Kerala PSC Study Material 7: Basic GK Question and answer

Kerala PSC Basic GK Question and Answer – Study Material

Basic General Knowledge Questions and answers

1. Fastest land animal – Cheetah
2. Oldest National Flag – Denmark
3. Fastest Bird – Swift
4. Shortest River – Roe river in Montana (61 m long)
5. Lowest point on earth – Dead sea
6. Most densely populated province – Monaco
7. Least populous city – Vatican
8. The oldest plant – Rose
9. The oldest city – Damascus
10. Most poisonous fish – Puffer Fish
11. Coldest Place – Vostok, Antarctica
12. Hottest Planet – Venus
13. Fastest Planet – Mercury
14. Strongest Natural Fibre – Silk
15. Widest Bridge – Sydney Harbour Bridge
16. Fastest Planet – Mercury
17. The radix of a hexa decimal system is – 8
18. The number of levels in a digital signal is – Two
19. A device with slowest switching speed is – LCD
20. Modern Cricket was first played in – West Indies
21. Which country won the first world cricket cup? – West Indies
22. Maputo is the capital of – Mozambique
23. The Headquaters of UNESCO is – atParis
24. White City – Belgrade
25. Garden of England – Kent
26. Holy Land – Palestine
27. Cockpit of Europe – Belgium
28. City of Seven Hills – Rome
29. Island of Pearls – Bahrain
30. Gift of Nile – Egypt
31. Land of Thousand Lakes – Finland
32. Britain of the South – New Zealand
33. Lexicography is the study of – Compiling of dictionary
34. The science of improving crop varieties is called – Hybridisation
35. ITC means – Inter Tropical Centre
36. The International Tourism year – 1967
37. In a free market economy, prices are determined by – Market Forces
38. UTI is associated with – Investment Trust
39. Single entry book keeping means – Making entry for one aspect of transaction.
40. Overdraft facility is available for those who have – Current Account.
41. Custodian of foreign exchange is – Reserve Bank of India.
42. The maximum number of partners allowed in a banking business is – 10
43. NHB – is National Housing Bank
44. What is Hard Currency? – A foreign currency short in supply
45. What is the main function of currency? – Medium of exchange.
46. Devaluation means decrease in the – Value of money in terms of world currency.
47. Uncertain income in any enterprise is – Profit
48. What is blue moon? – When two full moons occur in any calender year the second moon is called a blue moon.
49. The first mission of a link up in space by manned space ships of the USA and the Soviet Union.? – Apollo, Soyuz Test Project mission on July 15, 1975.
50. The first Indian Communication Satellite? – APPLE
51. Who is the father of Space Science? – Konstantin  Tsiolkovsky
52. India become the__nation in the world to have sent a man into space? – 14th
53. Who propounded the signs of the Zodiac? – Babylonians
54. What is Ursa Minor? – A group of starts of Northern hemisphere (Ursa Minor means the “Little Bear”)
55. The first disabled satellite repaired shuttle? – Columbia
56. The wife of Sri Buddha? – Yasodhara
57. The other name of Buddha? – Tadhgadha, Sakyamuni
58. The mother of Sri Buddha? – Mayadevi
59. The son of Sri Buddha?- Rahul
60. Where did Sri Buddha get his “Nirvana”? – Kushi Nagar
61. The first used metal? – Copper
62. Who is known as the St. Pant of the Budha religion – Ashoka
63. Which Turky tribe leader was called ‘Tamulaine’ the great – Timur
64. Shiva Samudram Hydro Electric project is situated at? – Karnataka
65. The Konkan railway has been constructed between? – Mangalore and Mumbai
66. When did the dynasty of Sultans rule over India? – Between 13th century A.D. and 16th century A.D.
67. The oldest and most sacred of the Veda? – Rig Veda
68. The Paris Commune took place in? – 1871
69. Which of the the metropolitan cities of India is nearest to the equator? – Chennai
70. The person who occupied the post of the president of India for two sessions continuously was? – Rajendra Prasad
71. “Life is Good” is the tag line of which consumer durables company in India? – LG
72. The hardest substance in the earth – Diamond
73. The second hardest substance in the earth – Corundum
74. The scale which is used to measure the hardness of the diamond – Mohs Scale
75. The hardness of diamond – 10 Mohs
76. The hardness of corundum – 9 Mohs
77. Who formulated the theory of evolution? – Charles Darwin(England)
78. What was the famous book of Darwin? – ‘On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection’
79. Which is the snake that gives birth to babies? – Viper
