UPSC NDA-1 Archives

1. Which one of the following is NOT a coastal depositional feature ?

Which one of the following is NOT a coastal depositional feature ?

[amp_mcq option1=”Tombolo” option2=”Sand bar” option3=”Stack” option4=”Spit” correct=”option3″]

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UPSC NDA-1 – 2018

The correct answer is (C) Stack. A stack is a vertical column of rock near the coast, formed by coastal erosion. It is typically created when a sea arch collapses. Tombolos, sand bars, and spits are all landforms created by the deposition of sand, gravel, or sediment along the coast.

Coastal landforms are shaped by either erosional or depositional processes of waves and currents. Stacks are features of coastal erosion.

Examples of coastal erosional features include cliffs, wave-cut platforms, sea caves, sea arches, and stacks. Examples of coastal depositional features include beaches, spits, bars, tombolos, and barrier islands.

2. Which one among the following is the largest tiger reserve of India in

Which one among the following is the largest tiger reserve of India in terms of area of the core/critical tiger habitat ?

[amp_mcq option1=”Manas” option2=”Pakke” option3=”Nagarjunasagar Srisailam” option4=”Periyar” correct=”option3″]

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UPSC NDA-1 – 2018

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The correct answer is (C) Nagarjunasagar Srisailam. The Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve, spread across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, has the largest core/critical tiger habitat area among the options listed and in India. Its core area is approximately 2595 square kilometers.

Tiger reserves in India are categorized into core/critical tiger habitat and buffer areas. The core area is legally protected and managed for tiger conservation, free from human activities.

The core areas of the other listed reserves are significantly smaller: Manas (Assam) – approx. 950 sq km, Pakke (Arunachal Pradesh) – approx. 683 sq km, Periyar (Kerala) – approx. 925 sq km. The total area (core + buffer) of Nagarjunasagar Srisailam is also very large, making it the largest tiger reserve overall in India by total area as well.

3. Which one of the following is NOT a tributary of Indus River ?

Which one of the following is NOT a tributary of Indus River ?

[amp_mcq option1=”Beas” option2=”Ravi” option3=”Chenab” option4=”Tawi” correct=”option4″]

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UPSC NDA-1 – 2018

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The correct answer is (D) Tawi. The Indus River system includes the main Indus river and its major tributaries like Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej, which collectively form the Panjnad. Beas, Ravi, and Chenab are major tributaries that join the Indus (directly or indirectly through the Panjnad). The Tawi River is a tributary of the Chenab River. While the Tawi is part of the larger Indus drainage basin as it flows into Chenab, which flows into the Indus, it is a tributary of a tributary, not a direct major tributary of the Indus itself in the same category as Beas, Ravi, or Chenab. The question likely intends to distinguish between major direct tributaries or main river components of the system listed and a smaller, secondary tributary.

The Indus River system comprises the main river and its principal tributaries like the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. Tawi is a tributary of Chenab.

The Chenab River is one of the largest tributaries of the Indus, and the Tawi River is an important river in Jammu and Kashmir that joins the Chenab near Sialkot in Pakistan.

4. Which of the following statements about Indian Academy of Highway Engi

Which of the following statements about Indian Academy of Highway Engineers is/are correct ?

1. It is a registered society.
2. It is a collaborative body of both Central Government and State Governments.

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

[amp_mcq option1=”1 only” option2=”2 only” option3=”Both 1 and 2″ option4=”Neither 1 nor 2″ correct=”option1″]

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UPSC NDA-1 – 2018

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The correct answer is (A) 1 only. The Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE) is registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. This makes statement 1 correct. IAHE functions as an autonomous body under the administrative control of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India. While it trains engineers from both central and state governments, it is not structured as a “collaborative body” in terms of joint governance or equal partnership between Central and State Governments; its primary control lies with the central ministry. Therefore, statement 2 is incorrect in describing its structural nature.

The Indian Academy of Highway Engineers is a registered society operating under the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, primarily focused on training personnel for the highway sector.

IAHE plays a crucial role in capacity building and training for engineers involved in the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of highways in India. Its being a registered society gives it a degree of operational autonomy within the framework of government oversight.

5. In which one of the following places, Headquarters of a Railway Zone i

In which one of the following places, Headquarters of a Railway Zone is located ?

[amp_mcq option1=”Kanpur” option2=”Lucknow” option3=”Hajipur” option4=”New Jalpaiguri” correct=”option3″]

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UPSC NDA-1 – 2018

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The correct answer is (C) Hajipur. Hajipur in Bihar is the headquarters of the East Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways.

Indian Railways is divided into several zones, each with a designated headquarters city. Identifying these headquarters is a factual recall question.

As of the current structure, there are 18 railway zones in India. Kanpur and Lucknow are important railway cities in Uttar Pradesh but are not zone headquarters. New Jalpaiguri is a major railway station in West Bengal but not a zone headquarters.

