Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Find price of one, then divide the money.

1. 1 pen = $60÷6=$ ₹10.
2. Pens for ₹180 = $180÷10=18$.

Trick: Money ×3 (60 → 180) ⇒ pens ×3: $6\times 3=18$.

Answer: (A) 18

Concept: Replace symbols, then follow BODMAS.

1. 4 * 5 # 2 @ 3 → $4+5\times 2-3$.
2. $5\times 2=10$; $4+10-3=11$.

Trick: Always do × before + and − even after substitution.

Answer: (A) 11

Concept: Product of first n natural numbers = n!

1. $7!=1\times 2\times 3\times 4\times 5\times 6\times 7$.
2. $(2\times 3\times 4)=24$; $(5\times 6\times 7)=210$; $24\times 210=5040$.

Yaad rakhein: Remember: $5!=120$, $6!=720$, $7!=5040$.

Answer: (A) 5040

Concept: Each letter moves 1 place forward.

1. X→Y, J→K, O→P, E→F, P→Q, X→Y ✓
2. WINDOW → W+1, I+1, N+1, D+1, O+1, W+1 = X J O E P X.

Trick: WINDOW coded gives XJOEPX – the same as the given word, so the option repeating the question word is correct here.

Answer: (A) XJOEPX

Concept: Find the shift at each position separately.

1. ABSENT → ZARFMS: −1, −1, −1, +1, −1, −1.
2. COVERT: C→B, O→N, V→U (back 1), E→F (forward 1), R→Q, T→S (back 1) → BNUFQS.

Trick: Only (A) and (B) start with BNUF; the 5th letter R−1 = Q picks (A).

Answer: (A) BNUFQS

Concept: The Taj Mahal followed the Mughal garden-tomb plan first seen in Delhi.

1. Humayun's Tomb (Delhi, commissioned by Hamida Banu Begum) introduced the double dome on a raised platform set in a char-bagh.
2. Shah Jahan's Taj at Agra refined this same plan in white marble.
3. Gol Gumbaz (Bijapur) and Charminar (Hyderabad) are Deccan works; Red Fort is a palace-fort, not a tomb.

Yaad rakhein: Humayun's Tomb is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1993) and is called the 'precursor of the Taj Mahal'.

Answer: (D) Humayun's Tomb

Concept: Each banned class gives a different unfair advantage.

1. Stimulants (e.g. amphetamine, high-dose caffeine type drugs) excite the nervous system → more alertness, less tiredness.
2. Anabolic agents → muscle growth; beta blockers → calm, steady hands (shooting, archery).

Trick: Match by word: 'stimulate' = wake up. Alertness + low fatigue = Stimulants.

Answer: (A) Stimulants

Concept: Dyarchy split provincial subjects between officials and Indian ministers.

1. Government of India Act 1919 (Montagu-Chelmsford): 'reserved' subjects with Governor, 'transferred' subjects with ministers.
2. 1935 Act ended dyarchy in provinces (gave provincial autonomy) and proposed it at the Centre.
3. 1909 Act brought separate electorates, not dyarchy.

Trick: 1919 = Dyarchy in Provinces; 1935 = Dyarchy at Centre + Provincial Autonomy.

Answer: (D) The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, 1919

Concept: BNSS brings technology into trials to protect witnesses.

1. Testimony can be taken by audio-video (video conferencing) so a vulnerable witness need not face the accused.
2. Identity of such witnesses can be kept hidden.
3. India has no jury trials, and witnesses are not simply exempted from court – (B), (D) wrong.

Trick: BNSS replaced the CrPC 1973 and came into force on 1 July 2024, along with BNS and BSA.

Answer: (A) Use of video conferencing and identity concealment for vulnerable witnesses

Concept: Match each council with its place and patron.

1. 1st – Rajagriha (Ajatashatru); 2nd – Vaishali (Kalashoka).
2. 3rd – Pataliputra (Ashoka); 4th – Kashmir/Kundalvana (Kanishka).
3. So only the 1st–Rajagriha pair is right.

Trick: Order of places: R-V-P-K – 'Raja Very Popular King' (Rajagriha, Vaishali, Pataliputra, Kashmir).

Answer: (D) First Buddhist Council – Rajagriha

Concept: Gangaur (worship of Gauri/Parvati) has a lamp-pot ritual.

