied many different groups together. But each class
and group felt the effects of colonialism differently, their experiences were varied, and their
notions of freedom were not always the same.
Though anti-colonial struggle led to unity among masses, it was not absolute. There was
disunity among different communities and between people with different political
ideologies.
22. Solution: d)
Effects of photochemical smog
The common components of photochemical smog are ozone, nitric oxide, acrolein,
formaldehyde and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN).
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23. Solution: a)
Coriolis force: The deflection is more when the wind velocity is high. The Coriolis force is
directly proportional to the angle of latitude. It is maximum at the poles and is absent at the
equator. The Coriolis force acts perpendicular to the pressure gradient force. The pressure
gradient force is perpendicular to an isobar. The higher the pressure gradient force, the more
is the velocity of the wind and the larger is the deflection in the direction of wind.
24. Solution: d)
Effects of Depletion of the Ozone Layer
With the depletion of ozone layer, more UV radiation filters into troposphere. UV radiations
lead to ageing of skin, cataract, sunburn, skin cancer, killing of many phytoplanktons,
damage to fish productivity etc. It has also been reported that plant proteins get easily
affected by UV radiations which leads to the harmful mutation of cells. It also increases
evaporation of surface water through the stomata of the leaves and decreases the moisture
content of the soil. Increase in UV radiations damage paints and fibres, causing them to fade
faster.
25. Solution: d)
Out of the nine planets, mercury, venus, earth and mars are called as the inner planets as they
lie between the sun and the belt of asteroids the other five planets are called the outer planets.
Alternatively, the first four are called Terrestrial, meaning earth-like as they are made up of
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26. Solution: d)
During the cooling of the earth, gases and water vapour were released from the interior
solid earth. This started the evolution of the present atmosphere. The early atmosphere
largely contained water vapour, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia and very little
of free oxygen. The process through which the gases were outpoured from the interior is
called degassing.
27. Solution: a)
There are three stages in the evolution of the present atmosphere. The first stage is marked
by the loss of primordial atmosphere. In the second stage, the hot interior of the earth
contributed to the evolution of the atmosphere. Finally, the composition of the atmosphere
was modified by the living world through the process of photosynthesis.
The early atmosphere, with hydrogen and helium, is supposed to have been stripped off as a
result of the solar winds. This happened not only in case of the earth, but also in all the
terrestrial planets, which were supposed to have lost their primordial atmosphere through
the impact of solar winds.
28. Solution: d)
Refer to page 22 of 11th physical NCERT Chapter 2. A detailed explanation is provided
there.
29. Solution: d)
Sources of earthquakes
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30. Solution: a)
Refer to a comprehensive explanation here with diagrams
http://loki.stockton.edu/~hozikm/geol/Courses/The%20Earth/Content%20Web%20Page
s/Bugielski/webpage.htm
31. Solution: d)
Earthquake Prone regions in the world
The Ring of Fire is an area where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean.
In a 40,000 km (25,000 mi) horseshoe shape, it is associated with a nearly continuous series
of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts and/or plate movements.
It has 452 volcanoes and is home to over 75% of the world's active and dormant
volcanoes. It is sometimes called the circum-Pacific belt or the circum-Pacific seismic belt.
About 90% of the world's earthquakes and 81% of the world's largest earthquakes occur
along the Ring of Fire.
The next most seismically active region (56% of earthquakes and 17% of the world's largest
earthquakes) is the Alpide belt, which extends from Java to Sumatra through
the Himalayas, the Mediterranean, and out into the Atlantic.
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the third most prominent earthquake belt.
The Ring of Fire is a direct result of plate tectonics and the movement and collisions
of lithospheric plates
32. Solution: d)
Concept of Sea Floor Spreading
The mapping of the ocean floor and palaeomagnetic studies of rocks from oceanic regions
revealed the following facts:
(i) It was realised that all along the midoceanic ridges, volcanic eruptions are common and
they bring huge amounts of lava to the surface in this area.
