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1. Human body works in the pH range of:

Human body works in the pH range of:

6.8 - 7.2

7.0 - 7.8

6.5 - 7.5

7.5 - 8.0

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The human body, particularly blood, maintains a very narrow pH range for proper functioning.

The normal pH range of human blood is slightly alkaline, typically between 7.35 and 7.45. Among the given options, the range of 7.0 – 7.8 is the one that correctly encompasses the typical physiological pH range.

Significant deviations from this narrow pH range can lead to severe health problems. For example, a pH below 7.35 is called acidosis, and a pH above 7.45 is called alkalosis. The body uses buffer systems (like the bicarbonate buffer system) to maintain this delicate pH balance.

2. Water gas is a mixture of:

Water gas is a mixture of:

CO₂ and H₂

CO and H₂

CO₂ and H₂O

CO and H₂O

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Water gas is a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H₂).

It is produced by passing steam over red-hot carbon (like coke or coal) at high temperatures (typically 800-1000°C). The reaction is: H₂O(g) + C(s) → CO(g) + H₂(g).

Water gas is a significant industrial fuel and a source of hydrogen. It is also known as synthesis gas or syngas when the ratio of CO to H₂ is adjusted, as it is used in the synthesis of various organic compounds.

3. Which of the following statements about Vijayanagara king Krishnadevar

Which of the following statements about Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya’s expeditions are correct ?

1. In the early years of his reign he marched against the ruler of Orissa.
2. In 1520 CE, he captured the fort of Raichur from Ismail Adil Khan.
3. Krishnadevaraya restored Sultan Mahmud Shah to power and assumed the title of Yavanasthapanacharya.

Select the answer using the code given below :

1 and 3 only

2 and 3 only

1, 2 and 3

1 and 2 only

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All three statements about Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya’s expeditions are correct.

– **Statement 1: In the early years of his reign he marched against the ruler of Orissa.** This is correct. Krishnadevaraya (reigned 1509-1529 CE) engaged in military campaigns against the Gajapati kingdom of Orissa (under Prataparudra Deva) in the early part of his rule (around 1513-1518 CE) to recover territories previously lost by the Vijayanagara Empire, such as Udayagiri and Kondavidu.
– **Statement 2: In 1520 CE, he captured the fort of Raichur from Ismail Adil Khan.** This is correct. The Battle of Raichur in 1520 CE was a major military engagement where Krishnadevaraya decisively defeated the forces of Ismail Adil Shah, the Sultan of Bijapur, and captured the strategic fort of Raichur Doab, located between the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers.
– **Statement 3: Krishnadevaraya restored Sultan Mahmud Shah to power and assumed the title of Yavanasthapanacharya.** This is correct. Krishnadevaraya intervened in the affairs of the Bahmani Sultanate (which had fragmented into Deccan Sultanates). After defeating some factions, he helped restore the rightful Bahmani Sultan, Mahmud Shah II, who had been imprisoned, to the throne. In recognition of this act of re-establishing the “Yavana” (Muslim) kingdom, he took the title ‘Yavanarajya sthapanacharya’ or ‘Establisher of the Yavana Kingdom’.

Krishnadevaraya is considered one of the greatest rulers of the Vijayanagara Empire. His reign was marked by successful military campaigns that extended the empire’s influence and secured its borders, as well as significant administrative reforms, patronage of arts and literature (he himself was a scholar and poet), and the flourishing of trade and economy. His victories against the rulers of Orissa and the Deccan Sultanates solidified Vijayanagara’s position as the dominant power in South India during his time.

4. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code

Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists :

List-I (System/Category)	List-II (Description)
A. Upari	1. Peasants directly responsible for the payment of revenue
B. Pattadar	2. Category of tenancy tenure held under the Marathas
C. Mirasidar	3. Gifts of land or land revenue
D. Inam lands	4. Co-parcenary title holder and designated revenue payer in southern India

2 1 4 3

2 4 1 3

3 4 1 2

3 1 4 2

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The correct matching is A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3.

