Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is a statutory body under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005.

1. Although the Act was passed in 2005, the Commission was actually set up in March 2007.
2. It works under the Ministry of Women and Child Development and protects children up to 18 years of age.
3. So 2005 is the year of the Act – a tempting trap – while the establishment year is 2007.

Yaad rakhein: Act 2005, Commission 2007 – 'two years to start'.

Answer: (B) 2007

Concept: The National Waterways Act, 2016 declared 111 national waterways (5 existing + 106 new).

1. NW-96 is the Subarnarekha river.
2. The Subarnarekha flows through Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha before entering the Bay of Bengal near Talsari (Odisha).
3. Among the options, only Odisha lies on its course; Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh do not.

Yaad rakhein: NW-96 = Subarnarekha ('golden line') → Jharkhand–West Bengal–Odisha.

Answer: (C) Odisha

Concept: Sudha Chandran is an Indian actress and a trained Bharatanatyam dancer.

1. She lost her right leg in a road accident in 1981 and returned to the stage with a 'Jaipur foot' prosthesis.
2. Her story was told in the Telugu film Mayuri (1985), in which she played herself (Hindi remake Naache Mayuri).
3. Kathakali, Kuchipudi and Sattriya are not her dance forms.

Yaad rakhein: Sudha Chandran – Mayuri – Jaipur foot – Bharatanatyam.

Answer: (C) Bharatanatyam

Concept: Madam Bhikaji Cama was a revolutionary who worked for India's freedom from Europe.

1. On 22 August 1907 she unfurled an Indian flag at the International Socialist Congress at Stuttgart, Germany.
2. This was the first time an Indian flag was hoisted on foreign soil.
3. The flag, designed with Vinayak Savarkar and others, had green, saffron and red stripes with 'Vande Mataram' written on it.

Yaad rakhein: Cama – Stuttgart (Germany) – 1907.

Answer: (A) Germany

Concept: Mohiniyattam is a classical dance of Kerala; the name means 'dance of the enchantress' (Mohini).

1. Mohini is the female form taken by Lord Vishnu.
2. Vishnu became Mohini to lure the asuras away from the amrit during the churning of the ocean, and also to destroy Bhasmasura.
3. The dance is graceful (lasya style) and performed solo by women.

Yaad rakhein: Mohini = Vishnu's avatar → Mohiniyattam → Vishnu.

Answer: (C) Vishnu

Concept: Each Five-Year Plan had its own main objective.

1. The Fourth Plan (1969–74) aimed at 'growth with stability and progressive achievement of self-reliance'.
2. It was based on the Gadgil Formula; banks were nationalised (1969) during this plan.
3. Second Plan: rapid industrialisation (Mahalanobis model); Third Plan: self-reliant economy; Fifth Plan: Garibi Hatao (poverty removal).

Yaad rakhein: Fourth – 'stability' (after the 1966–69 plan holiday).

Answer: (C) Fourth

Concept: Hubbardia heptaneuron is a rare grass endemic to the Western Ghats, near the Jog (Gersoppa) Falls in Karnataka.

1. It grew in the spray zone of the falls and is very sensitive to changes in its habitat.
2. Reduced water spray after dam construction on the Sharavathi river pushed it to the verge of extinction (Critically Endangered).
3. The other options are common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) and daisy (Bellis perennis).

Yaad rakhein: Hubbardia – Jog Falls grass – critically endangered.

Answer: (C) Hubbardia heptaneuron

Concept: Article 330 (Lok Sabha) and Article 332 (State Legislative Assemblies) provide for reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

1. Seats are reserved in proportion to their population; Article 334 sets the time limit for this reservation.
2. There is no constitutional reservation of legislative seats for OBCs or the differently abled.
3. Women's reservation (one-third seats) was added later by the 106th Amendment Act, 2023 and starts only after the next delimitation, so among the given options Scheduled Tribes is the correct choice.

Yaad rakhein: Art. 330 – Lok Sabha; Art. 332 – Assemblies (SC and ST).

Answer: (A) scheduled tribes

Concept: The FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup is an international tournament organised by FIVB (the world volleyball body).

1. The first (inaugural) edition was held in 1965 in Poland; the USSR won it.
2. From 1977 onwards the tournament was hosted permanently by Japan – which is why 1977 and 1981 Japan appear as traps.
3. East Germany never hosted the first edition.

Yaad rakhein: First Men's World Cup – Poland 1965; then Japan as the regular host from 1977.

Answer: (A) 1965, Poland

Concept: Nominal GDP uses current prices; real GDP uses constant (base-year) prices.

1. The ratio of nominal GDP to real GDP is called the GDP deflator.
2. $\text{GDP deflator}=\frac{\text{Nominal GDP}}{\text{Real GDP}}\times 100$.
3. It shows how much of GDP growth is due to rise in prices, so it is a broad measure of inflation. Green GDP adjusts for environmental damage.

Trick: Nominal ÷ Real = deflator (it 'deflates' price rise).

Answer: (D) GDP deflator

Concept: The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022 was held in New Zealand (March–April 2022).

1. India was captained by Mithali Raj in this tournament – her sixth World Cup, a record.
2. Harmanpreet Kaur was the vice-captain (and later became the ODI captain after Mithali retired in June 2022).
3. Australia won the 2022 World Cup.

