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BPCL Apprentice Science — practice by topic

Browse 13 questions across 1 Science topics. Choose what you want to revise, then open a question to check its answer and worked solution.

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Which one of the following is synthesised in human body that dilates blood vessels and increases blood flow?Read the answer and worked solution →Which one of the following is the context in which the term "qubit" is mentioned?Read the answer and worked solution →H1N1 virus is sometimes mentioned in the news with reference to which one of the following diseases?Read the answer and worked solution →The function of heavy water in a nuclear reactor is toRead the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

Which one of the following is synthesised in human body that dilates blood vessels and increases blood flow?

  1. Nitric oxide
  2. Nitrous oxide
  3. Nitrogen dioxide
  4. Nitrogen pentoxide
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Correct answer: A. Nitric oxide

Answer: A. Nitric oxide (NO) is the body's natural vasodilator. Nitric oxide is a free-radical signalling molecule produced in the body by endothelial cells lining blood vessels. It diffuses to the smooth muscle around vessels and triggers relaxation, causing vessels to dilate and blood flow to increase. The discovery of NO as a signalling molecule won the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (Furchgott, Ignarro, Murad). Drugs like nitroglycerin work by releasing NO to relieve angina. **Distractors fail:** (B) Nitrous oxide N2O is laughing gas, an anaesthetic, not a natural vasodilator. (C) Nitrogen dioxide NO2 is a toxic air pollutant. (D) Nitrogen pentoxide N2O5 is an unstable industrial intermediate, not biologically synthesised. Source: syllabus Biology / Nobel Prize 1998 citation.

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Which one of the following is the context in which the term "qubit" is mentioned?

  1. Cloud Services
  2. Quantum Computing
  3. Visible Light Communication Technologies
  4. Wireless Communication Technologies
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Correct answer: B. Quantum Computing

Answer: B. The term 'QUBIT' is mentioned in the context of QUANTUM COMPUTING. A QUBIT (quantum bit) is the basic unit of quantum information, analogous to a classical bit. Unlike a classical bit which is either 0 or 1, a qubit can exist in SUPERPOSITION of 0 and 1 simultaneously. Qubits can also be ENTANGLED with each other, enabling quantum parallelism. Physical implementations of qubits include: - Superconducting circuits (IBM, Google) - Trapped ions (IonQ, Honeywell) - Photons (PsiQuantum) - Neutral atoms (QuEra, Atom Computing) - Topological qubits (Microsoft) The 'quantum supremacy' achievements (Google's Sycamore 2019 with 53 qubits, China's Jiuzhang) demonstrate the computational power of multi-qubit systems on specific tasks. India launched the National Quantum Mission in 2023 with the goal of building 50-1000 qubit systems. Distractors fail: (A) Cloud services use bits and bytes. (C) Visible light communication uses photons but does not use qubits. (D) Wireless tech uses RF spectrum. Source: National Quantum Mission India / IEEE Computer Society quantum computing references.

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H1N1 virus is sometimes mentioned in the news with reference to which one of the following diseases?

  1. AIDS
  2. Bird flu
  3. Dengue
  4. Swine flu
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Correct answer: D. Swine flu

UPSC CSE Prelims 2015 (GS-I, Set A), Q.92. Official answer key: D.

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