General Science Questions (MCQs) for Competitive Examinations

Notes:
Taenia (Tapeworm), Fasciola (Liver fluke) are examples of Platyhelminthes, mostly parasites that live in other animals including animals. Some are freeliving forms, mainly aquatic-marine or freshwater. Their bodies remain externally covered by cilia or cuticle.

Notes:
Linseed are the seeds of the flax plant, which are the source of linseed oil and linseed cake. Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. Linseed is one of the most potent sources of omega- 3 fatty acids found in nature.

Notes:
During glycolysis, glucose is broken down in ten steps to two molecules of pyruvate in cytoplasm (in the cellular matrix called cytosol). It then enters the mitochondria where it is oxidised through the tricarboxylic acid cycle to carbon dioxide and water.

Notes:
The guard cells in dicot plants are kidney shaped and dumbbell shaped in monocots. When guard cells expand on the outer edges of the stoma, but not on the inner side, they result in kidney-shaped cells, leading to an opening or pore between the two guard cells for gas exchange.

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.

Notes:
Micropropagation is the practice of rapidly multiplying stock plant material to produce a large number of progeny plants, using modern plant tissue culture methods. It leads to the production of plants that are clones of each other. It often produces more robust plants, leading to accelerated growth compared to similar plants produced by conventional methods– like cuttings.

Notes:
Potatoes are examples of tubers : the swollen ends of stolons that may store starch. It is a stem because it has many nodes called eyes with spaces between eyes known as internodes. Potato tubers develop at the end of swollen underground stem structures, rhizomes.

Notes:
Breathing is the process in which air moves in and out of the lungs with the help of various respiratory organs. The process of taking in air rich in oxygen is called inhalation. Similarly, the process of giving out air rich in carbon dioxide is called exhalation. When we inhale, the ribs move up and outwards while the diaphragm moves down. An exact opposite movement occurs during exhalation when the ribs move down and inwards while the diaphragm moves up.

Notes:
Peristalsis is the wave of rhythmical contraction, which takes place in the alimentary canal. It is produced by involuntary contraction of circular muscles, which is preceded by a simultaneous contraction of the longitudinal muscle, and relaxation of the circular muscle lining the gut. Peristalsis pushes the food through the alimentary canal.

Notes:
An ecosystem is defined as any community of living and non-living things that work together. Biotic components are the living things that shape an ecosystem. All non-living components of an ecosystem is called abiotic components such as temperature, light, moisture, air currents, gravity, etc.