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.
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?
- Cumin
- Cloves
- Turmeric
- 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
- 20%
- 30%
- 40%
- 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?
- Eastern Ghana
- Southern Peru
- Portugal
- 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
- Pineal
- Pituitary
- Mammary
- 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
- White blood cells
- Red blood cells
- Platelets
- 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
- 32°F
- -8°F
- -40°F
- -72
The conversion formula is (C * 9/5) + 32 = F
(-40*9/5)+32=-40
9. Universal Gas Constant, R, is a property of?
- Ideal gases
- Halogen Gases
- Inert Gases
- 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
- Randomly
- Periodically
- Exponentially
- 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
- Mass energy equivalence given by E=mc2
- Hydrogen Atom
- Theory of Relativity
- 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
- Brownian motion
- Scattering of light
- String Theory
- 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?
- Jagdish Chandra Bose
- P.C.Mahalanobis
- Praful Chandra Ray
- 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
- Kolkata
- Allahabad
- Chennai
- 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?
- Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
- Indian Institute of Science
- Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai
- 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)
- Dr. Vikram Sarabhai
- Dr. K.Radhakrishnan
- Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam
- 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?
- USA & ISRO
- UK & ISRO
- Russia & ISRO
- 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
- Arvind Kejriwal
- Kiran Bedi
- T.N.Sheshan
- 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?
- Archery
- Boxing
- Wrestling
- 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?
- Theodore Roosevelt, President of USA
- Eisaku Sato, Prime Minister of Japan
- Oscar Arias Sanchez, President of Costa Rica
- 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
- Shillong
- Chennai
- Thiruvananthpuram
- 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?
- Assamese Literature
- Physics
- Mass Communication
- 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?
- Le Monde
- Hara kiri
- La Croix
- Humanite Hebdo
Hara Kiri Hebdo says theHindu in January 2015.
Dead in News
67. Which of the following awards Satyajit Ray received posthumously?
- Dada Saheb Phalke Award
- Ramon Magsaysay Award
- Bharat Ratna
- 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?
- Literature
- Space science
- Classical music
- 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
- 1896
- 1907
- 1913
- 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?
- 1947
- 1958
- 1979
- 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
- 1920
- 1934
- 1936
- 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).
Subject- correct/total
Economy- 8/9
Geography- 5/5
polity- 13/14
history- 8/20
PIN- 5/11
Science- 10/15
Apti- 23/26
My Total Score -72/100
Guys/girls Share your marks please…
Parvez, is there any negative marking in IB exam
As already mrunal sir told, there is no negative marking…
How did u prepare parvej can u tell me how did it take to score this
Nothing special Bhai, Already mrunal sir told it..Stepwise follow mrunal sir strategy makes you able..
ib exam is all of luck & little hard work bcoz max. question are uncertain.
How did u prepare parvez
46 marks according to mrunal key any chances in list?? category ST
plzz reply
Excatly i don’t know about cutoff yaar..IB never revealed it..(Aakhir kuch khufiya bhi to rhne do) last year i calculated my marks was 63 in general ..and i was not in.
Last year, how was your performance in the essay?
63 (all combined or just in the MCQ’s?)
63 in MCQ only accordingly mrunal key, and In essay my performance was just ok type, not sufficient facts..
@pravez, may I know lastyear from which place you had given this exam, as last year i qualified with this marks in gen. cat. and my interview was on 13th jan 2014.
How can this possible, are you sure about your 63 marks..i appeared in varanasi region..and paper was i think only one set in all over india..And finally how was your interview? you got selection in final merit list?
@Sourabh how much you expected in essay part??
Hi.. Parvez..
how did u write the ESSAY last year
Hi Raghav,
last year i wrote essay about ‘A communal conflict scenario’..And i did’t prepared any essay topic last year. So, just wrote some random datas..
Might be they were preparing the merit list by adding marks obtained in both the papers(I & II).
not just only by paper I and later adding paper II.
(based on the sourabh’s marks last year. bcoz both of u guys got same marks)
@Parvez,IB never discloses any individual marks I calculated on the basis by the answers given on MRUNAL’S web page.
No I didn’t got selected in interview (although it went horrible),but the main cause would be my ‘meagre’ final merit score i.e(written+interview).
IB send SMS to the selected candidates moreover results are displayed on MHA website.
With 72 marks in gen cat. it is good (hope you had equally performed in essay), last years scenario was different.
I am getting abyssmal 51 :|
Im getting around 50..
Will I get select??
Pls give me Ur advice
was their any negative marks??
70
I am getting exactly 58 in objective excluding essay, let me know by your idea cut off of general including essay and excluding it too please
How did u prepare can u tell me. how long did u take to reach this point
i am getting around 60 belong to sc category will i get job ?
