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UPPSC 2013 — Environment Questions with Answers
All 17 Environment previous-year questions from UPPSC 2013, each with the correct answer and a full explanation. Practise them as a free, timed mock test with instant scoring.
Practice Environment as a timed test →- Q1.Biodiversity
Consider the following animals. Which of the above are naturally found in India?
- a)1, 2 and 3 only
- b)2 and 3 only
- c)1 and 4 only
- d)1, 2, 3 and 4
Explanation: Star tortoise, monitor lizard and pygmy hog occur naturally in India, whereas the spider monkey is found in the Americas.
- Q2.Water Pollution
Which of the following can be found as pollutants in the drinking water in some parts of India? Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
- a)1 and 3 only
- b)2, 4 and 5 only
- c)1, 3 and 5 only
- d)1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Explanation: Arsenic, fluoride and uranium are documented groundwater contaminants in parts of India; sorbitol and formaldehyde are not natural water pollutants.
- Q3.Biodiversity — Mammals
Consider the following animals. Which of the above is/are mammal/mammals?
- a)1 only
- b)1 and 3 only
- c)2 and 3 only
- d)1, 2 and 3
Explanation: Sea cow (dugong) and sea lion are mammals, while the sea horse is a bony fish.
- Q4.Protected Areas
Consider the following pairs of biosphere reserves/lakes/national parks and locations. Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
- a)1 only
- b)2 and 3 only
- c)1, 2 and 3
- d)None
Explanation: Only Nokrek Biosphere Reserve in the Garo Hills is correctly matched; Loktak and Namdapha are paired with the wrong locations.
- Q5.Ecological Succession
In the grasslands, trees do not replace the grasses as a part of an ecological succession because of
- a)Due to insects and fungi
- b)Due to limited sunlight and lack of nutrients
- c)Due to water limitations and fire
- d)None of the above
Explanation: In grasslands, periodic fire and water limitation prevent trees from displacing grasses during succession.
- Q6.Ecosystem Productivity
Which one of the following is the correct sequence of ecosystems in the order of decreasing productivity?
- a)Ocean, Lake, Grassland, Mangrove
- b)Mangrove, Ocean, Grassland, Lake
- c)Mangrove, Grassland, Lake, Ocean
- d)Ocean, Mangrove, Lake, Grassland
Explanation: Mangroves are the most productive, followed by grasslands, then lakes, with open oceans the least productive per unit area.
- Q7.E-waste
Due to improper/indiscriminate disposal of old and used computers or their parts, which of the following are released into the environment as e-waste? Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
- a)1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 only
- b)1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 only
- c)2, 4, 5 and 7 only
- d)1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7
Explanation: Beryllium, cadmium, chromium, mercury and lead are the e-waste pollutants here; heptachlor and plutonium are not typical computer e-waste.
- Q8.Air Pollution
Acid rain is caused by the pollution of environment by
- a)Carbon dioxide and Nitrogen
- b)Carbon monoxide and Carbon dioxide
- c)Ozone and Carbon dioxide
- d)Nitrous dioxide and Sulphur dioxide
Explanation: Acid rain forms when nitrogen and sulphur oxides (notably nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide) react with atmospheric moisture.
- Q9.Food Chains
With reference to food chains in ecosystems, consider the following statements. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- a)1 only
- b)1 and 2 only
- c)1, 2 and 3
- d)None
Explanation: Only the definition that a food chain shows the feeding order of organisms is accurate; the other two statements misstate food-chain concepts.
- Q10.National Parks
Consider the following pairs of National Parks and the rivers flowing through them. Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
- a)1 and 2
- b)3 only
- c)1 and 3
- d)None
Explanation: None of the park–river pairs is correct; the rivers listed do not flow through those national parks as stated.
- Q11.Biofertilizers
Consider the following organisms. Which of the above is/are used as biofertilizer/biofertilizers?
- a)1 and 2
- b)2 only
- c)2 and 3
- d)3 only
Explanation: Nostoc, a nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium, is used as a biofertilizer, unlike Agaricus or Spirogyra.
- Q12.Nitrogen Cycle
Which of the following adds/add nitrogen to the soil? Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
- a)1 only
- b)2 and 3 only
- c)1 and 3 only
- d)1, 2 and 3
Explanation: Animal urea and decaying vegetation add nitrogen to the soil, but burning coal does not enrich soil nitrogen.
- Q13.Biodiversity — Species Distribution
In which of the following States is lion-tailed macaque found in its natural habitat? Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
- a)1, 2 and 3 only
- b)2 only
- c)1, 3 and 4 only
- d)1, 2, 3 and 4
Explanation: The lion-tailed macaque's natural habitat lies in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
- Q14.Ecology — Niche
Which one of the following terms describes not only the physical space occupied by an organism, but also its functional role in the community of organisms?
- a)Ecotone
- b)Ecological niche
- c)Habitat
- d)Home range
Explanation: An ecological niche denotes both the physical space an organism occupies and its functional role in the community.
- Q15.Air Pollution — Smog
Photochemical smog is a resultant of the reaction among
- a)NO₂, O₃ and Peroxyacetyl Nitrate in the presence of sunlight
- b)CO, O₂ and Peroxyacetyl Nitrate in the presence of sunlight
- c)CO, CO₂ and NO₂ at low temperature
- d)High concentration of NO₂, O₃ and CO in the evening
Explanation: Photochemical smog forms from the sunlight-driven reaction among nitrogen dioxide, ozone and peroxyacetyl nitrate.
- Q16.Decomposers
With reference to the food chains in ecosystems, which of the following kinds of organism is/are known as decomposer organism/organisms? Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
- a)1 only
- b)2 and 3 only
- c)1 and 3 only
- d)1, 2 and 3
Explanation: Fungi and bacteria are the principal decomposers; viruses do not function as decomposers.
- Q17.Endangered Species
Consider the following fauna of India. Which of the above is/are endangered?
- a)1 and 2 only
- b)3 only
- c)1, 2 and 3
- d)None
Explanation: Both the gharial and the leatherback turtle are endangered, whereas the swamp deer is classed differently in this context, so only 1 and 2.
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