Basic General Knowledge

Pressure cooker cooks rice faster because high pressure raises the boiling point of water. The trapped steam increases the atmospheric pressure inside the cooker by 15 pounds per square inch (psi), or 15 pounds above normal sea-level pressure. At that pressure, the boiling point of water is increased from 212°F to 250°F. This higher temperature is what cooks food faster.

The ancient Olympics Games came to a sudden end when the Roman Emperor Theodosius banned them as paper manifestations. The modern Olympic Games were received after a lapse of nearly fifteen centuries.

Reproductive cells in human beings are produced in greater numbers for a longer period of time in the male. Sexual reproduction occurs through the union of sex cells, or gametes. Gametes differ widely in males versus females for a given organism. For humans, male gametes are called spermatozoa while female gametes are called ova. Spermatozoa are also known as sperm and ova are also known as eggs.

Study of earthquakes is known as seismology. Seismologists study earthquakes by going out and looking at the damage caused by the earthquakes and by using seismographs. A seismograph is an instrument that records the shaking of the earth’s surface caused by seismic waves.

The 2005 Australian Open Tennis Championship titles for men’s and women’s singles were won, respectively by Marat Safin and Serena Williams. Dinara Mubinovna Safina is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and former world No. 1. She has won 23 major singles titles, most by any man or woman in the Open Era.

Rare Earth factory is situated in Alwaye (Kerala). Rare Earths Division (RED), Udyogamandal, Aluva is located on the banks of river Periyar in Kerala at a distance of 12 km from the Port city of Kochi and 15 km from Kochi International Airport. RED is an exclusive value adding chemical plant, wherein high pure individual rare earth compounds are produced.

Pakistan left the Commonwealth in 1972, but rejoined as 49^th member of the Commonwealth in 1989. Pakistan left in 1972, when other member countries recognised Bangladesh, and returned in 1989.

Primary rainbow is formed when light suffers one internal refractions before emerging out of the drop. In a primary rainbow, the arc shows red on the outer part and violet on the inner side. This rainbow is caused by light being refracted when entering a droplet of water, then reflected inside on the back of the droplet and refracted again when leaving it.

Rana Pratap Sagar (Rajasthan) is famous for nuclear power station. The Rana Pratap Sagar Dam facilitates fishing activities in the nearby villages and is also responsible for supplying water to the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station for generation of electricity.

The chief constituent of gobar gas is methane. Biogas comprises primarily methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and may have small amounts of hydrogen sulphide (H2S), moisture and siloxanes.