Q10. Which nutrition statement is incorrect?
[UPSC CSE Prelims, 2003]
- (a) Milk contains no B vitamins
- (b) Vitamin A deficiency can affect skin and epithelium
- (c) Scurvy may cause joint pain
- (d) Thiamin deficiency may affect the heart
Answer: (a) Milk contains no B vitamins
Explanation: Milk contains riboflavin, vitamin B12 and some other B-group nutrients, so claiming it has none is false. Severe vitamin C deficiency can produce painful bleeding tissues; thiamin deficiency can affect cardiac function.
Q9. Assertion: unsaturated fatty acids are generally more chemically reactive than saturated ones.
Reason: their carbon chains contain only single bonds.
[UPSC CSE Prelims, 2003]
- (a) Both true, R explains A
- (b) Both true, R does not explain A
- (c) Assertion true, reason false
- (d) Assertion false, reason true
Answer: (c) Assertion true, reason false
Explanation: Double bonds make unsaturated fatty acids more susceptible to oxidation than comparable saturated fatty acids. The reason is false because carbon-carbon double bonds are precisely what distinguish unsaturated fats from saturated ones.
Q8. Which fruit among carrot, guava, mango and orange provides the highest vitamin C content?
[Uttarakhand PCS Prelims, 2002]
- (a) Carrot
- (b) Guava
- (c) Mango
- (d) Orange
Answer: (b) Guava
Explanation: Guava typically contains considerably more vitamin C per 100 grams than orange, mango or carrot. Ascorbic acid supports collagen synthesis, iron absorption and antioxidant defences. Levels vary by cultivar, storage and ripeness.
Q7. Which combination contains the water-soluble vitamins in these choices?
[UPPSC Lower Subordinate Prelims, 2002]
- (a) A, B and D
- (b) A, D, E and K
- (c) A, B and K
- (d) B and C
Answer: (d) B and C
Explanation: The B-complex group and vitamin C are water-soluble. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble and generally absorbed with dietary lipids. The distinction influences storage, deficiency patterns and risks from excessive supplementation.
Q6. Deficiency of vitamin D in children chiefly causes which condition?
[Uttarakhand PCS Mains, 2002]
- (a) Rickets
- (b) Beriberi
- (c) Osteoporosis
- (d) Pellagra
Answer: (a) Rickets
Explanation: Rickets results from impaired mineralisation of growing bones, often due to insufficient vitamin D, calcium or phosphate. The classic vitamin D deficiency association is rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.
Q5. Which sequence of vitamins is associated with beriberi, rickets and scurvy respectively?
[Uttarakhand PCS Mains, 2002]
- (a) B12, A, C
- (b) B1, D, C
- (c) A, B, E
- (d) B6, A, K
Answer: (b) B1, D, C
Explanation: Beriberi follows severe thiamin deficiency, rickets is associated with vitamin D deficiency and scurvy follows inadequate vitamin C. These conditions differ because each vitamin participates in distinct metabolic or structural processes.
Q4. Which of these vitamin-and-disease associations is incorrectly matched?
[UPPSC PCS Mains, 2002]
- (a) Calciferol — osteomalacia
- (b) Niacin — pellagra
- (c) Cobalamin — pernicious anaemia
- (d) Riboflavin — beriberi
Answer: (d) Riboflavin — beriberi
Explanation: Riboflavin is vitamin B2, whose deficiency can cause cracked lips and oral inflammation. Beriberi is caused by deficiency of vitamin B1, thiamin. Calciferol relates to vitamin D, niacin to B3 and cobalamin to B12.
Q3. Among beans, eggs, leafy green vegetables and milk, which did the exam identify as most iron-rich?
[Uttarakhand PCS Prelims, 2002]
- (a) Beans
- (b) Eggs
- (c) Leafy green vegetables
- (d) Milk
Answer: (c) Leafy green vegetables
Explanation: Dark leafy vegetables contain iron but its bioavailability varies. Milk generally provides little iron; eggs and legumes contribute some. The exam’s broad food-group comparison favoured leafy greens, although the true ranking depends on serving size.
Q2. Assertion: vitamins are required only in small quantities.
Reason: vitamins act by directly killing bacteria harmful to the body.
Choose correctly.
[UPPSC Lower Subordinate Prelims, 2002]
- (a) Both true and reason explains
- (b) Both true but unrelated
- (c) Assertion true, reason false
- (d) Assertion false, reason true
Answer: (c) Assertion true, reason false
Explanation: Vitamins are essential micronutrients needed in much smaller quantities than major energy nutrients. They support enzyme reactions, cell maintenance and other functions; they do not generally act as antimicrobial agents that directly kill pathogens.
Q1. Assertion: glycine, serine and tyrosine must be obtained as essential amino acids in diet.
Reason: essential amino acids cannot be made by the body.
Which is correct?
[UPSC CSE Prelims, 2002]
- (a) Both true and reason explains
- (b) Both true but unrelated
- (c) Assertion true, reason false
- (d) Assertion false, reason true
Answer: (d) Assertion false, reason true
Explanation: Glycine and serine are usually synthesised by the human body; tyrosine is ordinarily made from phenylalanine. They are not generally classified as strictly essential dietary amino acids, although requirements may be conditional in some circumstances.
