UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Soft matter: the unusual yet persistent physics inside your bathroom cabinet

Question 1

With reference to the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bengaluru, consider the following materials/systems as part of its current research mandate: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 4 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

2 and 4 only

Answer

1, 2, 3 and 4

Question 2

The Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bengaluru — the principal Indian institution conducting basic and applied research in soft matter — functions as an autonomous institution under which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

Department of Science and Technology (DST)

Answer

Department of Biotechnology (DBT)

Answer

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)

Answer

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Question 3

Consider the following classes of materials commonly grouped under 'soft matter': Which one of the above is NOT correctly classified as soft matter?

Accepted Answer

4 only

Answer

1 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

3 only

Question 4

The Nobel Prize in Physics that recognised the generalisation of order-phenomena methods from simple systems to liquid crystals and polymers — work credited with founding the modern field of soft matter — was awarded in which year and to whom?

Accepted Answer

1991 — Pierre-Gilles de Gennes

Answer

1953 — Hermann Staudinger (Chemistry)

Answer

2016 — Thouless, Haldane and Kosterlitz

Answer

1977 — Anderson, Mott and Van Vleck

Question 5

In the context of soft matter physics, the term 'viscoelasticity' — the defining property of materials such as toothpaste, shampoo and gels — is best described as:

Accepted Answer

The simultaneous exhibition of viscous (liquid-like flow) and elastic (solid-like shape recovery) responses, with the dominant behaviour depending on the timescale and magnitude of applied stress

Answer

The property by which a fluid's viscosity decreases monotonically with rising temperature

Answer

The ability of a crystalline material to retain a fixed lattice structure under high hydrostatic pressure

Answer

The conversion of mechanical strain into an electrical polarisation across a material

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Soft matter: the unusual yet persistent physics inside your bathroom cabinet

Q1. With reference to the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bengaluru, consider the following materials/systems as part of its current research mandate: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Q2. The Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bengaluru — the principal Indian institution conducting basic and applied research in soft matter — functions as an autonomous institution under which one of the following?

Q3. Consider the following classes of materials commonly grouped under 'soft matter': Which one of the above is NOT correctly classified as soft matter?

Q4. The Nobel Prize in Physics that recognised the generalisation of order-phenomena methods from simple systems to liquid crystals and polymers — work credited with founding the modern field of soft matter — was awarded in which year and to whom?

Q5. In the context of soft matter physics, the term 'viscoelasticity' — the defining property of materials such as toothpaste, shampoo and gels — is best described as: