SSC CHSL Tier 1 2016 General Awareness Questions with Solutions

Explanation

The Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited, widely known as CIBIL, was incorporated in August 2000, making it India's first and oldest credit information bureau. It was established based on the recommendations of the Working Group on Credit Information Bureau set up by the Reserve Bank of India. CIBIL collects and maintains records of payments pertaining to loans and credit cards of individuals and businesses, which are used to generate credit reports and credit scores to help lenders evaluate creditworthiness.

Explanation

An extinct volcano is a volcano that has remained inactive for thousands of years and is highly unlikely to ever erupt again. This permanent state of inactivity occurs because the volcano has been completely cut off from its underlying magma supply, often due to the movement of tectonic plates shifting the volcano away from its active hotspot or magma source. Without a continuous supply of molten rock, the volcanic plumbing system cools and solidifies permanently.

Explanation

Paris is the capital and largest city of France. Located on the Seine River in northern France, it serves as the nation's primary center for politics, culture, commerce, and fashion.

Explanation

Pataliputra was an ancient city founded by the king Udayin in 490 BCE near the Ganges River. It served as the capital of major Indian empires, including the Shishunaga, Nanda, Maurya, Shunga, and Gupta dynasties. Chandragupta Maurya established the Mauryan Empire with Pataliputra as its imperial seat. The archaeological remains of this ancient city are located in and around modern-day Patna, the capital of Bihar.

Explanation

The Battle of Kanauj, also known as the Battle of Bilgram, was fought in 1540 between the Mughal Emperor Humayun and the founder of the Suri Empire, Sher Shah Suri. Following his victory at the Battle of Chausa in 1539, Sher Shah Suri once again confronted Humayun's forces at Kanauj. Humayun suffered a decisive defeat in this battle, which led to the temporary collapse of the Mughal Empire in India. As a consequence of this defeat, Humayun was forced to flee the region and live in exile for fifteen years, while Sher Shah Suri established control over Delhi and Agra.

Explanation

In 1953, American inventor Sidney Rosenthal developed the first modern felt-tip marker. He placed a wool felt wick and writing tip into a small, squat bottle of permanent ink. Because of its ability to write and mark on almost any surface, he named his creation the Magic Marker.

Explanation

The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government that originated and developed in the United Kingdom. The system takes its name from the Palace of Westminster in London, which is the meeting place of the British Parliament. Its core features, such as a head of state distinct from the head of government, an executive led by a prime minister answerable to the legislature, and an independent civil service, evolved through British constitutional history over several centuries.

Explanation

When an object is submerged or floating in a fluid, the fluid exerts an upward force on it that opposes the weight of the object. This upward force is known as buoyancy, or buoyant force. It arises due to the difference in pressure exerted by the fluid at different depths, as the pressure at the bottom of the object is greater than the pressure at the top, resulting in a net upward force. According to Archimedes' principle, the magnitude of this buoyant force is exactly equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body.

Explanation

The pitch of a sound is directly proportional to its frequency of vibration. Women generally have shorter and thinner vocal cords than men. When air passes through these cords, they vibrate at a much faster rate, producing sound waves of higher frequency. This higher frequency results in a higher pitch, which is perceived by the human ear as a shrill voice.

Explanation

Sarojini Naidu, renowned as the "Nightingale of India", became the first female Governor of an Indian state when she was appointed as the Governor of the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) on 15 August 1947. She held this historic office from the day India achieved independence until her demise on 2 March 1949, serving as a prominent leader of the Indian National Movement and a pioneer for women in governance.

Explanation

The state of Kerala is represented by 20 members in the Lok Sabha, which is the lower house of the Parliament of India. These 20 members are directly elected by the voters of the state from 20 distinct territorial parliamentary constituencies.

Explanation

India's men's field hockey team has a legendary Olympic record, securing a total of eight gold medals. India dominated the sport by winning six consecutive gold medals from 1928 to 1956, and later added two more gold medals in 1964 and 1980. This remains the highest number of Olympic gold medals won by India in any single sport.

Explanation

The Earth's atmosphere above an altitude of approximately 80 kilometers is classified as the heterosphere. In this region, gases are not uniformly mixed; instead, they are stratified into distinct layers based on their atomic and molecular weights under the influence of gravity. The heavier gases settle in the lower layers of the heterosphere, while the lighter gases rise to the top. Hydrogen, being the lightest of all elements, forms the topmost layer of the heterosphere, extending into the outermost reaches of the atmosphere where it eventually merges with space.

