UPSC Prelims 2018 – Paper 2: General Studies II (CSAT): Solved Question Paper
80 questions, each with a model answer in Hindi and English.
Consider the following three-dimensional figure:
How many triangles does the above figure have?3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
Consider the following sum:
• + 1• + 2• + • 3 + • 1 = 21•
In the above sum, • stands for3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
Consider the following pattern of numbers:
8 10 15 13
6 5 7 4
4 6 8 8
-----------------
6 11 16 ?
What is the number at ? in the above pattern?3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
How many diagonals can be drawn by joining the vertices of an octagon?
3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
The figure drawn below gives the velocity graphs of two vehicles A and B. The straight line OKP represents the velocity of vehicle A at any instant, whereas the horizontal straight line CKD represents the velocity of vehicle B at any instant. In the figure, D is the point where perpendicular from P meets the horizontal line CKD such that PD = 1/2 LD:
What is the ratio between the distances covered by vehicles A and B in the time interval OL?3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
A train 200 metres long is moving at the rate of 40 kmph. In how many seconds will it cross a man standing near the railway line?
3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
Passage: Global population was around 1.6 billion in 1990—today it is around 7.2 billion and growing. Recent estimates on population growth predict a global population of 9.6 billion in 2050 and 10.9 billion in 2100. Unlike Europe and North America, where only three to four per cent of population is engaged in agriculture, around 47 per cent of India's population is dependent upon agriculture. Even if India continues to do well in the service sector and the manufacturing sector picks up, it is expected that around 2030 when India overtakes China as the world's most populous country, nearly 42 per cent of India's population will still be predominantly dependent on agriculture.
Which of the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
Passage: Many pathogens that cause foodborne illnesses are unknown. Food contamination can occur at any stage from farm to plate. Since most cases of food poisoning go unreported, the true extent of global foodborne illnesses is unknown. Improvements in international monitoring have led to greater public awareness, yet the rapid globalization of food production increases consumers' vulnerability by making food harder to regulate and trace. "We have the world on our plates", says an official of WHO.
Which of the following is the most logical corollary to the above passage?3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
Passage: I am a scientist, privileged to be somebody who tries to understand nature using the tools of science. But it is also clear that there are some really important questions that science cannot really answer, such as : Why is there something instead of nothing? Why are we here? In those domains, I have found that faith provides a better path to answers. I find it oddly anachronistic that in today's culture there seems to be a widespread presumption that scientific and spiritual views are incompatible.
Which of the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
Passage: Though I have discarded much of past tradition and custom, and am anxious that India should rid herself of all shackles that bind and contain her and divide her people, and suppress vast numbers of them, and prevent the free development of the body and the spirit; though I seek all this, yet I do not wish to cut myself off from that past completely. I am proud of that great inheritance that has been and is, ours and I am conscious that I too, like all of us, am a link in that unbroken chain which goes back to the dawn of history in the immemorial past of India.
The author wants India to rid herself of certain past bonds because3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
By how much (measured in thousands of tons) did the import of sheet steel exceed the import of coil steel in the first three months of the year?
3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
What was the approximate total value (in $) of sheet steel imported over the six months period?
3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
What was the approximate ratio of sheet steel and scrap steel imports in the first three months of the year?
3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
Rotated positions of a single solid are shown. What is the symbol on the face opposite to that containing a single dot?
3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
Rotated positions of a single solid are shown. What is the symbol on the face opposite to that containing two dots?
3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
Rotated positions of a single solid are shown. What is the symbol on the face opposite to that containing the cross?
3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
According to the passage, which of the following is/are of paramount importance under the Right to Education?
1. Sending of children to school by all parents
2. Provision of adequate physical infrastructure in schools
3. Curricular reforms for developing child-friendly learning system
Select the correct answer using the code given below.3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :
1. The Right to Education guarantees teachers' accountability for the learning process of children.
2. The Right to Education guarantees 100% enrolment of children in the schools.
3. The Right to Education intends to take full advantage of demographic dividend.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
According to the passage, which one of the following is critical in bringing quality in education?
