SSC CHSL Tier 1 2013 General Awareness Questions with Solutions

Explanation

M. Veerappa Moily served as the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas from 28 October 2012 to 26 May 2014 under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA-II) government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Explanation

Vikas Gowda won the gold medal in the discus throw event at the 20th Asian Athletics Championships held in Pune, India, in July 2013. He secured the first position with a throw of 64.90 meters on his fourth attempt to beat Iran's Mohammad Samimi.

Explanation

The Marwar Festival is an annual cultural festival held in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Originally known as the Maand Festival, it is celebrated in memory of the folk heroes of Rajasthan and showcases the traditional art, music, dance, and culture of the Marwar region. Since it is organized by the Department of Tourism of the Government of Rajasthan in Jodhpur, it is not held in Madhya Pradesh.

Explanation

Dr. Ravuri Bharadwaja was a prominent novelist, short-story writer, poet, and critic who made immense contributions to Telugu literature. He was selected for the prestigious 48th Jnanpith Award for the year 2012, primarily recognized for his outstanding work including his magnum opus novel Pakudu Rallu, which depicts the struggles and life in the film industry. He was the third writer in Telugu literature to receive this highly esteemed literary honor, following Viswanatha Satyanarayana and C. Narayana Reddy.

Explanation

Energy flow in an ecosystem is unidirectional, starting with the capture of solar energy by autotrophic organisms, which are the producers. These producers synthesize organic compounds that serve as food for heterotrophic organisms, known as consumers. When both producers and consumers die, their organic remains and energy are transferred to decomposers, such as bacteria and fungi, which break down dead organic matter. This sequence forms a linear flow of energy across the trophic levels of the ecosystem.

Explanation

The three R's—Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle—form the classic hierarchy of waste management designed to conserve natural resources and minimize environmental impact. Reducing focuses on lowering the volume of waste generated at the source. Reusing involves utilizing products multiple times or repurposing them to extend their lifespan rather than discarding them. Recycling processes waste materials into new manufacturing inputs, which conserves raw materials, saves energy, and decreases pollution. Together, these three practices form the foundation of ecological sustainability and circular resource management.

Explanation

The Union Territory of Puducherry consists of four geographically isolated districts situated in different coastal regions of Southern India. Karnataka is located on the southwestern coast and inland areas of the Deccan plateau, completely separated from any of these administrative districts. As a result, no part of Puducherry shares a land boundary, maritime boundary, or geographical proximity with the state of Karnataka.

Explanation

Switzerland's de facto capital and federal city is Bern, not Geneva. Although Geneva is a major global city, financial hub, and a key center for diplomacy hosting numerous international organizations such as the United Nations and the Red Cross, Bern serves as the seat of the Swiss federal government and parliament.

Explanation

The French Open is officially known as the Roland Garros tournament, named in honor of the pioneering French aviator Roland Garros. He was a heroic fighter pilot during World War I and the first person to complete a non-stop flight across the Mediterranean Sea in 1913. The tournament is held annually over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, and is the premier clay court tennis championship in the world.

Explanation

Satyajit Ray's critically acclaimed film Charulata (spelled as Charluta in the options) is based on the 1901 Bengali novella Nastanirh (translated as The Broken Nest, and transliterated as Natanseer in the question) written by Rabindranath Tagore. The film beautifully captures the emotional isolation, intellectual companionship, and complex relationships of the central character, Charulata, within a wealthy 19th-century Bengali household.

Explanation

The literary work Gardner, also published as The Gardener, is a famous collection of love and life poems written and translated into English by the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore in 1913.

Explanation

Kisan Diwas (National Farmers' Day) is celebrated across India on 23rd December every year. This day marks the birth anniversary of Chaudhary Charan Singh, who served as the fifth Prime Minister of India. He was a prominent leader of Indian farmers and a champion of the peasant community, dedicating his career to agricultural reforms, rural development, and the welfare of farmers. He played a pivotal role in formulating major agrarian legislations, including the abolition of the Zamindari system and the drafting of the Debt Redemption Bill to relieve farmers from exploitation. To recognize his immense contributions and to honor the role of farmers in the nation's development, the Government of India declared his birth anniversary as National Farmers' Day in 2001.

