Q41 · UPPSC Prelims 2021 · Set D · General Studies

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Given below are two statements, one is labelled asAssertion (A) :and other as Reason (R):Assertion (A):Various components of an ecosystem are not interdependent.Reason (R):Human activities have impacts on the environment.Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

A Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
B Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
C (A) is true, but (R) is false.
D (A) is false, but (R) is true.

Correct answer: (d) (A) is false, but (R) is true.

Explanation

  1. A

    Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

    (a) Both true and R explains A. Assertion is false: ecosystem parts are interdependent, so this double-true-and-explains reading cannot stand.

  2. B

    Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).

    (b) Both true but R does not explain A. Again both cannot be true because A is false.

  3. C

    (A) is true, but (R) is false.

    (c) A true, R false. That flips the facts: A is the false limb; R is a true statement about human impact.

  4. D

    (A) is false, but (R) is true.

    (d) A is false, but R is true. Producers, consumers and decomposers, plus abiotic factors, are tightly interdependent; saying they are not is false. Human activities—pollution, land-use change, overharvest—do alter the environment, so R is true. R does not have to explain a false A. That combination is the official key.

Summary. Official key is (d) (A) is false, but (R) is true. An ecosystem is a web of dependence among biotic and abiotic parts. The assertion denies that dependence and therefore falls. The reason correctly notes anthropogenic environmental impact. True R cannot rescue false A, and it is not offered as an explanation of A on this code.