3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
What is the essential message in this passage?
3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
If LSJXVC is the code for MUMBAI, the code for DELHI is
3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
If RAMON is written as 12345 and DINESH as 675849, then HAMAM will be written as
3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
If X is between -3 and -1, and Y is between -1 and 1, then is in between which of the following?
3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
X and Y are natural numbers other than 1, and Y is greater than X. Which of the following represents the largest number?
3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
The plan of an office block for six officers A, B, C, D, E and F is as follows : Both B and C occupy offices to the right of the corridor (as one enters the office block) and A occupies on the left of the corridor. E and F occupy offices on opposite sides of the corridor but their offices do not face each other. The offices of C and D face each other. E does not have a corner office. F's office is further down the corridor than A's, but on the same side.
If E sits in his office and faces the corridor, whose office is to his left?3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
Based on the office plan given above, who is/are F's immediate neighbour/neighbours?
3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
Passage: 'Desertification' is a term used to explain a process of decline in the biological productivity of an ecosystem, leading to total loss of productivity. While this phenomenon is often linked to the arid, semi-arid and sub-humid ecosystems, even in the humid tropics, the impact could be most dramatic... [Full passage text]
According to the passage, which of the following are the consequences of decline in forest cover?
1. Loss of topsoil
2. Loss of smaller rivers
3. Adverse effect on agricultural production
4. Declining of groundwater
Select the correct answer using the code given below.3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
Which of the following is/are the correct inference/inferences that can be made from the passage?
1. Deforestation can cause changes in the course of rivers.
2. Salinization of land takes place due to human activities only.
3. Intense monoculture practice in plains is a major reason for desertification in Tropical Asia, Africa and South America.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
With reference to 'desertification', as described in the passage, the following assumptions have been made :
1. Desertification is a phenomenon in tropical areas only.
2. Deforestation invariably leads to floods and desertification.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
Passage: A diversity of natural assets will be needed to cope with climate change and ensure productive agriculture, forestry, and fisheries...
With reference to the above passage, which of the following would assist us in coping with the climate change?
1. Conservation of natural water sources
2. Conservation of wider gene pool
3. Existing crop management practices
4. Migration corridors
Select the correct answer using the code given below.3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :
1. Diversification of livelihoods acts as a coping strategy for climate change.
2. Adoption of monocropping practice leads to the extinction of plant varieties and their wild relatives.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
Passage: Today, the top environmental challenge is a combination of people and their aspirations. If the aspirations are more like the frugal ones we had after the Second World War, a lot more is possible than if we view the planet as a giant shopping mall. We need to get beyond the fascination with glitter and understand that the planet works as a biological system.
Which of the following is the most crucial and logical inference that can be made from the above passage?3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
Passage: Some people believe that leadership is a quality which you have at birth or not at all. This theory is false, for the art of leadership can be acquired and can indeed be taught. This discovery is made in time of war and the results achieved can surprise even the instructors. Faced with the alternatives of going left or right, every soldier soon grasps that a prompt decision either way is better than an endless discussion. A firm choice of direction has an even chance of being right while to do nothing will be almost certainly wrong.
The author of the passage holds the view that3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
A number consists of three digits of which the middle one is zero and their sum is 4. If the number formed by interchanging the first and last digits is greater than the number itself by 198, then the difference between the first and last digits is
3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
A solid cube of 3 cm side, painted on all its faces, is cut up into small cubes of 1 cm side. How many of the small cubes will have exactly two painted faces?
3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
While writing all the numbers from 700 to 1000, how many numbers occur in which the digit at hundred's place is greater than the digit at ten's place, and the digit at ten's place is greater than the digit at unit's place?
3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
If Pen < Pencil, Pencil < Book and Book > Cap, then which one of the following is always true?
3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
A bookseller sold 'a' number of Geography textbooks at the rate of ₹ x per book, 'a + 2' number of History textbooks at the rate of ₹ (x + 2) per book and 'a - 2' number of Mathematics textbooks at the rate of ₹ (x - 2) per book. What is his total sale in ₹?
