Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Key literacy numbers of Census 2011.

1. Overall literacy = 74.04%.
2. Male 82.14%, female 65.46%.
3. 64.83% was the 2001 figure – a common trap.

Yaad rakhein: Highest: Kerala (~94%); lowest: Bihar (~61.8%).

Answer: (C) 74.04%

Concept: Most peninsular rivers flow east; Narmada and Tapi flow west through rift valleys.

1. Narmada rises at Amarkantak (MP), flows west between the Vindhyas and Satpuras, and enters the Arabian Sea at the Gulf of Khambhat (forming an estuary).
2. Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna – east-flowing, form deltas in the Bay of Bengal.

Trick: West-flowing = Estuary, East-flowing = Delta. Amarkantak is also the source of the Son.

Answer: (A) Narmada River

Concept: Standard books on India's freedom movement.

1. India's Struggle for Independence (1988) – Bipan Chandra, with Mridula Mukherjee, Aditya Mukherjee, K.N. Panikkar and Sucheta Mahajan.
2. Tara Chand wrote History of the Freedom Movement in India; Lala Lajpat Rai wrote Unhappy India.

Yaad rakhein: Bipan Chandra also wrote The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India.

Answer: (A) Bipan Chandra

Concept: Current affairs: India hosted the 89th General Meeting of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

1. 1 ✓ Venue Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, 15–19 September 2025.
2. 2 ✓ India was given the global secretariat for Low Voltage Direct Current (LVDC) standardisation.
3. 3 ✗ India had hosted the IEC General Meeting before (e.g. New Delhi, 2013), so it was not the first time.

Trick: 'First time' claims in current-affairs statements are frequent traps – verify history.

Answer: (C) 1 and 2 only

Concept: Taxing powers are divided by the Union and State Lists (Seventh Schedule).

1. Tax on non-agricultural income – Union List, Entry 82 ⇒ Union Government.
2. Tax on agricultural income – State List, Entry 46 ⇒ States.

Trick: Income tax: Union; agricultural income tax: State. 'Agri' goes to the States.

Answer: (B) Union

Concept: The Munda Ulgulan ('great tumult') took place in Chotanagpur.

1. Birsa Munda led the Ulgulan (1899–1900) in the Chotanagpur plateau (present-day Jharkhand) against dikus (outsiders), landlords and British rule.
2. He died in Ranchi jail in June 1900.

Yaad rakhein: His birth anniversary, 15 November, is observed as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas and is also Jharkhand's foundation day.

Answer: (A) Chotanagpur Plateau

Concept: Greenhouse gases absorb the infrared heat emitted by Earth.

1. CO₂ and CH₄ are the main greenhouse gases added by human activity.
2. N₂, O₂, Ar, Ne (most of the air) do not absorb infrared, so they don't warm the planet.

Trick: Elimination: the two most abundant gases (N₂, O₂) and noble gases are never the answer. Most abundant natural GHG = water vapour.

Answer: (B) Carbon dioxide (CO₂) and Methane (CH₄)

Concept: The Eighth Plan (1992–97) was the first plan after the 1991 LPG reforms.

1. It supported liberalisation, market-oriented reforms and a reduced role of the state.
2. Heavy industry was the focus of the Second Plan (Mahalanobis model).

Yaad rakhein: There was a Plan Holiday (1990–92) between the 7th and 8th Plans; the 8th Plan followed the Rao–Manmohan model.

Answer: (A) Economic liberalisation and market reforms

Concept: LPG = Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation (1991).

1. Disinvestment = government selling its stake in PSUs ⇒ ownership shifts to private hands ⇒ privatisation.
2. Liberalisation = removing controls/licences; globalisation = integrating with the world economy.

Trick: Ownership changes → Privatisation; rules relaxed → Liberalisation; borders opened → Globalisation.

Answer: (B) Privatisation

Concept: Part XVIII (Arts. 352–360) holds the emergency provisions.

1. Art. 356 – President's Rule when a State's constitutional machinery fails.
2. Art. 352 – National Emergency; Art. 360 – Financial Emergency; Art. 365 – effect of a State not following Union directions.

Trick: Remember 352-356-360: National → State → Financial, each 4 apart.

Answer: (B) Article 356

Concept: If a fraction of each quantity is equal, each quantity = common value ÷ its fraction.

1. Let $\frac{A}{2}=\frac{B}{4}=\frac{C}{6}=k$ (50% means half).
2. So A is 2k, B is 4k and C is 6k.
3. Dividing by 2k: ratio of A, B, C is 1 : 2 : 3.

Trick: $\frac{a}{x}=\frac{b}{y}=\frac{c}{z}$ ⇒ ratio is simply the denominators: 2 : 4 : 6.

Answer: (A) 1 : 2 : 3

Concept: Here the expression is $9\frac{1}{5}-[\frac{5}{6}÷\{\frac{5}{6}-(\frac{1}{2}\times (\frac{7}{4}-\frac{1}{4}))\}]$; open brackets from the inside.

