General Knowledge MCQs for PPSC, FPSC & Competitive Exams (Free PDF)

Correct answer: Al-Razi. Al-Razi (Rhazes) wrote Kitab al-Hawi, a large medical encyclopedia.

Background: Al-Hawi gathered medical knowledge from Greek, Indian, and Arabic sources.

• Ibn Nafees: Ibn al-Nafis described the pulmonary circulation.
• Al-Kindi: Al-Kindi is known as a philosopher.
• Ibn Haitham: Ibn al-Haytham is known for the Book of Optics.

Did you know? Al-Razi also wrote an early work distinguishing smallpox from measles.

Memory trick: Al-Hawi = Al-Razi.

Correct answer: Gullies. Rills deepen and join to form gullies, which are larger channels cut by running water.

Background: Fluvial processes are those caused by running water.

• Abrasion: Abrasion is erosion by rock fragments scraping a surface.
• Water channel: “Water channel” is not the standard term.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because gullies is correct.

Did you know? Heavily gullied land is called badlands.

Memory trick: Rills → gullies → gorges.

Correct answer: Shale. Slate is formed when shale is changed by low-grade metamorphism.

Background: Slate splits easily into thin sheets.

• Sandstone: Sandstone changes into quartzite.
• Limestone: Limestone changes into marble.
• Granite: Granite changes into gneiss.

Did you know? It is commonly used for roof tiles and blackboards.

Memory trick: Shale → Slate.

Correct answer: A ring-shaped coral reef. An atoll is a ring-shaped coral reef or chain of islands that surrounds a lagoon.

Background: Darwin explained atolls as coral growing around a sinking volcanic island.

• Racket cave: “Racket cave” is not a real landform.
• Coral reef: “Coral reef” is a general term, while an atoll is a specific ring-shaped reef.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because a ring-shaped coral reef is correct.

Did you know? The Maldives is made up of atolls.

Memory trick: Atoll = ring of coral.

Correct answer: Citius, Altius, Fortius. The original Olympic motto is “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (Faster, Higher, Stronger).

Background: In July 2021 the IOC added “Communiter” (“Together”), making the full motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communiter”.

• Altius, Citius, Fortius: This option has the Latin words in the wrong order.
• Altius, Fortius, Citius: This option has the Latin words in the wrong order.
• Communiter, Citius, Altius: “Communiter” was added later, and this option leaves out “Fortius”.

Did you know? The IOC was founded on 23 June 1894 and is based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Memory trick: C-A-F: Citius, Altius, Fortius.

Correct answer: Vatican City. The Pope leads the Catholic Church from Vatican City, the seat of the Holy See.

Background: Vatican City is an independent state inside Rome.

• Rome: Rome surrounds the Vatican but is not the seat itself.
• France: France is not the seat of the Catholic Church.
• USA: The USA is not the seat of the Catholic Church.

Did you know? It is the smallest country in the world by area.

Memory trick: Pope lives in the Vatican.

Correct answer: Asia. Asia is the largest continent, covering about 30% of the Earth’s land area.

Background: Asia is also home to the most people, more than half of the world’s population.

• Africa: Africa is the second-largest continent.
• Australia: Australia is the smallest continent.
• Europe: Europe is much smaller than Asia.

Did you know? Mount Everest, the highest mountain, is in Asia.

Memory trick: Asia = biggest; Australia = smallest.

Correct answer: Camel. The camel is called the ship of the desert because it can cross vast sandy areas for long periods.

Background: A camel stores fat in its hump and can go long periods without water.

• Elephant: Elephants live in forests and grasslands.
• Horse: Horses are not adapted to desert travel like camels.
• Tiger: Tigers are forest animals.

Did you know? A dromedary has one hump and a Bactrian camel has two.

Memory trick: Desert ship = camel.

Correct answer: United States. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, the United States maintained its position as the world's leading producer of crude oil (averaging over 13 million barrels per day).

Background: US hydraulic fracturing and shale development boosted total output past Russia and Saudi Arabia.

• Russia: Second/third largest producer globally.
• Saudi Arabia: Top global exporter and major producer within OPEC.
• Iran: Major producer but produces lower overall volume due to capacity and sanctions.

Did you know? The US became the top crude oil producer starting around 2018.

Memory trick: Top crude oil producer = United States.

Correct answer: Germany. Germany is not a member; the Five Eyes are the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Background: Germany is a close ally of the Five Eyes countries but is not part of the intelligence-sharing alliance.

• UK: The UK is a founding member.
• USA: The USA is a founding member.
• Australia: Australia is a member.

Did you know? All five members are English-speaking countries.

Memory trick: Eyes: US, UK, CA, AU, NZ.

Correct answer: Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda was formed around 1988 in Afghanistan (and neighbouring Pakistan) by Osama bin Laden and others during the Soviet–Afghan war.

Background: The group grew out of the network that supported the fight against the Soviet Union.

• Saudi Arabia: Bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia, but the group was formed in Afghanistan.
• Qatar: Qatar was not the place of its formation.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because Afghanistan is correct.

Did you know? “Al-Qaeda” means “the base”.

Memory trick: Al-Qaeda: born in the Afghan war.

Correct answer: 11. Each field hockey team has 11 players on the field, including the goalkeeper.

Background: Substitutions are allowed in hockey, so squads are larger than 11.

• 9: Nine is fewer than the number on the field.
• 12: Twelve is more than the number on the field.
• 13: Thirteen is more than the number on the field.

Did you know? Pakistan is a four-time Hockey World Cup winner.

Memory trick: Hockey = 11, like football.

