Q44 · UPSC Prelims 2017 · Set A · Current Affairs and GK

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The terms 'Event Horizon', 'Singularity', 'String Theory' and 'Standard Model' are sometimes seen in the news in the context of

A Observation and understanding of the Universe
B Study of the solar and the lunar eclipses
C Placing satellites in the orbit of the Earth
D Origin and evolution of living organisms on the earth

Correct answer: (a) Observation and understanding of the Universe

Explanation

  1. A

    Observation and understanding of the Universe

    (a) Observation and understanding of the Universe. Event horizon and singularity are black-hole terms; string theory and the Standard Model are frameworks for fundamental physics and cosmology. Together they belong to studying the Universe. This is the official key.

  2. B

    Study of the solar and the lunar eclipses

    (b) Study of solar and lunar eclipses. Eclipses are orbital-shadow events, not string theory or the Standard Model. Not the key.

  3. C

    Placing satellites in the orbit of the Earth

    (c) Placing satellites in Earth orbit. Mission mechanics do not use this cluster of terms as their home vocabulary. Not the key.

  4. D

    Origin and evolution of living organisms on the earth

    (d) Origin and evolution of living organisms. That is biology/evolution, not this physics vocabulary. Not the key.

Summary. Official key is (a) observation and understanding of the Universe. An event horizon bounds a black hole; a singularity is the classical breakdown at its core. The Standard Model organises known particles and forces (except gravity); string theory is a candidate unification. None of these is an eclipse handbook, a satellite-injection manual, or a Darwinian toolkit. LIGO’s gravitational waves are a neighbouring Universe-observation story.

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