3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
A bag contains 15 red balls and 20 black balls. Each ball is numbered either 1 or 2 or 3. 20% of the red balls are numbered 1 and 40% of them are numbered 3. Similarly, among the black balls, 45% are numbered 2 and 30% are numbered 3. A boy picks a ball at random. He wins if the ball is red and numbered 3 or if it is black and numbered 1 or 2. What are the chances of his winning?
3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
Two persons, A and B are running on a circular track. At the start, B is ahead of A and their positions make an angle of 30° at the centre of the circle. When A reaches the point diametrically opposite to his starting point, he meets B. What is the ratio of speeds of A and B, if they are running with uniform speeds?
3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
A student has to get 40% marks to pass in an examination. Suppose he gets 30 marks and fails by 30 marks, then what are the maximum marks in the examination?
3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
19 boys turn out for playing hockey. Of these, 11 are wearing hockey shirts and 14 are wearing hockey pants. There are no boys without shirts and/or pants. What is the number of boys wearing full uniform?
3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
A, B, C and D are students. They are studying in four different cities, viz., P, Q, R and S (not necessarily in that order). They are studying in Science college, Arts college, Commerce college and Engineering college (not necessarily in that order), which are situated in four different States, viz., Gujarat, Rajasthan, Assam and Kerala (not necessarily in that order). Further, it is given that—
(i) D is studying in Assam
(ii) Arts college is located in city S which is in Rajasthan
(iii) A is studying in Commerce college
(iv) B is studying in city Q
(v) Science college is located in Kerala
A is studying in3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
Based on the information given above, Science college is located in
3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
Based on the information given above, C is studying in
3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
Based on the information given above, which one of the following statements is correct?
3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
Which one of the following statements is correct regarding Engineering college?
3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
Based on the information given above, which one of the following statements is correct?
3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
Passage: All actions to address climate change ultimately involve costs. Funding is vital in order for countries like India to design and implement adaptation and mitigation plans and projects. The problem is more severe for developing countries like India, which would be one of the hardest hit by climate change, given its need to finance development. Most countries do indeed treat climate change as real threat and are striving to address it in a more comprehensive and integrated manner with the limited resources at their disposal.
With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :
1. Climate change is not a challenge for developed countries.
2. Climate change is a complex policy issue and also a development issue for many countries.
3. Ways and means of finance must be found to enable developing countries to enhance their adaptive capacity.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
Passage: Cooking with biomass and coal in India is now recognized to cause major health problems, with women and children in poor populations facing the greatest risk. There are more than 10 lakh premature deaths each year from household air pollution due to polluting cooking fuels with another 1.5 lakh due to their contribution to general outdoor air pollution in the country. Although the fraction of the Indian population using clean cooking fuels, such as LPG, natural gas and electricity, is slowly rising, the number using polluting solid fuels as their primary cooking fuel has remained static for nearly 30 years at about 70 crore.
Which of the following is the most crucial and logical inference that can be made from the above passage?3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
Passage: Scientific knowledge has its dangers, but so has every great thing. Over and beyond the dangers with which it threatens the present, it opens up as nothing else can, the vision of a possible happy world; a world without poverty, without war, with little illness. Science, whatever unpleasant consequences it may have by the way, is in its very nature a liberator.
Which one of the following is the most important implication of the passage?3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
Passage: The Arctic's vast reserves of fossil fuel, fish and minerals are now accessible for a longer period in a year. But unlike Antarctica, which is protected from exploitation by the Antarctic Treaty framed during the Cold War and is not subject to territorial claims by any country, there is no legal regime protecting the Arctic from industrialization, especially at a time when the world craves for more and more resources. The distinct possibility of ice-free summer has prompted countries with Arctic coastline to scramble for great chunks of the melting ocean.
