Q&A: practice questions with answers

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

1. Compare TRICK with VSKEL letter by letter: the jumps are 2, 1, 2, 2, 1 places forward.
2. Use the same jumps on SMART, position by position.
3. S→U, M→N, A→C, R→T, T→U, giving UNCTU.

Trick: Second letter M+1 = N appears only in option (B).

Answer: (B) UNCTU

Concept: Product of 1 to 5 = 5! (5 factorial).

1. 1 × 2 × 3 × 4 × 5.
2. = 24 × 5 = 120.

Yaad rakhein: 5! = 120 is a must-remember factorial value.

Answer: (A) 120

Concept: Each letter is shifted one place forward.

1. CSJEHF → DTKFIG confirms +1.
2. BRIDGE: B→C, R→S, I→J, D→E, G→H, E→F.
3. Code = CSJEHF.

Trick: BRIDGE +1 gives back the given word CSJEHF itself – a common trap that is actually right here.

Answer: (A) CSJEHF

Concept: Each letter moves one step forward.

1. EXAMPLE → FYBNQMF confirms +1.
2. MOBILITY → N P C J M J U Z.
3. Code = NPCJMJUZ.

Trick: Last two letters T, Y → U, Z: ending 'UZ' is only in option (A).

Answer: (A) NPCJMJUZ

Concept: An anagram uses exactly the same letters, the same number of times.

1. RELATING = A, E, G, I, L, N, R, T (8 letters).
2. ALERTING, INTEGRAL, TRIANGLE – same 8 letters ✓.
3. LITERAL: 7 letters, two L's, no G/N ✗.

Trick: Count letters first – a word of different length can never be an anagram.

Answer: (D) LITERAL

Concept: Vikram's safe-landing sensor suite included a dedicated hazard-detection camera.

1. LHDAC (Lander Hazard Detection & Avoidance Camera) imaged the site during final descent.
2. Its on-board algorithm flagged boulders/craters and steered Vikram to a safe patch.
3. The other options are made-up names, not Chandrayaan-3 payloads.

Yaad rakhein: Chandrayaan-3 landed near the lunar south pole on 23 Aug 2023 – now National Space Day.

Answer: (C) Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera and Processing Algorithm

Concept: Bleaching = corals losing their symbiotic algae under heat stress.

1. Corals host zooxanthellae algae that supply colour and food.
2. When sea-surface temperature stays ~1 °C+ above normal, corals expel the algae and turn white.
3. Human-caused ocean warming is the dominant driver; salinity, sediment, nutrients are secondary stresses.

Trick: Bleaching = 'fever' of the reef → think temperature first.

Answer: (C) Anthropogenically induced sea surface temperature increases

Concept: A tap connection is useful only if the source keeps supplying safe water.

1. JJM (2019) targets 'Har Ghar Jal' – 55 litres per person per day of potable water.
2. Depleting groundwater and contamination (fluoride, arsenic) threaten source sustainability and quality.
3. Manpower, coordination, awareness issues are manageable administratively – sustainability is the core risk.

Trick: In 'most significant challenge' questions, pick the long-term structural issue over procedural ones.

Answer: (D) Ensuring the long-term sustainability of water sources and maintaining water quality

Concept: Know the parts of a Hindu temple and their names.

1. Mandapa = pillared assembly hall for devotees before the sanctum.
2. Garbhagriha = sanctum; shikhara/vimana = tower; gopuram = gateway; temple tank = pushkarini/kalyani.

Trick: Mandapa ≈ 'meeting hall' (like a wedding mandap where people gather).

Answer: (B) Pillared hall for worshippers

Concept: Rumtek is Sikkim's biggest monastery.

1. Rumtek, near Gangtok, is the main seat of the Karma Kagyu sect in exile.
2. It is famous for murals and the Cham (mask) dance festival.
3. Lingdum, Phodong, Ralang are smaller Sikkim monasteries.

Yaad rakhein: Oldest monastery of Sikkim = Dubdi; largest = Rumtek; Pemayangtse is another major one.

Answer: (C) Rumtek Monastery

Concept: International Booker honours a translated novel – author and translator share it.

1. 2021 winner: David Diop (France) for 'At Night All Blood Is Black'.
2. Translated from French by Anna Moschovakis.
3. Hernan Diaz won the Pulitzer (2023); Yoko Ogawa was only shortlisted.

Yaad rakhein: 2022 winner: Geetanjali Shree's 'Tomb of Sand' (translated by Daisy Rockwell) – first Hindi novel to win.

