UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — On this day 72 years ago, CERN’s founding convention entered into force. A quiz on the storied science lab

Q1. With reference to the Higgs mechanism in the Standard Model of particle physics, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The more strongly a fundamental particle interacts with the Higgs field, the greater the mass it acquires.
  2. The W and Z bosons acquire mass through the Higgs field, whereas the photon, which does not interact with it, remains massless.
  3. The Higgs field has an associated particle, and the observation of that particle at the LHC in 2012 supported the Higgs mechanism.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. With reference to the World Wide Web developed at CERN, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Web is an information service that runs over the Internet; it is not the underlying network itself.
  2. A URL is the part of a web page that tells the browser how the page's content should be formatted and displayed.
  3. HTTP is the protocol that standardises how web clients request resources from web servers and receive them.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q3. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. The World Wide Web was developed at CERN as a hypertext system through which researchers could share information online.
  2. The Internet, the network over which the Web operates, was itself first built at CERN to link the laboratories of its Member States.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q4. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. CERN could obtain observer status in the UN General Assembly only after the Security Council recommended it.
  2. Admission of a new Member State to the United Nations requires a Security Council recommendation followed by a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct