2024 Prelims Paper 2 UPSC Question Paper

Directions for the following 4 (four) Items :
Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.
Passage-1
“The history of science is the real history of mankind.” In this striking epigram, a nineteenth-century writer links science with its background. Like most epigrams, its power lies in emphasizing by contrast an aspect of truth which may be easily overlooked. In this case, it is easy to overlook the relations between science and mankind, and to treat the former has some abstract third party, which can sometimes be praised for its beneficial influences, but frequently and conveniently blamed for the horrors of war. Science and mankind cannot be divorced from time to time at men’s convenience. Yet we have seen that, in spite of countless opportunities of improvement, the opening years of the present period of civilization have been dominated by international conflict. Is this the inevitable result of the progress of science or does the fault lie elsewhere?

Which of the following is/are emphatically conveyed by the author of the passage?
1. Without science, mankind could not have continued to exist till today.
2. It is the science that will ultimately determine the destiny of mankind.
Select the correct answer using the code given below

Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:
1. The horrors of modern life are the inevitable result of the progress of science.
2. The aspect of truth likely to be overlooked is that science is what man has made it.
Which of the assumptions given above is/are correct?

Passage-2
Only with long experience and opening of his wares on many a beach where his language is not spoken, will the merchant come to know the worth of what he carries, and what is parochial and what is universal in his choice. Such delicate goods as justice, love and honour, courtesy, and indeed all the things we care for, are valid everywhere but they are variously moulded and often differently handled, and sometimes nearly unrecognizable if you meet them in a foreign land, and the art of learning fundamental common values is perhaps the greatest gain of travel to those who wish to live at ease among their fellows.

When we meet other people while we travel, we learn to differentiate between

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :
1. Travel leads to an understanding of humans.
2. Travel helps those who wish to learn fundamental common values.
3. A person with long experience in travel can resolve differences amongst people.
Which of the assumptions given above are valid?

Let X be a two-digit number and Y be another two-digit number formed by interchanging the digits of X. If (X + Y) is the greatest two-digit number, then what is the number of possible values of X?

Consider the following:
Weight of 6 boys = Weight of 7 girls = Weight of 3 men = Weight of 4 women
If the average weight of the women is 63 kg, then what is the average weight of the boys?

How many times the hour hand and the minute hand coincide in a clock between 10:00 a.m. and 2.00 p.m. (same day)?

The calendar for the year 2025 is same for

Let p, q, r and s be distinct positive integers. Let p, q be odd and r, s be even. Consider the following statements:
1. (p-r)²(qs) is even.
2. (q-s)q²s is even.
3. (q + r)²(p + s) is odd.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

What is the angle between the minute hand and hour hand when the clock shows 4:25 hours?