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SCIENCEANDTECHNOLOGY
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ScienceandTechnologyStrategy

1.Weightagegivensince2011
2.HowtoPrepare
3.PhysicalScienceandCurrentEvents
4.ChemicalScienceandCurrentEvents
5.BiologicalScienceandCurrentEvents
6.Technology:Biotechnology,ITandCommunication,SpaceTechnologyandCurrentEvents
7.SourcestoPrepare
8.PreviousYearsUPSCQuestionsandSolution

ScienceandTechnologyisanimportantpartofPrelimssyllabus.Itcoversnotonlythestaticportion
butdynamicaswell.Inrecentyears,UPSCisemphasizingondynamiccumanalyticalaspectof
ScienceandTechnology(S&T)

Weightagegivensince2011:

TheimportanceofScienceandTechnologycanbeseenfromthenumberofquestionsaskedinpreviousyears.Last
yearthereweremorequestionsonenvironment,solessinScience.Consideringthetrend,in2015,wecanexpect
morenumberofquestionsfromthissection.
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HowtoPrepare?

Whileanalyzingthequestions,itisclearthatalmostallquestionsareanalyticalanddemandsclarityofconcepts
ratherthanonlyfacts.Itisgettingeventougherforanaspiranttopreparetheanalyticalaspectbecausenoneofthe
staticsourcesteachesaboutit,beitNCERTorNIOSetc.So,thequestionisHowtoPrepareScienceand
Technology?

InthisarticleWewillsimplifythisaspectandmakeitsimplerforabeginnertounderstandthatnowUPSCisnotabout
LearnbyHeartbutLearnbyArt.

AllofyoumustbeawareofArtofLiving.HerewewilllearnArtofLearning.Thisstrategywillnot
beinconsonancewithotherstrategythatyoureadonIASbaba.Thereasonissimple.S&Tisabstract
andunpredictablealso.Allofyouareawareofstudymaterialstobefollowed.Wewillbenoexception
intellingyouthesameresources.

Aftergoingthroughthisarticleyouwillunderstandthechoiceswearegoingtocreateforyou.Ifyouwanttomugup
NCERTS/NIOSoranycoachingstuff,youarefree.Introspectaboutyourpreparationandaskyourself?Whether
UPSCquestionsaresolvablewiththeapproachyouhave?Ifyes,proceedandstopwastingtimeonanywebsite,
evenIASbaba.com.Here,wearetryingtosharpenyourthoughtprocessandsmartlearningskills.Smartlearningis
anART

Artisnottogothroughallthetextsavailableinthemarketandcreateabookstoreinyourroomandgettensed.Itis
ahardfactthatpeoplekeeponpilingresourcesinordertolearnbutwhattheyearn?Theyearntension,fatigueand
mostimportantlyasenseofsatisfactionthattheyhaveatleastreadallthecollectionsonce.

S&TincludesbasicsciencelikePhysical,Chemical,Biological,BioChemistryandTechnology.Very
basicwaytopreparethissectionistogetacquaintedwithcurrentdevelopmentswithrespecttoallthe
domains,partofS&T.Hereweclassifythedomainsandletyouunderstandtheverydiversifiedand
analyticalnatureofquestionsasked.Ourswillnotbeabookishorcoachingstrategy.Youmaydiffer,
6/1/2017 SCIENCEANDTECHNOLOGY|IASbaba

youmayhaveyourownstrategy,youmaylikeanyotherstrategybutthisiswhatourexperiencehas
shownus.LetusproceedandstartwithBasicScience.Concentrateonfollowingexplanations

PhysicalScienceandCurrentEvents

ThereisnoneedofdoingresearchinPhysicstosolvethequestions.Questionsfromthissectionarebasicanddeal
morewithcurrenthappeningorsomephenomenoninnews.Thereisnoneedtostudyphysicsasacoresubject.We
aredividingtheaspectstobelearntandalsothewaytoapproachit.

CurrentEvents

Focus

CurrentaspectsofPhysicscanbebroadlyunderstoodunderfollowingheadingswhicharedirectionalthatyouwill
findwhilereadingnewspapers.

GrapheneItwasaskedinUPSCbecausein2010,NobelPrizeinPhysicswasawardedontheworkof
Graphene.Thequestionwasonitspropertiesratherthanotherfacts.
HiggsBosonAbuzzforquitealongtimebecauseofitsgroundbreakingresearchhenceaskedbyUPSC.
Alwaysconcentrateonpropertiesandreasonsonwhichthenewsisbasedon.Donotgoindeepresearch.
BigBangTheoryReasonforcontinuousexpansionoftheUniverse,thereasonsbehinditandtheproof
available.
DarkEnergyandDarkMatterQuiteofteninnews.Scientistsarestilltryingtosolvethemysterybehindits
existence.

NowseethequestionaskedbyUPSC

Grapheneisfrequentlyinnewsrecently.Whatisitsimportance?(2011)

1.Itisatwodimensionalmaterialandhasgoodelectricalconductivity.
2.Itisoneofthethinnestbutstrongestmaterialstestedsofar.
3.Itisentirelymadeofsiliconandhashighopticaltransparency.
4.Itcanbeusedasconductingelectrodesrequiredfortouchscreens,LCDsandorganicLEDs.

Whichofthestatementsgivenabovearecorrect?
(a)1and2only
(b)3and4only
(c)1,2and4only
(d)1,2,3and4

Solution:(c)

RecentlytherewasnewsrelatedtoIndianNeutrinoObservatorytobesetinTamilNadu.Thereisnoneedto
researchonINOindetail.SowhattoFocuson?HaveabasicunderstandingofNeutrions,itssourcesand
application
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Letusillustratethiswithapreviousyearquestion(2010UPSCPrelimsPaper)

IndiabasedNeutrinoObservatoryisincludedbythePlanningCommissionasamegascienceproject
underthe11thfiveYearPlan.Inthiscontext,considerthefollowingstatements:

1.Neutrinosarechargelesselementaryparticlesthattravelclosetothespeedoflight.

2.Neutrinosarecreatedinnuclearreactionsofbetadecay.

3.Neutrinoshaveanegligible,butnonzeromass.

4.TrillionsofNeutrinospassthroughhumanbodyeverysecond.

Whichofthestatementsgivenabovearecorrect?

(a)1and3only

(b)1,2and3only

(c)2,3and4

(d)1,2,3and4

Solution(d)

AQuestionfromcurrentaffairs
6/1/2017 SCIENCEANDTECHNOLOGY|IASbaba

Neutrinohasbeenquitefrequentinnewsduetoimportantscientificresearch.Whatarethepossible
sourcesofneutrinos?

(a)BigBang

(b)CosmicRays

(c)Supernova

(d)NuclearBomb

(e)GeologicalReactions

(f)NuclearReactors

(g)Sun

Correctcodesare

(a)1,2,4,6and7

(b)1,2,3,5,and7

(c)2,3,4,5,6,and7

(d)1,2,3,4,5,6and7

Answer:D

Note:Wasitashocker?ThisishowUPSCframesquestions.Dotheyaskquestionsfromheaven?Ofcoursenot,
lookingatthequestionsasked,cananyonetellthesourcestoprepare?Sothepurposeistounderstandandknow
thetrendonwhichyourpreparationhastobebased.

Now,letuslookintoonemorebuzzingissueofrecenttimes.QuiteoftenyouwitnessarticlesinTheHinduabout
scientistsdiscussingtheirexperienceanddiscoveriesaboutDarkEnergyandDarkMatter.Now,thisissomething
UPSCmaybeinterestedin.

Keepaskingyourself,ifyouneedtolearneverythingaboutDarkEnergyandDarkMatter?Ifyouwillreadlikethis,we
aresureitwilltakebecomeanother5yearPlanforyoutosatisfyyourpreparationlevel.Inaday,youhave24hours
andUPSCrequiresyoutopreparehellofsubjectsanddomains.Howwillyoucrackthisexaminayearorsoifyour
strategyisofaslowlearner/crammer?
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ConsiderthestatementsaboutDarkEnergyandDarkMatter.

(1)DarkenergyattractswhileDarkmatterrepels.

(2)Whiledarkenergyshowsitselfonlyonthelargestcosmicscale,darkmatterexertsitsinfluenceonindividual
galaxiesaswellastheuniverseatlarge.

Correctstatement(s)is/are

(a)Only1

(b)Only2

(c)Both

(d)None

Answer:Only2

Note:Areyouabletofocusnow?Orstillconfusedorstuckwithbulgingnotesorbooks?Ifyes,thenyouneedto
introspectaboutyourpreparationstrategy.Ifthisarticleismakingsensetoyouthenproceedtonextlevelanddecide
accordingly.

Concepts:ForcesinNatureandNaturallyOccurringPhenomenon

Focus

GravitationalForceBasicconcept,itsimpactonearthandonotherheavenlybodies.Itsrelationand
reactionwithotherknownforcesetc.Trytosimplifyyourlearningprocess.Thereislottolearninlesstime.
ElectromagneticForceandEnergySameasabove

RotationandRevolutionofEarthItseffectsonothernaturalphenomenon,Howtheyareresponsiblefor
anychangeonEarth?Whethertheyareinclusiveorexclusiveofotherchanges?

RecentphenomenoninnewsSolarFlaresetc

Note:NCERTtextscoverthesebasics.Hencethequestionsaskedinthelast3yearscouldhavebeenanswered
thoughsomethoughtitwastricky.

Example(2013PrelimsQuestionsPaper):
6/1/2017 SCIENCEANDTECHNOLOGY|IASbaba

Considerthefollowing:

1.Electromagneticradiation
2.Geothermalenergy
3.Gravitationalforce
4.Platemovements
5.Rotationoftheearth
6.Revolutionoftheearth

Whichoftheaboveareresponsibleforbringingdynamicchangesonthesurfaceoftheearth?

(a)1,2,3and4only
(b)1,3,5and6only
(c)2,4,5and6only
(d)1,2,3,4,5and6

Solution:D

Note:Recenttrendsuggeststhataquestioncanbeputingeography,environmentaswellasSciencedomain
dependingonvariousdimensions.Forexample,abovequestionisevidentlyaskingforphysicalforcesthatwelearnt
inPhysicsbutthenthescopeofthequestionalsocoversgeographicalaspectaswell.Donotgetpuzzledoversuch
pointswhetherthequestionisfromPhysicsorGeographyoranything.Basically,UPSCisframingquestionson
conceptsandasinglequestioncanhaveoneconceptorfiveconceptsatthesametime.Ifyouareweakinanyofthe
givenconceptthenitbecomesquitedifficulttosolvethequestion,unlessthetechniqueofeliminationcancometo
yourrescue

NowletuscheckanyrandomissuefromCurrentAffairsofthisyear.RecentlySolarFlareswereinnews.

6/1/2017 SCIENCEANDTECHNOLOGY|IASbaba

AsolarflareisasuddenflashofbrightnessobservedovertheSunssurfaceorthesolarlimb,whichis
interpretedasalargeenergyrelease.Considerthestatementswithreferencetoit

(1)Theyarealwaysfollowedbyacolossalmassejection.

(2)Theflareejectscloudsofneutrons,ions,andatomsthroughthecoronaofthesunintospace.

(3)Theyproduceradiationacrosselectromagneticspectrumatallwavelengthexceptvisible

Correctcodeis/are

(a)1and2

(b)1,2and3

(c)Only3

(d)None

Answer:None

NaturalProcesses:Lookaroundyouandtrytofindoutscienceinvolvedinvariousnatural
processes.

Focus

WhilegoingthroughNCERTSoranysource,paymoreattentiononconceptsexplaininganynatural
phenomenon.Forinstance:
WhatcausesaRainbow?
Dispersioninnature,Spectrum,TotalInternalReflection,Refractionand
Conceptslikewhytheskyisblueincolour?
WhydoesthesunappearRedduringsunriseandsunset(thephysicsbehinditneedstobeknown)
Whydostarstwinkle?
WhatisaPoleStar?Where/whichdirectionitisvisiblealsoneeded.
Surfacetensionandcapillaryactions
Phenomenonrelatedtoheatandlight
Similarlyyoushouldknowthereasonbehindwhatcauseslightning,thunderstormsandthevarioustypesof
clouds(alsoisgiveninGeographytextsofNCERT)

Note:

Searchonthenetforallsuchphenomenonandknowthebasicsciencebehindthem.
TrustusNCERTSarebestsourcetopreparefortheseaspects.TheonlythingthatmattersisHowyou
preparefromNCERT?

6/1/2017 SCIENCEANDTECHNOLOGY|IASbaba

Wewillillustratewithanexample

Duringathunderstorm,thethunderintheskiesisproducedbythe(2013)

1.Meetingofcumulonimbuscloudsinthesky
2.Lightningthatseparatesthenimbusclouds
3.Violentupwardmovementofairandwaterparticles

Selectthecorrectanswerusingthecodesgivenbelow.

(a)1only
(b)2and3
(C)1and3
(d)Noneoftheaboveproducesthethunder

Solution:C

Considerthefollowingphenomena:(2013)

1.Sizeofthesunatdusk
2.Colourofthesunatdawn
3.Moonbeingvisibleatdawn
4.Twinkleofstarsinthesky
5.Polestarbeingvisibleinthesky

Whichoftheaboveareopticalillusions?

