NDA & NA (II) 2016 — General Ability Test (Full Question Paper)

Answer: (b) (b)

“Habitual to drive” is wrong — the correct form is “habituated to driving” or “in the habit of driving”, using a gerund after “habituated to”.

Answer: (c) (c)

The flag flew “AT half mast” — the preposition “at” is missing before “half mast”.

Answer: (a) (a)

“Want” is a stative verb and is not normally used in the continuous form, so it should read “If you want to watch”, not “are wanting”.

Answer: (c) (c)

An action continuing from the past up to now needs the present perfect continuous, “have been advising”, not “am advising”.

Answer: (d) No error

This sentence is grammatically correct throughout, with no error to identify.

Answer: (d) No error

This sentence is grammatically correct throughout, with no error to identify.

Answer: (c) (c)

“Dare not” behaves like a modal verb and is followed directly by the bare infinitive, so it should read “dare not harm him”, without “to”.

Answer: (b) (b)

An action continuing for a stated duration up to now needs the present perfect continuous, “have been on strike”, not the simple present “are on strike”.

Answer: (b) (b)

“Evidence” is an uncountable noun and has no plural form, so “evidences” is incorrect.

Answer: (a) (a)

“Prefer X to Y” is the correct construction, not “prefer X than Y”.

Answer: (b) Generosity shown to guests

“Hospitality” means warmly welcoming and looking after guests.

Answer: (a) exorbitant

“Astronomical” figures, used of prices, means unreasonably high, matching “exorbitant”.

Answer: (b) Suitable

“Appropriate” technology means technology that is suitable for a given context or need.

Answer: (a) very fond of

To be “enamoured of” something means to be very fond of or charmed by it.

Answer: (c) sensational reporting

“Yellow journalism” refers to exaggerated, sensational reporting aimed at grabbing attention rather than accuracy.

Answer: (a) acquitted

To be “sentenced” means to be found guilty and punished. Its opposite is to be “acquitted”, meaning cleared of the charge.

Answer: (d) extravagant

“Thrifty” means careful and economical with money. Its opposite is “extravagant”, meaning spending freely.

Answer: (d) seasoned

“Immature” means lacking experience or judgement. Its opposite is “seasoned”, meaning experienced.

Answer: (c) to conceal my plan

To “show one’s hand” means to reveal one’s plan. Its opposite is “to conceal my plan”.

Answer: (d) unwise

“Sagacious” means wise and shrewd in judgement. Its opposite is “unwise”.

Answer: (c) pull through

“Pull through” means to recover from a serious illness, fitting someone who has been bedridden for a fortnight.

Answer: (a) with

“Beset with difficulties” is the standard phrase for a path troubled by many obstacles.

Answer: (b) contempt

“Contempt” fits the strong disapproval felt toward people who mistreat their own children.

Answer: (d) amicable

An “amicable” settlement is one reached in a friendly, mutually agreeable way, fitting two parties keen to resolve a dispute.

Answer: (b) fallen out

“Fallen out” means to have quarrelled, fitting a rift between two brothers.

Answer: (a) tedious

“Tedious” means boring and monotonous, contrasting with how one might see someone else’s job as “delightful”.

Answer: (c) negligence

“Criminal negligence” is the standard legal phrase for a serious failure to take due care, as in causing an accident.

Answer: (c) efficacy

“Efficacy” means the ability of something to produce the intended result, fitting belief in how well vaccination works.

Answer: (d) dynamic

“Dynamic” describes an energetic, action-oriented person, fitting a leader expected to move things forward.

Answer: (c) difference

“A world of difference” is the standard phrase for a huge gap between two things, here between words and actions.

Answer: (a) S P R Q

The sentence reads: “The statement will be made just once, therefore you must listen carefully in order to understand what the speaker has said.”

Answer: (b) S Q R P

The sentence reads: “The small boy who climbed the wall, fell down and broke his leg.”

Answer: (c) Q S R P

The sentence reads: “According to an engineer, a newly developed air-cooler system, which is based on a principle radically different from that employed in conventional room coolers, might hit the market next year.”

Answer: (d) Q P S R

The sentence reads: “The clerk left the money on the desk, which he should have locked up in the safe.”

Answer: (d) P R S Q

The sentence reads: “Hardly had my brother descended from the plane, when the people who had come to receive him waved and cheered from the lounge.”

Answer: (c) R S Q P

The sentence reads: “The essay is a literary form which is not easy to define, because its variety is infinite, like that of the human face.”

Answer: (b) S R Q P

The sentence reads: “The exhibition committee has been making efforts to make exhibition attractive and useful.”

Answer: (a) even though

“In spite of” must be followed by a noun or gerund, not a full clause with its own subject and verb. “Even though” correctly introduces a contrasting clause instead.

Answer: (a) ought

“Should” is a modal verb and is never followed by “to”. Replacing it with “ought” fixes this, since “ought to” is the correct form.

Answer: (b) listened to me

The past perfect needs the past participle “listened”, not “listening”, and “listen to” requires the preposition “to” before its object.

Answer: (a) because

The two halves of the sentence are cause and effect — he asked for a loan because he lacked resources — which “because” correctly signals instead of “also”.

Answer: (a) stationery

“Stationery”, meaning writing materials, is an uncountable noun and has no plural form like “stationeries”.

Answer: (d) NO IMPROVEMENT

“For” correctly introduces a stated duration of time, “two hours”, so the sentence is already correct.

Answer: (d) NO IMPROVEMENT

“Needs to be painted” is the correct passive construction for describing work that needs to be done on something.

Answer: (b) was preparing

An action already in progress when it was interrupted by another past event needs the past continuous, “was preparing”, not the simple present.

Answer: (c) each other

“Each other” is used for exactly two people, like a couple, while “one another” is reserved for more than two.

Answer: (d) NO IMPROVEMENT

“It is high time that we did something” correctly uses the simple past in this fixed idiom, so no change is needed.

Answer: (c) would help

“If I were” sets up a present, unreal condition, which should be matched with “would help” in the present, not “would have helped”, which belongs to a past unreal condition.

Answer: (d) NO IMPROVEMENT

“Extended for a month” correctly states the length of the extension, so the sentence is already correct.

Answer: (d) NO IMPROVEMENT

“Which” is the correct relative pronoun for referring to an inanimate object like a painting.

Answer: (a) Both statements individually true, II explains I

Both statements are true. As a general rule in Indian climatology, regions with low average rainfall, like western Rajasthan, also show the highest year-to-year variability, since a small shift in monsoon behaviour makes a much larger relative difference to an already-low base figure. Related: IndGeo0072 — Rainfall Pattern and Distribution of India.

Answer: (b) Both individually true, II does not explain I

Statement I is true. Ozone is O3, a molecule made of three oxygen atoms bonded together.

Statement II is also true. Most of the atmosphere’s ozone sits in a layer within the stratosphere.

