General Science Questions (MCQs) for Competitive Examinations
General Science Multiple choice questions for GK paper in SSC, NDA, CDS, UPSC, UPPSC and State PSC Examinations. These questions are part of GKToday’s 35000+ MCQs Bank Course in GKToday Android App
1. Which of the following antiseptic compounds is present in Dettol?
[A] Iodine
[B] Cresol
[C] Chloroxylenol
[D] Biothional
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [ Chloroxylenol ]
Notes:
Chloroxylenol, also known as para-chloro-meta-xylenol, is an antiseptic and disinfectant which is used for skin disinfection and cleaning surgical instruments. It is also used within a number of household disinfectants and wound cleaners.
2. If waste materials contaminate the source of drinking water, which of the following diseases will spread?
[A] Typhoid
[B] Malaria
[C] Anaemia
[D] Scurvy
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Typhoid]
Notes:
Typhoid is a common worldwide bacterial disease transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica, serovar Typhi.
3. Carbon monoxide poisoning can be cured by
____:
[A] Drinking lemon-water
[B] Eating butter
[C] Exposing the affected person to fresh oxygen
[D] Consuming multi-vitamin tablet
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Exposing the affected person to fresh oxygen]
Notes:
Carbon monoxide poisoning can be cured by exposing the affected person to fresh oxygen. It is because CO posoning leads to oxygen starvation of body cells. This therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a chamber in which the air pressure is about two to three times higher than normal. This speeds the replacement of carbon monoxide with oxygen in your blood. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be used in cases of severe carbon monoxide poisoning.
4. What is thick vein present in the middle of the leaf called?
[A] Leaf venation
[B] Parallel venation
[C] Midrib
[D] Reticulate
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Midrib]
Notes:
A thick vein seen in the middle of the leaf is called the midrib. Pinnately veined leaves have one large central vein, called the midrib, which extends from the base of the blade to its tip. Other large veins branch off on each side of the midrib. The leaves of beech, birch, and elm trees have such a vein pattern.
5. Grey hair is caused due to
____:
[A] Aging of epidermal cells
[B] Death of dermal cells
[C] Loss of sebum in epidermal cells
[D] Loss of melanin in epidermal cells
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Loss of melanin in epidermal cells]
Notes:
The hair follicles have pigment cells that make melanin, a chemical that gives the hair its color. As one ages, these cells start to die. Without pigment, new hair strands grow in lighter and take on various shades of gray, silver, and eventually white.
6. Which of the following diseases has been eradicated worldwide?
[A] Smallpox
[B] Plague
[C] Chickenpox
[D] Dracunculiasis
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Smallpox]
Notes:
Smallpox was one of the world’s most devastating diseases known to humanity. The last known natural case was in Somalia in 1977. It was declared eradicated in 1980 following a global immunization campaign led by the World Health Organization. Smallpox is caused by infection with the variola virus.
7. Consider the following statements about how plants absorb nitrogen:
- Plants absorb nitrogen in the form of inorganic nitrates or nitrites.
- Plants take in nitrogen in the form of organic compounds.
- Nitrogen is directly taken up by the plants from the atmosphere.
Which of the above statements is / are correct?
[A] Only 1 and 2
[B] Only 1 and 3
[C] Only 2 and 3
[D] All of these
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Only 1 and 2]
Notes:
Plants obtain nitrogen through their roots. In the soil, nitrifying bacteria change ammonia into nitrite (NO2 –) and then into nitrate (NO3 –), this process is known as nitrification. Furthermore, plants also absorb nitrogen in an organic form. Several organic compounds (compounds containing carbon) constitute the organic fraction of nitrogen in the soil. The organic matter in the soil exists as decomposing plant and animal residues, relatively stable decomposition-resistant compounds, and humus. The abundance of various forms of nitrogen can be altered by plant roots through the change in pH and secretion of organic compounds or oxygen.
8. In male sharks, Claspers are found attached to
____:
[A] Anal fin
[B] Ventral fin
[C] Pectoral fin
[D] Pelvic fin
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Pelvic fin]
Notes:
Claspers are organs found in male elasmobranchs. Each male has two claspers. They are located along the inner side of the shark or ray’s pelvic fin and are used in reproduction. During mating, the male deposits his sperm into the female’s cloaca (the opening that serves as the entrance to the uterus, intestine and urinary tract) via grooves that lie in the upper side of the claspers.
9. Osteocytes are found in ____:
[A] Blood
[B] Bone
[C] Lymph
[D] Cartilage
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Bone]
Notes:
An osteocyte, a star shaped cell, is the most commonly found cell in mature bone, and can live as long as the organism itself. Osteocytes are networked to each other via long cytoplasmic extensions that occupy tiny canals called canaliculi, which are used for exchange of nutrients and waste through gap junctions. The space that an osteocyte occupies is called a lacuna.
10. Growing agricultural crops between rows of planted trees is known as ____:
[A] Jhum
[B] Agro forestry
[C] Social forestry
[D] Taungya system
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Taungya system]
Notes:
The Taungya system involves growing agricultural crops between rows of planted trees (sal, teak, etc). Along with jhum cultivation, it is one of the well-known systems of agro forestry programmes in practice in our country.