(ii) The rocks equidistant on either sides of the crest of mid-oceanic ridges show remarkable
similarities in terms of period of formation, chemical compositions and magnetic properties.
Rocks closer to the mid-oceanic ridges are normal polarity and are the youngest. The age of
the rocks increases as one moves away from the crest.
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34. Solution: c)
Igneous rocks are classified based on texture. Texture depends upon size and arrangement
of grains or other physical conditions of the materials. If molten material is cooled slowly at
great depths, mineral grains may be very large. Sudden cooling (at the surface) results in
small and smooth grains. Intermediate conditions of cooling would result in intermediate
sizes of grains making up igneous rocks. Granite, gabbro, pegmatite, basalt, volcanic breccia
and tuff are some of the examples of igneous rocks.
Depending upon the mode of formation, sedimentary rocks are classified into three major
groups: (i) mechanically formed sandstone, conglomerate, limestone, shale, loess etc. Are
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Alluvial fans
Water flowing from a higher level breaks down into foot slope plains of low gradient
Normally very coarse load is carried by streams in the upper reaches
It becomes too heavy to carry and is deposited in low to high cone shaped deposit called
alluvial fan
No stratification of river load a all the material (fine and coarse) is dumped together
Streams making alluvial fans eventually shifts course forming many channels called
distributaries
Deltas
They are like alluvial fans but are formed at different location i.e. near the sea
Water is flowing at a very low slope and is at the lowest reaches
Very fine sediment load is being carried; if not carried into the sea, then deposited as a
low cone called delta.
Delta deposits are well stratified with coarser material settling first and the finer
As Delta grows distributaries also grow in size
41. Solution: c)
Greenhouse gases are those that can absorb and emit infrared radiation, but not radiation in
or near the visible spectrum. In order, the most abundant greenhouse gases in Earth's
atmosphere are:
Methane (CH4)
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Ozone (O3)
CFCs
Satyagraha is not physical force. A satyagrahi does not inflict pain on the adversary; he
does not seek his destruction In the use of satyagraha, there is no ill-will whatever.
Satyagraha is pure soul-force. Truth is the very substance of the soul. That is why this force
is called satyagraha. The soul is informed with knowledge. In it burns the flame of love.
non- violence is the supreme dharma
It is certain that India cannot rival Britain or Europe in force of arms. The British worship
the war-god and they can all of them become, as they are becoming, bearers of arms. The
hundreds of millions in India can never carry arms. They have made the religion of nonviolence their own ...
43. Solution: a)
Refer to http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/carbon/efculprits3.html
44. Solution: a)
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45. Solution: d)
The temperature distribution is generally shown on the map with the help of isotherms. The
Isotherms are lines joining places having equal temperature.
In general the effect of the latitude on temperature is well pronounced on the map, as the
isotherms are generally parallel to the latitude. The deviation from this general trend is more
pronounced in January than in July, especially in the northern hemisphere. In the northern
hemisphere the land surface area is much larger than in the southern hemisphere.
Hence, the effects of land mass and the ocean currents are well pronounced. In January the
isotherms deviate to the north over the ocean and to the south over the continent. This can
be seen on the North Atlantic Ocean. The presence of warm ocean currents, Gulf Stream and
North Atlantic drift, make the Northern Atlantic Ocean warmer and the isotherms bend
towards the north. Over the land the temperature decreases sharply and the isotherms bend
towards south in Europe.
This is shown in the diagram below.
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The El Nino event is closely associated with the pressure changes in the Central Pacific and
Australia. This change in pressure condition over Pacific is known as the southern
oscillation.
50. Solution: d)
The irritant red haze in the traffic and congested places is due to oxides of nitrogen.
Higher concentrations of NO2 damage the leaves of plants and retard the rate of
photosynthesis. Nitrogen dioxide is a lung irritant that can lead to an acute respiratory
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53. Solution: b)
Species which are not the natural inhabitants of the local habitat but are introduced into the
system, are called exotic species. There are many examples when a natural biotic community
of the ecosystem suffered extensive damage because of the introduction of exotic species.
