SSC CHSL Tier 1 2016 General Awareness Questions with Solutions

Explanation

Magnetic flux density represents the strength of a magnetic field per unit area. In the International System of Units (SI), the derived unit of magnetic flux density is the tesla, denoted by the symbol T. One tesla is defined as one weber per square meter (1 Wb/m²), which corresponds to the magnetic field intensity that exerts a force of one newton per ampere of current per meter of conductor.

Explanation

Article 24 of the Indian Constitution is enshrined in Part III, which details the Fundamental Rights guaranteed to individuals. Situated under the specific category of the Right against Exploitation, Article 24 prohibits the employment of children below the age of fourteen years in any factory, mine, or other hazardous employment, making child protection a justiciable fundamental right.

Explanation

Article 134A of the Indian Constitution, which provides for the "Certificate for appeal to the Supreme Court," is located in Part V of the Constitution. Part V of the Constitution (Articles 52 to 151) specifically governs the Union, covering the executive, parliament, and the Union judiciary (the Supreme Court). Within this structure, Chapter IV of Part V contains provisions related to the Union Judiciary (Articles 124 to 147), thereby placing Article 134A directly under the constitutional framework of the Union Government.

Explanation

Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for scoring the highest number of centuries in Test cricket history. Over his international career spanning from 1989 to 2013, he played 200 Test matches and scored 51 centuries, making him the leading century-maker in the longest format of the game.

Explanation

Ravinder Singh is the author of the bestselling romantic novel Can Love Happen Twice?, which was published in 2011. The book serves as a sequel to his highly successful debut novel, I Too Had a Love Story, and continues the emotional journey of the protagonist, Ravin, as he picks up the pieces of his life after a tragic loss.

Explanation

Buland Darwaza, meaning the Gate of Magnificence, was built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1601 AD at Fatehpur Sikri. It was constructed to commemorate Akbar's successful military campaign and victory over Gujarat in 1573 AD. This massive portal serves as the grand southern entrance to the Jama Masjid complex inside the imperial palace city of Fatehpur Sikri. It is renowned for its architectural grandeur, standing at a height of about 54 meters, and showcases a blend of Persian and indigenous Indian architectural styles.

Explanation

Dilip Kumar was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2015. This award, which is India's second-highest civilian honour, was presented to him at his residence in Mumbai by the Union Home Minister for his exceptional and distinguished contribution to Indian cinema. This represents the highest Indian civilian honour conferred upon the legendary actor.

Explanation

The pancreas produces pancreatic lipase, which is the primary enzyme responsible for the digestion of dietary fats (lipids) in the human digestive system. It is synthesized and secreted by the acinar cells of the pancreas into the duodenum. Once secreted, pancreatic lipase acts at the interface of oil-water droplets to hydrolyze triglycerides into monoglycerides and free fatty acids, facilitating their absorption. This enzymatic activity is essential for proper lipid metabolism and nutrient absorption in the body.

Explanation

In botany, a scape is defined as a long, leafless internode that forms the basal part or the entirety of a peduncle. It typically arises directly from an underground stem structure, such as a bulb, corm, or rhizome, and bears a flower or an inflorescence at its apex, as observed in plants like onion and lily.

Explanation

Viruses exist on the borderline between living and non-living entities. Outside of a host organism, they are completely inert, lacking cellular structure, metabolic machinery, respiration, and the ability to reproduce independently, which aligns them with non-living matter. However, once they enter a living host cell, they utilize the host's cellular machinery to replicate, synthesize proteins, and pass on their genetic material to progeny. This capacity for replication and genetic mutation inside a host cell gives them key characteristics of living organisms.

Explanation

Ammonium oxalate is an inorganic salt composed of ammonium cations and oxalate anions. The ammonium ion carries a charge of +1, represented as NH₄⁺, while the divalent oxalate ion, derived from oxalic acid, carries a charge of -2, represented as C₂O₄²⁻. To achieve electrical neutrality in the ionic compound, two ammonium cations must combine with one oxalate anion. This ionic balancing gives the chemical formula (NH₄)₂C₂O₄.

Explanation

Benzene is an organic solvent that is completely miscible and soluble in ethyl alcohol due to the favorable interactions between the non-polar benzene molecules and the ethyl group of the alcohol.

Explanation

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. It is a technology that delivers voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the internet. By converting analog voice signals into digital data packets, VoIP enables telephone calls to be made over broadband internet connections instead of traditional public switched telephone networks.

Explanation

The Surbahar is a plucked string instrument of the lute family used in Hindustani classical music of Northern India. It is closely related to the sitar but is constructed with a larger neck, a larger gourd resonator, and thicker metal strings, which allow it to produce a much lower pitch and a deeper, more resonant sound.