Yes you definitely are in.
Prepare for nxt round.
Hi ravi .
Do u know anyone who qualified with marks around 60 and belongs to SC category in the IB ACIO-II exam conducted in SEP 2013?
just to clarify myself..
yess..my bro qualified for interview last year.. wid 63 marks sc cat.
Thanks for the info..
IS ur bro from Andhrapradesh?
Wil they add both the papers marks to make the merit list …
or
wil they first check with paper 1 and later proceed to paper II?
from madhyapradesh
IB dont disclose d cutoff.
so he doesnt know it.
Guys getting 50 marks. Those world history questions were totally hopeless.
Getting around 60 . Obc . Any hopes ?
I am scoring at 89….yahooo!!!!!! thankss mrunal……. :)
Please check ques 45 answer , its mentioned “Originally introduced in 1977, Thums Up was acquired by The Coca-Cola company in 1993 in the official site of http://www.coca-colaindia.com/products/thumsup.html
66th answer is Arvind Kejriwal
Kejriwal given for ’emerging leadership’. Swaminath for ‘community leadership’.
sir could you please tell me from which book should i prepare for this exam???
i think for r that is ideal gas ..answer should b all the gases coz…r is universal gas constant…even real gases gave consantant r …
Yes it should be applicable for all gases (option 4)
as PV=nRT( for ideal gases)
(P+a/v^2) (V-b)=RT ( for real gases)
46 marks according to mrunal key any chances in list?? category ST
plzz reply
yes u will qualify.question paper is tougher than previous year.
Q9: plz correct, and should be..all gases..that’s why it is universal gas constant. For real gases also…R remains the same…only rest of the equation changes.
Yes it’s right. …R is valid for every gas and also it is a constant.
I am getting 60 and belong to obc..what would be cut off this year? Paper was little bit tufer than previous year..is it?
Hi Mrunal Sir , I am scoring 45 according to your answer key and I belongs to SC category . Is there any chance for me to qualify with this score.??
Is there any negative marking? Somebody from invigilator group told us that there will be no negative marking..
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Ray an Honorary Oscar in 1992 for Lifetime Achievement.
Last year (i.e in 2013) there were 380 vacancies for the Unreserved category.
In 2015, we just have 207 vacancies for the same. The cut-off would rise.
Friends, please chip in with your views.
Answer for 67th is Honorary Oscar as Bharat Ratna was awarded to Satyajit Ray just before his death..pls check wikipedia
never trust wikipedia bro , the info can be edited by anyone
SATYAJIT RAY’s ACADEMY AWARDS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH :
Well, it’s an extraordinary experience for me to be here tonight to receive this magnificent award; certainly the best achievement of my movie-making career. When I was a small, small school boy, I was terribly interested in the cinema. Became a film fan, wrote to Deanna Durbin. Got a reply, was delighted. Wrote to Ginger Rogers, didn’t get a reply. Then of course, I got interested in the cinema as an art form, and I wrote a twelve-page letter to Billy Wilder after seeing “Double Indemnity.” He didn’t reply either. Well, there you are. I have learned everything I’ve learned about the craft of cinema from the making of American films. I’ve been watching American films very carefully over the years and I loved them for what they entertain, and then later loved them for what they taught. So, I express my gratitude to the American cinema, to the motion picture association who have given me this award and who have made me feel so proud. Thank you very, very much.
Official Link : http://aaspeechesdb.oscars.org/link/064-24/
Bharat Ratna was given in 1992,
Some GK books say (Posthumous)
But Official List doesn’t say ” (Posthumous) ”
List Link : http://www.mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/Recipients-BR_0.pdf
satyajit ray also received honorary oscar……what about that…
I gave the official link of Satyajit ray’s oscar award acceptance speech.
mrunal sir this was my first attempt plz guide m for gk i am very poor in gk
M getting 74 ……
really………..ok congrats..u get job ..
Last time cut for GEN in paper 1 is less than 57 marks ..becoz I was getting 57as per key and qualified for interview..
my score for Paper I – 51, is there any chances for next round ?? category OBC
Sir,I am getting score 79 and I belongs to OBC category…………….will it be credible score???
What about the cutoff this year for ACIO
sir is there any different cut-off for ex-serviceman in general quota sir please reply as nothing was mentioned in the notification but i different column was given for ex-serviceman in omr sheet
Dear Amit..I don’t know abt cut off for ex servicemen but yes I have been confirmed by one of my senior that there is 5% quota for ex servicemen. Amit confirm if u have applied under ex servicemen category and expected marks as per mrunal answer keys.