1. Prologue
  2. Science Questions in ACIO-2015
    1. Biology
    2. Physics
    3. Space, Nuke, Defense & Misc.
  3. Persons in News (PIN) Questions in ACIO-2015
    1. Civilian Awards
    2. Books, Authors, Movies, Magazines
    3. Dead in News

Prologue

  • Intelligence Bureau (IB) had conducted written examination for requirement of Assistant central intelligence officer (ACIO) on 22nd February 2015.
  • I’m preparing the topic wise ACIO Answerkey in four parts.
  • First part: History and Polity MCQs already published
  • Second part: Economy and Geography MCQs also published
  • In this third part, we’ll look at Science and Persons in News (PIN) type questions.
  • Since IB refuses to disclose cutoffs under right to information act (RTI), so not much point in dwelling into that. One exam is over then it’s time to prepare for another exam.

ACIO Answerkey Science

Science Questions in ACIO-2015

  • Out of the 15 questions, most were tough because these topics are not part of routine preparation of NCERT and LucentGK. Some of them even trivial GK type, such as Homi Bhabha was founding director of TIFR or Who was batchmate of S.N.Bose.
  • Nobel Prize questions about Einstein and Raman are tricky in nature.
  • Nothing from current affairs related to Nobel prize, Ebola, Mars-Mission, Neutrino-Observatory etc.
  • Nothing asked from computer awareness. (in 2013, they did ask).
  • Strategy for Next ACIO exam: at minimum NCERT and LucentGK should be prepared. Main focus should be on theoretical portion.

Biology

1. Curcuma longa is the scientific name of which spice?

  1. Cumin
  2. Cloves
  3. Turmeric
  4. Coriander

Turmeric’s scientific name is Curcuma Longa, says Britannica

2. Bones found in the hands and feet as the percentage of total number of bones in the body of an adult human being is nearly equal to

  1. 20%
  2. 30%
  3. 40%
  4. 50%

Answer:

  • Ref1: LucentGK Page 553: Bones in hands and feet: 118, and total no. of bones: 206. Hence 118/206=over 57%. So nearest choice is #4.
  • Ref2: says BBC science page.

3. Europeans are believed to have brought potatoes to India in the 18th century. Which region of the world is believed to be the origin of potato cultivation?

  1. Eastern Ghana
  2. Southern Peru
  3. Portugal
  4. West Indies

Although, Portuguese brought it to India but Potato is originally from Southern Peru Says China’s official Educational Research site

5. Which gland in the human body is also known as the third eye

  1. Pineal
  2. Pituitary
  3. Mammary
  4. Tear gland

Pineal gland is called the third eye of Human body, says TheHindu newspaper.

6. Leukaemia is a group of cancers that usually begins it the bone marrow and results in high numbers of which abnormal cells

  1. White blood cells
  2. Red blood cells
  3. Platelets
  4. All of these

Lucent GK Page 567: Leukaemia greatly increases White Blood Cells numbers. Hence Answer #1.

Chemistry

8. On a cool day in January, the temperature at a place fell below the freezing point and was recorded as -40° Centigrade. }n Fahrenheit scale, the same temperature would be

  1. 32°F
  2. -8°F
  3. -40°F
  4. -72

The conversion formula is (C * 9/5) + 32 = F

(-40*9/5)+32=-40

9. Universal Gas Constant, R, is a property of?

  1. Ideal gases
  2. Halogen Gases
  3. Inert Gases
  4. All Gases

It Is part of Ideal gas equation. Refer LucentGK Page 492 or NCERT Class11, Chemistry-1, chapter6, Page 160.

Physics

63. In Alternating Current (AC), the direction and magnitude of the current varies

  1. Randomly
  2. Periodically
  3. Exponentially
  4. Do not vary

AC current periodically varies. Lucent General Science Page 142; NCERT Class12, Chapter7 Physics.

64. Albert Einstein received the Nobel Prize for Physics in the year 1921 for his work on

  1. Mass energy equivalence given by E=mc2
  2. Hydrogen Atom
  3. Theory of Relativity
  4. Photoelectric effect

Officially it was given for “photoelectric effect” says official website of Nobel Prizes

65. Sir C.V.Raman received the Nobel Prize for Physics in the year 1930 for his ground breaking work in the field of

  1. Brownian motion
  2. Scattering of light
  3. String Theory
  4. Nuclear Physics

Officially it was given for “scattering of light” says official website of Nobel Prizes

11. The class of elementary particles, bosons, was named after Satyendra Nath Bose, an Indian Physicist. Which of the following Indian Scientists graduated from Presidency College Calcutta as a classmate of Satyendra Nath Bose?

  1. Jagdish Chandra Bose
  2. P.C.Mahalanobis
  3. Praful Chandra Ray
  4. Meghnad Saha

Meghnad Saha was his college batchmate. says IBNlive.

Space, Nuke, Defense & Misc.

