Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Work ∝ workers × time.

1. 20 cats, 20 min → 20 mice, so 1 cat catches 1 mouse per 20 min.
2. In 200 min one cat catches $\frac{200}{20}=10$ mice.
3. Cats needed = $\frac{200}{10}=20$.

Trick: $\frac{M_1{T}_1}{W_1}=\frac{M_2{T}_2}{W_2}$ → $\frac{20\times 20}{20}=\frac{C\times 200}{200}$ → $C=20$.

Answer: (A) 20

Concept: Each letter is written as its alphabet position.

1. MAKER → 13-1-11-5-18: each number is simply the letter's place (A = 1 … Z = 26).
2. JOKAR → 10 for J, 15 for O, 11 for K, 1 for A, 18 for R.
3. Code = 10-15-11-1-18.

Trick: Check only the last two letters: A = 1, R = 18 — only (C) ends in '-1-18'.

Answer: (C) 10-15-11-1-18

Concept: Each letter moves 1 place forward.

1. NBSLFS → OCTMGT (every letter +1).
2. Apply +1 on OCTMGT: O→P, C→D, T→U, M→N, G→H, T→U.
3. Code = PDUNHU.

Trick: 1st and 6th letters are both T → their codes must match (U…U). Only PDUNHU qualifies.

Answer: (A) PDUNHU

Concept: Each letter moves 1 place forward.

1. IFMNFU → JGNOGV (every letter +1).
2. Apply +1 on JGNOGV: J→K, G→H, N→O, O→P, G→H, V→W.
3. Code = KHOPHW.

Trick: Last letter V → W; options (B), (D) end differently and (C) has C in 5th place → (A).

Answer: (A) KHOPHW

Concept: Find the shift for each position separately (wrap Z → A).

1. F→I = +3, D→G = +3, W→B = +5 (X, Y, Z, A, B).
2. EDY: E+3 = H, D+3 = G.
3. Y+5 = Z, A, B, C, D → D. Code = HGD.

Trick: First two letters H, G cut options to (A) and (B); Y+5 must wrap past Z, so it can't be X → HGD.

Answer: (A) HGD

Concept: Nagara temple walls are divided into vertical offsets called rathas.

1. Bhadra = the central projection on each face; it usually carries the main niche/deity.
2. Karna = the corner offset; Pratiratha/Anuratha = the offsets lying between karna and bhadra.
3. So the central projection is the Bhadra.

Yaad rakhein: Temples with 3, 5, 7 offsets are called triratha, pancharatha, saptaratha.

Answer: (A) Bhadra

Concept: Garia Puja is a harvest-and-prosperity festival of Tripura's tribal communities.

1. The deity Garia (Baba Garia) is worshipped for good crops and well-being.
2. The rites are led by the traditional priest called the Ochai.
3. Offerings such as rice beer and fowl are made under his direction.

Yaad rakhein: Tripura's tribal priest = Ochai; another Tripura festival is Kharchi Puja (14 gods).

Answer: (C) Ochai

Concept: Indo-Gothic/Gothic Revival buildings in India copied medieval European Gothic.

1. Pointed arches and ribbed vaults are seen in CST (Victoria Terminus) and Bombay High Court → A is true.
2. These very features define the medieval Gothic style of Europe → R (not part of Gothic) is false.

Yaad rakhein: Pointed arch + ribbed vault + flying buttress = the three signs of Gothic.

Answer: (D) A is true, but R is false.

Concept: Samhita = 'put together'; the core compiled text of a Veda.

1. The Rigveda Samhita is the compiled collection of hymns (suktas) — 1,028 hymns in 10 mandalas.
2. Ritual explanation is the job of the Brahmanas; philosophy is in the Aranyakas and Upanishads.
3. So Samhita = organised collection of hymns/mantras.

Trick: Order of Vedic texts: Samhita → Brahmana → Aranyaka → Upanishad (S-B-A-U).

Answer: (B) An organized collection of sacred hymns and mantras

Concept: Gupta inscriptions use specific words for taxes and dues.

1. Vaishthika comes from vishti = unpaid forced labour for the state → correct pair.
2. Bhaga = king's share of the crop (usually 1/6), not a court fee.
3. Dasaparadha = fines for ten offences, not a cattle tax; Utkhetayita is not a priest.

Yaad rakhein: Gupta taxes: Bhaga (land share), Bhoga (periodic supplies), Kara, Vishti (forced labour).

