SSC CHSL Tier 1 2016 General Awareness Questions with Solutions

Explanation

Magnetite is a highly magnetic mineral and one of the primary ores of iron, with the chemical formula Fe₃O₄. It contains a very high iron content of approximately 72.4%, making it one of the most important and commercially viable sources for the extraction of iron.

Explanation

The biographical drama film The Man Who Knew Infinity, released in 2015, was written and directed by Matthew Brown. The movie is based on the 1991 book of the same name by Robert Kanigel and depicts the life of the renowned Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, highlighting his journey from Madras to Trinity College, Cambridge, and his partnership with professor G.H. Hardy.

Explanation

Saturn is classified as an outer planet, also known as a gas giant, because it lies beyond the asteroid belt and is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. It is characterized by its immense size, thick atmosphere, low density, and lack of a solid rocky surface.

Explanation

Earth is referred to as the blue planet because approximately 71% of its surface is covered with water, primarily in the form of vast oceans and seas. When viewed from outer space, the abundance of liquid water, along with the scattering of light by the atmosphere, gives the planet its characteristic vibrant blue color. This abundance of liquid water is a unique feature that defines Earth within our solar system.

Explanation

Bahadur Shah II, commonly known as Bahadur Shah Zafar, was the last Mughal emperor of India. He ascended the throne in 1837 succeeding his father, Akbar Shah II. His reign was largely symbolic as his authority was confined mostly to the walled city of Old Delhi. During the Revolt of 1857, Indian sepoys declared him the symbolic leader of the rebellion. After the British suppressed the uprising, he was tried for treason, deposed, and exiled to Rangoon in 1858, where he died in 1862, officially ending the Mughal dynasty.

Explanation

Lal Bahadur Shastri, who served as the second Prime Minister of India, was born on October 2, 1904, in Mughalsarai, Uttar Pradesh. He was a prominent leader in the Indian independence movement and is widely remembered for coining the slogan Jai Jawan Jai Kisan during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

Explanation

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav, popularly known as K.D. Jadhav, achieved historic glory by winning a bronze medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland. Competing in the bantamweight category, his victory made him the first athlete from independent India to win an individual Olympic medal.

Explanation

Light is an electromagnetic wave that does not require any material medium for its propagation. The speed of light in a vacuum is a universal physical constant, approximately equal to 3 × 10⁸ meters per second. When light travels through any physical substance, it constantly interacts with the constituent particles, which slows down its effective speed. Because a vacuum is completely devoid of matter, there are no atoms or molecules to absorb, scatter, or refract the light wave, allowing it to travel at its absolute maximum possible speed.

Explanation

According to the impulse-momentum theorem, impulse is defined as the product of the average force acting on an object and the time duration for which it acts.

J = F × Δt

By Newton's second law of motion, force is the rate of change of momentum:

F = Δp / Δt

Substituting this expression into the equation for impulse gives:

J = (Δp / Δt) × Δt = Δp

This mathematical relationship demonstrates that impulse is directly equal to the change in momentum of the object.

Explanation

The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world. At the time of its adoption on 26 November 1949, it contained 395 articles divided into 22 parts and 8 schedules, comprising approximately 145,000 words in its English version. Its extraordinary length is due to several key factors, including the geographical diversity and vastness of India, the need to address unique social and regional complexities, and the incorporation of detailed administrative provisions. It also includes comprehensive sections on fundamental rights, directive principles of state policy, and temporary, transitional, and special provisions. Over the years, with various constitutional amendments, it has grown even further in length and complexity to meet the evolving needs of the nation.

Explanation

Under 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. This constitutional provision ensures that the person elected to the office of the Vice-President automatically assumes the role of the presiding officer of the upper house of the Indian Parliament, conducting its legislative business and maintaining order during its sessions.

Explanation

The Ryder Cup is a prestigious biennial men's golf competition played between teams representing Europe and the United States. First officially contested in 1927, the tournament is named after Samuel Ryder, an English businessman and golf enthusiast who donated the iconic gold trophy. The venue alternates between courses in the United States and Europe, making it one of the most celebrated and highly anticipated events in the world of professional golf.

Explanation

The classic novel A Passage to India was written by the English author E. M. Forster and published in 1924. Set during the British Raj and the Indian independence movement of the 1920s, the story explores the complex relationships, racial tensions, and cultural misunderstandings between the British ruling class and the Indian citizens in the fictional city of Chandrapore. The title of the book is taken from Walt Whitman's poem Passage to India.