Explanation

The Law of Variable Proportions explains the short-run relationship between variable inputs and output while keeping fixed inputs constant. In the third stage, the quantity of the variable input becomes excessively high relative to the fixed input, leading to overcrowding, management inefficiency, and coordination issues. As a result of this imbalance, the Marginal Product of the variable factor becomes negative (MP < 0), and the Total Product begins to decline. Because additional units of the variable input yield negative additions to the total output, this stage is defined as the stage of negative returns.

Explanation

The price elasticity of demand measures the sensitivity or responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a good or service to a change in its price.

Using the standard economic formula for price elasticity of demand:

Elasticity of Demand = % change in quantity demanded / % change in price

This ratio quantifies how consumer demand shifts when prices fluctuate. When the percentage change in demand is greater than the percentage change in price, the elasticity is greater than 1, indicating elastic demand. Conversely, when the percentage change in demand is less than the percentage change in price, the elasticity is less than 1, indicating inelastic demand.

Explanation

According to national income accounting, the incomes of Indian residents working abroad are classified as factor income earned from abroad. When Indian citizens or residents temporarily provide labor or capital in other countries, their earnings, compensation, and property incomes are recorded as income earned from abroad. This component is added to the domestic product of the country to calculate the national product, representing the total income generated by the normal residents of the nation regardless of geographical boundaries.

Explanation

The textile industry is the largest industrial employer in India and is the second-largest overall employer in the country, after agriculture. This sector is highly labor-intensive, providing direct employment to over 45 million people and indirect livelihood to more than 60 million people, including those in allied sectors such as agriculture (cotton farming), handlooms, power looms, spinning, processing, and garment manufacturing. It accounts for a significant portion of India's industrial output, gross domestic product (GDP), and export earnings, making it a critical driver of economic growth and employment, particularly for women.

Explanation

Cross demand refers to the relationship between the quantity demanded of a particular commodity and the price of other related commodities, assuming all other factors like consumer income and tastes remain constant. Related commodities are classified into substitute goods and complementary goods. In the case of substitute goods, such as tea and coffee, an increase in the price of tea leads to an increase in the demand for coffee. Conversely, for complementary goods like cars and petrol, an increase in the price of petrol results in a decrease in the demand for cars.

Explanation

According to Article 64 and Article 89(1) of the Constitution of India, the Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and acts as its Presiding Officer. Article 66(2) of the Constitution specifies that the Vice-President shall not be a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of the Legislature of any State. Therefore, the Presiding Officer of the Rajya Sabha is not a member of the House.

Explanation

Political rights are those rights that enable citizens to participate in the administration, establishment, and management of the government. The right to vote, also known as franchise or suffrage, is the most fundamental political right in a democratic system. It empowers citizens to actively participate in the political process by electing their representatives to public office, thereby giving them a voice in the governance and decision-making of the state.

Explanation

Under Article 248 of the Constitution of India, residuary powers refer to the legislative competence over subjects that are not specifically enumerated in any of the three lists—the Union List, the State List, or the Concurrent List—contained in the Seventh Schedule. The Constitution vests these residuary powers exclusively in the Parliament of India, a authority also reinforced by Entry 97 of the Union List. This framework enables the Union legislature to enact laws on any new or unforeseen subjects that arise over time and were not originally categorized during the drafting of the Constitution.

Explanation

Pushyamitra Shunga, the commander-in-chief of the Mauryan army, assassinated Brihadratha, the last Mauryan emperor, in 185 BCE during a military parade. This event brought an end to the Maurya dynasty and established the Shunga dynasty, which subsequently ruled the Magadha Kingdom from its capital at Pataliputra.

