PPSC General Studies Mock Test - 1

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a scientific intergovernmental body, set up at the request of member governments. It was first established in 1988 by two United Nations organisations, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and later endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 43/53.

Igneous rocks are also called ‘primary rocks’ because they were the first ones to be formed.
‘Extrusive igneous rock’ is the name given to magma erupting and solidifying on reaching the earth’s surface. As magma cools down rapidly on reaching the earth’s surface, so these rocks are very fine-grained.
Basalt is a typical example of extrusive igneous rocks.

Statement ‘c’ is a false statement. Thus, it is the correct option. A compound that allows electric current to pass through itself, when either in a molten state or in an aqueous solution, is called an electrolyte. Solutions of sodium chloride, copper sulphate, dilute sulphuric acid are examples of strong electrolytes.
Statement ‘b’ is a correct statement. But, statement ‘c’ is a false statement. Thus, it is a wrong option. A solution of copper sulphate or sodium chloride in water will conduct electricity because they are basic in nature.

Noble gases are unreactive because they have complete valence electron shells (stable electronic configuration). Statement A describes their chemical behavior, while Statement B explains the reason behind it. Both statements are correct and related. Option C is correct.

In this type of agriculture, the main motive of the farmer is to satisfy the needs of his family.

Option 3 and 4 is correct because equatorial climates are characterized by consistent high temperatures (no cold winters or hot summers) and afternoon convectional showers. They have very small diurnal (daily) temperature ranges due to high cloud cover and humidity. Statements 1 and 2 are incorrect - equatorial regions don't experience seasonal temperature extremes.

Pampas (South America), Veld (southern Africa), and Savanna (tropical regions) are all grassland ecosystems. The Rocky Mountains is a major mountain range in North America, not a grassland. Mountains have different vegetation, elevation zones, and ecological characteristics compared to flat or rolling grassland terrain.

Occidental refers to Western culture and civilization. Among the options, North-Western Europe represents the core of Western/occidental culture, which includes countries like Britain, France, Germany, and Scandinavia. The other options represent non-Western cultural regions.

This question asks for the WRONG statement. Option B is wrong because soil erosion significantly reduces fertility by washing away nutrient-rich topsoil. The other statements are correct: soil erosion does depend on structure, slope, and vegetation (A), it harms agriculture (C), and can be controlled through afforestation and terracing (D).

Sound waves are longitudinal mechanical waves where particles oscillate parallel to the direction of wave propagation. They create compressions and rarefactions. Electromagnetic, electronic, and radio waves are transverse waves that don't require a medium.

Correct Answer: Article 32

The idea of a Constituent Assembly to frame the Constitution for India was mooted in 1928.

India unveiled a policy to help boost power generation from renewable energy sources on 14^th Jan 2010. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), the central electricity regulator in the country, issued a regulation on the framework of Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) mechanism, intended to facilitate and promote the development of renewable energy sources in the electricity market.

Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter. The geothermal energy of the earth's crust originates from the original formation of the planet (20%) and from radioactive decay of minerals (80%). The geothermal gradient, which is the difference in the temperature of the core of the planet and its surface, drives a continuous conduction of thermal energy in the form of heat from the core to the surface.

Biomass derived energy holds the promise of reducing carbon dioxide emission, a significant contributor to global warming, as carbon dioxide acts as a “greenhouse” gas by trapping heat absorbed by the earth from the sun. Although the burning of biomass releases as much carbon dioxide as the burning of fossil fuels, biomass burning does not release “new carbon” into the atmosphere, which the burning of fossil fuels does.
The estimated biomass production in the world is 146 billion tonnes a year, consisting of mostly wild plant growth. Wood remains the largest biomass energy source today.

A habitat corridor, wildlife corridor or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between populations, which may help to prevent the negative effects of inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity (via. genetic drift) that often occur within isolated populations.

Dadabhai Naoroji is known as the Grand Old Man of India, was a Parsi intellectual, educator, cotton trader, and an early Indian political and social leader. His book 'Poverty and Un-British Rule in India' brought attention to the drainage of India's wealth into Britain.

The Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha is elected by the members of the Legislative Assembly from among themselves, not appointed by the Governor. In contrast, the Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor, other ministers are appointed on the CM's advice, and the State PSC Chairman is also a gubernatorial appointment. This reflects the separation between the executive and legislative branches at the state level.

Rajya Sabha is the Upper House of the Indian Parliament, also known as the Council of States. It represents the interests of the states and has a continuing nature (with one-third members retiring every two years). Lok Sabha is the Lower House (House of the People), while State Legislative Assembly and Council are state-level bodies, not part of Parliament.

Sales Tax is the principal source of revenue to the State Government in India.

Dengue virus cause dengue fever. It is transmitted from affected person to healthy person by Aedes mosquito. 