6. If by an unknown accident the acid secreting cells of the stomach wall

If by an unknown accident the acid secreting cells of the stomach wall of an individual are damaged, digestion of which one of the following biomolecule will be affected to a greater extent ?

[amp_mcq option1=”Protein only” option2=”Lipid” option3=”Carbohydrate only” option4=”Protein and Carbohydrate” correct=”option1″]

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The correct answer is (A) Protein only. The acid-secreting cells (parietal cells) in the stomach produce hydrochloric acid (HCl). HCl creates a highly acidic environment (pH 1.5-3.5) necessary for two main functions related to protein digestion: (1) It activates pepsinogen, an inactive enzyme precursor, into its active form, pepsin. Pepsin is the primary enzyme for protein digestion in the stomach. (2) The acid helps denature proteins, unfolding their complex structures and making the peptide bonds more accessible to pepsin.

Stomach acid is crucial for activating pepsin, the main enzyme for protein digestion in the stomach, and for denaturing proteins.

Digestion of carbohydrates primarily begins in the mouth (salivary amylase) and continues in the small intestine. Digestion of lipids primarily occurs in the small intestine with the help of bile and pancreatic lipase. While the acidic environment of the stomach might have minor effects on other biomolecules, its most significant role is in initiating protein digestion.

7. Which one of the following types of tissues will have contractile prot

Which one of the following types of tissues will have contractile proteins ?

[amp_mcq option1=”Nervous tissue” option2=”Muscle tissue” option3=”Bone tissue” option4=”Blood tissue” correct=”option2″]

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The correct answer is (B) Muscle tissue. Muscle tissue is specialized for contraction and contains proteins like actin and myosin, which are referred to as contractile proteins. These proteins interact to generate force and movement.

Contractile proteins (actin and myosin) are the fundamental components responsible for the ability of muscle tissue to contract and produce movement.

Nervous tissue transmits electrical signals. Bone tissue provides structural support and protection. Blood tissue is a connective tissue involved in transport. None of these tissues are primarily characterized by the presence and function of contractile proteins to the extent of muscle tissue.

8. Which one of the following group of organisms forms a food chain ?

Which one of the following group of organisms forms a food chain ?

[amp_mcq option1=”Grass, human and fish” option2=”Grass, goat and human” option3=”Tree, tree cutter and tiger” option4=”Goat, cow and human” correct=”option2″]

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The group “Grass, goat and human” forms a food chain.

A food chain represents the flow of energy in an ecosystem. It typically starts with producers (organisms that make their own food, like plants – grass), followed by primary consumers (herbivores that eat producers – goat), and then secondary or tertiary consumers (carnivores or omnivores that eat other consumers – human eating goat). The chain shows a linear sequence of who eats whom.

Option A is incorrect because fish do not typically eat humans in an ecological food chain context. Option C is incorrect because “tree cutter” is not a consumer in the ecological sense of energy transfer; tigers also don’t typically consume tree cutters as a primary food source. Option D lists multiple primary consumers and one omnivore but doesn’t form a single, sequential food chain; it rather describes organisms at different trophic levels or parallel food paths (goat eats grass, cow eats grass, human might eat goat or cow).

9. Who among the following first discovered cell ?

Who among the following first discovered cell ?

[amp_mcq option1=”Robert Brown” option2=”Robert Hooke” option3=”Leeuwenhoek” option4=”Rudolf Virchow” correct=”option2″]

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UPSC NDA-1 – 2018

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Robert Hooke was the first person to observe and describe cells.

In 1665, Robert Hooke published his book “Micrographia”, where he described his observations using a microscope. He examined a thin slice of cork and observed small, box-like compartments, which he called “cells” because they reminded him of the rooms (cells) in a monastery.

Robert Brown discovered the nucleus in plant cells in 1831. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a contemporary of Hooke, made significant improvements to microscopes and was the first to observe living cells, including bacteria and protozoa, which he called “animalcules”. Rudolf Virchow is known for his contribution to cell theory with the principle “omnis cellula e cellula”.

10. Which one of the following elements is needed in the human body to tra

Which one of the following elements is needed in the human body to transfer electrical signals by nerve cells ?

[amp_mcq option1=”Lithium” option2=”Sodium” option3=”Rubidium” option4=”Caesium” correct=”option2″]

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Sodium is an essential element in the human body needed for the transmission of electrical signals by nerve cells.

Nerve impulses, or action potentials, are electrical signals that travel along nerve cells. This process involves the rapid movement of ions, particularly sodium (Na⁺) and potassium (K⁺), across the nerve cell membrane through specific ion channels. The differential concentrations of these ions across the membrane create an electrochemical gradient, which, when disturbed, generates the electrical signal. Sodium ions play a critical role in the depolarization phase of the action potential.

While potassium is also crucial for nerve signalling (repolarization), sodium is listed as an option and is fundamental to the process. Calcium ions (Ca²⁺) are also involved in neurotransmitter release at nerve synapses.