Daily UPSC Prelims Current Affairs – December 16, 2022 [Mock Test]
December 21, 2022 December 21, 2022
1. Besides United Kingdom, Charles III is the king of which of the following countries?
- Canada
- Barbados
- Belize
- Australia
- New Zealand
Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:
[A] Only 1 & 4
[B] Only 2, 3 & 5
[C] Only 1, 3, 4 & 5
[D] 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Only 1, 3, 4 & 5]
Notes:- The Commonwealth realm is a group of 14 countries (not including the United Kingdom) that recognise the British monarch as their head of state, a position that is explicitly stated in the constitution and laws of some of these countries.
- Besides Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, the Commonwealth realm includes Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.
- Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are all constitutional monarchies.
- Barbados left the Commonwealth after becoming a republic in 2021.
- Commonwealth of Nations, or simply the Commonwealth is a group of 56 member countries, the vast majority of which are former British colonies. They are mostly in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Pacific. Three European nations are part of the Commonwealth: Cyprus, Malta, and of course, the UK itself.
- The 14 Commonwealth realm countries are part of the larger Commonwealth. Of the remaining 41 member states, 36 are republics — this group includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The other five, Brunei Darussalam, Lesotho, Malaysia, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and Tonga have their own monarchs.
2. Atomic clocks can be used for which of the following?
- GPS navigation
- Internet synchronization
- To know the accurate position of the planets
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
[A] Only 1
[B] Only 2 & 3
[C] Only 1 & 3
[D] 1, 2 & 3
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [1, 2 & 3]
Notes:- Atomic clocks use atoms, more precisely the electronic transition from one state to another as their ‘pendulum’. Atomic clocks are not radioactive. They do not rely on atomic decay. Rather, they have an oscillating mass and a spring, just like ordinary clocks. It uses the resonance frequencies of atoms as its resonator.
- Cesium atomic clocks employ a beam of cesium atoms. The clock separates cesium atoms of different energy levels by magnetic field.
- Hydrogen atomic clocks maintain hydrogen atoms at the required energy level in a container with walls of a special material so that the atoms don’t lose their higher energy state too quickly.
- Rubidium atomic clocks, the simplest and most compact of all, use a glass cell of rubidium gas that changes its absorption of light at the optical rubidium frequency when the surrounding microwave frequency is just right.
- Without atomic clocks, GPS navigation would be impossible, the Internet would not synchronize, and the position of the planets would not be known with enough accuracy for space probes and landers to be launched and monitored.
3. Consider the following pairs:
- Nandigram – Uttar Pradesh
- Jagdalpur – Madhya Pradesh
- Bhadrachalam – Kerala
- Chitrakoot – Madhya Pradesh
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
[A] Only 1
[B] Only 1 & 4
[C] Only 2, 3 & 4
[D] 1, 2, 3 & 4
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Only 1 & 4]
Notes:
Ramayana Circuit is one of the fifteen thematic circuits identified for development under the Swadesh Darshan scheme of Ministry of Tourism. The Ministry has initially identified fifteen destinations including Sitamarhi, Bihar for development under the Ramayana Circuit theme namely Ayodhya, Nandigram, Shringverpur & Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh), Sitamarhi, Buxar & Darbhanga (Bihar), Chitrakoot (Madhya Pradesh), Mahendragiri (Odisha), Jagdalpur (Chattisgarh), Nashik & Nagpur (Maharashtra), Bhadrachalam (Telangana), Hampi (Karnataka) and Rameshwaram (Tamil Nadu).