But statement II does not explain statement I. Ozone’s three-atom structure comes from its chemical formation, not from where it happens to be located.

A molecule’s structure and its location in the atmosphere are two separate, unrelated facts here.

So both statements are true, but II does not explain I, making option (b) the answer.

Related: EnvEco0017 — Ozone Layer Protection

(Source: US EPA, Basic Ozone Layer Science)

Answer: (a) Both statements individually true, II explains I

High temperature and heavy rainfall cause the intense leaching that washes away silica and lime, which is exactly what produces laterite soil.

Related: IndGeo0016 — Laterite Soil of India

Answer: (a) Both statements individually true, II explains I

Statement I is true. A diet with too much salt is genuinely linked to a higher risk of kidney failure over time.

Statement II is also true. Extra salt draws more water into the blood, raising overall blood pressure.

And here, II genuinely explains I. Sustained high blood pressure damages the tiny blood vessels inside the kidneys.

Over years, this damage reduces the kidneys’ ability to filter blood properly, eventually leading toward failure.

So the salt-to-blood-pressure link is exactly the mechanism connecting high salt intake to kidney failure.

Both statements hold true, and II explains I, making option (a) the answer.

(Source: Hypertension, American Heart Association, Salt-Sensitive Hypertension and the Kidney)

Answer: (b) Both individually true, II does not explain I

Statement I is true. Rome genuinely revived in the 15th century, once popes like Martin V and Nicholas V returned and rebuilt it.

They repaired roads, bridges, and churches, turning a decayed medieval city back into a major centre of art and religion.

Statement II is also true. Renaissance humanism did shift artists away from anonymous guild work toward individual fame and named authorship.

But II does not really explain I. Rome’s revival came mainly from papal money, political stability, and rebuilding projects.

Artists gaining individual recognition was a separate cultural shift happening across the wider Renaissance, not the cause of Rome’s urban revival itself.

So both statements are true, but II does not explain I, making option (b) the answer.

(Source: The Conversation, Palaces and the Pope: How Renaissance Rome Was Rebuilt)

Answer: (a) Both statements individually true, II explains I

Statement I is true. Chartism was a major working-class movement demanding democratic rights across Britain, roughly from 1838 to 1848.

It centred on the People’s Charter, which called for changes like universal male suffrage and secret ballots.

Statement II is also true. Trade unions like the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union collapsed in the 1830s.

Government repression, like the transportation of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, and internal weakness both crushed this early union movement.

And II genuinely explains I. When trade unionism failed working people, many shifted their energy into political action instead.

That shift away from failed union strategy directly fed into the rise of Chartism as the new working-class movement.

Both statements are true, and II explains I, making option (a) the answer.

Related: Economy0003 — 19th-Century Economic Theories: Laissez-Faire, Marx, and the Chartists

(Source: Wikipedia, Grand National Consolidated Trades Union)

Answer: (b) southern moving edge of Sahara desert

The Sahel is a semi-arid strip running along the southern edge of the Sahara desert.

It stretches across Africa, from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east, between the desert and wetter savanna to the south.

Overgrazing, drought, and land pressure have pushed the Sahara’s edge further south over recent decades.

This slow southward creep of desert conditions into the Sahel is a well-known example of desertification.

So the Sahel is genuinely this southern, shifting desert edge, making option (b) the answer.

Related: WorldGeo0021 — The Sahara Desert

(Source: National Geographic Education, Sahel)

Answer: (c) Narmada : Amaravati

The Amaravati is genuinely a tributary of the Cauvery, not the Narmada. The other three pairs are correctly matched: Wainganga feeds the Godavari, Bhavani feeds the Cauvery, and Bhima feeds the Krishna. Related: IndGeo0084 — The Narmada Valley: India’s West-Flowing Rift.

Answer: (a) Chile

The Mediterranean biome has hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, and needs a very specific location to form.

Central Chile has exactly this climate, on the western edge of a continent at the right mid-latitude band.

This region supports the scrubby, drought-tolerant plant life typical of Mediterranean biomes worldwide.

Kenya instead has equatorial and savanna climates, not the Mediterranean pattern.

Argentina and Bolivia are dominated by temperate grassland, steppe, and tropical Andean climates instead.

So Chile is the country genuinely home to this biome, making option (a) the answer.

(Source: National Geographic Education, Mediterranean Biome)

Answer: (b) 3-2-1-4

According to the 2011 Census, Maharashtra had about 112 million people, the highest among these four states.

Bihar followed with about 104 million people, just behind Maharashtra.

West Bengal came next with about 91 million people.

Andhra Pradesh, still undivided at the time of this census, had the lowest count here, about 85 million people.

So the correct decreasing order is Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, or 3-2-1-4.

That matches option (b), making it the answer.

Related: IndSoc0038 — Census 2011: India’s Population Data and the Population Pyramid

(Source: Census 2011, List of States with Population)

Answer: (a) A-2 B-1 C-4 D-3

The Danube flows east across Europe and empties into the Black Sea, making it A-2.

The Rhine flows north through Germany and the Netherlands, reaching the North Sea, making it B-1.

The Rhone flows south through France and empties into the Mediterranean Sea, making it C-4.

The Loire flows west across France and reaches the Atlantic Ocean at the Bay of Biscay, making it D-3.

So the correct matching code is A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3, making option (a) the answer.

(Source: Wikipedia, List of Rivers of Europe)

Answer: (a) A-4 B-3 C-1 D-2

Heating camphor turns it straight from solid to gas, skipping the liquid stage entirely. That is sublimation, A-4.

Cooling water vapour back down to room temperature turns it back into liquid water. That is condensation, B-3.

Cooking an egg permanently changes its proteins, so the egg can never turn back into its raw form. That is a chemical change, C-1.

Water turning into vapour at room temperature, without boiling, is ordinary evaporation, D-2.

So the correct matching code is A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2, making option (a) the answer.

(Source: LibreTexts, Phase Changes)

Answer: (d) Radon

Valency measures how many bonds an atom typically forms with other atoms.

Radon is a noble gas, and its outer shell of electrons is already completely full.

Because of this, radon has almost no tendency to gain, lose, or share electrons with other atoms.

This lack of bonding behaviour is why radon, like other noble gases, is assigned a valency of zero.

Sulphur, phosphorous, and lead all have their own normal, non-zero valencies instead.

So radon is the element with zero valency here, making option (d) the answer.

(Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Noble Gas)

Answer: (a) 6

Atomic number is defined simply as the number of protons inside an atom’s nucleus.

Neutrons and electrons do not count toward this number, no matter how many of them are present.

This atom has six protons, so its atomic number is exactly 6, which also identifies it as carbon.

So the correct atomic number here is 6, making option (a) the answer.

Related: GenSci0002 — Chemistry Fundamentals for Competitive Exams

(Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Atomic Number)

Answer: (d) 2 gram of Carbon

To compare molecule counts fairly, divide each mass by its own molar mass to get moles.

