UPSC Prelims 2024 — solved PYQs

Statement 2 is also correct. The Red Sea has no major perennial river draining into it, making it one of the most saline water bodies in the world.

Statement 1 is also correct. The Red Sea lies in an arid belt with negligible rainfall over most of its basin.

Both statements are factually correct. The Red Sea's high salinity is a direct consequence of minimal freshwater input from rain or rivers.

Incorrect. Statement 1 is wrong. The reservation does not automatically begin from the 18th Lok Sabha because operationalisation is tied to delimitation after the first census conducted after the commencement of the amendment.

Incorrect. Statement 1 is wrong because implementation depends on the completion of delimitation based on a post-commencement census, not a fixed Lok Sabha number.

Incorrect. Statement 1 is wrong. The provisions are linked to delimitation after a future census, not to the 18th Lok Sabha specifically.

Both statements correctly explain weathering. Carbonic acid from dissolved CO2 causes carbonation of feldspar and limestone, while dissolved oxygen causes oxidation of ferrous minerals. Both are valid explanatory mechanisms.

Both Statement II and Statement III are factually correct. Rainwater dissolves both CO2 and O2 from the atmosphere during precipitation.

Both statements are correct. Rainwater is a natural solvent that absorbs atmospheric gases including carbon dioxide and oxygen as it falls.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Water vapour concentration is highest near the equator where temperatures and evaporation rates are high, and lowest at the poles.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Cold polar air has very low capacity to hold moisture, so water vapour percentage is minimal at the poles.

Statement 1 is correct. Water vapour decreases rapidly with altitude because it is produced primarily at the surface and condenses at higher, cooler levels.

This is incorrect because US Treasury bonds are not secured by physical gold held for bondholders.

This is incorrect because Bondholders do have legal claims; the issue is default risk by the issuer.

This is incorrect because They are standard sovereign debt instruments.

Hydrogen peroxide is not produced in a PEM fuel cell; the electrochemical reaction yields water, not H₂O₂.

Hydronium (H₃O⁺) is an intermediate ion in aqueous solutions, not a fuel cell exhaust product.

Oxygen is a reactant consumed at the cathode, not an exhaust product of the fuel cell.

Mahua flowers are pollinated by multiple generalist visitors including bats and insects; there is no obligate one-to-one insect relationship.

Sandalwood is a hemiparasitic tree pollinated by various generalist insects and does not display obligate co-evolution with a single pollinator.

Silk cotton (Bombax) is typically pollinated by birds, bats, and generalist insects rather than a single co-evolved insect partner.

Statement 2 is also correct. A bill passed by the Lok Sabha but pending in the Rajya Sabha also lapses on dissolution.

Statement 3 is incorrect. The joint sitting notification preserves the bill from lapse on dissolution.

Statement 3 is incorrect. The joint sitting provision under Article 108 specifically prevents such a bill from lapsing.

A writ of prohibition is not directed at government officers to prevent executive action. That function is served by other writs like mandamus or injunctions.

Courts cannot direct Parliament or legislatures to pass laws. This would violate the separation of powers and is not the function of the writ of prohibition.

The writ of prohibition is directed at judicial or quasi-judicial bodies, not at the executive government to stop policy implementation.

Volcanic eruptions produce far more than one of these. Pyroclasts, ash, and volcanic gases containing nitrogen and sulphur compounds are all well-documented volcanic products.

All four items are volcanic products. Besides solid ejecta like pyroclasts and ash, volcanoes release gases including SO2, H2S, and nitrogen oxides.

All four are correct, not just three. Volcanic gases contain both sulphur compounds (SO2, H2S) and nitrogen compounds alongside the solid pyroclastic debris and ash.

Incomplete. Statement 3 is also correct. Part XX of the Constitution contains Article 368 dealing with the power and procedure to amend the Constitution.

Incomplete. Statement 1 is also correct. Part IXA (Articles 243P to 243ZG) was added by the 74th Amendment Act and deals with Municipalities.

Incomplete. Statement 2 is also correct. Part XVIII (Articles 352 to 360) covers Emergency Provisions including National Emergency, State Emergency, and Financial Emergency.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Speaker has the right to speak in the proceedings even when the removal resolution is being considered.

