Madhya Pradesh 2017 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is D, Vitamin D - Paul Muller, because this is the pair that does not match. Paul Hermann Muller is remembered for showing that DDT kills insects, work for which he received a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; vitamin D is associated with Edward Mellanby, who linked its absence to rickets, and with Adolf Windaus, who worked out its chemistry. Option A is correctly matched because Elmer McCollum identified the fat soluble factor that came to be called vitamin A. Option B is correctly matched because McCollum also identified the water soluble factor named vitamin B. Option C is correctly matched because Albert Szent-Gyorgyi isolated the substance later named vitamin C and won a Nobel Prize for that work. Read the word NOT in the stem carefully, since three of the four pairs here are deliberately correct.

The correct answer is A, Khilji. The Khalji or Khilji dynasty held the throne of Delhi only from 1290, when Jalaluddin Khalji seized power, to 1320, when Khusrau Khan was overthrown by Ghazi Malik. That is about thirty years, the shortest run of the five dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate, even though it produced its most powerful ruler in Alauddin Khalji. Option B is wrong because the Tughlaq dynasty ruled from 1320 to 1414, roughly ninety-four years, which is the longest of the five. Option C is wrong because the Sayyid dynasty, founded by Khizr Khan in 1414, lasted until 1451, about thirty-seven years, which is longer than the Khalji span. Option D is wrong because the Lodi dynasty ruled from 1451 to 1526, about seventy-five years, ending with Ibrahim Lodi's defeat at Panipat. For comparison, the Slave dynasty itself lasted about eighty-four years, from 1206 to 1290.

The correct answer is A, tungsten. Tungsten has the highest melting point of all metals, well above three thousand degrees Celsius, so a thin tungsten wire can be heated until it glows white without melting. It also has a fairly high resistivity and a low rate of evaporation at working temperature, which is why the filament lasts for hundreds of hours inside a bulb filled with an inert gas.

Option B, silver, is the best conductor of electricity of all metals, but for that very reason it would produce hardly any heat, and it melts at a temperature far too low for a filament. Option C, nichrome, is the right choice for the element of a heater or a toaster, where a red heat is wanted, but it cannot reach the white heat needed to give useful light. Option D, copper, is used for connecting wires precisely because it has a low resistance and stays cool while carrying current.

The correct answer is B, Papaver Somniferum. Opium is the dried latex of the opium poppy, whose botanical name is Papaver somniferum; the second word means sleep bringing. The milky latex is collected by making shallow cuts in the unripe capsule, and from it come the medicines morphine and codeine, used to control pain and cough. India grows the crop only under licence from the Narcotics Commissioner at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, and the licensed districts lie in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, which is why state papers ask this question. Option A is wrong because Emblica officinalis is amla, the Indian gooseberry, rich in vitamin C. Option C is wrong because Rauvolfia serpentina is sarpagandha, the source of reserpine used for high blood pressure. Option D is wrong because Cinchona species yield quinine, the old treatment for malaria. Exam tip: opium Papaver somniferum, amla Emblica officinalis, quinine from Cinchona.