General Ability Test
Part A (Questions 1–50) is English-only, per the original booklet. Part B (Questions 51–150) is bilingual in the original; only the English text is transcribed here, per house style. Questions 21–30 share one continuous cloze passage — the shared passage text is noted in italics above Question 21.
The discussion was wound up after a long and fruitful exchange of views.
- (a)postponed
- (b)cut short
- (c)interrupted
- (d)concluded
Answer: (d) concluded
“Wound up” means brought to an end, matching “concluded” most closely.
He was fully alive to the need for making adjustments.
- (a)concerned about
- (b)worried about
- (c)aware of
- (d)indifferent about
Answer: (c) aware of
“Fully alive to” means fully aware of something, especially its importance or urgency.
The police officer tried to intimidate the witness but in vain.
- (a)inform
- (b)reward
- (c)frighten
- (d)persuade
Answer: (c) frighten
“Intimidate” means to frighten someone, often to influence their behaviour.
We must adopt drastic measures to control population growth.
- (a)simple
- (b)dramatic
- (c)realistic
- (d)severe
Answer: (d) severe
“Drastic” measures are extreme and forceful, matching “severe”.
He is extremely meticulous in his approach.
- (a)simple
- (b)careful
- (c)fair
- (d)reasonable
Answer: (b) careful
“Meticulous” means showing great care and attention to detail.
The experts’ minute examination brought to light some important clues.
- (a)quick
- (b)detailed
- (c)superficial
- (d)prolonged
Answer: (b) detailed
A “minute” examination is an extremely thorough, detailed one.
The decision of the Union Government to repeal the Urban Land Ceiling Act has been welcomed by all.
- (a)suppress
- (b)amend
- (c)cancel
- (d)withhold
Answer: (c) cancel
To “repeal” a law means to officially cancel or revoke it.
This is his maiden appearance on the screen.
- (a)first
- (b)last
- (c)girlish
- (d)shy
Answer: (a) first
A “maiden” appearance is someone’s very first appearance.
At the end of the marathon everybody was exhausted.
- (a)weakened
- (b)honoured
- (c)satisfied
- (d)tired
Answer: (d) tired
“Exhausted” means extremely tired, especially after physical effort.
He gave me a counterfeit coin.
- (a)rare
- (b)fake
- (c)unmatured
- (d)inferior
Answer: (b) fake
A “counterfeit” coin is a fake one, made to imitate a genuine one.
My mother has been working hard for the last two weeks and she feels run down.
- (a)morbid
- (b)energetic
- (c)exhausted
- (d)emotional
Answer: (b) energetic
Feeling “run down” means feeling exhausted and depleted. Its opposite is feeling “energetic”.
The President condemned the act of violence during the celebration of the festival.
- (a)reason
- (b)instigation
- (c)restraint
- (d)sobriety
Answer: (c) restraint
The sentence turns on “violence”, whose opposite is “restraint”, meaning controlled, peaceful behaviour.
The students made a generous contribution to the flood relief fund.
- (a)niggard
- (b)selfish
- (c)spendthrift
- (d)indecent
Answer: (a) niggard
“Generous” means freely giving. Its opposite is a “niggard”, a stingy, miserly person.
He was just idle by temperament.
- (a)employed
- (b)occupied
- (c)industrious
- (d)happy
Answer: (c) industrious
“Idle” means avoiding work or activity. Its opposite is “industrious”, meaning hardworking.
Most of the decisions taken by the officer were unjust.
- (a)serious
- (b)lenient
- (c)correct
- (d)imbecile
Answer: (c) correct
“Unjust” decisions are wrong or unfair ones. Their opposite is “correct” decisions.
He is a loving father and takes great delight in his children.
- (a)revolt
- (b)dissatisfaction
- (c)enjoyment
- (d)disgust
Answer: (d) disgust
“Delight” is a feeling of great pleasure. Its opposite is “disgust”, a feeling of strong distaste.
He was quite concerned about his son’s career.
- (a)unrelated
- (b)indifferent
- (c)dispassionate
- (d)carefree
Answer: (b) indifferent
Being “concerned about” something means caring about it. Its opposite is being “indifferent”, meaning not caring at all.
They are confident of success.
- (a)imprudent
- (b)impatient
- (c)diffident
- (d)reluctant
Answer: (c) diffident
“Confident” means self-assured. Its opposite is “diffident”, meaning lacking self-confidence.
We carried on the search for the missing person.
- (a)delayed
- (b)reconsidered
- (c)broke up
- (d)called off
Answer: (d) called off
To “carry on” a search means to continue it. Its opposite is to have “called it off”, meaning to have stopped it.
This T.V. has many indigenous components.
- (a)Indian
- (b)foreign
- (c)unnatural
- (d)genuine
Answer: (b) foreign
“Indigenous” means native or locally made. Its opposite is “foreign”.
"After this incident I went to Nainital, and returned after nearly a month. I had ___(21)___ taken ___(22)___ my clothes when I saw Gangu standing ___(23)___ a new baby. He was ___(24)___ with joy. Even Nanda ___(25)___ not have ___(26)___ such joy ___(27)___ getting Krishna. His face had the same ___(28)___ that ___(29)___ on the face of a ___(30)___ man after a full meal." Select the best word for each numbered blank.
I had ___ taken my clothes out when I saw Gangu standing…
- (a)hardly
- (b)barely
- (c)merely
- (d)rarely
Answer: (a) hardly
“Had hardly done X when Y happened” is the standard construction for one action interrupting another almost immediately.
I had hardly taken ___ my clothes when I saw Gangu standing…
- (a)out
- (b)away
- (c)off
- (d)on
Answer: (a) out
“Taken out” is the correct phrasal verb for removing clothes from a bag or suitcase.
…when I saw Gangu standing ___ a new baby.
- (a)by
- (b)near
- (c)with
- (d)at
Answer: (c) with
“Standing with a new baby” describes being alongside and caring for the baby at that moment.
He was ___ with joy.
- (a)jumping
- (b)bursting
- (c)dancing
- (d)singing
Answer: (b) bursting
“Bursting with joy” is the standard idiom for overwhelming happiness.
Even Nanda ___ not have…
- (a)could
- (b)would
- (c)should
- (d)ought
Answer: (a) could
“Could not have felt” expresses a past hypothetical incapacity, fitting the modal “could”.
Even Nanda could not have ___ such joy…
- (a)experimented
- (b)shown
- (c)felt
- (d)heard
Answer: (c) felt
“Felt such joy” directly names the emotion being described.
…such joy ___ getting Krishna.
- (a)at
- (b)in
- (c)on
- (d)into
Answer: (a) at
“Joy at getting” is the standard preposition pairing for the cause of an emotion.
His face had the same ___ that…
- (a)light
- (b)glow
- (c)sense
- (d)hope
Answer: (b) glow
A “glow” on someone’s face is the standard way to describe a look of happiness or satisfaction.
…that ___ on the face of a starved man after a full meal.
- (a)comes
- (b)appears
- (c)rises
- (d)shows
Answer: (a) comes
A glow “comes on” someone’s face is the natural way to describe such an expression appearing.
…on the face of a ___ man after a full meal.
- (a)starved
- (b)starving
- (c)hungry
- (d)satisfied
Answer: (a) starved
“A starved man” fits the image of someone finally satisfied after a full meal, matching the sentence’s own repeated wording.
The spirit of man, with parts P: "has slowly and painfully surmounted", Q: "and his growing intelligence", R: "all the obstacles that have come in his way", S: "has faced all kinds of dangers" — jumbled. The proper sequence should be
- (a)Q P S R
- (b)S Q P R
- (c)R P Q S
- (d)P R Q S
Answer: (a) Q P S R
The sentence reads: “The spirit of man, and his growing intelligence, has slowly and painfully surmounted all the obstacles that have come in his way, has faced all kinds of dangers.”
After our school boys had won a well-contested hockey match, with parts P: "so that they might communicate the news of their victory to the headmaster", Q: "who is a keen sportsman", R: "they came to school in high spirits", S: "and takes a very lively interest in school games" — jumbled. The proper sequence should be
- (a)Q P S R
- (b)S Q P R
- (c)R P Q S
- (d)P R Q S
Answer: (c) R P Q S
The sentence reads: “After our school boys had won a well-contested hockey match, they came to school in high spirits, so that they might communicate the news of their victory to the headmaster, who is a keen sportsman and takes a very lively interest in school games.”
