Daily Static Quiz March 7, 2025
Daily Static Quiz
Q.1 With reference to graphene, consider the following statements:
It is impermeable to gases and liquids.
It is a non-conductor of electricity.
It is one of the thinnest and strongest materials known.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Q.2 Consider the following statements about India’s lunar missions:
Chandrayaan-1 was India’s first mission to the moon, launched in 2008.
The diameter of the moon is approximately one-quarter that of the Earth.
Chandrayaan-2 successfully landed a rover on the lunar surface.
No Indian citizen has ever landed on the moon.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 1, 2 and 4 only
(c) 2, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 3 and 4 only
Q.3 With reference to ‘Astrosat’, the astronomical observatory launched by India, which of the following statements is/are correct?
It is India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory.
Other than USA and Russia, India is the only country to have launched a similar observatory into space.
Astrosat observes the universe in the optical, ultraviolet, and X-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Q.4 With reference to India’s Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM), consider the following statements:
It is scheduled to be launched in 2028 using the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM-3).
The mission aims to take approximately 112 days to reach Venus.
The mission will carry only Indian scientific payloads.
One of its objectives is to test aerobraking techniques in the Venusian environment.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1, 2 and 4 only
(c) 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q. 5 Which of the following statements regarding the ‘Oort Cloud’ are correct?
It is a spherical shell surrounding our solar system.
It lies in the same flat disk around the Sun as the planets.
It is believed to be the source of most long-period comets.
It is located beyond the Kuiper Belt.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 3 and 4 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 2 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q. 6 With reference to pulsars, consider the following statements:
Pulsars are remnants of massive stars that did not become black holes.
The phenomenon known as “glitches” refers to sudden decreases in a pulsar’s rotation speed.
Pulsars emit focused beams of radio waves that appear as periodic signals when observed from Earth.
The behavior of neutrons in a pulsar suggests they form a superfluid with very low friction.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1, 3 and 4 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 2 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q. 7 Consider the following statements about different types of RNA:
miRNA (microRNA) is involved in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression.
snRNA (small nuclear RNA) plays a key role in mRNA splicing in the nucleus.
siRNA (small interfering RNA) is used in biotechnology for gene silencing.
rRNA (ribosomal RNA) is the most abundant type of RNA in cells.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 and 4 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q.8 Which of the following diseases is/are associated with protein misfolding?
Alzheimer’s disease
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)
Huntington’s disease
Cystic fibrosis
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 2 and 4 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q. 9 With reference to plant biotechnology, consider the following statements:
Golden Rice is genetically modified to produce beta-carotene.
Agrobacterium tumefaciens is commonly used for gene transfer in plants.
Bt cotton produces a protein toxic to certain insect pests.
CRISPR-Cas9 cannot be used for genome editing in plants.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 2 and 4 only
(c) 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q. 10. With reference to cybersecurity, consider the following statements:
Ransomware is a type of malware that restricts access to files and demands payment for their release.
A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack attempts to make a service unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources.
Phishing attacks primarily target hardware vulnerabilities rather than human psychology.
Zero-day vulnerabilities are security flaws that are known to the software vendor and have patches available.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1, 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q. 1 (b) 1 and 3 only
: Graphene is indeed impermeable to gases and liquids despite being only one atom thick, making statement 1 correct. This property makes graphene potentially valuable for applications in filtration and barrier materials. Statement 2 is incorrect as graphene is an excellent conductor of electricity—in fact, it conducts heat and electricity better than copper, not worse. This conductivity property is what makes graphene promising for electronics applications. Statement 3 is correct since graphene is undoubtedly one of the thinnest materials possible (being just one atom thick) while simultaneously being stronger than diamond and can be stretched by about a quarter of its length like rubber. These unique combinations of properties make graphene a material of significant scientific and industrial interest.
