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Please find the solutions of the Wednesday Geography & Environment Quiz #1. In case you have not solved the quiz, please visit the link below before reading the solution
Solutions to the Wednesday Geography & Environment Quiz #1
Q.1) Which of the following Vehicular emission standards is followed in India?
1. BS-III
2. BS-IV
3. BS-V
4. BS-VI
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 3 and 4 only
d) 4 only
Ans- a
Explanation- Bharat stage or BS emission standards are standards made by the GoI to regulate air pollutants outputs from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles. The standards are set by the CPCB under the MoEF.
These standards were first introduced in 1991 for petrol vehicles and in 1992 for diesel vehicles. But taking Euro norms as a reference first time, India 2000 was introduced in year 2000 nationwide. After this Mashelkar committee recommendations came which were accepted. It proposed a roadmap for implementation of Europe based emission normsfor India. It also recommended phase wise implementation of norms first in major cities and then expansion to all over nation. Following this, National Auto Fuel Policy was announced in 2003 which laid out plan till 2010. Since October 2010, BS III norms have been enforced across the country. In 13 major cities, Bharat Stage IV emission norms have been in place since April 2010. In 2016, the Indian government announced that the country would skip the BS V norms altogether and adopt BS VI norms which are equivalent to Euro 6 emission norms of Europe. See here and here. It will be implemented till 2020.
4 Major pollutants are covered in BS norms:
CO emissions Norms – Carbon Monoxide emissions are more evident in Petrol engines. Long Term exposure can prevent oxygen transfer and increase headaches/nausea.
HC emissions Norms – Hydro-carbons which are again more prevalent in Petrol engines. Short term exposure can cause headaches, vomiting and disorientation.
NOx emissions Norms– Nitrogen Oxide emissions which are more prevalent in Diesel engines. Long Term exposure can cause Nose and eye irritation and damage lung tissue.
PM Norms– Particulate matter, again more prevalent in a Diesel engine.
Long Term exposure can harm the respiratory tract and reduce lung function.
These standards dohelp in bringing down pollution levels but it increases vehicle cost due to the improved technology & higher fuel prices. However, this increase is offset by savings in health costs for the public due to reduced pollution levels.
Oil Industry and Automobile industry will have to upgrade fuel and technology to shift from BS IV to BS VI for which they will require 50k to 80k crores investment. This is the major challenge.
Q.2) Which of the following treatments is/are used for solid waste management?
1. Pulverization
2. Pyrolysis
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
Ans- c
Explanation- Solid waste can broadly be classified into two categories:
- Municipal Solid Waste – which includes commercial and domestic wastes generated in a municipal or notified area in either solid or semi-solid form excluding industrial hazardous wastes but including treated bio-medical wastes.
- Industrial hazardous waste- generated by various industries.
These waste contains various materials that are grinded into smaller particles using process of pulverization. Pulverization is the act of grinding to a powder or dust. In some places it is called as shredding when objects are cut or torn into small pieces.
Four types of shredders are used for the shredding or pulverizing of solid waste: hammermills, drum pulverizers, crushers, and wet pulverizers.
Solid waste is shredded for several reasons like volume reduction. Under certain circumstances, shredded refuse can be disposed of in a landfill without requiring as stringent compaction and cover procedures. Resource recovery plants that separate waste into recyclables often include one or more shredding operations . If solid waste is to be transported mechanically, pneumatically, or hydraulically, shredding is a desirable.
Pyrolisis is a thermochemical decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures in the absence of oxygen . It involves the simultaneous change of chemical composition and physical phase, and is irreversible.
It is very important process in Solid waste management. It leads to production of many important by products and prevents air pollution.
There are some other techniques which you can learn from here
Q.3) Under the e-waste management rules, 2016 which of the following items have been recently added under e-waste category?
1. CFL
2.LED
3. Mercury containing Bulbs
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
a) 1 and 3 only
b) 1 and 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) All of the above
Ans-a
Explanation-It’s CFL and Mercury containing lamps. This was recently in news. Earlier rules did not contain them so taking into account the lack of any regulation for management of CFL and other mercury containing lamp, they been included in Schedule I of the rules. You can read more about it here
Q.4) Ramsar convention is the only global environment treaty dealing with a particular ecosystem. Which of the following ecosystem is covered under Ramsar Convention?
a) Grassland
b) Wetland
c) Tropical rain forest
d) Cold desert
Ans- b
Explanation- Ramsar Convention is an international treatyfor the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It is named after the city ofRamsar in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971.
Contracting Parties meet every three years as the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP) to administer the work of the Convention and improve the way in which the Parties are able to implement its objectives. Total COP are 169.
