Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Article 130 deals with the seat of the Supreme Court.

1. The Supreme Court sits in Delhi or at such other place(s) as the Chief Justice of India may, with the approval of the President, appoint from time to time.
2. Parliament or the Cabinet has no such role under Article 130.

Yaad rakhein: Art. 130 = Seat of SC = CJI + President's approval.

Answer: (D) the Chief Justice of India, with the approval of the President

Concept: Manganese (polymetallic) nodules are potato-sized lumps on the deep-sea floor.

1. They lie on abyssal plains of ocean beds at 4,000–6,000 m depth and contain Mn, Ni, Cu and Co.
2. India has an exploration site in the Central Indian Ocean Basin allotted by the International Seabed Authority.

Yaad rakhein: Nodules = deep ocean floor.

Answer: (B) ocean beds

Concept: M.S. Swaminathan is called the father/chief architect of India's Green Revolution.

1. He worked with Norman Borlaug to introduce high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice in the 1960s.
2. Verghese Kurien is the father of the White Revolution (milk).

Yaad rakhein: Green – Swaminathan; White – Kurien.

Answer: (D) MS Swaminathan

Concept: Part V of the Constitution begins with the Union Executive.

1. Article 52: There shall be a President of India.
2. Article 53 vests the executive power of the Union in the President; Article 74 provides the Council of Ministers to aid and advise; Article 75 deals with appointment of ministers.

Yaad rakhein: 52 – President, 63 – Vice-President.

Answer: (D) Article 52

Concept: The Fifth Schedule covers administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes.

1. It applies to states other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram and provides for Tribes Advisory Councils.
2. The Sixth Schedule covers tribal areas of these four north-eastern states; the Seventh has the three Lists; the Ninth protects certain laws.

Yaad rakhein: 5th = Scheduled Areas (rest of India); 6th = tribal areas of AMTM.

Answer: (C) Fifth

Concept: On 20 May 2025, in the All India Judges Association case, the Supreme Court restored a practice requirement for entry-level judges.

1. Candidates for Civil Judge (Junior Division) must have at least three years of practice as advocates.
2. This rule had been removed in 2002; the Court said fresh graduates lack courtroom experience.

Yaad rakhein: Civil Judge (JD) = 3 years at the Bar.

Answer: (B) Three years of legal practice experience

Concept: The Atacama Desert is the driest non-polar desert in the world.

1. It lies in northern Chile, along the Pacific coast between the Andes and the Coastal Range.
2. Its dry, clear skies make it ideal for observatories like ESO's Extremely Large Telescope at Cerro Armazones.

Yaad rakhein: Atacama – Chile – telescopes.

Answer: (A) Chile

Concept: Astronomical distances are far too large for km or miles.

1. A light year is the distance light travels in one year, about 9.46 trillion km.
2. Distances between galaxies are expressed in light years (or parsecs/megaparsecs); a "second" is a unit of time.

Yaad rakhein: Light year = unit of distance, not time.

Answer: (A) In light years

Concept: In May 2025, a seminar in Lucknow stressed a "Nation First" (Rashtra Pratham) approach.

1. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath emphasised the Nation First ethos at the event in Lucknow, the state capital.
2. He urged citizens to put national interest above personal and sectional interests.

Yaad rakhein: Lucknow event → UP CM Yogi Adityanath.

Answer: (D) Yogi Adityanath

Concept: Murlikant Petkar was India's first Paralympic gold medallist.

1. He won the 50 m freestyle swimming gold at the 1972 Heidelberg Paralympics with a world record.
2. He received the Arjuna Award (Lifetime) 2024 for para-swimming; his life inspired the film "Chandu Champion".
3. He was a soldier injured in the 1965 war, so his gold was in para-swimming, not shooting.

Yaad rakhein: Petkar – 1972 – Para-swimming gold – "Chandu Champion".

Answer: (B) Para-Swimming

Concept: VLSRSAM is a ship-borne air-defence missile developed by DRDO for the Indian Navy.

1. VLSRSAM = Vertical-Launch Short-Range Surface-to-Air Missile.
2. It is launched vertically from warships to destroy close-range aerial threats such as aircraft, drones and sea-skimming missiles.

Yaad rakhein: VL + SR + SAM = Vertical Launch, Short Range, Surface-to-Air Missile.

Answer: (A) Vertical-Launch Short-Range Surface-to-Air Missile

Concept: Baking soda is sodium hydrogen carbonate (${\text{NaHCO}}_3$); vinegar contains acetic acid (${\text{CH}}_3\text{COOH}$).

1. Acid + carbonate/bicarbonate gives salt + water + carbon dioxide.
2. ${\text{NaHCO}}_3+{\text{CH}}_3\text{COOH}\to {\text{CH}}_3\text{COONa}+{\text{H}}_2\text{O}+{\text{CO}}_2$
3. The fizz seen is ${\text{CO}}_2$, which turns lime water milky.