Even a leisurely game like cricket, with parts P: "demanding grace rather than strength", Q: "and over the rough tactics of the Australian team that visited England in 1921", R: "as we saw in the controversy over body-line bowling", S: "can cause much ill-will" — jumbled. The proper sequence should be
- (a)P S R Q
- (b)R S P Q
- (c)S R Q P
- (d)Q P R S
Answer: (a) P S R Q
The sentence reads: “Even a leisurely game like cricket, demanding grace rather than strength, can cause much ill-will, as we saw in the controversy over body-line bowling and over the rough tactics of the Australian team that visited England in 1921.”
Scientists point out, with parts P: "of sunspot activity", Q: "that it is an aftermath that", R: "has now reached its peak", S: "of the eleven-year cycle" — jumbled. The proper sequence should be
- (a)R S P Q
- (b)P Q S R
- (c)Q R P S
- (d)Q S P R
Answer: (d) Q S P R
The sentence reads: “Scientists point out that it is an aftermath of the eleven-year cycle of sunspot activity that has now reached its peak.”
As the ship streams from San Diego, with parts P: "as walls of gray water from a distant storm in the North Pacific", Q: "making the greener among us miserable with sea sickness", R: "rock and toss the ship", S: "those of us aboard have a personal demonstration of powerful ocean movement" — jumbled. The proper sequence should be
- (a)P Q R S
- (b)S R P Q
- (c)S P R Q
- (d)Q S R P
Answer: (c) S P R Q
The sentence reads: “As the ship streams from San Diego, those of us aboard have a personal demonstration of powerful ocean movement as walls of gray water from a distant storm in the North Pacific rock and toss the ship, making the greener among us miserable with sea sickness.”
Spot the error:
- (a)An electrical circuit
- (b)is the complete path
- (c)traversed by electric current.
- (d)No error.
Answer: (d) No error
This sentence is grammatically correct throughout, with no error to identify.
Spot the error:
- (a)He waved us a by-by
- (b)as he boarded the train
- (c)which disappeared into the tunnel.
- (d)No error.
Answer: (a) (a)
“By-by” is a misspelling; the correct word here is “bye-bye” (or “goodbye”).
Spot the error:
- (a)There was great deal that had to be scrapped, that must be scrapped;
- (b)but surely India could not have been what she undoubtedly was,
- (c)and could not have continued a cultured existence for thousands of years.
- (d)No error.
Answer: (a) (a)
The sentence is missing the article “a” — it should read “there was A great deal that had to be scrapped.”
Spot the error:
- (a)With regard to interior decoration, it is the attention given to the less overt aspects of using space
- (b)that give it life, an identity, a quality
- (c)that makes it exciting and unusual.
- (d)No error.
Answer: (b) (b)
The singular subject “attention” needs the singular verb “gives”, not “give”.
Spot the error:
- (a)A small parcel
- (b)of novels is
- (c)better than none.
- (d)No error.
Answer: (d) No error
“A small parcel of novels” is a singular subject, correctly taking the singular verb “is” — there is no error here.
He looks as if he ___ weary.
- (a)is
- (b)was
- (c)would be
- (d)were
Answer: (d) were
“As if” introduces an unreal, hypothetical comparison, which takes the subjunctive “were” regardless of the subject.
My house is insured ___ theft and fire.
- (a)for
- (b)against
- (c)in
- (d)towards
Answer: (b) against
“Insured against” is the standard preposition used when describing what a policy protects against.
The result of the prolonged discussion was ___.
- (a)disappointment
- (b)disappointing
- (c)disappointed
- (d)to disappoint
Answer: (b) disappointing
“Disappointing” is the adjective describing the result itself, unlike “disappointment” (a noun) or “disappointed” (describing a person’s own feeling).
You are lucky ___ in the 20th century.
- (a)by being born
- (b)to have been born
- (c)for being born
- (d)to have born
Answer: (b) to have been born
The perfect infinitive “to have been born” correctly expresses a completed past event being looked back on.
Sita is true to ___.
- (a)word
- (b)her words
- (c)the words
- (d)words
Answer: (a) word
“True to one’s word” is the standard idiom for someone who keeps their promises.
Years ___ since I saw her last.
- (a)have passed
- (b)had passed
- (c)had been passing
- (d)have been passing
Answer: (a) have passed
A “since” clause describing time elapsed up to now takes the present perfect, “have passed”.
When he heard the terrible noise he asked me what was ___ on.
- (a)happening
- (b)being
- (c)getting
- (d)going
Answer: (d) going
“What was going on” is the standard phrase for asking what was happening.
Could you lend me some money? I am very ___ of cash at the moment.
- (a)down
- (b)low
- (c)short
- (d)scarce
Answer: (c) short
“Short of cash” is the standard idiom for temporarily lacking money.
I saw her when she was standing ___ the side of the old statue.
- (a)by
- (b)at
- (c)in
- (d)beyond
Answer: (a) by
“By the side of” is the standard phrase meaning beside or next to something.
True friends never ___ their loved ones in adversity.
- (a)abuse
- (b)criticize
- (c)befool
- (d)desert
Answer: (d) desert
“Desert” means to abandon someone, especially when they need support the most, fitting “in adversity”.
Which one of the following was set as a target of average growth of GDP of India over the plan period 2012-2017 by the Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan?
- (a)7 percent
- (b)8 percent
- (c)9 percent
- (d)10 percent
Answer: (c) 9 percent
The Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan set an ambitious target of 9 percent average annual GDP growth for 2012-2017.
This aligned with the plan theme of Faster, More Inclusive and Sustainable Growth.
The National Development Council later revised this down to 8 percent when the final plan was approved in December 2012.
Which one of the following is not a subject that has been devolved to the Panchayati Raj Institutions by the 11th Schedule of the Constitution of India?
- (a)Non-conventional energy resources
- (b)Roads
- (c)Higher education
- (d)Libraries
Answer: (c) Higher education
The 11th Schedule, added by the 73rd Amendment in 1992, lists 29 subjects for Panchayati Raj Institutions.
It covers education, but only primary and secondary schools, along with adult and non-formal education, not higher education.
Non-conventional energy resources, roads, and libraries are all explicitly named among the 29 subjects.
(Source: Ministry of Panchayati Raj, 29 Subjects Under the 11th Schedule)
Who among the following used the term Industrial Revolution for the first time in English to describe the changes that occurred in the British industrial development between 1760 and 1820?
- (a)Friedrich Engels
- (b)Eric Hobsbawm
- (c)Arnold Toynbee
- (d)Georges Michelet
Answer: (c) Arnold Toynbee
French writers had used a similar term earlier, but it stayed obscure until English economic historian Arnold Toynbee popularized it.
His lectures on Britain economic development, covering roughly 1760 to 1840, gave the term wide currency in English.
Engels and Hobsbawm wrote influential works on the same period but did not coin or first popularize the term itself.
Who among the following is the author of the book ‘The Indian Struggle, 1920-1934’?
- (a)Maulana Abul Kalam
- (b)Jayprakash Narayan
- (c)Subhash Chandra Bose
- (d)Manabendra Nath Roy
Answer: (c) Subhash Chandra Bose
Subhash Chandra Bose wrote The Indian Struggle, covering the freedom movement from 1920 to 1934.
He wrote it while in political exile in Europe during the mid-1930s.
The book gives his personal account and critique of the Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience movements.
Which one of the following about the Swadeshi Campaign in 1896 is not correct?
- (a)Its centre was Maharashtra
- (b)Its main participants were students
- (c)It opposed the levy of tariff on imports
- (d)It publicly burnt foreign clothes
Answer: (c) It opposed the levy of tariff on imports
This early Swadeshi campaign was centred in Maharashtra, especially Poona, led by figures like Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
School and college students formed the bulk of its active participants.
Public bonfires of foreign cloth were a visible part of the campaign, urging people to boycott imported goods.
Swadeshi campaigns actually wanted tariffs on foreign imports to protect Indian industry, not opposed them, making this the incorrect statement.
(Source: Cambridge South Asian History Collective, The Chapekar Brothers and Lokmanya Tilak)
Which one of the following associations was founded in London by Dadabhai Naoroji in 1866?
- (a)The Bengal British India Society
- (b)The East India Association
- (c)The British Indian Association
- (d)The Madras Native Association
Answer: (b) The East India Association
Dadabhai Naoroji founded the East India Association in London in 1866, to represent Indian interests to British politicians and the public. It predates the Indian National Congress by nearly two decades.
