Railway 2018 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is C, 16 times the initial value. Kinetic energy depends on the square of the momentum, so the momentum grows as the square root of the energy. For a body of mass m, the kinetic energy can be written as p squared divided by 2m, where p is the linear momentum. If the mass does not change, p equals the square root of 2mE, so p is proportional to the square root of E. When the kinetic energy becomes 256 times, the momentum becomes the square root of 256, that is 16 times its earlier value, and the speed also becomes 16 times. Option A is wrong because a body cannot gain energy while its momentum stays the same. Option B is wrong because 8 times the momentum would make the energy 64 times, not 256 times. Option D is wrong because 32 times the momentum would make the energy 1024 times. Exam tip: E equals p squared by 2m, so if the energy becomes n times the momentum becomes root n times, and if the momentum becomes n times the energy becomes n squared times.

The correct answer is B, The stamen and pistil. The stamen and the pistil make the male and female gametes, so they are the essential or reproductive organs of a flower. The stamen is the male part and has an anther that produces pollen grains and a filament that holds the anther up. The pistil, also called the carpel, is the female part and has three portions: the stigma that receives the pollen, the style, and the ovary that holds the ovules. After pollination and fertilisation the ovary grows into the fruit and the ovules become seeds. Sepals and petals are called accessory organs because they only protect the bud and attract insects for pollination. Option A is wrong because the sepal is only the green leaf-like part that covers the bud. Option C is wrong because neither sepals nor petals take any part in making gametes. Option D is wrong because the petal is accessory, even though the pistil named with it is essential. Exam tip: stamen and pistil are essential, sepal and petal are accessory.

The correct answer is C, Silver. Silver is a noble metal and does not combine with oxygen even when it is heated strongly. Metals react with oxygen according to their place in the reactivity series. Very reactive metals such as potassium and sodium burn in air at room temperature, aluminium and zinc form an oxide layer when heated, and lead slowly turns into lead oxide on heating. Silver, gold and platinum lie at the bottom of the series, so they keep their shine in air; the black film that appears on silverware is silver sulphide formed by sulphur gases, not silver oxide. Option A is wrong because zinc burns with a bluish white flame and gives zinc oxide. Option B is wrong because aluminium forms a thin, tough coat of aluminium oxide that protects the metal below it. Option D is wrong because lead heated in air gives litharge, which is lead oxide. Exam tip: gold, silver and platinum are the noble metals that resist oxidation, which is why they are used in jewellery and contacts.

The correct answer is D, 75%. The ball falls from 10 m but rises back only 2.5 m, so it keeps one quarter of its energy and loses three quarters. Just before the ball hits the ground, its kinetic energy equals the potential energy it had at the top, that is mgh with h = 10 m. Just after the bounce, the kinetic energy is only as much as is needed to lift it 2.5 m, so it is mg multiplied by 2.5. The ratio is 2.5 divided by 10, which is one fourth, so 25 per cent of the kinetic energy is left and 75 per cent is lost as heat and sound during the collision. The mass cancels out, so the heights alone decide the answer. Option A is wrong because the ball does rebound, so all the energy is not lost. Option B is wrong because 25 per cent is the energy kept, not the energy lost. Option C is wrong because losing half the energy would take the ball back to 5 m. Exam tip: in a bounce, percentage loss equals (1 minus h2 by h1) multiplied by 100.

The correct answer is D, Mamta Kalia. The Vyas Samman for 2017 went to the Hindi writer Mamta Kalia for her novel 'Dukham Sukham'. The Vyas Samman is given every year by the K.K. Birla Foundation for an outstanding Hindi work published in the previous ten years, and it carries a citation and a cash prize. The same foundation gives two other literary awards: the Saraswati Samman, open to a work in any language listed in the Eighth Schedule, and the Bihari Puraskar for writing from Rajasthan. Mamta Kalia is known for her Hindi stories and novels and has headed the Mahadevi Verma Srijan Peeth in Allahabad. Option A is wrong because Namita Gokhale writes in English and co-founded the Jaipur Literature Festival. Option B is wrong because Meena Kandasamy is an English-language poet and translator. Option C is wrong because Jhumpa Lahiri writes in English and won the Pulitzer Prize for 'Interpreter of Maladies'. Exam tip: Vyas Samman is for Hindi alone, while Saraswati Samman covers all Eighth Schedule languages.

