SSC CPO Paper I 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 PYQs

Concept: The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022 was held in New Zealand (March–April 2022).

1. India was captained by Mithali Raj in this tournament – her sixth World Cup, a record.
2. Harmanpreet Kaur was the vice-captain (and later became the ODI captain after Mithali retired in June 2022).
3. Australia won the 2022 World Cup.

Yaad rakhein: WC 2022 = Mithali's last tournament as captain.

Answer: (B) Mithali Raj

Concept: A peroxide contains the peroxide ion ${\text{O}}_2^{2-}$ (two oxygen atoms linked together).

1. Barium shows valency $+2$, i.e. ${\text{Ba}}^{2+}$.
2. One ${\text{Ba}}^{2+}$ balances one ${\text{O}}_2^{2-}$, so barium peroxide is ${\text{BaO}}_2$.
3. $\text{BaO}$ = barium oxide; ${\text{BaSO}}_4$ = barium sulphate; ${\text{Ba}}_2{\text{O}}_2$ is not a correct formula.

Trick: Peroxide: metal + ${\text{O}}_2$; e.g. ${\text{H}}_2{\text{O}}_2$, ${\text{Na}}_2{\text{O}}_2$, ${\text{BaO}}_2$.

Answer: (D) ${\text{BaO}}_2$

Concept: Compare the approximate total lengths of the four rivers (longest to shortest).

1. Ganga ≈ 2525 km (longest river of India).
2. Godavari ≈ 1465 km (longest peninsular river, 'Dakshin Ganga').
3. Krishna ≈ 1400 km and Yamuna ≈ 1376 km.
4. So the decreasing order is Ganga, Godavari, Krishna, Yamuna.

Trick: Ganga first, then 'G-K' of the south (Godavari, Krishna), and Yamuna last – it is only a tributary.

Answer: (A) Ganga, Godavari, Krishna, Yamuna

Concept: A High Court is the highest court of a state; the advisory function belongs to the Supreme Court.

1. A: High Courts hear cases within their state's territorial jurisdiction – correct.
2. B: They hear appeals from subordinate (lower) courts – correct. C: Under Article 226 they issue writs for Fundamental Rights and other legal rights – correct.
3. D: Under Article 143 only the Supreme Court gives advisory opinion to the President – so D is NOT correct for a High Court.

Yaad rakhein: Advisory jurisdiction = Art. 143 = Supreme Court only.

Answer: (D) It gives advisory opinion to the President of India.

Concept: Mettur Dam (Stanley Reservoir) is in Salem district, Tamil Nadu.

1. It is built across the Cauvery (Kaveri) river and was completed in 1934.
2. It is one of the oldest and largest dams of Tamil Nadu, used for irrigation of the Cauvery delta and hydropower.
3. Krishna has Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam; Periyar has Idukki/Mullaperiyar; Vaigai has the Vaigai dam.

Yaad rakhein: Mettur – Stanley Reservoir – Cauvery (Tamil Nadu).

Answer: (A) Cauvery

Concept: The Battle of Buxar was fought on 22 October 1764 in Bihar.

1. The British under Major Hector Munro fought the combined armies of Mir Qasim (deposed Nawab of Bengal), Shuja-ud-Daulah (Nawab of Awadh) and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II.
2. The British won; it led to the Treaty of Allahabad (1765) and the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
3. Siraj-ud-Daulah had died after Plassey (1757); Mir Jafar was on the British side; Bahadur Shah II belongs to 1857.

Trick: Buxar trio: 'Q-S-S' – Qasim, Shuja, Shah Alam.

Answer: (B) Mir Qasim, Mughal Emperor Shah Alam & Shuja-ud-daulah of Awadh

Concept: The onset of the south-west monsoon in India is sudden, not gradual.

1. Around its arrival, normal rainfall increases suddenly and continues constantly for several days.
2. This sudden onset is called the 'burst' of the monsoon (it reaches Kerala around 1 June).
3. It is different from pre-monsoon showers such as mango showers; a 'break' is a dry spell during the monsoon, not its start.

Yaad rakhein: Burst = sudden start; Break = pause in between.

Answer: (B) burst

Concept: Elements in the same group have the same number of valence electrons.

1. H ($1$), Li ($2,1$), Na ($2,8,1$) and K ($2,8,8,1$) each have 1 valence electron – all are in Group 1.
2. Option A mixes noble gases (Ne, Ar – group 18) with Na (group 1) and Mg (group 2).
3. Options B and C mix group 1 (Li, K, H) with group 2 (Mg, Ca) and He (group 18).

Trick: Group 1: 'H Li Na K Rb Cs Fr' – 'Hi Li Na Ki Roti Cs Fry'.

Answer: (D) H, Li, Na, K

Concept: Koeppen's scheme uses capital letters for main climate groups and small letters for seasonal rainfall.

1. D = cold humid (snow) climates; small letters: f = no dry season, w = dry winter, s = dry summer.
2. So cold climate with dry winters = Dw (e.g. Arunachal Pradesh in India's Koeppen map).
3. Df = cold humid with no dry season; ET = tundra; EF = ice cap.

Trick: w = winter dry, s = summer dry, f = feucht (moist all year).

