SSC CHSL Tier 1 2016 General Awareness Questions with Solutions

Explanation

Manas National Park is located in the state of Assam, situated in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas. It is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, a Project Tiger reserve, an elephant reserve, and a biosphere reserve. The park is contiguous with the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan and is spanned by the Manas River, which is a major tributary of the Brahmaputra River. The sanctuary is renowned for its unique biodiversity, providing a critical habitat for rare and endangered endemic wildlife such as the Assam roofed turtle, hispid hare, golden langur, and pygmy hog.

Explanation

The popular romantic track Jag Ghoomeya from the 2016 Bollywood movie Sultan was sung by the playback singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The music for this track was composed by the musical duo Vishal-Shekhar, while the lyrics were penned by Irshad Kamil. The song features Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma in the lead roles.

Explanation

Marble is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that forms when limestone is subjected to the intense heat and pressure of metamorphism. This geological process causes the calcite grains within the original sedimentary limestone to recrystallize and grow larger, fusing together to form an interlocking mosaic of carbonate crystals. This transformation alters the texture and structure of the rock into a much denser and harder crystalline rock.

Explanation

Kota is a major city in the northern state of Rajasthan and is situated on the banks of the Chambal River, which is the largest river in the state and a key tributary of the Yamuna River. The river serves as a vital source of drinking water and irrigation for the city and surrounding areas. This relationship is highlighted by the Kota Barrage, a prominent dam constructed on the Chambal River within the city limits to control water flow and facilitate irrigation. Additionally, the scenic Chambal Riverfront is developed along its banks within Kota, making the river central to the city's identity and geography.

Explanation

The Battles of Tarain, also known as the Battles of Taraori, were fought in 1191 and 1192 near Taraori in Haryana. These historic conflicts took place between the Rajput ruler Prithviraj Chauhan of the Chahamana dynasty and Muhammad Ghori of the Ghurid Empire. In the First Battle of Tarain in 1191, Prithviraj Chauhan defeated Muhammad Ghori. In the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192, Muhammad Ghori returned with a larger army, defeated Prithviraj Chauhan, and established Ghurid rule in Northern India.

Explanation

World War II officially began on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. This aggressive action prompted Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany two days later, on September 3, 1939, initiating a global conflict that lasted until 1945.

Explanation

Aryabhata was India's first satellite, designed and fabricated entirely by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was named after the famous 5th-century Indian astronomer and mathematician. The satellite was launched on 19 April 1975 from Kapustin Yar, a Soviet rocket launch site, using a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. It was developed to conduct experiments in X-ray astronomy, aeronomy, and solar physics, establishing India's indigenous capability in satellite technology.

Explanation

The acceleration due to gravity g at the surface of the Earth is given by the formula:

g = GM / R²

where G is the universal gravitational constant, M is the mass of the Earth, and R is the radius of the Earth.

The acceleration due to gravity g' at a height h from the surface of the Earth is given by:

g' = GM / (R + h)²

In this problem, the distance from the surface of the Earth is h = 2R. Substituting this value into the equation:

g' = GM / (R + 2R)² g' = GM / (3R)² g' = GM / 9R² g' = g/9

Explanation

The moment of inertia is a physical quantity that measures a body's resistance to rotational acceleration about a specific axis. It is mathematically defined as the product of mass and the square of the perpendicular distance from the rotational axis (I = ∑ mr²). Therefore, the SI unit of moment of inertia is kilogram square meter (kg m²), which is entirely different from the pascal.

Explanation

The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) is an Indian political party founded on January 1, 1998, under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee. The party was formed after splitting from the Indian National Congress and primarily operates in the state of West Bengal, where it has served as the ruling party.

Explanation

The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of India allocates seats in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, to each state and union territory based on their respective populations. Under this constitutional framework, the state of Karnataka is allotted 12 seats in the Rajya Sabha. The members occupying these seats are elected indirectly by the elected members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly through the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote.