Related: ModHist0061 — The Indian National Congress: Founding and the Moderate-Extremist Phase
Mariana Trench is located in the ocean floor of
- (a)Southern Atlantic Ocean
- (b)Western Pacific Ocean
- (c)Eastern Pacific Ocean
- (d)Northern Atlantic Ocean
Answer: (b) Western Pacific Ocean
The Mariana Trench lies in the western Pacific, near the Mariana Islands east of the Philippines.
It is the deepest known point in any of Earth oceans, reaching close to 11 kilometres down.
Taklamakan Desert is situated in
- (a)Western Asia
- (b)Southern fringe of Sahara in Africa
- (c)South America
- (d)Central Asia
Answer: (d) Central Asia
The Taklamakan Desert lies in the Xinjiang region of north-western China, within Central Asia.
It sits inside the Tarim Basin, ringed by mountain ranges including the Kunlun and Tian Shan.
It is one of the largest sandy deserts in the world and historically bordered the Silk Road trade routes.
Rudraprayag is situated at the confluence of rivers Alaknanda and
- (a)Bhagirathi
- (b)Mandakini
- (c)Nandakini
- (d)Dhauliganga
Answer: (b) Mandakini
Rudraprayag marks the meeting point of the Alaknanda and Mandakini rivers in Uttarakhand.
It is one of the five sacred Panch Prayag confluences along the Alaknanda river system.
Mandakini flows down from Kedarnath before joining the Alaknanda here.
Arrange the following Indian cities according to their locations from west to east: 1. Bilaspur 2. Jodhpur 3. Bhopal 4. Ranchi. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a)3-2-1-4
- (b)2-3-1-4
- (c)4-1-2-3
- (d)2-1-3-4
Answer: (b) 2-3-1-4
Jodhpur sits farthest west, at roughly 73 degrees east longitude, in the Thar Desert region of Rajasthan.
Bhopal comes next, at around 77 degrees east, in central Madhya Pradesh.
Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh follows further east, near 82 degrees east.
Ranchi in Jharkhand is farthest east of the four, close to 85 degrees east.
The Kashmir region receives additional amount of precipitation during the winter brought by
- (a)South-west Monsoon
- (b)Western Disturbances
- (c)Retreating Monsoon
- (d)Temperate Cyclone
Answer: (b) Western Disturbances
Western Disturbances are storm systems that travel from the Mediterranean region across Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan into North India.
They bring winter rain and snowfall to Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and nearby hill states.
This winter precipitation is separate from the South-west Monsoon, which brings rain in a different season entirely.
(Source: India Meteorological Department, Western Disturbances)
Which part of India has the Kalakot tertiary coal field?
- (a)Brahmaputra river basin of Assam
- (b)Damodar river basin of Jharkhand and West Bengal
- (c)Himalayan mountain region
- (d)Cardamom hills in Kerala
Answer: (c) Himalayan mountain region
The Kalakot coalfield lies in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, south of the Pir Panjal range.
It is a rare tertiary-age coal deposit found within the Himalayan mountain belt itself, unlike most of India major coalfields.
Coalfields in the Damodar basin and Assam Brahmaputra basin are much larger but belong to entirely different geological settings.
(Source: Journal of the Geological Society of India, Tertiary Himalayan Coal-bearing Sequences)
Tendons through which muscles are connected to bones are tightly compacted bundles of which one of the following long fibrous protein?
- (a)Fibrin
- (b)Collagen
- (c)Elastin
- (d)Cellulose
Answer: (b) Collagen
Tendons are made mostly of tightly packed bundles of collagen fibres.
Collagen is strong and only slightly stretchy, which suits its job of transmitting muscle pulling force to bone.
Elastin, by contrast, is stretchier and dominates in ligaments and skin instead. Cellulose is a plant fibre, not found in animal tissue at all.
Which one of the following is the scientific name of the causal organism of elephantiasis?
- (a)Ascaris lumbricoides
- (b)Culex pipiens
- (c)Wuchereria bancrofti
- (d)Fasciola hepatica
Answer: (c) Wuchereria bancrofti
Wuchereria bancrofti is a thread-like parasitic worm that causes lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis.
It spreads through mosquito bites and blocks the lymphatic system, causing severe swelling, usually in the legs.
Ascaris and Fasciola are unrelated worms causing different diseases, and Culex is the mosquito that transmits the parasite, not the parasite itself.
Melanin is the natural pigment that gives colour to human skin, hair and the iris. It provides protection against
- (a)Ultraviolet radiation
- (b)Infrared radiation
- (c)X-ray radiation
- (d)Short wave radio radiation
Answer: (a) Ultraviolet radiation
Melanin absorbs ultraviolet rays from sunlight before they can damage the DNA in skin cells.
People with more melanin in their skin generally have greater natural protection against sunburn and UV-related skin damage.
Melanin does not meaningfully block infrared, X-ray, or radio wave radiation.
Intake of which one of the following food components should be minimized by patients having Gouty Arthritis due to elevated serum uric acid level?
- (a)Food fibres
- (b)Nucleic acids
- (c)Lipids
- (d)Carbohydrates
Answer: (b) Nucleic acids
Nucleic acids in food break down into purine compounds during digestion.
The body then converts these purines into uric acid, the substance that crystallizes in joints during a gout attack.
Foods rich in nucleic acids, like organ meats and certain seafood, are exactly the ones gout patients are told to limit.
Which one of the following statements about microbes is not correct?
- (a)They are used in sewage treatment plants.
- (b)They are used in industrial fermenters for the production of beverages.
- (c)No antibiotic has been obtained from any microbe.
- (d)They are used to get many bioactive molecules for the treatment of diseases.
Answer: (c) No antibiotic has been obtained from any microbe.
Many important antibiotics actually come from microbes, such as penicillin from a fungus and streptomycin from soil bacteria.
Microbes genuinely help treat sewage, ferment beverages, and produce many bioactive medical molecules, so the other three statements are correct.
Golden rice is a genetically-modified crop plant where the incorporated gene is meant for biosynthesis of
- (a)Omega-3 fatty acids
- (b)Vitamin A
- (c)Vitamin B
- (d)Vitamin C
Answer: (b) Vitamin A
Golden rice was genetically engineered to produce beta-carotene, which the body converts into Vitamin A.
It was developed to fight Vitamin A deficiency in regions where rice is a staple food.
Its golden-yellow colour comes directly from the added beta-carotene pigment.
An object moves in a circular path with a constant speed. Which one of the following statements is correct?
- (a)The centripetal acceleration of the object is smaller for a gentle curve (i.e., curve of larger radius) than that for a sharp curve (i.e., curve of smaller radius).
- (b)The centripetal acceleration is greater for a gentle curve than that for a sharp curve.
- (c)The centripetal acceleration is the same for both, the gentle and sharp curves.
- (d)The centripetal acceleration causes the object to slow down.
Answer: (a) The centripetal acceleration of the object is smaller for a gentle curve than that for a sharp curve.
Centripetal acceleration equals speed squared divided by radius.
At the same constant speed, a larger radius, a gentle curve, gives a smaller acceleration, while a smaller radius, a sharp curve, gives a larger one.
Centripetal acceleration changes direction, not speed, so it never actually slows the object down.
(Source: OpenStax University Physics, Uniform Circular Motion)
The force acting on a particle of mass m moving along the x-axis is given by F(x) = Ax^2 – Bx. Which one of the following is the potential energy of the particle?
- (a)2Ax-B
- (b)-(x^2/6)(2Ax-3B)
- (c)Ax^3-Bx^2
- (d)Zero
Answer: (b) -(x^2/6)(2Ax-3B)
Potential energy is found by integrating the force with a negative sign, since force equals the negative rate of change of potential energy.
Integrating Ax squared minus Bx gives A x cubed over 3 minus B x squared over 2, then flipping the sign for potential energy.
Expanding option (b) gives exactly this same expression, confirming it as the correct potential energy function.
(Source: OpenStax University Physics, Conservative Forces and Potential Energy)
The symbol of SI unit of inductance is H. It stands for
- (a)Holm
- (b)Halogen
- (c)Henry
- (d)Hertz
Answer: (c) Henry
The henry is named after Joseph Henry, an American scientist who discovered electromagnetic self-induction. One henry is the inductance that produces 1 volt when current changes at 1 ampere per second.