80. Which was the first animal that man tamed? – Wild Dog
81. There is only one animal that can drink up to 100 litres of water within 10 minutes. Which is that animal? – Camel
82. By which name are American mountain lions commonly known? – Puma
83. Which animal is known as ‘Terrible reptile’? – Dinosaurs
84. Which animal is the companion of the Eskimos? – Reindeer
85. Which is the biggest animal in the dog family? – Wolf
86. Which is the animal that never drinks water? – Kangaroo Rat
87. What is the name given to the animals the live on tree? – Arboreal
88. Over 700% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. It is more than two third.
89. The deepest point in the ocean floor is the Mariana’s Trench in the Pacific Ocean (10.5KM below the surface, 11,033 metres)
90. The largest animal ever to have existed on earth is Blue Whale.
91. The largest body of water in the world is the Pacific Ocean.
92. The Pacific Ocean is artificially linked to the Atlantic Ocean by the Panorama Canal.
93. The Arctic Ocean is the world’s smallest ocean.
94. The deepest point of the Indian Ocean has been recorded at more than 7,400 metres in the Java Trench.
95. The Great White Shark can smell one drop of human blood in 100 million drops of water.
96. Deep-sea life was first observed in 1934, when scientist William Beebe descended to 923 metres in the machine called ‘bathysphere’.
97. The most poisonous fish in the world is the stonefish
98. How many rings on the Olympic flag? – Five
99. King Zog ruled which country? – Albania
100. Which country grows the most fruit? – China
101. Which car company makes the Celica? – Toyota
102. Which company is owned by Bill Gates? – Microsoft
103. Who wrote the Opera Madam Butterfly? – Puccini
104. Broccoli belongs to what family of plants? – Cabbage
105. The Mau Mau were terrorists in which country in the period of 1950-1960? – Kenya
106. Which European country is divided into areas called Cantons – Switzerland
107. A pearmain is what type of fruit? – Apple
108. What flower is the symbol of secrecy? – Rose
109. Which African country was founded by Americans? – Liberia
110. What was the name of Isaac Newton’s dog – caused fire in lab? – Diamond
111. What is the worlds tallest grass? – Bamboo
112. The Salk vaccine is used against what disease? – Polio
113. Which country first used the fountain pen? – Egypt
114. TAP is the national airline of which country? – Portugal
115. Who was known as the Little Brown Saint? – Gandhi
116. A skulk is a group of which animals? – Foxes
117. What is the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet? – Kappa
118. In China what colour does the bride traditionally wear ? – Red
119. Which country grew the first Orange? – China
120. Gossima was the original name of what game? – Table Tennis
121. What countries leader does not have an official residence? – Cuba
122. The Titanic has a sister ship – name it? – The Olympic
123. Which country flag red circle on green background? – Singapore
124. Which company pioneered floppy discs? – IBM
125. The USA president lives in the White House – Who is in Blue House? – President South Korea
126. The Bovespa is the stock exchange in which country? – Brazil
127. What country has the worlds most vending machines per capita? – Japan
128. What is the longest river in Australia? – Murray-Darling
129. What word in English has the most definitions? – Set
130. There are more than 1500 varieties of what food? – Rice
131. What is the German word for poison? – Gift
132. In America what colour is the Green Card? – White
133. In what city is the Encyclopaedia Britanica based and published? – Chicago
134. Where was Ice Cream invented? – China
135. Which country has the most Post Offices? – India
136. LOT is the national airline of which country? – Poland
137. What was known as Arabian Wine? – Coffee
138. What animal is mentioned most in the Bible? – Sheep
139. In what language was The Communist Manifesto written? – German
140. What is the Roman Numerals for 4000? – MMMM
141. Where was the first police force established in 1667? – Paris
142. What colour are the Amazon river dolphins? – Pink
143. In what country do they answer the phone by saying I’m listening? – Russia
144. Santa Cruz airport serves which city? – Mumbai
145. What is the official language of Cuba? – Spanish
146. The Zagros mountain range is in which country? – Iran
147. In which city was Galileo born? – Pisa