Explanation

Apurvi Chandela is an Indian sports shooter who competes in the 10-meter air rifle event. She achieved significant international recognition by winning the gold medal in the women's 10-meter air rifle event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She also represented India at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games after securing an Olympic quota berth with a bronze medal finish at the 2015 ISSF World Cup in Changwon.

Explanation

The Broken Wing: Songs of Love, Death, and the Spring is an acclaimed collection of poems written by Sarojini Naidu, first published in 1917. Sarojini Naidu, widely celebrated as the Nightingale of India, was a major Indian poet and political activist who played a crucial role in the Indian independence movement. Her lyrical poetry frequently explored themes of love, patriotism, spirituality, and the beauty of nature.

Explanation

The Red Fort Complex, built in the 17th century by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as part of his capital Shahjahanabad, represents a synthesis of Persian, Timurid, and Indian architectural styles. The Safavid capital of Isfahan, famed for its grand planning, elegant gardens, and sophisticated pavilions, served as the primary source of inspiration for the design and geometrical grid layout of the Red Fort. This layout features a series of pavilions connected by the Nahr-i-Behisht (Stream of Paradise), demonstrating a direct architectural lineage from Safavid Persia.

Explanation

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, commonly known as C.V. Raman, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930. This prestigious honor was bestowed upon him for his groundbreaking work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the Raman effect. This phenomenon occurs when light traverses a transparent material, causing some of the deflected light to change in wavelength. His discovery significantly advanced the field of molecular spectroscopy and established him as the first Asian to receive a Nobel Prize in any of the sciences.

Explanation

Human skin is anatomically divided into three primary layers: the epidermis, the dermis, and the hypodermis (or subcutaneous layer). The epidermis is the outermost, protective barrier that is constantly renewing. Below it lies the dermis, which contains blood vessels, nerves, hair follicles, and sweat glands. The deepest layer is the hypodermis, consisting mainly of fat and connective tissue that provides insulation and cushioning for the body.

Explanation

Allium cepa is the botanical name for the onion, which is a widely cultivated vegetable of the genus Allium. It belongs to the family Amaryllidaceae and is characterized by its edible bulb, consisting of layers of fleshy, modified leaves.

Explanation

DNA is Deoxyribonucleic Acid, which is a molecule that carries the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses. The name is derived from its chemical structure, where deoxyribo refers to its pentose sugar component, deoxyribose, which lacks one oxygen atom compared to ribose sugar, and nucleic acid refers to the polymer chain of nucleotides found in the cell nucleus.

Explanation

Natural rubber is a polymer of cis-isoprene (specifically cis-1,4-polyisoprene), rather than being a monomer. The individual building block or monomer unit of natural rubber is cis-isoprene (2-methylbuta-1,3-diene), which undergoes addition polymerization to form the long-chain macromolecules that constitute natural rubber.

Explanation

Carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) has a symmetrical, regular tetrahedral structure where the central carbon atom undergoes sp³ hybridization. The four polar C-Cl bond dipoles point outward from the central carbon atom toward the chlorine atoms at the corners of the regular tetrahedron. Because of this highly symmetrical geometric arrangement, the vector sum of the four individual bond dipoles is zero, completely canceling each other out and resulting in a net molecular dipole moment of zero.

Explanation

To convert the decimal number 101 to binary, we can express it as the sum of powers of 2:

101 = 64 + 32 + 4 + 1 101 = 2⁶ + 2⁵ + 2² + 2⁰

This corresponds to the following binary place values: 1 × 2⁶ + 1 × 2⁵ + 0 × 2⁴ + 0 × 2³ + 1 × 2² + 0 × 2¹ + 1 × 2⁰

Reading the coefficients from left to right yields the binary equivalent 1100101.