Explanation

The compiler is responsible for checking the syntax and grammatical rules of a programming language. Any violations of these rules are flagged as language (or syntax) errors during the compilation process, whereas logical errors can only be detected during program execution.

Explanation

Igor Sikorsky, a pioneering aviation engineer, is recognized for inventing the first practical, single-rotor helicopter. In 1939, he successfully designed and flew the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 in the United States. This aircraft introduced the configuration of a single main lifting rotor and a vertical tail rotor to counteract torque, which became the standard design for almost all modern helicopters. He went on to develop the Sikorsky R-4, which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter in 1942.

Explanation

Beri-beri is a neurological and cardiovascular disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin B1, commonly known as thiamine. Thiamine is an essential micronutrient that acts as a coenzyme in the metabolism of carbohydrates and branched-chain amino acids, helping the body convert food into energy. A lack of thiamine impairs cellular respiration and energy production, primarily affecting high-energy-demand systems like the nervous system and the cardiovascular system, which manifests as muscle weakness, peripheral neuropathy, and potentially heart failure.

Explanation

Chlorophyll was first isolated and named in 1817 by the French chemists Joseph Bienaimé Caventou and Pierre Joseph Pelletier. They extracted the green pigment from the leaves of plants and coined the name chlorophyll, which is derived from the Greek words chloros (pale green) and phyllon (leaf).

Explanation

Viruses do not fit into the Cell Theory because they are acellular entities, meaning they lack cellular organization. The Cell Theory states that all living organisms are composed of one or more cells, and that the cell is the basic structural and functional unit of life. Viruses, however, consist merely of genetic material, either DNA or RNA, enclosed within a protective protein coat called a capsid. They do not possess cytoplasm, cell membranes, or cellular organelles, and they cannot carry out metabolic processes or reproduce independently without hijacking the machinery of a host cell. Consequently, they exist on the borderline between living and non-living and stand as a prominent exception to the Cell Theory.

Explanation

Transition metals are electropositive elements located in the d-block of the periodic table. Due to their metallic nature, they have a strong tendency to lose valence electrons from their outer s and d subshells to achieve stable configurations, thereby forming positively charged ions with variable oxidation states. The tendency to gain electrons to form negative ions is a characteristic of highly electronegative non-metals, whereas transition metals undergo oxidation and act as reducing agents in chemical reactions.

Explanation

Ethylene (C₂H₄) is a symmetrical hydrocarbon containing a carbon-carbon double bond (C=C) and four carbon-hydrogen (C-H) single bonds. Each carbon atom in the molecule undergoes sp² hybridization, resulting in a planar, symmetrical molecular geometry with bond angles of approximately 120°. Because of this highly symmetric structure, the individual bond dipoles cancel each other out. The electrical charge is distributed evenly across the entire molecule, resulting in a net dipole moment of zero. This makes ethylene a nonpolar molecule.

Explanation

The Gateway of India, located in Mumbai, was designed by the Scottish architect George Wittet. The monument was constructed to commemorate the landing of King George V and Queen Mary at Apollo Bunder during their visit to India in December 1911. Wittet blended Roman triumphal arch design with traditional 16th-century Gujarati architectural elements to create this grand Indo-Saracenic structure, which was completed and officially opened in 1924.

Explanation

Pablo Picasso was born in Málaga, Spain, on October 25, 1881. He was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France but maintained his Spanish citizenship throughout his entire life. He is universally recognized as one of the most influential and revolutionary artists of the 20th century, famously co-founding the Cubist movement.

Explanation

The break-even quantity is calculated using the formula:

Break-even Quantity = Fixed Costs / (Selling Price per unit - Variable Cost per unit)

First, determine the selling price per candle. Since one dozen consists of 12 candles and the selling price is Rs 30 per dozen:

Selling Price per candle = Rs 30 / 12 = Rs 2.5

The variable cost per candle is given as Rs 1.5.

Now, calculate the contribution margin per candle:

Contribution Margin = Rs 2.5 - Rs 1.5 = Rs 1

Substituting these values into the break-even formula:

Break-even Quantity = 20,000 / 1 = 20,000 candles

Explanation

In a perfectly competitive market, an individual firm is a price taker and has no power to influence the market price. It can sell any quantity of its product at the prevailing market price determined by industry-wide demand and supply. Since the products are homogeneous and there are many buyers and sellers with perfect information, any attempt by the firm to raise its price even slightly will result in its sales falling to zero. Consequently, the demand curve facing a single competitive firm is a horizontal line at the market price, representing perfectly elastic demand where the price elasticity of demand is infinite.