The correct answer is A, Azerbaijan. The manat is the currency of Azerbaijan, a country of the Caucasus whose capital is Baku on the shore of the Caspian Sea. The name comes from the Russian word moneta, meaning coin, and Turkmenistan calls its currency the manat too, so the two countries share the name. Azerbaijan's oil and gas wealth keeps Baku in the news, and the country is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States. B is wrong because the currency of Armenia is the dram. C is wrong because the currency of Albania is the lek. D is wrong because Andorra, a small country between France and Spain, uses the euro and has no currency of its own. Exam tip: manat - Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan; dram - Armenia; lari - Georgia; lek - Albania. When every option starts with the same letter, fix the currency to the country instead of guessing.

The correct answer is C, Euro. The euro is the official currency of the European Union. It came into being as an accounting currency in 1999 and reached people's hands as notes and coins on 1 January 2002. It is managed by the European Central Bank at Frankfurt, its symbol is a crossed E and its code is EUR. Not every member state uses it: the group that does is called the eurozone, while members such as Sweden, Poland and Denmark keep their own currencies. A is wrong because the yen is the currency of Japan. B is wrong because the dollar belongs to the United States and several other countries, none of them the European Union. D is wrong because the pound sterling is the currency of the United Kingdom, which never adopted the euro and left the Union in 2020. Exam tip: euro - European Central Bank at Frankfurt, notes and coins from 1 January 2002, and its users form the eurozone.

The correct answer is C, kinetic energy. At the top the object holds only potential energy; as it falls, that store is steadily converted into kinetic energy, and just as it touches the ground almost all of it is kinetic. Potential energy is mgh and kinetic energy is half of mv squared, and in free fall under gravity the sum of the two stays constant, which is the law of conservation of mechanical energy. At the instant of touching the ground the height is zero, so the potential energy is zero, while the speed is greatest, so the kinetic energy is at its maximum. A is wrong because heat appears only after the impact, from friction and deformation, not at the instant of touching. B is wrong because chemical energy is stored in bonds and plays no part in a falling body. D is wrong because potential energy has already dropped to zero at ground level. Exam tip: in a falling body potential energy decreases, kinetic energy increases, and the total mechanical energy stays the same.

The correct answer is A, England and France. The Hundred Years' War was fought between England and France from 1337 to 1453, so it actually ran for 116 years with long truces in between. It began when Edward III of England pressed his claim to the French throne, and behind that lay English lands in France and control of the wool trade of Flanders. England won the famous early battles of Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt, helped by the longbow, but France recovered after Joan of Arc raised the siege of Orleans in 1429, and by 1453 the English held only Calais. B is wrong because England and Italy fought no such war. C is wrong because England and Germany faced each other in the twentieth-century world wars, not in the fourteenth century. D is wrong because the German-French clash was the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, far later and far shorter. Exam tip: Hundred Years' War 1337 to 1453, England against France, turned by Joan of Arc in 1429.

The correct answer is B, National Payments Corporation of India. NPCI is the umbrella organisation that runs India's retail payment and settlement systems. It was set up in 2008 by the Reserve Bank of India and the Indian Banks' Association under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, and works as a not-for-profit company owned by banks, with its head office in Mumbai. UPI, RuPay, IMPS, AePS, BHIM, NACH, the National Electronic Toll Collection behind FASTag and the cheque truncation system are all NPCI platforms, which is why nearly every digital retail payment in the country passes through it. A is wrong because the word in the name is Corporation, not Consortium. C is wrong because a piracy council has nothing to do with payments; it is an invented expansion. D is wrong for the same reason, as no National Protection Council runs payment systems. Exam tip: NPCI - set up in 2008 by RBI and IBA, based in Mumbai, and the operator of UPI, RuPay, IMPS and NACH.