Explanation

Vallam Kali, popularly known as the Snake Boat Race, is a traditional boat race held in the state of Kerala. This historic event is a major attraction during the autumn harvest festival of Onam. It involves paddled war canoes, locally referred to as Chundan Vallams, which are typically over a hundred feet long and manned by dozens of oarsmen. The most famous of these races is the Nehru Trophy Boat Race, which is conducted annually on the Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha, Kerala.

Explanation

The point elasticity of demand is calculated using the formula:

E_d = (ΔQ / ΔP) × (P₁ / Q₁)

where: E_d is the point elasticity of demand (-3.2) ΔQ is the change in quantity demanded (Q₂ - Q₁ = 1200 - 1000 = 200) ΔP is the change in price (P₂ - P₁ = 75 - P₁) Q₁ is the initial quantity demanded (1000) P₁ is the initial price

Substituting these values into the formula:

-3.2 = (200 / (75 - P₁)) × (P₁ / 1000)

-3.2 = (P₁ / (75 - P₁)) × 0.2

Dividing both sides by 0.2:

-16 = P₁ / (75 - P₁)

Multiplying both sides by (75 - P₁):

-16 × (75 - P₁) = P₁

-1200 + 16P₁ = P₁

15P₁ = 1200

P₁ = 80

Explanation

Monopolistic competition is a market structure characterized by many sellers offering differentiated products that are close but not perfect substitutes for each other. Because consumers can easily switch to similar products if prices change, the demand curve facing each firm is highly elastic.

Pure competition, also known as perfect competition, features a large number of buyers and sellers trading a homogeneous product. Since all goods in the market are identical, they serve as perfect substitutes for consumers, meaning no individual seller has any market power and each faces a perfectly elastic demand curve.

Explanation

Incomplete combustion of carbon-containing fuels occurs when there is an insufficient supply of oxygen to completely oxidize the carbon. Under these oxygen-deficient conditions, the fuel undergoes partial oxidation, which produces carbon monoxide (CO) as a primary byproduct. The chemical reaction representing this partial oxidation of carbon is 2C + O₂ → 2CO. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, and highly toxic gas that readily binds to hemoglobin in the human bloodstream, forming carboxyhemoglobin and severely reducing the body's ability to transport oxygen.

Explanation

Photoautotrophs are organisms that synthesize their own organic food from inorganic substances using light as the primary energy source. Through the process of photosynthesis, these organisms capture radiant energy from light using specialized pigments such as chlorophyll and convert it into chemical energy stored in organic molecules like glucose. This metabolic capability allows them to generate the necessary energy to fuel their cellular processes and sustain growth.

Explanation

Udant Martand, meaning the rising sun, was the first Hindi language newspaper published in India. It commenced weekly publication on May 30, 1826, from Calcutta, which is now Kolkata. The newspaper was started, edited, and published by Pandit Jugal Kishore Shukla. To mark the launch of this pioneer journal, May 30 is celebrated every year as Hindi Journalism Day in India.

Explanation

Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal, serving as the country's political, economic, and cultural center. Located on the Iberian Peninsula along the Atlantic coast and the mouth of the Tagus River, it is one of the oldest cities in Western Europe.

Explanation

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. Located on the Manzanares River in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula, it serves as the political, economic, and cultural center of the country. It has been the capital of Spain since 1561, when King Philip II moved his court there from Toledo.

Explanation

Alexander the Great, the king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, was born in Pella in July 356 BC. He was the son of King Philip II of Macedon and Queen Olympias, and he succeeded his father to the throne at the age of twenty.

Explanation

Akbar was the third emperor of the Mughal dynasty, reigning from 1556 to 1605 AD. He succeeded his father Humayun and consolidated the empire through administrative reforms, military conquests, and policies of religious tolerance, making the Mughal Empire one of the most powerful and wealthy empires of its time in the Indian subcontinent.