Answer: (D) Dw

Concept: The Moon is in synchronous rotation (tidal locking) with the Earth.

1. Time for one rotation on its axis ≈ 27.3 days.
2. Time for one revolution around the Earth ≈ 27.3 days (sidereal month).
3. Because both periods are equal, the Moon completes exactly 1 rotation in one revolution, so the same face always points towards the Earth (see the orange dot).

Trick: We always see the same side of the Moon → 1 rotation per revolution.

Answer: (C) 1

Concept: The Premier Badminton League (PBL) is India's franchise-based badminton league.

1. Chennai Superstarz, Awadhe Warriors (Lucknow) and Mumbai Rockets are PBL franchises.
2. Other PBL teams: Bengaluru Raptors, Hyderabad Hunters, Pune 7 Aces, North Eastern Warriors.
3. Kabaddi teams (Pro Kabaddi) have names like Bengal Warriors, Patna Pirates.

Yaad rakhein: Rockets / Raptors / Smashers / Aces = shuttle names → Badminton.

Answer: (B) Badminton

Concept: ‘Gully Boy’ swept the 65th Filmfare Awards (2020) with a record 13 awards.

1. It won Best Film, Best Director (Zoya Akhtar), Best Actor (Ranveer Singh) and Best Actress (Alia Bhatt).
2. Best Playback Singer (Male) went to Arijit Singh for the title song of ‘Kalank’ – not to Gully Boy.

Yaad rakhein: Gully Boy = 13 Filmfares, but male playback = Arijit Singh (Kalank).

Answer: (B) Best Playback Singer (Male)

Concept: The Battle of Plassey (23 June 1757) was fought between Siraj-ud-daulah and the East India Company under Robert Clive.

1. Clive secretly won over Mir Jafar, the Nawab's commander-in-chief.
2. Mir Jafar's large contingent stood aside and never fought, so the Nawab lost.
3. As reward, Mir Jafar was made Nawab of Bengal.

Yaad rakhein: Plassey = Clive + Mir Jafar's betrayal; Buxar (1764) = Mir Qasim.

Answer: (C) Mir Jafar

Concept: Parthenogenesis is the development of an unfertilised female gamete (egg) into a new organism.

1. It occurs in rotifers, honeybees (drones), some lizards and birds (e.g. turkey).
2. Apomixis = seed formation without fertilisation in plants; budding and fragmentation are asexual methods not involving gametes.

Yaad rakhein: Parthenos = virgin, genesis = birth → ‘virgin birth’.

Answer: (B) parthenogenesis

Concept: Lal Bahadur Shastri, India's second Prime Minister, was born on 2 October 1904 at Mughalsarai (UP).

1. He shares his birthday with Mahatma Gandhi (born 2 October 1869).
2. He gave the slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ and died at Tashkent in 1966.

Yaad rakhein: 2 October: Gandhi 1869, Shastri 1904 – 35 years apart.

Answer: (C) 2 October 1904

Concept: In Koeppen's scheme, Assam and the north-east fall in the Amw (tropical monsoon rainforest) type.

1. Assam gets very heavy monsoon rain with a short dry season, supporting evergreen forests.
2. Tropical dry climate fits Rajasthan/Deccan; mountain climate fits Himalayan states.

Yaad rakhein: Amw = west coast (Goa side) + Assam/NE – monsoon with short dry season.

Answer: (A) tropical monsoon rainforest climate

Concept: Kho Kho is an old traditional Indian tag game played by two teams of 12, of whom only 9 take the field.

1. The chasing team puts 9 players on the field (8 sitting in a row + 1 active chaser).
2. Defenders enter in batches of three and try to avoid being touched.
3. So ‘Ten players take the field’ is NOT true.

Yaad rakhein: Kho Kho: 12 in squad, 9 on field, defenders in groups of 3.

Answer: (B) Ten players take the field in the beginning to start the match

Concept: Faraday's Second Law of Electrolysis: when the same charge passes through different electrolytes, the masses liberated are proportional to their equivalent weights.

1. $\frac{W_1}{W_2}=\frac{E_1}{E_2}$ for the same quantity of electricity.
2. Faraday's First Law: $W=Zit$ (mass ∝ charge).

Trick: Faraday = electrolysis laws; Dalton = atomic theory; Fourier = heat conduction.

Answer: (C) Michael Faraday

Concept: Subhas Chandra Bose wrote ‘The Indian Struggle’ (1935), a history of the freedom movement from 1920–34.

1. ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India’ – Dadabhai Naoroji.
2. ‘Unhappy India’ – Lala Lajpat Rai.
3. ‘Anandamath’ – Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.

Yaad rakhein: Bose → Struggle; Naoroji → Poverty; Lajpat Rai → Unhappy India.

Answer: (B) The Indian Struggle

Concept: Bhootada Kola (Bhuta Kola) is a ritual spirit-worship dance of the Tulu-speaking coastal districts of Karnataka (Dakshina Kannada, Udupi).

1. Performers impersonate local spirits (daivas) and some rituals involve walking on hot coal.
2. It is closely linked with Yakshagana region; Kerala's similar form is Theyyam.

Yaad rakhein: Tulu Nadu (coastal Karnataka) → Bhuta Kola; North Kerala → Theyyam.

Answer: (C) Karnataka