Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Glaciers and their meltwater form many depositional landforms.

1. An esker is a long, winding ridge of stratified (sorted, layered) sand and gravel laid by streams flowing under a glacier.
2. Moraine – unsorted debris (till) deposited directly by ice.
3. Erratic – a large boulder carried far from its source; aquifer – underground water-bearing rock layer, not a glacial ridge.

Yaad rakhein: Esker = 'snake-like' sorted ridge; Moraine = unsorted heap.

Answer: (A) esker

Concept: Allotropes are different physical forms of the same element.

1. Diamond, graphite and buckminsterfullerene (C₆₀) are all made only of carbon atoms – allotropes of carbon.
2. Phosphorus is a separate element (atomic number 15).
3. Phosphorus has its own allotropes – white, red and black phosphorus – but it is not a form of carbon.

Yaad rakhein: Carbon allotropes: Diamond, Graphite, Fullerene (plus graphene).

Answer: (D) Phosphorus

Concept: Major Dhyan Chand, the 'Wizard' of hockey, won Olympic gold in 1928, 1932 and 1936.

1. He joined the Indian Army as a sepoy in 1922.
2. He retired from the army in 1956 with the rank of Major; he got the Padma Bhushan the same year.
3. In 2021 the Khel Ratna was renamed the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna; his birthday, 29 August, is National Sports Day.

Yaad rakhein: The award name itself says it: Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna.

Answer: (D) Major

Concept: A food source is 'mobile' if it can move about on its own, so a predator has to chase or catch it.

1. A deer is a living animal that runs – a mobile food source for a tiger or lion.
2. Grass and shrubs are plants fixed in the soil – stationary food sources.
3. A dead goat cannot move – food for scavengers such as vultures and hyenas.

Yaad rakhein: Mobile = alive and able to move → animal prey.

Answer: (C) Deer

Concept: Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV, Articles 36–51) guide the State in making laws.

1. Article 48 – organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines; preserve breeds and prohibit slaughter of cows and calves.
2. Article 42 – just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief; Article 43 – living wage, cottage industries.
3. Article 46 – promotion of educational and economic interests of SCs, STs and weaker sections.

Yaad rakhein: 48 = farm and cattle; 48A = environment, forests and wildlife.

Answer: (B) Article 48

Concept: Odissi is the classical dance of Odisha; its well-known exponents are often asked.

1. Kumkum Mohanty, Sonal Mansingh and Protima Bedi (founder of Nrityagram) are Odissi dancers.
2. Anita Ratnam is a Bharatanatyam-trained dancer known for neo-classical/contemporary dance (Arangham Trust, Chennai).
3. Hence she is NOT an Odissi dancer.

Yaad rakhein: Odissi greats: Kelucharan, Sanjukta Panigrahi, Kumkum Mohanty, Sonal Mansingh, Protima Bedi.

Answer: (D) Anita Ratnam

Concept: The Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian award.

1. In 2019 it was given to Pranab Mukherjee, Nanaji Deshmukh (posthumous) and Bhupen Hazarika (posthumous).
2. Bhupen Hazarika, the 'Bard of the Brahmaputra', was an Assamese singer, composer and film-maker ('Dil Hoom Hoom Kare').
3. Kishore Kumar, Usha Mangeshkar and Lucky Ali are not Assamese and have not received the Bharat Ratna.

Yaad rakhein: 2019 Bharat Ratna trio: Pranab, Nanaji, Bhupen.

Answer: (B) Bhupen Hazarika

Concept: The Indian Constitution has several salient features listed in every Polity book.

1. It is the lengthiest written constitution in the world.
2. It is a blend of rigidity and flexibility (Article 368 amendment procedures).
3. It establishes a parliamentary system on the British model.
4. It is drawn from many sources (GoI Act 1935, UK, USA, Ireland, Canada…) – not one source; so D is not a feature.

Yaad rakhein: 'Bag of borrowings' – many sources, never one.

Answer: (D) Drawn from one source

Concept: Dhrupad, the oldest Hindustani vocal form, has gharanas such as Dagar, Darbhanga, Bettiah and Talwandi.

1. Pandit Siyaram Tiwari was a leading Dhrupad singer of the Darbhanga gharana (Bihar); he received the Padma Shri in 1971.
2. The Darbhanga gharana is associated with the Mallik family.
3. Kirana gharana is a khayal gharana (Abdul Karim Khan, Bhimsen Joshi); Dagar and Bettiah are other Dhrupad traditions.

Yaad rakhein: Bihar Dhrupad: Darbhanga (Mallik family, Siyaram Tiwari) and Bettiah.

Answer: (D) Darbhanga

Concept: In basketball, play starts with a referee throwing the ball up between two players.

1. The referee tosses the ball up in the centre circle; one player from each team jumps to tap it to a teammate.
2. This method of starting play or deciding possession is called a jump ball.
3. Dunk – pushing the ball down through the hoop; hook shot – a one-hand sweeping shot; 'high ball' is not the term.

Yaad rakhein: Players jump for the tossed ball → jump ball.

Answer: (B) Jump ball

Concept: As an economy develops, its output shifts from primary to secondary and then tertiary sectors.

