Common Prelims for Senior School and College

1. KQA SOLO CHAMPIONSHIPS
SENIOR SCHOOL
COLLEGE GRANDMASTER
COMMON PRELIMS
PLEASE INDICATE CATEGORY: SENIOR SCHOOL/COLLEGE/OPEN
11-20 ARE DOUBLE POINTERS
21-30 ARE STARRED

2. 01
What Greek letter is normally used as a
symbol for the photon in modern physics?

3. KQA 2019
ANSWER
GAMMA

4. 02
The star of which 1777 event, sometimes jocularly called the
South Indian Whack-a-Mole Champion, is associated with this
location? Alternatively, just name this location.

6. KQA 2019
ANSWER
OBAVVANA KINDI AT CHITRADURGA FORT
OR ONAKKE OBAVVA

7. 03
Paundraka is to Yama as Shuka
is to Kama. What top-down
relationship are we talking
about?

8. KQA 2019
ANSWER
VAHANAS
OR VEHICLES FOR GODS

9. 04
The punctuation marks used here take their names from the
letters whose space they are equal to. Name either.
Glitter, felt, yarn, and buttons—his kitchen looked as if a
clown had exploded. X
A flock of sparrows – some of them juveniles – alighted and
sang. Y

10. KQA 2019
ANSWER
EM DASH/EN DASH

11. 05
The current name gives it royal status. Prior to
Independence, this state was known by a name
made up by the British in the 1800s that combined
an ethnic term and a European ending.
What was the old name?

12. KQA 2019
ANSWER
RAJPUTANA

13. 06
Raj Kaul and his family migrated to Delhi, the
imperial capital, in about the year 1716. On the
Mughal Emperor’s order, a jagir with a house
situated on the banks of a X was granted to Raj
Kaul, and so the family changed their surname to
Kaul-X. X eventually took over. What was X?

14. KQA 2019
ANSWER
NAHAR OR CANAL
NEHRU

15. 07
Of the eleven districts that make up this state, only
one, Ri-bhoi, has a name not ending in the English
word hills. All the others have name ending in
hills.
Which state?

16. KQA 2019
ANSWER
MEGHALAYA

17. 08
Some of them have names. Such as No. 5,
Maharwada, or No. 29, which is Dhumar
Lena. What group are we talking about?

19. KQA 2019
ANSWER
ELLORA CAVES

20. 09
These objects are often described as Swayambhu, or self-created, and are
highly valued because God himself is said to have left them as marks of his
presence. They are the product of centuries of activity along a rift valley in
central India, and possess a uniform hardness of 7 on the Moh's scale.
Where, specifically, are they sourced from? OR what are these
objects?

22. ANSWER
NARMADA RIVER-BED
WORSHIPPED AS LINGAS

23. 10
These geological formations are named after their resemblance
to something familiar in households. Formed when sedimentary
rocks are eroded in a top-heavy manner. By what (3,5) name
are they known?

25. KQA 2019
ANSWER
TEA TABLE/S

26. 11
What is the term for this generic representation in Greek art?
They re placed over X as Y. What function do they perform?

27. ANSWER
SPHINX
GUARD THE DEAD

28. 12
INS Garuda is a naval airbase situated on India's
largest artificial island. The island is named in
tribute to the Governor of Madras, later Viceroy of
India, who commissioned its creation. The material
for constructing the island came from dredging
activity done to improve a nearby facility.
Name the island. What was the nearby facility?

29. KQA 2019
ANSWER
WILLINGDON ISLAND
KOCHI HARBOUR/PORT

30. 13
Identify the subject, and the artist.

32. KQA 2019
ANSWER
ROHITH VEMULA
ORIJIT SEN

33. 14
Identify this 2019 release from the poster. The title
simulates NATO Code and thus tells you what its subject
matter is all about. How?

34. KQA 2019
ANSWER
ROMEO AKBAR WALTER
RAW

35. 15
Rome and Vatican City are the closest capital
cities in the world. The second closest are within
sight of each other, but separated by a river.
Both are home to large French-speaking
populations.
Name both capitals, or one capital and the
river.

36. KQA 2019
ANSWER
KINSHASA & BRAZZAVILLE
OR ANY ONE PLUS CONGO

37. 16
The chemical element X was not named
after India. It was named after the manner of
its discovery. Given that it was identified by
spectroscopic analysis, what was this
element named after by its discoverers
Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymus Richter?
Which element?

