General Science Questions (MCQs) for Competitive Examinations
General Science Multiple choice questions for GK paper in SSC, NDA, CDS, UPSC, UPPSC and State PSC Examinations. These questions are part of GKToday’s 35000+ MCQs Bank Course in GKToday Android App
31. Damping off of seedlings is caused by _____:
[A] Albugo Candida
[B] Peronospola parasitica
[C] Pythium debaryanum
[D] Phytophthora infestans
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Pythium debaryanum]
Notes:
Damping off is a horticultural disease or condition, caused by a number of different pathogens that kill or weaken seeds or seedlings before or after they germinate. Pythium, a genus of parasitic oomycete, are most often responsible for damping-off. Along with Rhizoctonia solani, attacks by Pythium are most associated with producing roughly circular patches of dead seedlings.
32. Anaemia is caused because of deficiency of which of the following?
[A] Cobalt
[B] Iron
[C] Sodium
[D] Calcium
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Iron]
Notes:
Anaemia is a condition that develops when blood lacks enough healthy red blood cells or haemoglobin. The three main types of Anaemia are due to blood loss, decreased red blood cell production, and increased red blood cell breakdown. Causes of decreased production include iron deficiency, a lack of vitamin B12, thalassemia, and a number of neoplasms of the bone marrow.
33. Which of the following is the longest bone in human body?
[A] Shoulder bone
[B] Femur bone
[C] Chest bone
[D] Forearm bone
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Femur bone]
Notes:
Femur (thighbone) the longest bone in human body. Its average length is 19.9 inch. The femur is the only bone in the thigh. Tibia (shin bone) and Fibula (lower leg) come next in sequence with length of 16.9 and 15.9 inch respectively.
34. The International Commisson on Zoological Nomenclature was established in _____:
[A] 1664
[B] 1898
[C] 1988
[D] 2001
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [1988]
Notes:
The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) was founded in 1895. It provides and regulates a uniform system of zoological nomenclature ensuring that every animal has a unique and universally accepted scientific name.
35. Eutrophication of a water body enhances
_____:
[A] Organic matter production
[B] Biological oxygen demand
[C] Both (a) & (b)
[D] None of the above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Both (a) & (b)]
Notes:
Eutrophication is the ecosystem response to the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilizers or sewage. It leads not only to increased levels of nutrients, but increased Biological Oxygen Demand as well following the decay of algal bloom in stagnant water reservoirs.
36. Name the Japanese art of miniaturisation of trees.
[A] Ikebana
[B] Origami
[C] Bonsai
[D] Kirigami
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Bonsai]
Notes:
Bonsai is the art of aesthetic miniaturization of trees and plants in containers. A bonsai plant is not a dwarf plant but equal to the full sized flowering plant. The main objective of bonsai plants is to create a tree or plant, and even landscapes, in miniature at household level.
37. Five Kingdom classification was given by _____:
[A] Whittaker
[B] Heckel
[C] Linneus
[D] Copeland
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Whittaker]
Notes:
Robert Harding Whittaker was a distinguished American plant ecologist who was the first to pro pose the five-kingdom taxonomic classification of the world’s biota into the Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista, and Monera in 1969. He also proposed the Whittaker Biome Classification, which categorized biome-types upon two abiotic factors: temperature and precipitation.
38. Which one of the following events in a botanical garden is never directly influenced by light?
[A] Flowering
[B] Photosynthesis
[C] Transpiration
[D] Fertilization
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Fertilization]
Notes:
Fertilization in plants is not directly influenced by sunlight. Fertilization occurs after pollination, when pollen grains land on the stigma of a flower of the same species. During this time, a series of events take place leading to the formation of seeds. However, none of these event is affected by presence or absence of light.
39. Root Hairs arise from _____:
[A] Cortex
[B] Pericycle
[C] Epidermis
[D] Endodermis
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Epidermis]
Notes:
Root hairs are tubular-shaped tip-growing cells that arise from epidermal cells known as trichoblasts, behind the tips of young roots. Like all tip-growing cells, root hairs grow by the addition of cell wall precursors to the tip delivered by vesicles from the endomembrane system.
40. The waste management technique that involves the use of micro-organisms to remove or neutralize pollutants from contaminated site is called ____:
[A] Bio magnification
[B] Bio sensor
[C] Bioremediation
[D] Bio concentration
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Bioremediation]
Notes:
Bioremediation is a waste management technique that involves the use of organisms to remove or neutralize pollutants from a contaminated site. It uses naturally occurring organisms to break down hazardous substances into less toxic or non-toxic substances. There are two classes of bioremediation used : In situ and Ex situ.