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. Who among the following scientists had discovered Radium?
[A] Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie
[B] André-Louis Debierne
[C] Kasimir Fajans
[D] Oswald Helmuth Göhring
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie ]
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.
2. Jhum cultivation refers to ____:
[A] Terrace farming
[B] Jamun cultivation
[C] Step farming
[D] Shifting agriculture
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Shifting agriculture
]
Notes:
Jhum is a traditional form of shifting cultivation that is common in the North-East of India. Also known as slash and burn agriculture, it is practiced by the tribal groups in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland and the hilly areas of Assam. Jhum involves clearing a piece of land by setting fire or clear felling and using the area for growing crops.
3. The suicidal bags of the cell are
____:
[A] Ribosomes
[B] Lysosomes
[C] Phagosomes
[D] Dictyosomes
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Lysosomes]
Notes:
Lysosomes are called the suicide bags of the cells they contain digestive enzymes, and break down food, cellular debris and foreign invaders like bacteria. When the cell is injured beyond repair, or becomes old, the lysosome digests the cell. So, it is called “suicide bag of the cell.”
4. Chicken Pox is caused by which micro-organism?
[A] Virus
[B] Bacteria
[C] Protozoa
[D] Fungus
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Virus]
Notes:
Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is a highly contagious infection caused by the varicella zoster virus. The disease results in a characteristic skin rash that forms small, itchy blisters, which eventually scab over. It is an airborne disease which spreads easily through the coughs and sneezes of an infected person.
5. Filariasis is not transmitted by ____:
[A] Anopheles mosquito
[B] Aedes mosquito
[C] Culex mosquito
[D] Swamp mosquito
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Swamp mosquito]
Notes:
Most cases of filariasis are caused by the parasite known as Wuchereria bancrofti. A wide range of mosquitoes can transmit this parasite, depending on the geographic area. In Africa, the most common vector is Anopheles while in the Americas, it is Culex quinquefasciatus. Aedes and Mansonia transmits transmit the infection in the Pacific and in Asia. Thus, Culex, Aedes and Anopheles mosquitoes serve as vector for W. bancrofti in transmission of the disease. Aedes mosquito causes dengue fever. Anopheles mosquito causes malaria. Culex mosquito causes filaria. A wide range of mosquitoes can transmit the parasite, depending on the geographic area. In Africa, the most common vector is Anopheles and in the Americas, it is Culex quinquefasciatus. [This question was wrongly framed in exam as “filaria is caused by__:”. GKtoday has edited it to make it correct.]
6. 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.
7. The release of which of the following into ponds and wells helps in controlling mosquitoes?
[A] Snail
[B] Crab
[C] Dogfish
[D] Gambusia fish
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Gambusia fish]
Notes:
The Gambusia fish, also known as larvivorous stagnant water fish. It feeds on the larvae of mosquitoes. So it helps in controlling their population. It is also called ‘mosquito fish’ and is being used as a biological control measure. Hence, a check on malaria and other vector borne diseases like even dengue.
8. 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.
9. Preserved traces of living organisms retained in the form of impressions of the body parts in the soil are called ____:
[A] Specimen
[B] Phylogeny
[C] Fossils
[D] Antique
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Fossils]
Notes:
A fossil is the naturally preserved remains or traces of organisms that lived in the geologic past. There are two main types of fossils; body and trace. Body fossils include the remains of organisms that were once living, and trace fossils are the signs that organisms were present (i.e. footprints, tracks, trails, and burrows).
10. Who among the following gave Theory of Evolution?
[A] Darwin
[B] Mendel
[C] Hooke
[D] Rutherford
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Darwin]
Notes:
The Theory of Evolution was developed by Charles Darwin (1809-1882). It states that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual’s ability to compete, survive, and reproduce. The theory gained general scientific acceptance after Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859.