[Mission 2022] QUIZ – 2020: INSIGHTS STATIC QUIZ , 23 October 2021 – Geography – INSIGHTSIAS

Solution: a)

White dwarfs are one of the densest forms of matter, surpassed only by neutron stars and black holes.

A low or medium mass star (with mass less than about 8 times the mass of our Sun) will become a white dwarf. Stars that have a lot of mass may end their lives as black holes or neutron stars.

White dwarfs can tell us about the age of the Universe. If we can estimate the time it takes for a white dwarf to cool into a black dwarf, that would give us a lower limit on the age of the Universe and our galaxy.

Solution: a)

The oceans store much more carbon than the atmosphere and the terrestrial biosphere (plants and animals).

The carbon, however, requires centuries to penetrate into the deep ocean, because the mixing of the oceans is a rather slow

However, even more carbon is stored in the lithosphere, i.e. the rocks on the planet, including limestones (calcium carbonate, CaCO3).

Solution: c)

When wind blows moist air over a cool surface the air will cool and advection fog will form. Advection fog is very common at sea when tropical winds pass over cooler waters and on land when a warm front passes over heavy snow.

Salt is a unique condensation nuclei in that it will allow fog to form even when the humidity is low. Sea fog forms when the condensation nuclei are salt.

Solution: c)

The earth is pear-shaped, however its shape has a bearing on the gravitation forces more, rather than changing the amount of solar energy received at various latitudes.

If the earth was vertically flat and not tilted, all places would have received the same solar energy.

Dominance of water bodies affects how the solar energy received is distributed, it does not change the amount of energy received per se (barring glaciers that reflect sunlight).

Solution: d)

The density of the atmosphere varies with height. It is maximum at the sea level and decreases rapidly as we go up. You know, the climbers experience problems in breathing due to this decrease in the density of air. They have to carry with them oxygen cylinders to be able to breathe at high altitudes.