Yaad rakhein: WC 2022 = Mithali's last tournament as captain.

Answer: (B) Mithali Raj

Concept: A peroxide contains the peroxide ion ${\text{O}}_2^{2-}$ (two oxygen atoms linked together).

1. Barium shows valency $+2$, i.e. ${\text{Ba}}^{2+}$.
2. One ${\text{Ba}}^{2+}$ balances one ${\text{O}}_2^{2-}$, so barium peroxide is ${\text{BaO}}_2$.
3. $\text{BaO}$ = barium oxide; ${\text{BaSO}}_4$ = barium sulphate; ${\text{Ba}}_2{\text{O}}_2$ is not a correct formula.

Trick: Peroxide: metal + ${\text{O}}_2$; e.g. ${\text{H}}_2{\text{O}}_2$, ${\text{Na}}_2{\text{O}}_2$, ${\text{BaO}}_2$.

Answer: (D) ${\text{BaO}}_2$

Concept: Compare the approximate total lengths of the four rivers (longest to shortest).

1. Ganga ≈ 2525 km (longest river of India).
2. Godavari ≈ 1465 km (longest peninsular river, 'Dakshin Ganga').
3. Krishna ≈ 1400 km and Yamuna ≈ 1376 km.
4. So the decreasing order is Ganga, Godavari, Krishna, Yamuna.

Trick: Ganga first, then 'G-K' of the south (Godavari, Krishna), and Yamuna last – it is only a tributary.

Answer: (A) Ganga, Godavari, Krishna, Yamuna

Concept: A High Court is the highest court of a state; the advisory function belongs to the Supreme Court.

1. A: High Courts hear cases within their state's territorial jurisdiction – correct.
2. B: They hear appeals from subordinate (lower) courts – correct. C: Under Article 226 they issue writs for Fundamental Rights and other legal rights – correct.
3. D: Under Article 143 only the Supreme Court gives advisory opinion to the President – so D is NOT correct for a High Court.

Yaad rakhein: Advisory jurisdiction = Art. 143 = Supreme Court only.

Answer: (D) It gives advisory opinion to the President of India.

Concept: Mettur Dam (Stanley Reservoir) is in Salem district, Tamil Nadu.

1. It is built across the Cauvery (Kaveri) river and was completed in 1934.
2. It is one of the oldest and largest dams of Tamil Nadu, used for irrigation of the Cauvery delta and hydropower.
3. Krishna has Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam; Periyar has Idukki/Mullaperiyar; Vaigai has the Vaigai dam.

Yaad rakhein: Mettur – Stanley Reservoir – Cauvery (Tamil Nadu).

Answer: (A) Cauvery

Concept: The Battle of Buxar was fought on 22 October 1764 in Bihar.

1. The British under Major Hector Munro fought the combined armies of Mir Qasim (deposed Nawab of Bengal), Shuja-ud-Daulah (Nawab of Awadh) and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II.
2. The British won; it led to the Treaty of Allahabad (1765) and the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
3. Siraj-ud-Daulah had died after Plassey (1757); Mir Jafar was on the British side; Bahadur Shah II belongs to 1857.

Trick: Buxar trio: 'Q-S-S' – Qasim, Shuja, Shah Alam.

Answer: (B) Mir Qasim, Mughal Emperor Shah Alam & Shuja-ud-daulah of Awadh

Concept: The onset of the south-west monsoon in India is sudden, not gradual.

1. Around its arrival, normal rainfall increases suddenly and continues constantly for several days.
2. This sudden onset is called the 'burst' of the monsoon (it reaches Kerala around 1 June).
3. It is different from pre-monsoon showers such as mango showers; a 'break' is a dry spell during the monsoon, not its start.

Yaad rakhein: Burst = sudden start; Break = pause in between.

Answer: (B) burst

Concept: Elements in the same group have the same number of valence electrons.

1. H ($1$), Li ($2,1$), Na ($2,8,1$) and K ($2,8,8,1$) each have 1 valence electron – all are in Group 1.
2. Option A mixes noble gases (Ne, Ar – group 18) with Na (group 1) and Mg (group 2).
3. Options B and C mix group 1 (Li, K, H) with group 2 (Mg, Ca) and He (group 18).

Trick: Group 1: 'H Li Na K Rb Cs Fr' – 'Hi Li Na Ki Roti Cs Fry'.

Answer: (D) H, Li, Na, K

Concept: Koeppen's scheme uses capital letters for main climate groups and small letters for seasonal rainfall.

1. D = cold humid (snow) climates; small letters: f = no dry season, w = dry winter, s = dry summer.
2. So cold climate with dry winters = Dw (e.g. Arunachal Pradesh in India's Koeppen map).
3. Df = cold humid with no dry season; ET = tundra; EF = ice cap.

Trick: w = winter dry, s = summer dry, f = feucht (moist all year).

Answer: (D) Dw

Concept: The Moon is in synchronous rotation (tidal locking) with the Earth.

1. Time for one rotation on its axis ≈ 27.3 days.
2. Time for one revolution around the Earth ≈ 27.3 days (sidereal month).
3. Because both periods are equal, the Moon completes exactly 1 rotation in one revolution, so the same face always points towards the Earth (see the orange dot).

Trick: We always see the same side of the Moon → 1 rotation per revolution.

Answer: (C) 1