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55. Solution: d)
56. Solution: a)
In his famous book Hind Swaraj (1909) Mahatma Gandhi declared that British rule was
established in India with the cooperation of Indians, and had survived only because of this
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60. Solution: c)
Continental Shelf
The continental shelf is the extended margin of each continent occupied by relatively
shallow seas and gulfs. It is the shallowest part of the ocean showing an average gradient of
1 or even less. The shelf typically ends at a very steep slope, called the shelf break.
It can be narrow or even wide upto 1,500 Km like Siberian shelf.
The continental shelves are covered with variable thicknesses of sediments brought down by
rivers, glaciers, wind, from the land and distributed by waves and currents. Massive
sedimentary deposits received over a long time by the continental shelves, become the
source of fossil fuels.
Oceanic Deeps or Trenches
These areas are the deepest parts of the oceans. The trenches are relatively steep sided,
narrow basins. They are some 3-5 km deeper than the surrounding ocean floor. They occur
at the bases of continental slopes and along island arcs and are associated with active
volcanoes and strong earthquakes. That is why they are very significant in the study of plate
movements.
61. Solution: c)
Salinity changes with depth, but the way it changes depends upon the location of the sea.
Salinity at the surface increases by the loss of water to ice or evaporation, or decreased by
the input of fresh waters, such as from the rivers. Salinity at depth is very much fixed,
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Highly indented
Formation of wave-cut platforms in front of the sea cliff due to constant water
erosional action
Material eroded in such manner, deposits along the off-shore forming wave terraces.
Several depositions like this results in the formation of barrier bars and spits that
break block the sea water forming a lagoon.
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Lagoons eventually turn into swamps which turn into coastal plains
Storm and tsunami waves cause darastic changes in the supply of depositional
material
71. Solution: d)
Transpiration has more than one purpose; it
creates transpiration pull for absorption and transport of plants
supplies water for photosynthesis
transports minerals from the soil to all parts of the plant
cools leaf surfaces, sometimes 10 to 15 degrees, by evaporative cooling
maintains the shape and structure of the plants by keeping cells turgid
An actively photosynthesising plant has an insatiable need for water. Photosynthesis is
limited by available water which can be swiftly depleted by transpiration. The humidity of
rainforests is largely due to this vast cycling of water from root to leaf to atmosphere and
back to the soil.
72. Solution: c)
The example of indentured labour migration from India also illustrates the two-sided nature
of the nineteenth-century world. It was a world of faster economic growth as well as great
misery, higher incomes for some and poverty for others, technological advances in some
areas and new forms of coercion in others.
In the nineteenth century, hundreds of thousands of Indian and Chinese labourers went to
work on plantations, in mines, and in road and railway construction projects around the
world. In India, indentured labourers were hired under contracts which promised return
travel to India after they had worked five years on their employers plantation.
Most Indian indentured workers came from the present-day regions of eastern Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, central India and the dry districts of Tamil Nadu. In the mid-nineteenth
century these regions experienced many changes cottage industries declined, land rents
rose, lands were cleared for mines and plantations. All this affected the lives of the poor:
they failed to pay their rents, became deeply indebted and were forced to migrate in search
of work.
73. Solution: a)
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A thunderstorm is characterised by intense updraft of rising warm air, which causes the
clouds to grow bigger and rise to greater height. This causes precipitation.
74. Solution: a)
In 1860, Julius von Sachs, a prominent German botanist, demonstrated, for the first time, that
plants could be grown to maturity in a defined nutrient solution in complete absence of soil.
This technique of growing plants in a nutrient solution is known as hydroponics. Since then,
a number of improvised methods have been employed to try and determine the mineral
nutrients essential for plants. The essence of all these methods involves the culture of plants
in a soil-free, defined mineral solution. These methods require purified water and mineral
nutrient salts.