Explanation

The novel My Father is a Hero was written by Nishant Kaushik and published by Srishti Publishers in January 2016. The fiction book revolves around the emotional relationship between a single father, Vaibhav Kulkarni, and his ten-year-old daughter, Nisha, focusing on the themes of parental sacrifice, love, and resilience.

Explanation

Iron is a crucial component of hemoglobin, which is the protein in red blood cells responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body. When the body lacks sufficient iron, it cannot produce enough hemoglobin, leading to a reduction in the number of healthy red blood cells. This condition is known as anaemia, specifically iron-deficiency anaemia, and it results in symptoms such as constant fatigue, weakness, pale skin, and shortness of breath due to the decreased oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.

Explanation

A pinnately compound leaf is characterized by leaflets that are attached on both sides of a common central axis or middle vein, known as the rachis. This arrangement resembles the structure of a feather, where the individual leaflets are distributed sequentially along the length of the central shaft.

Explanation

During the WBA Heavyweight Championship rematch on June 28, 1997, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Mike Tyson bit the ear of Evander Holyfield. The incident occurred during the third round of the match, which was widely billed as the Sound and the Fury. After Tyson bit Holyfield on both ears, referee Mills Lane disqualified Tyson. This event remains one of the most notorious moments in boxing history, often referred to as the Bite Fight.

Explanation

The book India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium was authored by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the former President and renowned scientist of India, along with co-author Y.S. Rajan. Published in 1998, the book outlines a comprehensive roadmap and strategic vision for India to transform itself into a developed nation and one of the world's top economic powers by the year 2020 through targeted developments in agriculture, food processing, health, education, infrastructure, and technology.

Explanation

Psidium guajava is the scientific name of the guava plant, which is an evergreen shrub or small tree belonging to the Myrtaceae family. Native to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, it is widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions around the world for its highly nutritious, edible fruits. The genus name Psidium comes from the Ancient Greek word for pomegranate, while the species name guajava is derived from the Spanish word guayaba, which itself originated from the indigenous Taino language.

Explanation

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was nationalized on January 1, 1949, under the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India (Transfer to Public Ownership) Act, 1948. Originally established on April 1, 1935, as a private shareholders' bank, the nationalization process transferred all of its shares to the Government of India. This transition turned the RBI into a fully state-owned central banking institution, empowering it to regulate monetary policy and the banking sector in alignment with the economic priorities of independent India.

Explanation

Warfarin is an anticoagulant medication commonly referred to as a blood thinner. It is widely prescribed to prevent and treat blood clots, reducing the risk of stroke, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism. Warfarin exerts its therapeutic effect by acting as a vitamin K antagonist. It inhibits the enzyme vitamin K epoxide reductase, which is crucial for recycling vitamin K. Because active vitamin K is a necessary cofactor for the hepatic synthesis of several key clotting factors, including factors II, VII, IX, and X, as well as proteins C and S, reducing its availability limits the coagulation cascade and successfully prevents the formation of harmful blood clots.

Explanation

James Gosling is a Canadian computer scientist who is best known as the creator of the Java programming language. He initiated the development of Java in June 1991 while working as a fellow at Sun Microsystems, originally designing it for interactive television systems. The language was officially released in 1995 with the philosophy of Write Once, Run Anywhere, which allows compiled Java code to run on all platforms that support Java without the need for recompilation.

Explanation

Sir David Brewster, a Scottish physicist and inventor, invented the kaleidoscope in 1816 and patented it in 1817. He discovered the principle of the device while conducting experiments on the polarization of light using successive reflections from plates of glass. He named his invention kaleidoscope from the Greek words kalos meaning beautiful, eidos meaning form, and skopeo meaning to look at or view.

Explanation

Cuscuta, commonly known as dodder or amarbel, is a non-green parasitic plant that lacks chlorophyll and is unable to synthesize its own food through photosynthesis. To survive, it relies entirely on a host plant for its nutritional requirements. It develops specialized adventitious roots known as haustoria or sucking roots. These haustorial roots penetrate the tissue of the host plant, establishing a direct connection with both the host's xylem and phloem vessels. Through this connection, Cuscuta actively absorbs water, minerals, and synthesized organic food from the host.

Explanation

Equus asinus is the scientific taxonomic name for the donkey. It belongs to the genus Equus of the family Equidae, which comprises horses, donkeys, and zebras. The species name asinus specifically denotes the domestic donkey.