Explanation

Robert Goddard was an American physicist, inventor, and engineer who is credited with designing and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket, which he successfully launched on March 16, 1926. His pioneering work in liquid-propellant rocketry established the fundamental concepts of modern spaceflight, earning him recognition as one of the fathers of modern rocketry.

Explanation

The weight of a person of mass m at a distance r from the centre of the Earth is determined by the gravitational force:

W = GMm/r²

where G is the gravitational constant and M is the mass of the Earth.

At the surface of the Earth, the distance from the centre is equal to the Earth's radius, r = R. The weight on the surface is:

W_surface = GMm/R²

At a distance of r = 2R from the centre of the Earth, the new weight is:

W_new = GMm/(2R)² = GMm/(4R²) = ¼ (GMm/R²) = W_surface/4

Consequently, the weight of the person at this distance is one-fourth of their weight at the surface of the Earth.

Explanation

A hydrometer is an instrument used to measure the specific gravity or relative density of liquids based on the concept of buoyancy. Since milk is a liquid, its specific gravity is measured using a specialized type of hydrometer known as a lactometer. The instrument graduations indicate the density of the milk, which helps in determining its purity and detecting the addition of water.

Explanation

Constitution Day, also known as National Law Day or Samvidhan Divas, is celebrated in India on 26th November every year. On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India formally adopted the Constitution of India, which later came into effect on 26th January 1950. The Government of India declared 26th November as Constitution Day in 2015 to spread awareness about the importance of the Constitution and to honor Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, on his 125th birth anniversary.

Explanation

Article 44 of the Indian Constitution is contained within Part IV, which covers Articles 36 to 51 and outlines the Directive Principles of State Policy. These principles serve as constitutional guidelines for the State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people. Specifically, Article 44 directs the State to endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for all citizens throughout the territory of India, aiming to replace diverse personal laws based on religion with a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption.

Explanation

Virender Sehwag became the first Indian batsman to score a triple century in Test cricket during the first Test match against Pakistan at Multan in March 2004. He scored 309 runs off 375 balls in that innings. He also scored a second triple century in Test cricket by making 319 runs against South Africa at Chennai in March 2008.

Explanation

Sir Richard Francis Burton was an eminent British explorer, writer, translator, and linguist who translated and published the famous multi-volume English version of the classic Middle Eastern folk tales, titled The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, which is widely referred to as The Arabian Nights. Published in 1885, his unexpurgated translation brought these legendary stories to the forefront of the English-speaking world.

Explanation

The Indian Parliament House in New Delhi, historically known as Sansad Bhavan, was designed by the British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker during the planning of the new imperial capital of British India. Construction of the building began in 1921 and was completed in 1927. Lutyens was the chief architect responsible for the design of major landmark buildings and the overall planning of the city, which is why the area is commonly referred to as Lutyens Delhi. The unique circular structure of the parliament building was inspired by traditional Indian art and architecture, notably resembling the Chausath Yogini temple in Madhya Pradesh.

Explanation

Raghuveer Chaudhari is a prominent novelist, poet, and critic who won the 51st Jnanpith Award for the year 2015 in recognition of his immense contribution to Gujarati literature. He is the fourth Gujarati writer to receive this prestigious honor, following Uma Shankar Joshi in 1967, Pannalal Patel in 1985, and Rajendra Shah in 2001. His notable works in the Gujarati language include the highly acclaimed novel trilogy Uparvas, for which he also received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1977, as well as major novels like Amrita and Venu Vatsala.

Explanation

Bupropion is an atypical antidepressant primarily used in the management and treatment of major depressive disorder and seasonal affective disorder. It works chemically as a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI), which increases the concentration of these neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft of the brain to improve mood and emotional stability.

Explanation

Carrots owe their vibrant orange color to carotene, primarily beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is an organic, strongly colored red-orange pigment abundant in plants and fruits. It belongs to the family of carotenoids, which are terpenoids synthesized biochemically from isoprenoids. In the human body, beta-carotene serves as a primary precursor to vitamin A, which is crucial for maintaining good vision, skin health, and a strong immune system.

