Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Khums means 'one-fifth'.

1. Khums = 1/5 share of war booty (and of mines/treasure) for the state.
2. Kharaj = land tax; Zakat = religious tax on Muslims; Jizya = tax on non-Muslims.

Trick: Khums ≈ 'Khams = five' in Arabic → one-fifth of loot.

Answer: (C) One-fifth of war booty and hidden wealth

Concept: Venue of the 47th Inter-State–Inter-Zonal & Junior National Badminton Championships 2024.

1. The championships were hosted in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
2. Odisha has become a frequent host of national sporting events.

Yaad rakhein: Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium also hosted the Hockey World Cup (2018, 2023 with Rourkela).

Answer: (B) Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Concept: An alpha particle = 2 protons + 2 neutrons = helium-4 nucleus.

1. The nucleus emits ⁴₂He.
2. Mass number falls by 4, atomic number by 2.

Trick: α = He nucleus, β = electron, γ = photon (no charge, no mass).

Answer: (D) Helium

Concept: Jhumar is a tribal harvest dance of Jharkhand.

1. Performed in Jharkhand (and nearby Odisha/West Bengal) to mandar and dhol beats, mainly after harvest.
2. Punjab has a different 'Jhoomar' of Pakistan's Sandal Bar origin, but the tribal Jhumar is linked to Jharkhand.

Yaad rakhein: Jharkhand dances: Jhumar, Chhau (Seraikela), Paika, Karma.

Answer: (B) Jharkhand

Concept: Logistics Performance Index is a World Bank report.

1. LPI scores customs, infrastructure, shipments, logistics competence, tracking and timeliness.
2. India ranked 38th of 139 in LPI 2023.

Yaad rakhein: World Bank also publishes the (now discontinued) Ease of Doing Business; UNDP does HDI.

Answer: (D) World Bank

Concept: Capital receipt = creates a liability or reduces an asset; else revenue receipt.

1. Income tax and PSU dividends: no liability, no asset loss → revenue receipts ✓.
2. Disinvestment sells government shares → asset reduces → capital receipt ✓.
3. Both statements correct.

Trick: Ask two questions: 'Does it create debt?' or 'Does it sell an asset?' – either yes → capital.

Answer: (C) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 are correct

Concept: Rampa Rebellion (1922–24) was in the Godavari Agency hills.

1. Area: Rampa region, East/West Godavari hills – present-day Andhra Pradesh.
2. Tribals rose against the Madras Forest Act restrictions under Alluri Sitarama Raju.
3. Raju was killed by the British in 1924.

Yaad rakhein: A 30-ft statue of Alluri was unveiled at Bhimavaram (AP) in 2022 for his 125th birth anniversary.

Answer: (B) Andhra Pradesh

Concept: Sixth Plan (1980–85) focused on removing poverty and technological modernisation.

1. Its slogan was 'Garibi Hatao' with programmes like IRDP, NREP, TRYSEM.
2. It also began a cautious opening of the economy.

Yaad rakhein: Plan–focus pairs: 1st agriculture, 2nd heavy industry (Mahalanobis), 5th 'Garibi Hatao' + self-reliance, 6th poverty removal.

Answer: (B) Poverty reduction and modernisation

Concept: Kol uprising (1831–32), Chhotanagpur, led by Budhu Bhagat.

1. Kols revolted against land transfer to outsiders (dikus), moneylenders and British rule.
2. Leaders: Budhu Bhagat, Joa Bhagat, Madara Mahato.
3. Birsa Munda – Ulgulan (1899–1900); Tilka Manjhi – 1780s; Surendra Sai – Sambalpur.

Trick: Match revolt to era: Tilka Manjhi (1780s) → Kol (1831) → Santhal (1855) → Munda (1899).

Answer: (B) Budhu Bhagat

Concept: Check if A is true, R is true, and whether R answers 'why A?'.

1. A: India is a top IT/BPO outsourcing hub after globalisation ✓.
2. R: cheap yet skilled, English-speaking workforce ✓.
3. Why do firms outsource to India? Because of R → R explains A.

Trick: Put 'because' between A and R: if the sentence makes sense, choose (A).

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

Concept: Expression is $\sqrt{8\times 447÷24+75-28}$; solve inside the root by BODMAS.

1. $8\times 447÷24=447÷3=149$.
2. $149+75-28=196$.
3. $\sqrt{196}=14$.

