General Science Questions (MCQs) for Competitive Examinations

Notes:
Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. Radium was discovered by Marie Sklodowska Curie, a Polish chemist, and Pierre Curie, a French chemist, in 1898.

Notes:
Glycolysis, part of cellular respiration, is a series of reactions that constitute the first phase of most carbohydrate catabolism, catabolism meaning the breaking down of larger molecules into smaller ones. Glycolysis breaks down glucose and forms pyruvate with the production of two molecules of ATP. The entire process from conversion of glucose to pyruvate is anaerobic that is it does not take place in presence of oxygen.

Notes:
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria are microorganisms capable of transforming atmospheric nitrogen into fixed nitrogen. Rhizobium is one such bacteria that is associated with leguminous plants (e.g., various members of the pea family). It invades the root hairs of host plants and convert free nitrogen to ammonia, which the host plant utilizes for its development.

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.

Notes:
Utricularia (also called bladderworts) is a genus of insectivorous plants. They occur in fresh water and wet soil as terrestrial or aquatic species. All Utri cularia are carnivorous and capture small organisms by means of bladder-like traps. Aquatic species feed on protozoa and rotifers swimming in water-saturated soil’ while terrestrial species feed on water fleas (Daphnia), nematodes and even fish fry, mosquito larvae and young tadpoles.

Notes:
Penicillin the so called ‘Wonder drug’ discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1927 is produced from the genus of fungi “Penicillia”. All penicillin are â-lactam antibiotics and are used in the treatment of bacterial infections caused by susceptible, usually Grampositive organisms.

Notes:
Cabbages have no need to store food as they are seasonal plants and die after about 4 to 6 months. They do however produce food in the leaves of the plants and would utilize short-term storage (in the leaves) for simple metabolic processes.

Notes:
Nucleic acids are large biological molecules essential for all known forms of life. They include DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid). They are merely transmitted from one generation to next.

Notes:
Entomology, branch of anthropology and study of zoology, deals with the scientific study of insects. The Greek word entomon, meaning “notched,” refers to the segmented body plan of the insect. The zoological categories of genetics, taxonomy, morphology, physiology, behaviour, and ecology are included in this field of study.

Notes:
Outer Ear or Pinna is found only in terrestrial mammals. It is composed of a thin plate of yellow elastic cartilage, covered with integument, and connected to the surrounding parts by ligaments and muscles.