Answer: (A) David Diop

Concept: India's first CWG triple-jump gold came at Birmingham 2022.

1. Eldhose Paul won gold with 17.03 m; Abdulla Aboobacker took silver – an Indian 1-2.
2. Neeraj Chopra is a javelin thrower (and missed CWG 2022 with injury); Tajinderpal Toor is a shot-putter; Anas is a sprinter.

Trick: Match athlete to event first – only one name is a jumper.

Answer: (C) Eldhose Paul

Concept: Lord Wellesley's Subsidiary Alliance (1798) made Indian states dependent on the Company.

1. Ruler had to station British troops and pay for them (cash or territory).
2. A British Resident was posted at his court.
3. No wars, alliances or foreign dealings without British consent – so (A), (B), (C) are the reverse of the truth.

Yaad rakhein: First to accept: Nizam of Hyderabad (1798).

Answer: (D) They had to keep a British Resident in their court

Concept: Primary evidence (the original) is the rule; secondary evidence is the exception.

1. Secondary evidence = copies, photocopies, oral accounts of a document's contents.
2. Allowed only when the original is lost, destroyed, with the opposite party or otherwise can't be produced.
3. It is never ranked above the original, nor totally barred.

Yaad rakhein: BSA 2023 replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 from 1 July 2024.

Answer: (A) It is admissible only if the original document is lost, destroyed or otherwise unavailable

Concept: Amar Preet Singh joined the fighter stream in December 1984.

1. A.P. Singh took over as Chief of the Air Staff on 30 Sept 2024 after V.R. Chaudhari.
2. Before that he was Vice Chief of Air Staff.
3. Raha, Dhanoa and Bhadauria are earlier chiefs (all before 2021).

Yaad rakhein: Order of recent chiefs: Raha → Dhanoa → Bhadauria → V.R. Chaudhari → A.P. Singh.

Answer: (C) AP Singh

Concept: Separate archaeological evidence from later-period social practices.

1. Wheat and barley – main crops ✓; ornaments of gold, silver, copper, bronze ✓.
2. 'Pashupati' seal from Mohenjo-daro shows a horned male deity ✓.
3. No find supports Sati – it is a much later practice → (B) is incorrect.

Trick: In 'INCORRECT' Harappan questions, any claim of temples, iron, horses as common, or Sati is the usual trap.

Answer: (B) There is clear evidence for the practice of Sati

Concept: Link each region to its typical minerals.

1. Himalayan belt: copper, lead, zinc, cobalt, tungsten occur (small, hard-to-mine deposits) → 1 correct.
2. Rajasthan: marble (Makrana), granite, gypsum, sandstone → 2 correct.

Yaad rakhein: Makrana marble (Rajasthan) was used in the Taj Mahal.

Answer: (D) Both 1 and 2

Concept: Stages: high birth + high death → falling death → falling birth → both low.

1. Stage 1: high birth and high death rates cancel out, so growth is very slow, not rapid – 1 ✗.
2. Stage 3: birth rate drops sharply while death rate keeps falling → growth slows to moderate – 2 ✓.
3. The model is built only on births and deaths; migration is left out – 3 ✓.
4. Culture, religion and economy make countries deviate – 4 ✓.

Trick: Rapid growth belongs to stage 2 (death rate falls, birth rate still high), not stage 1.

Answer: (D) 2, 3 and 4 only

Concept: Agra gharana's khayal carries the stamp of dhrupad-dhamar.

1. Agra singers use dhrupad-style nom-tom alap and a powerful, open voice.
2. Kirana – slow swara-by-swara elaboration; Patiala – fast, ornate taans; Bhendibazaar – merukhand technique.

Yaad rakhein: Ustad Faiyaz Khan is the best-known Agra gharana vocalist.

Answer: (A) Agra Gharana

Concept: Shot clock, disqualification rules and dribbling skills in basketball.

1. 24-second shot clock: no shot attempt in 24 s → violation – 1 ✓.
2. Five personal fouls is not the only route to disqualification: a single disqualifying foul (or two unsportsmanlike fouls under FIBA) also sends a player off, and the NBA limit is six – 2 ✗.
3. The reverse spin dribble is an attacking move by the ball-handler to shield the ball and beat a defender; it is not a defensive interception technique – 3 ✗.

Trick: Watch for absolute words like 'only' – one exception makes the statement false.

Answer: (B) Only 1 is correct