SSC Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is D, Persian. Persian was the language of the Mughal court and of its records, and Akbar made it the official language of administration in 1582. The chronicles written for the emperors were therefore in Persian: Abul Fazl's Akbarnama with its third volume the Ain-i-Akbari, Gulbadan Begum's Humayun-nama, Jahangir's own Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri and Abdul Hamid Lahori's Padshahnama for Shah Jahan. Babur wrote his memoirs, the Tuzuk-i-Baburi, in Chagatai Turkish, and Akbar had them translated into Persian as the Baburnama. Persian also borrowed freely from local speech at Delhi, and out of that mixing grew the language later called Urdu. Option A is wrong because Sanskrit works were translated into Persian at Akbar's Maktab Khana, not the other way round. Option B is wrong because Hindi was used in poetry and in the regions, not in court records. Option C is wrong because Urdu took shape later and never served as the Mughal chancery language. Exam tip: Akbarnama, Padshahnama and Ain-i-Akbari are all Persian; Baburnama began in Turkish.

The correct answer is A, Chahamana. The Bijolia rock inscription, at Bijolia in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan, is dated to 1170 CE, in the reign of Someshvara, and it sets out the family line of the Chahamanas, the Chauhans of Shakambhari. Written in Sanskrit, it was engraved near a Parshvanatha temple by the Jain merchant Lolaka, and it names the rulers from Samantaraja down to Someshvara, the father of Prithviraj Chauhan. Historians value it because it calls the Chahamanas Brahmins of the Vatsa gotra and gives the old names of places such as Ajayameru for Ajmer. Option B is wrong because the Chandelas of Bundelkhand, builders of Khajuraho, are known from the Khajuraho and Mau inscriptions. Option C is wrong because the Paramaras of Malwa appear in the Udaipur Prashasti. Option D is wrong because the Gahadavalas of Kannauj are known from the Chandrawati and other copper plates. Exam tip: Bijolia - Chahamanas; Khajuraho - Chandelas; Udaipur Prashasti - Paramaras.

The correct answer is B, P waves. P waves, or primary waves, are longitudinal: the particles of the medium move back and forth along the same direction in which the wave travels, squeezing and stretching the rock like a sound wave. They are the fastest seismic waves, so they reach a recording station first and give the quake its early warning. P waves pass through solids, liquids and gases alike, which is how scientists learned that the earth's outer core is liquid - S waves die out there and leave a shadow zone. Option A is wrong because L waves, the surface or long waves, arrive last, travel along the crust and cause the most destruction. Option C is wrong because there is no seismic wave called an N wave. Option D is wrong because S waves, or secondary waves, are transverse: particles move at right angles to the direction of travel, and they can pass only through solids. Exam tip: P longitudinal and fastest, S transverse and solids only, L surface and most damaging.

The correct answer is D, Argon. Argon is a noble gas whose outer shell already holds eight electrons, so it has no room to take another one easily; adding an electron would mean starting a new shell, and energy has to be supplied rather than released. Its electron affinity is therefore effectively zero, the lowest of the four. Electron affinity is the energy change when a neutral gaseous atom gains an electron, and it generally rises across a period and falls down a group. The other three are halogens, one electron short of a stable octet, so they release a lot of energy on gaining an electron. Option A is wrong because fluorine has a very high electron affinity, though its small size and crowded electrons push it just below chlorine. Option B is wrong because chlorine has the highest electron affinity of all elements. Option C is wrong because bromine's affinity, while lower than chlorine's, is still far above argon's. Exam tip: order is Cl greater than F greater than Br greater than I, and noble gases sit at the bottom.

The correct answer is A, Kolkata. Bandhan began in 2001 at Kolkata as a microfinance body serving poor women in eastern India, and its head office has stayed in that city. In April 2014 the Reserve Bank gave in-principle approval for a universal bank to just two applicants - Bandhan Financial Services and IDFC Limited - out of twenty-five who applied, and Bandhan Bank opened for business in August 2015. It was the first bank of its kind to be set up in eastern India after independence, and the first microfinance lender in the country to turn into a full-service bank. Option B is wrong because Mumbai houses the Reserve Bank and many private banks, but not Bandhan. Option C is wrong because Pune is the home of Bank of Maharashtra. Option D is wrong because Lucknow has no connection with Bandhan. Exam tip: 2014 universal bank licences - Bandhan of Kolkata and IDFC; both began operations in 2015.