Which one of the following is the most important implication of the passage?3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
Passage: Being a member of the WTO, India is bound by the agreements that have been signed and ratified by its members, including itself. According to Article 6 of the Agriculture Agreement, providing minimum support prices for agricultural products is considered distorting and is subject to limits. The subsidy arising from 'minimal supports' cannot exceed 10 per cent of the value of agricultural production for developing countries. PDS in India entails minimum support prices and public stockholding of food grains. It is possible that, in some years, the subsidy to producers will exceed 10 per cent of the value of agricultural production.
What is the crucial message conveyed by the above passage?3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
Passage: India's educational system is modelled on the mass education system that developed in the 19th century in Europe and later spread around the world. The goal of the system is to condition children as 'good' citizens and productive workers. This suited the industrial age that needed the constant supply of a compliant workforce with a narrow set of capabilities. Our educational institutes resemble factories with bells, uniforms and batch-processing of learners, designed to get learners to conform. But, from an economic point of view, the environment today is very different. It is a complex, volatile and globally interconnected world.
With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :
1. India continues to be a developing country essentially due to its faulty education system.
2. Today's learners need to acquire new-age skill-sets.
3. A good number of Indians go to some developed countries for education because the educational systems there are a perfect reflection of the societies in which they function.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
Passage: The practice of dieting has become an epidemic; everyone is looking out for a way to attain that perfect body. We are all different with respect to our ethnicity, genetics, family history, gender, age, physical and mental and spiritual health status, lifestyles and preferences. Thereby we also differ in what foods we tolerate or are sensitive to. So we really cannot reduce so many complexities into one diet or diet book. This explains the failure of diets across the world in curbing obesity. Unless the reasons for weight gain are well understood and addressed and unless habits are changed permanently, no diet is likely to succeed.
What is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
Passage: Monoculture carries great risks. A single disease or pest can wipe out swathes of the world's food production, an alarming prospect given that its growing and wealthier population will eat 70% more by 2050. The risks are magnified by the changing climate. As the planet warms and monsoon rains intensify, farmlands in Asia will flood. North America will suffer more intense droughts, and crop diseases will spread to new latitudes.
Which of the following is the most logical, rational and crucial message given by the passage?3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
A shopkeeper sells an article at ₹ 40 and gets X% profit. However, when he sells it at ₹ 20, he faces same percentage of loss. What is the original cost of the article?
3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
There are 24 equally spaced points lying on the circumference of a circle. What is the maximum number of equilateral triangles that can be drawn by taking sets of three points as the vertices?
3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
Consider the sequence given below :
4/12/95, 1/1/96, 29/1/96, 26/2/96, ....
What is the next term of the series?3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
Twelve equal squares are placed to fit in a rectangle of diagonal 5 cm. There are three rows containing four squares each. No gaps are left between adjacent squares. What is the area of each square?
3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
Consider the following graph showing expected vs actual progress:
Which one of the following statements is not correct with reference to the graph given above?3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
For a sports meet, a winners' stand comprising three wooden blocks is in the following form: Large, Medium, Small blocks. There are six different colours available to choose from and each of the three wooden blocks is to be painted such that no two of them has the same colour. In how many different ways can the winners' stand be painted?
3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
Looking at the graph showing birthrate and death rate of a country, it can be inferred that from 1990 to 2010
3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
With reference to the above graph, consider the following statements considering 1970 as base year :
1. Population has stabilized after 35 years.
2. Population growth rate has stabilized after 35 years.
3. Death rate has fallen by 10% in the first 10 years.
4. Birthrate has stabilized after 35 years.
Which of the above are the most logical and rational statements that can be made from the above graph?3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
Average hourly earnings per year (E) of the workers in a firm are represented in figures A and B. From the figures, it is observed that the
3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
Consider the figures given below in a 3x3 matrix pattern. To fit the question mark, the correct answer is
3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
Consider figures A and B showing manufacturing cost and projected sales for a product respectively. What is the minimum number of pieces that should be manufactured to avoid a loss?
3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
A lift has the capacity of 18 adults or 30 children. How many children can board the lift with 12 adults?
