General Science Questions (MCQs) for Competitive Examinations

Notes:
The term xerophyte refers to a plant species that has evolved over time to adapt to dry and arid regions like deserts. Xerophytes have adapted to be able to keep extremely large amounts of water for a long period of time. Without this capability, the plant would die, as the desert region itself does not provide enough water to sustain life. They have thick cuticle, sunken stomata and leaves modified in form of spines such as in opuntia.

Notes:
An insectivorous plant, also called a carnivorous plant, captures prey items, such as insects, spiders, crustaceans, mites, and protozoans, as a nitrogen source. Aldrovanda, Dionaea, Drosera, Drosophyllum, etc are some of them under the Droseraceae family.

Notes:
The majority of the upper respiratory epithelium is lined with cilia, small hair-like structures that move together like oars to push the mucus and its trapped contents to the throat, where it is swallowed. Each cell has about 300 cilia.

Notes:
Vitamin C also known as ascorbic acid is found in citrus fruit such as orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, grapes etc. It protects the immune system, reduces the severity of allergic reactions and helps fight off infections.

Notes:
Water catchment areas such as forests are continually being destroyed through deforestation to pave way for human settlement. This problem has been brought about by rapid population increase. As a result, there is not enough rain thus causing water shortage.

Notes:
The sigmoid colon is the last section of the bowel — the part that attaches to the rectum. It’s about a foot and a half long (around 40 centimeters) and is shaped like the letter “s.” The sigmoid colon is a short curving of the colon, just before the rectum. It is part of the large intestine.

Notes:
The arteries (red) carry oxygen and nutrients away from your heart, to your body’s tissues. The veins (blue) take oxygen-poor blood back to theheart. Arteries begin with the aorta, the large artery leaving the heart. They carry oxygen-rich blood away from the heart to all of the body’s tissues.

Notes:
Ultrastrong spider silk is one of the toughest natural fibres known in nature. The light, flexible fibre is five times stronger by weight than high-grade steel and extremely stretchy, enlarging to snag incoming insects and other prey.

Notes:
All mammals and birds are warm-blooded while all reptiles, arachnids, insects, amphibians, fish are coldblooded. Therefore, all primates (such as humans, apes, and monkeys), cats (tigers, cheetahs, and domestic cats), rodents (rats, beavers, and chipmunks), marsupials (kangaroo), weasels (badgers and meerkats), monotremes (platypuses), sea mammals (whales, seals, walruses, manatees, and dolphins), dogs, pigs, and elephants are warm-blooded.

Notes:
The Widal test is used to help make a presumptive diagnosis of enteric fever, also known as typhoid fever. Typhid is the other test used to ascertain the diagnosis of typhoid fever.