Explanation

The formula for the breakeven quantity is:

Breakeven Quantity = Fixed Costs ÷ (Selling Price per unit - Variable Cost per unit)

Here, the difference between the selling price and the variable cost represents the contribution margin per unit. Given the following values:

Fixed Costs = ₹200,000 Selling Price = ₹2,000 per unit Variable Cost = ₹1,200 per unit

Substituting these values into the formula:

Breakeven Quantity = 200,000 ÷ (2000 - 1200) Breakeven Quantity = 200,000 ÷ 800 = 250

Explanation

Substitute goods are products that can be used in place of one another to satisfy similar consumer wants. Tea and coffee are classic examples of substitute goods. When the price of tea increases, tea becomes relatively more expensive than coffee. This change in relative prices prompts consumers to switch their consumption from tea to coffee, thereby increasing the overall demand for coffee. This increase in demand is represented by a rightward shift of the coffee demand curve.

Explanation

India has the highest population density with approximately 445 people per square kilometer. This is higher than the density of the Philippines at approximately 346 people per square kilometer, the United Kingdom at approximately 272 people per square kilometer, and China at approximately 150 people per square kilometer. India's high density is driven by its massive population residing within a land area of about 2.97 million square kilometers.

Explanation

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. It accounts for approximately 76% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, primarily driven by the combustion of fossil fuels for energy and transportation, as well as industrial processes and forestry. Because of its massive volume of release and long lifetime in the atmosphere, it constitutes the highest percentage among the greenhouse gases.

Explanation

Adi Shankara was a revered philosopher and theologian of the early 8th century CE who consolidated and popularized the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta, a school of orthodox Hindu philosophy representing non-dualism. His core philosophy asserts the fundamental identity of the individual soul (Atman) with the Supreme Reality (Brahman). He travelled extensively across the Indian subcontinent to propagate his teachings, engaging in philosophical debates and writing profound commentaries (Bhashyas) on the foundational scriptures of Hinduism, known as the Prasthanatrayi, which includes the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Sutras. To sustain and unify the philosophical traditions of India, he established four major monastic centers (Mathas) at Sringeri, Puri, Dwarka, and Jyotirmath.

Explanation

In our Solar System, planets are ranked by size from largest to smallest based on their radius and mass. The gas giants and ice giants occupy the first four spots, starting with Jupiter as the largest, followed by Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Earth, with a mean radius of approximately 6,371 kilometers, is the fifth largest planet overall and the largest of the four terrestrial (rocky) planets.

Explanation

Kanpur, one of the major industrial cities in the state of Uttar Pradesh, is located on the banks of the river Ganges. It is one of the most populous and prominent urban centers situated along the course of this river, playing a significant historical, economic, and cultural role in the Ganga basin.

Explanation

Gopala founded the Pala dynasty around 750 CE. He was elected as king by the local chieftains to bring an end to the period of political instability, anarchy, and lawlessness known as Matsyanyaya that followed the death of King Shashanka of Gauda. Gopala consolidated Bengal and laid the foundations of the Pala Empire, which grew to be one of the major powers in medieval Indian history.

Explanation

The Gupta Empire is widely regarded as the Golden Age of India and classical Hinduism due to the immense revitalization, consolidation, and patronage of Hindu culture and traditions during this period. Ruling from the fourth to sixth centuries CE, the Gupta monarchs supported Vaishnavism and Shaivism, which facilitated a shift toward devotional Hindu practices. This era saw the construction of some of the earliest structural stone temples and the crystallization of classical Hindu iconography. Furthermore, Sanskrit literature reached its zenith with legendary writers like Kalidasa, and major sacred texts, including the Puranas, the Mahabharata, and the Ramayana, were compiled and edited into their final classical forms.

Explanation

Arthur Fry co-invented the Post-it Note in 1974 while working at the company 3M. He came up with the practical application of utilizing a unique, low-tack adhesive developed earlier by his colleague Spencer Silver to create a reusable bookmark that could stick to paper without damaging it. This innovative concept was subsequently developed and launched commercially by 3M as the Post-it Note.

Explanation

Ohm's law states that the electric current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across its ends, provided physical conditions such as temperature remain constant. Mathematically, this relationship is expressed as V = IR, where V is the potential difference, I is the current, and R is a constant of proportionality representing the electrical resistance of the conductor. This equation can be rearranged as V/I = R, which confirms that the ratio of the potential difference across a conductor to the current flowing through it remains constant under constant physical conditions.

