Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: The back-first, face-up jump over the bar is the Fosbury Flop.

1. Introduced by American Dick Fosbury, who won gold at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
2. Straddle and Western Roll cross the bar face-down/sideways; scissor jump is upright with legs crossing.

Yaad rakhein: Fosbury Flop is the standard technique of modern high jumpers; landing on the back/shoulders became possible with foam landing mats.

Answer: (D) Fosbury Flop

Concept: The Company avoided interfering in religious customs for fear of revolt.

1. Early British rulers feared that banning Sati would be seen as attacking Hinduism and spark unrest.
2. They waited for Indian reformist opinion; Raja Ram Mohan Roy's campaign gave that support.
3. Governor-General Lord William Bentinck finally banned Sati by Regulation XVII of 1829 (Bengal).

Yaad rakhein: Sati ban 1829 – Bentinck; Widow Remarriage Act 1856 – Dalhousie/Canning period, pushed by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.

Answer: (B) They were concerned about religious uprisings and preferred to rely on local opinion

Concept: 'The Inheritance of Loss' is by Kiran Desai, Booker Prize 2006.

1. Kiran Desai was then the youngest woman to win the Booker.
2. Anita Desai is her mother – shortlisted many times but never won.
3. Jhumpa Lahiri won the Pulitzer (Interpreter of Maladies).

Yaad rakhein: Indian-origin Booker winners: Salman Rushdie (1981), Arundhati Roy (1997), Kiran Desai (2006), Aravind Adiga (2008).

Answer: (B) Kiran Desai

Concept: Pranav Soorma set a new Asian record in men's club throw (F51).

1. At the first Khelo India Para Games (Delhi, December 2023) he threw 33.54 m.
2. This bettered his own earlier best of 30.01 m → Statement 1 correct.
3. The 33.54 m mark was an Asian record → Statement 2 correct.

Yaad rakhein: Club throw is a para-athletics event for athletes with high-level impairment (F51 class); India's Dharambir and Pranav Soorma are leading names.

Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2

Concept: President's Rule = failure of constitutional machinery in a State (Art. 356).

1. Art. 352 – National Emergency (war, external aggression, armed rebellion).
2. Art. 356 – President's Rule in a State.
3. Art. 360 – Financial Emergency; Art. 371 – special provisions for some States.

Trick: Emergency trio in ascending order: 352 (National) → 356 (State) → 360 (Financial).

Answer: (B) 356

Concept: Matangini Hazra was a brave freedom fighter of Bengal.

1. During the Quit India Movement (29 Sept 1942) she, aged about 73, led a march to the Tamluk police station in Midnapore.
2. She was shot dead while still holding the national flag; people called her 'Gandhi Buri'.

Yaad rakhein: Other women martyrs/leaders of 1942: Aruna Asaf Ali hoisted the flag at Gowalia Tank; Kanaklata Barua (Assam) was shot carrying the tricolour.

Answer: (C) She courageously participated in the struggle for independence

Concept: MCC = Mars Colour Camera, which took the full-disc colour images of Mars.

1. MOM (Mangalyaan, launched 2013) carried 5 payloads incl. MCC, TIS, MSM, MENCA, LAP.
2. LAM = Liquid Apogee Motor (engine), M3 = Moon Mineralogy Mapper on Chandrayaan-1, TMC = Terrain Mapping Camera (Chandrayaan).

Trick: Expand the abbreviation – only 'Mars Colour Camera' literally contains both 'Mars' and 'Colour'.

Answer: (D) MCC

Concept: Equity in landholding came from abolishing intermediaries and fixing ceilings.

1. Zamindari abolition removed rent-collecting middlemen between the state and the cultivator.
2. Land ceiling laws capped holdings; surplus land was given to landless farmers – 'land to the tiller'.

Yaad rakhein: Land reforms had three parts: abolition of intermediaries, tenancy reform, and land ceiling (plus consolidation of holdings).

Answer: (C) Ending intermediary control and enforcing land ceiling limits

Concept: LPG reforms (Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation) began in 1991.

1. A balance-of-payments crisis forced the New Economic Policy of July 1991.
2. PM P. V. Narasimha Rao and Finance Minister Dr Manmohan Singh led it: delicensing, rupee devaluation, opening to foreign investment.

Yaad rakhein: 1991 = reforms year; also the year the rupee was devalued and gold was pledged to raise foreign exchange.

Answer: (A) 1991

Concept: Under Art. 356 the President can take over a State's government; Parliament must approve it.