The correct answer is C, Brihadratha. Brihadratha was the last Mauryan emperor, and about 185 BCE his own commander-in-chief Pushyamitra Shunga killed him while the army was being reviewed, ending the dynasty Chandragupta Maurya had founded around 322 BCE. Pushyamitra then set up the Shunga dynasty with its capital at Pataliputra. The story comes to us from Bana's Harshacharita, and the Puranas give the Mauryas a rule of about 137 years. Pushyamitra is remembered for performing two Ashvamedha sacrifices and for the revival of Brahmanical practice, while the Buddhist stupa at Bharhut and the railing at Sanchi belong to Shunga times. Option A is wrong because Devavarman was an earlier, short-lived Mauryan king. Option B is wrong because Bindusara was the second Mauryan emperor, son of Chandragupta and father of Ashoka. Option D is wrong because Dasharatha, a grandson of Ashoka, ruled earlier and gave the Nagarjuni caves to the Ajivikas. Exam tip: Chandragupta founded the Mauryas, Brihadratha ended them, Pushyamitra began the Shungas.

The correct answer is D, Seismograph. A seismograph, also called a seismometer, senses the shaking of the ground and draws it as a wavy line called a seismogram. A heavy mass hangs so that it stays almost still while the frame moves with the earth, and the difference between the two is recorded. From the gap between the arrival of the faster P waves and the slower S waves at three or more stations, scientists work out the epicentre, and from the size of the waves they work out the magnitude. Option A is wrong because a speedometer shows the speed of a vehicle. Option B is wrong because an odometer measures the distance a vehicle has travelled. Option C is wrong because the Richter scale is a scale, not an instrument: it puts a number on the energy of a quake using the readings a seismograph has already made, and each whole step means about 32 times more energy. Exam tip: seismograph records, Richter scale measures magnitude, Mercalli scale measures the damage felt.

The correct answer is A, Unbreakable: An Autobiography. The boxer M.C. Mary Kom told her story in Unbreakable, written with Dina Serto and published in 2013, in which she describes her childhood in a farming family in Manipur, her fight to box at a time when few Indian women did, and her return to the ring after becoming a mother. Mary Kom is a six-time world amateur champion, won a bronze at the 2012 London Olympics and gold at the 2014 Asian Games, and received the Padma Vibhushan. Option B is wrong because Undisputed Truth is the memoir of the American heavyweight Mike Tyson. Option C is wrong because Playing it My Way is Sachin Tendulkar's autobiography, brought out in 2014. Option D is wrong because The Test of My Life is Yuvraj Singh's account of his fight with cancer. Exam tip: Unbreakable - Mary Kom; Playing it My Way - Sachin Tendulkar; The Test of My Life - Yuvraj Singh; Ace against Odds - Sania Mirza.

The correct answer is A, Windows. Windows is proprietary, or closed-source: Microsoft keeps its source code private and sells it under a licence that does not let users study, change or redistribute the code. An open-source operating system publishes its source code under a licence that allows anyone to read it, modify it and share it, usually free of cost. Option B is wrong because Ubuntu is a free Linux distribution released by Canonical under open-source licences, widely used on desktops and servers. Option C is wrong because Android is built on the Linux kernel and its core is released as the Android Open Source Project, which is why phone makers can adapt it. Option D is wrong because Linux is the classic example: Linus Torvalds released the kernel in 1991 under the GNU General Public License, and Fedora, Debian and Red Hat all grew from it. Exam tip: closed-source - Windows, macOS and iOS; open-source - Linux, Ubuntu, Fedora and Android.

The correct answer is B, interest rates were increased. A hawkish stand means the central bank is more worried about inflation than about slow growth, so it leans towards raising the policy rate and tightening money. Costlier loans cool down borrowing and spending, and prices rise more slowly. In India the Monetary Policy Committee, set up in 2016 under the amended RBI Act, has six members - three from the RBI and three named by the Centre - and it decides the repo rate by majority, with the Governor holding a casting vote. It has to keep retail inflation at 4 per cent, within a band of 2 to 6 per cent. Option A is wrong because cutting rates to support growth is the opposite, a dovish stand. Option C is wrong because leaving rates untouched is a neutral or wait-and-watch stance. Option D is wrong because increasing money supply is expansionary and again dovish. Exam tip: hawk fights inflation and raises rates, dove protects growth and cuts them.