Hydrogen gas (H2) has a molar mass of 2 grams, so 3 grams gives 1.5 moles.

Oxygen gas (O2) has a molar mass of 32 grams, so 48 grams also gives 1.5 moles.

Nitrogen gas (N2) has a molar mass of 28 grams, so 42 grams again gives 1.5 moles.

Carbon, though, has an atomic mass of 12 grams, so 2 grams gives only about 0.17 moles.

Since equal moles mean equal numbers of molecules, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen here all match, but carbon does not.

So the carbon sample is the odd one out, making option (d) the answer.

(Source: LibreTexts, Avogadro’s Number and the Mole)

Answer: (b) two volumes of ammonia

This reaction follows a fixed balanced equation: one nitrogen molecule reacts with three hydrogen molecules to form two ammonia molecules.

Gas volumes react in the exact same ratio as their molecules, at the same temperature and pressure.

So one volume of nitrogen combining with three volumes of hydrogen must produce two volumes of ammonia.

This is the same reaction used industrially in the Haber process, to manufacture ammonia at scale.

So two volumes of ammonia is the correct answer, making option (b) correct.

(Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Haber-Bosch Process)

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

Statement 1 is correct. Cactus leaves have shrunk down into thin, hard spines instead of flat green blades.

This drastically cuts down the surface area through which the plant would otherwise lose water.

Statement 2 is also correct. Since the leaves no longer do this job, the thick green stem takes over photosynthesis instead.

The stem also stores water, letting the cactus survive long dry spells in desert conditions.

So both statements genuinely describe real cactus adaptations, making option (c) the answer.

(Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Cactus)

Answer: (b) Aerobic environment

Methanogens are a group of microbes, technically archaea, that produce methane gas as a byproduct.

They are strict anaerobes, meaning oxygen is actually toxic to them and stops them from surviving.

The rumen of cattle is a low-oxygen chamber, exactly the kind of place methanogens thrive.

Anaerobic sludge, used in waste treatment, and cattle excreta are both oxygen-poor too, so methanogens live there as well.

An aerobic environment, rich in oxygen, is the one place where these strict anaerobes cannot survive.

So methanogens are absent from aerobic environments, making option (b) the answer.

(Source: ScienceDirect Topics, Methanogenic Bacterium)

Answer: (b) protozoa

Malaria is caused by Plasmodium, a single-celled organism that belongs to the protozoa group.

It spreads to humans through the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito.

Once inside the body, Plasmodium multiplies inside red blood cells, causing the classic fever cycles of malaria.

Unlike bacteria, viruses, or fungi, protozoa are complex single-celled organisms with a true nucleus.

So the malarial parasite is genuinely a protozoan, making option (b) the answer.

Related: GenSci0008 — Diseases: Communicable and Non-Communicable

(Source: CDC, About Malaria)

Answer: (c) 1, 2 and 3

Statement 1 is correct. Biodiversity hotspots are picked using exactly these two criteria: high species richness and high endemism.

A region with many species found nowhere else on Earth qualifies as a genuine hotspot.

Statement 2 is correct. Species diversity is highest near the equator and steadily falls as you move toward the poles.

This pattern, called the latitudinal diversity gradient, holds true across plants, animals, and insects worldwide.

Statement 3 is correct. Conservation happens both in situ, protecting species in their natural habitat, and ex situ, outside it.

National parks are a classic in situ example, while zoos and seed banks are classic ex situ examples.

So all three statements genuinely hold true, making option (c) the answer.

(Source: Conservation International, Biodiversity Hotspots)

Answer: (c) lack cellular structure

Antibiotics work by targeting things only real cells have, like cell walls, cell membranes, or ribosomes.

Bacteria have all of these structures, which is exactly what antibiotics attack and destroy.

Viruses are not true cells at all, so they simply do not have these targets for a drug to attack.

Because of this, medicines designed to kill bacteria have essentially nothing to act on inside a virus.

So the real difficulty comes from viruses lacking cellular structure, making option (c) the answer.

Related: GenSci0045 — Virus Biology Basics

(Source: Drugs.com, Viral Infections, Why Don’t Antibiotics Kill Viruses)

Answer: (c) frequency does not change

Frequency is set entirely by the light source, and it stays fixed no matter which medium the light passes through.

Once light enters denser glass, its speed slows down compared to how fast it travelled through air.

Since the wave equation ties speed, frequency, and wavelength together, a slower speed forces the wavelength to shrink too.

Frequency, however, is left untouched throughout this entire process.

So the frequency of light does not change when entering a glass slab, making option (c) the answer.

(Source: The Physics Hypertextbook, Refraction)

Answer: (c) 2.57 s

At the highest point of its flight, a ball thrown straight up briefly has zero vertical speed.

Gravity constantly slows the ball down at about 9.8 metres per second, every single second.

So the time to reach that zero-speed point is simply the starting speed divided by gravity’s pull.

Dividing 25.2 by 9.8 gives about 2.57 seconds.

So the ball reaches its highest point in 2.57 seconds, making option (c) the answer.

Related: GenSci0056 — Projectile Motion and Kinematics · Source: Lumen Learning, Projectile Motion

Answer: (b) 36 x 10^5 joule

One kilowatt-hour is 1000 watts running for 3600 seconds: 1000 × 3600 = 3,600,000 J, which is 36 × 10⁵ J.

Related: GenSci0015 — Work, Energy and Power

(Source: The Physics Classroom, Definition and Mathematics of Work)

Answer: (b) energy only

A sound wave moves through air by making each tiny particle vibrate back and forth in place.

Every particle passes this vibration on to its neighbour, but no single particle actually travels along with the wave.

This chain of vibrations carries energy from the sound source outward through the medium.

The medium’s own matter never physically moves from one place to another.

So only energy is transmitted through a sound wave, making option (b) the answer.

Related: GenSci0055 — Sound Waves and Acoustics · Source: Lumen Learning, Sound Waves

Answer: (c) it is the ratio of component of force (normal to area) to area

Only the force component pushing straight into the surface counts toward pressure. Since that normal component has no leftover direction of its own once divided by area, the result is a scalar, not because force and area “cancel out” as vectors in general.

Related: GenSci0011 — Units, Measurement and Dimensions

(Source: HyperPhysics, Pressure)

Answer: (d) hypermetropia

Hypermetropia, or farsightedness, makes it hard to focus clearly on nearby objects, like the text in a newspaper.

Distant objects usually still look clear, since the eye can focus on far-away things without much trouble.

This happens because the eyeball is slightly shorter than normal, so light focuses just behind the retina instead of on it.

Myopia is the opposite problem, causing trouble with distant objects but not with reading nearby text.

So difficulty reading a newspaper points to hypermetropia, making option (d) the answer.