Related: GenSci0010 — Units, Measurement and Scientific Instruments
In a vacuum, a five-rupee coin, a feather of a sparrow bird and a mango are dropped simultaneously from the same height. The time taken by them to reach the bottom is t1, t2 and t3 respectively. In this situation, we will observe that
- (a)t1>t2>t3
- (b)t1>t3>t2
- (c)t3>t1>t2
- (d)t1=t2=t3
Answer: (d) t1=t2=t3
In a vacuum, there is no air resistance to slow down light objects like a feather.
Every object accelerates downward at exactly the same rate under gravity alone, regardless of its mass or shape.
So the coin, feather and mango would all hit the ground at the very same moment.
Electron emission from a metallic surface by application of light is known as
- (a)Thermionic emission
- (b)Photoelectric emission
- (c)High field emission
- (d)Autoelectronic emission
Answer: (b) Photoelectric emission
When light of high enough frequency hits a metal surface, it can knock electrons loose.
This effect, called the photoelectric effect, was explained by Einstein using the idea of light as particles called photons.
Thermionic emission instead uses heat, not light, to release electrons, which makes it a different process entirely.
How long does light take to reach the Earth from the Sun?
- (a)About 4 minutes
- (b)About 8 minutes
- (c)About 24 minutes
- (d)About 24 hours
Answer: (b) About 8 minutes
Light travels at about 300,000 kilometres every second.
The average distance from the Sun to the Earth is about 150 million kilometres.
Dividing distance by speed gives roughly 8 minutes and 20 seconds for sunlight to reach Earth.
(Source: NASA, How Long Does Light from the Sun Take to Reach Earth)
Radioactivity is measured by
- (a)GM Counter
- (b)Polarimeter
- (c)Calorimeter
- (d)Colorimeter
Answer: (a) GM Counter
A Geiger-Muller counter detects radioactive particles by counting the pulses of current they cause inside a gas-filled tube.
It is one of the most common portable instruments used to measure radiation levels.
Polarimeters, calorimeters and colorimeters measure entirely different things, like light rotation, heat, or colour intensity.
The mirrors used as rear-view mirrors in vehicles are
- (a)concave
- (b)convex
- (c)cylindrical
- (d)plane
Answer: (b) convex
Convex mirrors curve outward and always form smaller, upright images of objects behind the vehicle.
This shrinking effect lets the mirror cover a much wider field of view than a flat mirror of the same size.
This wider view helps drivers spot vehicles that would otherwise sit in a blind spot.
Which one of the following waves is used for detecting forgery in currency notes?
- (a)Ultraviolet waves
- (b)Infrared waves
- (c)Radio waves
- (d)Microwaves
Answer: (a) Ultraviolet waves
Genuine currency notes carry special fluorescent fibres, threads, and inks that are invisible in normal light.
Under ultraviolet light, these hidden security features glow and become clearly visible.
This makes UV lamps a simple, common tool for checking currency notes for forgery.
(Source: Reserve Bank of India, Security Features of Banknotes)
The majority charge carriers in a p-type semiconductor are
- (a)free electrons
- (b)conduction electrons
- (c)ions
- (d)holes
Answer: (d) holes
A p-type semiconductor is made by adding a trivalent impurity, like boron, to pure silicon or germanium.
This impurity creates a shortage of electrons, called holes, which act as positive charge carriers.
In a p-type material, these holes vastly outnumber free electrons, making them the majority carriers.
(Self-derived: standard semiconductor physics concept of p-type doping)
The ionization energy of hydrogen atom in the ground state is
- (a)13.6 MeV
- (b)13.6 eV
- (c)13.6 Joule
- (d)Zero
Answer: (b) 13.6 eV
The energy needed to remove the single electron from a hydrogen atom in its lowest energy state is 13.6 electron volts.
This value comes directly from the Bohr model calculation for the hydrogen ground state energy level.
A Joule is far too large a unit for a single-atom energy scale, and MeV belongs to nuclear-scale energies instead.
(Source: OpenStax University Physics, Bohr Model of Hydrogen Atom)
When pure water boils vigorously, the bubbles that rise to the surface are composed primarily of
- (a)air
- (b)hydrogen
- (c)hydrogen and oxygen
- (d)water vapour
Answer: (d) water vapour
Boiling is simply water changing from liquid to gas, without breaking any chemical bonds.
The bubbles rising in boiling water are pockets of water vapour, plain gaseous H2O.
Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen gas requires electrolysis, a completely different chemical process, not ordinary boiling.
Which compound, when dissolved in water, conducts electricity and forms a basic solution?
- (a)HCl
- (b)CH3COOH
- (c)CH3OH
- (d)NaOH
Answer: (d) NaOH
Sodium hydroxide fully splits into sodium and hydroxide ions in water, making the solution a strong electrical conductor.
These free hydroxide ions also make the solution strongly basic.
HCl and acetic acid produce acidic solutions instead, while methanol does not ionize and barely conducts electricity at all.
(Source: OpenStax Chemistry, Relative Strengths of Acids and Bases)
The principal use of hydrofluoric acid is
- (a)in etching glass
- (b)as a bleaching agent
- (c)as an extremely strong oxidizing agent
- (d)in the preparation of strong organic fluorine compounds
Answer: (a) in etching glass
Hydrofluoric acid is unusual among acids in that it can dissolve glass by reacting with its silica content.
This distinctive property makes it the standard chemical for etching patterns and markings onto glass surfaces.
It is not an oxidizing agent or bleach, and organic fluorine chemistry is a smaller, secondary use.
The species that has the same number of electrons as Cl-35 (17 protons) is
- (a)S-32 (16 protons)
- (b)S+ 34 (16 protons)
- (c)Ar+ 40 (18 protons)
- (d)S2- 35 (16 protons)
Answer: (c) Ar+ 40 (18 protons)
Neutral Cl-35 has 17 protons and, being uncharged, also has 17 electrons.
Ar+ has 18 protons but has lost one electron, leaving it with 18 minus 1, which is 17 electrons, an exact match.
Neutral S-32 has 16 electrons, S+ has 15, and S2- has 18, so none of these match Cl-35 electron count.
(Source: OpenStax Chemistry, Electronic Structure of Atoms and Ions)
The compound C6H12O4 contains
- (a)22 atoms per mole
- (b)twice the mass percent of H as compared to the mass percent of C
- (c)six times the mass percent of C as compared to the mass percent of H
- (d)thrice the mass percent of H as compared to the mass percent of O
Answer: (c) six times the mass percent of C as compared to the mass percent of H
Using standard atomic weights, carbon is 12 and hydrogen is 1, so the mass of carbon in this compound is 6 times 12, and hydrogen is 12 times 1.
That gives a carbon-to-hydrogen mass ratio of exactly 72 to 12, which simplifies to exactly 6 to 1.
Since mass percent shares the same total mass denominator for every element, this same 6-to-1 ratio carries straight over to their mass percentages.
Option (a) miscounts the phrasing of atoms versus moles of atoms, and options (b) and (d) do not match the actual calculated ratios.
(Source: Chemistry LibreTexts, Formula Mass and Percent Composition)
The proposition ‘equal volumes of different gases contain equal numbers of molecules at the same temperature and pressure’ is known as
- (a)Avogadro’s hypothesis
- (b)Gay-Lussac’s hypothesis
- (c)Planck’s hypothesis
- (d)Kirchhoff’s theory
Answer: (a) Avogadro’s hypothesis
Amedeo Avogadro proposed that equal volumes of any gas, measured at the same temperature and pressure, contain the same number of molecules.
This idea became central to understanding gas behaviour and later helped define the mole concept in chemistry.
Gay-Lussac studied how gas volumes combine in reactions, while Planck and Kirchhoff worked on entirely different areas of physics.
Which one of the following statements about the Ilbert Bill is correct?
- (a)It proposed that the Indian magistrates would try Europeans in criminal cases.
- (b)It allowed Indians to file criminal cases against Europeans.
- (c)It authorized Indian ICS officers to try Europeans in courts.
- (d)It was an agitation led by Ilbert in support of the nationalists.
Answer: (a) It proposed that the Indian magistrates would try Europeans in criminal cases
The Ilbert Bill’s core proposal was that Indian magistrates (judges) would be able to try Europeans in criminal cases. It did not merely let Indians file cases, did not only cover Indian ICS officers, and was not an agitation led by Ilbert.
Related: ModHist0007 — Ripon’s Local Self-Government and the Ilbert Bill Controversy · View this question →
Who among the following can attend the meetings of both Houses of Parliament while not being a member of either House?