Characters and their creators

• Cordelia – William Shakespeare
• Desdemona – William Shakespeare
• Aeriel – William Shakespeare
• Brutus – William Shakespeare
• Shylock – William Shakespeare
• Lago – William Shakespeare
• Lady Macbeth – William Shakespeare
• Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
• Sherlock Holmes – Arthur Conan Doyle
• Dr. Watson – Arthur Conan Doyle
• Phantom – Leon – Lee Falk
• Mandrake – Leon – Lee Falk
• Friday – Daniel Defoe
• Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe
• Kim – Rudyard Kipling
• Mowgli – Rudyard Kipling
• Mickey Mouse – Walt Disney
• Jean Val Jean – Victor Hugo
• James Bond – Ian Fleming
• Dracula – Bram Stoker
• Gora – Tagore
• Tarzan – Edgar Rice Burroughs
• Harry Potter – J.K. Rowling
• Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens

Cities and Their Nicknames

• Heaven on earth – Kashmir
• Switzerland of India – Kashmir
• Garden of India – Kashmir
• Garden city of India – Bangaluru
• Manchester of India – Ahmedabad
• Denim City of India – Ahmedabad
• Boston of India – Ahmedabad
• Manchester of South – Coimbatore
• Diamond City – Surat
• Weaver’s City – Panipat
• Ecocity – Paniput
• Hi-Tech City – Hyderabad
• City of Luck – Hyderabad
• Little Tibet – Ladakh
• City of water falls – Ranchi
• Iron city of India – Jamshedpur
• Pitsburg of India – Jamshedpur
• White City – Udaipur
• Pink City – Jaipur
• Sun City – Jodhpur
• Orange City – Nagpur
• Gapes City – Nasik
• Land of Seven Islands – Mumbai
• Gate way of India – Mumbai
• City of Rallies – New Delhi
• Mini Switzerland – Khajjiar (Himachal Pradesh)
• Oxford of East – Pune
• Queen of Deccan – Pune
• Venice of the East – Alappuzha
• City of Statues – Thiruvananthapuram
• Scotland of East – Shillong
• Golden Temple City – Amritsar
• City of Palace – Kolkata
• Salt Lake City – Kolkata
• Heaven of Farmers – Thanjavoor
• Sandal City – Mysore
• Silicon Valley of India – Bangaluru
• City of Suicide – Bangaluru
• Egg City – Namakkal
• Cycle city of India – Ludhiana
• Yoga capital of the world – Rishikesh
• Cathedral city of India – Bhuvaneswar
• School capital of India – Dehradun
• House of clouds – Meghalaya
• Land of five rivers – Punjab
• Granary of India – Punjab
• Pearl of the East – Goa
• Tea Garden of India – Assam
• Spice Garden of India – Kerala
• Adobe of the God – Prayag

News Agencies

• Reuters – Britain
• Kyodo – Japan
• Antara – Indonesia
• IRNA – Iran
• Xinhua – China
• Associated Press – USA
• United Press International (UPI) – USA
• Ansa – Italy
• Agence France Presse (AFP) – France
• Bernama – Malaysia
• Al Jazeera – Qatar
• Interfax – Russia
• SAPA – South Africa
• Tass, ITAR – Russia
• Inter Press Service – Italy
• Press Trust of India – India
• Samachar Bharati – India
• UNI (United News of India) – India
• Hinda – Croatia
• Dentas Press – Germany
• Yonhap – South Korea
• IRIN – Kenya
• WAFA – Palastine

Important Abbreviations

1. AIDS – Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
2. AM – Ante Meridian
3. BP – Blood Pressure
4. BSF – Border Security Force
5. C.V – Curriculum Vitae
6. CBI – Central Bureau of Investigation
7. DNA – Deoxyribo – Nucleic Acid
8. DTP – Desk Top Publishing
9. GATT – General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
10. GIM – Global Investor Meet
11. IAS – Indian Administrative Service
12. IPS – Indian Police Service
13. IQ – Intelligence Quotient
14. EQ – Imotional  Quotient
15. LIC – Life Insurance Corporation
16. NCC – National Cadet Corps
17. TA – Territorial Army
18. VCR – Video Cassette Recorder
19. VIP – Very Important Person
20. WWW – World Wide Web
21. RAW – Research and Analysis Wing
22. YWCA – Young Woman Christian Associations
23. PC – Random Access Memory
24. BIT – Binary Digit
25. ROM – Read Only Memory
26. MB – Megabyte

