General Knowledge MCQs
Topic Notes: General Knowledge
MCQs and preparation resources for competitive exams, covering important concepts, past papers, and detailed explanations.
Plato
- Biography: Ancient Greek philosopher (427–347 BCE), student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, founder of the Academy in Athens.
- Important Ideas:
- Theory of Forms
- Philosopher-King
- Ideal State
26721
For the Olympics and World Championships, what are official basketball court dimensions?
Answer:
FIBA courts are 28×15 meters; the NBA uses feet (94×50 ft ≈ 28.65×15.24 m). Line markings and lane widths also differ by code. Exams usually reference FIBA measurements.
26722
Band Aid’s 1984 charity single was produced to raise money for which country?
Answer:
Organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” raised funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. It inspired Live Aid the following year. The song topped charts across Europe.
26723
What is the second-largest hot desert in the world after the Sahara?
Answer:
Considering **hot** deserts, the Arabian ranks second after the Sahara. If you include cold deserts, Antarctica is largest overall and the Sahara is second—context matters in exam phrasing. Kalahari and Gobi are smaller by area.
26724
What was the United States’ largest single land acquisition?
Answer:
In 1803, the U.S. bought \~828,000 square miles from France, doubling its size. The Mexican Cession was also large but smaller than Louisiana. Gadsden was comparatively tiny.
26725
Corfu (Kérkyra) lies in which sea?
Answer:
Corfu is one of Greece’s Ionian Islands off the northwest coast. While near the Adriatic outlet, it sits firmly in the Ionian. The Baltic and central Mediterranean options are distractors.
26726
The DC-10 that exploded over Niger on September 19, 1989, belonged to which country’s airline?
Answer:
UTA Flight 772, a French airline flight, was destroyed by a bomb over the Ténéré Desert, Niger. All on board perished. The crash led to long investigations and memorial efforts.
26727
Which body of water separates New Zealand’s North and South Islands?
Answer:
Cook Strait links the Tasman Sea and the South Pacific between Wellington (North Island) and the Marlborough area (South Island). Bass Strait lies between mainland Australia and Tasmania. The others are elsewhere.
26728
Who is regarded as the first emperor of a unified China?
Answer:
Qin Shi Huang unified the warring states in 221 BCE, standardizing script, currency, and measurements. He began the first Great Wall projects and built the Terracotta Army mausoleum. Sun Yat-sen was a 20th-century revolutionary.
26729
Which bird with a distinctive call lays its eggs in other birds’ nests?
Answer:
Many cuckoos are brood parasites, offloading parental care onto host species. Their chicks often eject host eggs to monopolize food. The call “cuck-oo” is a classic spring sound in Europe.
26730
Which English Romantic poet wrote *Endymion*?
Answer:
Keats’s *Endymion* opens with the line “A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.” It explores myth and idealized beauty. Wordsworth and Shakespeare wrote in different eras and styles.