Answer: (B) Vaishthika – forced labour

Concept: The Indian Amateur Boxing Federation was founded with Bombay as its base.

1. Its first office was at 62, Majestic Hotel, Bombay → 1 correct.
2. Most founding office-bearers were from Bombay → 2 correct.
3. The first meeting was at the Governor's Pavilion, Cricket Club of India → 3 correct.

Yaad rakhein: Today Indian boxing is run by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI).

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

Concept: Akbar built on the revenue and administrative system of Sher Shah Suri (1540–45).

1. Sher Shah introduced land measurement, the silver rupiya, sarkar–pargana units and dak chowkis.
2. Akbar's revenue minister Todar Mal had earlier worked under Sher Shah and refined this system (Zabti/Dahsala).
3. Alauddin, Balban and Ibrahim Lodi were Delhi Sultans, not the base of Mughal reforms.

Yaad rakhein: Sher Shah = 'forerunner of Akbar'; also rebuilt the Grand Trunk Road (Sadak-e-Azam).

Answer: (B) Sher Shah Suri

Concept: Wood's Despatch (1854), sent by Charles Wood of the Board of Control, is hailed as the Magna Carta of English education here.

1. It proposed a graded system from village schools to universities.
2. It led to universities at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras (1857) and grants-in-aid.
3. Raleigh Commission (1902) and Indian Universities Act (1904) came later under Curzon.

Trick: Year match: 1854 → Wood; 1882 → Hunter Commission; 1904 → Universities Act.

Answer: (B) Wood's Despatch

Concept: India's youngest individual Olympic medallist is wrestler Aman Sehrawat.

1. Event: men's freestyle 57 kg wrestling — bronze.
2. Aged just 21 at the Games, he beat P.V. Sindhu's record as the youngest Indian individual medallist.
3. He was India's only wrestling medal at Paris 2024.

Yaad rakhein: India won 6 medals at Paris 2024 (1 silver – Neeraj Chopra, 5 bronze).

Answer: (B) Aman Sehrawat

Concept: NADA's Education Plan is preventive: it teaches values and spreads correct information.

1. Promoting integrity, ethics and fair play → 1 correct.
2. Giving accurate, updated anti-doping information to athletes and support staff → 3 correct.
3. Punishing athletes is not its main aim → 2 wrong.

Trick: Spot the 'odd tone': an education plan whose 'main goal is to punish' contradicts itself — eliminate 2.

Answer: (A) Only 1 and 3 are correct

Concept: 'Heart Lamp' is a short-story collection by Banu Mushtaq.

1. It was written originally in Kannada.
2. The English translation is by Deepa Bhasthi.
3. It won the International Booker Prize 2025 — the first Kannada book to do so.

Trick: Banu Mushtaq is from Karnataka → Kannada.

Answer: (B) Kannada

Concept: Nandini Chatterjee's book is a legal–social history, not literary criticism.

1. It follows a landholding family through documents across Mughal and later regimes, studying law and property → 1 correct.
2. It is not about the poetry or hobbies of emperors → 2 wrong.

Trick: The title has 'Law' — a statement about poetry and personal pursuits does not fit.

Answer: (D) Only statement 1 is correct

Concept: Khelo India Winter Games, 4th edition (2024): venues Leh in Ladakh and Gulmarg in J&K.

1. The mascot was a snow leopard named 'Sheen-e-She' (Shan).
2. The snow leopard suits the high, cold Himalayan venues.

Trick: Winter Games + Ladakh → think snow leopard, the 'ghost of the mountains'.

Answer: (C) Snow Leopard 'Sheen-e-She' (Shan)

Concept: Under Article 356, the President takes over a State's functions when its constitutional machinery fails.

1. The President may declare that the State legislature's powers will be exercised by or under Parliament.
2. Under Article 352 the State government keeps working; only Parliament gets extra power.
3. Recess of Parliament relates to ordinances (Article 123), not State law-making.

Trick: 352 = National, 356 = State, 360 = Financial emergency.

Answer: (B) When Article 356 is applied owing to the failure of constitutional machinery in the State

Concept: Apparent frequency changes only when source and observer move relative to each other.

1. Same speed, same direction → the gap between them stays constant.
2. Relative velocity = 0, so no Doppler shift.
3. Heard frequency = actual frequency.

Trick: Approaching → higher pitch; receding → lower pitch; constant gap → no change.

Answer: (B) It remains the same