Postal System

1. The first country to introduce postal system – Egypt
2. The first country to introduce modern postal system – England
3. India has the largest Postal System in the World
4. Indian postal system firstly established under the East India Company by the name – Company Dawk
5. In India postal service was introduced in the year – 1766 (Robert Clive)
6. The act of 1837, first regulated the post office on a uniform basis.
7. The post office Act of 1854 reformed the entire postal system in india and through this act India attained its present administrative system.
8. The first General Post Office (GPO) in India was setup at Calcutta in 1774.
9. GPO started in Bombay and Madras Presidencies in the year of 1786 and 1793 respectively
10. First post office in Kerala was formed at Alappuzha.
11. The headquarters of Indian postal system is in New Delhi
12. There are nine postal zones in India including eight regional zoned and one functional zone.
13. The Army postal service is considered as the 9th zone.
14. Postal Index Number (PIN) is a six digit code used in Indian postal service.
15. The first digit of the pin code indicated the postal zone.
16. Second digit indicates subzone and third indicates the sorting district.
17. The final three digit represents individual post offices.
18. Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep are included in Postal Zone – 6
19. The maximum amount transfer through money order system is up to Rs.5000/-
20. German attack on Poland was the immediate cause of : Second World War
21. Who invented telephone : Alexander Graham Bell
22. The television apparatus was invented by : J.L.Baird
23. The unit to measure electric current is? Ampere
24. Who invented the safety lamp? Humphrey Davy
25. International Co-operative day is on 1st Saturday in July.
26. In India Co-operative week is being celebrated from November 14th every year.
27. The country which has no Co-operative legislation is Denmark.
28. The father of Co-operation is Robert Owen.
29. The father of Co-operation in India is Frederick Nicholson.
30. The headquarters of International Co-operative alliances (ICA) in Geneva.
31. The head of the Co-operative department is registrar of Co-operative societies.
32. Supermarket run by the Kerala Co-operative Consumer Federation is Thriveni.
33. The birth place of Co-operative movement is England.
34. Freud is associated with : Psychology
35. Epistemology has to do with: Knowledge
36. The only snake that builds a nest is : King Cobra
37. The country which ranks first in the production of newsprint? : Canada
38. Who drafted the declaration American Independence? – Thomas Jefferson
39. With which war is the name of “Florence Nightingale” association? – Crimean War
40. Lines drawn parallel to the equator are called? – Latitudes
41. Which of the following UN organisations is concerned which the welfare of the children throughout the world? – UNICEF
42. The author of Arthasatra was? – Kautilya
43. Maria Montessori name is associated with? – Child Education
44. Who among the following is known as fuhrer? – Hitler
45. Who was associated with the freedom struggle of Zambia? – Kenneth Kaunda
46. Who was the first human space traveller? – Yuri Gagarin
47. When did the first common wealth games take place? – 1930
48. The Asian Development Bank has its headquarters at? – Manila
49. What does a Limnology? – Lakes
50. In which Asian country did CV Devan Nair serve as president? – Singapore
51. Artcarpus integrifolia is the scientific name of? – Jack Fruit
52. What is the storage capacity of an ordinary floppy disk? – 1.44 MB
53. The space shuttle in which Kalpana Chawla lost her life was the – Columbia

Buddha and Buddhism

• Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born at Lumbini in Kapilavastu (Nepal).
• Buddha’s mother Mahamaya died 7 days after his birth He was brought up by his aunt named Mahaprajapati Gautami.
• Buddha attained Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya in Bihar.
• Buddha delivered his first sermon at Deer Park in Sarnath (UP).
• Buddha attained Parinirvana (death) at Kusinagar in UP.
• Buddha was born in 563 BC and belongs to Sakya Kshatriya clan hence known as Sakya Muni.
• The central theme of Buddhism in Ashtanga Marga or Eight fold path.
• Buddhism does not recognize the existence of God and Soul (Atman).
• Buddhism used pali, which was the language of the common people.
• The first Buddhist council held at Rajgirh, during the period of King Ajatasatru.
• At the fourth Buddhist Council, Buddhism split in to two; Mahayana Buddhism and Hinayana Buddhism.
• Bodhi tree at Both Gaya was cut down by Shashanka of Gauda.
• The Holy book of Buddhists in Tripitika.