The correct answer is D, Fibrous roots. Fibrous roots are the mark of monocotyledonous plants such as wheat, maize, rice and grasses, not of dicots. A dicot seed carries two cotyledons, and its seedling sends down one strong primary root that thickens into a tap root with smaller lateral branches; gram, pea, mustard, neem and mango are familiar examples. Dicot leaves show reticulate or net-like venation, their flowers usually have petals in fours or fives, and their vascular bundles stand in a ring with cambium, so the stem can thicken year after year. A is wrong because the tap root is precisely what a dicot has. B is wrong because reticulate venation is a dicot feature, while monocots show parallel venation. C is wrong because two cotyledons is the very definition of a dicotyledonous plant. Exam tip: dicot - two cotyledons, tap root, reticulate venation; monocot - one cotyledon, fibrous roots, parallel venation.

The correct answer is B, Minsk. Minsk is the capital and largest city of Belarus, a landlocked country of Eastern Europe that shares borders with Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Belarus became independent when the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, its currency is the Belarusian rouble, and Minsk also houses the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The city gave its name to the Minsk agreements on the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which is why it appears in the news. A is wrong because Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan, a port on the Caspian Sea. C is wrong because Moroni is the capital of Comoros, an island country off the eastern coast of Africa. D is wrong because Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the seat of the European Union and NATO. Exam tip: Belarus - Minsk; Belgium - Brussels; Azerbaijan - Baku; Comoros - Moroni. The similar-sounding country names are the trap here.

The correct answer is A, 390. Chandragupta II extended Gupta rule to Gujarat around 390 AD by defeating the Western Kshatrapas, the Saka rulers of Malwa, Gujarat and Kathiawar. The victory handed the Guptas the western ports and the sea trade with West Asia and Rome, and it won him the title Vikramaditya; his silver coins also call him Sakari, the destroyer of the Sakas. Chandragupta II ruled from about 380 to 415 AD, made Ujjain his second seat of power, and the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hien travelled through India in his reign. B is wrong because 309 AD falls before the dynasty itself began, as Chandragupta I took the throne only around 319 AD. C is wrong because 903 AD is several centuries after the Gupta empire had ended. D is wrong because 930 AD belongs to the Rajput age, far later than any Gupta king. Exam tip: Chandragupta II - Vikramaditya and Sakari, Ujjain, Fa-Hien's visit, Saka conquest about 390 AD.

The correct answer is C, Philippines. The Asian Development Bank has its headquarters in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. ADB was set up in 1966 to reduce poverty and fund development in Asia and the Pacific, and it lends mainly for roads, railways, power, water and urban projects. Japan and the United States hold the largest shares in it, and by convention its president has always been Japanese, which is what makes Japan a tempting wrong choice. India was a founding member and is today one of the bank's biggest borrowers. A is wrong because Japan supplies the bank's largest shareholding and its presidents but not its head office. B is wrong because Beijing hosts the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a different institution set up in 2016. D is wrong because India hosts no such multilateral development bank; the BRICS New Development Bank sits in Shanghai. Exam tip: ADB - Manila, 1966; AIIB - Beijing, 2016; New Development Bank - Shanghai, 2015.

The correct answer is D, 80 J. The work done in moving a charge across a potential difference is W = QV, so W = 5 × 16 = 80 joules. Potential difference is itself defined as the work done per unit charge in carrying that charge from one point to another, which is why one volt means one joule of work for every coulomb moved. Here five coulombs are carried across sixteen volts, so the source must supply 80 J of energy. A is wrong because 65 J does not follow from any correct use of 5 C and 16 V. B is wrong because 45 J would need a potential difference of 9 V for the same charge. C is wrong because 40 J would need either 2.5 C at 16 V or 5 C at 8 V. Exam tip: remember V = W/Q, so W = QV; in this chapter joules are simply coulombs multiplied by volts.