Explanation

Concave mirrors are used in the headlights of cars because of their ability to produce a powerful, parallel beam of light. When the headlight bulb is placed precisely at the focus of the concave reflector, the light rays originating from the bulb strike the curved reflective surface and are reflected parallel to each other. This concentrated parallel beam of light travels a long distance along the road, providing high visibility for safe driving.

Explanation

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is a prominent political party in India, founded on May 25, 1999, by Sharad Pawar, P. A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar. The leaders established the party after breaking away from the Indian National Congress. The party is primarily active in the state of Maharashtra and uses an analogue clock as its official election symbol.

Explanation

The United Progressive Alliance is a coalition of political parties in India led by the Indian National Congress, which was formed in May 2004 immediately following the 2004 general elections. The coalition was established to bring together various center-left and regional parties to form a stable majority government at the Center, leading to the formation of the first cabinet headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Explanation

The 13th South Asian Games were hosted by Nepal, with events held in Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Janakpur from 1 December to 10 December 2019. Nepal was officially handed the hosting rights and the flag of the South Asian Olympic Council during the closing ceremony of the 12th South Asian Games in February 2016. This marked the third time Nepal hosted the regional multi-sport event, having previously hosted the inaugural edition in 1984 and the eighth edition in 1999.

Explanation

Amish Tripathi is the author of the best-selling novel "The Immortals of Meluha", which was published in 2010 as the first book of his acclaimed Shiva Trilogy. The series, which reimagines the Hindu deity Shiva as a mortal hero, also includes "The Secret of the Nagas" and "The Oath of the Vayuputras". It has achieved massive commercial success and is recognized as one of the fastest-selling book series in Indian publishing history.

Explanation

The Taj Mahal, located in Agra, India, was declared one of the winners of the New 7 Wonders of the World initiative on July 7, 2007. The global campaign, organized by the Swiss-based New7Wonders Foundation, selected the winners through a worldwide public voting process that attracted over one hundred million votes. This iconic seventeenth-century white marble mausoleum, commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, was recognized alongside other monumental sites such as the Great Wall of China, Petra, Chichen Itza, Machu Picchu, the Colosseum, and Christ the Redeemer.

Explanation

Deepa Mehta's 2005 film Water, which serves as the third installment of her Elements trilogy following Fire and Earth, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Academy Awards. Submitted as Canada's official entry, the Hindi-language film explores the lives of widows in an ashram in Varanasi in 1938, highlighting social issues surrounding child marriage and the treatment of widows in colonial India.

Explanation

Myopia, commonly known as near-sightedness, is a refractive error of the eye where close objects appear clearly, but distant objects appear blurry. This condition occurs when the eyeball is too long or the cornea is too curved, which causes the light entering the eye to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on its surface.

Explanation

Angiosperms, commonly referred to as flowering plants, are vascular seed plants in which the ovules are enclosed within an ovary. The flower is the defining reproductive structure of this group, evolved to facilitate pollination and fertilization. After fertilization, the ovary develops into a fruit that encloses the seeds, which is a key characteristic unique to angiosperms.

Explanation

The aorta is the largest artery in the human body, originating directly from the left ventricle of the heart. During cardiac contraction, the left ventricle pumps highly oxygenated blood through the aortic valve into the aorta. From the aorta, this oxygen-rich blood is distributed to the systemic circulation to supply all the organs and tissues of the body.

Explanation

A covalent bond, also known as a molecular bond, is a chemical bond that involves the sharing of electron pairs between atoms. This sharing of electrons allows each atom to attain the stable electronic configuration of a noble gas, leading to the formation of molecules. Because the covalent bonding holds the atoms together within a discrete molecule, it is commonly referred to as molecular bonding.

Explanation

Sulphur and chlorine form a polar covalent bond because of the difference in their electronegativities. Chlorine has an electronegativity of 3.16 on the Pauling scale, while sulphur has an electronegativity of 2.58. The difference in electronegativity between these two atoms is 0.58 (3.16 - 2.58 = 0.58). When the electronegativity difference between two bonded atoms lies between 0.4 and 1.7, the shared electrons are pulled closer to the more electronegative atom, which is chlorine in this case. This unequal sharing of electrons creates a dipole with partial negative and partial positive charges, resulting in a polar covalent bond.

Explanation

Cosmos is an open-source operating system development kit written in C# (C# Open Source Managed Operating System) that allows developers to create their own operating systems using the .NET framework. It functions as an operating system construction kit and a bootable environment, rather than a database management system designed for storing, organizing, and retrieving data.