3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
A person bought a refrigerator worth ₹ 22,800 with 12.5% interest compounded yearly. At the end of first year he paid ₹ 8,650 and at the end of second year ₹ 9,125. How much will he have to pay at the end of third year to clear the debt?
3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
In figures (I) to (VI), some parts are shown to change their positions in regular directions. Following the same sequence, which figure will appear at (VII) stage?
3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
Consider the graphs indicating different age groups in the populations of two countries A and B over a period of few decades. With reference to the graphs, which of the following are the most logical and rational inferences that can be made?
1. Over the last two and a half decades, the dependency ratio for country B has decreased.
2. By the end of next two and a half decades, the dependency ratio of country A will be much less than that of country B.
3. In the next two decades, the workforce relative to its total population will increase in country B as compared to country A.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
Lakshmi, her brother, her daughter and her son are badminton players. A game of doubles is about to begin :
(i) Lakshmi's brother is directly across the net from her daughter.
(ii) Her son is diagonally across the net from the worst player's sibling.
(iii) The best player and the worst player are on the same side of the net.
Who is the best player?3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
The graph given below indicates the changes in key policy rates made by the Central Bank several times in a year. Which one of the following can be the most likely reason for the Central Bank for such an action?
3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
The table gives the GDP growth rate and Tele-density data of different States of a country in a particular year. With reference to the table, which of the following is/are the most logical and rational inference/inferences that can be made?
1. Higher per capita income is generally associated with higher Tele-density.
2. Higher GDP growth rate always ensures higher per capita income.
3. Higher GDP growth rate does not necessarily ensure higher Tele-density.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.3 Marks · Answer key: (C) · View question →
With reference to the table of GDP growth rate and Tele-density data, the following assumptions have been made :
1. Nowadays, prosperity of an already high performing State cannot be sustained without making further large investments in its telecom infrastructure.
2. Nowadays, a very high Tele-density is the most essential condition for promoting the business and economic growth in a State.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
The graph indicates the composition of tax revenue for a period of two decades. With reference to the graph, which of the following is/are the most logical and rational inference/inferences that can be made?
1. During the given period, the revenue from Direct Taxes as percentage of gross tax revenue has increased while that of Indirect Taxes decreased.
2. The trend in the revenue from Excise Duty demonstrates that the growth of manufacturing sector has been negative during the given period.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →
If x - y = 8, then which of the following must be true?
1. Both x and y must be positive for any value of x and y.
2. If x is positive, y must be negative for any value of x and y.
3. If x is negative, y must be positive for any value of x and y.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
Passage: The quest for cheap and plentiful meat has resulted in factory farms where more and more animals are squeezed into smaller lots in cruel and shocking conditions. Such practices have resulted in many of the world's health pandemics such as the avian flu. Worldwide, livestock are increasingly raised in cruel, cramped conditions, where animals spend their short lives under artificial light, pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones, until the day they are slaughtered. Meat production is water-intensive. 15000 litres of water is needed for every kilogram of meat compared with 3400 litres for rice, 3300 litres for eggs and 255 litres for a kilogram of potatoes.
What is the most rational and crucial message given by the passage?3 Marks · Answer key: (D) · View question →
Passage: A male tiger was removed from Pench Tiger Reserve and was relocated in Panna National Park. Later, this tiger trekked toward his home 250 miles away. The trek of this solitary tiger highlights a crisis. Many wildlife reserves exist as islands of fragile habitat in a vast sea of humanity, yet tigers can range over a hundred miles, seeking prey, mates and territory. Nearly a third of India's tigers live outside tiger reserves, a situation that is dangerous for both human and animal. Prey and tigers can only disperse if there are recognized corridors of land between protected areas to allow unmolested passage.
Which of the following is the most rational and crucial message given by the passage?3 Marks · Answer key: (B) · View question →
With reference to the above passage about tiger conservation, the following assumptions have been made :
1. The strategy of conservation of wildlife by relocating them from one protected area to another is not often successful.
2. India does not have suitable legislation to save the tigers, and its conservation efforts have failed which forced the tigers to live outside protected areas.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?3 Marks · Answer key: (A) · View question →