- (a)The Solicitor General of India
- (b)The Vice-President of India
- (c)The Comptroller and Auditor General of India
- (d)The Attorney General of India
Answer: (d) The Attorney General of India
Article 88 of the Constitution gives the Attorney General the right to speak in and take part in the proceedings of either House.
This right extends to any joint sitting or any committee of Parliament the Attorney General is named to.
Even so, the Attorney General does not hold voting rights, since they are not an elected member of either House.
Who among the following was believed to be a leader of the Sanyasis and Fakirs conspiring against the British in 1857?
- (a)Mangal Pandey
- (b)Bahadur Shah II
- (c)Queen Zeenat Mahal
- (d)Nana Sahib
Answer: (d) Nana Sahib
British officials suspected Nana Sahib of secretly organizing a wide network of sanyasis and fakirs to spread rebellion.
Historians like John Kaye described this as an active conspiracy involving Nana Sahib and his advisor Azimullah Khan reaching out to rulers across the country.
Modern historians note there is limited solid evidence for this pre-planning, but it was the widely believed narrative among the British at the time.
Who among the following was the founder of the Avadh Kingdom in the 18th century?
- (a)Murshid Quli Khan
- (b)Saadat Khan
- (c)Alivardi Khan
- (d)Sarfaraz Khan
Answer: (b) Saadat Khan
Saadat Khan, also known as Burhan-ul-Mulk, was appointed governor of Avadh by the Mughal emperor in 1722.
He gradually built up personal authority there, effectively founding a semi-independent regional kingdom.
Murshid Quli Khan, Alivardi Khan and Sarfaraz Khan were instead linked to Bengal politics, not Avadh.
Who among the following was the founder of the Young Bengal Movement?
- (a)Henry Vivian Derozio
- (b)David Hare
- (c)Dwarkanath Tagore
- (d)Prasanna Kumar Tagore
Answer: (a) Henry Vivian Derozio
Henry Vivian Derozio taught at Hindu College in Calcutta and inspired a group of radical young students known as Young Bengal.
He encouraged them to question orthodox customs and think freely, using rational and often provocative debate.
David Hare helped establish educational institutions, while the Tagores were reformers in other spheres, not founders of this specific movement.
Which one of the following statements about the Quit India Movement is not correct?
- (a)It broke out in August 1942.
- (b)Ahmedabad Textile Mills went on strike for more than three months.
- (c)Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha actively participated in the movement.
- (d)Communist Party did not support the movement.
Answer: (c) Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha actively participated in the movement.
Both bodies stayed away from the Quit India Movement rather than joining it. Congress leaders, including Jawaharlal Nehru, were arrested without trial the morning after the resolution passed, on 9 August 1942, in what the British called Operation Zero Hour.
Related: ModHist0092 — Jawaharlal Nehru as a Freedom Fighter
Who among the following is the winner of the Singapore Open Superseries Badminton Men’s Singles title 2017?
- (a)Kidambi Srikanth
- (b)Lin Dan
- (c)B. Sai Praneeth
- (d)Kento Momota
Answer: (c) B. Sai Praneeth
B. Sai Praneeth beat fellow Indian Kidambi Srikanth in the final, 17-21, 21-17, 21-12.
This was the first ever all-Indian final in Super Series badminton history.
The win marked Praneeth first major Superseries title on the international badminton circuit.
Koradi Thermal Power Station is located in
- (a)Nagpur
- (b)Raipur
- (c)Mumbai
- (d)Secunderabad
Answer: (a) Nagpur
Koradi Thermal Power Station sits just north of Nagpur, Maharashtra, and began operating in 1974.
It is run by Maharashtra State Power Generation Company, a subsidiary of the state electricity board.
The plant is one of four major power stations serving the power-surplus Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.
Which one of the following is the theme of the International Day for Monuments and Sites (World Heritage Day) 2017?
- (a)The Heritage of Sport
- (b)Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Tourism
- (c)Past and Present Heritage
- (d)Heritage and Science
Answer: (b) Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Tourism
ICOMOS chose this theme to mark the UN International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development in 2017.
It highlighted the growing link between conserving cultural heritage sites and developing sustainable tourism around them.
The day is observed every year on 18 April, organized by ICOMOS with UNESCO.
In April 2017, USA dropped MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast popularly known as the Mother of All Bombs) in the suspected hideouts of militants in which one of the following countries?
- (a)Iran
- (b)Syria
- (c)Afghanistan
- (d)Somalia
Answer: (c) Afghanistan
The US military dropped the MOAB on an ISIS-K tunnel and cave complex in the Achin district of Nangarhar province.
It was the first combat use of this massive non-nuclear bomb.
The strike targeted suspected militant hideouts, not Iran, Syria, or Somalia.
Who among the following is the Chairman of the Interdisciplinary Committee constituted recently by the Government of India to examine framework for virtual currencies?
- (a)Secretary, Department of Financial Services
- (b)Special Secretary, Department of Revenue
- (c)Special Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs
- (d)Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
Answer: (c) Special Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs
This Inter-Disciplinary Committee was constituted on 15 March 2017 by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.
It was chaired by Dinesh Sharma, Special Secretary in that department, with members from the RBI, tax authorities, and other agencies.
The committee studied global rules on virtual currencies and submitted its report in August 2017.
(Source: Press Information Bureau, Inter-Disciplinary Committee on Virtual Currencies)
SAMPADA scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of
- (a)Finance
- (b)Housing and Urban Affairs
- (c)Food Processing Industries
- (d)Earth Sciences
Answer: (c) Food Processing Industries
SAMPADA, the scheme to boost food processing and reduce post-harvest losses, is implemented by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
The shortest day length that occurs in the Northern hemisphere is on
- (a)21st March
- (b)23rd September
- (c)22nd November
- (d)22nd December
Answer: (d) 22nd December
Around 22 December, the Northern Hemisphere tilts furthest away from the Sun, marking the winter solstice.
This gives the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year in the north.
21 March and 23 September are the equinoxes, when day and night are roughly equal, not the shortest day.
The Indian Railways have gone in for qualitative improvements since independence. Which of the following have taken place in recent years? 1. Gauge conversion 2. Track electrification 3. Automatic signals. Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
- (a)1 and 2 only
- (b)2 and 3 only
- (c)1 and 3 only
- (d)1, 2 and 3
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
Indian Railways has steadily converted many metre gauge and narrow gauge lines to broad gauge under Project Unigauge.
Electrification of tracks has expanded rapidly, cutting diesel dependence and improving efficiency.
Automatic signalling has also been rolled out widely to increase safety and allow more trains to run closer together.
All three of these qualitative improvements have genuinely taken place, so option (d) is correct.
(Source: Indian Railways, Electrification and Gauge Conversion Progress)
In India, maximum amount of rainfall is received from
- (a)Western Disturbances
- (b)North-east Monsoon
- (c)South-west Monsoon
- (d)Retreating Monsoon
Answer: (c) South-west Monsoon
The South-west Monsoon blows from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal between June and September.
It delivers roughly three-quarters of India total annual rainfall across most of the country.
Western Disturbances, the North-east Monsoon, and the retreating monsoon phase all bring far smaller amounts of rain by comparison.
(Source: India Meteorological Department, Southwest Monsoon)
Which set of the following biosphere reserves in India is included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves?
- (a)Gulf of Mannar, Nokrek, Panchmarhi and Simlipal
- (b)Gulf of Mannar, Kanchanjunga, Nokrek and Seshachalam
- (c)Nilgiri, Nokrek, Panchmarhi and Panna
- (d)Nilgiri, Nokrek, Panchmarhi and Seshachalam
Answer: (a) Gulf of Mannar, Nokrek, Panchmarhi and Simlipal
All four were part of UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves at the time of this exam. Kanchanjunga and Panna joined the network only later, which is what makes options (b) and (c) wrong. · IndGeo0052 — Biosphere Reserves of India
Which of the following statements about magnetite ore of iron is/are correct? 1. It is known as black ore. 2. It contains 60% to 70% of pure iron. 3. It possesses magnetic properties. Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 and 3 only
- (c)1 and 3 only
- (d)1, 2 and 3
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
Magnetite has a deep black colour, which is why it is commonly called black ore.
It contains between roughly 60 and 72 percent iron, making it one of the richest natural iron ores.
It is naturally magnetic, a property unique among the common iron ores.
All three statements are correct, so option (d) is the answer.
(Source: PMC, Mineral and Technological Features of Magnetite-Hematite Ores)
Which one of the following vitamins has a role in blood clotting?
