Unit 2 — MCQ Practice Bank: 28 questions based on the official MGSU syllabus and PYQ analysis. Tap Show Answer to check yourself. 🔥 = high priority, ⭐ = important.
Q1. A natural resource is best defined as — Expected
- Anything made in factories
- Only minerals from mines
- Only water and air
- Any material or energy from nature that satisfies human needs
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Answer: D — Air, water, soil, forests, minerals, sunlight, fossil fuels: anything from nature that humans use.
Q2. Which of the following is a renewable resource? PYQ 2022 🔥
- Coal
- Solar energy
- Petroleum
- Natural gas
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Answer: B — The sun's energy is inexhaustible; coal, petroleum and gas are finite fossil fuels.
Q3. Which of the following is a non-renewable resource? PYQ 2021
- Wind energy
- Hydel power
- Minerals
- Biomass
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Answer: C — Minerals formed over millions of years; once used, they are gone forever.
Q4. Nuclear energy is NOT considered renewable because — Expected 🔥
- Its uranium fuel is finite
- It produces no electricity
- It needs sunlight
- It is too cheap
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Answer: A — The examiner's favourite trap: nuclear is alternate but not renewable, since uranium is exhaustible.
Q5. Deforestation means — Expected ⭐
- Planting trees in cities
- Large-scale cutting of forests
- Protecting wildlife
- Cleaning rivers
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Answer: B — Deforestation is the removal of forest cover on a large scale by human activity.
Q6. The biggest single cause of deforestation worldwide is — PYQ 2023 🔥
- Timber trade alone
- Forest fires
- Mining
- Clearing land for agriculture
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Answer: D — Agriculture expansion clears more forest than logging, mining and fires; asked repeatedly.
Q7. Which of the following is an effect of deforestation? PYQ Dec 2024 ⭐
- Soil erosion
- Increased rainfall everywhere
- More forest cover
- Cleaner air
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Answer: A — Without tree roots, topsoil washes away; deforestation accelerates soil erosion, floods and biodiversity loss.
Q8. India has roughly ___ of its land under forest cover, against a policy target of 33%. PYQ 2021 ⭐
- One-half
- Three-fourths
- One-fifth
- One-tenth
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Answer: C — About one-fifth (roughly 20%), below the 33% national policy target.
Q9. A major benefit of large dams is — PYQ 2022
- Increased deforestation
- Hydel electricity and irrigation water
- Earthquake creation
- Forest submergence
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Answer: B — Dams give clean hydel power, irrigation, drinking water and flood control, but at a social cost.
Q10. The most serious human problem associated with big dams is — PYQ 2023 🔥
- Displacement of tribal communities
- Increased fish catch
- Better roads
- Tourism growth
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Answer: A — Submergence uproots lakhs of people, mostly tribal; rehabilitation often fails (Narmada Bachao Andolan).
Q11. The Tehri dam is frequently in the news for — Expected
- Desert tourism
- Tiger reserve
- Coal mining
- Earthquake risk in a seismic zone
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Answer: D — Tehri sits in a Himalayan seismic zone; earthquake risk is its biggest cited danger.
Q12. Of all Earth's water, about 97% is ___ and less than 1% is easily accessible to humans. PYQ 2023 🔥
- Frozen in glaciers
- Groundwater
- Ocean (saline) water
- In the atmosphere
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Answer: C — Oceans hold nearly all water; accessible freshwater is under one percent.
Q13. India has about 18% of the world's population but only ___ of its freshwater resources. Expected ⭐
- About 4%
- About 40%
- About 18%
- About 97%
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Answer: A — This mismatch is why over-use hits India especially hard.
Q14. Excessive tube wells in many parts of India are causing — Expected
- More rainfall
- Depletion of groundwater
- Cleaner rivers
- Less farming
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Answer: B — Over-extraction lowers the water table; wells run dry and the land degrades.
Q15. Floods are worsened by all of the following EXCEPT — Expected ⭐
- Heavy rainfall
- Deforestation
- Silted rivers
- Afforestation
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Answer: D — Heavy rain, deforestation, siltation and floodplain construction worsen floods; planting trees reduces them.
Q16. Drought is caused by — Expected
- Monsoon failure combined with over-extraction of groundwater
- Too much rain
- Excessive forest cover
- Cold waves
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Answer: A — Drought means monsoon failure plus groundwater over-use plus destruction of traditional water bodies.
Q17. The Cauvery water dispute is between — PYQ Dec 2024 ⭐
- Gujarat and Maharashtra
- Punjab and Haryana
- Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
- India and Nepal
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Answer: C — The classic inter-state water conflict: Karnataka versus Tamil Nadu over Cauvery sharing.
Q18. Open-cast mining is most directly responsible for — Expected
- Increased rainfall
- Stripping forests and topsoil, leaving huge pits
- Better soil fertility
- Forest growth
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Answer: B — Open-cast mines strip the surface: forests and topsoil gone, huge ugly pits left behind.
Q19. World hunger persists mainly because of — Expected ⭐
- Too little food production globally
- Lack of tractors
- Excessive rainfall
- Unequal distribution of food
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Answer: D — The world produces enough food; hunger comes from unequal distribution, population pressure and waste.
Q20. Chemical fertiliser runoff into lakes causes — PYQ 2021 🔥
- Eutrophication (algal blooms)
- Earthquakes
- Desertification
- Ozone hole
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Answer: A — Nutrient runoff feeds algal blooms; eutrophication depletes oxygen and kills aquatic life.
Q21. The accumulation of DDT through the food chain is called — PYQ 2022 🔥
- Eutrophication
- Waterlogging
- Biomagnification
- Photosynthesis
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Answer: C — Poison concentrates at each trophic level; top predators receive the highest dose.
Q22. Waterlogging and salinity of soil are caused by — PYQ 2023 🔥
- Under-irrigation
- Excess irrigation
- Organic farming
- Crop rotation
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Answer: B — Over-irrigation raises the water table (roots rot) and leaves salts behind (soil turns infertile).
Q23. Soil erosion is fastest — Expected
- In dense forests
- On flat grasslands
- In deserts only
- Where forests are cut and land is overgrazed
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Answer: D — Tree roots and grass hold soil; remove them and wind and water strip the topsoil quickly.
Q24. Landslides on hills are worsened by — Expected
- Deforestation, road-cutting and mining
- Afforestation
- Terrace farming
- Check dams
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Answer: A — Heavy rain and quakes trigger slides, but bare, cut slopes fail far more easily.
Q25. Desertification means fertile land turning into desert; India's classic example is the — PYQ Dec 2024 ⭐
- Deccan plateau
- Gangetic plain
- Thar desert
- Western Ghats
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Answer: C — Overgrazing, deforestation and over-cultivation drive desertification; Thar is the textbook case.
Q26. Which soil is considered best for plant growth? PYQ 2022 ⭐
- Sandy soil
- Loamy soil
- Clayey soil
- Saline soil
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Answer: B — Loam balances sand, silt and clay: good drainage plus good nutrient retention.
Q27. The most widely quoted definition of sustainable development was given by the — PYQ 2021 🔥
- Ramsar Convention, 1971
- Stockholm Conference, 1972
- Chipko Movement, 1973
- Brundtland Commission, 1987
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Answer: D — "Development that meets present needs without compromising future generations" — Brundtland, 1987.
Q28. "Equitable use of resources" means resources should be shared — Expected
- Fairly — between rich and poor, regions, and present and future generations
- Only among the rich
- Only within one country
- Only for industries
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Answer: A — Today a small rich minority consumes the bulk; equity demands fair sharing across people and generations.
