Q.1 With reference to the news, what is INSV MADHEI ?

A) Rocket launcher

B) A Coast Guard

C) Sail training boat

D) Shoulder launched surface to air missile

Ans. C

INSV Mhadei is a sail training boat of the Indian Navy. The boat has two mainsails, two Genoa’s, a stay-sail, one try-sail and two gennaker’s. She is also fitted with satellite communications and electronic navigation systems – A second boat in this class, INS Tarini, was ordered in 2016 and is expected to be inducted into active service by March 2017 . The boat is being built by M/s Aquariues ship yard Pvt Ltd

Q.2 Recently first International Agrobiodiversity Congress has been inaugurated by the Prime minister of India.

With reference to this conference consider the following statements :

1.It has been organized by the Ministry of Environment & forests 

2. Emission of methane gas through the agriculture activities is one of the main concern of this conference

3. Diversified agriculture,Management of gene banks are the main emphasis of this conference

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

A) 1 & 3

B) Only 2

C) 2 & 3

D) Only 3

Ans. D

 Both centre and the states have an important role to play.§ – Now the government is working towards organic farming, integrated pest management, proving soil health cards which are towards promoting ecological framing and protection of bio diversity. This way farmers risk in agriculture can be minimised and income can be improved along with maintaining soil health. § Through diversified agriculture, the farmers risk in crop farming is reduced § – The Conference will lead to discussion and knowledge sharing on issues for efficient management of gene banks, science-led innovations in genetic resources, crop diversification, issues relating to quarantine, bio safety and bio security and intellectual property rights. – Emphasis on Diversified Agriculture §Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first International Agro biodiversity Congress where 900 delegates from 60 countries participated. The conference was organised by the Indian Society of Plant Genetic Resources and Biodiversity International, a CGIAR Research Centre headquartered in Rome, Italy.

Q.3 Which one of the following is commonly used as a flavouring agent during the preparation of noodles?

A) Saffron

B) Cinnamon

C) Olive oil

D) Ajinomoto

Ans. D

Q.4 In the context of food processing, the addition of sulfites (sulphites) to fruits and vegetables has which of the following effects?

1. Prevention of browning

2. Increase in sour taste

3. Destruction of thiamine

4. Preservation of thiamine

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

A) 1 & 4

B) 2 & 3

C) 1 & 3

D) 2 & 4

Ans. C

Q.5 Which one of the following plants is popularly grown along the road for absorbing vehicular pollutants?

A) Nerium

B) Neem

C) Bourgainvillea

D) Callotropis

Ans. C

Q.6 Which among the following is/are correctly matched ?

1.Patola saris : Gujarat

2. Kullu shawl : Himachal Pradesh

3. Pattu sarees : Andhra Pradesh

Select the correct answer using the vodes given below :

A) Only 2

B) 1 & 3

C) 2 & 3

D) All are correct

Ans. D

Q.7 In context with the gravitation waves, consider the following statements :

1. They generally propagate as waves greater than the speed of light

2. Enigmaic sources are the strongest sources of the gravitational waves

Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

A) Only 1

B) Only 2

C) Both are correct

D) Both are incorrect

Ans. B

They are among enigmatic objects in our universe like black holes, supernova, neutron stars and Big Bang.

They travel outward from the source at the speed of light.

Q.8 With reference to the LIDAR (Light Detection & ranging) consider the following statements :

1. LIDAR uses ultraviolet & visible light only to detect the objects

2. They can target a wide range of materials except non-metallic objects

Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

A) Only 1

B) Only 2

C) Both are correct

D) Both are incorrect

Ans. D

Lidar uses ultraviolet, visible, or near infrared light to image objects. It can target a wide range of materials, including non-metallic objects, rocks, rain, chemical compounds, aerosols, clouds and even single molecules.A narrow laser-beam can map physical features with very high resolutions; for example, an aircraft can map terrain at 30-centimetre (12 in) resolution or better. Lidar has been used extensively for atmospheric research and meteorology. Lidar instruments fitted to aircraft and satellites carry out surveying and mapping – a recent example being the U.S. Geological Survey Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar.NASA has identified lidar as a key technology for enabling autonomous precision safe landing of future robotic and crewed lunar-landing vehicles. Wavelengths vary to suit the target: from about 10 micrometers to the UV (approximately 250 nm). Typically light is reflected via backscattering. Different types of scattering are used for different lidar applications: most commonly Rayleigh scattering, Mie scattering, Raman scattering, and fluorescence. Based on different kinds of backscattering, the lidar can be accordingly called Rayleigh Lidar, Mie Lidar, Raman Lidar, Na/Fe/K Fluorescence Lidar, and so on. Suitable combinations of wavelengths can allow for remote mapping of atmospheric contents by identifying wavelength-dependent changes in the intensity of the returned signal. In general there are two kinds of lidar detection schemes: “incoherent” or direct energy detection (which is principally an amplitude measurement) and coherent detection (which is best for Doppler, or phase sensitive measurements). Coherent systems generally use optical heterodyne detection, which, being more sensitive than direct detection, allows them to operate at a much lower power but at the expense of more complex transceiver requirements. Lidar is popularly used to make high-resolution maps, with applications in geodesy, geomatics, archaeology, geography, geology, geomorphology, seismology, forestry, atmospheric physics, laser guidance, airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM), and laser altimetry. Lidar sometimes is called laser scanning and 3D scanning, with terrestrial, airborne, and mobile applications.