1. $\frac{7}{4}-\frac{1}{4}=\frac{6}{4}=\frac{3}{2}$; then $\frac{1}{2}\times \frac{3}{2}=\frac{3}{4}$.
2. $\frac{5}{6}-\frac{3}{4}=\frac{10-9}{12}=\frac{1}{12}$.
3. $\frac{5}{6}÷\frac{1}{12}=\frac{5}{6}\times 12=10$.
4. $9\frac{1}{5}-10=-\frac{4}{5}$.

Trick: $9\frac{1}{5}$ is just under 10, so the answer is a small negative number below 1 – only $-\frac{4}{5}$ fits.

Answer: (A) −$\frac{4}{5}$

Concept: $x=5+\frac{1}{5+\frac{1}{6+\frac{1}{2}}}$; always simplify from the bottom up.

1. $6+\frac{1}{2}=\frac{13}{2}\Rightarrow \frac{1}{\frac{13}{2}}=\frac{2}{13}$.
2. $5+\frac{2}{13}=\frac{67}{13}\Rightarrow \frac{1}{\frac{67}{13}}=\frac{13}{67}$.
3. $x=5+\frac{13}{67}=\frac{335+13}{67}=\frac{348}{67}$.

Trick: Each step just flips the fraction below; the last denominator (67) comes from $5\times 13+2$.

Answer: (A) $\frac{348}{67}$

Concept: Total work = men × days × hours (man-hours) stays constant.

1. Whole work = $15\times 40\times 8=4800$ man-hours.
2. Done in 10 days = $15\times 10\times 8=1200$; left = 3600.
3. New daily rate = $20\text{ men}\times 6\text{ h}=120$ ⇒ days = $3600÷120=30$.

Trick: Remaining 30 days' work at old rate ($15\times 8=120$/day) and new rate is also 120/day ⇒ still 30 days.

Answer: (B) 30

Concept: For equal distances at speeds a and b, average speed = $\frac{2ab}{a+b}$.

1. $=\frac{2\times 27\times 9}{27+9}$.
2. $=\frac{486}{36}=13.5$ km/h.

Trick: Speeds 3 : 1 ⇒ write $27=3\times 9$: average $=\frac{2\times 3}{3+1}\times 9=1.5\times 9=13.5$.

Answer: (D) 13.5 km/h

Concept: $\text{km/h}\times \frac{5}{18}=\text{m/s}$; distance = speed × time.

1. $126\times \frac{5}{18}=35$ m/s.
2. Distance in 60 s = $35\times 60=2100$ m.

Trick: In 1 minute a car covers speed/60 km: $\frac{126}{60}=2.1$ km = 2100 m.

Answer: (C) 2100 m

Concept: Profit share ∝ capital × months.

1. A = $50\times 12=600$; B = $80\times 12=960$; C = $120\times 7=840$ (in ₹ thousand-months).
2. Ratio 600 : 960 : 840 = 15 : 24 : 21; total 60 parts.
3. 1 part $=\frac{1,00,000}{60}$; $C-A=6$ parts = ₹10,000.

Trick: Work only with the difference: $\frac{21-15}{60}\times 1,00,000$ = $\frac{1}{10}$ of profit = ₹10,000.

Answer: (C) ₹10,000

Concept: Triangle = $\frac{1}{2}\times$ base × height; rectangle = $l\times b$.

1. Area of triangle: $35\times 96=3360{\text{m}}^2$.
2. Area of rectangle: 2275 m² ($65\times 35$).
3. Together 5635 m²; triangle's share = $\frac{3360}{5635}\times 100\approx 59.6\%$.

Trick: Total area alone decides it: only one option shows 5,635 m².

Answer: (C) 5,635 m² and 59.62%

Concept: $\text{Area}\propto {\text{side}}^2$, so $\text{side factor}=\sqrt{\text{area factor}}$.

1. New area = $1.44\times \text{old}$.
2. Side factor = $\sqrt{1.44}=1.2$.
3. Increase = 20%.

Trick: Check with successive %: $20+20+\frac{20\times 20}{100}=44\%$ ✓.

Answer: (B) 20%

Concept: Take weights 8x, 7x, 3x and use the new ratio of any two.

1. $\frac{8x+9}{7x+9}=\frac{17}{16}$.
2. $128x+144=119x+153\Rightarrow 9x=9\Rightarrow x=1$.
3. Weights 8, 7, 3 kg → 17, 16, 12 ✓; heaviest = 8 kg.

Trick: Difference of ratio terms is unchanged by adding: $(8-7)x=(17-16)k$ and $(8-3)x=(17-12)k\Rightarrow x=k$; then $8x+9=17x\Rightarrow x=1$.

Answer: (B) 8 kg