Chemistry Miscellaneous Part-1

Total Questions: 42

1. In the year 2021, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to: [Uttarakhand P.C.S. (Pre) 2021]

Correct Answer: (c) Benjamin List & David MacMillan
Solution:The Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2021 was awarded jointly to Benjamin List and David W.C. MacMillan for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2022 was awarded jointly to Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry. Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Aleksey Yekimov are awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2023 for the discovery nd development of quantum dots.

2. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2019 was awarded for the development of: [66th B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2020]

Correct Answer: (c) Lithium-ion batteries
Solution:The Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2019 was awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino for the development of lithium-ion batteries. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2020 was awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for the development of a method for genome editing (CRISPR/Cas 9 genetic scissors).

3. Which of the following types of glass can cut off ultraviolet rays? [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2021]

Correct Answer: (d) Crookes glass
Solution:Crookes glass is one of the several types of glasses designed to diminish the transmission of ultraviolet rays. It is used to make sunglasses.

Pyrex glass is a clear, low-thermal-expansion borosilicate glass used for laboratory glassware and kitchenware.

Jena glass is a shock- and heat-resistant glass used in scientific and technological applications, especially in chemistry.

Soda-lime glass is produced on a large scale and used for bottles, drinking glasses, and windows.

4. Consider the following: [I.A.S. (Pre) 2023]

  1. Aerosols
  2. Foam agents
  3. Fire retardants
  4. Lubricants

In the making of how many of the above are hydrofluorocarbons used?

Correct Answer: (d) All four
Solution:Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are a group of synthetic gases primarily used for cooling and refrigeration. They are produced for use in refrigeration, air-conditioning, insulating foams, and aerosol propellants, with minor uses as solvents and for fire protection. Various technical and novelty aerosols (e.g., lubricant sprays and air-dusters) require non-flammable propellant and currently use HFCs. HFCs are used as specialty solvents for formulated products (e.g., coatings, greases, lubricants, and compounds). HFCs used in fluorinated lubricants provide performance in extreme temperature variances, non-flammability, and chemical inertness under a wide range of conditions. Its applications can be varied, from aviation usage, including missile launch platform gear lubricants, to automotive applications, including bearing or joint greases.

5. The ozone layer of the upper atmosphere is being destroyed by which of the following? [U.P. R.O./A.R.O. (Mains) 2017]

Correct Answer: (c) Chlorofluorocarbons
Solution:When chlorine and bromine atoms make contact with ozone in the stratosphere, they destroy ozone molecules. One chlorine atom of chlorofluorocarbon can destroy over 100,000 ozone molecules before it is removed from the stratosphere. Ozone can be destroyed more quickly than it is naturally created.

6. Consider the following assertion and reason and select the correct answer from the code given below. [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2013]

Assertion (A): Ozone kills microorganisms in water.
Reason (R): Ozone is not radioactive.

Correct Answer: (b) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
Solution:Ozone is made up of three oxygen atoms (Oโ‚ƒ) having a "free radical" of oxygen. It will readily give up one atom of oxygen providing a powerful oxidizing agent which is toxic to most waterborne organisms such as bacteria, mold, and yeast spores, viruses, or harmful protozoans that form cysts. Ozone is not radioactive. Thus, both the assertion and reason are true, but the reason is not the correct explanation of the assertion.

7. Which of the following is used in a fire alarm? [U.P. P.C.S. (Pre) 2020]

Correct Answer: (a) Photocell
Solution:The photocell is used in fire alarms. A photocell is a technological application of the photoelectric effect. It operates on semiconductor photoconductivity, where light photons hitting the semiconductor free electrons to flow, decreasing the resistance. If smoke enters the chamber, it refracts the light beam, causing the alarm to sound.

8. Which gas is used in fire extinguishers? [M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 1991]

Correct Answer: (a) Carbon dioxide
Solution:Carbon dioxide gas is used in fire extinguishers to control small fires, often in emergency situations.

9. In the ordinary fire extinguisher, carbon dioxide is generated by the reaction of [Uttarakhand Lower Sub. (Pre) 2010]

Correct Answer: (c) Sodium bicarbonate and dilute Sulphuric acid
Solution:In the ordinary fire extinguisher, carbon dioxide is generated by the reaction of sodium bicarbonate and dilute sulphuric acid:

2NaHCO3โ€‹+H2โ€‹SO4โ€‹โ†’Na2โ€‹SO4โ€‹+2H2โ€‹O+2CO2โ€‹

10. Which one of the following compounds is used to make fireproof clothing? [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2015]

Correct Answer: (d) Aluminium Sulphate
Solution:Aluminium sulphate is used to prepare fireproof clothes.