UPSC Prelims 2014— Question 55

Correct answer: Option D. The Arctic Council's eight member states include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Canada, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States. Among the listed countries, Denmark, Russia and the United States are members; Japan and the United Kingdom are observers rather than member states. Option A: Incorrect. This option does not match the verified answer because its proposition, location, institution, sequence, or combination conflicts with the relevant fact tested in the question. The option reads: “1, 2 and 3” Option B: Incorrect. This option does not match the verified answer because its proposition, location, institution, sequence, or combination conflicts with the relevant fact tested in the question. The option reads: “2, 3 and 4” Option C: Incorrect. This option does not match the verified answer because its proposition, location, institution, sequence, or combination conflicts with the relevant fact tested in the question. The option reads: “1, 4 and 5” Option D: Correct. This option is consistent with the governing fact or the valid combination identified in the question. The option reads: “1, 3 and 5” The key Prelims lesson is to test each proposition independently before selecting the combination. Where the question uses words such as 'only', 'all', 'none', 'always' or a precise institutional/geographical association, a single inaccurate component is sufficient to eliminate the option. The answer recorded here follows the official answer key for the question-paper series represented by the uploaded source and has been cross-checked against an independent published key. The explanation is intended for conceptual revision rather than as a reproduction of any third-party solution.