Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: $\text{Boat speed}=\frac{\text{downstream speed}+\text{upstream speed}}{2}$.

1. Upstream = $\frac{60}{2}=30$ km/h
2. Downstream = $\frac{60}{1}=60$ km/h
3. Boat speed = $\frac{60+30}{2}=45$ km/h

Trick: Still-water speed is the average of the two speeds; stream speed is half their difference (15 km/h).

Answer: (C) 45 km/h

Concept: Relations through one's wife are in-law relations; their children are nephews/nieces.

1. Ram's wife's brother = Ram's brother-in-law.
2. The son of a brother-in-law is one generation below Ram → nephew.

Yaad rakhein: Wife's brother = brother-in-law (saala); his son = nephew; his daughter = niece.

Answer: (B) Nephew

Concept: Replace symbols first, then solve using BODMAS.

1. $18+9\times 3-6\to 18÷9-3+6$
2. Division first: $18÷9=2$
3. $2-3+6=5$

Trick: Rewrite the whole expression on paper before calculating — most errors come from mixing old and new signs.

Answer: (A) 5

Concept: Follow the order stated: add first, then multiply.

1. $27+15=42$
2. $42\times 8=336$

Trick: Unit digit check: $2\times 8=16$ → result ends in 6; only 336 does.

Answer: (D) 336

Concept: Split alternate terms into two series and test each rule.

1. Odd positions: 4, 14, 34, 74 → each = previous × 2 + 6 ✓.
2. Even positions: 5, ?, 32, 68 → $32\times 2+4=68$, so rule is ×2 + 4.
3. $5\times 2+4=14$, and $14\times 2+4=32$ ✓. So 12 should be 14.

Trick: Apply the rule backwards from the end: $\frac{68-4}{2}=32$, $\frac{32-4}{2}=14\ne 12$.

Answer: (C) 12

Concept: Ashokan pillar capitals carry animal figures; know which four appear.

1. Animals seen on Mauryan capitals: lion (Sarnath, Lauriya Nandangarh), bull (Rampurva), elephant (Sankisa) and horse (on the Sarnath abacus).
2. No Mauryan capital shows an eagle.

Yaad rakhein: Sarnath abacus shows four animals – elephant, horse, bull, lion – separated by wheels; the lion capital is India's national emblem.

Answer: (C) Eagle

Concept: Losar is the Tibetan-Buddhist New Year celebrated in Ladakh with special decorations.

1. Homes and kitchens are decorated with dough (tsampa) figures of the ibex, the wild mountain goat of Ladakh.
2. The ibex is seen as a sign of prosperity; sun and moon motifs are added for good luck.

Yaad rakhein: Ladakhi Losar falls around December–January, earlier than Tibetan Losar.

Answer: (B) Ibex

Concept: Bimbisara of Magadha (Haryanka dynasty) used marriages as a diplomatic tool.

1. He married Kosala Devi, sister of King Prasenajit of Kosala.
2. This ended hostility with powerful Kosala and secured a friendly neighbour; Kashi came as dowry.
3. So the main political result was peace with Kosala, not southern expansion.

Yaad rakhein: Bimbisara's other alliances: Chellana (Lichchhavi princess) and Khema (Madra princess).

Answer: (D) Strengthening peace with Kosala

Concept: Svarajati is a Carnatic composition with svara passages and sahitya (lyrics).

1. It is basically a vocal piece, taught to students before the varnam.
2. Its strong rhythmic structure made it suitable for dance, so it was adapted into Bharatanatyam repertoire.
3. Not purely instrumental, not a ritual hymn, not light music.

Yaad rakhein: Shyama Shastri's svarajatis are famous among the Carnatic Trinity's works.

Answer: (C) A vocal composition later adapted for dance

Concept: The Dronacharya Award (instituted 1985) honours outstanding sports coaches.

1. It carries a bronze statuette of Guru Dronacharya, a certificate and cash prize → Statement 1 correct.
2. First awardees (1985) included O.M. Nambiar (athletics coach of P.T. Usha) → Statement 2 correct.

Yaad rakhein: Other 1985 awardees: Bhalchandra Bhaskar Bhagwat (wrestling) and Om Prakash Bhardwaj (boxing).

Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2 are correct

Concept: Hindu Beg was a senior Mughal noble under Babur and Humayun.

1. He was given charge of territories as a provincial governor on behalf of the emperor.
2. He was not a Rajput, nor known as a religious mentor or chief advisor.