The correct answer is B, Mizoram. The khuang is a hollow wooden drum of the Mizo people, made from a single log with animal hide stretched over both ends and slung from the shoulder while being played with the hands. No Mizo festival is complete without it: it sets the beat for Cheraw, the bamboo dance, and for the Chapchar Kut, Mim Kut and Pawl Kut festivals, and Mizos speak of it as the soul of their music. Other Mizo instruments include the darbu and darmang gongs, the tuium flute and the tingtang, a string instrument. Option A is wrong because Assam's best known instruments are the dhol, pepa, gogona and taal that accompany Bihu. Option C is wrong because Jharkhand's tribal music uses the mandar, nagara and dhak. Option D is wrong because West Bengal is associated with the ektara, dotara and khol, the drum of kirtan. Exam tip: khuang and Cheraw dance - Mizoram; pepa and Bihu - Assam; ektara and Baul songs - West Bengal.

The correct answer is D, Secondary. A hard disk is secondary storage: the CPU cannot work on its contents directly, and data must first be copied into main memory. Secondary storage is non-volatile, so it keeps files, programs and the operating system even after the power is switched off, and it is far larger and cheaper per gigabyte than RAM, though much slower. A hard disk drive stores data magnetically on spinning platters, with a read-write head moving over the tracks and sectors; solid-state drives, pen drives, CDs and memory cards are secondary storage as well. Option A is wrong because tertiary storage means robotic tape libraries and similar archival systems used for very large backups. Option B is wrong because off-line storage is a removable medium kept away from the computer, such as a tape or a disc on a shelf. Option C is wrong because primary storage means RAM, ROM and cache, which the processor reaches directly. Exam tip: RAM is primary and volatile, hard disk is secondary and non-volatile.

The correct answer is D, Intrusive igneous rocks. Granite forms when magma cools slowly deep inside the crust, so it is an intrusive, or plutonic, igneous rock. The slow cooling lets large crystals of quartz, feldspar and mica grow, which is why granite has a coarse, grainy look you can see with the naked eye. It is hard, weather-resistant and takes a fine polish, so it is used for temple floors, kitchen counters and monuments; India is one of the world's largest exporters of granite. Rocks such as gabbro and dolerite belong to the same intrusive family. Option A is wrong because extrusive rocks form when lava cools quickly at the surface, giving fine-grained rocks like basalt, the rock of the Deccan Traps. Option B is wrong because sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone are built from deposited layers. Option C is wrong because metamorphic rocks are older rocks changed by heat and pressure; granite itself turns into gneiss. Exam tip: granite intrusive, basalt extrusive, granite to gneiss, limestone to marble.

The correct answer is C, Ayodhya. Jain tradition places the birth of Rishabhanatha, the first Tirthankara, and of Abhinandananatha, the fourth, at Ayodhya in present-day Uttar Pradesh. In fact five of the twenty-four Tirthankaras are held to have been born there, which is why Jains count Ayodhya among their oldest holy places. Rishabhanatha, also called Adinatha, has the bull as his symbol and is named in the Rig Veda and the Bhagavata Purana as well. The last two Tirthankaras, Parshvanatha and Mahavira, are the ones whose history is best attested; Mahavira was born at Kundagrama near Vaishali in Bihar. Option A is wrong because Gaya is linked with the Buddha's enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. Option B is wrong because Varanasi is the birthplace of Parshvanatha, the twenty-third Tirthankara, and of Suparshvanatha, the seventh. Option D is wrong because Dwarka is associated with Krishna and with Neminatha, the twenty-second Tirthankara. Exam tip: Ayodhya - Rishabhanatha; Varanasi - Parshvanatha; Kundagrama - Mahavira.

The correct answer is A, JS Khehar. Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar was the Chief Justice of India when the nine-judge bench delivered its verdict in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India on 24 August 2017, and he presided over it. The bench held unanimously that privacy is a fundamental right, protected mainly as part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and by the freedoms in Part III. It overruled the older rulings in M.P. Sharma (1954) and Kharak Singh (1962), which had said the Constitution gives no such right. The case grew out of a challenge to the Aadhaar scheme. Justice Khehar was also the first Sikh Chief Justice of India. Option B is wrong because Dipak Misra became Chief Justice a week later, and led the benches on Section 377 and adultery. Option C is wrong because H.J. Kania was India's first Chief Justice, in 1950. Option D is wrong because T.S. Thakur retired as Chief Justice in January 2017. Exam tip: Puttaswamy 2017, nine judges, Article 21, CJI Khehar.