India has a well-developed tax structure with clearly demarcated authority between Central and State Governments and local bodies.
Central Government levies taxes on income (except tax on agricultural income, which the State Government can levy), customs duties, central excise and service tax.
Value Added Tax (VAT), stamp duty, state excise, land revenue and profession tax are levied by the State Governments.

Statement 1 is correct. The temperature of hot food is more. Therefore, the particles of hot vapours coming out of hot sizzling food have higher kinetic energy, i.e. they move faster and hence, the smell of hot sizzling food reaches several metres away.
Statement 2 is incorrect. A body with black and rough surface absorbs heat most rapidly (it absorbs heat energy).

According to the Indian Constitution, the President does not have the power to use his discretion in case of a dispute between the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

Statement 1 is wrong: State Legislature has no role in amendment of the fundamental provisions of the constitution. Any amendment to the Constitution of India can only be made by the Parliament, i.e. the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Statement 1 is correct. The expression “Proclamation of Emergency” as used in the Indian Constitution refers to National Emergency under Article 352.
Statement 2 is incorrect. In India, National Emergency has been proclaimed three times so far – in 1962, 1971 and 1975.

Tsunami waves do not resemble normal sea waves because their wavelength is far longer. Rather than appearing as a breaking wave, a tsunami may initially resemble a rapidly rising tide and for this reason they are often referred to as tidal waves.

Agriculture is an important sector of Indian economy. It is source of supply of basic wage goods, i.e. food items to industry as well as people on the whole. It provides raw materials to various agro-based industries. It is also a great source of foreign exchange for the economy, especially for a developing country like India, where a large share of its population depends, directly or indirectly, upon agriculture.

Both the statements given are perfectly correct.
Kisan Credit Card Scheme was introduced in 1998-99 to facilitate access to credit from Commercial Banks, Cooperatives and Regional Rural Banks.
Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) was set up with a corpus of Rs.10,000 crore with NABARD to finance rural infrastructure development projects by states.

Public Health, Agriculture and Police are the subjects that come under the State List. It should be noted that the Centre is only responsible for the recruitment of police (through UPSC), not for its maintenance.

The Second Schedule of the Indian Constitution does not carry provision relating to emoluments, salaries, allowances, etc. of the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers of different states.

All the given features are greatly influenced by the Government of India Act, 1935.

Following are the evidences of the Earth’s shape:

1. Earth's shadow on the moon (at lunar eclipse) is always circular.
2. The position of the sun and the stars depends on the position of earth, thus earth has to be curved.
3. Magellan sailed around Earth.
4. Yuri Gagarin orbited Earth in space.
5. Pictures of Earth taken from the Moon impressively demonstrate the shape of Earth.
6. The rotation of Earth can be proven with Foucault's pendulum.
7. Astronomical observations show that all the other planets are spheres, it is very likely that the Earth is a sphere too.

Statement 1 is correct. The chemical name of bleaching powder is calcium hypochlorite (a compound of chlorine), which is used for the disinfection of drinking water or swimming pool water.

Statement 2 is incorrect. A common hydrogenation is the hardening of animal fats or vegetable oils to make them solid at room temperature and improve their stability.

Gorakhpur became the world's longest railway platform in 2013. After Gorakhpur, Kharagpur has the world's third largest railway platform.

Both the given statements are perfectly correct.

Option (2) is the correct answer.

1 and 2 only

The Sattriya dance form was introduced in the 15^th century A.D. by the great Vaishnava saint and reformer of Assam, Mahapurusha Sankaradeva as a powerful medium for propagation of the Vaishnava faith. Sankaradeva introduced this dance form by incorporating different elements from various treatises, then prevalent dance forms and local folk dances combined with his own rare outlook. Sattriya dance is a clear indication of the influence of the former on the latter. Other visible influences on Sattriya dance are those from Assamese folk dances namely Bihu, Bodos, etc. Many hand gestures and rhythmic syllables are strikingly similar in these dance forms.

The Middle East holds approximately two-thirds of the world's proven oil reserves, with countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and UAE having the largest reserves. This concentration of oil reserves gives the region significant influence on global energy markets and geopolitics.

Statement 1 is correct as per Article 243A. Statement 2 is incorrect because the State Legislature, not Parliament, makes provisions for the maintenance of accounts by Panchayats under Article 243J.

Correct option is (1).

Mixed cropping is the practice of growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land. Cotton and groundnut are a common example of this practice in India.

The descending order of altitude for Himalayan vegetation is: Alpine vegetation (highest), Coniferous forests, Evergreen forests, and Tropical forests (lowest). Therefore, the sequence is 2-1-4-3.

This option is correct. The Union Executive has the Prime minister with the Council of ministers, the President and the Attorney General.

