🧷 Authentic Classroom Explanation by IAS Monk

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📌 The Question:

Consider the following statements:

Statement I:
Scientific studies suggest that a shift is taking place in the Earth’s rotation and axis.

Statement II:
Solar flares and associated coronal mass ejections bombarded the Earth’s outermost atmosphere with tremendous amount of energy.

Statement III:
As the Earth’s polar ice melts, the water tends to move towards the equator.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

(a) Both Statements II and III are correct and both of them explain Statement I
(b) Both Statement II and Statement III are correct but only one of them explains Statement I
(c) Only one of the Statement II and III is correct and that explains Statement I
(d) Neither Statement II nor Statement III is correct

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✅ Correct Answer: (b)

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🔍 Curiosity Raiser

If Earth’s day is getting microscopically longer, who is “pulling the brakes” on the planet: the Sun… or water?

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🌿 Enrich Notes (UPSC Value Add)

• Earth’s axis “wobble” is called polar motion (axis meanders as mass distribution changes).
• Rotation slows when mass shifts away from the spin axis (towards the equator), similar to a skater extending arms.
• Climate-linked drivers often cited: ice-sheet melt, groundwater depletion, sea-level redistribution.

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🧑‍🏫 Authentic Classroom Explanation

✅ Statement I: Correct

Yes. Modern geophysical studies show changes in Earth’s rotation rate (length of day) and spin axis position (polar motion) due to redistribution of mass on Earth.

✅ Statement II: Correct, but NOT an explanation for Statement I

Solar flares/CMEs can dump energy into the upper atmosphere (thermosphere/ionosphere) causing heating, expansion, auroras, and disruption to communications and satellites.
But this is not the core mechanism behind the observed long-term axis shift / slowing rotation cited in climate-linked studies.

✅ Statement III: Correct and it DOES explain Statement I

Melting polar ice moves mass from high latitudes toward the oceans, and a significant portion effectively redistributes toward lower latitudes/equatorial ocean.
This mass shift increases Earth’s moment of inertia, causing:

• slower rotation (longer day)
• wobble/axis shift (polar motion)

➡️ Therefore, II and III are correct, but only III explains I.

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🕯️ IAS Monk Whisper

Sometimes the planet doesn’t change direction with a roar,
it changes with a quiet migration of water.