Daily UPSC Prelims Current Affairs – May 13-14-15, 2023 [Mock Test]
May 25, 2023 May 25, 2023
1. Which of the following is/are the features of the west flowing rivers?
- These do not form estuaries
- These do not form distributaries
- These do not form deltas
Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:
[A] Only 1 & 2
[B] Only 2 & 3
[C] Only 3
[D] 1, 2 & 3
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Only 2 & 3]
Notes:- The rivers flowing towards the Arabian Sea have short courses because their origins lie closer to the sea, and the Western Ghats act as a water divide.
- Peninsular rivers which fall into the Arabian Sea do not form deltas, but only estuaries. This is due to the fact that the west flowing rivers, especially the Narmada and the Tapi flow through hard rocks and hence do not carry any good amount of silt.
- Moreover, the tributaries of these rivers are very small and hence they don’t contribute any silt.
- These rivers are not able to form distributaries or a delta before they enter the sea.
- They are also rain-fed and are seasonal rivers.
2. Which of the following conditions need to be fulfilled for a planet to be a habitable planet?
- Absence of magnetic field
- To be outside the limits of Goldilocks Zone
- The ability to hold an atmosphere
- The presence of liquid water
Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:
[A] Only 3 & 4
[B] Only 1, 3 & 4
[C] Only 2, 3 & 4
[D] 1, 2, 3 & 4
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Only 3 & 4]
Notes:- Magnetic field is one of the prerequisites for a habitable planet. The survival of a planet’s atmosphere depends on having or not having a strong magnetic field. The magnetic field protects the planet’s atmosphere from being eroded by the charged particles blowing in from its star.
- To have an atmosphere and sustain water, a planet has to be at a certain distance from its star (Goldilocks zone), or it will get burnt. The ‘Goldilocks Zone’ refers to the habitable zone around a star where the temperature is just right – not too hot and not too cold – for liquid water to exist on a planet. Since liquid water is essential for life as it has potential to accommodate biotic organism, thereby, it is called ‘habitable zone’.
3. ‘YZ Ceti b’ was seen in news recently, it is a/an:
[A] Asteroid
[B] Crater on Mars
[C] Moon of Pluto
[D] Exoplanet
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Exoplanet]
Notes:- YZ Ceti b is a rocky, earth-sized exoplanet rotating around a small red dwarf star and is 12 light-years from Earth.
- Astronomers have detected a repeating radio signal from this exoplanet that suggests the presence of a magnetic field around it.
