Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Medal-tally facts of the 4th Khelo India Winter Games (Leh & Gulmarg).

1. The Indian Army team topped the medal table with 10 golds – Statement 1 correct.
2. Jammu & Kashmir did not finish second with nine golds – Statement 2 wrong.

Yaad rakhein: The 2024 Winter Games were held in two parts: ice events in Leh (Ladakh) and snow events in Gulmarg (J&K).

Answer: (B) Only 1 is correct

Concept: Constitutional status of local self-government.

1. The 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 (in force 24 April 1993) made the three-tier Panchayati Raj compulsory, adding Part IX and the 11th Schedule (29 subjects).
2. 74th = urban local bodies (Part IX-A, 12th Schedule); 52nd = anti-defection; 42nd = 'mini-Constitution'.

Trick: 73 → villages (gaon), 74 → towns – 'village comes before city'.

Answer: (A) 73rd Amendment

Concept: Lens power sign: negative = concave (diverging), positive = convex (converging).

1. −2.5 D means a concave lens is prescribed.
2. A concave lens corrects myopia (short-sightedness – far objects look blurred, image forms in front of retina).
3. Hypermetropia needs a convex (+) lens.

Trick: Myopia → Minus (both start with M).

Answer: (A) Myopia, corrected with a concave lens

Concept: Today's currency is fiat money, backed by government decree, not by metal.

1. Currency notes are legal tender because the State declares them so.
2. The link between currencies and gold ended with the collapse of the Bretton Woods system (1971), so notes cannot be converted into gold.
3. RBI follows the Minimum Reserve System (since 1957), not full gold backing.

Yaad rakhein: RBI's minimum reserve: ₹200 crore, of which at least ₹115 crore in gold.

Answer: (D) Modern currencies are not directly convertible into gold

Concept: Green Revolution began in the Third Five-Year Plan (1961–66), mid-1960s.

1. High-yielding variety (HYV) seeds of wheat, fertilisers and irrigation were introduced around 1965–66.
2. It was strengthened later, but the start falls in the Third Plan.

Yaad rakhein: Father of Green Revolution: Norman Borlaug (world), M.S. Swaminathan (India).

Answer: (A) Third Five-Year Plan

Concept: Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF); rank 1 = freest press.

1. A better (higher) rank means journalists face less pressure and enjoy more freedom.
2. Heavy regulation or censorship would lower a country's rank, so (A) and (B) are opposites.

Yaad rakhein: Norway has topped the RSF Index for many consecutive years.

Answer: (C) Greater journalistic freedom

Concept: Tribal movements of Chotanagpur.

1. The Tana Bhagat movement (from 1914) was started by Jatra Bhagat among the Oraon tribe.
2. Chotanagpur, its area, is in present-day Jharkhand; members later joined Gandhi's non-cooperation, wearing khadi.

Yaad rakhein: Jharkhand tribal revolts: Santhal (Sidhu-Kanhu, 1855), Munda Ulgulan (Birsa Munda), Tana Bhagat (Oraons).

Answer: (D) Jharkhand

Concept: Cabinet Mission (1946) proposed grouping of provinces.

1. The Plan placed Assam with Bengal in Group C, where Assam could be outvoted into the Muslim-majority bloc.
2. Bordoloi, as Assam's Premier, strongly opposed this grouping (with Gandhi's support), keeping Assam in India.
3. Assam Accord was 1985, long after him.

Yaad rakhein: Bordoloi was the first Chief Minister of Assam and received the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1999.

Answer: (B) Opposing the grouping of Assam with Bengal

Concept: Green Revolution started during the Third Five-Year Plan (1961–66).

1. HYV wheat seeds were introduced in 1965–66, the final years of the Third Plan.
2. Its gains were most visible in Punjab, Haryana and western UP, and continued in later plans.

Yaad rakhein: Third Plan was followed by three Annual Plans (1966–69), the 'plan holiday', before the Fourth Plan.

Answer: (D) Third Five-Year Plan

Concept: Subsidy cut on an input hurts the sector that uses the input.

1. Fertilizer is a farm input; reducing its subsidy raised the cost of cultivation for farmers.
2. This, along with low public investment in agriculture after 1991, hurt the agricultural sector.

Trick: Ask 'who buys fertilizer?' – farmers. So the answer is agriculture.

Answer: (B) Agricultural sector

Concept: Amount $A=P{(1+\frac{R}{100})}^n$.

1. $A=6000\times {\left(\frac{21}{20}\right)}^3=6000\times \frac{9261}{8000}$.
2. $=0.75\times 9261=$ ₹6,945.75.

Trick: 5% for 3 years ⇒ effective rate 15.7625%: $6000\times 0.157625=945.75\to 6000+945.75$. Paise must end in .75 (6000 × ...625).