Q.9 With reference to the fast neutron reactor consider the following statements:

1. In this nuclear fission & fusion chain reaction is sustained by fast neutrons

2. Neutron moderators are employed in these type of reactors

Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

A) Only 1

B) Only 2

C) Both are correct

D) Both are incorrect

Ans. D

A fast neutron reactor or simply a fast reactor is a category of nuclear reactor in which the fission chain reaction is sustained by fast neutrons. Such a reactor needs no neutron moderator, but must use fuel that is relatively rich in fissile material when compared to that required for a thermal reactor. Natural uranium consists mostly of three isotopes, U-238, U-235, and trace quantities of U-234, a decay product of U-238. U-238 accounts for roughly 99.3% of natural uranium and undergoes fission only by neutrons with energies of 5 MeV or greater, the so-called fast neutrons. About 0.7% of natural uranium is U-235, which undergoes fission by neutrons of any energy, but particularly by lower energy neutrons. When either of these isotopes undergoes fission they release neutrons around 1 to 2 MeV, too low to cause fission in U-238, and too high to do so easily in U-235. The common solution to this problem is to slow the neutron from these fast speeds using a neutron moderator, any substance which interacts with the neutrons and slows their speed. The most common moderator is normal water, which slows the neutrons through inelastic scattering until the neutrons reach thermal equilibrium with the water. Fast neutron reactors can reduce the total radiotoxicity of nuclear waste, and dramatically reduce the waste’s lifetime.[6] They can also use all or almost all of the fuel in the waste. Fast neutrons have an advantage in the transmutation of nuclear waste. With fast neutrons, the ratio between splitting and the capture of neutrons of plutonium or minor actinide is often larger than when the neutrons are slower, at thermal or near-thermal “epithermal” speeds. The transmuted odd-numbered actinides (e.g. from Pu-240 to Pu-241) split more easily Fast reactors technically solve the “fuel shortage” argument against uranium-fueled reactors without assuming unexplored reserves, or extraction from dilute sources such as ordinary granite or the ocean. Sodium is often used as a coolant in fast reactors, because it does not moderate neutron speeds much and has a high heat capacity. However, it burns and foams in air. It has caused difficulties in reactors Since liquid metals have low moderating power and ratio and no other moderator is present, the primary interaction of neutrons with liquid metal coolants is the (n,gamma) reaction, which induces radioactivity in the coolant Water, the most common coolant in thermal reactors, is generally not a feasible coolant for a fast reactor, because it acts as a neutron moderator However the Generation IV reactor known as the supercritical water reactor with decreased coolant density may reach a hard enough neutron spectrum to be considered a fast reactor All current fast reactors are liquid metal cooled reactors. The early Clementine reactor used mercury coolant and plutonium metal fuel. Sodium-potassium alloy (NaK) coolant is popular in test reactors due to its low melting point. In practice, sustaining a fission chain reaction with fast neutrons means using relatively highly enriched uranium or plutonium. most fast neutron reactors have used either MOX (mixed oxide) or metal alloy fuel. Like thermal reactors, fast neutron reactors are controlled by keeping the criticality of the reactor reliant on delayed neutrons, with gross control from neutron-absorbing control rods or blades. – Doppler broadening in the moderator, which affects thermal neutrons, does not work, nor does a negative void coefficient of the moderator. Both techniques are very common in ordinary light water reactors.

FRAMED

Q.10 Polymetallic nodules contains which among the following constituents :

1. Nickel

2. Copper

3. Calcium

4. Oxygen

5. Hydrogen

Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

A) Only 1 & 2

B) 1,2,3,5

C) 1,2,3

D) All are correct

Ans. D

The chemical composition of nodules varies according to the kind of manganese minerals and the size and characteristics of the core. Those of greatest economic interest contain manganese (27-30%), nickel (1.25-1.5 %), copper (1-1.4 %) and cobalt (0.2-0.25 %). Other constituents include iron (6%), silicon (5%) and aluminium (3%), with lesser amounts of calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, titanium and barium, along with hydrogen and oxygen as well as water of crystallization and free water. Polymetallic nodules, also called manganese nodules, are rock concretions on the sea bottom formed of concentric layers of iron and manganese hydroxides around a core. The core may be microscopically small and is sometimes completely transformed into manganese minerals by crystallization. When visible to the naked eye, it can be a small test (shell) of a microfossil (radiolarian or foraminifer), a phosphatized shark tooth, basalt debris or even fragments of earlier nodules

 (TLS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for

undertaking surveys.