Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Test the rule a @ b $=a^2+b^2$.

1. $1^2+2^2=1+4=5$ ✓.
2. $3^2+4^2=9+16=25$ ✓.
3. 4 @ 5 = $4^2+5^2=16+25=41$.

Trick: 5 and 25 are sums of two squares (3-4-5 triangle hint) – think squares when outputs look like this.

Answer: (C) 41

Concept: When only milk is added, the quantity of water stays the same.

1. Milk = $45\times \frac{3}{5}=27$ L; water = $45\times \frac{2}{5}=18$ L.
2. New ratio 4 : 1 with water 18 L → milk needed = $4\times 18=72$ L.
3. Milk to add = $72-27=45$ L.

Trick: Fix the unchanged part: water 2 units = 18 L, so 1 unit = 9 L. New ratio 4 : 1 → make water 1 part: milk must be 8 parts = 72 L; add $72-27=45$ L.

Answer: (C) 45 L

Concept: Replace each symbol with its meaning, then apply BODMAS.

1. ÷ → +, × → −, + → ÷, − → ×.
2. Expression: $10+5-12÷4\times 2$.
3. $12÷4=3$; $3\times 2=6$.
4. $10+5-6=9$.

Trick: Write the converted expression on paper first; most errors come from mixing old and new signs.

Answer: (A) 9

Concept: Break the sentence from the end and move step by step towards the speaker.

1. Woman's husband's sister = her sister-in-law (nanad).
2. That sister-in-law's husband's daughter = the sister-in-law's daughter.
3. The daughter of one's husband's sister is one's niece.

Trick: 'Sister's husband's daughter' = 'sister's daughter' – cancel the husband link to shorten the chain.

Answer: (B) Niece

Concept: Swap each sign as given and simplify using BODMAS.

1. + → ÷, − → ×, × → −, ÷ → +.
2. Expression: $20÷5\times 3-8+4$.
3. $20÷5=4$; $4\times 3=12$.
4. $12-8+4=8$.

Trick: Do ÷ and × left to right before any + or −; then finish the additions/subtractions in order.

Answer: (D) 8

Concept: Tribal festivals of Madhya Pradesh linked to the Hindu calendar.

1. Bhagoria is a festival of the Bhil and Bhilala tribes in the Jhabua–Alirajpur belt of MP.
2. Its haat-fairs begin about seven days before Holika Dahan and run up to it.
3. It also marks the end of the harvest and is famous for youth choosing life-partners.

Yaad rakhein: Bhagoria = Bhil tribe + Holi season + Jhabua (MP).

Answer: (B) Holika Dahan

Concept: Hasht-bihisht ('eight paradises') = a square plan with eight rooms around a central domed hall.

1. This nine-part square scheme is seen at Humayun's Tomb (Delhi), at Itimad-ud-Daulah (Agra) and later at Safdarjung's Tomb.
2. Akbar's Tomb at Sikandra (near Agra) instead rises in five receding terraced storeys with no main dome – a break from the pattern.

Yaad rakhein: Itimad-ud-Daulah (Agra) is called the 'Baby Taj' and is the first Mughal building fully faced with white marble and pietra dura.

Answer: (A) Akbar's Tomb (Sikandra)

Concept: Basic features of Indus Valley seals.

1. Material: mostly steatite (soapstone), a soft local stone, carved and then hardened by heating – statement 1 true.
2. Design: an animal (often the one-horned 'unicorn', bull, elephant) plus a short line of Indus script, still not deciphered – statement 2 true.

Yaad rakhein: The Pashupati seal (a seated figure surrounded by animals) was found at Mohenjo-daro.

Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2

Concept: Old music texts describe a raga by its notes and their movement.

1. Pt. Somnath wrote Raga Vibodha in 1609 CE.
2. He described a raga through its tonal form – which notes are used and how they ascend and descend. This tonal description is called Swarlakshana.
3. Rupa means form/appearance, Jati is a class of melodies and Talanga is linked to rhythm – none is the note-based essence.

Trick: 'Swar' = note; a 'tonal essence' must be a swar-based term – pick Swarlakshana.

Answer: (B) Swarlakshana

Concept: Each sport has its own field terms.

1. In javelin, the throw must land inside a marked landing 'sector' (about 29° wide); a landing outside it is a foul.
2. Pivot is used in basketball, dash in sprint races and toss in cricket.

Yaad rakhein: Neeraj Chopra won India's first Olympic athletics gold in javelin at Tokyo 2020 (87.58 m).

Answer: (C) Sector

Concept: Early rulers of Delhi and their coins.