(Source: American Academy of Ophthalmology, Hyperopia/Farsightedness)

Answer: (c) Earth is approximately an ellipsoid having its equatorial radius greater than its polar radius by 21 km

The Earth is not a perfect sphere. It bulges slightly at the equator due to its own spin.

This makes the equatorial radius about 21 kilometres longer than the polar radius.

Gravity gets weaker the farther you are from Earth’s centre, following an inverse-square relationship.

At the equator, you sit farther from the centre, so gravitational pull, and hence g, is slightly weaker there.

At the poles, you sit closer to the centre, so g is slightly stronger.

So this equatorial bulge is why g rises as you move from the equator toward either pole, making option (c) the answer.

(Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Earth — Shape and Size)

Answer: (c) The measurement of mass taken by a spring weighing balance is correct at the places where the acceleration due to gravity is same with the place where the spring balance is calibrated for

A spring balance does not actually measure mass directly. It measures the pull of gravity, or weight, on an object.

It is scaled to show mass only by assuming a fixed value of g, set during calibration.

If you carry that same spring balance somewhere with a different g, its reading for the same object changes too.

So the real requirement for an accurate reading is matching g, not just being at the exact same location.

Any place sharing that same g value will give a correct mass reading, not only the original calibration spot.

So the correct statement is about matching gravity everywhere, making option (c) the answer.

(Source: Lumen Learning, Development of Force Concept)

Answer: (b) Gravitational force

A contact force needs two objects to be physically touching each other before it can act.

Push, friction, and strain (tension) forces all require this direct physical contact to work.

Gravitational force is different. It pulls objects toward each other across empty space, with no contact needed at all.

This is why gravity is classed as a field force, or a non-contact force, unlike the other three.

So gravitational force is the one that is not a contact force, making option (b) the answer.

Related: GenSci0013 — Newton’s Laws, Force and Momentum

(Source: Lumen Learning, Development of Force Concept)

Answer: (b) acceleration of 1 m/s^2

Newton’s second law states force equals mass times acceleration (F = ma). With F = 1 newton and m = 1 kg, the acceleration works out to exactly 1 m/s², which is in fact how the newton itself is defined.

Related: GenSci0001 — Physics Fundamentals for Competitive Exams

(Source: The Physics Classroom, Newton’s Second Law)

Answer: (d) Electric fuse

During a short circuit, current suddenly surges far beyond what the wiring is designed to handle safely.

An electric fuse contains a thin metal wire built specifically to melt once current crosses that dangerous level.

When it melts, the fuse breaks the circuit instantly, cutting off power before the wiring can overheat and catch fire.

Insulated wire, plastic switches, and non-metallic coatings only guard against shock and stray contact, not a genuine current surge.

None of them can actually break the circuit the way a fuse does.

So the electric fuse is the real safety device here, making option (d) the answer.

(Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Fuse)

Answer: (b) 2 and 4 only

Statement 1 is wrong. Believing value comes purely from land describes physiocracy, not utilitarianism.

Statement 2 is correct. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill are the two thinkers most identified with utilitarianism.

Statement 3 is wrong. Utilitarians actually wanted to replace India’s messy web of local customs with one rational, codified legal system.

James Mill, a committed utilitarian, saw indigenous Indian law as backward, not something worth preserving.

Statement 4 is correct. “The greatest good for the greatest number” is the defining slogan of utilitarian philosophy.

So only statements 2 and 4 genuinely describe utilitarianism, making option (b) the answer.

Related: Ethics0005 — Utilitarianism: Bentham and Mill

(Source: Cambridge University Press, Modern Asian Studies, James Mill’s History of British India and Utilitarianism as a Rhetoric of Reform)

Answer: (a) Edmund Cartwright

Edmund Cartwright patented the first power loom in 1785, after visiting Richard Arkwright’s cotton mill for inspiration.

His invention let weaving be driven by water and later steam power, instead of relying purely on hand labour.

This shifted textile weaving from small home workshops into large, mechanised factories.

Samuel Crompton is known instead for the spinning mule, and Richard Arkwright for the water frame.

James Hargreaves is remembered for the spinning jenny, a different machine used in spinning, not weaving.

So Edmund Cartwright is the true inventor of the power loom, making option (a) the answer.

(Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Edmund Cartwright)

Answer: (a) Lord Wellesley

The Subsidiary Alliance system was devised by Lord Wellesley. Dalhousie devised the Doctrine of Lapse, and Canning and Ripon are different Viceroys.

Related: ModHist0355 — Lord Wellesley: The Subsidiary Alliance and the Conquest of India · View this question →

Answer: (a) 1 only

Periplus does mean “sailing around” in Greek. But the Erythraean Sea, in ancient Greek geography, referred to the Arabian Sea and western Indian Ocean, not the Mediterranean.

Related: AncHist0026 — The Sangam Age: Chera, Chola and Pandya Kingdoms

Answer: (a) Sun Yu

In the 2016 Australian Open Super Series final, Saina Nehwal faced China’s Sun Yu for the women’s title.

Saina won the match 11-21, 21-14, 21-19, coming back after dropping the first set.

This was Saina’s second Australian Open title overall and her first title win of that season.

Carolina Marin, Wang Yihan, and Sung Ji Hyun were not her opponent in this particular final.

So Sun Yu is the correct opponent here, making option (a) the answer.

Related: GK0058 — Badminton in India

(Source: ESPN, Saina Nehwal Clinches Second Australian Open Title)

Answer: (c) Inder Malhotra

Inder Malhotra was a leading Indian journalist, working across several major newspapers over his long career.

He served as resident editor of The Statesman, then as India correspondent for The Guardian, and later as editor of The Times of India.

In 2013, he received the Ramnath Goenka Lifetime Achievement Award, honouring his decades of journalism.

He passed away in June 2016, at the age of 86.

So Inder Malhotra is the journalist described here, making option (c) the answer.

(Source: Wikipedia, Inder Malhotra)

Answer: (c) mobile theatre personality

Achyut Lahkar is widely called the father of mobile theatre in Assam, a unique travelling drama tradition.

In 1963, he founded Natraj Theatre at Pathsala, which toured performances across Assam and beyond for decades.

He worked as a dramatist, actor, writer, and lifelong cultural activist throughout his career.

He received the Kamal Kumari National Award in 1997 for his contribution to Assamese culture.

He passed away in June 2016, at around 86 years of age.

So Achyut Lahkar was genuinely a mobile theatre personality, making option (c) the answer.

(Source: Wikipedia, Achyut Lahkar)

Answer: (d) LinkedIn

In June 2016, Microsoft announced it would buy LinkedIn, the professional networking website, for 26.2 billion dollars.

This was, at the time, one of the largest acquisitions in Microsoft’s history.

LinkedIn continued operating as its own brand after the deal, under Microsoft’s ownership.

PartnerUp, PerfectBusiness, and StartupNation are unrelated smaller networking sites, not the actual target of this deal.

So LinkedIn is the correct company here, making option (d) the answer.

