General Science Questions (MCQs) for Competitive Examinations

Notes:
Pulses are part of the legume family, but the term “pulse” refers only to the dried seed. Dried peas, edible beans, lentils and chickpeas are the most common varieties of pulses. The term “legume” refers to the plants whose fruit is enclosed in a pod. Other well-known legumes include alfalfa, clover, fresh peas, lupins, mesquite, soy and peanuts.

Notes:
The average adult has a blood volume of roughly 4-5 to 5 litres, which is composed of plasma and several kinds of cells. By volume, the red blood cells constitute about 45% of whole blood, the plasma about 54.3%, and white cells about 0.7%.

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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.

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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.

Notes:
The word “protoplasm” comes from the Greek protos for first, and plasma for thing formed, and was originally used in religious contexts. It was first used for living cells by J. E. Purkinje, a Czech anatomist and physiologist, in 1839. He used protoplasm for the fluid substance of a cell.

Notes:
The wings are modified forelimbs of birds which are the key to bird flight. Each wing is composed of three limb bones, the humerus, ulna and radius. Wings are much bigger than our arms, but being made mostly of feathers and hollow bones makes them very light. Their shape uses the wind to make flying easier.

Notes:
When a DNA solution is heated enough, the double-stranded DNA unwinds, and the Hydrogen bonds that hold the two strands together weaken and finally break. The process of breaking a double-stranded DNA into single strands is known as DNA denaturation, or DNA melting. The hyper-chromicity of DNA occurs when the DNA duplex is denatured.

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Ethanol fermentation, also called alcoholic fermentation, is a biological process which converts sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose into cellular energy, producing ethanol and carbon dioxide as by products. It is an anaerobic process since Yeasts perform this conversion in the absence of oxygen.

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Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and reptiles (including snakes, lizards, amphisbaena, turtles, terrapins, tortoises, crocodilians, and the tuataras). It is the study of ectothermic (coldblooded) tetrapods.

Notes:
Ossification is the process of laying down new bone material by cells called osteoblasts. It is synonymous with bone tissue formation. As per scientific evidence, by the age of 25 years nearly all bones are completely ossified in humans. Ossification test is a guess work based on the fusion of joints in the human body b/w birth and age 25. If all joints are fused the person must be of 25yrs of age or older.