Q.2 : (b) 1, 2 and 4 only
: Statement 1 is accurate, as Chandrayaan-1 was indeed India’s first mission to the moon, launched in October 2008 and operated until August 2009. This mission was significant as it helped discover evidence of water molecules on the moon. Statement 2 is correct as the moon’s diameter is approximately 3,474 km, which is about one-quarter of Earth’s diameter (12,742 km). Statement 3 is incorrect because Chandrayaan-2’s lander (Vikram) experienced a hard landing on the lunar surface in September 2019, preventing the successful deployment of the Pragyan rover. Statement 4 is correct since no Indian citizen has ever landed on the moon—in fact, only American astronauts have walked on the lunar surface. The United States remains the only country that has successfully landed humans on the moon, with the last such mission occurring in 1972.
Q. 3: (a) 1 and 3 only
: Statement 1 is correct because Astrosat is indeed India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory, marking a significant achievement in India’s space program. Statement 2 is incorrect as India is not the third but the fourth country to launch such an observatory. Besides the USA (Hubble) and Russia (Spektr R), Japan has also launched a space observatory called Suzaku. Statement 3 is correct since Astrosat is designed to observe the universe across multiple wavelengths including optical, ultraviolet, and both low and high energy X-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. This multi-wavelength capability distinguishes Astrosat from many other scientific satellites that typically observe only narrow wavelength bands. Launched by PSLV-C30 into a 650 km orbit inclined at 6 degrees to the equator, Astrosat weighs approximately 1513 kg, not 2000 kg as sometimes incorrectly stated.
Q. 4: (b) 1, 2 and 4 only
: Statement 1 is correct as the Venus Orbiter Mission is targeted for launch in March 2028 using the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM-3). Statement 2 is also correct since ISRO has calculated that the journey to Venus will take approximately 112 days. Statement 3 is incorrect because while the mission will predominantly carry Indian payloads (16), it will also include 2 Indian-international collaborative payloads and 1 purely international payload, for a total of 19 scientific instruments. Statement 4 is correct as one of the technological demonstrations planned for VOM includes testing aerobraking techniques in the harsh Venusian environment. The mission has several scientific objectives including examining dust in the Venusian atmosphere, studying its airglow, mapping surface topography, analyzing the solar X-ray spectrum, and investigating sub-surface characteristics. This ambitious mission will significantly enhance our understanding of Venus while showcasing India’s growing capabilities in planetary exploration.
Q.5 (a) 1, 3 and 4 only
: Statement 1 is correct as the Oort Cloud is indeed believed to be a giant spherical shell surrounding the rest of the solar system, unlike other structures within our planetary system. Statement 2 is incorrect because unlike the planets and Kuiper Belt objects which orbit in a relatively flat disk around the Sun, the Oort Cloud has a spherical distribution. Statement 3 is correct since scientists suspect that the Oort Cloud is the source of most long-period comets due to their extremely long orbital periods. Statement 4 is correct as the Oort Cloud lies far beyond Pluto and the most distant edges of the Kuiper Belt, with even its nearest objects thought to be many times farther from the Sun than the outer reaches of the Kuiper Belt. The Oort Cloud is thought to contain billions or even trillions of icy objects, and its outer limit defines the cosmographic boundary of our Solar System and the extent of the Sun’s Hill sphere. It is proposed to surround the Sun at distances ranging from 2,000 to 200,000 astronomical units.
Q.6 a) 1, 3 and 4 only
: Statement 1 is correct because pulsars are indeed rotating neutron stars, which form from the remnants of massive stars that weren’t massive enough to collapse into black holes. Statement 2 is incorrect as “glitches” in pulsars refer to sudden increases (not decreases) in rotation speed. Since their discovery in 1969, around 700 such glitches have been observed in more than 3,000 pulsars. Statement 3 is correct since pulsars emit focused beams of radio waves that, due to the star’s rotation, sweep across Earth periodically, creating the characteristic pulsing signal that gives these objects their name. This is often compared to a lighthouse effect. Statement 4 is correct because the slow post-glitch recovery behavior of pulsars suggests that the neutrons inside neutron stars behave like a superfluid with very low friction. This superfluid exhibits vortex behavior, similar to tiny whirlpools, which plays a role in the pulsar’s rotational dynamics. The study of pulsar glitches provides valuable insights into the internal structure and behavior of these incredibly dense stellar remnants.