Yaad rakhein: Mughal provincial governors were later formally called subedars (under Akbar's suba system).

Answer: (D) Provincial governor

Concept: The 1919 Act (Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms) brought bicameralism at the Centre and diarchy in provinces.

1. It created a bicameral central legislature for the first time: Council of State + Legislative Assembly → (B) correct.
2. (A) wrong: transferred subjects gave provinces more, not less, autonomy.
3. (D) wrong: defence and foreign affairs remained central subjects; (C) wrong: the PSC (1926) handled recruitment.

Yaad rakhein: Diarchy in provinces was ended by the GoI Act 1935, which introduced it at the Centre instead.

Answer: (B) Introduction of a bicameral legislature - Established two houses at the central level for the first time

Concept: Know the IJF rules on contest area and order of calling players.

1. IJF rules: minimum 8 m × 8 m fighting area, bordered by a minimum 3 m safety strip → Statement 1 is right.
2. Order of announcement: white-judogi player comes first, blue-judogi player second → Statement 2 is wrong.

Yaad rakhein: White judogi = first-called player; blue judogi = second-called player.

Answer: (B) Only 2 is incorrect

Concept: Match India's bilateral army exercises with partner countries.

1. Maitree = India–Thailand army exercise (counter-terrorism focus).
2. Nepal → Surya Kiran; Sri Lanka → Mitra Shakti; Myanmar → IMBEX.

Trick: "Maitree" (friendship) – think "Thai friend" to recall Thailand.

Answer: (C) Thailand

Concept: "The Argumentative Indian" (2005) is a collection of essays on India's tradition of public reasoning.

1. Its author is Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen (Nobel 1998, Bharat Ratna 1999).
2. Sunil Khilnani wrote "The Idea of India"; Gurcharan Das wrote "India Unbound"; Pavan K. Varma wrote "The Great Indian Middle Class".

Yaad rakhein: Other Sen books: "Development as Freedom", "The Idea of Justice", "Identity and Violence".

Answer: (C) Amartya Sen

Concept: Dripping calcium-carbonate water builds features from both roof and floor of caves.

1. Stalactite hangs down from the roof; stalagmite grows up from the floor.
2. When they meet and join, a pillar (column) forms → (A) correctly matched.
3. (B) and (C) swap the definitions; (D) is not how stalagmites form.

Trick: stalaCtite = Ceiling (hangs down); stalaGmite = Ground (rises up).

Answer: (A) Pillar - Created when a stalactite and stalagmite join together

Concept: XPoSat (launched 1 January 2024) is ISRO's first X-ray polarimetry satellite.

1. POLIX: measures X-ray polarisation in the 8–30 keV band from bright sources like black holes and neutron stars → (C) correct.
2. XSPECT: does spectroscopy and timing (about 0.8–15 keV), not polarisation → (A), (B), (D) wrong.

Yaad rakhein: XPoSat is India's first (and world's second, after NASA's IXPE) dedicated X-ray polarimetry mission.

Answer: (C) POLIX measures X-ray polarization in the 8–30 keV range to study celestial sources like black holes.

Concept: Age-specific rates calculate births or deaths for each age group separately.

1. Fertility and mortality vary greatly with age; a single crude rate hides this.
2. Age-specific rates reveal this age-wise variation and allow fair comparison between populations.

Yaad rakhein: Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is obtained by adding age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs).

Answer: (D) They reflect age-wise variation in fertility or mortality

Concept: Ministers are appointed under Article 75 and hold office at the pleasure of the President.

1. Amit Shah kept Home Affairs and Cooperation after the 2024 elections → 1 correct.
2. No minister has a fixed constitutional tenure → 2 wrong.
3. The President appoints ministers on the PM's advice (Art. 75(1)) → 3 correct.

Yaad rakhein: Ministry of Cooperation was created in July 2021; Amit Shah is its first minister.

Answer: (C) 1 and 3 only

Concept: The 38th National Games were held in Uttarakhand (Jan–Feb 2025).

1. Yogasana and Mallakhamb, earlier shown as demonstration sports, were contested as medal events.
2. Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, rowing, archery and shooting were already regular medal sports.

Yaad rakhein: Mallakhamb is a traditional Indian sport of gymnastics on a wooden pole or rope; Madhya Pradesh declared it its state sport.

Answer: (D) Yogasana and Mallakhamb