The correct answer is B, Buddha, Dhamma (dharma), Sangha. Triratna means the three jewels in which a Buddhist takes refuge. Buddha is the enlightened teacher, Dhamma is his teaching of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, and Sangha is the order of monks and nuns that carries the teaching forward. A follower formally enters the faith by reciting these three refuges, which is why the Triratna is treated as the doorway of Buddhism. A is wrong because Tripitaka is the three-basket Pali canon of Buddhism, made up of the Vinaya, Sutta and Abhidhamma Pitakas, not the three jewels. C is wrong because truth, non-violence and compassion are values respected in Indian thought but they are not the Triratna. D is wrong because the threefold Buddhist training is Sheel, Samadhi and Prajna, and this option replaces Prajna with Sangha. Exam tip: Buddhism's Triratna is Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha; Jainism's Triratna is right faith, right knowledge and right conduct.

The correct answer is A, 1773. The Boston Tea Party took place on 16 December 1773, when American colonists threw British tea into Boston harbour. The protest was against the Tea Act of 1773, which let the East India Company sell tea in the colonies without paying the usual duties and undercut local merchants. Members of the Sons of Liberty, some dressed as Mohawk Indians, boarded three ships at Griffin's Wharf and dumped 342 chests of tea into the water. Britain replied with the Intolerable Acts, and the anger they caused led to the First Continental Congress in 1774 and to the American War of Independence from 1775. B is wrong because 1776 is the year the Declaration of Independence was adopted, on 4 July. C is wrong because 1775 is when fighting began at Lexington and Concord. D is wrong because 1774 is the year of the Intolerable Acts and the First Continental Congress. Exam tip: Boston Tea Party 1773, war begins 1775, independence declared 1776.

The correct answer is C, Karnataka. Kambala is a traditional buffalo race of coastal Karnataka, held mainly in the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, the Tulu Nadu region. Pairs of buffaloes, yoked together and driven by a farmer, race along two parallel tracks filled with slushy water in paddy fields. The season runs roughly from November to March, after the harvest, and the race began as a thanksgiving to local deities for a good crop. After a legal debate similar to the one over Jallikattu, Karnataka amended its animal cruelty law in 2017 so that Kambala could continue. A is wrong because Kerala is famous for its snake-boat races such as the Nehru Trophy Boat Race. B is wrong because Punjab is known for the Kila Raipur rural sports festival with bullock-cart races. D is wrong because Odisha is known for the Rath Yatra of Puri. Exam tip: Kambala = Karnataka (buffalo race), Jallikattu = Tamil Nadu (bull taming), Vallam Kali = Kerala (boat race), Kila Raipur = Punjab (rural Olympics).

The correct answer is C, Manipur. The Manipur Sangai Festival is held every year from 21 to 30 November to showcase the state's culture and tourism. It is named after the Sangai, the brow-antlered deer, which is Manipur's state animal and lives in the wild only in Keibul Lamjao National Park on Loktak Lake. This is the world's only floating national park, resting on floating mats of vegetation called phumdis. The festival features Manipuri classical dance, the Thang-Ta martial art, polo, local food and handloom and handicraft stalls. A is wrong because Gujarat is known for Navratri garba and the Rann Utsav. B is wrong because Assam is known for Bihu. D is wrong because Tamil Nadu is known for Pongal and Jallikattu. Exam tip: Sangai = Manipur (21 to 30 November), Hornbill = Nagaland (1 to 10 December), Kambala = Karnataka, Bihu = Assam; Loktak Lake's phumdis carry the floating Keibul Lamjao park.

The correct answer is D, Blue Flag. In 2018 the Union Environment Ministry started a pilot project to clean up and develop selected beaches so that they could win the Blue Flag. The Blue Flag is an international eco-label given by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), based in Copenhagen, Denmark; it began in France in 1985. A beach must meet strict standards on water quality, environmental education, safety and services, and environmental management. India's programme for this is called BEAMS (Beach Environment and Aesthetics Management Services), and in 2020 Shivrajpur in Gujarat was among the first Indian beaches to receive the Blue Flag. A is wrong because Swachh Bharat is the national sanitation mission started in 2014, not a beach label. B is wrong because the Green Flag is a different award, used in the UK for well-kept parks and green spaces. C is wrong because Clean India is only the English name of the Swachh Bharat campaign. Exam tip: Blue Flag = beach eco-label by FEE, Denmark; India's scheme = BEAMS; the first eight Indian Blue Flag beaches were certified in 2020.