General Science Questions (MCQs) for Competitive Examinations

Notes:
Biofortification is the breeding crops to increase their nutritional value. This can be done either through conventional selective breeding or genetic engineering. Biofortification differs from ordinary fortification because it focuses on making plant foods more nutritious as the plants are growing, rather than having nutrients added to the foods when they are being processed.

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.”

Notes:
Milk is a poor source of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). It contains about 1 mg ascorbate per 100 g. Even the little Vitamin C is usually destroyed when the milk is heat treated. Milk as a complete food contains most of the esential nutrients except are vitamin C and iron.

Notes:
Ecological succession is unidirectional progressive process of development in an ecosystem or biome. Grass ecosystems are an early stage of succession in regions where the mature ecosystems are forests. However, grass ecosystems are climax ecosystems in grassland regions, where there is not enough rainfall to support a forest. Due to limiting factors such as water scarcity and forest fire, a grassland ecosystem changes to a desert ecosystem. The ecological succession of grassland is desert.

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Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a common water borne worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella Typhi.

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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:
Plants obtain nitrogen through their roots. In the soil, nitrifying bacteria change ammonia into nitrite (NO2 –) and then into nitrate (NO3 –), this process is known as nitrification. Furthermore, plants also absorb nitrogen in an organic form. Several organic compounds (compounds containing carbon) constitute the organic fraction of nitrogen in the soil. The organic matter in the soil exists as decomposing plant and animal residues, relatively stable decomposition-resistant compounds, and humus. The abundance of various forms of nitrogen can be altered by plant roots through the change in pH and secretion of organic compounds or oxygen.

Notes:
Biochemical Oxygen Demand or Biological Oxygen Demand, is a measurement of the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) that is used by aerobic microorganisms when decomposing organic matter in water. It indicates the amount of putrescible organic matter present in water. Therefore, a low BOD is an indicator of good quality water, while a high BOD indicates polluted water.

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Bacteria are the most abundant organisms which play important role in the decomposition of organic matter. Majority of bacteria involved in decomposition of organic matter are heterotrophs and autotrophs are least in proportion which are not directly involved in organic matter decomposition.

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The open circulatory system is a system in which fluid in a cavity called the hemocoel bathes the organs directly with oxygen and nutrients and there is no distinction between blood and interstitial fluid; this combined fluid is called hemolymph. Arthropods and mollusks have an open circulatory system.