(Source: Microsoft News, Microsoft to Acquire LinkedIn)

Answer: (b) 1 and 4 only

Statement 1 is correct. Mediterranean climate genuinely sits between 30 and 45 degrees latitude, in both hemispheres.

Statement 2 is wrong. This climate is actually known for being mild, not extreme, with warm summers and cool, gentle winters.

Statement 3 is wrong. Rain falls mainly in winter here, not summer, which instead stays hot and dry.

Statement 4 is correct. Winter rain in this climate comes mostly from westerly winds carrying storm systems inland.

In summer, a subtropical high-pressure system takes over, pushing rain away and keeping conditions dry.

So only statements 1 and 4 genuinely hold true, making option (b) the answer.

(Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mediterranean Climate)

Answer: (a) 4-3-2-1

Madhya Pradesh consistently has the largest total forest area of any Indian state, thanks to its huge geographical size.

Arunachal Pradesh comes next, with vast forest cover across its hilly, largely untouched terrain.

Chhattisgarh follows in third place, still holding a sizeable share of dense central Indian forest.

Jharkhand, being a much smaller state overall, ranks last among these four in total forest area.

So the correct decreasing order is Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, or 4-3-2-1.

That matches option (a), making it the answer.

Related: EnvEco0165 — Forest Cover Percentage: Chhattisgarh, MP, Maharashtra, Odisha

(Source: Forest Survey of India, India State of Forest Report, State-wise Data)

Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only

Statement 1 is correct. Punjab genuinely has the highest share of Scheduled Caste population, close to 32 percent of its people.

Statement 2 is wrong. West Bengal actually holds the second-largest total SC population in India, not Bihar.

According to the 2011 Census, Bihar comes third by total SC population, after Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Statement 3 is correct. Uttar Pradesh has by far the highest total number of SC people, over 41 million.

Statement 4 is wrong. The lowest SC percentage is actually found in Mizoram, not Goa, at a tiny 0.03 percent.

So only statements 1 and 3 genuinely hold true, making option (b) the answer.

Related: IndSoc0038 — Census 2011: India’s Population Data and the Population Pyramid

(Source: Wikipedia, List of Scheduled Castes in West Bengal, citing Census 2011)

Answer: (b) A-2 B-1 C-4 D-3

Sulfur can reach a highest valency of six, seen in compounds like sulfuric acid.

Phosphorous can reach a highest valency of five, seen in compounds like phosphorus pentachloride.

Lead can reach a highest valency of four, alongside its more common valency of two.

Silver usually shows a valency of one, but it can reach two in less common compounds like silver difluoride.

So the correct matching code is A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3, making option (b) the answer.

(Source: Wiley, Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis, Silver(II) Fluoride)

Answer: (d) ClO4-

In a disproportionation reaction, the same atom is simultaneously oxidised to a higher state and reduced to a lower one.

For this to happen, the atom must start at some middle oxidation state, with room to move in both directions.

In ClO-, ClO2-, and ClO3-, chlorine sits at +1, +3, and +5 respectively, all comfortably below chlorine’s maximum possible state.

In ClO4-, chlorine is already at +7, the highest oxidation state chlorine can reach.

Since it cannot be oxidised any further, ClO4- has no room left to disproportionate.

So ClO4- is the one species that cannot show this reaction, making option (d) the answer.

(Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Oxidation State)

Answer: (a) Covalent bonds are directional

A covalent bond forms when atomic orbitals overlap in a specific direction to share electrons.

This fixed overlap gives molecules a definite shape, like the bent shape of water or the tetrahedral shape of methane.

An ionic bond, though, comes from simple electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions.

This attraction pulls equally in every direction around the ion, with no preferred orientation at all.

So covalent bonds are genuinely directional, while ionic bonds are not, making option (a) the answer.

(Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Chemical Bonding)

Answer: (c) conversion of a small amount of red phosphorus into white phosphorus

A safety match keeps its two key chemicals apart on purpose, so it cannot ignite on its own.

The striking strip on the box holds red phosphorus, while the match head holds potassium chlorate.

Friction from striking first turns a tiny bit of that red phosphorus into white phosphorus.

White phosphorus is highly reactive and catches fire almost instantly at this point.

The heat this produces then decomposes the potassium chlorate, releasing oxygen that lets the flame spread and grow.

So the very first step is this red-to-white phosphorus conversion, making option (c) the answer.

(Source: Compound Interest, The Chemistry of Matches)

Answer: (c) it facilitates easy detection of leakage of the gas

Pure LPG, made mostly of propane and butane, has no smell of its own at all.

Without any odour, a dangerous gas leak could easily go unnoticed until it became a serious hazard.

To fix this, a small amount of a sulfur compound, usually ethyl mercaptan, is deliberately mixed into the gas.

This compound gives LPG its distinctive strong smell, so people can quickly notice a leak by smell alone.

So this sulfur additive genuinely helps detect leaks, making option (c) the answer.

Related: GenSci0009 — Everyday Chemistry: Household Materials and Fuels

(Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mercaptan)

Answer: (b) cytoplasm

Bacteria are prokaryotes, meaning they do not have a true, membrane-bound nucleus at all.

Instead, their circular DNA sits loose inside the cytoplasm, in a region called the nucleoid.

Nothing separates this DNA from the rest of the cell’s contents by a membrane, unlike in animal or plant cells.

The cell membrane and ribosomes are separate structures, not where the genetic material itself is stored.

So bacterial genetic material genuinely sits in the cytoplasm, making option (b) the answer.

Related: GenSci0052 — Cell Structure and Organelles

(Source: Lumen Learning, Microbiology, Unique Characteristics of Prokaryotic Cells)

Answer: (c) species

Horses and donkeys both belong to the same genus, Equus, and share the same class and order too.

What sets them apart is their species: horses are Equus caballus, donkeys are Equus asinus.

By the biological definition of species, members of one species should be able to breed and produce fertile offspring.

Since horses and donkeys are different species, their hybrid offspring, the mule, comes out infertile.

This is a textbook example of why species is treated as the key boundary for successful, fertile breeding.

So this infertility comes from a species-level difference, making option (c) the answer.

(Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mule)

Answer: (a) Potassium

Potassium deficiency shows up first as yellowing along the edges and tips of older leaves.

Over time, this yellowing turns into browning, and the leaf edges start to scorch and die.

This combination of yellowing plus dead, necrotic patches is the classic sign of a potassium shortage.

Nitrate deficiency instead causes even, uniform yellowing with no dead spots at all.

Magnesium deficiency causes yellowing specifically between the veins, leaving the veins themselves green.

So the pattern of yellow leaves with dead spots points to potassium deficiency, making option (a) the answer.

(Source: UC Statewide IPM Program, Potassium Deficiency)

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Answer: (b) hardens the enamel of the tooth

Tooth enamel is made mostly of a mineral called hydroxyapatite.