Q. 7 (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
: Statement 1 is correct as miRNA (microRNA) molecules are involved in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression by binding to target mRNAs and typically inhibiting translation or inducing mRNA degradation. Statement 2 is correct because snRNA (small nuclear RNA) is a component of spliceosomes, which are complex machinery that remove introns from pre-mRNA in the nucleus during the process of RNA splicing. Statement 3 is correct since siRNA (small interfering RNA) is extensively used in RNA interference technology for gene silencing, both as a research tool to study gene function and in potential therapeutic applications targeting specific disease-causing genes. Statement 4 is correct as rRNA (ribosomal RNA) constitutes about 80% of the total RNA in a typical eukaryotic cell, making it the most abundant type of RNA. These RNA molecules form the core of ribosomes, the cellular factories responsible for protein synthesis. All these RNA types demonstrate the remarkable versatility of RNA in cellular processes and biotechnological applications.
Q. 8 (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
: Statement 1 is correct because Alzheimer’s disease is associated with the misfolding of amyloid-beta and tau proteins, leading to the formation of plaques and tangles in the brain that disrupt neuronal communication and function. Statement 2 is correct as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is caused by misfolded prion proteins that can trigger normal prion proteins to misfold, creating a cascade effect that leads to brain damage. Statement 3 is correct since Huntington’s disease involves misfolding of the huntingtin protein due to an expanded polyglutamine tract caused by CAG repeat mutations in the HTT gene. Statement 4 is correct because cystic fibrosis is caused by mutations in the CFTR gene that lead to protein misfolding and degradation before the protein can reach the cell surface, resulting in impaired chloride channel function. These diverse diseases illustrate how protein misfolding can lead to pathologies through different mechanisms, including toxic gain-of-function, loss-of-function, and prion-like propagation. Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for developing targeted therapeutic approaches.
Q.9 (a) 1, 2 and 3 only
: Statement 1 is correct because Golden Rice is genetically engineered to produce beta-carotene (provitamin A) in the endosperm of rice grains. This biofortification aims to address vitamin A deficiency, a serious public health issue in many developing countries where rice is a staple food. Statement 2 is correct as Agrobacterium tumefaciens is widely used as a vector for gene transfer in plants due to its natural ability to insert a segment of its DNA (T-DNA) into the plant genome. This bacterial species has been modified to remove disease-causing genes while retaining its DNA transfer capacity, making it an invaluable tool in plant genetic engineering. Statement 3 is correct since Bt cotton has been genetically modified to express Cry proteins derived from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. These proteins are toxic to specific insect pests, particularly bollworms, but harmless to humans and most beneficial insects. Statement 4 is incorrect because CRISPR-Cas9 can be and is increasingly being used for genome editing in plants to improve traits such as disease resistance, stress tolerance, and nutritional quality, or to study gene function.
Q.10 (a) 1 and 2 only
: Statement 1 is correct as ransomware is indeed a type of malicious software that encrypts a victim’s files and demands payment (usually in cryptocurrency) for the decryption key. This form of cyberattack has become increasingly prevalent and sophisticated, targeting individuals, businesses, and even critical infrastructure. Statement 2 is correct because a distributed denial-of-service attack involves multiple compromised computer systems flooding a target with traffic to overload it and deny service to legitimate users. These attacks can range from small-scale disruptions to massive campaigns that can take down major websites or services. Statement 3 is incorrect since phishing attacks primarily exploit human psychology rather than hardware vulnerabilities. These attacks use social engineering techniques to trick users into revealing sensitive information or installing malware by impersonating trusted entities. Statement 4 is incorrect because zero-day vulnerabilities are security flaws that are unknown to the software vendor and thus have no patches available yet. This makes them particularly dangerous as they can be exploited before developers have an opportunity to address them.