Correct answer: Militant group in Yemen. The Houthis (Ansar Allah) are an armed movement from northern Yemen that controls the capital Sanaa.

Background: They took control of Sanaa in 2014, which began Yemen’s ongoing conflict.

• Terrorist group of Nigeria: The Houthis are not based in Nigeria.
• Ethiopian Organization: The Houthis are not an Ethiopian organization.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because a militant group in Yemen is correct.

Did you know? Since late 2023 they have attacked ships in the Red Sea.

Memory trick: Houthi → Yemen.

Correct answer: Washington. Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia) is the capital of the United States.

Background: The capital is named after George Washington.

• New York: New York is the largest city but not the capital.
• Philadelphia: Philadelphia was the capital from 1790 to 1800.
• Hawaii: Hawaii is a state, not a capital city.

Did you know? Washington, D.C. is not part of any US state.

Memory trick: D.C. = District of Columbia.

Correct answer: Kyiv. Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine.

Background: Kyiv is the Ukrainian spelling and is now commonly used instead of “Kiev”.

• Dnipro: Dnipro is a major city in central-eastern Ukraine.
• Kharkiv: Kharkiv is the second-largest city, in the north-east.
• Odesa: Odesa is a Black Sea port city.

Did you know? It lies on the Dnieper River.

Memory trick: Kyiv = capital, Kharkiv = second city.

Correct answer: Five Eyes. The “Five Eyes” alliance shares signals and other intelligence among the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Background: Its roots go back to the 1946 UKUSA Agreement.

• Super Power: “Super Power” is not the name of this alliance.
• Security Threats: “Security Threats” is not the name of this alliance.
• Defense 5: “Defense 5” is not the name of this alliance.

Did you know? The name comes from documents marked “AUS/CAN/NZ/UK/US EYES ONLY”.

Memory trick: Five countries = Five Eyes.

Correct answer: Jericho Brown. Jericho Brown won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his collection The Tradition.

Background: The Pulitzer Prizes are American awards for journalism, literature, and music.

• Colson Whitehead: Colson Whitehead won the 2020 Pulitzer for Fiction (The Nickel Boys), not Poetry.
• Ava Trecho: Ava Trecho did not win the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
• Both A & B: “Both A & B” is incorrect because only Jericho Brown won for poetry.

Did you know? Colson Whitehead has won the Pulitzer for Fiction twice (2017 and 2020).

Memory trick: Poetry → Brown; Fiction → Whitehead.

Correct answer: Sea-water density. A pycnocline is the layer in the ocean where the density of seawater changes quickly with depth.

Background: Density changes with temperature (thermocline) and salinity (halocline).

• Ocean relief: Ocean relief refers to the shape of the seafloor, not density layers.
• Development of coral reef: Coral reef development is a different topic.
• Mesosphere: The mesosphere is a layer of the atmosphere, not of the ocean.

Did you know? The Greek word pyknos means “dense”.

Memory trick: Pycno = density.

Correct answer: North Atlantic Ocean. The Gulf Stream is a warm current in the North Atlantic that flows from the Gulf of Mexico along the US east coast toward Europe.

Background: It helps keep the climate of Western Europe milder than other places at the same latitude.

• Arctic Ocean: The Arctic Ocean is a different ocean.
• Southern Ocean: The Southern Ocean surrounds Antarctica.
• Pacific Ocean: The Pacific has other currents, such as the Kuroshio.

Did you know? It carries about 100 times more water than all the world’s rivers combined.

Memory trick: Gulf Stream → North Atlantic.

Correct answer: Alluvium. Alluvium is the soil and sediment deposited by rivers and streams, especially on floodplains.

Background: Alluvial plains such as the Indus plain are very fertile.

• Sediment: Sediment is a general term for any settled material.
• Loess: Loess is wind-blown silt.
• Colluvium: Colluvium is material that collects at the foot of a slope by gravity.

Did you know? The word comes from the Latin alluere, “to wash against”.

Memory trick: Alluvium = river-laid.

Correct answer: Greece. Athens, Greece, hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Background: The 2004 Games brought the Olympics back to Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games.

• London: London hosted the Games in 2012.
• China: China (Beijing) hosted the Games in 2008.
• France: France (Paris) hosted the Games in 1900, 1924, and 2024.

Did you know? The first modern Olympics were also held in Athens, in 1896.

Memory trick: 2004 Athens = Greece.

Correct answer: Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan does not border Afghanistan; Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan lie between them.

Background: Afghanistan is landlocked and has six neighbours.

• China: China shares a short border with Afghanistan through the Wakhan Corridor.
• Tajikistan: Tajikistan shares a border with Afghanistan.
• Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan shares a border with Afghanistan.

Did you know? The six neighbours are Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China.

Memory trick: Kazakhstan is a step further north, past Uzbekistan.

Correct answer: All of these. Terrorism is generally described as political violence aimed at civilians in order to create fear.

Background: There is no single, universally accepted legal definition of terrorism.

• Political violence: Political violence is one part of the definition.
• Civilian targeting: Targeting civilians is one part of the definition.
• Fear creation: Creating fear is one part of the definition.

Did you know? The word “terror” comes from the Latin terrere, meaning “to frighten”.

Memory trick: Terrorism = violence + civilians + fear.

Correct answer: Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan, with about 2.7 million square kilometres, is the largest Muslim-majority country by area.

Background: Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country in the world.

• Indonesia: Indonesia is the largest Muslim country by population, not by area.
• Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia is large, but smaller in area than Kazakhstan.
• Morocco: Morocco is much smaller in area.

Did you know? Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population.

Memory trick: Area → Kazakhstan; population → Indonesia.