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133.

Some scientists believe that, in certain species of birds, actual particles of metal within the brain react to the Earth’s magnetic field in the same way as the needle in a compass. It is this mechanism that is thought to underlie the birds’ amazing ability to navigate accurately over distances of thousands of miles by day and night during migration. To test this theory, researchers surgically removed the metal particles from the heads of some birds and then released them, alongwith a number of untreated birds, at the usual time and place of their annual winter migration.
Which of the following results would most seriously weaken the theory being tested?
(1) The untreated birds were confused by the erratic flight patterns of the surgically treated birds and failed to migrate successfully.
(2) The surgically treated birds were able to follow their usual flight patterns successfully by day, but not by night.
(3) The surgically treated birds were able to migrate about as accurately as the untreated birds.
(4) The surgically treated birds were able to migrate successfully only when closely following a group of untreated birds.

asked in MAT

For our nation to compete successfully in the hightechnology enterprises of the future, workers with skills in maths and science will be needed. But it is doubtful that they will be available, since there is a shortage of high school maths and science teachers that shows no signs of improving. Industry can help alleviate this problem by funding scholarship grants and aid to college students who graduate in maths and science with the hope of pursuing teaching careers.
Which of the following, if true, would most probably prevent the proposed plan from achieving its intended effect?
(1) After graduation from college, most maths and science graduates opt for jobs in industry rather than in teaching.
(2) Many high schools have been forced to lower their standards in hiring maths and science teachers.
(3) More scholarship money is already available for students of maths and science than is available for those in any other field.
(4) Population statistics show that the number of high school students is expected to decline over the next ten years.

asked in MAT

Psychological research indicates that college hockey and football players are more quickly moved to hostility and aggression than are college athletes in non-contact sports such as swimming. But the researchers’ conclusion—that contact sports encourage and teach participants to be hostile and aggressive—is untenable. The football and hockey players were probably more hostile and aggressive to start with, than the swimmers.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion drawn by the psychological researchers?
(1) The football and hockey players became more hostile and aggressive during the season and remained so during the off season, whereas there was no increase in aggressiveness among the swimmers.
(2) The football and hockey players, but not the swimmers, were aware at the start of the experiment that they were being tested for aggressiveness.
(3) The same psychological research indicated that the football and hockey players had a great respect for cooperation and team play, whereas the swimmers were most concerned with excelling as individual competitors.
(4) The research studies were designed to include no college athletes who participated in both contact and non-contact sports.

asked in MAT

The burning of coal, oil and other combustible energy sources produces carbon dioxide, a natural constituent of the atmosphere. Elevated levels of carbon dioxide are thought to be responsible for half the greenhouse effect. Enough carbon dioxide has been sent into the atmosphere already to cause a significant temperature increase. Growth in industrial production must be slowed, or production processes must be changed.
Which of the following, if true, would tend to weaken the strength of the above conclusion?
(1) Many areas of the world are cold anyway, so a small rise in temperature would be welcome.
(2) Carbon dioxide is bad for health
(3) Most carbon dioxide is emitted by automobiles.
(4) Industry is switching over to synthetic liquid fuel extracted from coal.

asked in MAT

At the Fourth World Water Forum held in Mexico City in March 2006, the 120-nation assembly could not reach a consensus on declaring the right to safe and clean drinking water a human right. Millions of people the world over do not have access to potable water supply. But it is good times for the bottled-water industry, which is cashing in on the need for clean drinking water and the ability of urban elite to pay an exorbitant price for this very basic human need. The fortunes of this more-than-$100-billion global industry are directly related to the human apathy towards the environment—the more we pollute our water bodies, the more the sales of bottled water. It is estimated that the global consumption of bottled water is nearing 200 billion liters—sufficient to satisfy the daily drinking water need of onefourth of the Indian population or about 4.5 per cent of the global population.

In India, the per capita bottled water consumption is still quite low—less than five liters a year as compared to the global average of 24 liters. However, the total annual bottled water consumption has risen rapidly in recent times—it has tripled between 1999 and 2004—from about 1.5 billion liters to five billion liters. These are boom times for the Indian bottled water industry—more so because the economics are sound, the bottom line is fat and the Indian government hardly cares for what happens to the nation’s water resources. India is the tenth largest bottled water consumer in the world. In 2002, the industry had an estimated turnover of Rs 10 billion (Rs 1,000 crores). Today it is one of India’s fastest growing industrial sectors. Between 1999 and 2004, the Indian bottled water market grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 per cent—the highest in the world. With over a thousand bottled water producers, the Indian bottled water industry is big by even international standards. There are more than 200 brands, nearly 80 per cent of which are local. Most of the small-scale producers sell nonbranded products and serve small markets. In fact, making bottled water is today a cottage industry in the country. Leave alone the metros, where a bottled-water manufacturer can be found even in a one-room shop, in every medium and small city and even some prosperous rural areas there are bottled water manufacturers.

Despite the large number of small producers, this industry is dominated by the big players—Parle Bisleri, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Parle Agro, Mohan Meakins, SKN Breweries and so on. Parle was the first major Indian company to enter the bottled water market in the country when it introduced Bisleri in India 25 years ago. The rise of the Indian bottled water industry began with the economic liberalization process in 1991. The market was virtually stagnant until 1991, when the demand for bottled water was less than two million cases a year. However, since 1991-1992 it has not looked back, and the demand in 2004-05 was a staggering 82 million cases. Bottled water is sold in a variety of packages: pouches and glasses, 330 ml botles, 500 ml bottles, one-liter bottles and even 20 to 50 liter bulk water packs. The formal bottled water business in India can be divided broadly into three segments in tems of cost: premium natural mineral water, natural mineral water and packaged drinking water.