- (a)Vitamin A
- (b)Vitamin D
- (c)Vitamin E
- (d)Vitamin K
Answer: (d) Vitamin K
Vitamin K activates several proteins in the liver that are essential for the blood clotting process.
Without enough Vitamin K, the body cannot form clots properly, leading to excessive bleeding.
Vitamins A, D and E play important roles elsewhere in the body, like vision, bone health and antioxidant protection, but not clotting.
The term ‘Probiotic’ is applied to
- (a)Organic food
- (b)Antacid
- (c)Antibiotic
- (d)Live microbial food supplement
Answer: (d) Live microbial food supplement
Probiotics are foods or supplements containing live, beneficial bacteria or yeasts.
These microbes are meant to support a healthy balance of gut bacteria when consumed.
Yoghurt and fermented foods are common natural sources of probiotics, entirely distinct from antibiotics or antacids.
Which one of the following microbes causes acidification and curding of milk?
- (a)Lactic Acid Bacillus
- (b)Clostridium botulinum
- (c)Vibrio cholerae
- (d)Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Answer: (a) Lactic Acid Bacillus
Lactic acid bacteria ferment the sugar lactose found in milk, producing lactic acid as a byproduct.
This buildup of acid lowers the milk pH, causing its proteins to curdle and thicken.
This exact process is used deliberately to make curd, yoghurt and similar dairy products.
Who among the following shared the Nobel Prize in 1962 along with Francis Crick and James Watson for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids?
- (a)Erwin Chargaff
- (b)Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins
- (c)Rosalind Franklin
- (d)Phoebus Levene
Answer: (b) Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins
Maurice Wilkins shared the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Watson and Crick for work on the structure of DNA.
His X-ray diffraction images, produced with colleague Rosalind Franklin, were crucial evidence behind the double helix model.
Franklin herself was not awarded, since she had died in 1958 and Nobel Prizes are not given posthumously.
Water boils at a lower temperature at high altitudes, because
- (a)the air pressure is less
- (b)outside temperature is less
- (c)latent heat is less
- (d)None of the above
Answer: (a) the air pressure is less
A liquid boils once its vapour pressure matches the surrounding atmospheric pressure.
At higher altitudes, air pressure drops, so water reaches that matching point at a lower temperature.
This is why food takes longer to cook properly at high altitudes, since the boiling water is actually cooler.
(Source: National Weather Service, Altitude and Boiling Point)
Concave mirror is used in headlights of vehicles, because it
- (a)focuses light from the bulb onto nearby vehicles
- (b)sends parallel rays
- (c)fits well into the shape of the headlight
- (d)is cheaper than other mirrors
Answer: (b) sends parallel rays
Placing the bulb at the focal point of a concave mirror makes reflected light rays travel out as a parallel beam.
This parallel beam projects light far ahead in a strong, focused way, exactly what a headlight needs.
Without this focusing property, light would scatter in all directions and fail to illuminate the road effectively.
If some object is weighed when submerged in water, what will happen to its weight compared to its weight in air?
- (a)Increase
- (b)Decrease
- (c)Remain exactly the same
- (d)Increase or decrease cannot be predicted
Answer: (b) Decrease
Water pushes up on any submerged object with a buoyant force, as described by Archimedes principle.
This upward push partly cancels out the object weight, so a scale reads a smaller apparent weight underwater.
The actual mass of the object never changes, only the measured weight while submerged.
(Source: OpenStax University Physics, Archimedes Principle and Buoyancy)
Light year is a measure of
- (a)time
- (b)distance
- (c)total amount of light falling on the Earth in a year
- (d)average intensity of light falling on the Earth in a year
Answer: (b) distance
A light year measures distance: how far light travels in one year, not a duration or an amount of light received.
Which one of the following statements about a satellite orbiting around the Earth is correct?
- (a)Satellite is kept in orbit by remote control from ground station.
- (b)Satellite is kept in orbit by retro-rocket and solar energy keeps it moving around the Earth.
- (c)Satellite requires energy from solar panels and solid fuels for orbiting.
- (d)Satellite does not require any energy for orbiting.
Answer: (d) Satellite does not require any energy for orbiting.
Once launched into orbit, a satellite is in continuous free fall around Earth: gravity alone supplies the centripetal force. In the vacuum of space, there’s no friction to slow it down, so no ongoing energy input is needed just to keep orbiting. Solar panels power its instruments, not its orbit.
Related: GenSci0016 — Gravitation Basics
Which one of the following statements about energy is correct?
- (a)Energy can be created as well as destroyed.
- (b)Energy can be created but not destroyed.
- (c)Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.
- (d)Energy cannot be created but can be destroyed.
Answer: (c) Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.
The law of conservation of energy states that total energy in an isolated system always stays constant.
Energy can only change from one form to another, like chemical energy turning into heat or motion.
This principle underlies essentially all of classical physics and engineering calculations.
(Source: OpenStax University Physics, Conservation of Energy)
Step-up transformers are used for
- (a)increasing electrical power
- (b)decreasing electrical power
- (c)decreasing voltage
- (d)increasing voltage
Answer: (d) increasing voltage
A step-up transformer has more turns on its output coil than its input coil, which raises the voltage.
This is exactly how power plants boost voltage for efficient transmission over long distance power lines.
The transformer does not create extra power, since a higher voltage output comes with a correspondingly lower current.
Which one among the following waves carries the maximum energy per photon?
- (a)X-rays
- (b)Radio waves
- (c)Light waves
- (d)Microwaves
Answer: (a) X-rays
Photon energy rises directly with frequency, and X-rays have by far the highest frequency among these four types.
This is why X-rays can penetrate soft tissue and even damage cells, while radio and microwaves are mostly harmless.
Light waves sit between microwaves and X-rays on the spectrum, carrying more energy than radio waves but far less than X-rays.
How much CO2 is produced on heating of 1 kg of carbon?
- (a)11/3 kg
- (b)3/11 kg
- (c)4/3 kg
- (d)3/4 kg
Answer: (a) 11/3 kg
Carbon burns in oxygen to form carbon dioxide, following the reaction C plus O2 gives CO2.
Twelve grams of carbon combine with oxygen to make forty-four grams of carbon dioxide.
Scaling this up, 1 kilogram of carbon produces 44 divided by 12, which simplifies to 11 over 3 kilograms of CO2.
Zinc is used to protect iron from corrosion because zinc is
- (a)more electropositive than iron
- (b)cheaper than iron
- (c)a bluish white metal
- (d)a good conductor of heat and electricity
Answer: (a) more electropositive than iron
Zinc loses electrons more readily than iron, making it more electropositive and reactive.
When zinc coats iron, as in galvanization, the zinc corrodes first, sacrificing itself to protect the iron underneath.
Zinc price, colour and conductivity have nothing to do with this protective effect.
(Source: American Galvanizers Association, How Galvanizing Protects Steel)
Which one of the following gases is placed second in respect of abundance in the Earth’s atmosphere?
- (a)Oxygen
- (b)Hydrogen
- (c)Nitrogen
- (d)Carbon dioxide
Answer: (a) Oxygen
Nitrogen makes up about 78 percent of Earth atmosphere, the single largest share.
Oxygen follows next at roughly 21 percent, making it the second most abundant atmospheric gas.
Hydrogen and carbon dioxide are both present only in trace amounts by comparison.
Which one of the following is a chemical change?
- (a)Cutting of hair
- (b)Graying of hair naturally
- (c)Swelling of resin in water
- (d)Cutting of fruit
Answer: (b) Graying of hair naturally
Hair naturally turns grey when pigment cells slow down and eventually stop producing melanin, a real biochemical change.
Cutting hair or fruit, and resin swelling as it absorbs water, are all purely physical changes with no new substance formed.
Since a chemical change involves an actual shift in chemical composition, greying is the only true chemical change here.
Which one among the following chemicals is used as washing soda?
- (a)Calcium carbonate
- (b)Calcium bicarbonate
- (c)Sodium carbonate
- (d)Sodium bicarbonate
Answer: (c) Sodium carbonate
Sodium carbonate, sold as washing soda, is used widely to soften hard water and clean laundry and household surfaces.
It reacts with the calcium and magnesium ions in hard water, letting soap lather more easily.
Calcium carbonate, calcium bicarbonate and sodium bicarbonate all serve other everyday purposes, not washing soda.
Why is potassium permanganate used for purifying drinking water?