Explanation

The Losar festival is the traditional Tibetan New Year, celebrated by Buddhist communities across the Himalayan region. In India, it is widely observed in states with a significant Tibetan and Buddhist population, particularly in Sikkim, where it is celebrated as a major socio-religious event. The festival usually falls in February or March and is marked by various ceremonies, including prayers at monasteries, the performance of the sacred masked Cham dance by Lamas, and family gatherings to welcome prosperity and happiness.

Explanation

The gross domestic product (GDP) of a country using the expenditure approach is calculated using the formula:

GDP = C + I + G + (X - M)

where C is consumer spending, I is business investment, G is government spending, X is exports, and M is imports.

Substituting the given values into the equation:

1315 = 900 + 180 + G + (85 - 100)

1315 = 1080 + G - 15

1315 = 1065 + G

G = 1315 - 1065

G = 250 million

Explanation

Stagflation is an economic situation characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of stagnant economic growth and high inflation. Stagnation in the economy is reflected in a contraction or slowdown of economic activity, which results in a decrease in aggregate output or real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Meanwhile, inflation is marked by a general rise in the prices of goods and services, which leads to an increase in price indices like the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This combination of rising prices and falling output creates a difficult environment for monetary and fiscal policymakers, as standard policy tools designed to address one of these issues often worsen the other.

Explanation

Kanha Tiger Reserve, also known as Kanha-Kisli National Park, is situated in the Mandla and Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh. Created in 1955 and declared a tiger reserve in 1973 under Project Tiger, it is the largest national park in the state. The reserve is highly celebrated for its successful conservation of the Barasingha, or swamp deer, which serves as its official mascot, as well as its healthy population of Royal Bengal Tigers.

Explanation

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a primary greenhouse gas that absorbs and emits infrared radiation, thereby trapping heat in the atmosphere and contributing to the greenhouse effect. It is naturally present in the Earth's atmosphere as part of the carbon cycle, but human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation have significantly increased its concentration, making it the principal contributor to modern global warming.

Explanation

An Anti-Ballistic Missile is a surface-to-air missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy incoming ballistic missiles. Ballistic missiles are used to deliver warheads along a flight trajectory, and the technology behind these interceptors is specifically designed to track, target, and neutralize such high-velocity threats during their flight phases to protect territory from strategic strikes.

Explanation

Venus is the sixth-largest planet in our Solar System in terms of size and mass. The planets in descending order of size are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Mars, and Mercury. Venus has a mean radius of approximately 6,052 kilometers, which is about 95% of Earth's radius, making it the sixth largest overall.

Explanation

Eratosthenes of Cyrene, a Greek mathematician and geographer, was the first person to calculate the circumference of the Earth around 240 BC. He achieved this by comparing the altitude of the midday Sun at two different locations, Alexandria and Syene (modern-day Aswan), on the summer solstice. By measuring the angle of the shadow cast by a vertical rod in Alexandria while the Sun was directly overhead in Syene, he determined that the angular distance between the two cities was approximately 7.2°, which is about 1/50th of a full 360° circle. Using the estimated distance between the two cities, he calculated the Earth's circumference with remarkable accuracy.

Explanation

The Hunas, a Central Asian nomadic tribe, first invaded India during the reign of the Gupta emperor Skandagupta, who ruled from 455 AD to 467 AD. This first major Huna invasion occurred in 458 AD. Skandagupta successfully confronted and repelled the invaders, ensuring the temporary defense of the northern frontiers and restoring stability to the Gupta Empire.

Explanation

Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Maurya Empire in ancient India, ruling from 322 BC to 298 BC. Guided by his chief advisor Chanakya, he defeated the last ruler of the Nanda dynasty, Dhana Nanda, to establish a vast empire that unified most of the Indian subcontinent under a single administration.

Explanation

Lloyd Groff Copeman was an American inventor who devised the first practical electric stove, also known as the electric range. In 1909, Copeman patented an electric thermostat, which laid the critical foundation for controlling the heat in electric cooking devices. He subsequently founded the Copeman Electric Stove Company in 1912 to manufacture and market these stoves, which revolutionized household cooking by providing a cleaner, safer, and more controllable alternative to gas and wood-burning stoves.

Explanation

An areometer is an instrument used to measure the specific gravity or relative density of liquids. It functions based on Archimedes' principle of buoyancy, which states that a floating body displaces a volume of liquid equal in weight to its own mass. The instrument typically consists of a sealed, graduated glass tube with a weighted bulb at the bottom, which allows it to float upright in a fluid. The depth to which the areometer sinks into the fluid is inversely proportional to the specific gravity of the liquid, enabling direct measurement from the scale on its stem.