Attracted by the huge potential that India’s vast middle class offers, multinational players such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have been trying for the past decade to capture the Indian bottled water market. Today they have captured a significant portion of it. However, Parle Bisleri continues to hold 40 per cent of the market share. Kinley and Aquafina are fast catching up, with Kinley holding 20-25 per cent of the market and Aquafina approximately 10 per cent. The rest, including the smaller players, have 20-25 per cent of the market share.

The majority of the bottling plants whether they produce bottled water or soft drinks—are dependent on groundwater. They create huge water stress in the areas where they operate because groundwater is also the main source—in most places the only source—of drinking water in India. This has created huge conflict between the community and the bottling plants. Private companies in India can siphon out, exhaust and export groundwater free because the groundwater law in the counry is archaic and not in tune with the realities of modern capitalist societies. The existing law says that “the person who owns the land owns the groundwater beneath”. This means that, theoretically, a person can buy one square metre of land and take all the groundwater of the surrounding areas and the law of land cannot object to it. This law is the core of the conflict between the community and the companies and the major reason for making the business of bottled water in the country highly lucrative.

[1]

According to the passage, which one of the following statements is not true?
(1) Private companies are exploiting groundwater resources in India due to outdated law.
(2) The growth of Indian bottled water industry is a preeconomic liberalization process.
(3) Manufacturers excluding bigger players have approximately 20-25% of the market share of bottled water.
(4) Bottled water production in India is a cottage industry today.

[2]	Which brand is having the largest pie in the Indian bottled water market? (1) Coca-Cola (2) Parle Bisleri (3) PepsiCo (4) Mohan Meakins

[3]	What is/are the reason(s) for the global growth of bottled water industry? (1) Pollution of water bodies (2) Basic human need for clean drinking water (3) Paying capacity of the elite (4) All of the above

[4]

According to the passage, which of the following statements is/are true?
A. In India, the increase in total annual bottled water consumption is followed by increase in per capita bottled water consumption.
B. Indian bottled water market grew at the highest CAGR.
C. The formal bottled water business in India is divided into broadly two segments in terms of cost.

(1) A only
(2) A and C both
(3) B only
(4) A, B and C

asked in MAT

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138.

Much as an electrical lamp transforms electrical energy into heat and light, the visual “apparatus” of a human being acts as a transformer of light into sight. Light projected from a source or reflected by an object enters the cornea and lens of the eyeball. The energy is transmitted to the retina of the eye whose rods and cones are activated. The stimuli are transferred by nerve cells to the optic nerve and then to the brain, man is a binocular animal, and the impressions from his two eyes are translated into sight—a rapid, compound analysis of the shape, form, colour, size, position, and motion of the things he sees. Photometry is the science of measuring light. The illuminating engineer and designer employ photometric data constantly in their work. In all fields of application of light and lighting, they predicate their choice of equipment, lamps, wall finishes, colours of light and backgrounds, and other factors affecting the luminous and environmental pattern to be secured, in great part from data supplied originally by photometric laboratory. Today, extensive tables and charts of photometric data are used widely, constituting the basis for many details of design. Although the lighting designer may not be called upon to the detailed work of making measurements or plotting data in the form of photometric curves and analyzing them, an understanding of the terms used and their derivation form valuable background knowledge. The perception of colour is a complex visual sensation, intimately related to light. The apparent colour of an object depends primarily upon four factors : its ability to reflect various colours of light, the nature of the light by which it is seen, the colour of its surroundings, and the characteristics and state of adaptation of the eye. In most discussions of colour, a distinction is made between white and coloured objects. White is the colour name most usually applied to a material that diffusely transmits a high percentage of all the hues of light. Colours that have no hue are termed neutral or achromatic colours. They include white, off-white, all shades of gray, down to black. All coloured objects selectively absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect or transmit others in varying degrees. Inorganic materials, chiefly metals such as copper and brass, reflect light from their surfaces. Hence we have the term “surface” or “metallic” colours, as contrasted with “body” or “pigment” colours. In the former, the light reflected from the surface is often tinted. Most paints, on the other hand, have body or pigment colours. In these, light is reflected from the surface without much colour change, but the body material absorbs some colours and reflects others; hence, the diffuse reflection from the body of the material is coloured but often appears to be overlaid and diluted with a “white” reflection from the glossy surface of the paint film. In paints and enamels, the pigment particles, which are usually opaque, are suspended in a vehicle such as oil or plastic. The particles of a dye, on the other hand, are considerably finer and may be described as colouring matter in solution. The dye particles are more often transparent or translucent.

[1]	According to the passage, lighting engineers need not: (1) plot photometric curves (2) utilize photometric data (3) understand photometric techniques (4) have mathematical expertise

[2]	The colour black is an example of: (1) a surface colour (2) an achromatic colour (3) an organic colour (4) a diffuse colour

[3]	Paint is an example of a substance containing: (1) inorganic material (2) body colours (3) surface colours (4) metallic colours

[4]	The perception of colour is: (1) a photometric phenomenon (2) a complex visual sensation (3) activated by the brain (4) light reflected by a source

asked in MAT

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