– **A. Upari:** This term refers to a class of temporary tenants or cultivators, particularly prevalent in the Maratha region and under Maratha rule, who cultivated land that did not belong to them permanently. They held a category of tenancy tenure. This matches with List-II Description 2 (Category of tenancy tenure held under the Marathas).
– **B. Pattadar:** A Pattadar is a landholder who possesses a ‘patta’, a document issued by the government acknowledging ownership or occupancy rights and often specifying the land revenue to be paid. Pattadars were directly responsible for paying revenue on the land recorded in their name. This matches with List-II Description 1 (Peasants directly responsible for the payment of revenue).
– **C. Mirasidar:** Mirasidars were a class of hereditary proprietors or co-parceners of village land in southern India, particularly in the Tamil country, during the pre-British and early British periods. They held traditional rights in the village lands and were collectively or individually responsible for paying the land revenue. This matches with List-II Description 4 (Co-parcenary title holder and designated revenue payer in southern India).
– **D. Inam lands:** Inam refers to a grant of land or land revenue, often made by rulers as a reward or for services, to individuals, religious institutions, or service holders. These lands were often exempted from or assessed at a reduced rate of land tax. This matches with List-II Description 3 (Gifts of land or land revenue).

These terms represent different categories of landholding, tenure, and revenue responsibility that existed in various parts of India before and during the British colonial period. The British surveyed and categorized these systems, often implementing reforms like the Ryotwari system (where revenue was collected directly from the cultivators/ryots, many of whom became Pattadars or existing Mirasidars) or modifying existing arrangements.

5. Consider the following events : 1. Launch of Non-Cooperation Movemen

Consider the following events :

1. Launch of Non-Cooperation Movement
2. All-India Khilafat Conference in Delhi
3. Passing of the Rowlatt Act
4. Jallianwala Bagh incident

Which one of the following is the correct chronological order of the given events (earliest to latest) ?

1, 2, 3, 4

3, 4, 2, 1

3, 2, 4, 1

2, 3, 4, 1

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The correct chronological order of the given events is Passing of the Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh incident, All-India Khilafat Conference in Delhi, Launch of Non-Cooperation Movement.

– **3. Passing of the Rowlatt Act:** Officially known as the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919, this act was passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in March 1919. It authorised the British government to imprison anyone suspected of terrorism without trial. This led to widespread anger and protests across India.
– **4. Jallianwala Bagh incident:** This horrific event took place on April 13, 1919, in Amritsar, Punjab. A large crowd had gathered peacefully to protest the Rowlatt Act and the arrest of nationalist leaders, when British troops, under the command of General Dyer, fired upon the unarmed crowd, resulting in hundreds of deaths.
– **2. All-India Khilafat Conference in Delhi:** Several Khilafat conferences were held. A major conference took place in Delhi in November 1919, where the leadership, including Gandhiji, discussed cooperation with the Non-Cooperation movement. Gandhiji became president of the All-India Khilafat Committee later.
– **1. Launch of Non-Cooperation Movement:** Gandhiji announced the formal launch of the Non-Cooperation Movement on August 1, 1920, following the death of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and in conjunction with the Khilafat issue. The movement gained momentum in the following months after the Calcutta Special Session (September 1920) and Nagpur Session (December 1920) of the Indian National Congress approved the program.

These events are closely interconnected. The Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre intensified nationalist sentiment and protest. The Khilafat issue, concerning the fate of the Ottoman Caliphate after World War I, provided a platform for Hindu-Muslim unity, which Gandhiji leveraged by integrating the Khilafat movement with the Non-Cooperation movement. The Non-Cooperation movement was one of the first major nationwide mass movements led by Gandhiji against British rule.

6. Social theorists in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries emphasised

Social theorists in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries emphasised the emergence of industrialisation, urbanisation, secularisation and bureaucratisation as hallmarks of :

Modernity

Feudalism

Kingship

Medievalism

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Industrialisation, urbanisation, secularisation, and bureaucratisation are emphasised by social theorists as hallmarks of Modernity.

– **Modernity** refers to the period and set of social, cultural, and political norms that emerged in Europe and the Americas in the aftermath of the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment, extending into the contemporary era. Key transformations associated with modernity include the rise of science and reason, individualism, nation-states, and capitalism.
– **Industrialisation** is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one. It involves technological innovation and factory production.
– **Urbanisation** is the increasing number of people that live in urban areas. It is closely linked to industrialisation as factories and jobs are often concentrated in cities.
– **Secularisation** is the process by which religion loses its social and cultural significance in a society. It involves a shift from religious institutions dominating social life to religious belief becoming a more private matter.
– **Bureaucratisation** is the process by which organisations are increasingly structured by impersonal rules, hierarchical authority, and specialized roles, as described by sociologist Max Weber as a characteristic of modern states and large organizations.

