2024 GS Paper I, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2024 · GS Paper I

Question 23: Environment and Ecology

Consider the following pairs :

CountryAnimal found in its natural habitat
1.BrazilIndri
2.IndonesiaElk
3.MadagascarBonobo

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched ?

aOnly one
bOnly two
cAll three
dNone

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (d).

None of the pairs is right. The indri is a large lemur found only in Madagascar, not Brazil. The elk (wapiti or moose) lives in North America and northern Eurasia, not in Indonesia. The bonobo is found only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, not Madagascar. Remember: lemurs are Madagascar's primates; bonobos belong to the Congo forests.

  • 1. The indri lives in Madagascar, not Brazil.
  • 2. The elk is found in northern continents, not in Indonesia.
  • 3. The bonobo lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, not Madagascar.

How you could have got this

No shortcut here: in a “how many” question, ruling out options doesn’t help. Every statement has to be judged.

Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Wrong: no pair is correct.
  • (b) Wrong: no pair is correct.
  • (c) Wrong: every pair is wrong.
  • (d) Right: indri is Madagascan, elk is not Indonesian, and bonobo is Congolese, so all three pairs are wrong.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2024, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.