Q138 · UPPSC Prelims 2019 · Set A · General Studies

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A black hole is:

A A flight recorder in an aeroplane
B A spot on the Sun
C A place in Antarctica
D A collapsed star

Correct answer: (d) A collapsed star

Explanation

  1. A

    A flight recorder in an aeroplane

    (a) A flight recorder in an aeroplane. That is the cockpit “black box” (actually orange)—a homonym, not the astrophysical object.

  2. B

    A spot on the Sun

    (b) A spot on the Sun. Sunspots are magnetic cool patches, not collapsed stars.

  3. C

    A place in Antarctica

    (c) A place in Antarctica. No such geographic black hole; a joke option.

  4. D

    A collapsed star

    (d) A collapsed star. A black hole forms when a massive star collapses so far that escape velocity exceeds light speed (event horizon). (d) Official key.

Summary. Official key is (d). An astrophysical black hole is a collapsed massive star (or a merger remnant) with an event horizon. The aircraft recorder is a vocabulary trap.