- (a)It kills germs
- (b)It dissolves the impurities
- (c)It is a reducing agent
- (d)It is an oxidizing agent
Answer: (d) It is an oxidizing agent
Potassium permanganate purifies water by oxidizing the cell walls and internal components of bacteria and other microbes.
This oxidation is the actual chemical mechanism behind its germ-killing effect, not just a side outcome.
It also oxidizes dissolved iron and manganese, turning them into solids that settle out and can be filtered away.
(Source: Journal AWWA, Potassium Permanganate in Water Treatment)
Consider the following movements: 1. Moplah Rebellion 2. Bardoli Satyagraha 3. Champaran Satyagraha 4. Salt Satyagraha. Which one of the following is the correct chronological order of the above in ascending order?
- (a)1-3-4-2
- (b)3-1-2-4
- (c)2-3-1-4
- (d)4-2-1-3
Answer: (b) 3-1-2-4
In ascending order: the Champaran Satyagraha (1917), the Moplah Rebellion (1921), the Bardoli Satyagraha (1928), then the Salt Satyagraha (1930).
Related: ModHist0060 — Tribal and Peasant Uprisings: Munda, Mappila and Rampa Rebellions · ModHist0063 — Civil Disobedience and the Salt March
Which one of the following travelogues has given an insight on the reign of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq?
- (a)Ibn Battuta’s Rihla
- (b)Francois Bernier’s Travels in the Mogul Empire
- (c)Niccolao Manucci’s Storia do Mogor
- (d)Tavernier’s Travels in India
Answer: (a) Ibn Battuta’s Rihla
Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan traveller, visited India during Muhammad Bin Tughlaq’s reign and even served as a qazi (judge) under him. His travel account, the Rihla, is a major eyewitness source for the Sultan’s administration, court, and society. Bernier, Manucci, and Tavernier all wrote about the later Mughal era, not the Tughlaq period. Source: Ibn Battuta, Wikipedia. Related: MedHist0005 — The Tughlaq Dynasty · MedHist0027 — Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
Which one of the following was not a Chishti Sufi saint?
- (a)Khwaja Moinuddin
- (b)Baba Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar
- (c)Nizamuddin Auliya
- (d)Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya
Answer: (d) Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya
Khwaja Moinuddin, Baba Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar, and Nizamuddin Auliya were all Chishti saints. Bahauddin Zakariya instead founded the Suhrawardi order’s Indian base at Multan, a different silsila entirely.
Source: New Age Islam, Bahauddin Zakariya Multani. Related: ArtnCulture0042 — Sufism in India.
In April 2017, India celebrated 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s
- (a)Satyagraha in Kheda
- (b)Dandi March
- (c)Satyagraha in Champaran
- (d)Return from South Africa
Answer: (c) Satyagraha in Champaran
Gandhi led his first major civil disobedience campaign in India at Champaran, Bihar, in 1917, over the forced indigo cultivation system.
The Bihar government launched year-long centenary celebrations starting 10 April 2017, marking a century since the movement began.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the concluding ceremony at Motihari in Champaran district.
A rainbow is produced due to which one of the following phenomena?
- (a)Dispersion of light
- (b)Interference of light
- (c)Diffraction of light
- (d)Scattering of light by atmospheric dust
Answer: (a) Dispersion of light
Sunlight passing through raindrops bends and splits into its component colours, since each colour refracts by a slightly different amount.
This splitting effect, called dispersion, spreads white light into the familiar band of rainbow colours.
Interference, diffraction and dust scattering explain other optical effects, not the rainbow itself.
Bats detect obstacles in their path by receiving the reflected
- (a)Infrasonic waves
- (b)Ultrasonic waves
- (c)Radio waves
- (d)Microwaves
Answer: (b) Ultrasonic waves
Bats emit high-frequency sound waves, beyond the range of human hearing, called ultrasonic waves.
These waves bounce off nearby objects and return as echoes, which bats use to build a picture of their surroundings.
This technique, echolocation, lets bats navigate and hunt accurately even in complete darkness.
The statement that ‘heat cannot flow by itself from a body at a lower temperature to a body at a higher temperature’, is known as
- (a)Zeroth law of thermodynamics
- (b)First law of thermodynamics
- (c)Second law of thermodynamics
- (d)Third law of thermodynamics
Answer: (c) Second law of thermodynamics
This is known as the Clausius statement of the second law of thermodynamics.
Heat naturally flows from hot to cold, and moving it the other way requires external work, as in a refrigerator.
The zeroth, first and third laws describe thermal equilibrium, energy conservation, and absolute zero behaviour instead.
(Source: OpenStax University Physics, Second Law of Thermodynamics)
Which one of the following waves does not belong to the category of the other three?
- (a)X-rays
- (b)Microwaves
- (c)Radio waves
- (d)Sound waves
Answer: (d) Sound waves
X-rays, microwaves and radio waves are all electromagnetic waves, capable of travelling through empty space.
Sound waves are mechanical waves instead, needing a medium like air, water or a solid to travel through.
This fundamental difference in nature sets sound waves apart from the other three.
(Source: NASA Science, Introduction to the Electromagnetic Spectrum)
Which one of the following statements is not correct?
- (a)Human eye is a refracting system containing a diverging lens.
- (b)The retina of the human eye contains millions of light sensitive cells, called rods and cones, which convert the light into electrical messages.
- (c)Every image that is focused on the retina is upside down.
- (d)We need both eyes to judge the relative positions of objects accurately.
Answer: (a) Human eye is a refracting system containing a diverging lens.
The human eye lens is actually convex and converging, bending light rays inward to focus them onto the retina.
The retina genuinely contains rods and cones that convert light into electrical signals, and every focused image is indeed upside down before the brain reinterprets it.
Both eyes together also genuinely provide the depth perception needed to judge distances accurately.
Which one of the following statements is not correct?
- (a)Ultrasonic waves cannot get reflected, refracted or absorbed.
- (b)Ultrasonic waves are used to detect the presence of defects like cracks, porosity, etc. in the internal structure of common structure materials.
- (c)Ultrasonic waves can be used for making holes in very hard materials like diamond.
- (d)Ultrasonic waves cannot travel through vacuum.
Answer: (a) Ultrasonic waves cannot get reflected, refracted or absorbed.
Ultrasonic waves behave just like ordinary sound waves, and they genuinely can be reflected, refracted and absorbed by different materials.
This reflective behaviour is exactly what makes ultrasound testing work, detecting hidden cracks and gaps inside solid materials.
Ultrasonic waves are also mechanical waves, so like all sound they need a medium and cannot travel through a vacuum.
According to the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) 2017 released by the World Economic Forum, among the 136 economies across the world, India ranked
- (a)50th
- (b)40th
- (c)30th
- (d)20th
Answer: (b) 40th
India ranked 40th among 136 economies in the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index 2017, an improvement from earlier years.
Which one of the following is the theme of the World Health Day, 2017 celebrated by the World Health Organization?
- (a)Diabetes
- (b)Food Safety
- (c)Depression: Let’s Talk
- (d)Ageing and Health
Answer: (c) Depression: Let’s Talk
WHO chose this theme for World Health Day 2017, observed on 7 April, to raise awareness about depression.
The campaign highlighted that around half of major depression cases still go untreated worldwide.
It urged people to talk openly about depression as a step toward recovery and reducing stigma.
Which one of the following Ministries has launched a new programme on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (ICPS) to foster and promote R&D?
- (a)Ministry of Earth Sciences
- (b)Ministry of Science and Technology
- (c)Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
- (d)Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
Answer: (b) Ministry of Science and Technology
The Department of Science and Technology, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, launched the ICPS programme.
It aimed to build research capacity in areas like robotics, artificial intelligence and the internet of things.
This programme later grew into the larger National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems, approved by the Cabinet in 2018.
(Source: Department of Science and Technology, ICPS Division)
Consider the following statements about the Nagara style of temple architecture: 1. This style of temples are commonly found in the areas between Himalayas and Vindhyas. 2. The most striking feature of this style is its pyramidal shikhara. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (a) 1 only
Nagara temples are indeed found across North India, roughly between the Himalayas and the Vindhyas, so statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: Nagara’s shikhara curves inward toward a point, like a beehive. A pyramidal, tiered tower is the mark of the southern Dravida style instead.
Related: ArtnCulture0007 — The Vesara Style: Hoysala and Chalukya Temple Architecture · IndGeo0030 — The Vindhya Range
Ashoka’s connection with Buddhism is evident from which one of the following edicts?
