General Knowledge: Geography, Science & Current Affairs

Ashutosh Kaushal won the second season of Bigg Boss (the Indian version of Big Brother). Rahul Roy won season 1. Rahul Mahajan and Raja Chowdhury were contestants in other seasons but not season 2 winners.

Uttarakhand (then called Uttaranchal) was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000. It became the 27th state of India. It was not part of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, or Haryana.

'Birdie' is a scoring term in golf. When a player completes a hole one stroke under par, it's called a birdie. This terminology is specific to golf and not used in tennis, baseball, or polo.

Exobiology (also called astrobiology) is the correct answer. It is the branch of biology that studies the possibility of life existing beyond Earth, including the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the universe. The other options are not the correct term for studying extraterrestrial life.

Isthmus is the correct answer. An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas and bordered by water on two sides. Panama is indeed a classic example of an isthmus, connecting North and South America. An estuary is where a river meets the sea, an island is surrounded by water, and a knoll is a small hill. The question correctly describes an isthmus.

Gully is the correct answer. A gully is a narrow channel formed in the earth by water erosion, typically on a hillside or mountainside. They are smaller than canyons and form when water cuts through soil or soft rock. A fissure is a deep crack, a crack is a general fracture, and a gorge is a larger, deeper valley. The question correctly describes gullies.

Valley is the correct answer. A valley is an elongated depression in the land surface, typically situated between mountain ranges or hills. Valleys are drained by rivers and their tributaries, which shape them over geological time. A canyon is a deep gorge with steep sides, a plain is flat land, and a plateau is elevated flat land. The question accurately describes a valley.

Delta is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet (Δ). River deltas are named for this letter because of their characteristic triangle shape where rivers deposit sediment at their mouths.

A ridge is a narrow, raised stretch of land that joins two mountains or hills. A rift is a crack/depression, a reef is underwater, and a massif is a large mountain block - none fit the description of connecting two elevated features.

A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from the sea by a barrier like sand or coral - exactly as described. Islands are land masses, cataracts are waterfalls, and ebb refers to tidal movement out to sea.

Coconuts float because their mesocarp (middle layer) is fibrous and contains air spaces, making them buoyant. This adaptation helps dispersal by ocean currents. The other options don't explain the physical mechanism of buoyancy.

A peninsula is a piece of land almost entirely surrounded by water but connected to the mainland - a narrow land projection into water. A jetty is a man-made structure, sand bank is underwater, and rapid is fast-flowing water.

An ox-bow lake forms when a river meander is cut off as the river finds a shorter path, leaving a crescent-shaped stagnant lake beside the main channel. A meander is the bend itself, not the resulting lake.

Numismatics is the study or collection of coins, paper money, and related objects. Philately is stamp collecting, not studied in numismatics. Numerology studies numbers, not coins.

An estuary is where freshwater from rivers meets and mixes with seawater - a transitional zone with brackish water. A strait is a narrow water passage, junction is a general meeting point, and tributary feeds INTO a river.

Ice floats with approximately 1/8 (12.5%) of its volume above water because ice is less dense than liquid water. This is based on the density ratio of ice (0.92 g/cm³) to water (1.0 g/cm³).

A canyon is a deep valley with steep sides, often carved by rivers - the Grand Canyon being the most famous example. Ravines are smaller, cliffs are vertical drops, and mountains are elevated landforms.

Cockroaches have a 13-chambered tubular heart. This is a specialized anatomical fact in invertebrate biology. The other chamber numbers (11, 12, 14) are incorrect.

World Tourism Day is celebrated annually on September 27th. It was established by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in 1980 to promote global awareness of tourism's social, cultural, political, and economic value. September 27 was chosen to mark the anniversary of the adoption of UNWTO statutes in 1970.