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UPSC CDS Science & Technology — practice questions

Explore 240 free Science & Technology questions in UPSC CDS Geography. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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Science & Technology questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–30 of 240.

About 98 per cent of the earth's crust is made up of how many elements?Read the answer and worked solution →Which of these is a single-element mineral?Read the answer and worked solution →At least how many minerals have been named and identified in the earth's crust?Read the answer and worked solution →Coal, petroleum and natural gas are classed as which kind of minerals?Read the answer and worked solution →A mineral's tendency to break along plane surfaces in given directions is called:Read the answer and worked solution →The colour of a mineral's ground powder is its:Read the answer and worked solution →Fluorite is purple or green but gives a streak of which colour?Read the answer and worked solution →On the hardness scale of 1 to 10, which mineral is number 1?Read the answer and worked solution →Which mineral stands at 10, the top of the hardness scale?Read the answer and worked solution →A fingernail has a hardness of about:Read the answer and worked solution →Gold, silver and platinum are classed as:Read the answer and worked solution →Copper, lead, zinc, tin and aluminium are classed as:Read the answer and worked solution →Cement is a mixture of which kind of minerals?Read the answer and worked solution →The two most common minerals found in rocks are:Read the answer and worked solution →The science of rocks is called:Read the answer and worked solution →Igneous rocks, solidified from magma and lava, are also known as:Read the answer and worked solution →The word sedimentary comes from the Latin sedimentum, meaning:Read the answer and worked solution →The compaction of deposits into rock is called:Read the answer and worked solution →Chalk, coal and some limestone are sedimentary rocks formed:Read the answer and worked solution →Metamorphism by breaking and crushing without chemical change is called:Read the answer and worked solution →The layered arrangement of minerals in metamorphic rocks is called:Read the answer and worked solution →Slate, schist and marble are examples of which rock family?Read the answer and worked solution →Catch the igneous rocksRead the answer and worked solution →Pop the sedimentary rocksRead the answer and worked solution →Run the hardness scaleRead the answer and worked solution →Slice the metamorphic rocksRead the answer and worked solution →Metallic or non-metallicRead the answer and worked solution →Sort the rock familiesRead the answer and worked solution →Type the numberRead the answer and worked solution →Minerals and rocks bingoRead the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

About 98 per cent of the earth's crust is made up of how many elements?

  1. Eight
  2. Four
  3. Nine
  4. Twelve
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Correct answer: A. Eight

1. They include oxygen, silicon, aluminium and iron. 2. Eight elements make up 98 per cent. 3. The rest is titanium, hydrogen and others. _Source: syllabus Fundamentals of Physical Geography, Chapter 5, Minerals and Rocks._

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Which of these is a single-element mineral?

  1. Gypsum
  2. Graphite
  3. Feldspar
  4. Calcite
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Correct answer: B. Graphite

1. Most minerals combine two or more elements. 2. Graphite, like gold and sulphur, is a single element. 3. Feldspar and quartz are compounds. _Source: syllabus Fundamentals of Physical Geography, Chapter 5, Minerals and Rocks._

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At least how many minerals have been named and identified in the earth's crust?

  1. 2,000
  2. 4,000
  3. 6,000
  4. 8,000
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Correct answer: A. 2,000

1. The elements combine in many ways. 2. At least 2,000 minerals are named. 3. Most belong to six major rock-forming groups. _Source: syllabus Fundamentals of Physical Geography, Chapter 5, Minerals and Rocks._

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