10. In which place was the 1st Science Congress held in January, 1914

  1. Kolkata
  2. Allahabad
  3. Chennai
  4. Pune

It was held at Kolkata says the Official page of Science Congress.

14. Homi Jahangir Bhabha, the father of Indian nuclear programme, was also the founding director of which of the following institutes?

  1. Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
  2. Indian Institute of Science
  3. Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai
  4. Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata

He was the founding director of TIFR says the official page of TIFR

15. Who headed the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) project launched by ISRO in 1970? (SLV)

  1. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai
  2. Dr. K.Radhakrishnan
  3. Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam
  4. Dr. G.-Madhavan Nair

Dr.Kalam was the director in 1970 for this project says theBusinessline Newspaper.

17. The BrahMos, a short range supersonic cruise missile, is a joint venture between which foreign country and Indian agency?

  1. USA & ISRO
  2. UK & ISRO
  3. Russia & ISRO
  4. Russia & DRDO

DRDO and Russia says the official site of Brahmos.

This concludes the Science answerkeys, now moving to next segment:

Persons in News (PIN) Questions from ACIO-2015

  • Out of 11 PIN-MCQs, most of them very difficult.
  • Some ridiculously tough and trivial such as – origin year of Thums up softdrink, launch year of Prem Chand’s Bhudan, birth place of Arundhati Roy and so on.
  • Two questions from January 2015: Gowarikar, Hara Kiri Hebdo. (+ if you count Niti Ayog from economy Answerkey) then moral of the story is- current-PIN span was just 1 month before the exam.
  • Although nothing from new book releases, lawn tennis, appointments, latest Nobel-2014 awards etc.
  • Strategy for next time: at least recent 3 months Persons in news should be prepared.  Beyond that cost:benefit bad, unless you’re simultaneously preparing for Kaun Banegaa Crorepati.

Civilian Awards

66. Which of the following Indian nationals has been the recipient of Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership

  1. Arvind Kejriwal
  2. Kiran Bedi
  3. T.N.Sheshan
  4. Dr. M.S.Swaminathan

Swaminathan won it for community leadership. says this google book.

68. In which individual event, the 1st Olympic medal for Independent India was won at Helsinki Olympics?

  1. Archery
  2. Boxing
  3. Wrestling
  4. Weightlifting

First medal was won for wrestling says NDTV Sports page

76. Till date, 13 serving Heads of State have received Nobel Peace Prize. Only one Head of State received it for Literature. Who was he?

  1. Theodore Roosevelt, President of USA
  2. Eisaku Sato, Prime Minister of Japan
  3. Oscar Arias Sanchez, President of Costa Rica
  4. Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of United Kingdom

Churchill received it for Literature. says the official webpage for Nobel Prizes.

Books, Authors, Movies, Magazines

81. Suzanna Arundhati Roy, an Indian author and political activist, was born in

  1. Shillong
  2. Chennai
  3. Thiruvananthpuram
  4. Jeddah

She was born in Shilong says britannica.com

84. In which subject did Dr Bhabendra Nath Saikia, famous novelist and film director of Assam, obtain PhD from University of London?

  1. Assamese Literature
  2. Physics
  3. Mass Communication
  4. Mathernatics

He had done Ph.D in Physics. says this Assam info page

88. Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical weekly, first appeared in 1970 as a successor to another French magazine that was banned for mocking the death of former French President Charles de Gaulle. What was the name of the banned magazine?

  1. Le Monde
  2. Hara kiri
  3. La Croix
  4. Humanite Hebdo

Hara Kiri Hebdo says theHindu in January 2015.

Dead in News

67. Which of the following awards Satyajit Ray received posthumously?

  1. Dada Saheb Phalke Award
  2. Ramon Magsaysay Award
  3. Bharat Ratna
  4. Honorary Oscar

He got Bharat Ratna Posthumously in 1992 Lucent GK page608

89. Vasant Govarikar, who passed away recently, was a famous personality in which field?

  1. Literature
  2. Space science
  3. Classical music
  4. Cinema

Gowarikar was scientist Mrunal’s PIN series for January-2015

Trivial GK Dates

39. A scene of wrestling match in Bombay’s Hanging Gardens was shot by Harishchandra Bhatwadekar, & it became India’s first movie. It was shot in the year

  1. 1896
  2. 1907
  3. 1913
  4. 1925

1896. Although doubtful because different sites give different years.

45. In which year, Thums Up, one of India’s great brands, which was sold to Coca-Cola a few years ago, was launched?

  1. 1947
  2. 1958
  3. 1979
  4. 1991

It was launched in 1979 (according to some sites 1977)

43. Munshi Premchand was born in 1880 and died in the year 1936. His best-known literary work, `Godan’ (The Gift of Cow) was published in

  1. 1920
  2. 1934
  3. 1936
  4. 1942

It was published in the year 1936 says NCERT Class10 India and contemporary world, Ch8 Novels, Society and History.
Visit Mrunal.org/ACIO for more about job profile, training and interview-experiences (posted in the comment sections of old articles).