Under Article 249 of the Indian Constitution, the Parliament can legislate on a subject in the State List if the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting, declaring it necessary in the national interest.

1038 females per 1000 males

In the landmark NALSA vs. Union of India judgment, the Supreme Court directed the government to treat transgenders as a socially and educationally backward class of citizens, effectively placing them in the OBC category for reservation purposes.

Speaker of the House of the People certifies a bill as a money bill.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.

According to the 2011 Census of India, the total number of towns in India was approximately 7,935. Therefore, eight thousand is the closest approximation among the provided options.

The Attorney General of India is the Indian government's chief legal advisor, and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of India. The Attorney General of India is appointed by the President of India under Article 76(1) of the Constitution of India and holds office during the pleasure of the President. (Hence Option (1) is correct) He must be a person qualified to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court. (Hence Option (2) is also correct)
The Attorney General is responsible for giving advice to the Government of India upon such legal matters and to perform such other duties of legal character as may be referred or assigned to him by the President. The Attorney General has the right of audience in all Courts in India as well as the right to participate in the proceedings of the Parliament, though not to vote. (Hence Option (3) is also correct). The Attorney General appears on behalf of the Government of India in all cases(including suits, appeals and other proceedings) in the Supreme Court in which the Government of India is concerned. The Attorney General is to be consulted only in legal matters of real importance and only after the Ministry of Law has been consulted. The Attorney General can accept briefs but cannot appear against the Government. He/She cannot defend an accused in the criminal proceedings and accept the directorship of a company without the permission of the Government.

Correct option is (2).

Hydrogen gas is highly flammable and burns in air. So it is not a greenhouse gas.

India’s foreign exchange reserve includes the following:
Foreign currency assets
Gold reserves
SDRs
Reserve position in IMF

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. However, excessive use of natural resources will exhaust the resources for future generation. Thus, option (1) is the correct answer. 

Sustainable management of natural resources requires a long-term perspective to ensure availability for future generations. A short-term perspective is detrimental to conservation and resource longevity.

Correct option is (3).

World Kidney Day is a global health awareness campaign observed annually on the second Thursday of March. It focuses on the importance of kidneys to our overall health.

The geographical order of these river basins from south to north is: Kaveri (in the south), Godavari, Tapi, and Ganga (in the north). This corresponds to the sequence 4-2-1-3.

The colour depends on surface and texture of an object or how it bends light. Light in its natural state is white light. In case of yellow colour, the yellow object reflects yellow colour and absorbs all the other colours. So, it appears as yellow.

Biodiversity hotspots are biogeographic regions with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans. They are defined by high levels of species richness and endemism.

India was the first country in the world to launch a national family planning program in 1952. The goal was to reduce birth rates to stabilize the population.

GDP is 'gross' because it does not account for the wear and tear of capital assets used in production, known as depreciation. Net Domestic Product (NDP) is calculated by subtracting depreciation from GDP.

 Direct memory access

Air would expand the most on being heated.

Balwant Rai Mehta is called the Father of Panchayati Raj in India because it was the recommendations of his committee which laid the foundation of the present day existing Panchayati Raj.

ATM stands for Automated Teller Machine. It is a specialized computer that allows customers to perform financial transactions without the need for a human bank teller.

Uttar Pradesh is the largest legislative assembly in India. 

In ecology, a biome is a major regional group of distinctive plant and animal communities best adapted to the region's physical natural environment, latitude, altitude and terrain. A biome is made up of communities at stable steady state and all associated transitional, disturbed, or degraded, vegetation, fauna and soils, but can often be identified by the climax vegetation type.
A fundamental classification of biomes is into:
Terrestrial (or continental) biomes, and Aquatic biomes.
The criteria used for classification of biomes are:

1. Availability of soil
2. Availability of water
3. Availability of vegetation cover

The powers of the Governor and the President are independent of each other. Each has powers within his own jurisdiction - the President has powers in relation to Central laws and the Governor has powers in relation to State laws. Therefore, after the Governor’s decision, there is no appeal allowed to the President. However, judicial review is allowed.

Feminist movements argue that gender inequality is a systemic issue rooted in patriarchy (ii) and advocate for shared responsibilities in domestic life, such as participatory parenthood (iv), to achieve equality.

Statement B is incorrect because the insurance benefit requirement is generally linked to usage within 90 days, not 60. Statement D is incorrect because RuPay was introduced by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), not the National Pension Corporation.

Universal Adult Franchise and Free and fair Elections makes the elections democratic. 

According to the Constitution, the 91^st Amendment Act, the number of Ministers cannot be more than 15% of the House of People at the Union level and the concerned Vidhan Sabha at the State level.

The 1991 Industrial Policy reserved these specific sectors for the public sector to maintain strategic control, including defense (arms), energy (mineral oils), mining, and transport (railways).

