UPSC Prelims 2018 GS Paper I · Q64 of 100 General Science medium

Consider the following pairs : Terms sometimes seen in news — Context/Topic 1. Belle II experiment — Artificial Intelligence 2. Blockchain technology — Digital/Cryptocurrency 3. CRISPR - Cas9 — Particle Physics Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched ?

  1. (a) 1 and 3 only
  2. (b) 2 only ✓ UPSC's answer
  3. (c) 2 and 3 only
  4. (d) 1, 2 and 3

Why the answer is (b)

• Pair 2 is correct: blockchain is the distributed-ledger technology underlying Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

• Pair 1 is wrong: Belle II is a particle-physics experiment at the SuperKEKB accelerator in Japan studying B-mesons, with Indian participation; it is not about AI.

• Pair 3 is wrong: CRISPR-Cas9 is a gene-editing tool in biotechnology, not particle physics.

• Hence 2 only, option (b).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) 1 and 3 only
Both pairs 1 and 3 are mismatched.
(c) 2 and 3 only
Pair 3 is wrong: CRISPR is gene editing.
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Pairs 1 and 3 are wrong.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2018, held on 3 June 2018. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

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