Trick: Cancel first: $\frac{8}{24}=\frac{1}{3}$, and $447÷3=149$ – no big multiplication needed.

Answer: (B) 14

Concept: With the same principal, $\text{SI}\propto R\times T$.

1. Old $R\times T=5\times 2=10$ → SI ₹500.
2. New $R\times T=6\times 5=30$.
3. New SI = $500\times \frac{30}{10}=$ ₹1,500.

Trick: No need to find P: just scale ₹500 by $\frac{30}{10}=3$.

Answer: (B) ₹1,500

Concept: Same distance d each way: total time = $\frac{d}{50}+\frac{d}{8}$.

1. Total time = 5 h 48 min = 5.8 h = $\frac{29}{5}$ h.
2. $d(\frac{1}{50}+\frac{1}{8})=d\times \frac{58}{400}=\frac{29}{5}$.
3. $d=\frac{29}{5}\times \frac{400}{58}=40$ km.

Trick: Option check: $\frac{40}{50}+\frac{40}{8}=0.8+5=5.8$ h ✓.

Answer: (C) 40 km

Concept: $\tan \theta$ = $\frac{\text{height}}{\text{base}}$; the two bases add up to 400 m.

1. At ${45}^{\circ }$: base = h.
2. At ${30}^{\circ }$: base = $\frac{h}{\tan {30}^{\circ }}=h\sqrt{3}$.
3. $h+h\sqrt{3}=400\Rightarrow h=\frac{400}{\sqrt{3}+1}$.
4. Rationalise: $h=\frac{400(\sqrt{3}-1)}{2}=200(\sqrt{3}-1)$ m.

Trick: $h\approx \frac{400}{2.732}\approx 146$ m; $200\times 0.732=146$ ✓ – only (B) gives this.

Answer: (B) 200($\sqrt{3}$ − 1) m

Concept: Volume = $l\times b\times h$, with $l=2h$.

1. $2h\times 7\times h=1400\Rightarrow 14h^2=1400$.
2. $h^2=100\Rightarrow h=10$ cm, $l=20$ cm.
3. Dimensions: $20\times 7\times 10$ cm.

Trick: Only (C) and (D) have $l=2h$; $20\times 7\times 10=1400$ ✓.

Answer: (C) 20 cm × 7 cm × 10 cm

Concept: Profit share ∝ capital × months.

1. A: $4000\times 12=48,000$; B: $8000\times 7=56,000$.
2. Ratio 48 : 56 = 6 : 7 (13 parts).
3. B = $\frac{7}{13}\times 5800\approx$ ₹3,123.07.

Trick: B gets a little more than half ($\frac{7}{13}\approx 54\%$): $0.54\times 5800\approx 3,123$.

Answer: (C) ₹3,123.07

Concept: Exterior angle sum = ${360}^{\circ }$; interior sum = $(n-2)\times {180}^{\circ }$; diagonals = $\frac{n(n-3)}{2}$.

1. Interior sum = $5\times 360={1800}^{\circ }$.
2. $(n-2)\times 180=1800\Rightarrow n=12$.
3. Diagonals = $\frac{12\times 9}{2}=54$.

Trick: Interior = k × exterior ⇒ $n=2k+2=12$ directly.

Answer: (C) 54

Concept: Net effect of +20% then −10% gives the profit %.

1. Net = $20-10-\frac{20\times 10}{100}=+8\%$.
2. 8% of CP = ₹72.
3. CP = $\frac{72\times 100}{8}=$ ₹900.

Trick: Successive % formula $a+b+\frac{ab}{100}$ gives 8% in one line.

Answer: (B) ₹900

Concept: An outside path of width w adds 2w to each side.

1. Side = $\sqrt{576}=24$ m.
2. New side = $24+2\times 1=26$ m.
3. Total area = ${26}^2=676$ m².

Trick: Common mistake: adding only 1 m (${25}^2=625$) – the path is on both ends.

Answer: (B) 676 m²

Concept: Blue marbles don't change – use them as the anchor.

1. Red = 4x, blue = 5x, green = 6x.
2. Blue is 5 parts in both ratios → new red = 2x.
3. 4x − 6 = 2x → x = 3.
4. Original red = 12 (check green: 18 + 3 = 21 = 7x ✓).

Trick: Unchanged quantity has the same share (5) in both ratios, so parts compare directly.

Answer: (A) 12