Explanation

Activated carbon is highly effective at removing bad odors, tastes, and organic contaminants from water due to its extremely high surface area and porous structure. Through the process of physical adsorption, volatile organic compounds and other odor-causing substances adhere to the extensive network of pores within the carbon, effectively trapping them and purifying the water.

Explanation

Nagarhole National Park, also known as Rajiv Gandhi National Park, is located in the Kodagu and Mysore districts of Karnataka. It forms an essential part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, which was established in 1986 as India's first biosphere reserve under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme. This biosphere reserve represents a contiguous ecological corridor in the Western Ghats, containing a rich variety of flora and fauna and connecting major wildlife sanctuaries and national parks across Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.

Explanation

The Film and Television Institute of India is an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It was established in 1960 and is located on the premises of the erstwhile Prabhat Film Company in Pune, Maharashtra. The institute is a premier training ground in India for filmmaking, direction, cinematography, editing, and television production.

Explanation

Earth's mean surface temperature is approximately 15°C to 16°C (or about 288 K). This stable temperature is maintained by the natural greenhouse effect, where gases in the atmosphere such as water vapor and carbon dioxide trap heat radiated from the planet's surface. Without this atmospheric trapping, the average temperature of Earth would be around -18°C, making liquid water and life as we know it impossible.

Explanation

Raipur is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, which was carved out of the southeastern region of Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 2000.

Explanation

Mahatma Gandhi, born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, a coastal town on the Kathiawar Peninsula. At the time of his birth, Porbandar was part of a small princely state under the Kathiawar Agency of the British Indian Empire. Today, this geographic region is located within the administrative boundaries of the western Indian state of Gujarat.

Explanation

Bahadur Shah I, originally named Muazzam, was born on October 14, 1643, in Burhanpur. He was the son of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and his wife Nawab Bai. He ascended the throne in 1707 after a war of succession following his father's death, and ruled the Mughal Empire until 1712.

Explanation

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906, making him the first American to receive a Nobel Prize in any category. He received this honor for his successful role in mediating and negotiating peace in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), which culminated in the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth in September 1905. Additionally, his efforts to resolve a dispute with Mexico using international arbitration contributed to this recognition.

Explanation

Newton's second law of motion states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting upon it. This relationship is mathematically expressed as F = ma, or when solved for acceleration, a = F/m. Thus, for a constant mass, any increase in the applied force results in a proportional increase in the acceleration of the object.

Explanation

According to Archimedes' principle, a floating object displaces a volume of fluid equal in weight to the weight of the object itself.

For an ice block of mass m floating in water, the upward buoyant force equals the downward gravitational force: m × g = V_displaced × ρ_water × g

Solving for the volume of water displaced by the floating ice gives: V_displaced = m / ρ_water

When the ice melts, its physical state changes but its mass m remains conserved as it transitions into liquid water. The volume of liquid water produced by the melted ice is: V_melted = m / ρ_water

Because the volume of water produced by the melted ice is identical to the volume of water originally displaced by the floating ice, the melted water perfectly fills the exact volume of the displaced liquid. Consequently, the water level in the vessel remains constant.

Explanation

The Constitution of India was framed by the Constituent Assembly, which was set up in 1946 in accordance with the recommendations of the Cabinet Mission Plan. The assembly consisted of indirectly elected representatives from the provinces and nominated members from the princely states. Under the chairmanship of Dr. Rajendra Prasad and with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar heading the Drafting Committee, the assembly worked for nearly three years to draft, debate, and finalize the constitutional framework of independent India before adopting it on November 26, 1949.

Explanation

Article 84 of the Constitution of India lays down the qualifications for membership of Parliament. According to Article 84(b), a citizen of India must not be less than 25 years of age to be eligible for election as a member of the Lok Sabha, which is the lower house of Parliament.

Explanation

Virender Sehwag became the first Indian cricketer to score a triple century in Test cricket when he scored 309 runs against Pakistan in Multan on March 29, 2004. His blistering innings came off just 375 balls and included 39 boundaries and 6 sixes, earning him the famous title Multan ka Sultan. He later scored a second triple century (319 runs) against South Africa in Chennai in 2008, making him one of the few batsmen globally to achieve this feat multiple times.