Explanation

Diethyl ether is a volatile liquid that has been historically utilized as a general inhalation anesthetic. When inhaled, it acts on the central nervous system to induce a reversible state of unconsciousness, muscle relaxation, and analgesia, making it one of the earliest and most widely used anesthetic agents in surgical history.

Explanation

Hard glass, which is a mixture of potassium and calcium silicates, is characterized by its high melting point and exceptional resistance to thermal shock and chemical corrosion. Because it can withstand extreme heat and does not easily react with acids or other chemical reagents, it is widely used to manufacture laboratory chemical apparatus such as beakers, flasks, and test tubes.

Explanation

The conceptualization of shifting the British capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi and constructing a grand imperial residence for the Viceroy of India began in 1910, coinciding with the appointment of Lord Hardinge as the Viceroy. The administrative groundwork and planning for the capital transition were initiated in 1910. Following the formal announcement of the capital relocation at the Delhi Durbar in December 1911, the actual construction of the Viceroy's House on Raisina Hill commenced in 1912 under the design of British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens and was completed in 1929. This monument was later renamed Rashtrapati Bhavan after India became a republic.

Explanation

Santhara, also known as Sallekhana, is a sacred religious practice in Jainism where an individual voluntarily decides to fast unto death. This vow is typically taken by individuals who are of advanced age, facing terminal illness, or believe they have fulfilled all their life responsibilities. Done with complete tranquility and without any attachment or desire, the practice aims to purge the soul of accumulated karma and achieve spiritual purification and ultimate liberation.

Explanation

Profit of a firm is calculated as the difference between its Total Revenue and Total Cost:

Profit = Total Revenue - Total Cost

Since Total Revenue is Price (P) multiplied by Output (Q), and Total Cost is Average Total Cost (ATC) multiplied by Output (Q), the equation simplifies to:

Profit = (P - ATC) × Q

Substituting the given values: P = 60 ATC = 36 Q = 300

Profit = (60 - 36) × 300 Profit = 24 × 300 = 7200

Explanation

Substitute goods are products that satisfy similar consumer needs and can be used in place of one another. When the price of a substitute good increases, the relative cost of the original good decreases, making it more attractive to consumers. Consequently, consumers shift their consumption away from the now more expensive substitute and purchase more of the original good. This shift in consumer preference results in a rightward shift in the demand curve, thereby causing an increase in the demand for the original good at all price levels.

Explanation

The ionosphere is an abundant layer of electrons and ionized atoms and molecules that stretches from about 48 kilometers to 1,000 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. Rather than being a distinct atmospheric layer classified by temperature, it is categorized by its ionization state resulting from solar radiation. Because of its broad altitude range, the ionosphere overlaps the upper part of the mesosphere, the entirety of the thermosphere, and the lower part of the exosphere. Thus, the thermosphere and exosphere are the layers that directly overlap with the ionosphere.

Explanation

Carcinogenic chemicals are substances that directly promote or facilitate the development of cancer. They cause cancer by damaging cellular DNA, disrupting metabolic processes, or inducing genomic instability, which leads to uncontrolled cell division and the formation of malignant tumors.

Explanation

Sweden was the first country to establish the institution of the Ombudsman in 1809 to safeguard the rights of citizens against administrative abuse, maladministration, and corruption. The Swedish Ombudsman is the historical equivalent of the Lokpal in India. This institution acts as an independent authority appointed by the legislature to investigate complaints made by citizens against government departments and public officials, setting a global precedent for administrative accountability.

Explanation

The Aravalli Range is the oldest fold mountain range in India, and one of the oldest in the world, dating back to the Proterozoic Era around 1.8 billion years ago. Spanning across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, and Delhi, these mountains have undergone billions of years of weathering and erosion, transforming them from once-mighty peaks into a range of residual hills.

Explanation

China is the largest producer of rice in the world, contributing nearly 30% of global rice production. The country's favorable climatic conditions in its southern and central regions, abundant water resources from major rivers like the Yangtze, and the widespread adoption of high-yield hybrid rice technologies enable it to consistently lead global rice output.

Explanation

The Jama Masjid of Delhi, one of the largest mosques in India, was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. Constructed between 1650 and 1656, the mosque was designed as the principal place of worship for his newly established capital city of Shahjahanabad. Built using red sandstone and white marble, the majestic structure stands opposite the Red Fort and showcases the pinnacle of Mughal architectural style.

