Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Find one rule that fits both examples.

1. 3 & 3 = $27=3^2\times 3$; 4 & 4 = $48=4^2\times 3$.
2. 5 & 5 = $5^2\times 3=25\times 3=75$.

Trick: a & a = $3a^2$ → the answer must be a multiple of 3 and 25 – only 75.

Answer: (D) 75

Concept: Each term = previous × 2 − 1.

1. 3→5→9→17→33→65 (each = 2×previous − 1).
2. Next = $65\times 2-1=129$.

Trick: Terms are $2^n+1$: 2+1, 4+1, 8+1 … 64+1 → next $128+1=129$.

Answer: (B) 129

Concept: If CP of x items = SP of y items, profit% = $\frac{x-y}{y}\times 100$.

1. Let CP of 1 article = ₹1 → CP of 25 = ₹25 = SP of 20.
2. SP of 1 = $\frac{25}{20}=$ ₹1.25 → profit ₹0.25 per article.
3. Profit% = $\frac{0.25}{1}\times 100=25\%$.

Trick: $\frac{25-20}{20}\times 100=\frac{5}{20}\times 100=25\%$ – divide by the SP count (smaller number).

Answer: (A) 25%

Concept: Find the shift for each position and repeat it on the new word.

1. H→I +1, B→C +1, S→T +1, F→H +2, O→Y +10, O→P +1.
2. Apply the same shifts to ICTHYP: J, D, U, J …
3. 5th letter: Y + 10 = 35 − 26 = 9th letter = I; 6th: Q → JDUJIQ.

Trick: Check just the 4th and 6th letters: H+2 = J and P+1 = Q – only (A) has J at 4th and Q at 6th.

Answer: (A) JDUJIQ

Concept: Write the order from the statements and test each option.

1. Rajesh > Anil > Suresh (70).
2. Anil must be above 70 and Rajesh above Anil.
3. (B) 75 and 80 → 80 > 75 > 70 ✓; others break the order.

Trick: Reject any option where Anil ≤ 70 (A, C) or Rajesh is below Anil (D).

Answer: (B) Anil's marks are 75, Rajesh's marks are 80.

Concept: Sulh-i-Kul = 'absolute peace' – Akbar's policy of tolerance towards all faiths.

1. It treated subjects of every religion equally in matters of state.
2. Steps in this spirit: abolition of jizya (1564) and the Ibadat Khana debates at Fatehpur Sikri (1575).
3. Conquest, exclusiveness and strict Sharia are the opposite of this idea.

Yaad rakhein: Abul Fazl, author of Akbarnama and Ain-i-Akbari, was the chief spokesman of Sulh-i-Kul.

Answer: (B) Universal peace and tolerance

Concept: Compare approximate land areas of the four island countries.

1. Maldives ≈ 298 km² – smallest; also Asia's smallest country.
2. Seychelles ≈ 459 km², Mauritius ≈ 2,040 km².
3. Sri Lanka ≈ 65,600 km² – largest of the four.

Yaad rakhein: Maldives is the world's lowest-lying country (average height ~1.5 m above sea level); capital Malé.

Answer: (A) Maldives

Concept: AMRUT targets basic urban services – water, sewerage, drainage, transport, green spaces.

1. Launched June 2015 for 500 cities; AMRUT 2.0 (2021) aims at water-secure cities.
2. Smart Cities – area-based model projects; SBM-U – sanitation and waste; PMAY-U – housing.

Trick: Key word 'water supply + sewerage' → AMRUT; 'toilets/garbage' → SBM; 'houses' → PMAY.

Answer: (C) Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

Concept: The defining feature of a Nagara temple is the curvilinear tower called the shikhara.

1. The shikhara rises above the garbhagriha and is topped by an amalaka and kalasha.
2. Vimana (pyramidal tower) and gopuram (gateway tower) are Dravida features of the south.

Trick: North = Nagara (shikhara), South = Dravida (vimana + gopuram), Deccan mix = Vesara.

Answer: (A) Shikhara

Concept: BNSS, 2023 (replacing CrPC) allows information about certain offences to be given electronically.

1. Section 173 BNSS: e-FIR is permitted; it must be signed by the informant within 3 days.
2. Zero FIR – can be lodged at any police station, regardless of area.
3. FIRs are not abolished, nor need court approval or district HQ.