38. KQA 2019
ANSWER
INDIUM
INDIGO, FROM ITS SPECTRAL LINE

39. 17
This starchy material is obtained from a plant source and can be
used in puddings, bubble tea, falooda, and as a rice substitute.
Give the generic English name, or the Kannada or Hindi
forms. Also give the source plant from which it is taken.

41. KQA 2019
ANSWER
SAGO/SABAKKI/SABUDANA
TAPIOCA/CASSAVA

42. 18
X’s 19th century sermons on this sensitive
subject later led to the establishment of
India’s first ‘Y’ in Rewari at the hands of Rao
Yudhishter Singh. However, the facility is now
lying in a shambles.
Who is X? What is Rewari’s claim to fame

43. KQA 2019
ANSWER
X: DAYANAND SARASWATI
Y: THE FIRST MODERN GOSHALA/COW
SHELTER

44. 19
They were produced in nature by an interaction between
migrating birds and underground aquifers. Humans
usually stepped in a few hundred years after.
The English word for this comes from wahe or ouahi, a
word meaning dwelling place in an ancient language
associated with a desert nation, now used only the
minority Christian community there.
Give the word, and the language.

45. KQA 2019
ANSWER
OASIS
COPTIC

46. 20
Portugal recently announced a list of Seven
Wonders of the World of Portuguese origin. Two
of these are located in India. One doesn’t need a
picture. The other is provided below. Name
both.

48. ANSWER
BOM JESUS BASILICA
DIU FORTRESS

49. 21
This septuagenarian named Bindeswar Pathak from Bihar came up with the twin pit method
in the 1970s but refused to patent it. The oldest outlet of his NGO sits on St. Mark's Road,
and was inaugurated by the BMP Commissioner in the early 1990s. He won the Stockholm
Water Prize in 2009 for his efforts. Name the NGO he founded, or tell us what this is all
about.

51. KQA 2019
ANSWER
A: SULABH/SULABH SHOUCHALAY
B: CHEAP/SUSTAINABLE TOILETS

52. 22
The competitive version of this sport has two
levels—one named forms which test
movements, and sparring, which tests
combat skills. Other variations—such as
breaking objects--are not used in competition.
Name the sport, usually 5 letters in
English.

53. KQA 2019
ANSWER
WUSHU

54. 23
Which letter of the English alphabet has its
origins in the symbol for the eye in
Phoenician script and in Egyptian
hieroglyphics?

55. KQA 2019
ANSWER
THE LETTER O

56. 24
Exciting sport known the world over by a German name.
Also has a prosaic English name. Give either name.

58. KQA 2019
ANSWER
RADBALL
CYCLE BALL

59. 25
Brand name derived from the Greek
word for 'to shriek'. Name this now
generic term.

60. ANSWER
KLAXON

61. 26
If you go from 1-25, you might be forgiven for
saying that the writing is on the wall. In a
different sort of way, and in two languages
What are we talking about? Where is this
from?

62. KQA 2019
ANSWER
GOVERNMENT’S WORK IS GOD’S
WORK
Inscription on the Vidhana Soudha
entrance

63. 27
Identify this 1970s celebrity from this Time
magazine cover by Mort Drucker. The badge
on his chest reads “Male Chauvinist”.

64. KQA 2019

65. KQA 2019
ANSWER
BOBBY RIGGS
OF BATTLE-OF-THE-SEXES FAME

66. 28
With which iconic brand would you associate the
slogan
“When the bugles blow, there will be a show”?
The company has started reusing this in recent times.

67. KQA 2019
ANSWER
GEMINI STUDIOS

68. 29
Indian strategic thinking was once memorably described
by Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, former director, Institute
for Defence Studies and Analyses, as the ‘X Syndrome‘.
“We rarely choose to fight when the threat is still a
nascent threat. When we do fight, we fight when the
invaders reach X and are preparing to knock on the
gates of Delhi.”
What is X?

69. KQA 2019
ANSWER
PANIPAT

70. 30
In which capital
has the narrator of
this graphic novel
arrived? It is also
the title of the
book.

71. KQA 2019
ANSWER
PYONGYANG