General Awareness - 4 (DMRC)

  Option 1 is the correct answer.

The Kalinga War (261 BCE) was fought in what is now modern-day Odisha (then known as Kalinga) along the east coast of India. This brutal conquest, which reportedly caused over 100,000 deaths, deeply affected Emperor Ashoka and led to his conversion to Buddhism and non-violence. Karnataka, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh are neighboring states but were not the location of Kalinga, which was specifically the coastal region of Odisha.

J. J. Thomson discovered the electron in 1897 through his study of cathode rays, which he found were composed of negatively charged particles, much smaller than atoms.

According to IMF data released in October 2014, China overtook the United States to become the world's largest economy in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms. PPP measures total economic output adjusted for local cost of living, providing a different perspective than nominal GDP where the US still leads. This was a symbolic milestone marking China's economic ascent.

An opaque object is neither transparent not translucent. So, it forms a shadow.

Roots prevent soil erosion.

Correct option is (4).

Centripetal force is the inward force required to keep an object moving in a circular path. It acts toward the center of the circle and is necessary because objects in motion tend to move in straight lines (Newton's first law). Without centripetal force (provided by tension, gravity, friction, etc.), an object would fly off tangentially. Centrifugal force is a fictitious outward force observed in a rotating reference frame.

Under Articles 32 and 226 of the Indian Constitution, the Supreme Court and High Courts respectively can issue five types of writs for enforcing Fundamental Rights: habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto, and certiorari. District Courts, Human Rights Commission, and DGPs do not have constitutional writ jurisdiction. This remedy makes fundamental rights justiciable.

Galaxies are the fundamental building blocks of the universe, containing billions to trillions of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. They range from dwarf galaxies with 100 million stars to massive giants with 100 trillion stars. The observable universe contains over 2 trillion galaxies. Stars (like the Sun) exist within galaxies, and meteors are tiny debris.

Evaporation is used to obtain salt from sea water. 

Alkaline earth metals (Group 2: Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ra) have higher melting and boiling points than alkali metals (Group 1: Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Fr). This is because alkaline earth metals have TWO valence electrons, forming stronger metallic bonds with higher bond energies. Their smaller atomic radii and higher charge density contribute to this increased strength of metallic bonding compared to the single-bonded alkali metals.

The 83rd Constitutional Amendment Act (2000) extended reservations for Scheduled Castes in Panchayati Raj institutions (Article 243D). However, Arunachal Pradesh was exempted because it has a predominantly tribal population (over 60% Scheduled Tribes) and virtually no Scheduled Caste population. The exemption recognizes unique demographic realities where SC reservations serve no purpose.

Common cold is not caused by air pollution. It is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract which primarily affects the nose.

The 2014 Asian Games were the 17th edition, held in Incheon, South Korea from September 19 to October 4, 2014. This was the third time South Korea hosted the games (after Seoul 1986 and Busan 2002). The games featured 439 events across 36 sports with 9,501 athletes from 45 nations participating. China topped the medals table.