Social theorists like Max Weber, Émile Durkheim, and Karl Marx studied these processes extensively in the 19th and 20th centuries, viewing them as fundamental aspects of the transition from traditional, often feudal, societies to modern ones. Concepts like feudalism and kingship represent forms of social and political organization characteristic of pre-modern or medieval societies, contrasting with the features of modernity listed.

7. First coins in Indian history bearing the names and images of rulers w

First coins in Indian history bearing the names and images of rulers were issued by the :

Mauryas

Pushyabhutis

Guptas

Indo-Greeks

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The first coins in Indian history bearing the names and images of rulers were issued by the Indo-Greeks.

– The **Mauryas** (c. 322–185 BCE) issued punch-marked coins, which were typically pieces of silver or copper with symbols punched onto them. These coins did not carry the names or portraits of rulers.
– The **Indo-Greeks** ruled parts of northwestern India from around the late 3rd century BCE to the early 1st century CE. Influenced by Hellenistic numismatic traditions, they introduced coins featuring realistic portraits of the rulers along with their names, often in Greek and Brahmi or Kharosthi scripts. This marked a significant departure in Indian coinage.
– The **Guptas** (c. 320–550 CE) later issued a wide variety of sophisticated gold, silver, and copper coins. Their gold coins, in particular, featured images of the rulers (e.g., Samudragupta playing the Veena, Chandragupta II with a lion) and their names, continuing and evolving the tradition introduced by the Indo-Greeks.
– The **Pushyabhutis** (or Vardhana dynasty, 6th and 7th centuries CE) ruled in parts of northern India much later than the Indo-Greeks and Guptas. Their coinage included types like those of Harshavardhana, which were influenced by earlier Gupta styles but were not the *first* to bear rulers’ names and images.

The numismatic history of India is complex, with various indigenous and foreign influences. The arrival of the Indo-Greeks brought a distinct style of coinage with personalized royal imagery, which was later adopted and adapted by indigenous dynasties, most notably the Guptas and Kushanas.

8. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code

Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists :

List-I
(Unit in use in early India)

List-II
(Content)

A. Muhurta	1. Measure of weight
B. Raktika	2. Measure of time
C. Angula	3. Metre of poetry
D. Pada	4. Measure of length

Code :

	A	B	C	D
(a)	2	1	4	3
(b)	2	4	1	3
(c)	3	4	1	2
(d)	3	1	4	2

2, 1, 4, 3

2, 4, 1, 3

3, 4, 1, 2

3, 1, 4, 2

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The correct matching is A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3.

– **Muhurta:** Muhurta is an ancient Indian unit of time. In traditional Hindu timekeeping, a day (including day and night) is divided into 30 muhurtas, each lasting approximately 48 minutes. This matches with List-II Content 2 (Measure of time).
– **Raktika:** Raktika (often known as Ratti) is a traditional Indian unit of mass or weight, historically based on the seed of the Abrus precatorius plant. It was widely used for weighing precious materials like gold and silver and in coinage. This matches with List-II Content 1 (Measure of weight).
– **Angula:** Angula is an ancient Indian unit of length, roughly equivalent to the width of a finger. Different texts and regions had slightly varying definitions, but it fundamentally represented a measure of length. This matches with List-II Content 4 (Measure of length).
– **Pada:** In the context of ancient Indian literature and grammar, Pada primarily refers to a ‘foot’ or a quarter-verse in poetry. It is a unit used in the structure and metre of poetic compositions. This matches with List-II Content 3 (Metre of poetry).

These units were part of various systems of weights, measures, and timekeeping prevalent in ancient and medieval India. They appear in texts like the Arthashastra, Puranas, and astronomical treatises, reflecting the scientific and administrative practices of the time.

9. Which of the following statements are correct ? 1. British ‘trade su

Which of the following statements are correct ?

