Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: In Linux, mv (move) both moves and renames files.

1. mv oldname.txt newname.txt renames the file in the same directory.
2. cp makes a copy (the old file remains); touch creates empty files / updates timestamps; 'Create' is not a Linux command.

Yaad rakhein: Rename in Linux = move to a new name (mv).

Answer: (D) mv oldname.txt newname.txt

Concept: The Aditya Birla Memorial Polo Cup is a high-goal polo tournament played in the Delhi polo season.

1. Rajnigandha Achievers won the 2025 edition of the Aditya Birla Memorial Polo Cup.
2. Jindal Panther and other teams were among the participating sides.

Yaad rakhein: Polo 2025: Aditya Birla Memorial Cup → Rajnigandha Achievers.

Answer: (A) Rajnigandha Achievers

Concept: A wavefront is the locus of points vibrating in the same phase.

1. In an isotropic medium, light travels equally fast in all directions, so from a point source the wavefront is a sphere.
2. A line source gives a cylindrical wavefront; a very distant source gives a plane wavefront.

Yaad rakhein: Point → spherical, Line → cylindrical, Far away → plane.

Answer: (B) Spherical

Concept: Maharaja Swathi Thirunal (ruled Travancore 1829–1846) was a great patron of music and dance.

1. He revived and patronised Mohiniyattam, the graceful solo dance of Kerala, and composed many pieces for it.
2. Kathakali is also from Kerala but his name is chiefly linked with Mohiniyattam's revival.

Yaad rakhein: Swathi Thirunal + Travancore → Mohiniyattam.

Answer: (C) Mohiniattam

Concept: FIFA suspends a national federation when governments or other third parties interfere in its affairs.

1. FIFA had suspended the Congolese Football Federation (FECOFOOT) of the Republic of the Congo in February 2025 for third-party interference.
2. After the federation regained control of its premises and affairs, FIFA lifted the suspension in May 2025.

Yaad rakhein: Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) ≠ DR Congo (Kinshasa).

Answer: (C) Republic of the Congo

Concept: Part IXB of the Constitution (97th Amendment, 2011) deals with co-operative societies.

1. Article 243ZJ fixes the term of elected board members and office bearers at five years from the date of election.
2. The board can have at most 21 directors.

Yaad rakhein: Panchayat, Municipality and Co-operative board – all 5 years.

Answer: (B) 5 years

Concept: Protected View is a security feature of MS Office for files from potentially unsafe sources such as the internet or email attachments.

1. The file opens in a read-only sandbox; most editing is disabled and macros/active content do not run.
2. The user can click 'Enable Editing' if the file is trusted. It does not mean the file is corrupted or encrypted.

Yaad rakhein: Protected View = read-only + safe sandbox.

Answer: (B) It opens the file in a read-only mode, disabling most editing features

Concept: The RBI's first bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement of 2025-26 was released in April 2025.

1. It projected CPI inflation for 2025-26 at $4.0\%$, in line with the $4\%$ target.
2. In the same policy the repo rate was cut by 25 basis points to $6.0\%$ – do not confuse the two figures.

Yaad rakhein: April 2025 MPC: inflation $4.0\%$, repo $6.0\%$.

Answer: (A) $4.0\%$

Concept: The Gupta empire was divided into provinces called bhuktis (or deshas).

1. Each bhukti was governed by an Uparika, who handled provincial administration including justice, revenue and order.
2. Ayuktaka was an officer at the district (vishaya) level; Gramika headed a village.

Yaad rakhein: Gupta: Bhukti → Uparika; Vishaya → Vishayapati/Ayuktaka; Grama → Gramika.

Answer: (C) Uparika

Concept: The Luni is the main river of the Thar Desert region of western Rajasthan.

1. It rises in the Aravalli range near Ajmer (Pushkar valley) and flows south-west into the Rann of Kutch.
2. Its water is sweet in the upper part and turns saline downstream, hence the name 'Lavanavari'. The Ghaggar is seasonal and mostly ends in the desert in the north.

Yaad rakhein: Luni = salt river of the Thar, ends in Rann of Kutch.

Answer: (D) Luni river

Concept: Articles 2 and 3 allow Parliament to admit/form states and alter their areas, boundaries or names.

1. Article 4 says such laws will amend the First and Fourth Schedules and are not constitutional amendments under Article 368.
2. So Article 4 covers laws for reorganisation of states.