Explanation

Under Article 80 of the Constitution of India, the Rajya Sabha consists of a maximum of 250 members, out of which 12 members are nominated by the President. These nominated individuals are chosen from among persons having special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art, and social service.

Explanation

The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from amongst its members. The committee consists of 22 members, with 15 selected from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha. Under the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, the Speaker is vested with the authority to appoint the Chairman of this parliamentary committee. Since 1967, a parliamentary convention has been followed whereby the Speaker appoints a member from the opposition party to head this committee to ensure impartial scrutiny of government expenditures.

Explanation

Punjab was annexed by the British East India Company under Lord Dalhousie in 1849 following the defeat of the Sikh Empire in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. This annexation was a direct consequence of military conquest and armed conflict rather than the application of the Doctrine of Lapse, which was typically reserved for states where a native ruler died without a natural male heir.

Explanation

China was not an Axis Power but was instead one of the primary nations of the Allied Powers. During the Second World War, China fought a major war of resistance beginning in 1937 and became officially recognized as one of the Big Four Allied nations alongside the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, playing a crucial role in the global victory of the Allies.

Explanation

Anaimudi is the highest mountain peak in Peninsular India, standing at an elevation of 2,695 metres above sea level. Located in the Idukki district of Kerala, it lies in the Anaimalai Hills region of the Western Ghats. It is often referred to as the Everest of South India due to its topographic prominence, being the highest point in India outside of the Himalayan mountain system.

Explanation

Weathering is the physical disintegration and chemical decomposition of rocks and minerals in situ, which translates to "in place." This process takes place at or near the Earth's surface through the direct influence of atmospheric agents such as temperature fluctuations, moisture, frost, and biological activity, leading to the gradual breakdown of solid rock into smaller fragments without any lateral movement or transportation of the material.

Explanation

The Volga River is the longest river in Europe, stretching approximately 3,530 kilometres. Rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia at an elevation of about 225 metres above sea level, it flows through central Russia and empties into the Caspian Sea. It also possesses the largest watershed and discharge volume in Europe, playing a vital role in Russian transport, agriculture, and hydroelectric power generation.

Explanation

Granite is a coarse-grained, intrusive igneous rock that forms from the slow crystallization of magma below the Earth's surface. Because this cooling process occurs deep within the Earth's crust over a very long period, minerals have sufficient time to grow, resulting in large, visible crystals that define its characteristic phaneritic texture. Rocks of this nature, which solidify deep underground, are classified as plutonic igneous rocks.

Explanation

Alauddin Khilji introduced the market regulation and price control system to maintain a large standing army at low wages. He fixed the prices of all essential commodities, ranging from food grains, sugar, and cooking oil to high-quality cloth, horses, and slaves. To implement these reforms, he established distinct markets in Delhi, appointed specialized officers like the Shahna-i-Mandi to supervise the markets, and maintained a strict network of spies called Barids to prevent hoarding, cheating, and overcharging.

Explanation

Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, wrote his autobiography titled Tuzuk-e-Babri, also known as Baburnama, in his native language Chagatai Turkic. In this work, he meticulously recorded his military strategies, political battles, and detailed observations of the flora, fauna, and geography of India.

Jahangir, the fourth Mughal Emperor, authored his autobiography in Persian, titled Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri or Jahangirnama. His memoirs cover the first nineteen years of his reign, offering deep insights into his administrative policies, daily court life, personal interests in painting and nature, and relationships with his family and nobility.

Explanation

Rinderpest, also known as cattle plague, is a highly contagious infectious disease of cattle and other cloven-hoofed animals caused by the rinderpest virus. The rinderpest virus is a member of the genus Morbillivirus within the family Paramyxoviridae, and is closely related to the human measles and canine distemper viruses. The disease is characterized by high fever, oral erosions, diarrhea, lymphoid necrosis, and extremely high mortality rates in susceptible populations. Through a highly successful global vaccination and eradication campaign led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), rinderpest was officially declared globally eradicated in 2011, making it only the second viral disease to be completely eradicated after smallpox.