Answer: (A) ₹6,945.75

Concept: Know which number sets include 0 and negatives.

1. Natural numbers = 1, 2, 3, … – all positive, no zero.
2. Integers, rationals and reals all contain 0 and negative numbers.
3. Whole numbers = 0, 1, 2, … (include zero).

Yaad rakhein: N ⊂ W ⊂ Z ⊂ Q ⊂ R – only N has no zero.

Answer: (D) Natural Numbers

Concept: Same distance d: $\frac{d}{s_1}-\frac{d}{s_2}$ = time difference.

1. $\frac{d}{15}-\frac{d}{18}=\frac{1}{2}$ hour.
2. $d\times \frac{18-15}{15\times 18}=\frac{1}{2}\Rightarrow d\times \frac{3}{270}=\frac{1}{2}$.
3. $d=\frac{270}{6}=45$ km.

Trick: $d=\frac{s_1\times s_2\times t}{s_2-s_1}=\frac{15\times 18\times \frac{1}{2}}{3}=45$ km.

Answer: (B) 45 km

Concept: Surface area $\propto r^2$, volume $\propto r^3$.

1. New area = $1.2656\times$ old $=(1.125{)}^2\times$ old ⇒ radius rises 12.5% (r becomes $\frac{9}{8}r$).
2. New volume = ${\left(\frac{9}{8}\right)}^3=\frac{729}{512}\approx 1.4238\times$ old.
3. Increase ≈ 42.4%.

Trick: Spot $1.2656={1.125}^2$ (since $\frac{9}{8}$ squared $=\frac{81}{64}$). Then 12.5% thrice successively: $26.56+12.5+\frac{26.56\times 12.5}{100}\approx 42.4\%$.

Answer: (D) 42.4%

Concept: Tiles needed = wall area ÷ tile area, then add the extra %.

1. Wall = 560 cm × 240 cm; tile = 70 cm × 60 cm.
2. Tiles = $\frac{560}{70}\times \frac{240}{60}=8\times 4=32$.
3. Extra 12%: $32\times 1.12=35.84$ → buy 36 tiles.

Trick: Divide side by side ($8\times 4$) instead of computing areas; always round tile count UP.

Answer: (A) 36

Concept: Profit share ∝ capital × time (add both periods).

1. A: (5 for 8 months = 40) + (doubled to 10 for 4 months = 40) = 80.
2. B: 24 + (tripled to 9 for 4 months = 36) = 60; C: 4 for 12 months = 48.
3. Ratio 80 : 60 : 48 = 20 : 15 : 12 (sum 47).
4. B = $2,35,000\times \frac{15}{47}=5,000\times 15=$ ₹75,000.

Trick: Profit $2,35,000÷47=5,000$ exactly – a clean division confirms the ratio.

Answer: (A) ₹75,000

Concept: Multiply the factors of each year's change.

1. Factors: $+30\%=\frac{13}{10}$, $-25\%=\frac{3}{4}$, $+20\%=\frac{6}{5}$.
2. $100\times \frac{13}{10}\times \frac{3}{4}\times \frac{6}{5}=117$.
3. Net = 17% gain.

Trick: Pair −25% and +20% first: $\frac{3}{4}\times \frac{6}{5}=\frac{9}{10}$ (−10%); then $130\times 0.9=117$.

Answer: (D) 17% gain

Concept: Equal areas: side² = length × breadth.

1. Square area = ${22}^2=484{\text{cm}}^2$.
2. Breadth = $484÷44=11$ cm.

Trick: Length $44=2\times$ side, so breadth = side/2 = 11 – no multiplication needed.

Answer: (D) 11 cm

Concept: Paint area = rectangle area − window (triangle) area.

1. Rectangle = $20\times 8=160{\text{m}}^2$.
2. Triangle = $\frac{1}{2}\times 15\times 8=60{\text{m}}^2$.
3. Paint area = 100 m²; cost = $100\times 111=$ ₹11,100.

Trick: Rate 111 × a round area 100 – answer must be a multiple of 111 → only ₹11,100 fits.

Answer: (B) ₹11,100

Concept: Regular hexagon = 6 equilateral triangles: area = $\frac{3\sqrt{3}}{2}{a}^2$.

1. Area = $\frac{3\sqrt{3}}{2}\times {20}^2=600\sqrt{3}\approx 600\times 1.732=1039.2{\text{cm}}^2$.
2. Visible = 90% of 1039.2 = 935.28 cm².

Trick: Only (C) and (D) are near 935 (90% of ~1040); $0.9\times 1039.2=935.28$ picks (D).

Answer: (D) 935.28 cm²