Yaad rakhein: BNSS, BNS and BSA came into force on 1 July 2024, replacing CrPC, IPC and the Evidence Act.

Answer: (C) E-FIRs are permitted for certain offences

Concept: The consecration of the Ram Lalla idol was held on 22 January 2024 at Ayodhya.

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the main rituals as chief yajman.
2. The idol of Ram Lalla was carved by Mysuru sculptor Arun Yogiraj.

Yaad rakhein: The temple is designed in the Nagara style by the Sompura family of architects.

Answer: (C) Narendra Modi

Concept: Kaleshwaram is a lift irrigation project on the Godavari in Telangana.

1. 1 ✓ – opened in June 2019 in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district, Telangana.
2. 2 ✓ – called the world's largest multi-stage lift irrigation project.
3. 3 ✗ – river is Godavari, not Krishna.

Trick: Once statement 3 is false, only option (A) remains without it.

Answer: (A) 1 and 2 only

Concept: BWhw = hot desert (BW), hot (h), with dry winter (w).

1. B = dry climate, W = desert (very low rainfall), h = hot.
2. In India this occurs in western Rajasthan – the Thar desert.

Yaad rakhein: BShw (semi-arid steppe) covers parts of Gujarat, Haryana and the rain-shadow Deccan.

Answer: (C) Rajasthan

Concept: Mopin is the Galo tribe's agricultural festival, marked by the Popir dance.

1. Celebrated in early April for prosperity and a good harvest.
2. Popir dance is performed by young women in white attire; rice paste is applied on faces.

Yaad rakhein: Do not confuse: Ponung dance – Adi tribe (Solung festival); Bihu – Assam.

Answer: (C) Popir

Concept: Kalibangan (Rajasthan, on the Ghaggar) gave evidence of a ploughed field.

1. Furrows run in a criss-cross grid – showing two crops sown together in one field.
2. Kalibangan also has fire altars; 'Kalibangan' means black bangles.

Trick: Lothal – dockyard; Dholavira – water reservoirs; Kalibangan – ploughed field.

Answer: (B) Criss-cross plough marks on fields

Concept: While serving, the server's feet must stay inside the service court without touching its lines.

1. Stepping on the boundary line during service = fault.
2. A shuttle touching the net but landing in the correct box is a valid serve (no 'let').
3. Landing in the opponent's court or a clean return is normal play.

Yaad rakhein: The service must be hit below 1.15 m from the court surface (BWF rule since 2018).

Answer: (D) The server steps on the boundary line while serving

Concept: After 1857, the Act ended Company rule and the 'double government' of Pitt's India Act.

1. Board of Control and Court of Directors were abolished.
2. New posts: Secretary of State for India with a 15-member Council of India.
3. Governor-General became Viceroy – Lord Canning first.

Trick: Option (A) lists the bodies created by this Act – the exact opposite of what was abolished.

Answer: (D) Board of Control and Court of Directors

Concept: Compare India's 2012 tally with 2008 and check the women medallists.

1. 2012: 6 medals (2 silver, 4 bronze); 2008: 3 medals → exactly double ✓.
2. Saina Nehwal (badminton) and Mary Kom (boxing) won bronze – first time two Indian women medalled at one Games ✓.

Yaad rakhein: Silver medallists at London 2012: Sushil Kumar (wrestling) and Vijay Kumar (shooting).

Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2 are correct

Concept: Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das was a nationalist leader; his book argues for Indian self-government.

1. 'India for Indians' (1918) is a collection advocating Swaraj during the freedom struggle.
2. He co-founded the Swaraj Party with Motilal Nehru in 1923.

Yaad rakhein: C.R. Das defended Aurobindo Ghosh in the Alipore Bomb Case; Subhas Chandra Bose called him his political guru.

Answer: (B) Advocacy for Indian self-rule during the freedom struggle

Concept: The first women's edition of the revived Hockey India League was held in January 2025.

1. 1 ✓ – matches in Ranchi and Rourkela, 12–26 January 2025.
2. 2 ✓ – Odisha Warriors won the title, defeating JSW Soorma in the summit clash.

Yaad rakhein: The men's title of HIL 2024-25 went to Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers.

Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2