Explanation

Santalum, commonly known as sandalwood, is a hemiparasitic plant that behaves as a root parasite. Although it possesses chlorophyll and can perform photosynthesis to produce its own organic food, its root system is unable to absorb sufficient water and inorganic nutrients directly from the soil. To overcome this, it produces specialized root structures called haustoria that attach to and penetrate the roots of nearby host plants to draw water, minerals, and other essential nutrients.

Explanation

Monocytes are the largest type of white blood corpuscles in the human immune system, typically measuring between 12 to 20 micrometers in diameter. They are agranular leukocytes characterized by a large, indented or kidney-shaped nucleus and a vast amount of cytoplasm, allowing them to effectively perform phagocytosis and differentiate into macrophages or dendritic cells when they migrate into tissues.

Explanation

The pituitary gland is a pure endocrine gland, often referred to as the master gland of the endocrine system. It synthesizes and secretes hormones, such as growth hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and adrenocorticotropic hormone, directly into the bloodstream to regulate a wide range of physiological processes. Because the pituitary gland lacks ducts and does not release any secretions onto an epithelial surface, it has no exocrine function.

Explanation

Iodine deficiency causes goitre, which is the enlargement of the thyroid gland due to its inability to produce sufficient thyroid hormones without adequate iodine.

Iron deficiency leads to microcytic anaemia, a condition where the body cannot produce enough hemoglobin, resulting in red blood cells that are smaller than normal.

Niacin, also known as Vitamin B3, deficiency results in pellagra, a systemic disease characterized by dermatitis, diarrhea, and dementia.

Vitamin B12 deficiency leads to pernicious anaemia, a specific type of megaloblastic anaemia where the body cannot absorb enough Vitamin B12 due to a lack of intrinsic factor in the stomach, impairing red blood cell production.

Explanation

The Coast of Norway is a classic example of a fiord coast. Fiords are long, narrow, deep inlets of the sea with steep sides or cliffs, created by glacial erosion. During the Ice Age, massive glaciers carved deep, U-shaped valleys that extended below sea level. When these glaciers melted and retreated, the rising sea level flooded the deep troughs, creating the highly indented, rugged, and dramatic coastline characteristic of Norway.

Explanation

Stomata are microscopic pores predominantly located on the epidermis of plant leaves and stems. These tiny openings play a crucial role in photosynthesis and transpiration by allowing the exchange of gases, specifically carbon dioxide and oxygen, between the internal tissues of the plant and the atmosphere. Each pore is bordered by a pair of specialized guard cells that regulate its opening and closing to balance gas exchange with water loss.

Explanation

In a filament-type light bulb, also known as an incandescent bulb, electric current passes through a high-resistance tungsten filament, heating it to extremely high temperatures, typically between 2000 and 3000 K. According to the laws of blackbody radiation, a heated body emits electromagnetic radiation across a spectrum of wavelengths depending on its temperature. At these typical operating temperatures, only a very small fraction, roughly 5% of the electrical energy consumed, is converted into visible light. The vast majority of the electrical energy, approximately 95%, is radiated at longer wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, which corresponds to heat in the form of infra-red rays.

Explanation

By the law of conservation of energy, the total mechanical energy of both stones is conserved during their flight. Since both stones are thrown from the same height h with the same initial speed u, they possess the same initial kinetic energy ½mu² and the same initial potential energy mgh. When they hit the ground, their potential energy is completely converted into kinetic energy. Therefore, the final kinetic energy of both stones when hitting the ground is equal to ½mu² + mgh. This means their final speeds on reaching the ground are identical.

Alternatively, using the third equation of motion, v² = u² + 2gh, the final speed v depends only on the initial speed u, acceleration due to gravity g, and the height of the cliff h. For the stone thrown upwards with speed u, it rises and returns to the release point with the same speed u directed downwards, after which it falls through the height h. For the stone thrown directly downwards with speed u, it also falls through the height h. Thus, both stones hit the ground with the same speed, which is √(u² + 2gh), yielding a ratio of 1:1.