Stem cells are biological cells found in all multi-cellular organisms that can divide (through mitosis) and differentiate into diverse specialised cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells. Hence, fact 1 is incorrect.

 Sub-Tropical High Pressure Belt (231/2° - 35° in both the hemispheres) : This belt owes its origin to the rotation of the earth and sinking and settling down of winds. It is, thus, mainly dynamically induced. The air rising at the equatorial belt starts blowing poleward. But, these winds get deflected towards east due to rotation of the earth. This phenomenon was first discovered by the French scientist Coriolis, hence this force exerted by the rotation of the earth is called coriolis force. The quantity of the force keeps increasing with increasing distances from the equatorial belt. This zone of high pressure is called 'Horse Latitude' because of prevalence of frequent calms. In ancient times, the merchants carrying horses in their ships had to throw out some of the horses while passing through this zone of calm in order to lighten their ships. This is why this zone is called 'Horse Latitude'. These are the regions of divergence because winds from these areas blow towards equatorial and subpolar low pressure belts.

Statement 1 is perfectly correct.
Statement 2 is wrong. It needs conceptual clarity to understand that the CAG directly submits his report to the Public Accounts Committee which after detailed study prepares another report which is placed by the President before the Parliament.

Statement 1 is correct: One of the principal deciding factors of the type of natural vegetation of a region is the rainfall of that region. This factor becomes more crucial in the case of tropical monsoon lands.
Statement 2 is also correct: Monsoons lands are characterised by marked dry period. In such dry periods, trees shed their leaves. Hence, monsoon lands are covered with deciduous trees.

The Indian army is the third largest in the world, after China and USA.
The Indian Air Force is the fourth largest in the world, after USA, Russia and China.
The Indian Navy is the fifth largest in the world, after USA, China, Russia and South Korea.

One of the divisions of the North Indian Plains is Bhangar, which is marked by given features:

1. It represents the upland alluvial tracts of the Great Plains of North India.
2. It is well drained and the most productive part of the Great Plains of North India.
3. It contains concretions and nodules of impure calcium carbonate, called Kankar.
4. The soil is dark in colour, rich in humus content and productive.

There are three accessible sources of autologous adult stem cells in humans:

Udham Singh, a revolutionary, assassinated Sir Michael O'Dwyer in London in 1940 as an act of revenge for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre that occurred in 1919.

NAIS is implemented in 25 states and 2 UTs. It does not include Punjab, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Chandigarh and Lakshadweep.

The Sikhs were blatantly prejudiced against the Hindu sepoys for king part of the British army, which inflected heavy reverses for Sikhs in their first and second Anglo-sikh wars. They wanted to avenge themselves and hence, acted against the sepoys.

The name of dynasty that ruled on Kashmir during the invention of mahamood was Hindushahi. Jaipal was the first ruler of this dynasty. Anandpal was the son of Jaipal. Jaipal was defeated and committed suicide.

B.P. Wadia, N.M. Joshi, and Dhundiraj Thengdi were all prominent figures involved in the early trade union movement in India, such as the formation of the AITUC.

Ploughing along the contour lines can decelerate the flow of water down the slopes (contour ploughing). Large fields can be divided into strips. Strips of grass are left to grow between the crops. This method is called strip cropping.

India's rainfall is highly seasonal, concentrated in the monsoon months. This makes it difficult to maintain a consistent water flow for power generation throughout the year without expensive storage reservoirs.

The tagline for the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana is 'Mera Khata Bhagya Vidhata', which translates to 'My account, the creator of my good fortune'.

She won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2014. She worked for female education for which she received the Nobel Prize. Hence, it is correct.

The Theosophical Society supported the Hindu revival and occult mysticism, but its activities were not confined to Southern India; it had a national and international presence.

The Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, also known as the Little Rann of Kutch Sanctuary, is located in the Little Rann of Kutch in the state of Gujarat.

Nag is an Indian third-generation, fire-and-forget, anti-tank guided missile developed by the DRDO.

Statement (i) is incorrect. The energy losses from machines are mostly dissipated as heat energy.
Statement (ii) is correct. When current is supplied by a battery, the chemical energy stored in the battery converts into electrical energy.

Among all, Drupal and World Wide Web are not web browsers.
Drupal is an application server software to handle the processing and delivery of a large amount of data.
World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents through which we can view web pages that may contain text, images, videos, etc.

Jute is the ‘golden fiber’ of Indian sub-continent.
India was the first to develop hybrid cotton variety.
Alluvial soils in the delta regions of rivers like Ganga and Brahmaputra, are the best for the cultivation of jute and not in highlands.

The joint session of both the houses is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

A mirage is observed in deserts due to the phenomenon of total internal reflection. As we move up from the surface  the temperature  of the layers of the air   decreases because of  which the refractive index of the air increases hence total internal reflection takes place.