The correct answer is D, Socialist. The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 added three words to the Preamble: Socialist, Secular and Integrity. With them the description of India changed from a 'Sovereign Democratic Republic' to a 'Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic', and 'unity of the Nation' became 'unity and integrity of the Nation'. This is the only amendment so far to have touched the Preamble, and because it made so many other changes it is nicknamed the Mini Constitution. Justice, liberty and equality were part of the original Preamble adopted on 26 November 1949, borrowed in spirit from the ideals of the French Revolution. Option A is wrong because justice, in its social, economic and political forms, was there from the start. Option B is wrong because equality of status and opportunity was also in the original text. Option C is wrong because liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship was original too. Exam tip: 42nd Amendment gave the Preamble three words - Socialist, Secular, Integrity.

The correct answer is B, Madhya Pradesh. Matki is a women's folk dance of the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, performed at weddings and other happy occasions. A single dancer balances an earthen pot, the matki, on her head and moves to the beat of the dhol while keeping her face covered with a veil; others join her one by one as the rhythm quickens. The solo version is often called Aada and Khada Nach. Madhya Pradesh also gives us Gaur, Karma, Saila, Grida and Jawara, so the state's folk dances are a favourite with paper setters. Option A is wrong because Assam is known for Bihu, Bagurumba and Jhumur. Option C is wrong because Bihar is known for Jat-Jatin, Jhijhiya, Bidesia and Paika. Option D is wrong because Rajasthan is known for Ghoomar, Kalbeliya, Bhavai, Chari and Terah Taali; the Chari dance also uses a pot, but one with a lit lamp in it. Exam tip: Matki and Jawara - Madhya Pradesh; Chari and Ghoomar - Rajasthan.

The correct answer is C, 1961. The Dowry Prohibition Act was passed by Parliament in 1961 and came into force on 1 July 1961. It makes both the giving and the taking of dowry an offence, and it also punishes anyone who demands dowry or advertises an offer of money or property in return for a marriage. The Act defines dowry as property or valuable security given in connection with a marriage, and it keeps gifts freely given to the bride outside that definition. It was tightened by amendments in 1984 and 1986, which brought in Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code on dowry death and Section 498A on cruelty by a husband or his relatives. Option A is wrong because 1973 is the year of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Option B is wrong because no dowry law was enacted in 1982. Option D is wrong because 1954 is the year of the Special Marriage Act. Exam tip: Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, Hindu Marriage Act 1955, Special Marriage Act 1954.

The correct answer is B, Venus. Venus is wrapped in a dense blanket of carbon dioxide topped by thick white and yellow clouds of sulphuric acid, which is why it shines so brightly in our sky. Those clouds reflect most of the sunlight that falls on them, giving Venus the highest albedo of any planet and making it the brightest object in the night sky after the Moon. The same blanket traps heat so well that the surface stays near 465 degrees Celsius, hotter than Mercury even though Venus is farther from the Sun. It is called Earth's twin for its similar size and mass, and the morning or evening star for when it is seen. Option A is wrong because Uranus looks blue-green owing to methane in its hydrogen and helium atmosphere. Option C is wrong because Neptune is also a methane-rich ice giant, known for its supersonic winds. Option D is wrong because Mars looks red owing to iron oxide dust and has a very thin atmosphere. Exam tip: Venus - hottest planet, thickest clouds, sulphuric acid, rotates east to west.

The correct answer is C, Ropar. Ropar, now Rupnagar in Punjab, stands on the Sutlej, not on the Indus. It was excavated by Y.D. Sharma in 1953 and was the first Harappan site dug up in independent India; a dog buried along with a human being is its best remembered find. The other three sites named here all lie in Sindh, in present-day Pakistan, along the Indus. Option A is wrong because Chanhudaro sits on the Indus and is known for its bead-making and shell-working workshops; it is the only Harappan city without a citadel. Option B is wrong because Mohenjodaro, the site of the Great Bath and the Great Granary, is on the right bank of the Indus. Option D is wrong because Kot Diji, opposite Mohenjodaro on the left bank of the Indus, gave its name to a pre-Harappan culture. Exam tip: pair the site with its river - Ropar on the Sutlej, Kalibangan on the Ghaggar, Lothal on the Bhogava, Harappa on the Ravi.