75. Solution: b)
In the early 1930s religious and social movement called Rastafarianism evolved in
Jamaica. Rastas sought to provide a voice for the poor Blacks in Jamaica by encouraging
resistance to oppressive societal structures. At the core of their belief is the re-interpretation
of the Hebrew Bible with a focus on Blacks as Gods chosen race, and the belief that the true
Messiah comes to us as Emperor Haile Selassie I (Ras Tafari) of Ethiopia. Through
extensive spoken discourse, the Rastafarians aim to clarify the Western misinterpretation of
the Bible, so as to spread the true word and fight against the unjust hierarchy of Western
culture (collectively called Babylon). In the meantime, Rastafarians await a time of
repatriation of Blacks and a return to Ethiopia, qua Africa, of its rightful ruling status.
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In nature, lightning and ultraviolet radiation provide enough energy to convert nitrogen to
nitrogen oxides (NO, NO2, N 2O). Industrial combustions, forest fires, automobile exhausts
and power-generating stations are also sources of atmospheric nitrogen oxides.
80. Solution: b)
The history of many business groups goes back to trade with China. From the late
eighteenth century, as you have read in your book last year, the British in India began
exporting opium to China and took tea from China to England. Many Indians became junior
players in this trade, providing finance, procuring supplies, and shipping consignments.
Having earned through trade, some of these businessmen had visions of developing
industrial enterprises in India.
In Bengal, Dwarkanath Tagore made his fortune in the China trade before he turned to
industrial investment, setting up six joint-stock companies in the 1830s and 1840s. Tagores
enterprises sank along with those of others in the wider business crises of the 1840s, but later
in the nineteenth century many of the China traders became successful industrialists.
81. Solution: a)
Several types of symbiotic biological nitrogen fixing associations are known. The most
prominent among them is the legume-bacteria relationship. Species of rod-shaped Rhizobium
has such relationship with the roots of several legumes such as alfalfa, sweet clover, sweet
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84. Solution: d)
An understanding of the factors that affect photosynthesis is necessary. The rate of
photosynthesis is very important in determining the yield of plants including crop plants.
Photosynthesis is under the influence of several factors, both internal (plant) and external.
The plant factors include the number, size, age and orientation of leaves, mesophyll cells
and chloroplasts, internal CO2 concentration and the amount of chlorophyll. The plant or
internal factors are dependent on the genetic predisposition and the growth of the plant.
The external factors would include the availability of sunlight, temperature, CO2
concentration and water. As a plant photosynthesises, all these factors will simultaneously
affect its rate. Hence, though several factors interact and simultaneously affect
photosynthesis or CO2 fixation, usually one factor is the major cause or is the one that limits
the rate. Hence, at any point the rate will be determined by the factor available at suboptimal levels.
85. Solution: a)
There are plants for which flowering is either quantitatively or qualitatively dependent on
exposure to low temperature. This phenomenon is termed vernalisation. It prevents
precocious reproductive development late in the growing season, and enables the plant to
have sufficient time to reach maturity. Vernalisation refers specially to the promotion of
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87. Solution: a)
88. Solution: c)
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89. Solution: c)
Gandhiji in 1919 decided to launch a nationwide satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt
Act (1919). This Act had been hurriedly passed through the Imperial Legislative Council
despite the united opposition of the Indian members. It gave the government enormous
powers to repress political activities, and allowed detention of political prisoners without
trial for two years. Mahatma Gandhi wanted non-violent civil disobedience against such
unjust laws, which would start with a hartal on 6 April.
90. Solution: d)
The wind blows from high pressure to low pressure. The wind at the surface experiences
friction. In addition, rotation of the earth also affects the wind movement. The force exerted
by the rotation of the earth is known as the Coriolis force. Thus, the horizontal winds near
the earth surface respond to the combined effect of three forces the pressure gradient force,
the frictional force and the Coriolis force. In addition, the gravitational force acts downward.
