UPSC Geology Question Paper

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UPSC Geology Question Paper

Pattern of Geologist Exam(GE):-

Written Exam followed by an Intelligence & Personality Test. In total 4 papers-General English(2 hours & 200 marks),Geology I,II,III( 3 hours each & 200 marks each) for mains exam.The papers of all the subjects will be of essay type.In Prelims exam, questions are objective type

INSTRUCTIONS: All questions are multiple choice questions. There are total 70 questions divided in three parts (15 in PART A, 25 in PART B, 30 in PART C). Candidate needs to answer total 60 questions (all questions from PART A, 20 questions from PART B and 25 questions from PART C)

UPSC geology sample paper

UPSC Geology Question paper

PART A

1. The approximate density of the earth is

a) 5.5                  
b) 5.8         
c) 5.1         
d) 5.2

2.  Flat-topped seamounts are known as

a) Submarine volcanoes       
b) Guyots            
c) Groynes                    
d) Terraces

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3.   Which of the following is a fresh water lake?

a)  Wuler    
b) Chilka    
c) Pulicat             
d) Sambher

4. The clinometers compass can be used to find the structural trend of rocks containing the minerals

a) Magnetite, Pyrite, Sphalerite      
c) Chromite, Magnetite, Galena
b)  Galena, Sphalerite, Gold  
d) None of the above

5.  The specific gravity of a powdered mineral can be determined with the help of

a) Chemical balance             
c) Pycnometer
b) Jolly’s  spring balance      
d) Walker’s Steel Yard

6.  Which of the following is a fresh water fossil

a)  Physa   
b) Cerethium       
c) Nucula   
d) Ammonite

7.  Find the odd man out

a) Lamination     
b) Slaty cleavage
c) Schistosity                
d) Foliation

8. The most abundant sedimentary rock found in the Earth’s crust is

a) Shale    
b) Sandstone                
c) Limestone                 
d) None of the above

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9.  Stromatolites are

a)  Green algae                                
c) Blue algae
b)  Organo-sedimentary structures  
d) Sedimentary structure

10. Sill is a

a)  Horizontal igneous intrusive
b)  Vertical igneous intrusive
c)   Concave igneous pluton
d)  None of the above

11. The main raw material for ceramic industry is

a) Silica              
b) Clay                
c) Gypsum           
d) Terracota

12. “Bleaching clays” are

a) Fire clays                 
b) Bentonites      
c)  China clays    
d)Fuller’s earth

13.  The outcrop of manganese deposits exhibit ________ color

a) Black              
b) Brown             
c) Maroon            
d) Waxy green

14. As one moves from Tropical zones towards the Polar regions, the concentration of limestone

a) Increases                                    
c) Decrease
b)  First increases then decreases  
d) First decreases then increases

15. The Bauxite deposits of Orissa are associated with

a)  Positive topographic forms
b)  Negative topographic forms
c)   Structural elevations
d)  Tectonic deeps

PART B

16. The Graphite deposits of Kalahandi, the Granite deposits of Rajasthan and the Kyanite deposits of Singhbhum are associated with

a) Igneous rocks                    
c) Sedimentary rocks
b)  Metamorphic rocks            
d) All of the above

17.  ‘Trenching’ involves

a)  Linear excavation
b)  Linear excavation in which one dimension is greater than other
c)   Drilling wedge-shaped bore holes
d)  Digging even-sized pits

18. Diamond drilling can be used to bore holes in

a) Horizontal direction only
b) Vertical direction only
c)  Horizontal and vertical directions
d)  All directions

19. The most useful drilling for penetrating hard or abrasive ground is

a) Diamond drilling              
c) Percussion drilling
b)  Rotary drilling                  
d) Churn drilling

20. Which of the following is a common method used for sampling of placer deposits

a) Churn drilling                    
c) Augur drilling
b)  Jet drilling                        
d) Rotary drilling

21. The average gravitational force of the earth is

a) 98 cm/s2         
b) 980 cm/s2        
c) 9800 cm/s2                    
d) 980 cm/s

22. The Value of Universal Gravitational Constant (G) in S.I. unit is

a)  6.67 X 10-8                         
c)  6.67 X 10-10
b)  6.67 X 10-9                         
d) 6.67 X 10-12 

23. The total magnetic field strength is weakest at

a) 0o latitude                                    
c) 90o latitude
b)  30o N –  30o S latitude                 
d) 60o N –  60o S latitude

24. The P-wave velocities are highest in

a)  Air                  
b) Water     
c) Sand      
d) Granite

25. In terms of electric conductivity, granites can be described as

a) Good conductors                         
c) Moderate conductors
b)  Bad conductors                                      
d) Semi-conductors