1. Proclamation (usually on the Governor's report) lets the President dismiss the State ministry.
2. It must be approved by both Houses within 2 months, else it lapses.
3. Once approved it lasts 6 months; extension beyond 1 year needs special conditions (44th Amendment).

Yaad rakhein: Approval time: National Emergency (352) – 1 month; President's Rule (356) – 2 months; Financial Emergency (360) – 2 months.

Answer: (B) Remove a State government, with Parliamentary approval required within two months

Concept: $V=\pi r^{2}h$, so with fixed height $V\propto r^2$.

1. New radius = 2r → new $V=\pi (2r{)}^{2}h=4\pi r^{2}h$.
2. Ratio new : old = 4 : 1.

Trick: Volume follows the square of the radius: ×2 radius → ×4 volume; ×3 radius → ×9 volume.

Answer: (C) Volume becomes four times

Concept: Take the LCM, then multiply by primes having odd powers.

1. LCM of 6, 9, 15 = $90=2^1\times 3^2\times 5^1$
2. 2 and 5 have odd powers → multiply by $2\times 5=10$
3. Least square = $90\times 10=900={30}^2$

Trick: Check options from smallest: 400 is not divisible by 9; $900÷90=10$ ✓ and 900 is a square.

Answer: (B) 900

Concept: For one year compounded yearly, CI = SI, so $R=\frac{I}{P}\times 100$.

1. Interest = ₹700 − ₹500 = ₹200
2. Rate = $\frac{200}{500}\times 100=40\%$

Trick: Amount/Principal = $\frac{700}{500}=1.4$ → growth of 0.4 = 40% in one year.

Answer: (A) 40%

Concept: $\text{SI}=\frac{P\times R\times T}{100}$.

1. Rate for 2.5 years = $11.5\times 2.5=28.75\%$
2. SI = 28.75% of ₹2,500 = $2500\times 0.2875=$ ₹718.75

Trick: Combine $R\times T$ first (total %), then take that % of P – 1% of 2500 is 25, so $28.75\times 25=718.75$.

Answer: (C) ₹718.75

Concept: Speed in m/s $\times \frac{18}{5}$ = speed in km/h.

1. Time = 8 min = 480 s
2. Speed = $600÷480=1.25$ m/s
3. $1.25\times \frac{18}{5}=4.5$ km/h

Trick: Metres per minute $\times 0.06$ = km/h: $\frac{600}{8}=75$ m/min → $75\times 0.06=4.5$.

Answer: (B) 4.5 km/h

Concept: Material volume = outer volume − inner volume; each inner side = outer side − 2 × thickness.

1. Outer: $8\times 6\times 5=240$ cm³
2. Inner sides: $8-1,6-1,5-1=7,5,4$ → $7\times 5\times 4=140$ cm³
3. Material = $240-140=100$ cm³

Trick: Thickness is on both walls, so subtract 2t (here 1 cm) from every dimension – not just t.

Answer: (A) 100 cm³

Concept: Sector area = $\frac{\theta }{{360}^{\circ }}\times \pi r^2$.

1. Full circle area = $\frac{22}{7}\times 7\times 7=154$ cm²
2. Fraction = $\frac{38.5}{154}=\frac{1}{4}$
3. $\theta ={360}^{\circ }\times \frac{1}{4}={90}^{\circ }$

Trick: $38.5\times 4=154$ – the sector is a quarter-circle, so the angle is a right angle.

Answer: (A) 90°

Concept: Difference of percentages of the same number = (difference %) of that number.

1. $30\%-15\%$ = 15% of the number = 90
2. $1\%=90÷15=6$
3. $100\%=600$

Trick: Find 1% first, then scale to 100% – avoids fractions.

Answer: (A) 600

Concept: New member's age = old average + (new count × increase).

1. Let old average = a. Teacher = $a+6\times 2=a+12$
2. $a+12=40\Rightarrow a=28$ years

Trick: Teacher gives 2 extra years to each of 6 people (12 years) beyond the old average: $40-12=28$.

Answer: (C) 28

Concept: Two discounts a% and b% equal a single discount of $(a+b-\frac{ab}{100})\%$.

1. Net discount = $20+10-\frac{20\times 10}{100}=28\%$
2. Price paid = 72% of ₹800 = ₹576

Trick: Multiply the 'pay' parts: $0.8\times 0.9=0.72$ → $800\times 0.72=576$.

Answer: (D) ₹576