Fluoride reacts with this mineral and converts part of it into fluorapatite.

Fluorapatite resists acid attack from plaque bacteria much better than plain hydroxyapatite.

This makes the enamel harder and more resistant to decay, which is why fluoride toothpaste is recommended.

(Source: Canadian Dental Association, Fluoride)

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Answer: (c) the velocity of all fluid particles crossing a given position is constant

Streamline flow means any particle passing through a fixed point always has the same velocity as every other particle that passed through that exact spot earlier. A single particle’s own speed can still change as it travels to different points along its path.

Related: GenSci0020 — Viscosity and Bernoulli’s Principle

(Source: HyperPhysics, Bernoulli Equation)

Answer: (b) Increases

This is the work-energy theorem: positive net work adds energy to an object, so its kinetic energy increases. Negative net work would decrease it instead.

Related: GenSci0015 — Work, Energy and Power

(Source: The Physics Classroom, Calculating the Amount of Work Done by Forces)

Answer: (c) It is minimum when the speed is maximum

In simple harmonic motion, acceleration is always directed opposite to the displacement, not the velocity.

Speed is maximum at the mean position, where displacement is zero.

Since acceleration is proportional to displacement, it is also zero at the mean position, its minimum value.

So acceleration is minimum exactly when speed is maximum, making option (c) correct.

Related: GenSci0054 — Simple Harmonic Motion and Oscillations · Source: OpenStax University Physics, Simple Harmonic Motion

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Answer: (d) a_x = -3x

Simple harmonic motion needs an acceleration that is directly proportional to displacement.

It must also always point back toward the mean position, opposite to the displacement.

This restoring condition means acceleration equals a negative constant times displacement, written as a = -kx.

Only a_x = -3x fits this exact linear, opposite-direction pattern, so option (d) is correct.

Related: GenSci0054 — Simple Harmonic Motion and Oscillations · Source: OpenStax University Physics, Simple Harmonic Motion

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Answer: (a) straight line

Boyle law says pressure times volume stays constant for an ideal gas at fixed temperature.

This can be rewritten as V equals a constant multiplied by 1/P.

That equation is the form of a straight line passing through the origin.

So plotting V against 1/P gives a straight line, making option (a) correct.

(Source: OpenStax University Physics, Boyle Law)

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Answer: (d) The speed of sound waves in a medium depends both on elastic and inertia properties of the medium

Sound travels through a medium as a wave made of vibrating particles.

The elastic property tells us how strongly the medium pushes back after being disturbed.

The inertia property, linked to density, tells us how much the medium resists that disturbance.

Sound speed is calculated from both properties together, as the square root of elasticity divided by density.

Related: GenSci0055 — Sound Waves and Acoustics · Source: OpenStax University Physics, Speed of Sound

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Answer: (b) The loudness of sound is related to its frequency

Loudness of a sound is actually related to its amplitude and intensity, not its frequency.

Pitch, not loudness, is the property linked to frequency, which is why option (a) is correct as stated.

Musical sounds do consist of a fundamental frequency plus its harmonics, so option (c) is also correct.

Timbre is indeed shaped by the waveform, the mix of harmonics present, so option (d) is correct too.

Since only option (b) wrongly links loudness to frequency, it is the statement that is not correct.

Related: GenSci0055 — Sound Waves and Acoustics · Source: OpenStax University Physics, Sound Intensity

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Answer: (a) 2pi/sqrt3

In SHM, speed at displacement x is w times the square root of (A squared minus x squared).

Acceleration at displacement x is simply w squared times x.

With A = 2 cm and x = 1 cm, speed becomes w times the square root of 3, and acceleration becomes w squared.

Setting these equal gives w times root 3 equals w squared, so w equals root 3 radians per second.

Time period equals 2pi divided by w, which works out to 2pi over root 3 seconds, so option (a) is correct.

Related: GenSci0054 — Simple Harmonic Motion and Oscillations · Source: OpenStax University Physics, Simple Harmonic Motion

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Answer: (c) The wavelength of gamma rays is longer than that of X-rays

In the electromagnetic spectrum, gamma rays actually have shorter wavelengths than X-rays, not longer.

Visible light does span roughly 400 nm to 700 nm, so options (a) and (b) are both correct.

Resolving power is indeed the ability to form separate, distinguishable images of two close objects, so option (d) is correct.

Since option (c) reverses the true gamma-ray and X-ray wavelength order, it is the incorrect statement.

(Source: NASA Science, Electromagnetic Spectrum – Gamma Rays)

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Answer: (d) between the pole of the mirror and the principal focus

A concave mirror forms a real, inverted image for most object positions in front of it.

The one exception is when the object sits between the mirror pole and its principal focus.

In that zone, the reflected rays diverge behind the mirror, creating a virtual image there.

This virtual image is also erect and larger than the object, matching the question exactly.

(Source: OpenStax University Physics, Spherical Mirrors)

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Answer: (c) 9x

Three equal resistors r in parallel give a combined resistance of r divided by 3, so x equals r/3.

This means r equals 3 times x.

Three equal resistors r in series simply add up, giving a total resistance of 3r.

Substituting r equals 3x gives a series total of 3 times 3x, which is 9x, so option (c) is correct.

(Source: OpenStax University Physics, Resistors in Series and Parallel)

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Answer: (d) 4 only

The NEP actually reversed War Communism: private retail trading and small-scale private enterprise were both PERMITTED, and peasants were allowed to sell their surplus grain after a tax in kind. Only statement 4, on foreign capital concessions, is a genuine feature.

Related: WorldHist0022 — The Russian Revolution of 1917

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

The vast Atlantic distance and poor inland roads made it hard for Britain to supply and move its troops.

British authorities also failed to win over the large Loyalist population that could have supported them.

George Washington held the Continental Army together and used careful strategy to outlast the British.

Statement 4 is false, since the Americans actually suffered chronic shortages of arms and ammunition, not an advantage.

So only statements 1, 2 and 3 are correct reasons, making option (d) the answer.

(Source: American Battlefield Trust, American Revolutionary War Overview)

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Answer: (c) 1, 3 and 4

Women did dominate the workforce in silk, lace-making and knitting trades during this period.

Children were widely employed in textile factories, often because their small hands suited the machinery.

Charles Dickens wrote Hard Times specifically to expose the harsh, dehumanizing side of industrial life.

Statement 2 is false, since factory owners largely ignored or downplayed child health risks rather than acting on them.

So statements 1, 3 and 4 are correct, making option (c) the answer.

(Source: Lumen Learning, Labor Conditions in the Industrial Revolution)

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Answer: (b) 2 only

Statement 1 is false because British colonial growth was not steady through this period.

Britain lost its thirteen American colonies in 1783, a major setback, not steady expansion.

Statement 2 is true, since no cotton was actually grown in Britain itself.

All the raw cotton feeding British textile mills had to be imported from colonies like India, Egypt and the American South.