26. Which of the following has the least electrical resistivity

a) Diamond                  
b) Sulphur 
c) Clay      
d) Anthracite

27. The plants which indicates the presence of groundwater are described as

a) Hydrophytes                      
c) Phreatophytes
b)  Halophytes                        
d) Xerophytes

28. Which of the following instruments is NOT used in geochemical prospecting

a)  Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer
b)  Emission Spectrograph
c)   Flame photometer
d)  Optical microscope

29. Gold prospecting in both geophysical and geochemical methods is most effectively done by

a)  Electromagnetic surveys            
c) Seismic profiling
b)  Remote sensing                                     
d) Soil analysis

30. Which sampling method is resorted to when the exposure of outcrops are scarce?

a) Bulk sampling                   
c) Trenching
b)  Drilling                              
d) Well-logging

31. The Geological Mapping undertaken by GSI is on the scale of

a) 1:50,000                              
c) 1:40,000
b)  1:65,000                            
d) 1:25,000

32. Screening is an ore beneficiation process which takes advantage of the differences in

a)  Size of the particles
b)  Cleavage or fracture of the particles
c)   Specific gravity of the particles
d)  Hardness of the particles

33. Sorting of grains generally carried out by instruments called

a) Jaw crushers                     
c) Classifiers
b)  Cone crushers                   
d) Vibrating screen

34. Water that is formed at the time of consolidation of magma is termed

a) Connate water                   
c) Meteoric water
b)  Vadose water                    
d) Juvenile water

35. The underground water that occurs within the zone of aeration is called

a) Plutonic water                   
c) Vadose water
b)  Meteoric water                   
d) Connate water

36. Which of the following is the most feebly magnetic among the following?

a) Quartz
b) Rutile
c) Magnesite
d) Galena

37. Permanent magnets are used in

a)  Low-intensity magnetic separators
b)  High-intensity magnetic separators
c)   Wet magnetic separators
d)  None of the above

38. A horizontal entry into an ore body is called

a) Adit                 
b) Shaft               
c) Bench              
d) Pit

39.  Which of the following are more suitable for underground mining of ore bodies situated at great depths?

a) Horizontal shafts                         
c) Inclined shafts
b)  Vertical shafts                   
d) None of the above

40. Which of the following is an underground mining method using artificially supported openings?

a) Open stoping                                
c) Room and pillar mining
b) Shrinkage opening                    
d) Longwall mining

PART C

41. Minerals in which a country has total inadequacy and depend upon foreign sources for its needs are described as

a) Strategic minerals
b)  Critical minerals
c)   Essential minerals
d)  Expendable minerals

42. Hail is a type of precipitation that consists of

a)  Ice crystals of delicate, feathery structure
b)  Hard pallets of ice
c)   Droplets of water deposited on objects near the ground
d)  Minute crystals of ice deposited on a cold surface

43. A dense mass of water on smoke or dust particles in the lower atmospheric layers constitute

a) Fog       
b) Mist                 
c) Frost      
d) Blizzard

44. A majority of aquifer consists of

a)  Sand and gravels
b)  Sandstones
c)   Limestones
d)  Porous breccias and conglomerate

45. An impermeable formation that neither contains nor transmit water is called

a)  Aquifer           
b) Aquiclude                 
c) Aquifuge         
d) Aquitard

46. In general, fine-grained rocks have

a)  High porosity    
b)  High permeability
c) High porosity and permeability                        
d) High porosity and low permeability

47. Which of the following materials has the highest porosity?

a)  Clay                
b) Silt                            
c) Gravels           
d) Sandstones

48. Which of the following has the least stiffness?

a)  Limestone                
b) Sandstone                
c) Quartz             
d) Basalt

49. The type of dam preferred where the river section is wide and the foundation is unsound is

a) Gravity dam                       
b) Embankment dam  
c) Arch dam                     
d) Multiple arch dam

 

50. The soil that is most characteristic of the Archaean basement of the peninsular India is

a) Alluvial soil                                 
b)  Laterite soil  
c) Red soil                               
d) Regur

 

51. The time taken for light from the sun to reach the earth

a) 499.720 secs  
b) 499.012 secs  
c) 489.720 secs  
d) 489.012 secs

52. Which of the following possess both stellar and planetary characteristics?

a) Jupiter            
b) Venus             
c) Saturn             
d) Pluto

53. Which of the following planets has the least density?

a). Earth              
b) Mars                
c) Saturn             
d) Venus

54. The difference between the equatorial and polar diameters of the Earth is

a) 21 km             
b) 43 km              
c) 56 km              
d) 28 km

55. Earthquakes whose depth of focus ranges between 300-700 km are known as

a)  Shallow focus earthquakes
b)  Intermediate focus earthquakes
c)   Deep focus earthquakes
d)  Normal earthquakes