Both Statements 2 and 3 are incorrect. The Speaker can speak and is entitled to vote in the first instance during such proceedings.

Only Statement 1 is correct. The Speaker retains speaking rights and first-instance voting rights during removal proceedings.

The Ghaghara does not join before the Gomati when moving eastward from Prayagraj. The Gomati joins at Jaunpur-Varanasi stretch first.

The Kosi does not join before the Gandak. The Gandak enters the Ganga upstream of the Kosi's confluence.

While Gomati precedes Ghaghara, the Kosi does not join before the Gandak. The correct eastward order ends with Gandak before Kosi.

Statement II is factually wrong. The Indian Flying Fox is a frugivorous bat that feeds on fruits and nectar, not on blood. Only vampire bats feed on blood.

Statement II is incorrect because the Indian Flying Fox is a fruit bat, not a blood-feeding species.

Statement I is correct as the species is indeed listed under the vermin schedule. Statement II is wrong because it is a frugivore, not a haematophagous species.

Statement 3 is incorrect; male leopards actively scent-mark trees and rocks to define territory, much like lions do.

Statement 3 is wrong. Leopards are solitary and territorial, and scent marking is a key behaviour used by male leopards.

Statement 3 is factually incorrect since male leopards prominently use scent marking, urine spraying, and claw marks to demarcate territory.

Pumped-storage hydropower is an energy storage technology, not an irrigation technique for terraced fields.

Lift irrigation and pumped-storage hydropower are entirely different concepts; the latter stores grid-scale energy.

Rainwater harvesting captures precipitation for direct use; pumped-storage is a grid-scale energy balancing mechanism.

Two countries from the list border the North Sea, not just one.

Finland and Russia do not have North Sea coastlines. Only Germany and Norway do.

Finland lies on the Baltic Sea and Russia's European coast is on the Baltic and Arctic systems. Neither borders the North Sea.

This is incorrect because Statement 1 is incorrect because NBFCs do not have regular access to the LAF window like banks.

This is incorrect because Statement 2 is also correct because eligible foreign investors can hold Government securities.

This is incorrect because Statement 1 is wrong even though Statements 2 and 3 are correct.

Statement-I is actually incorrect; giant stars burn fuel faster and have shorter lifespans despite their larger mass.

Statement-I is wrong. Giant stars consume their nuclear fuel at much higher rates than dwarf stars and die sooner.

Statement-II is correct; massive stars have far higher core temperatures and nuclear reaction rates.

Incorrect. There have been more than one Delimitation Commission since independence.

Incorrect. Two is an undercount; Delimitation Commissions were set up in 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002.

Incorrect. Three is still an undercount; a fourth Commission was constituted in 2002.

Narasimha Saluva was the founder of the Saluva dynasty of Vijayanagara but is not specifically associated with granting permission for the Bhatkal fort.

Muhammad Shah III was a Bahmani Sultan and is not associated with the Portuguese fort at Bhatkal.

Yusuf Adil Shah founded the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur. While he had interactions with the Portuguese, the Bhatkal fort permission is linked to Krishnadevaraya.

Algeria and Morocco are North African countries that produce negligible cocoa. Cocoa requires a tropical humid climate.

Botswana and Namibia are arid Southern African countries with no significant cocoa cultivation.

Madagascar and Mozambique are East African nations that produce small quantities of cocoa but are nowhere near the top two globally.

Statement 1 is incorrect because Mitra Shakti is the India-Sri Lanka joint exercise, not India-Bangladesh.

Statement 1 is incorrect; the exercise partner is Sri Lanka, not Bangladesh.

Statement 1 is wrong; Mitra Shakti involves India and Sri Lanka.

Statement II directly explains Statement I. The vigorous convection at the equator is the mechanism that extends the troposphere to greater heights.

Statement II is correct. Strong convectional currents are a defining feature of equatorial atmospheric dynamics.

Statement I is correct. The troposphere is roughly twice as thick at the equator compared to the poles.

Equatorial climates have much higher precipitation (typically above 200 cm) and higher temperatures throughout the year. The low daily range fits but the precipitation range is more characteristic of marine west coast.

China type climate (humid subtropical eastern margins) has distinct seasonal variation and a wider temperature range than described here.

Humid subtropical climates have a larger annual temperature range and more seasonal contrast in precipitation than described.