(Source: Historic UK, The Cotton Industry)

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Answer: (d) Dinabandhu Mitra

Dinabandhu Mitra wrote Neel Darpan, a Bengali play about the Indigo Revolt, published in 1860.

The play exposed the harsh treatment of peasants by indigo planters in Bengal.

Michael Madhusudan Dutta later translated the play into English, but he was not its original author.

Reverend James Long helped get the English translation printed and faced trial for it, again not the author.

(Source: Wikipedia, Nil Darpan)

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Answer: (d) Satyashodhak Samaj

Jyotirao Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (Truth-Seekers’ Society) in Pune on 24 September 1873, a decade after opening his first school for girls and lower-caste children with Savitribai Phule. The Samaj worked for the education and rights of women, peasants and Dalits and rejected Brahmin ritual authority. The Prarthana Samaj (1867) was a Bombay reform body and the Justice Party (1916) was a Madras non-Brahmin party; ‘Bahujan Samaj’ is a distractor.

Related: ModHist0094 — Caste Consciousness Movements, 19th Century · View this question →

Answer: (b) Arnold Toynbee

French and German writers had used the term earlier, but it stayed a niche phrase.

English economic historian Arnold Toynbee popularized it through his lectures on Britain economic development.

His lectures covered Britain economic change roughly between 1760 and 1840.

These lectures made the term widely known and standard in English-language history writing.

(Source: Britannica, Industrial Revolution)

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Answer: (c) women

Japan industrialization in the 19th century was led mainly by the textile industry.

Silk and cotton mills relied overwhelmingly on young, unmarried women from rural areas.

By some counts, over 80 percent of textile mill workers were women.

Their labor drove Japan early industrial growth, making women the clear majority of the modern industrial workforce.

(Source: Princeton University Press, Factory Girls: Women in the Thread Mills of Meiji Japan)

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Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

NATO defence ministers agreed on 15 June 2016 to boost support for Ukraine through a Comprehensive Assistance Package.

This package aimed to help Ukraine build stronger defence and security structures and modernize its armed forces.

Around the same time, Israel approved construction of new housing units for Jewish settlers in Silwan, a Palestinian neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.

Both developments were confirmed news events from mid-2016, so both statements are correct.

(Source: NATO News, Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine)

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Answer: (c) Three years

Masala Bonds are rupee-denominated bonds that Indian companies issue to investors outside India.

RBI first set their minimum maturity at five years in September 2015.

A five-year hedge proved costly for investors, raising the effective borrowing cost for Indian issuers.

RBI eased this in April 2016, cutting the minimum tenure to three years to make the bonds more attractive.

(Source: India Business Law Journal, RBI Revises Masala Bond Framework)

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Answer: (b) 1 and 2 only

Krishi Kalyan Cess is worked out the same way as Service Tax, applied on the taxable value of a service.

Its rate was fixed at 0.50 percent, effective from 1 June 2016.

Krishi Kalyan Surcharge is a completely different measure, a 7.5 percent charge on undisclosed income under a separate scheme.

Since KKC and KKS are unrelated in nature, statement 3 is false, leaving only 1 and 2 correct.

(Source: Avalara, Levy of Krishi Kalyan Cess on Service Tax)

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Answer: (b) Denmark

Denmark defeated Indonesia 3-2 in the final of the 2016 Thomas Cup.

This win made Denmark the first European country ever to lift the Thomas Cup.

It was also only the fifth country overall to win this men team badminton title.

(Source: Wikipedia, 2016 Thomas and Uber Cup)

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Answer: (c) A-2 B-1 C-4 D-3

Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project is located in Singrauli district, Madhya Pradesh.

Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project sits in Kutch district, Gujarat.

Tilaiya Ultra Mega Power Project is located in Hazaribagh district, Jharkhand.

Krishnapatnam Ultra Mega Power Project is located in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh.

(Source: Wikipedia, Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project)

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Answer: (b) Amritsar

The world’s largest biomass cookstove system for a community kitchen was installed at Amritsar, where the Golden Temple’s langar feeds thousands daily.

Related: GK0036 — Punjab

Answer: (a) Electricity and heat production

India relies heavily on coal to generate electricity and heat.

This single sector produces more than half of India total CO2 emissions from fuel use.

Manufacturing industry is the next biggest source, followed by transport, but neither comes close to electricity generation.

(Source: Climate Change Tracker, India Sources of CO2 Emissions)

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Answer: (a) Uttar Pradesh

Census 2011 recorded well over a lakh villages in Uttar Pradesh, its largest single administrative feature.

This is far ahead of Odisha, Rajasthan or Maharashtra on village count.

UP large size and dense rural population explain why it leads the country in number of inhabited villages.

(Source: Census of India 2011, Data Tables)

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Answer: (c) heating effect of current

A fuse wire is made of a low-melting-point metal placed in series in a circuit.

When current exceeds a safe limit, the wire heats up due to its resistance.

This heat melts the wire, breaking the circuit and protecting the rest of the electrical system.

This whole action depends entirely on the heating effect of current, not any magnetic or chemical property.

(Source: OpenStax University Physics, Resistance and Heating)

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Answer: (c) Resistivity of a wire of length l and area of cross-section a depends upon both l and a

Resistivity is an intrinsic property of the material itself, not of the wire shape.

It does not depend on the length or the cross-sectional area of the wire at all.

Resistance, unlike resistivity, does depend on both length and area, which is a common mix-up.

The SI unit of charge is indeed ampere-second (coulomb), Debye is indeed the unit of dipole moment, and eV is indeed the correct kinetic energy formula, so (a), (b) and (d) are all correct statements.

(Source: OpenStax University Physics, Resistivity and Resistance)

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Answer: (c) The balls will collide after 1s at a height of 15.1 m from the ground

Ball A height from ground at time t is 20t minus half of 9.8 times t squared.

Ball B height from ground at time t is 40 minus 20t minus half of 9.8 times t squared.

Setting these equal and cancelling the matching gravity terms gives 20t equals 40 minus 20t, so t equals 1 second.

Putting t=1 back into ball A height gives 20 minus 4.9, which is 15.1 metres from the ground.

(Source: OpenStax University Physics, Free Fall Motion)

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Answer: (a) oxides of aluminium

Cement contains tricalcium aluminate, a compound made from oxides of aluminium.

This compound reacts very fast with water, which can cause the cement to set too quickly, called flash setting.

So more aluminium oxide content actually lowers the setting time, making it set faster.

Gypsum works the opposite way, slowing this fast reaction down, which is why it is added as a setting retarder, not an accelerator.

(Source: ScienceDirect, C3A Passivation with Gypsum)

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Answer: (d) colloidal solution of two liquids

An emulsion forms when tiny droplets of one liquid get dispersed through another liquid it does not normally mix with.

Milk and mayonnaise are common examples, both being mixtures of two liquids that stay separated at a tiny scale.