Explanation

Snake venom is a biologically complex substance produced by specialized venom glands, which are evolutionary modifications of the salivary glands. This highly modified saliva consists predominantly of zootoxins, which are toxic compounds naturally produced by animals. In venomous snakes, these animal-derived toxins contain a mixture of enzymes, proteins, and polypeptides that work together to immobilize and digest prey, as well as serve as a defense mechanism against threats.

Explanation

Heavy water is chemically known as deuterium oxide, represented by the chemical formula D₂O. It is a form of water that contains a larger than normal amount of the hydrogen isotope deuterium, where each atom of deuterium contains one proton and one neutron in its nucleus, unlike the common hydrogen isotope protium which contains only a proton. This additional neutron makes deuterium twice as heavy as normal hydrogen, resulting in water that is approximately 11% denser than standard water. Heavy water is primarily utilized as a neutron moderator and coolant in nuclear power plants.

Explanation

Electronegativity is a chemical property describing the tendency of an atom to attract shared electrons in a chemical bond. On the Pauling scale, arsenic has an electronegativity value of 2.18. This high value is due to its position in Group 15 and Period 4 of the periodic table, where a high effective nuclear charge and relatively small atomic radius allow the nucleus to exert a strong attractive force on bonding electrons.

Explanation

In computer storage and memory, binary measurements are based on powers of 2. One Gigabyte (GB) represents 2³⁰ bytes, which is 1,073,741,824 bytes. One Terabyte (TB) represents 2⁴⁰ bytes, which is 1,099,511,627,776 bytes. Dividing the number of bytes in a Terabyte by the number of bytes in a Gigabyte yields 2¹⁰, which is equal to 1024. Therefore, 1 TB is equal to 1024 GB.

Explanation

Many major civil aviation terminals and airports in India are named in honor of prominent political figures, including former prime ministers, chief ministers, and national leaders. This convention is practiced as a tribute to their contributions to the nation's governance, development, and history. Famous examples include Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport in Varanasi, and Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow.

Explanation

Arc elasticity of demand measures the responsiveness of quantity demanded to a change in price between two points on a demand curve using the mid-point formula:

Arc Elasticity = [(Q₂ - Q₁) / (Q₁ + Q₂)] / [(P₂ - P₁) / (P₁ + P₂)]

Given: Initial Quantity (Q₁) = 1050 Final Quantity (Q₂) = 950 Initial Price (P₁) = 250 Final Price (P₂) = 290

Substituting these values into the formula:

Change in Quantity (Q₂ - Q₁) = 950 - 1050 = -100 Sum of Quantities (Q₁ + Q₂) = 1050 + 950 = 2000

Change in Price (P₂ - P₁) = 290 - 250 = 40 Sum of Prices (P₁ + P₂) = 250 + 290 = 540

Arc Elasticity = (-100 / 2000) / (40 / 540) Arc Elasticity = -0.05 / (2/27) Arc Elasticity = -27 / 40 Arc Elasticity = -0.675

Rounding to two decimal places gives -0.68.

Explanation

A price floor is a legally established minimum price that buyers must pay for a good. When the government sets a price floor above the market equilibrium price, it becomes binding. In this scenario, at the price floor of Rs 70/kg, which is higher than the equilibrium price of Rs 50/kg, the quantity of sugar that producers want to supply increases, while the quantity that consumers want to purchase decreases. This imbalance, where quantity supplied exceeds quantity demanded, leads to a market surplus of sugar.

Explanation

Madhya Pradesh is widely recognized as the Tiger State of India due to its significant tiger population and the presence of several prominent tiger reserves. These reserves, established under the centrally sponsored Project Tiger initiative, include Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Panna, Satpura, and Sanjay-Dubri. The state features one of the largest networks of protected areas dedicated to the conservation and habitat preservation of the Bengal tiger.