Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve (2010) lies in the Seshachalam hills of the Eastern Ghats in southern Andhra Pradesh (Chittoor and Kadapa districts).

1. It is famous for endemic Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) and the Slender Loris.
2. Cold Desert — Himachal Pradesh; Pachmarhi — Madhya Pradesh; Agasthyamalai — Kerala/Tamil Nadu.

Yaad rakhein: Red Sanders + Andhra Pradesh → Seshachalam (also home to Tirumala hills).

Answer: (B) Seshachalam

Concept: Article 51-A lists 11 Fundamental Duties; voting in elections is not among them.

1. Uphold sovereignty, unity and integrity — Art. 51A(c).
2. Value and preserve composite culture — Art. 51A(f); safeguard public property and abjure violence — Art. 51A(i).
3. Voting is a constitutional/legal right (Art. 326, adult suffrage), not a listed fundamental duty.

Yaad rakhein: Common traps not in Art. 51-A: voting, paying taxes, family planning.

Answer: (B) To vote in public elections

Concept: K2 (Mount Godwin-Austen, 8,611 m) is in the Karakoram Range — the highest peak of India (in PoK–China border region) and second highest in the world.

1. Trishul, Nanda Devi and Kamet are all in the Garhwal–Kumaon Himalaya of Uttarakhand.
2. Karakoram also contains the Siachen Glacier.

Yaad rakhein: Karakoram → K2; Uttarakhand Himalaya → Nanda Devi, Kamet, Trishul.

Answer: (C) K2

Concept: By Census 2011, India's population density was 382 persons per sq km.

1. Bihar (1,106), Uttar Pradesh (829) and Tamil Nadu (555) are high-density states.
2. Arunachal Pradesh has the lowest density in India — only 17 persons per sq km.
3. So Arunachal Pradesh is the odd one out.

Yaad rakhein: Census 2011: highest density Bihar (1,106), lowest Arunachal Pradesh (17).

Answer: (C) Arunachal Pradesh

Concept: Arjun Singh Dhurve of Dindori, Madhya Pradesh, a Baiga tribal folk dancer, received the Padma Shri in 2022.

1. He popularised the Baiga dance (e.g., Karma and Pardhoni) of the Baiga PVTG community.
2. Shyamamani Devi — Odissi music; Lourembam Bino Devi — Manipuri Leeba textile art; S Ballesh Bhajantri — shehnai.

Yaad rakhein: Baiga dance → Arjun Singh Dhurve (Dindori, MP).

Answer: (A) Arjun Singh Dhurve

Concept: Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese navigator who reached Calicut (Kerala) in May 1498 via the Cape of Good Hope.

1. He was received by the Zamorin of Calicut.
2. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to come to India by sea and the last to leave (Goa, 1961).

Yaad rakhein: Portugal: first to come (1498), last to leave (1961).

Answer: (B) Portugal

Concept: Biogeochemical cycles are the cyclic movement of nutrients between living (bio) and non-living (geo) parts of the Earth.

1. Gaseous cycles — reservoir in atmosphere/hydrosphere: carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, water.
2. Sedimentary cycles — reservoir in Earth's crust: phosphorus, sulphur, calcium.
3. Both types together make up biogeochemical (nutrient) cycles.

Yaad rakhein: Gaseous → C, N, O; Sedimentary → P, S.

Answer: (A) Biogeochemical cycle

Concept: Kathasaritsagara ("Ocean of the streams of stories") was composed in Sanskrit by Somadeva in the 11th century in Kashmir.

1. It is based on Gunadhya's lost Brihatkatha, which was in Paishachi Prakrit — the tempting wrong option.
2. Somadeva wrote it for Queen Suryamati, wife of King Ananta of Kashmir.

Yaad rakhein: Brihatkatha — Paishachi (Gunadhya); Kathasaritsagara — Sanskrit (Somadeva).

Answer: (C) Sanskrit

Concept: Jyotirao Govindrao Phule, with his wife Savitribai Phule, opened the first girls' school in Pune (Bhide Wada) in 1848.

1. He championed widow remarriage and opened a home for widows' children (Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha).
2. He founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873 and wrote 'Gulamgiri'.
3. Gopal Hari Deshmukh (Lokahitawadi) was a reformer-writer, but the girls' school with his wife is Phule's.

Yaad rakhein: Phule couple → first girls' school, Pune 1848; Satyashodhak Samaj 1873.

Answer: (B) Jyotirao Govindrao Phule

Concept: The Golden Quadrilateral (GQ), under NHDP Phase I, is a 5,846 km highway network built by NHAI.

1. It connects the four metros: Delhi–Mumbai–Chennai–Kolkata.
2. North–South and East–West Corridors (Srinagar–Kanyakumari, Silchar–Porbandar) are separate, 7,300 km in total.

Yaad rakhein: GQ = 5,846 km, four metros; NS–EW corridor = 7,300 km.

Answer: (D) 5846 km

Concept: Kharif crops are sown with the onset of the south-west monsoon (June–July) and harvested in September–October.