Since both substances involved are liquids, an emulsion is specifically a colloidal solution of two liquids, not just any two states.

(Source: LibreTexts Chemistry, Emulsions)

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Answer: (b) Soap

Wood ashes contain potash, a source of alkali, when soaked in water.

This alkali reacts with the fatty acids in animal fat through a process called saponification.

Saponification is the basic chemical reaction that produces soap, historically made this way for centuries.

So mixing ashes with animal fat gives a crude, early form of soap, matching option (b).

(Source: Chemistry World, The Chemistry of Soap)

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Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

Western states like Gujarat reached very high Aadhaar coverage early, close to and above 90 percent.

Southern states such as Telangana and Andhra Pradesh reached almost full saturation, near 100 percent.

North-eastern states lagged far behind, with Assam and Meghalaya recording the lowest coverage in the country.

Assam enrolment was delayed by fears the Aadhaar number could be misused by undocumented migrants, and Meghalaya paused it after protests.

All three statements match this documented regional pattern, so option (d) is correct.

(Source: UIDAI, State/UT-wise Aadhaar Saturation Report)

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Answer: (d) Brazil – India – China

Brazil has a huge arable area shared among a relatively small population, giving it the highest per capita figure.

India has the largest total arable land in absolute terms, but its huge population brings the per capita figure down.

China has both less arable land and a very large population, giving it the lowest per capita availability of the three.

So the correct descending order by per capita arable land is Brazil, then India, then China.

(Source: World Bank, Arable Land (Hectares per Person))

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Answer: (a) A-4 B-1 C-2 D-3

Ground water dissolves limestone to form grooved surfaces called lapies, part of karst landscapes.

Running water carves a plunge pool at the base of a waterfall through constant erosion.

Glaciers erode mountain peaks into sharp, pyramid-shaped points called horns.

Wind in deserts erodes and deposits material into flat basins called playas.

(Source: NCERT Class 11 Geography, Landforms and their Evolution)

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Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

Large winter landmasses in the Northern Hemisphere pull isotherms into roughly circular loops over continents.

The Southern Hemisphere has far more ocean than land, so its isotherms there stay close to parallel with latitude lines.

Statement 3 is false, since the coldest winter temperatures are actually recorded in northern Siberia, not northern Canada.

Northern Siberia records readings as low as around -48 degrees Celsius due to its huge continental interior.

(Source: Britannica, Climate of Russia)

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Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

Dense rainforest, heavy rainfall and poor soils have historically kept equatorial regions less urbanized.

Mediterranean coastal regions, by contrast, host some of the highest urban densities in the world.

Statement 3 is false, since equatorial regions generally have low, not high, human population concentration.

Statement 4 is also false, since Mediterranean regions grow orchard crops like olives, grapes and citrus, not plantation crops, a pattern typical of tropical climates instead.

(Source: ScienceDirect Topics, Mediterranean Climate)

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Answer: (b) Carbondioxide

Carbon dioxide dissolves in water and reacts with it to form carbonic acid.

This weak acid makes the resulting solution mildly acidic, which is why rainwater and soda water are slightly acidic.

Hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen do not react with water in this way, so they do not form acidic solutions.

(Source: Purdue University, Carbonic Acid and Carbon Dioxide in Water)

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Answer: (c) Three moles

Aluminium hydroxide has the chemical formula Al(OH)3.

Each formula unit contains three hydroxide groups, and each hydroxide group has exactly one hydrogen atom.

So one mole of aluminium hydroxide contains three moles of hydrogen atoms.

(Source: PubChem, Aluminum Hydroxide)

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Answer: (c) International Day of Yoga

India proposed this day to the UN General Assembly, and 175 member states co-sponsored it.

The UN adopted the resolution on 11 December 2014, setting 21 June as International Day of Yoga.

The date and idea were suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 2014 UN General Assembly address.

(Source: United Nations, International Day of Yoga)

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Answer: (c) Fighter pilots

These three women became the first ever to undergo fighter pilot training in the Indian Air Force.

They were formally inducted into a fighter squadron on 18 June 2016.

Avani Chaturvedi later became the first Indian woman to fly a fighter jet solo.

(Source: Wikipedia, Bhawana Kanth)

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Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

Article 105(1) protects an MP’s freedom of speech inside Parliament as a specific Parliamentary Privilege, and Article 368 separately vests Parliament with the power to amend the Constitution. Both statements are correct. Source: Article 105, Constitution of India. Related: Polity0062 — Constitutional Amendment Procedure.

Answer: (c) The Ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister

Article 75(1) of the Constitution gives the President the formal power to appoint Ministers, but only on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The actual constitutional cap on Council of Ministers size is 15 percent of Lok Sabha strength, added by the 91st Amendment, not 20 percent.

The Prime Minister, not the President, decides the rank and portfolio of each Minister.

A person can serve as Minister without being an MP for up to six months, so being a sitting member is not a strict requirement.

(Source: Article 75, Constitution of India)

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Answer: (d) The Speaker of the Lok Sabha finally decides if it is a Money Bill, should any dispute about it arise

Article 110(3) gives the Speaker of the Lok Sabha the final say on whether a Bill qualifies as a Money Bill.

A Money Bill deals specifically with taxation, borrowing or spending from the Consolidated Fund, not just fines or penalties.

Every Money Bill must be introduced in the Lok Sabha, never the Rajya Sabha.

The Rajya Sabha can only recommend changes and cannot reject or amend a Money Bill on its own authority.

(Source: Article 110, Constitution of India)

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Answer: (a) The power of advising the President as regards the appointment of other Ministers

Article 75(1) states directly that other Ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.

This makes it a power explicitly written into the constitutional text, not something left to custom.

Allocating business among Ministers, summoning Cabinet meetings, and reshuffling ministerial departments are all real Prime Ministerial powers.

But these three are established through convention and rules of business, not spelled out anywhere in the Constitution itself.

(Source: Article 75, Constitution of India)

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Answer: (d) Mesopotamian

Cylinder seals were a signature invention of the Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia.

People rolled these small engraved cylinders across wet clay to leave a printed impression.

They were used to mark ownership and make documents legally binding, and were often carved from stone or semi-precious gems.

The Harappan civilization, by contrast, is known for its flat square seals, not cylindrical ones.

(Source: Britannica, Cylinder Seal)

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Related: WorldHist0043 — Life in the Cities of Ur and Mari, covering cylinder seals and daily life in Mesopotamian cities.

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

Business groups helped fund the movement, and peasants joined en masse through no-revenue and no-tax campaigns.

In Maharashtra, Sholapur textile workers launched a massive strike in May 1930, briefly taking over the town until martial law was declared.

Lawyers boycotted British courts, and students walked out of government schools and colleges to join the movement.

All three statements match documented events of the Civil Disobedience Movement, so option (d) is correct.

(Source: Wikipedia, Sholapur Uprising and Mallappa Dhanshetty)

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