General Science Questions (MCQs) for Competitive Examinations

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Early blight and late blight are two serious diseases of potato and tomato. Early blight of potato is caused by the fungus, Alternaria solani. The pathogen produces distinctive “bulls-eye” patterned leaf spots and can cause tuber blight on potato. This disease, also known as target spot, rarely affects young, vigorously growing plants. It is found on older leaves first.

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Pernicious anaemia is one of many types of the larger family of megaloblastic anaemias. It is caused by loss of gastric parietal cells which are responsible, in part, for the secretion of intrinsic factor, a protein essential for subsequent absorption of vitamin B12 in the ileum.

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Platelets, also called thrombocytes, are a component of blood whose function is to stop bleeding by clumping and clotting blood vessel injuries. Unlike red and white blood cells, platelets are not actually cells but rather small fragments of cells.

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The pituitary gland is an endocrine gland that releases growth hormones (GH) for different cells of the body. The most well-known effect in children is to increase height. In adults and children, it helps to control the amount of muscle and fat in the body. It also helps to heal injuries and it promotes the immune system.

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An analgesic or painkiller is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve analgesia, relief from pain. Analgesic drugs act in various ways on the peripheral and central nervous systems. They are distinct from anaesthetics, which temporarily affect, and in some instances completely eliminate, sensation.

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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.

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True berries, such as blueberries and cranberries have seeds inside. The strawberry, however has its dry, yellow “seeds” on the outside (each of which is actually considered a separate fruit). The “seeds” seen on the outside of a strawberry are actually the plant’s ovaries and are called “achnes.”

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R.H. Whittaker (1969) proposed a Five Kingdom Classification: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia. The main criteria for classification used by him include cell structure, thallus organisation, mode of nutrition, reproduction and phylogenetic relationships.

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The Sartorius muscle is the longest muscle in the human body. It is a long, thin, superficial muscle that runs down the length of the thigh in the anterior compartment. Its upper portion forms the lateral border of the femoral triangle.

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Glaucoma is a condition that causes damage to the eye’s optic nerve and gets worse over time. People with glaucoma can lose nerve tissue, resulting in vision loss. In the most common form of glaucoma, primary open angle glaucoma, the fluid pressure inside the eye increases and causes progressive damage to the optic nerve and loss of nerve fibres.