UPSC Prelims Questions

Q.1783Miscellaneous2024Easy

X,Y and Z can complete a piece of work individually in 6 hours, 8 hours and 8 hours respectively. However, only one person at a time can work in each hour and nobody can work for two consecutive hours. All are engaged to finish the work. What is the minimum amount of time that they will take to finish the work?

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Q.1784Miscellaneous2024Easy

Only with long experience and opening of his wares on many a beach where his language is not spoken, will the merchant come to know the worth of what he carries, and what is parochial and what is universal in his choice. Such delicate goods as justice, love and honour, courtesy, and indeed all the things we care for, are valid everywhere but they are variously moulded and often differently handled, and sometimes nearly unrecognizable if you meet them in a foreign land, and the art of learning fundamental common values is perhaps the greatest gain of travel to those who wish to live at ease among their fellows. When we meet other people while we travel, we learn to differentiate between

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Q.1785Miscellaneous2024Easy

“The history of science is the real history of mankind” In this striking epigram, a nineteenth-century writer links science with its background. Like most epigrams, its power lies in emphasizing by contrast an aspect of truth which may be easily overlooked. In this case, it is easy to overlook the relations between science and mankind, and to treat the former as some abstract third party, which can sometimes be praised for its beneficial influences, but frequently and conveniently blamed for the horrors of war. Science and mankind cannot be divorced from time to time at men’s convenience. Yet we have seen that, in spite of countless opportunities of improvement, the opening years of the present period of civilization have been dominated by international conflict. Is this the inevitable result of the progress of science or does the fault lie elsewhere? Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made : 1.The horrors of modern life are the inevitable result of the progress of science. 2.The aspect of truth likely to be overlooked is that science is what man has made it. Which of the assumptions given above is/are correct?

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Q.1786Miscellaneous2024Easy

“The history of science is the real history of mankind” In this striking epigram, a nineteenth-century writer links science with its background. Like most epigrams, its power lies in emphasizing by contrast an aspect of truth which may be easily overlooked. In this case, it is easy to overlook the relations between science and mankind, and to treat the former as some abstract third party, which can sometimes be praised for its beneficial influences, but frequently and conveniently blamed for the horrors of war. Science and mankind cannot be divorced from time to time at men’s convenience. Yet we have seen that, in spite of countless opportunities of improvement, the opening years of the present period of civilization have been dominated by international conflict. Is this the inevitable result of the progress of science or does the fault lie elsewhere? Which of the following is/are emphatically conveyed by the author of the passage? 1. Without science, mankind could not have continued to exist till today. 2. It is the science that will ultimately determine the destiny of mankind. Select the correct answer using the code given below.

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Q.1787Miscellaneous2024Easy

A father said to his son, “n years back I was as old as you are now. My present age is four times your age n year back". If the sum of the present ages of the father and the son is 130 years, what is the difference of their ages?

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Q.1788Miscellaneous2024Easy

In an examination, 80% of students passed in English, 70% of students passed in Hindi and 15% failed in both the subjects. What is the percentage of students who failed in only one subject?

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Q.1789Miscellaneous2024Easy

A number is mistakenly divided by 4 instead of multiplying by 4. What is the percentage change in the result due to this mistake?

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Q.1790Miscellaneous2024Easy

P’s salary is 20% lower than Q’s salary which is 20% lower than R’s salary. By how much percent is R's salary more than P’s salary?

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Q.1791Miscellaneous2024Easy

We take it for granted now that science has a social responsibility. The idea would not have occurred to Newton or Galileo. They thought of science as an account of the world as it is, and the only responsibility that they acknowledged was to tell the truth. The idea that science is a social enterprise is modern, and it begins at the industrial revolution. We are surprised that we cannot trace a social sense further back, because we nurse the illusion that the industrial revolution ended a golden age. Which one of the following statements best reflects the thinking of the author about the science?

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Q.1792Miscellaneous2024Easy

A can X contains 399 litres of petrol and a can Y contains 532 litres of diesel. They are to be bottled in bottles of equal size so that whole of petrol and diesel would be separately bottled. The bottle capacity in terms of litres is an integer. How many different bottle sizes are possible?

