IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Nov 07, 2015

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
- Coral reefs are rare along the west coasts of the Americas and Africa. due primarily to upwelling and strong cold coastal currents that reduce water temperatures in these areas (respectively the Peru, Benguela and Canary streams).
- Corals are seldom found along the coastline of South Asia—from the eastern tip of India (Chennai) to the Bangladesh and Myanmar borders as well as along the coasts of northeastern South America and Bangladesh, due to the freshwater release from the Amazon and Ganges Rivers respectively.

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
- It belongs to the order Carnivora, the giant panda's diet is over 99% bamboo
- Giant pandas in the wild will occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents or carrion.
- In captivity, they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared food.
- The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan province, but also in neighbouring provinces, namelyShaanxi and Gansu.
- The giant panda is among the world's most adored and protected rare animals, and is one of the few in the world whose natural inhabitant status was able to gain a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.
- The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, located in the southwest Sichuan province and covering seven natural reserves, were inscribed onto the World Heritage List in 2006.

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
- It is known as latitudinal climate.
- Equatorial air mass keeps the temperature moderate in the Equatorial region
-Equatorial climat has a type of tropical climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation value of at least 60 mm.
- It is usually found at latitudes within ten degrees North and South of the equator, which are dominated by the Intertropical Convergence Zone.

ANSWER: Peru

Explanation:
- The Atacama Desert occupies the northern part of Chile and small parts of the neighboring countries of Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.
- It is approximately 1000 kilometers in length and about 150 kilometers at its widest. It is the driest desert on earth with some places having never recorded rainfall.
- Atacama lies in a rain shadow.
- Also air generally rises at the equator and moves towards the poles.
- The air gradually cools and eventually falls back to earth between 20 and 25 degrees south (exactly where the Atacama is), creating high pressure.
- Atacama lies close to an ocean where a cold current flows northwards up the coastline. The Pacific Ocean is therefore colder than might be expected at this latitude.
- Any on-shore winds are chilled when they cross the current and don't have enough warmth to pick up moisture from the ocean surface. So, unlike most winds from the seas and oceans, these ones are dry.

ANSWER: 2 and 3

Explanation:
- The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is an Indian digital knowledge repository of the traditional knowledge, especially about medicinal plants and formulations used in Indian systems of medicine. .
- Set up in 2001, as a collaboration between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (Dept. of AYUSH), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India
- The objective of the library is to protect the ancient and traditional knowledge of the country from exploitation through biopiracy and unethical patents, by documenting it electronically and classifying it as per international patent classification systems.
- Apart from that, the non-patent database serves to foster modern research based on traditional knowledge, as it simplifies access to this vast knowledge of remedies or practices.