General Science Questions (MCQs) for Competitive Examinations

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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.

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Radioactive materials are first encased in resin or concrete and sealed in steel drums. The drums are then packed into concrete casks and placed in concrete trenches up to 18 metres deep.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica), Ashoka tree (Saraca Indica), Indian Coral tree (Erythrina Indica) have ‘Indica’ common in their botanical names. In biology/taxonomy, if a species originates in India, its scientific name sometimes includes “Indica”.

Notes:
Newton’s Law of Cooling states that the rate of temperature of the body is proportional to the difference between the temperature of the body and that of the surrounding medium. When a body cools by radiation, then rate of cooling depends on: Nature of the radiating surface, that is, emissivity; Area of the radiating surface; Mass of the radiating surface; Specific heat of the radiating body; Temperature of radiating body and Temperature of the surrounding.

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Female gametes are also called eggs or ova. They are created during the cellular reproduction process known as meiosis. The resulting gamete cell is a haploid cell. When the two haploid cells, the egg and sperm, fuse together during fertilization, the result is a diploid cell called a zygote.

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The best way of getting rid of non-biodegradable waste such as plastic is by recycling them. Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third component of the “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle” waste hierarchy. Burning may release toxic gas into the atmosphere. Burying and dumping will hardly solve anything because of their very long life of self decomposition.

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Antigens are defined as substances recognized by the body as foreign, causing the body to produce an antibody to react specifically with it. Antibodies are proteins produced by lymphocytes as a result of stimulation by an antigen which can then interact specifically with that particular antigen.