Explanation

Jhumpa Lahiri wrote Interpreter of Maladies, a debut collection of nine short stories published in 1999. The book explores themes such as the immigrant experience, cultural barriers, and marital conflicts among Indians and Indian-Americans. The critically acclaimed work won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award in 2000, establishing her as a prominent voice in contemporary literature.

Explanation

A depressant is a drug or substance that slows down the activity of the brain and the central nervous system. By decreasing neurotransmission levels, it reduces stimulation and arousal, leading to effects such as muscle relaxation, decreased anxiety, and slower physical and cognitive reaction times.

Explanation

Carica papaya is the scientific name of the papaya plant, which belongs to the family Caricaceae. The genus name Carica refers to the resemblance of the plant's leaves to those of the common fig tree, while papaya is the common name. This tropical evergreen tree is widely cultivated across the globe for its edible fruit, which is highly valued for its nutritional profile, particularly its high levels of vitamin C, vitamin A, and papain, a proteolytic enzyme used in meat tenderization and various industrial applications.

Explanation

ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the primary energy currency of cells and is essential for muscle contraction. During physical exertion, ATP is continuously hydrolyzed to provide the energy needed for myosin heads to bind and detach from actin filaments during the sliding filament mechanism. ATP is also required to pump calcium (Ca²⁺) ions back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum to allow muscle relaxation. When muscles experience a shortfall of ATP, they can no longer maintain these active transport and cross-bridge processes efficiently, leading directly to muscle fatigue.

Explanation

Ammonium nitrate is an ionic salt formed by the combination of the ammonium cation NH₄⁺ and the nitrate anion NO₃⁻. Since both ions carry a single unit of charge (+1 and -1 respectively), they combine in a 1:1 ratio to maintain electrical neutrality, yielding the chemical formula NH₄NO₃.

Explanation

Xenon is a noble gas that exists as monoatomic atoms. In its solid state, these atoms are held together only by very weak London dispersion forces, which are the weakest type of intermolecular attraction. Because minimal thermal energy is required to overcome these weak dispersion forces, Xenon has an extremely low melting point of approximately 161.4 K (-111.7 °C).

Explanation

HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, is a standard formatting language used to structure and display content on the web. It is a code-based development tool, which classifies it as a markup language rather than a digital space or network infrastructure.

Explanation

The Madal is a traditional double-headed hand drum that originates from Nepal. It is widely recognized as the national folk musical instrument of Nepal and is the primary rhythm-keeping instrument used in Nepalese folk music. While it is played by Nepalese communities in neighboring regions like Sikkim and Darjeeling, its origin and cultural identity are fundamentally Nepalese rather than Indian.

Explanation

The Basilica of Bom Jesus, located in Old Goa, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that houses the sacred relics of St. Francis Xavier. St. Francis Xavier was a co-founder of the Society of Jesus and a pioneering Catholic missionary in Asia. After his death in 1552 on Shangchuan Island, China, his incorrupt body was moved to Malacca before being brought to Goa in 1554. The relics are enshrined in a magnificent silver casket, which is placed atop a three-tiered marble mausoleum inside the church. This monument remains a major pilgrimage destination, attracting visitors from all over the world, particularly during the public exposition of his relics.

Explanation

Amartya Sen was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1998 for his path-breaking contributions to welfare economics and social choice theory. His research on poverty, famine, and human development redefined how development is measured and addressed globally, making him the first Indian citizen to receive this prestigious honor.

Explanation

Chloroquin is a synthetic drug belonging to the aminoquinoline class that is widely used for the prevention and treatment of malaria. It works by inhibiting the action of the Plasmodium parasite, specifically by preventing the biocrystallization of hemozoin. This leads to the accumulation of toxic heme within the parasite, ultimately causing its death.

Explanation

Chlorine is classified as an essential micronutrient for plants rather than a macronutrient because it is required in very small quantities, typically less than 100 milligrams per kilogram of dry matter. It plays a crucial role in vital physiological processes such as the photolysis of water during photosynthesis, cellular osmoregulation, and the maintenance of turgor pressure. Since plants need it only in minute concentrations to complete their life cycle, it does not belong to the macronutrient group.

Explanation

Insects respire through an internal network of air-filled tubes known as the tracheal system. The main tubes of this system are called tracheae, which open to the exterior through small pore-like structures called spiracles located along the sides of the insect's body. Air enters through the spiracles and travels through the tracheae, which branch further into extremely fine tubules called tracheoles. These tracheoles directly reach the individual cells and tissues of the insect, facilitating the diffusion of oxygen into the tissues and the removal of carbon dioxide from them.