General Science Questions (MCQs) for Competitive Examinations

Notes:
Carbohydrates are the main and quick energy source for human beings. Simple carbohydrates (like sugar-sweetened beverages) are digested quickly and send immediate bursts of glucose (energy) into the blood stream. Complex carbohydrates are digested more slowly and supply a lower steadier release of glucose into the blood stream.

Notes:
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They have three main body parts, the head, the thorax and the abdomen. They breathe through a series of holes called ‘spiracles’ which are located along the sides of the body. On grasshoppers, there is a large round disc on the first segment next to the thorax. It is called a tympanum and is the grass-hopper’s ear.

Notes:
The organs which have different basic structure and origin abut are similar in their appearance and functioning, are called analogous organs. An example of analogous organs are the wings of insects, bats and birds that evolved independently in each lineage separately after diverging from an ancestor without wings.

Notes:
Bulbil is a small bulblike organ of vegetative reproduction growing in leaf axils or on flower stalks of plants such as the onion and tiger lily. It is a reproductive organ that takes part in vegetative reproduction. The bulbils drop from the parent plant on to the ground, give out adventitious roots and develop into new plants. The other structures involved in vegetative propagation include rhizome, bulb, corm, cuttings, etc.

Notes:
Test tube baby is born from in vitro fertilization. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a process by which an egg is fertilized by sperm outside the body: in vitro. When a woman’s natural cycle is monitored to collect a naturally selected ovum (egg) for fertilization, it is known as natural cycle IVF. The fertilized egg (zygote) is then transferred to the patient’s uterus with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy.

Notes:
The bee hummingbird, also known as Helena hummingbird, is a species of hummingbird which is the world’s smallest bird. Females weigh 2.6 g and are 6.1 cm long, and are slightly larger than males, with an average weight of 1.95 g and length of 5.5 cm. As its name suggests, it is scarcely larger than a bee. It is endemic to Cuba and the Isla de la Juventud.

Notes:
The bark of cinchona tree yields quinine, a white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic (fever-reducing), anti-malarial, analgesic (painkilling), and anti-inflammatory properties. Quinine was the first effective Western treatment for malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum.

Notes:
In the nucleus of each cell, the DNA molecule is packaged into thread-like structures called chromosomes. Each chromosome is made up of DNA tightly coiled many times around proteins called histones that support its structure.

Notes:
Some of the benefits of Mushroom cultivation are:
(a) it has been found to coincide with decrease of incidents of breast cancer;
(b) Spent residues such as those obtained after cultivation of edible mushrooms could be a better source of biologically pretreated substrates for biogas production; and
(c) Mushrooms can be grown on virtually all types of available wastes; and
(d) agricultural waste recycling can be achieved through controlled cultivation of mushrooms.

Notes:
Bacillus Calmette Guerin is a vaccine against tuberculosis. BCG vaccine can be implemented after the birth intradermally within 2-3 days.