Trick: Acid + (bi)carbonate → always ${\text{CO}}_2$ bubbles.

Answer: (A) Carbon dioxide

Concept: The 42nd Amendment (1976), called the "Mini Constitution", added several new Directive Principles.

1. It inserted Article 39A (equal justice and free legal aid), Article 43A (workers' participation in management) and Article 48A (environment).
2. The 44th Amendment (1978) removed property as a Fundamental Right; the 86th added Article 21A.

Yaad rakhein: 42nd added 39A, 43A, 48A.

Answer: (D) 42^nd Amendment

Concept: The Santhal Hool (rebellion) began on 30 June 1855 at Bhognadih (now Jharkhand).

1. It was led by brothers Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu (with Chand, Bhairav, Phulo and Jhano) against the British, zamindars and moneylenders.
2. Hul Diwas is observed every year on 30 June in its memory.

Yaad rakhein: Hul 1855 – Sidhu-Kanhu – 30 June.

Answer: (B) 1855

Concept: Warli is a tribal painting style of the Warli people of the Thane–Palghar region, Maharashtra.

1. Jivya Soma Mashe, himself a Warli artist, turned the ritual wall art into an art form on paper and canvas and took it to international exhibitions from the 1970s.
2. He received the Padma Shri (2011). Husain, Amrita Sher-Gil and Raza were modern painters, not Warli artists.

Yaad rakhein: Warli – Jivya Soma Mashe – Maharashtra.

Answer: (A) Jivya Soma Mashe

Concept: $\text{SI}=\frac{P\times R\times T}{100}$, with rate and time in the same unit (here per month).

1. $P=1200$, $R=3\%$ per month, $T=5$ months.
2. $\text{SI}=\frac{1200\times 3\times 5}{100}=12\times 15=180$

Trick: 3% per month for 5 months = 15% in total; 15% of 1200 = 180.

Answer: (D) 180

Concept: In a "buy X, get Y free" offer, $\text{Discount}\%=\frac{\text{free value}}{\text{total value received}}\times 100$.

1. Customer pays ₹6000 and receives goods worth $6000+1000=7000$.
2. Discount = ₹1000 on goods of ₹7000.
3. $\text{Discount}\%=\frac{1000}{7000}\times 100=\frac{100}{7}\approx 14.29\%$

Trick: Divide by the total goods received, not by the amount paid: $\frac{1}{7}=14.29\%$.

Answer: (D) $14.29\%$

Concept: Successive increases multiply: $\text{Final}=\text{Initial}\times (1+\frac{r_1}{100})(1+\frac{r_2}{100})$.

1. Let sales two years ago be $x$.
2. $x\times 1.04\times 1.25=1.3x$
3. $1.3x=135200\Rightarrow x=\frac{135200}{1.3}=104000$

Trick: $4\%$ and $25\%$ together $=4+25+\frac{4\times 25}{100}=30\%$, so divide by 1.3.

Answer: (B) ₹1,04,000

Concept: With a faulty weight, the trader sells the price of 1 unit but gives less goods: $1+\text{Profit}=\frac{1+\text{claimed profit}}{1-\text{weight error}}$.

1. Let CP of 1 kg = ₹100. He charges $100\times 1.68=168$ for "1 kg".
2. He actually gives only $0.88$ kg, whose CP $=88$.
3. $\text{Profit}\%=\frac{168-88}{88}\times 100=\frac{80}{88}\times 100\approx 90.9\%\approx 91\%$

Trick: $\frac{1.68}{0.88}=\frac{21}{11}=1.909$ ⇒ about $91\%$ profit.

Answer: (A) $91\%$

Concept: Use $a^3-b^3=(a-b)(a^2+ab+b^2)$ with ${\sin }^{2}A+{\cos }^{2}A=1$, and complementary angles: $\sin ({90}^{\circ }-\theta )=\cos \theta$.

1. ${\sin }^{3}A-{\cos }^{3}A=(\sin A-\cos A)(1+\sin A\cos A)$
2. So $\frac{{\sin }^{3}A-{\cos }^{3}A}{1+\sin A\cos A}=\sin A-\cos A$
3. $\sin {54}^{\circ }=\cos {36}^{\circ }$, so $2{\sin }^2{54}^{\circ }{\sec }^2{36}^{\circ }=2{\cos }^2{36}^{\circ }\times \frac{1}{{\cos }^2{36}^{\circ }}=2$
4. Total $=\sin A-\cos A+2$

Trick: Angles adding to ${90}^{\circ }$ (${54}^{\circ }+{36}^{\circ }$): $\sin$ of one $=\cos$ of the other, so ${\sin }^2{54}^{\circ }{\sec }^2{36}^{\circ }=1$.

Answer: (C) $\sin A-\cos A+2$