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Q.1793Miscellaneous2024Easy

By the time children reach class 8, the bulk of them tend to be in the age range of 13 years to 15 years. But in our country, about a quarter of all children in class 8 struggle with reading simple texts and more than half are still unable to do basic arithmetic operations like division. Every year about 25 million young boys and girls from elementary school move into the life that lies for them beyond compulsory schooling. They cannot enter the workforce at least in the organized sector till they are 18. For many families, these children are the first from their families ever to get this far in school. Parents and children expect that such ‘graduates’ from school will go on to high school and college. Hardly anyone wants to go back to agriculture. On the other hand, abilities in terms of academic competencies are far lower than they should be even based on -curricular expectations of class 8. Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made : 1.For effective school education, parents have greater role than the governments. 2. School curriculum that conforms to today’s requirements and is uniform for the entire country may address the issues brought out. Which of the assumptions given above is/are valid?

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Q.1794Miscellaneous2024Easy

By the time children reach class 8, the bulk of them tend to be in the age range of 13 years to 15 years. But in our country, about a quarter of all children in class 8 struggle with reading simple texts and more than half are still unable to do basic arithmetic operations like division. Every year about 25 million young boys and girls from elementary school move into the life that lies for them beyond compulsory schooling. They cannot enter the workforce at least in the organized sector till they are 18. For many families, these children are the first from their families ever to get this far in school. Parents and children expect that such ‘graduates’ from school will go on to high school and college. Hardly anyone wants to go back to agriculture. On the other hand, abilities in terms of academic competencies are far lower than they should be even based on -curricular expectations of class 8. Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea conveyed by the passage?

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Q.1795Miscellaneous2024Easy

Only with long experience and opening of his wares on many a beach where his language is not spoken, will the merchant come to know the worth of what he carries, and what is parochial and what is universal in his choice. Such delicate goods as justice, love and honour, courtesy, and indeed all the things we care for, are valid everywhere but they are variously moulded and often differently handled, and sometimes nearly unrecognizable if you meet them in a foreign land, and the art of learning fundamental common values is perhaps the greatest gain of travel to those who wish to live at ease among their fellows. With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made : 1. Travel leads to an understanding of humans. 2. Travel helps those who wish to learn fundamental common values. 3. A person with long experience in travel can resolve differences amongst people. Which of the assumptions given above are valid?

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Q.1796Miscellaneous2024Easy

Not every voice on the internet commands the same kind of audience. When anonymous private entities with high capital can pay for more space for their opinions, they are effectively buying a louder voice. If political discourse in the digital sphere is a matter of outshining one’s opponent till the election is won, then the quality of politics suffers. The focus of social media is restricted to the promotion of content that generates more user engagement, regardless of how inflammatory the content may be. Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made 1.Internet is not inclusive enough. 2.Internet can adversely affect the quality of politics in a country. Which of the assumptions given above is/are valid?

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Q.1797Miscellaneous2024Easy

A certain number of men can complete a piece of work in 6k days, where k is a natural number. By what percent should the number of men be increased so that the work can be completed in 5k days?

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Q.1798Miscellaneous2024Easy

What percent of water must be mixed with honey so as to gain 20% by selling the mixture at the cost price of honey?

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Q.1799Miscellaneous2024Easy

In the expression 5 * 4 * 3 * 2 * 1, * is chosen from +, —, X each at most two times. What is the smallest non- negative value of the expression?

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Q.1800Miscellaneous2024Easy

Consider the following : Weight of 6 boys = Weight of 7 girls = Weight of 3 men = Weight of 4 women. If the average weight of the women is 63 kg, then what is the average weight of the boys?

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UPSC Prelims Questions

A father said to his son, “n years back I was as old as you are now. My present age is four times your age n year back". If the sum of the present ages of the father and the son is 130 years, what is the difference of their ages?

In an examination, 80% of students passed in English, 70% of students passed in Hindi and 15% failed in both the subjects. What is the percentage of students who failed in only one subject?

A number is mistakenly divided by 4 instead of multiplying by 4. What is the percentage change in the result due to this mistake?

P’s salary is 20% lower than Q’s salary which is 20% lower than R’s salary. By how much percent is R's salary more than P’s salary?

A can X contains 399 litres of petrol and a can Y contains 532 litres of diesel. They are to be bottled in bottles of equal size so that whole of petrol and diesel would be separately bottled. The bottle capacity in terms of litres is an integer. How many different bottle sizes are possible?

A certain number of men can complete a piece of work in 6k days, where k is a natural number. By what percent should the number of men be increased so that the work can be completed in 5k days?

What percent of water must be mixed with honey so as to gain 20% by selling the mixture at the cost price of honey?

In the expression 5 * 4 * 3 * 2 * 1, * is chosen from +, —, X each at most two times. What is the smallest non- negative value of the expression?

Consider the following : Weight of 6 boys = Weight of 7 girls = Weight of 3 men = Weight of 4 women. If the average weight of the women is 63 kg, then what is the average weight of the boys?

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