Explanation

John von Neumann introduced the stored-program concept in 1945 in his design of the Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer, known as the EDVAC. In this architecture, both program instructions and data are stored together in the same electronic memory. This breakthrough allowed computers to perform different tasks by simply loading a new program into memory rather than requiring tedious manual rewiring or physical reconfiguration of the hardware, laying the foundation for modern computer architecture.

Explanation

The optical power of a lens is defined as the reciprocal of its focal length in meters, represented by the formula P = 1/f. The SI unit of optical power is the diopter, where 1 diopter is equal to 1 m⁻¹. It measures the degree to which a lens converges or diverges light.

Explanation

When a stone is thrown into the calm water of a pond, a disturbance is created at the point of impact. This disturbance travels outward along the surface of the water in concentric circles. As the wave propagates horizontally, the water molecules on the surface oscillate up and down. Since the individual particles of the medium vibrate perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels, the wave produced on the surface is a transverse wave.

Explanation

Carbon dioxide is commonly used in fire extinguishers because it is a non-flammable gas that is denser than air. When sprayed onto a fire, it displaces the surrounding oxygen, which is essential for sustaining combustion. By cutting off this oxygen supply and simultaneously cooling the fuel as it expands rapidly from its pressurized container, carbon dioxide effectively smothers and extinguishes the fire.

Explanation

Bromine is the only non-metallic element in the periodic table that exists as a liquid at standard temperature and pressure. With an atomic number of 35, it is a heavy, volatile, reddish-brown liquid that readily evaporates at room temperature to form a vapor with a strong, disagreeable odor. Its liquid state is a result of the moderate strength of the intermolecular dispersion forces between its diatomic molecules (Br₂), which are strong enough to prevent it from being a gas but not strong enough to lock it into a solid crystalline lattice.

Explanation

Nitrogen has the electronic configuration 1s² 2s² 2p³, where its 2p subshell is exactly half-filled. According to Hund's rule, half-filled and completely filled subshells possess extra stability due to their symmetrical distribution of electrons and high exchange energy. Removing an electron from this highly stable, half-filled 2p subshell requires a significantly large amount of energy, resulting in a higher first ionisation energy for nitrogen compared to oxygen.

Explanation

Sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄) contains two ionizable hydrogen atoms per molecule. When dissolved in water, it dissociates in two successive steps to release two protons (H⁺ ions):

H₂SO₄ → H⁺ + HSO₄⁻ HSO₄⁻ ⇌ H⁺ + SO₄²⁻

Because one molecule of sulphuric acid can donate two protons to a base in an acid-base reaction, it is classified as a dibasic acid.

Explanation

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) are the primary greenhouse gases that trap heat in Earth's atmosphere. They absorb thermal infrared radiation emitted from the Earth's surface and re-emit it in all directions, which prevents heat from escaping directly into space. This trapping of heat energy creates the greenhouse effect, raising the global average surface temperature.

Explanation

The FORMAT command in Disk Operating System (DOS) is an external command used to prepare a storage medium, such as a floppy disk or hard drive, for reading and writing. When executed, it sets up a new file system on the disk by initializing the directory structure and file allocation table (FAT). This process also scans the storage medium for bad sectors to prevent data corruption and clears any pre-existing files on the disk.

Explanation

In a shell account, the user's computer is not connected directly to the Internet. Instead, the local computer acts as a simple terminal or terminal emulator, logging into a remote multi-user computer system (typically running a Unix-like operating system). This remote host system has the direct connection to the Internet. All applications, commands, and network processes run on the host computer, while the user's personal computer only transmits input from the keyboard and displays the text output from the host. Because the local computer does not run its own TCP/IP stack or have its own public IP address in this configuration, it is not directly connected to the network.