1. The Tomaras founded and ruled Delhi (Dhillika) before the Chauhans.
2. Their billon (silver–copper) coins, named after Delhi, were called Dehliwal.
3. Later rulers, including the Chauhans and early Sultans, continued this coin type.

Yaad rakhein: Anangpal Tomar is traditionally credited with founding Delhi (Lal Kot) in the 11th century.

Answer: (A) The Tomaras dynasty

Concept: Match each educational event with what it actually did.

1. Charter Act 1813: the Company had to spend ₹1 lakh every year on education in India – correct pair.
2. Macaulay's Minute (1835) favoured English education, not indigenous learning.
3. Serampore missionaries are known for printing and vernacular schooling, not medical colleges.
4. The Orientalist–Anglicist debate ended with Bentinck's resolution of 1835, not in 1773.

Trick: 1813 = first money for education; 1835 = English medium; 1854 = Wood's Despatch ('Magna Carta' of English education).

Answer: (B) Charter Act, 1813 - Provided funding for the promotion of education in India

Concept: Match athlete, event and medal.

1. Women's 200 m T12 (visually impaired): Simran Sharma won silver.
2. Men's javelin F41 (short stature): Navdeep Singh won gold.
3. Neeraj Chopra and Aditi Ashok are Olympic (not Paralympic) athletes – options (C), (D) fall out.

Yaad rakhein: India won 29 medals (7 gold) at Paris 2024 – its best ever Paralympic tally.

Answer: (B) Simran (silver, 200m T12) and Navdeep Singh (gold, javelin F41)

Concept: India's current approach to the 1,643 km India–Myanmar border.

1. India decided to fence the whole border and end the Free Movement Regime, which drew protests in border states like Manipur and Mizoram.
2. To settle alignment and pillar issues, the two countries have taken up joint surveys and talked of a Joint Boundary Working Group.
3. Fencing was not suspended, and AFSPA/military courts or BIMSTEC mediation play no such role.

Yaad rakhein: Four Indian states border Myanmar: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.

Answer: (C) India and Myanmar initiated joint surveys and discussed forming a Joint Boundary Working Group.

Concept: Recent books and their writers.

1. 'School to Startup: Navigating the Path of Entrepreneurship' is written by Rohit Sinha.
2. It is aimed at students and young people wanting to turn ideas into ventures.
3. Bipin Chandra was a historian of the freedom struggle; Shashi Tharoor writes mainly on politics and history.

Trick: Eliminate well-known authors whose subject area clearly does not match an entrepreneurship guide.

Answer: (B) Rohit Sinha

Concept: Venue of the 4th KIO National Karate Championship.

1. The 4th edition (Senior, U-21 and Para categories) was held on 26–29 March 2025.
2. The host city was Hyderabad, Telangana.

Yaad rakhein: KIO = Karate India Organisation, the national body that conducts this championship.

Answer: (A) Hyderabad

Concept: Check each statement against the reported results.

1. Sahil Silwal won the men's javelin gold with a throw beyond 80 m, beating Kishore Jena – statement 1 correct.
2. No Asian Games record was set by a relay team in this domestic meet – statement 2 is wrong.

Trick: A national (domestic) meet cannot create an 'Asian Games' record – such records are set only at the Asian Games.

Answer: (B) 1 only

Concept: Article 58 gives the qualifications for the President.

1. Must be a citizen of India.
2. Must have completed 35 years of age.
3. Must be qualified to be a Lok Sabha member and hold no office of profit.

Trick: Age ladder: Lok Sabha MP 25, Rajya Sabha MP 30, President / Vice-President / Governor 35.

Answer: (C) 35 years

Concept: Know where each stage of cellular respiration takes place.

1. Glycolysis (glucose → pyruvate) occurs in the cytoplasm – statement 1 false.
2. Krebs cycle runs in the mitochondrial matrix – statement 2 true.
3. At the end of the electron transport chain, O₂ takes the electrons and forms water – statement 3 true.

Trick: Glycolysis is the only stage common to aerobic and anaerobic respiration, so it must be outside the mitochondria – in the cytoplasm.

Answer: (A) 2 and 3 only

Concept: Situations in which Parliament may make laws on State List subjects.

1. Article 249: if the Rajya Sabha resolves by a 2/3 majority of members present and voting that it is needed in the national interest.
2. Such a law stays in force for one year and can be extended a year at a time.
3. Art. 252 = law on request of two or more states; Art. 248 = residuary powers; Art. 254 = conflict between Union and State laws.

Trick: 249 = 'national interest' via Rajya Sabha; 250 = during national emergency; 252 = states' consent; 253 = international treaties.

Answer: (B) Article 249