Explanation

The Battle of Haldighati was fought on 18 June 1576 between the Rajput forces of Mewar, led by Maharana Pratap, and the Mughal army, commanded by Raja Man Singh I of Amber on behalf of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. The battle took place at Haldighati, a narrow mountain pass in the Aravalli Range in Rajasthan, and is celebrated as a major event of Rajput resistance against Mughal expansion.

Explanation

According to Archimedes' principle, the buoyant force acting on a floating object is equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces. For floating ice, the fraction of its volume submerged under water is given by the ratio of the density of ice to the density of water.

The density of ice is approximately 0.917 g/cm³ and the density of water is 1.0 g/cm³.

Fraction submerged = Density of ice / Density of water = 0.917 / 1.0 ≈ 0.9

The fraction of ice that remains outside the water is:

Fraction outside = 1 - Fraction submerged ≈ 1 - 0.9 = 0.1

This means approximately 10% or 0.1 part of the ice floats above the surface of the water, while the remaining 90% is submerged.

Explanation

A cryometer is a specialized thermometer designed to measure extremely low temperatures, typically in the cryogenic range below -150 °C. The term is derived from the Greek words kryos, meaning icy cold, and metron, meaning measure. These devices are essential in low-temperature physics research and industrial applications involving liquefied gases such as liquid nitrogen and liquid helium.

Explanation

According to Article 81 of the Constitution of India, the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha is 552. Out of this limit, up to 530 members are directly elected from territorial constituencies in the States to represent them in the lower house of the Parliament. The remaining members consist of up to 20 representatives from the Union Territories and up to 2 nominated members from the Anglo-Indian community.

Explanation

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed served as the fifth President of India from August 24, 1974, until his death on February 11, 1977. Acting on the advice of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, he signed the proclamation of the state of national emergency on June 25, 1975, under Article 352 of the Indian Constitution.

Explanation

Kevin Durant is a highly acclaimed American professional basketball player who has played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Leading up to August 2016, Durant had established himself as one of the premier players in the sport, winning the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 2014, multiple NBA scoring titles, and representing the United States national basketball team to win gold medals at the Olympic Games.

Explanation

The Story of My Experiments with Truth is the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi. It covers his life from early childhood up to the year 1921. The book was originally written in Gujarati and published as weekly installments in his journal Navajivan from 1925 to 1929, before being translated into English and published in book form.

Explanation

Diazepam belongs to the benzodiazepine class of medicines, which act as central nervous system depressants. It works by enhancing the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain that reduces neuronal excitability. This enhancement of GABA activity produces calming, anxiolytic, muscle-relaxant, and anticonvulsant effects, making it a widely prescribed drug for treating anxiety disorders, panic attacks, and acute agitation.

Explanation

Ficus benghalensis is the scientific name of the Indian banyan tree, which belongs to the mulberry family Moraceae. This tree is native to the Indian subcontinent and is well-known for its massive canopy and aerial prop roots that grow downwards into the soil to support its heavy branches. Because of its ecological, cultural, and historical significance, it has been designated as the national tree of India.

Explanation

Equus burchellii, commonly known as Burchell's zebra, is a subspecies of the plains zebra (Equus quagga). It belongs to the family Equidae under the genus Equus. This animal is named after the British explorer and naturalist William John Burchell, who first described it in the early 19th century. This zebra is native to the grasslands and savannahs of southern and eastern Africa and is recognizable by its distinctive black and white striped coat.

Explanation

Copper has an atomic number of 29, meaning it has 29 protons in its nucleus. Zinc has an atomic number of 30, containing 30 protons in its nucleus, which is greater than the atomic number of Copper.

Explanation

First-generation computers, which developed in the 1940s and lasted until the mid-1950s, relied on vacuum tubes as their basic electronic components for memory and CPU circuitry. These large glass components controlled the flow of electricity to act as switches and amplifiers, making early electronic digital systems like ENIAC and UNIVAC possible.

Explanation

Ghumura is a traditional folk dance originating from the Kalahandi district of Odisha. Historically, it was practiced as a martial war dance (Rana-Badya) to inspire soldiers, and it has since evolved into a popular cultural and celebratory art form. The performance is highly energetic, characterized by dancers who wear traditional tribal attire while carrying and playing a specialized pitcher-like clay drum called the ghumura tied to their chests.