Yaad rakhein: Art 1 Union, Art 2 new states, Art 3 alter states, Art 4 such laws ≠ Art 368 amendment.

Answer: (D) Laws for reorganisation of states

Concept: John von Neumann's stored-program concept (1945) keeps both the program and its data in the same main memory.

1. The CPU fetches instructions one after another from that common memory and executes them (fetch–decode–execute).
2. Separate memories for data and instructions describe the Harvard architecture – the tempting wrong option.

Yaad rakhein: Von Neumann = one shared memory; Harvard = two separate memories.

Answer: (D) A computer where both data and instructions are stored in the same primary memory for sequential execution

Concept: Three Round Table Conferences were held in London (1930, 1931, 1932) on the basis of the Simon Commission report.

1. They discussed constitutional reforms and the future government of India – statement (a) is correct.
2. Gandhi attended only the Second RTC (1931) as the sole INC representative after the Gandhi–Irwin Pact; the Congress boycotted the first and third – statement (b) is correct.

Yaad rakhein: Gandhi + RTC = only the 2nd (1931).

Answer: (A) Both (a) and (b)

Concept: Article 49 (DPSP) obliges the State to protect monuments, places and objects of artistic or historic interest declared to be of national importance.

1. Article 48 – organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry; Article 48A – protection of environment, forests and wildlife.
2. Article 50 – separation of judiciary from executive.

Yaad rakhein: 49 = Heritage, 48A = Environment, 50 = Judiciary separate.

Answer: (A) Article 49

Concept: The Shunga dynasty was founded by Pushyamitra Shunga (c. 185 BCE) after killing the last Mauryan, Brihadratha.

1. Devabhuti was the last Shunga ruler; he was killed by his minister Vasudeva Kanva, who founded the Kanva dynasty (c. 73 BCE).
2. Agnimitra was Pushyamitra's son; Bhagabhadra is mentioned on the Heliodorus pillar at Vidisha.

Yaad rakhein: Pushyamitra (first) … Devabhuti (last) → Vasudeva Kanva.

Answer: (B) Devabhuti

Concept: RNA is a versatile molecule: messenger (mRNA), adaptor (tRNA), structural/catalytic (rRNA) and genetic material in some viruses.

1. Some RNAs act as enzymes – ribozymes (e.g. peptidyl transferase in ribosome). So option A is true.
2. DNA is the genetic material, not just a messenger; RNA is genetic material only in some viruses; many viruses (e.g. bacteriophage T4) contain DNA.

Yaad rakhein: RNA world: RNA can store information and catalyse reactions.

Answer: (A) RNA has multiple roles including catalytic functions.

Concept: The 2024-25 Ranji Trophy final was played at Nagpur in March 2025.

1. Vidarbha took the first-innings lead against Kerala and the match ended in a draw, giving Vidarbha the title.
2. It was Vidarbha's third Ranji title (after 2017-18 and 2018-19) and Kerala's first-ever final.

Yaad rakhein: Ranji 2024-25: Vidarbha beat Kerala (Kerala's maiden final).

Answer: (A) Kerala

Concept: Cut removes the selected text and places it on the clipboard so it can be pasted (moved) elsewhere.

1. Ctrl + X = Cut; Ctrl + C = Copy; Ctrl + V = Paste; Ctrl + Z = Undo.

Yaad rakhein: X looks like scissors – Cut.

Answer: (A) Ctrl + X

Concept: The Union Council of Ministers has three ranks below the Prime Minister.

1. Order: Cabinet Ministers → Ministers of State (independent charge or attached) → Deputy Ministers.
2. Cabinet Ministers head key ministries and form the Cabinet, the core decision-making body; a Parliamentary Secretary is not a minister rank.

Yaad rakhein: PM → Cabinet → MoS → Deputy Minister.

Answer: (A) Cabinet Minister

Concept: When the cistern is full and both pipes are open, the net rate = emptying rate − filling rate.

1. Filling pipe: $\frac{1}{10}$ per hour; emptying pipe: $\frac{1}{8}$ per hour.
2. Net emptying = $\frac{1}{8}-\frac{1}{10}=\frac{5-4}{40}=\frac{1}{40}$ per hour.
3. Time to empty = $40$ hours.

Trick: Time $=\frac{a\times b}{a-b}=\frac{10\times 8}{10-8}=40$ hours.

Answer: (D) 40 hours