91. Solution: b)
Over India, a subtropical westerly jet develops in the winter season which is replaced by
the tropical easterly jet in the summer season. The high temperature over the Tibetan Plateau,
as well as over Central Asia in general, during the summer is believed to be the critical
factor leading to the formation of the tropical easterly jet over India in summer. The
mechanism affecting monsoon is that the westerly jet causes high pressure over northern
parts of the subcontinent during the winter. This results in the north to south flow of the
winds in the form of the NE Monsoon. With the northwards shift of the vertical sun, this jet
shifts northwards too. The intense heat over the Tibetan Plateau, coupled with
associated terrain features of high altitude of the plateau, etc. generate the tropical easterly
jet over central India. This jet creates a low pressure zone over the northern Indian
plains influencing the wind flow towards these plains, assisting the establishment of the SW
Monsoon.
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Excessive phytoplankton growth within water is also a cause of water pollution. The large
population of bacteria decomposes organic matter present in water. They consume oxygen
dissolved in water. The amount of oxygen that water can hold in the solution is limited.
94. Solution: a)
The Humboldt Current is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the west
coast of South America from the southern tip of Chile to northern Peru. Also called the Peru
Current, it is an eastern boundary current flowing in the direction of the equator, and can
extend 1,000 kilometers offshore.
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At low latitudes they occur in 15-30*N-S areas of subtropical high where subsidence
and inversion of temperature do not produce rainfall
Also found on the western margin of continents adjoining cold current like the west
coast of South America
In middle latitudes 35-60* N-S, they are confined to the interior of the continents
where moisture laden winds do not reach e.g. Libya
96. Solution: d)
After arriving in India, Mahatma Gandhi successfully organized satyagraha movements in
various places. In 1916 he travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle
against the oppressive plantation system.Then in 1917, he organised a satyagraha to support
the peasants of the Kheda district of Gujarat. Affected by crop failure and a plague epidemic,
the peasants of Kheda coul not pay the revenue, and were demanding that revenue
collection be relaxed. In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi went to Ahmedabad to organize a
satyagraha movement amongst cotton mill workers.
97. Solution: d)
Just as the glass in a greenhouse holds the suns warmth inside, atmosphere traps the suns
heat near the earths surface and keeps it warm. This is called natural greenhouse effect
because it maintains the temperature and makes the earth perfect for life. In a greenhouse,
visible light passes through the transparent glass and heats up the soil and the plants. The
warm soil and plants emit infrared radiations. Since glass is opaque to infrared (heat)
radiations, it partly reflects and partly absorbs these radiations. This mechanism keeps the
energy of the sun trapped in the greenhouse. Similarly, carbon dioxide molecules also trap
heat as they are transparent to sunlight but not to the heat radiation.
98. Solution: a)
Self-explanatory. As the total evaporation and moisture content is lesser in the subtropical
and polar areas, winds are dry; and dust particles are more.
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100.
Solution: c)
Stem cells are undifferentiated biological cells that can differentiate into specialized cells
and can divide (through mitosis) to produce more stem cells. They are found in
multicellular organisms. In mammals, there are two broad types of stem cells: embryonic
stem cells, which are isolated from the inner cell mass of blastocysts, and adult stem cells,
which are found in various tissues. In adultorganisms, stem cells and progenitor cells act as
a repair system for the body, replenishing adult tissues. In a developing embryo, stem cells
can differentiate into all the specialized cellsectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm
(see induced pluripotent stem cells)but also maintain the normal turnover of regenerative
organs, such as blood, skin, or intestinal tissues.
There are three known accessible sources of autologous adult stem cells in humans:
1. Bone marrow, which requires extraction by harvesting, that is, drilling into bone
(typically the femur or iliac crest).
2. Adipose tissue (lipid cells), which requires extraction by liposuction.
3. Blood, which requires extraction through apheresis, wherein blood is drawn from the
donor (similar to a blood donation), and passed through a machine that extracts the
stem cells and returns other portions of the blood to the donor.
Stem cells can also be taken from umbilical cord blood just after birth. Of all stem cell types,
autologous harvesting involves the least risk. By definition, autologous cells are obtained
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