1. Girls carry an earthen pot with many holes and a lit lamp inside it.
2. This pot is called Ghudlia; songs sung with it are Ghudlia songs.
3. Kalash/Matka are general pots; Deepdan is offering lamps – not the special name.

Yaad rakhein: Gangaur is celebrated mainly in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in the month of Chaitra.

Answer: (A) Ghudlia

Concept: Gandhara school blended Buddhist themes with Hellenistic style.

1. Buddha images show wavy/curly hair, halo, realistic body and draped robes – A true.
2. North-West India had close Indo-Greek and Roman contact – R true.
3. That contact is the very cause of these features ⇒ R explains A.

Trick: Gandhara = grey/blue schist, Greek style; Mathura = red sandstone, Indian style; Amaravati = white marble.

Answer: (A) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A

Concept: Rigveda is arranged as Mandala → Sukta → Richa.

1. 10 Mandalas, about 1,028 Suktas (hymn units), around 10,500 Richas (verses).
2. 'Hymns' is just the English meaning; the technical name asked is Sukta.

Yaad rakhein: Gayatri Mantra is in the 3rd Mandala; Purusha Sukta (four varnas) is in the 10th Mandala.

Answer: (B) Suktas

Concept: Check each rule against FIH rules.

1. Goal is valid only if the ball is played by an attacker inside the shooting circle – 1 correct.
2. Penalty corner: ball must first travel outside the circle before a shot is taken – 2 correct.
3. Penalty stroke by push/flick/scoop may be lifted to any height – 3 correct.

Yaad rakhein: Penalty stroke is taken from a spot 6.4 m in front of goal, one-on-one against the goalkeeper.

Answer: (D) 1, 2 and 3 are correct

Concept: After Shivaji, real power shifted from the Chhatrapati to the Peshwa.

1. Peshwas Balaji Vishwanath, Baji Rao I etc. were Chitpavan Brahmanas.
2. Under them the Peshwa post became hereditary and the Chhatrapati a figurehead.
3. Mughals and Khiljis were outside rulers, Deshmukhs local landholders.

Yaad rakhein: Balaji Vishwanath (appointed 1713) was the first powerful Peshwa; Baji Rao I expanded Maratha power northwards.

Answer: (A) Chitpavan Brahmanas

Concept: Check both name and year in each option.

1. Murlikant Petkar won gold in 50 m freestyle at Heidelberg 1972 – India's first Paralympic medal.
2. Jhajharia's first gold was 2004 Athens, Thangavelu's 2016 Rio, Lekhara's 2020 Tokyo – years 1975/1973/1976 are wrong.

Yaad rakhein: Petkar was an Army jawan injured in the 1965 war; he received the Padma Shri in 2018. His life inspired the film 'Chandu Champion'.

Answer: (D) Murlikant Petkar — gold, men's 50 m freestyle swimming, Heidelberg 1972

Concept: Recall the author.

1. 'Why I Am a Hindu' (2018) is by Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram.
2. Aravind Adiga wrote 'The White Tiger'; Gurcharan Das wrote 'India Unbound'.

Yaad rakhein: Other Tharoor books: 'An Era of Darkness', 'The Great Indian Novel', 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister'.

Answer: (A) Shashi Tharoor

Concept: The title itself reveals the subject.

1. Fraternity (brotherhood) is a Preamble value next to Liberty and Equality.
2. The book presents it as both a constitutional norm and a human need that binds a democratic society together.
3. Federalism, globalisation or legal history are not its theme.

Yaad rakhein: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity in the Preamble were inspired by the French Revolution.

Answer: (D) The concept of fraternity as a unifying element in democracy

Concept: ISL began in October 2014.

1. The opening match was at Salt Lake (Yuva Bharati Krirangan) Stadium, Kolkata.
2. Atlético de Kolkata defeated Mumbai City FC 3–0; ATK also won the first title.

Yaad rakhein: Football's 'Mecca' of India is Kolkata – home of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.

Answer: (D) Kolkata

Concept: SCS is an executive arrangement, not a constitutional one.

1. The Constitution has no provision for it.
2. Started in 1969 (on Gadgil formula / 5th Finance Commission advice); NDC granted it on factors like hilly terrain, sparse population, border location, backwardness.
3. Art. 275 = grants-in-aid; Art. 280 = Finance Commission – not SCS.

Yaad rakhein: First SCS states (1969): Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and Nagaland.

Answer: (A) Not mentioned in the Constitution; granted by the National Development Council