1. British ‘trade surplus’ with India in the nineteenth century meant that the value of British exports to India was much higher than the value of British imports from India.
2. India played a crucial role in the late-nineteenth-century world economy by helping Britain balance its deficits.
3. Britain grew opium in India and exported it to China and, therefore, for a while after the 1820s, opium became India’s single largest export.
4. The nineteenth century saw export of Indian raw materials decline, and that of manufactured goods increase.

Select the answer using the code given below :

1 and 2 only

3 and 4 only

1, 2, 3 and 4

1, 2 and 3 only

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Statements 1, 2, and 3 are correct. Statement 4 is incorrect.

– **Statement 1:** British ‘trade surplus’ with India in the nineteenth century meant that the value of British exports to India was much higher than the value of British imports from India. This statement is generally considered correct when “trade surplus” is interpreted as the overall financial flow or balance of payments, including visible and invisible trade, as well as remittances and ‘home charges’. While Britain often imported more goods *from* India than it exported *to* India in visible trade, the overall economic relationship resulted in a significant ‘drain’ of wealth from India to Britain, effectively a surplus for Britain.
– **Statement 2:** India played a crucial role in the late-nineteenth-century world economy by helping Britain balance its deficits. This is correct. India’s large trade surplus with countries like China and other parts of the world, primarily through the export of raw materials and opium, generated foreign exchange that was remitted to Britain to cover Britain’s own trade deficits with countries like the US and in Europe.
– **Statement 3:** Britain grew opium in India and exported it to China and, therefore, for a while after the 1820s, opium became India’s single largest export. This is largely correct. Opium cultivation in India was promoted and controlled by the British East India Company and later the British government. The export of opium to China, especially after the 1820s, became hugely profitable and constituted a significant portion of India’s export revenue, arguably becoming the single largest commodity export during certain periods.
– **Statement 4:** The nineteenth century saw export of Indian raw materials decline, and that of manufactured goods increase. This is incorrect. The 19th century was characterized by the deindustrialization of India, particularly its traditional textile industry, due to competition from British manufactured goods and colonial policies. Consequently, exports of Indian manufactured goods declined, while exports of raw materials (cotton, jute, indigo, tea, etc.) increased significantly to feed British industries.

The economic relationship between Britain and India in the 19th century was a key aspect of colonial exploitation. The “drain of wealth” from India to Britain occurred through various mechanisms, including favorable trade balances for Britain (overall financial flows), remittances, salaries and pensions of British officials, and profits of British businesses. This asymmetrical relationship was fundamental to the functioning of the global British economy.

10. Consider the two statements given below: Statement-1 : Infrared waves

Consider the two statements given below: Statement-1 : Infrared waves are also called heat waves. Statement-2 : Water molecules readily absorb infrared waves. Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Both the statements are individually true and Statement-2 is the correct explanation of Statement-1.

Both the statements are individually true, but Statement-2 is not the correct explanation of Statement-1.

Statement-1 is true, but Statement-2 is false.

Statement-2 is true, but Statement-1 is false.

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Both Statement-1 and Statement-2 are individually true, and Statement-2 is the correct explanation of Statement-1.

– **Statement-1: Infrared waves are also called heat waves.** This is true. Infrared radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation that is strongly associated with heat transfer. Objects at room temperature or higher emit infrared radiation. When infrared radiation is absorbed by a material, it increases the kinetic energy of its molecules, leading to an increase in temperature (i.e., heat).
– **Statement-2: Water molecules readily absorb infrared waves.** This is also true. Water molecules have vibrational modes that efficiently absorb infrared radiation, particularly in certain wavelengths within the infrared spectrum. This strong absorption is why water heats up when exposed to infrared sources (like sunlight or a heater) and why infrared spectroscopy is useful for studying water.

Statement-2 provides a key reason why infrared waves are considered “heat waves”. Because common substances like water (present in living organisms, the atmosphere, etc.) readily absorb infrared radiation and convert it into thermal energy, infrared radiation is a primary means of radiative heat transfer in many contexts, including between the sun and the Earth, and between objects at different temperatures. Thus, the property described in Statement-2 (ready absorption by water) contributes significantly to the heating effect associated with infrared waves, as stated in Statement-1.