1. In developed economies, the services sector contributes the largest share of GDP, followed by industry.
2. The agriculture (primary) sector contributes the smallest share – often below 5% in rich countries.
3. So at higher development the agriculture sector contributes less to GDP.

Yaad rakhein: Development path: Agriculture → Industry → Services (agriculture share keeps falling).

Answer: (D) Agriculture sector

Concept: The Modern (long form) Periodic Table is based on atomic number (Moseley).

1. It has 18 vertical groups and 7 horizontal periods.
2. Figures a, b and c show only 15, 16 or 17 groups (and a and b only 6 periods), so they are wrong.
3. Figure d shows groups 1 to 18 and periods 1 to 7 – the correct shape.

Trick: Modern table = 18 groups × 7 periods (count the last group number first).

Answer: (D) d

Concept: Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325–51) made several administrative experiments.

1. He created Diwan-i-Kohi, a department of agriculture, to bring more land under cultivation by giving loans (taccavi) to peasants.
2. Diwan-i-Arz – military department (Balban); Diwan-i-Riyasat – market control (Alauddin Khalji); Diwan-i-Khairat – charity (Firoz Shah Tughlaq).
3. The Kohi experiment failed due to corruption and poor land choice.

Trick: Kohi → Krishi (both start with K) → agriculture.

Answer: (D) agriculture

Concept: The Baira Siul Hydroelectric Project is an NHPC power station in Himachal Pradesh.

1. It is located in Chamba district, on the Baira, Siul and Bhaledh streams – tributaries of the Ravi.
2. Chamba district also hosts the Chamera projects on the Ravi.
3. Kinnaur – Nathpa Jhakri (Sutlej); Bilaspur – Bhakra / Gobind Sagar; Mandi – Pandoh (Beas).

Yaad rakhein: Ravi projects in HP (Baira Siul, Chamera) → Chamba.

Answer: (D) Chamba

Concept: Census 2011 gives the number of speakers of each scheduled language.

1. Sanskrit had the fewest speakers among the 22 scheduled languages – only about 24,800 people.
2. Dogri (about 26 lakh) and Konkani (about 22.6 lakh) have far more speakers.
3. Assamese has about 1.5 crore speakers.

Yaad rakhein: Fewest speakers (Census 2011): Sanskrit, then Bodo-Manipuri-Konkani-Dogri range.

Answer: (C) Sanskrit

Concept: Unladylike: A Memoir (2016) is a humorous, frank account of growing up as a woman in India.

1. It was written by Radhika Vaz, a stand-up comedian and writer known for shows like 'Older. Angrier. Hairier.'
2. Aditi Mittal is also a comedian but did not write this memoir.
3. Supriya Joshi and Aishwarya Mohanraj are comedians too, not authors of this book.

Yaad rakhein: Unladylike → Radhika Vaz (comedian's memoir).

Answer: (D) Radhika Vaz

Concept: In the Green Revolution (from the mid-1960s), farmers had to adopt costly HYV seeds, fertilisers and pesticides.

1. To encourage them, the government supplied HYV seeds, fertilisers and other inputs at subsidised prices, lower than market prices.
2. It also gave cheap credit and minimum support prices.
3. Cash grants, wages paid directly to labourers or free college education for farmers' children were not the methods used.

Yaad rakhein: Green Revolution = HYV + subsidised inputs + MSP + credit.

Answer: (D) The government provided seeds and other inputs at prices lower than those prevailing in the market.

Concept: From south to north the Himalaya has three parallel ranges: Siwalik (Outer), Lesser (Himachal) and Greater (Himadri).

1. The flat-floored longitudinal valleys between the Lesser Himalaya and the Siwalik are called Duns (Doons).
2. Examples: Dehradun, Kotli Dun, Patli Dun.
3. Bhabhar – pebble belt at the foot of the Siwalik; Terai – marshy belt south of Bhabhar; Doab – land between two rivers.

Yaad rakhein: Dehradun lies in a Dun – between Siwalik and Lesser Himalaya.

Answer: (C) Duns

Concept: Padma Shri is India's fourth-highest civilian award, given every year on Republic Day.

1. Ram Sahay Pandey, an exponent of the Rai folk dance of the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, received the Padma Shri in 2022.
2. Arjuna and Dronacharya Awards are sports awards.
3. Saraswati Samman is a literary award given by the K.K. Birla Foundation.

Yaad rakhein: Folk artist + civilian honour → Padma Shri; Arjuna/Dronacharya → sports only.

Answer: (C) Padma Shri

Concept: Three major rivers rise near Lake Mansarovar and Mount Kailash in Tibet.

1. The Sutlej rises from Rakshastal (near Mansarovar) and enters India at Shipki La in Himachal Pradesh.
2. The Indus and the Brahmaputra (Tsangpo) also rise in the same Kailash–Mansarovar region.
3. Ravi rises near Rohtang Pass; Narmada and Tapti rise in central India (Amarkantak and Multai).

Yaad rakhein: Mansarovar region → Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra; Rakshastal specifically → Sutlej.

Answer: (A) Sutlej River