The most recent COP12 was held in Uruguay in 2015.
COP13 will take place in Dubai,United Arab Emirates, in 2018.
The Convention includeswetlands as- all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs and salt pans.
You can read more about Ramsar convention here.
Q.5) Fold mountains are formed due to which of the following plate movement?
a) Convergent plate boundaries
b) Divergent plate boundaries
c) Conservative plate boundaries
d) None of the above
Ans- a
Explanation- Fold mountains are formed due to convergent plate boundary movement. They are often associated with continental crust. Where plates converge it is called as continental collision zones or compression zones. They are sites of collisions, where tectonic plates crash into each other.
They form from sedimentary rocks that accumulate along the margins of continents. When plates and the continents riding on them collide, the accumulated layers of rock may crumple and fold like a tablecloth that is pushed across a table, particularly if there is a mechanically weak layer
Q.6) Consider the following statements regarding Coriolis force.
1. It is maximum at the equator
2. It deflects wind to left hand side in northern Hemisphere.
Select the correct statement using the codes given below.
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) None of the above
Ans- d
Explanation- This is very basic question. Both the statements are wrong here. Hence option d.
Coriolis force is a force which affects direction of the wind due to the rotation of the earth on its axis. It is maximum at poles and absent at equator. It deflects wind to the right in Northern hemisphere and to left in southern. It is directly proportional to the angle of latitude.
You can read in detail about it in Chapter 10 of class XI Geography NCERT, Fundamentals of Physical Geography, page 90.
Q.7) Tamil Nadu is a leading producer of mill-made cotton yarn in the country. What could be the reason?
1. Black cotton soil is the predominant type of soil in the state.
2. Rich pool of skilled labour is available.
Which of the above is/are the correct reasons?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) None of the above
Ans- b
Explanation– Statement 1 is wrong as Tamil Nadu has predominantly Red soil and in it red loamy category occupies highest percentage. Check here
Statement 2 is right.
Tamil Nadu hosts 43 per cent of all bigger Indian mills and almost 80 per cent of the smaller Indian mills.. The mills supply garment factories throughout Tamil Nadu and the whole of India. Any European or US clothing brand sourcing from India is thus linked to the Tamil Nadu spinning mills. This requires a big pool of skilled labor which TN has as it is one of the most industrialized state.
Q.8) Consider the following Indian states –
1. Manipur
2. Mizoram
3. Rajasthan
4. Gujarat
Through which of the above does the Tropic of cancer pass
a) 1, 3 and 4 only
b) 2, 3 and 4 only
c) 1, 2 and 3 only
d) 1, 2, 3 and 4 only
Ans-b
Explanation– Tropic of cancer passes through 8 states. They are :
Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.
Q.9) Which one of the following sets of conditions is necessary for a good cultivation of wheat?
a) Moderate temperature and moderate rainfall
b) High temperature and heavy rainfall
c) High temperature and moderate rainfall
d) Low temperature and low rainfall
Ans- a
Explanation- It is given in Standard 8 Social science book- Resource and development, page 44. Wheat requires Moderate temperature and moderate rainfall.It is crop of mid-latitude grasslands. The ideal wheat climate has winter temperature 10° to 15°C and summer temperature varying from 21°C to 26°C. The temperature should be low at the time of sowing but as the harvesting time approaches higher temperatures are required for proper ripening of the crop.It thrives well in areas receiving an annual rainfall of about 75 cm.
Q.10) With reference to rainfall in India, consider the following options:
1. South west winds
2. Western disturbances
3. North east winds
4. North west winds
Which of the above options is/are the cause of winter rainfall in India?
a) 1, 2 and 3 only
b) 2, 3 and 4 only
c) 2 only
d) 3 only
Ans- c
Explanation– Western disturbance is the cause of rainfall during winters in North West part of the country. They are shallow cyclonic depressions originating over the east Mediterranean Sea and travelling eastwards across West Asia, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan before they reach the north-western parts of India. On their way, the moisture content gets augmented from the Caspian Sea in the north and the Persian Gulf in the south. When they reach NW India they cause rainfall in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh.
As per India: physical environment ncert unit 3, page 40, the cold weather season sets in by mid-November in northern India and the Peninsular region of India does not have any well-defined cold weather season. Confusion may arise due to NE rains in TN. We should note thatclimate of TN state is tropical with very little variation in temperature. It features fairly hot temperatures over the year except during the monsoon season which is Oct- November generally.
Therefore, question is specifically talking about northern India during winter in which rain happens due to western disturbances only. Hence ans is c.
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