UPSC Essentials brings to you its initiative of subject-wise quizzes. These quizzes are designed to help you revise some of the most important topics from the static part of the syllabus. Each day, we will cover one new subject. Attempt today’s subject quiz on Environment, Geography, Science and Technology to check your progress. Come back tomorrow to solve the Economy Quiz.

With reference to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), consider the following statements:

1. It is an environmental treaty of the UN that provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats.

2. The pact was signed in Germany and is known as the Bonn Convention.

3. Appendix I of the Convention lists ‘Migratory Species requiring international cooperation’.

4. India has been a party to the Convention on Migratory Species since 1983.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) Only three

(d) All four

With reference to the global stocktake, consider the following statements:

1. It is a party-driven process conducted transparently and with the participation of non-party stakeholders.

2. The first global stocktake concluded at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

With reference to the Large Hadron Collider, consider the following statements:

1. It is a complex machine built to study particles that are the smallest known building blocks of all things.

2. It has been developed by European Organisation for Nuclear Research.

3. It uses a distribution system of liquid sodium to keep its critical components ultracold at minus 271.3 degrees Celsius.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

“Yankti Kuti Valley” was in the news due to multiple events of glacial advances. It is located in:

(a) Uttarakhand

(b) Ladakh

(c) Arunachal Pradesh

(d) Himachal Pradesh

Cervarix and Gardasil are mentioned in the context of:

(a) Monkeypox Vaccine

(b) Swine Flu Vaccine

(c) Marburg Virus Disease Vaccine

(d) Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine

FYI:

— The CMS is an environmental treaty of the UN that provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— It is the only global convention dedicated to the conservation of migratory species, habitats, and migration routes. — The pact was signed in 1979 in Germany and is known as the Bonn Convention. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— “CMS brings together the States through which migratory animals pass, the Range States, and lays the legal foundation for internationally coordinated conservation measures throughout a migratory range,” according to the website of the organisation.

— Appendix I of the Convention lists ‘Threatened Migratory Species’. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

— Appendix II lists ‘Migratory Species requiring international cooperation’.

— CMS Parties strive towards strictly protecting these animals, conserving or restoring the places where they live, mitigating obstacles to migration and controlling other factors that might endanger them.

— India has been a party to the Convention on Migratory Species since 1983. Hence, statement 4 is correct.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

FYI:

— The global stocktake, which “will be a Party-driven process conducted in a transparent manner and with the participation of non-Party stakeholders.” Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— It is a crucial turning point in the fight against climate change because it allows nations and other stakeholders to assess where they’re collectively making progress towards meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and where they’re not.

— The first global stocktake concluded at COP28 in Dubai. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

(Other Source: unfccc.int)

FYI:

— The Large Hadron Collider is a giant, complex machine built to study particles that are the smallest known building blocks of all things. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— It is structurally a 27-km-long track loop buried 100 metres underground on the Swiss-French border. It fires two beams of protons almost at the speed of light in opposite directions inside a ring of superconducting electromagnets.

— The magnetic field created by the superconducting electromagnets keeps the protons in a tight beam and guides them along the way as they travel through beam pipes and finally collide.

— Prior to the collision, another type of magnet is used to ‘squeeze’ the particles closer together to increase the chances of collisions.

— The particles are so tiny that the task of making them collide is akin to firing two needles 10 km apart with such precision that they meet halfway,” according to the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, or CERN, in French), which runs the particle accelerator complex that houses the LHC. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— The LHC’s powerful electromagnets carry almost as much current as a bolt of lightning, they must be kept chilled. The LHC uses a distribution system of liquid helium to keep its critical components ultracold at minus 271.3 degrees Celsius, which is colder than interstellar space. Given these requirements, it is not easy to warm up or cool down the gigantic machine. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

FYI:

— The events of glacial advances have been witnessed from the Yankti Kuti valley in the extreme eastern part of Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand.

— The strong tectonic activities that occurred several thousands of centuries ago along a major tributary of Kali Ganga river in the present-day Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand could have led to an abrupt change in the glacial flow direction.

— Kuthi Yankti River is a major tributary of the Kali Ganga River.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

FYI:

— Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) comprises more than 100 viruses worldwide, of which at least 14 cause cancer. HPV 16 and 18 are responsible for about 70 per cent of the global disease burden. It is the most common sexually transmitted infection.

— The higher rates of cervical cancer incidence and mortality in India are not attributable to differences in cervical infection with HPV types. Instead, they are because of the absence of the HPV vaccination programme, the relative lack of high-quality cervical cancer screening and the lack of access to cervical cancer treatment.

— Cervarix and Gardasil are the currently available HPV vaccines:

(1) Cervarix is a bivalent vaccine that protects you against HPV types 16 and 18.

(2) Gardasil is available in quadrivalent and non-valent forms that protect you against HPV strains 6, 11, 16 and 28 (and 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58 in nine-valent or Gardasil 9).

— The WHO now recommends one or two-dose schedules for girls aged between 9 and 14 years, one or two-dose schedules for girls and women aged between 15 and 20 years and two doses with a six-month interval for women older than 21 years.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

Daily subject-wise quiz — Polity and Governance (Week 45)

Daily Subject-wise quiz — History, Culture, and Social Issues (Week 45)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Environment, Geography, Science and Technology (Week 44)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 44)

Daily subject-wise quiz – International Relations (Week 44)

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