UPSC Prelims 2018 · Question 55 of 99

UPSC Prelims 2018 question on GPS Applications

In which of the following areas can GPS technology be used?

1. Mobile phone operations
2. Banking operations
3. Controlling the power grids

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: D. 1, 2 and 3

Analysis

GPS can be used in all three areas, so the answer is (d) 1, 2 and 3.

Global positioning system applications fall into five broad categories: location, navigation, tracking, mapping and timing. The last of these is what makes this question work. GPS provides extremely accurate time, and that precise timing underpins everyday activities including banking, mobile phone operations and even the control of power grids, where well synchronised hand-off switching is essential.

Source

NovAtel resource on what GPS systems are used for.

How to crack it

The trap is thinking of GPS purely as a positioning service, in which case banking and power grids look absurd and you pick (a). The unlock is that a satellite navigation system is also a distributed atomic clock, and any network needing synchronised timestamps across distant nodes can use it. Carry that second function with you: whenever GPS appears in an application question, ask whether the application needs precise common time as well as whether it needs location.

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