(a)1,2and3
(b)3,4and5
(c)1,2and4
(d)2,3and5

Solution:C

ChemicalScience:ChemistryandCurrentEvents

Focus

Generalphenomenonofchemistryorchemicalchangelikeanomalousexpansionofwater,densityofwateris
alsocoveredinNCERT.
Elementsinnature:radioactive(Ex:Thorium,Uranium)andnonradioactive,CarbonDating,Leaditsharmful
effectsanduses(Ex:isitusedinPetrolandpencils?)
NuclearEnergyFocusonNeutrons,useofHeavyWater,controlledanduncontrolledchainreactionand
nuclearreactors.LocationsofNuclearreactorsinIndia
6/1/2017 SCIENCEANDTECHNOLOGY|IASbaba

PropertiesofelementsandcompoundsthatyouencounterinnewslikeEthanol,Methanoletc.
TermslikeAntioxidant,IsotopesandArtificialRainsetc.

Note:Youwillfindlotsofarticlesinnewspapersdealingwithchemistry.Sticktothebasicsandlearntherelevant
conceptbasedonNCERTSonly.HereatIASbaba,wewillbeupdatingyouoneverydaybasisonHowtopickthe
issueandsolvequestions.

Example:

Thesurfaceofalakeisfrozeninseverewinter,butthewateratitsbottomisstillliquid.Whatisthe
reason?(2011)
(a)Iceisabadconductorofheat
(b)Sincethesurfaceofthelakeisatthesametemperatureastheair,noheatislost
(c)Thedensityofwaterismaximumat4C
(d)Noneofthestatements(a),(b)and(c)givenaboveiscorrect

Solution:C

Thefunctionofheavywaterinanuclearreactoristo(2011)
(a)Slowdownthespeedofneutrons
(b)Increasethespeedofneutrons
(c)Cooldownthereactor
(d)Stopthenuclearreaction

Solution.A

Whichofthefollowingis/aretheexample/examplesofchemicalchange?(2014)

(1)Crystallizationofsodiumchloride

(2)Meltingofice

(3)Souringofmilk

Selectthecorrectanswerusingthecodegivenbelow.

(a)1and2only

(b)3only

(c)1,2and3

(d)None

Answer:b
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Note:SeethesequestionsfromCurrentaffairsandlearn.Everyonehaslearntorfoundnewsaboutsugarindustries
andissuesrelatedtoit.Haveyoupondereduponchemistryaspect?EveryoneknowsthatEthanolisusedasFuel.It
isalsoabyproductofSugarmakingprocess.Nowletusenhancetheconcept.

Ethanolhaswidespreadusagesandapplication.Considerthestatementswithreferencetoit

(1)Itcannotbeusedasrocketpropellant

(2)Itcanbeusedinthermometer

(3)Itcanbeusedasanantiseptic

(4)Itcausescancer

(5)Itcancausebirthdefects

(6)ItcannotbeusedinDNAextractionbecauseitishighlytoxic

Correctcode/s

(a)1,2,3and5

(b)1,2,4,5and6

(c)2,3,4and6

(d)2,3,4and5

Answer:(d)

6/1/2017 SCIENCEANDTECHNOLOGY|IASbaba

Mercuryanditscompoundsaretoxicdespiteitisusedinvarietyofproducts.Itisusedin

(1)Medicines

(2)Paints

(3)EyeDrops

(4)Antiseptics

(5)Fungicides

Selectthecorrectcodes

(a)1and2

(b)1,2,3

(c)1,2,3,4

(d)1,2,3,4and5

Answer:D

Note:Donotgetthreatenedasyouwilllearngradually.Theprocessofconceptbuildingtakestime.Onceyoulearn
thisway,preparationbecomesmoreenjoyable.Also,conceptbuildingcannotbetaught.Ithastocomefromwithin.
Yes,youjustneedawaytobuildit.ThereisnoguaranteeinUPSCbutthereiswaytounderstanditsnerves.
Questionsfromthissectionarerandomandanalytical.Noonecanmeditateandtellyouthatthesearethesources
topreparefrom.Andnosinglebookwillsufficethedemandofit.Noinstitutewillletyouknowtherequirement.They
cannotbecausethisexamisnotaboutreadingsomuch.ItisaboutHow,WhatandWhytostudyofanyconceptor
topic?

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