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. Leptospirosis is a disease caused by ____:
[A] Fungus
[B] Protozoa
[C] Virus
[D] Bacteria
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Bacteria]
Notes:
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease caused by corkscrew-shaped bacteria called Leptospira. Signs and symptoms can range from none to mild such as headaches, muscle pains, and fevers; to severe with bleeding from the lungs or meningitis. If the infection causes the person to turn yellow, have kidney failure and bleeding, it is then known as Weil’s disease.
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. Intensive cultivation refers to ___:
[A] Raising production by intensive use of existing land
[B] Raising production by large scale use of imported inputs
[C] Production with intensive use of labour
[D] Production with intensive use of fertilizer
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Raising production by intensive use of existing land]
Notes:
Intensive farming is an agricultural intensification and mechanization system that aims to maximize yields from available land through various means, such as heavy use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. It is characterized by a low fallow ratio, higher use of inputs such as capital and labour, and higher crop yields per unit land area.
5. Saprophytes are the organisms which depend for food on
____:
[A] Inorganic chemical compounds
[B] Living plants
[C] Living animals
[D] Dead and decaying material
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Dead and decaying material]
Notes:
Saprophytes are the organisms which depend for food on dead and decaying material. They secrete digestive substances into the surrounding environment and break down the organic matter into simpler substances. The nutrients thus produced are absorbed directly through the cell membranes of the organisms.
6. Consider the following statements about how plants absorb nitrogen:
- Plants absorb nitrogen in the form of inorganic nitrates or nitrites.
- Plants take in nitrogen in the form of organic compounds.
- Nitrogen is directly taken up by the plants from the atmosphere.
Which of the above statements is / are correct?
[A] Only 1 and 2
[B] Only 1 and 3
[C] Only 2 and 3
[D] All of these
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Only 1 and 2]
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.
7. Which of the following is/are agent(s) of infection?
[A] Physical contact
[B] Water
[C] Vectors
[D] All of the above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [All of the above ]
Notes:
Infection is the invasion of an organism’s body tissues by disease-causing agents, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agents and the toxins they produce. Infectious diseases can be spread from one person to another, for example through contact with bodily fluids, by aerosols (through coughing and sneezing), or via a vector, for example a mosquito.
8. Growing agricultural crops between rows of planted trees is known as ____:
[A] Jhum
[B] Agro forestry
[C] Social forestry
[D] Taungya system
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Taungya system]
Notes:
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.
9. An Antigen is ____:
[A] The result of Antibody
[B] The stimulus for Antibody formation
[C] The opposite of Antibody
[D] The residue of an Antibody
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [The stimulus for Antibody formation]
Notes:
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.
10. Which among the following has open circulatory system?
I. Cockroach
II. Human
III. Prawn
[A] I and II
[B] I and III
[C] II and III
[D] Only III
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [I and III]
Notes:
Cockroach and prawns have open circulatory system in which the blood is not confined within blood vessels. The blood bathes the organs and tissues directly. Open circulatory systems pump blood into a hemocoel with the blood diffusing back to the circulatory system between cells. Blood is pumped by a heart into the body cavities, where tissues are surrounded by the blood. The open circulatory system is common to molluscs and arthropods.