56. The Tethys was located between

a)  North America and South America
b)  North America and Eurasia
c)   Eurasia and Africa
d)  Antarctica and Australia

57. The most extensive modern continental mountain chain is

a) Andes             
b) Himalayas                
c) Alps                 
d) Zagros

58. Which of the following is NOT a closing ocean basin?

a) Black sea                 
b) Red sea          
c) Caspian sea    
d) Mediterranean sea

59. The oldest rocks in the world are found in

a)  Australian craton
b)  Indian craton
c)   Antarctica
d)  Greenland

60. The oldest minerals found on the surface of the Earth are crystals of

a) Calcite            
b) Quartz             
c) Tourmaline               
d) Zircon

61. Exfoliation is a form of

a)  Physical weathering
b)  Chemical weathering
c)   Biochemical weathering
d)  Mass wasting

62. Flat-topped hills or small mountains formed by stream action are called

a)  Mesas             
b) Buttes             
c) Cuestas           
d) Stream terraces

63. Stream which flows in the opposite direction to the original consequent streams are described as

a) Obsequent               
b) Subsequent      
c) Insequent             
d)Resequent

64. ‘Natural levee’ is an example of

a)  Point-bar deposits
b)  Channel-fill deposits
c)   Flood plain deposits
d)  Flood basin deposits

65. Which of the following is a feature exhibited by a river in its upper course

a) Meanders                 
b) River-piracy              
c) Piedmont                  
d) Sloughs

66. Coral reefs are generally found in the latitudinal extensions of

a)  20oN – 20oS
b)  30oN – 30oS
c)   60oN – 60oS
d)  45oN – 45oS

67. Soils in which sand, clay and humus are found more or less in equal proportions are called

a)  Loamy soils
b)  Regur
c)   Chernozem
d)  Pedalfar

68. The exoskeleton of sponges is made up of

a) Silica              
b) Calcite            
c) Aragonite        
d)Calcium phosphate

69. Fossil fecal pellets of ancient animals are described as

a) Gastroliths               
b) Coproliths   
c) Beekite rings  
d)Pseudo-fossils

70. The most favourable environment for the preservation of fossils is

a) Terrestrial                
b) Lacustrine                
c) Fluvial             
d) Marine

Answers:-

[1]a)5.5                                                    [2]b)Guyots                             [3]a)Wuler
[4]b)Galena, Sphalrite, Gold                    [5]c)Pycnometer                      [6]a)Physa
[7]a)Lamination                                        [8]a)Shale                               [9]b)Organo-sedimentary structures
[10]a)Horizontal igneous intrusive           [11]a)Silica                              [12]d)Fuller’s earthz
[13]a)Black                                              [14]d)First decreases then increases  [15]b)Negative topographic forms
[16]b)Metamorphic rocks                        [17]b)Linear excavation in which one dimension is greater than other
[18]d)All Directions                                 [19]c)Percussion Drilling          [20]a)Churn drilling
[21]b)980 cm/s2                                     [22]c)6.67 X10-10                    [23]a)0degree latitude
[24]d)Granite                                         [25]c)Moderate conductors       [26]d)Anthracite
[27]c)Phreatophytes                              [28]d)Optical microscope          [29]d)Soil analysis
[30]c)Trenching                                      [31]a)1:50,000                         [32]a)Size of the particles
[33]c)Classifiers                                     [34]d)Juvenile water                  [35]c)Vadose water
[36]d)Galena                                          [37]a)Low-intensity magnetic separators                [38]a)Adit                                              [39]b)Vertical shafts                 [40]d)Longwall mining      [41]a)Strategic minerals                        [42]b)Hard pallets of ice           [43]a)Fog                 [44]a)Sand and gravels                         [45]b)Aquiclude                        [46]b)High porosity and low permeability                                         [47]a)Clay                                 [48]c)Quartz       [49]d)Multiple arch dam                         [50]c)Red soil                            [51]a)499.720 secs     [52]a)Jupiter                                          [53]c)Saturn                               [54]b)43km             [55]c)Deep focus earthquakes            [56]c)Eurasia and Africa             [57]a)Andes            [58]b)Red sea                                      [59]d)Greenland                        [60]d)Zircon       [61]a)Physical weathering                     [62]c)Cuestas                            [63]a)Obsequent   [64]c)Flood plain deposits                   [65]b)River-piracy                     [66]b)30degreeN – 30degreeS                                            [67]a)Loamy soils                      [68]a)Silica     [69]b)Coproliths                                    [70]d)Marine

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43 Responses to UPSC Geology Question Paper

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