1. Rice is the main kharif crop of the northern states (also maize, jowar, bajra, cotton, jute).
2. Mustard, gram and barley are rabi crops (sown in winter, harvested in spring).

Yaad rakhein: Kharif = monsoon crops (rice, maize, cotton); Rabi = winter crops (wheat, gram, mustard, barley).

Answer: (B) Rice

Concept: Dribbling means moving the ball forward with repeated short touches while keeping control.

1. In basketball, a player dribbles by bouncing the ball continuously with one hand.
2. The term is also used in football and hockey, but not in volleyball, baseball or cricket.

Yaad rakhein: Dribbling → basketball, football, hockey; "Smash/Spike" → volleyball; "Home run" → baseball.

Answer: (A) Basketball

Concept: As per Census 2011, India's literacy rate was 74.04%; Bihar had the lowest literacy rate among states — about 61.8%.

1. Jharkhand ≈ 66.4%, Odisha ≈ 72.9%, Tamil Nadu ≈ 80.1%.
2. Kerala had the highest literacy rate (≈ 94%).

Yaad rakhein: Census 2011 literacy: highest Kerala, lowest Bihar.

Answer: (B) Bihar

Concept: Mendeleev's Periodic Table (published in a German journal in 1872) arranged the known elements in order of increasing atomic mass into 8 vertical groups (I to VIII) and horizontal periods.

1. So the correct figure must show exactly eight groups, I to VIII.
2. Figure c shows groups I–VIII ✓; figure a has only up to VII, b only up to VI, and d goes up to IX ✗.
3. Group VIII in Mendeleev's table contained transition triads such as Fe, Co, Ni.

Yaad rakhein: Mendeleev's 1872 table: 8 groups (I–VIII); noble gases (group zero) were added later.

Answer: (A) c

Concept: Dussehra (Vijayadashami) is celebrated on the 10th day (Dashami) of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) of the month of Ashvina (Ashwin).

1. It follows the nine nights of Sharad Navratri.
2. Diwali comes about 20 days later, on Kartika Amavasya.

Yaad rakhein: Ashvina Shukla Dashami → Dussehra; Kartika Amavasya → Diwali.

Answer: (B) Ashvina

Concept: Match each dam with the river it is built on.

1. Hirakud Dam (Odisha) — Mahanadi → a-iv.
2. Nagarjuna Sagar Dam (Telangana–AP) — Krishna → b-iii.
3. Sardar Sarovar Dam (Gujarat) — Narmada → c-ii.
4. Tehri Dam (Uttarakhand) — Bhagirathi → d-v; Rana Pratap Sagar Dam (Rajasthan) — Chambal → e-i.

Yaad rakhein: Chambal dams: Gandhi Sagar (MP), Rana Pratap Sagar (Rawatbhata), Jawahar Sagar (Kota). Hirakud = longest earthen dam (Mahanadi).

Answer: (B) a-iv, b-iii, c-ii, d-v, e-i

Concept: Inertia of rest: a body at rest tends to stay at rest. Inertia of motion: a moving body tends to keep moving.

1. Dust falling when a cloth is beaten, a passenger falling backward when a vehicle suddenly starts, and fruits falling when a branch is shaken — all are inertia of rest.
2. On sudden braking, the passenger's body keeps moving forward — this is inertia of motion.
3. So the sudden application of brakes is NOT an example of inertia of rest.

Yaad rakhein: Vehicle starts → fall backward (rest); vehicle stops → fall forward (motion).

Answer: (D) The sudden application of brakes in a vehicle

Concept: 'Bad Man' (2023) is the autobiography of actor Gulshan Grover, famous for villain roles in Bollywood and Hollywood.

1. It was co-written with Roshmila Bhattacharya and released in 2023.
2. The title comes from his popular screen persona "Bad Man" in the film 'Ram Lakhan' (1989).

Yaad rakhein: "Bad Man" = Gulshan Grover (Ram Lakhan character).

Answer: (D) Gulshan Grover

Concept: Match each 19th-century movement/organisation with its founder.

1. Faraizi Movement (Bengal, 1818) — Haji Shariatullah → a-IV.
2. Mohammedan Literary Society (Calcutta, 1863) — Nawab Abdul Latif → b-III.
3. Indian Patriotic Association (1888) — Sir Syed Ahmad Khan → c-II.
4. Wahabi Movement — Sayyid Ahmad of Rae Bareli → d-I.

Yaad rakhein: Faraizi — Haji Shariatullah, later led by his son Dudu Miyan; Sir Syed — Aligarh Movement (MAO College, 1875).

Answer: (D) a - IV, b - III, c - II, d - I

Concept: Gluten is the main storage protein complex found in cereal grains such as wheat, barley and rye.

1. It is made of two proteins — gliadin and glutenin — that give dough its elasticity.
2. People with celiac disease must avoid gluten.
3. Arginine is an amino acid, not a grain protein; "gum protein" and "delta protein" are not grain proteins.

Yaad rakhein: Wheat dough stretches because of gluten (gliadin + glutenin).

Answer: (A) Gluten