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. The exceptionally low melting point of mercury can be explained on the basis of which of the following explanations?
1. Mercury has completely filled-up atomic orbitals
2. In mercury, the binding energy of outer electrons (towards nucleus) is highest and no electron is available to participate in metallic bond formation
Choose the correct option from the codes given below:
[A] Only 1 is correct
[B] Only 2 is correct
[C] Both 1 & 2 are correct
[D] Neither 1 nor 2 is correct
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [ Both 1 & 2 are correct]
Notes:
Mercury belongs to the zinc group of elements in the periodic table, which comprises zinc, cadmium and mercury. They all have completely filled-up atomic orbitals. It becomes difficult to knock out these electron(s) from their orbitals and form metallic bonds. With its filled shell electron configuration it is very reluctant to form bonds even with other mercury atoms.
2. Which of the following celestial bodies contains abundant quantities of helium3 as a potential source of energy?
[A] Moon
[B] Earth
[C] Sun
[D] Mars
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Moon]
Notes:
The Moon has been bombarded with large quantities of Helium-3 by the solar wind. It is thought that this isotope could provide safer nuclear energy in a fusion reactor, since it is not radioactive and would not produce dangerous waste products.
3. What does Insulin do?
[A] Increases blood sugar
[B] Decreases blood sugar
[C] Constricts blood vessels
[D] Stimulates lactation
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Decreases blood sugar]
Notes:
Insulin is central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. It stops the use of fat as an energy source by inhibiting the release of glucagon. It removes excess glucose from the blood, which otherwise would be toxic. Insulin helps blood sugar enter the body’s cells so it can be used for energy. Insulin also signals the liver to store blood sugar for later use. Blood sugar enters cells, and levels in the bloodstream decrease, signaling insulin to decrease too.
4. Membrane lipids of chillsensitive plants contain ____:
[A] Low proportion of saturated fatty acids
[B] Equal proportion of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids
[C] Low proportion of unsaturated fatty acids
[D] High proportion of unsaturated fatty acids
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [High proportion of unsaturated fatty acids]
Notes:
The membranes of chill sensitive plants have about a 2 :1 ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids. It has been seen that the proportion of unsaturated membrane fatty acids increases and the critical temperature decreases so that chill-sensitive plants are more acclimitized to low temperatures.
5. The right pulmonary artery is _____:
[A] Longer than the left
[B] Shorter than the left
[C] Wider than the left
[D] Of same size as the left
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Longer than the left]
Notes:
The right pulmonary artery is longer and larger and runs horizontally outward in front of right main bronchus and behind the superior vena cava, to the base of the right lung where it divides in two branches. The left pulmonary artery is shorter and runs horizontally over the left upper division bronchus, to the base of the left hilum where it divides into two branches.
6. Uric acid is the chief nitrogenous wastes in ____:
[A] Frogs
[B] Birds
[C] Fishes
[D] Mankind
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Birds]
Notes:
Land snails, insects, birds, and some reptiles excrete uric acid as the major nitrogenous waste. The white, crystalline substance seen in a typical bird or lizard “poop” is actually urine: a little pool of uric acid crystals in a very small amount of water.
7. When we touch leaves of “Touch me not plant”, they close, these movements are called ____:
[A] Seismonastic movements
[B] Photonastic movements
[C] Nyctinastic movements
[D] Chemonastic movements
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Seismonastic movements]
Notes:
These types of mechanism have been termed seismonastic movements. The movement occurs when specific regions of cells lose turgor pressure, which is the force that is applied onto the cell wall by water within the cell vacuoles and other cell contents.
8. An example of false fruit is ___:
[A] Guava
[B] Mango
[C] Tomato
[D] Apple
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Apple]
Notes:
An accessory fruit (sometimes called false fruit, spurious fruit, pseudo-fruit, or pseudo-carp) is a fruit in which some of the flesh is derived not from the ovary but from some adjacent tissue exterior to the carpel. Examples of accessory tissue are the receptacle of strawberries, figs, or mulberries, and the calyx of Gaultheria procumbens or Syzygium jambos. Pomes, such as apples and pears, are also accessory fruits, with much of the fruit flesh derived from a hypanthium.
9. Fat present below the skin surface in our body acts as a barrier against ____:
[A] Loss of heat from the body
[B] Loss of salt from the body
[C] Loss of essential body fluids
[D] Entry of harmful micro-organisms from the environment
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Loss of heat from the body]
Notes:
A layer of body fat acts as an insulator and traps heat. The subcutis is the deepest layer of skin. The subcutis, consisting of a network of collagen and fat cells, helps conserve the body’s heat and protects the body from injury by acting as a “shock absorber.
10. Which vaccine company has developed Typbar Typhoid Conjugate vaccine that has received pre – qualification from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for global use?
[A] Bharat Biotech
[B] Biocon
[C] Panacea Biotech
[D] Bharat Serums and Vaccines
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Bharat Biotech]
Notes:
Bharat Biotech, a vaccine company, in December 2017, received Pre-Qualification tag from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for Typbar TCV or Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine. The WHO tag would allow the firm to access global public vaccination programmes. Typbar TCV is the first typhoid vaccine, clinically proven to be administered to children from six months of age to adults and confers long term protection against typhoid fever.