- (a)Major Rock Edict 13
- (b)Rock Edict 6
- (c)Minor Rock Edict 1
- (d)Pillar Edict 4
Answer: (c) Minor Rock Edict 1
In this edict, Ashoka personally states that he had been a lay Buddhist follower, an upasaka, for over two and a half years.
He describes growing more devoted and closer to the Buddhist Sangha over time.
Major Rock Edict 13 instead focuses on his remorse after the Kalinga War, and the other edicts deal with administration, not his personal faith.
The Cabinet Mission Plan for India envisaged a
- (a)Federation
- (b)Confederation
- (c)Unitary form of Government
- (d)Union of States
Answer: (d) Union of States
The Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946 proposed a three-tier structure with a Union confined to just defence, foreign affairs and communications.
Provinces would keep all remaining powers, with an option to form intermediate groups.
This loose Union of States concept later directly shaped Article 1 of the Constitution, which calls India a Union of States.
The creation of the institution of Lokpal was first recommended by
- (a)Law Commission
- (b)Santhanam Committee
- (c)Shah Commission
- (d)Administrative Reforms Commission
Answer: (d) Administrative Reforms Commission
The First Administrative Reforms Commission, in a 1966 interim report chaired by Morarji Desai, first proposed a Lokpal at the Centre and a Lokayukta in each State. The Santhanam Committee’s own recommendation was the CVC, not the Lokpal. Source: Administrative Reforms Commission, Wikipedia. Related: Polity0059 — National Commissions, UPSC and Anti-Corruption Bodies.
Which one of the following is a cause of acid rains?
- (a)Ozone
- (b)Ammonia
- (c)Sulphur dioxide
- (d)Carbon monoxide
Answer: (c) Sulphur dioxide
Sulphur dioxide comes mainly from burning coal and oil in power plants and factories.
Once in the atmosphere, it reacts with water vapour to form sulfuric acid, which falls back to earth as acid rain.
Nitrogen oxides contribute similarly, but ozone, ammonia and carbon monoxide are not major causes of acid rain.
The desirable range of pH for drinking water is
- (a)6.5 to 8.5
- (b)5.0 to 6.5
- (c)6.5 to 7.0
- (d)7.0 to 8.5
Answer: (a) 6.5 to 8.5
Drinking water standards, including those set by the Bureau of Indian Standards, recommend a pH between 6.5 and 8.5.
Water in this range is close to neutral, avoiding the corrosive or unpleasant effects of water that is too acidic or too basic.
Water outside this range can cause pipe corrosion, taste issues, or other water quality problems.
(Source: World Health Organization, Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality)
Consider the following reaction: CH4 + 2O2 -> CO2 + 2H2O. Which of the following about the reaction given above is/are correct? 1. Carbon is oxidized. 2. Hydrogen is oxidized. 3. Hydrogen is reduced. 4. Carbon is reduced. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a)1 only
- (b)1 and 2 only
- (c)2 and 3 only
- (d)2 and 4 only
Answer: (a) 1 only
In methane, carbon has an oxidation state of -4, and in carbon dioxide it is +4.
This rise means carbon loses electrons and gets oxidized.
Hydrogen stays at +1 in both methane and water, so it is neither oxidized nor reduced.
(Self-derived: oxidation-state analysis of methane combustion)
Sunrise in eastern Arunachal Pradesh would be about how many hours before the sunrise in western Gujarat?
- (a)One hour
- (b)Two hours
- (c)Three hours
- (d)Four hours
Answer: (b) Two hours
India stretches from about 68 degrees 7 minutes E in western Gujarat to about 97 degrees 25 minutes E in eastern Arunachal Pradesh.
This is a longitude gap of roughly 29 degrees.
Since Earth rotates 15 degrees every hour, this gap works out to about two hours.
(Self-derived: longitude-to-time calculation using India’s east-west extent)
Consider the following States of India in terms of percentage of forest area in relation to the total area of the State: 1. Karnataka 2. Odisha 3. Kerala 4. Andhra Pradesh. Which one of the following is the correct descending order?
- (a)1-2-4-3
- (b)3-1-2-4
- (c)3-2-1-4
- (d)2-3-1-4
Answer: (c) 3-2-1-4
Per the India State of Forest Report 2017, Kerala had the highest forest cover among these four states, at 52.30% of its geographical area.
Odisha followed at 32.98%, then Karnataka at 19.58%, and Andhra Pradesh lowest at 17.27%.
Kerala’s high figure comes from extensive tree and plantation cover picked up by satellite assessment, not just protected forest land.
(Source: Forest Survey of India, State of Forest Report 2017, via Wikipedia)
Which one of the following States in India has the longest coastline?
- (a)Odisha
- (b)Tamil Nadu
- (c)Karnataka
- (d)West Bengal
Answer: (b) Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu has a coastline of about 1,076 km, the second-longest of any Indian state after Gujarat.
Among these four options, Odisha, Karnataka, and West Bengal all have much shorter coastlines.
(Source: GeeksforGeeks, Longest Coastline in India, citing government coastline data)
Which one of the following States in India has the largest area under forest cover?
- (a)Maharashtra
- (b)Chhattisgarh
- (c)Madhya Pradesh
- (d)Andhra Pradesh
Answer: (c) Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest area of any Indian state, in absolute square kilometres.
Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Maharashtra follow it in area, though several smaller states and Union Territories have a higher forest cover percentage.
(Source: Forest Survey of India, State of Forest Report, via Wikipedia)
Which one of the following is not an igneous rock?
- (a)Gabbro
- (b)Granite
- (c)Dolomite
- (d)Basalt
Answer: (c) Dolomite
Gabbro, granite, and basalt all form from cooling and solidifying magma or lava, making them igneous rocks.
Dolomite is a sedimentary rock, a carbonate rock made mostly of calcium magnesium carbonate.
(Self-derived: rock classification by formation process)
The Coriolis effect is the result of
- (a)Pressure gradient
- (b)Earth’s axis of inclination
- (c)Earth’s rotation
- (d)Earth’s revolution
Answer: (c) Earth’s rotation
The Coriolis effect deflects moving air and water to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
This deflection happens because Earth rotates on its axis, so different latitudes move at different speeds.
Pressure gradient force drives wind movement itself, but it does not cause the deflection.
(Self-derived: standard physical geography concept of Earth’s rotation and the Coriolis force)
Where is Mekong Delta located?
- (a)Thailand
- (b)Cambodia
- (c)Myanmar
- (d)Vietnam
Answer: (d) Vietnam
The Mekong River flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia before reaching its delta.
The delta itself, where the river splits into many channels before entering the sea, lies entirely in southern Vietnam.
Which one of the following pairs of rivers and tributaries is not correctly matched?
- (a)Godavari : Indravati
- (b)Ganga : Penganga
- (c)Krishna : Bhima
- (d)Luni : Sukri
Answer: (b) Ganga : Penganga
Penganga is not a Ganga tributary. It flows into the Wardha River, which joins the Wainganga to form the Pranhita, a major tributary of the Godavari.
The other three pairs are correctly matched: Indravati feeds the Godavari, Bhima feeds the Krishna, and Sukri feeds the Luni.
Consider the following characteristics of a tropical cyclone: 1. A warm sea temperature of >26°C 2. High relative humidity of atmosphere at a height of >700 m 3. Atmospheric instability. The above mentioned characteristics are associated with which one of the following cycles of its development?
- (a)Formulation and initial stage
- (b)Modification stage
- (c)Full maturity
- (d)Decay
Answer: (a) Formulation and initial stage
These are exactly the base ingredients this article’s Must Know section covers: warm sea surface temperature, humidity, and instability, needed just to get a cyclone started. Related: IndGeo0057 — Cyclone Formation: Bay of Bengal vs Arabian Sea
In the Mesopotamian records, which one of the following terms was used for the Indus Valley (Harappans)?
- (a)Dilmun
- (b)Meluha
- (c)Magan
- (d)Failaka
Answer: (b) Meluha
Mesopotamian cuneiform records call the Indus Valley region and its traders “Meluhha.” Dilmun (Bahrain), Magan (Oman) and Failaka were separate trading partners named in the same records.
Related: AncHist0005 — Harappan Civilisation: Life, Economy and Decline
Related: WorldHist0042 — Mesopotamia: Geography, Urbanism, and Temples, covering the Mesopotamian civilization these trade records come from.
English-language questions transcribed from the official NDA & NA Examination (II), 2017 question booklet (Series A, TBC ADU-F-LXT), General Ability Test. Hindi text (Part B) omitted. Answer key not included.
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