VIKAS

GENERAL
KNOWLEDGE
BOOK EiGht
A groundbreaking book to help children enhance the general
knowledge already acquired by them and to motivate them to
explore realms of knowledge through various media.

Salient Features :
1. General Knowledge quizzes to test the awareness of the students
2. Lucid explanatory notes on various topics
3. Interesting and challenging exercises on topics suitable to the
age group of the children
4. Two Test Papers at the end of the book

By

ViKAS

First Edition : 2019

K0188
 CONTENTS
Section 1 : Self Evaluation Quiz
Quiz 1 3
Quiz 2 4
Quiz 3 6
Quiz 4 8
Quiz 5 9
Quiz 6 11
Quiz 7 13
Quiz 8 15
Quiz 9 16
Quiz 10 18
Quiz 11 19
Quiz 12 20
Section 2 : Topics of General Interest
1. The Ancient World 22
2. Mathematics 26
3. Pack Your Bags 31
4. What’s Cooking 36
5. In Sickness and Health: Diseases and Cures;
Yoga and Pranayama Nutrition 40
6. Women in Sports 45
7. Fun with English Language 49
8. Places with Faces 54
9. In Their Own Tune (Film, Music, Dance) 59
10. In the Laboratory 64
11. Mixed Bag 69
12. Intelligence Test 73
Section 3 : Test Papers
Test Paper – 1 78
Test Paper – 2 81
Answers 86

Vikas General Knowledge : Book 8 2

 SECTION 1 : SELF EVALUATION QUIZ
Notes :
(1) Test your General Knowledge by attempting the following twelve quizzes.
(2) For each question given in the quizzes that follow, select the correct
alternative and write its serial number in the box given against each
question.

QUIZ 1

(1) Which will be the next number in the sequence : 3, 5, 9, 17, 33,
__?
(1) 60 (2) 65 (3) 50 (4) 50
(2) With which movement of the 1920s is the slogan ‘Do or Die’
associated?
(1) Non-Cooperation (2) Khilafat
(3) Quit India (4) Dandi
(3) The inventor shown in the image invented the telephone. Can
you name him?
(1) Samuel Morse
(2) Scott Alexander Graham Bell
(3) Thomas Alva Edison
(4) Michael Faraday
(4) A train that is 150 metres long is moving at a speed of 126 km/hr.
How much time will it take to cross an electric pole?
(1) 5.6 seconds (2) 5 seconds
(3) 8.2 seconds (4) 4.2 seconds
(5) Which of the words given below is a synonym for the word
‘challenges’?
(1) obstacles (2) quarrel (3) fight (4) enquiry
(6) The person shown in the adjoining image was the first European
to visit China. Can you name him?
(1) Vasco da Gama
(2) Marco Polo
(3) Captain James Cook
(4) Christopher Columbus
(7) Which of the following is the highest gateway in India?
(1) Gateway of India (2) India Gate
(3) Buland Darwaza (4) Zafar Gate

3 Vikas General Knowledge : Book 8

 (8) Who among the following won the Super Cup Football Tournament
in 2018?
(1) Bengaluru FC (2) Dempo SC
(3) East Bengal FC (4) Salgaocar FC
(9) India finished ............................... in the medal tally in the
Commonwealth Games, 2018.
(1) first (2) second (3) third (4) fourth
(10) ............................. is the largest organ in the human body.
(1) Lungs (2) Spine (3) Kidneys (4) Skin
(11) The image shows a font used by Microsoft Word 2007. Which font
is it?
(1) Times New Roman
(2) Comic sans MS
(3) Cambria
(4) Calibri
(12) Which of the following rivers does not flow into the Arabian Sea?
(1) Mandovi (2) Tapti (3) Godavari (4) Narmada
(13) Which pass is located at the southern end of the Nilgiri Hills in
southern India?
(1) Thal Gat Pass (2) Bolan Pass
(3) Bhor Ghat Pass (4) Palakkad Gap
(14) Which of the following planets in our solar system is known to be
the least dense?
(1) Earth (2) Venus (3) Mercury (4) Saturn
(15) What is the Yarlung Zangbo River known as in India?
(1) Indus (2) Mahanadi
(3) Tungabhadra (4) Brahmaputra

QUIZ 2

(1) What kind of a lens is used in a magnifying glass?

(1) Plano-concave
(2) Concave
(3) Convex
(4) none of the above
(2) ....................... are the most active muscles in the human body.
(1) Calf muscles (2) Eye muscles
(3) Pelvic muscles (4) Thigh muscles

Vikas General Knowledge : Book 8 4

 (3) Who was the author of the classic Abhigyanashakuntalam?
(1) Vishakhadatta (2) Kautilya
(3) Panini (4) Kalidasa
(4) Bani read 3/8th of a book in a day and 4/5th of the remaining
book the next day. Even then she could not read 60 pages. What
is the total number of pages in the book?
(1) 440 (2) 480 (3) 496 (4) 477
(5) ............................ is the national bird of the USA.
(1) Bald eagle
(2) Blue crane
(3) Kingfisher
(4) Raven
(6) cool : cold : : ............................. : hilarious
(1) pensive (2) serious (3) amusing (4) greedy
(7) Which of the following is the first computer game to be developed?
(1) Spacewars! (2) Pong
(3) Tic-tac-toe (4) Galaxy game
(8) Which is the only Latin American global partner in the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance?
(1) Bolivia (2) Colombia (3) Chile (4) Argentina
(9) Who was the Indian architect to win the Pritzker Prize?
(1) Raj Rewal (2) B. V. Doshi
(3) Hafeez Contractor (4) S. J. Kadri
(10) The adjoining image shows the famous complex of Angkor Wat
which is located in ...........................
(1) Thailand
(2) Sumatra
(3) Cambodia
(4) Myanmar
(11) Which of the following act as a dividing line between the Ganga
Plain and the Deccan Plateau?
(1) Ajanta Hills (2) Garo Hills
(3) Patkai Range (4) Vindhya
(12) Which of the following places is also known as the ‘Venice of the
East’?
(1) Yercaud (2) Thane (3) Manipur (4) Alappuzha

5 Vikas General Knowledge : Book 8

 (13) Arun moves 3 kilometres to the east and then 4 kilometres
towards the north. How far is he from the starting point?
(1) 3 kilometres (2) 4 kilometres
(3) 5 kilometres (4) 7 kilometres
(14) In which state is Indrawati National Park located?
(1) Odisha (2) Tripura
(3) Uttarakhand (4) Chattisgarh
(15) The Indian state of Goa was formerly a province of which of the
following countries?
(1) Spain (2) Portugal (3) France (4) Denmark

QUIZ 3

(1) Which is the first private sector bank of India?

(1) General Bank of India (2) Bank of Hindustan
(3) Axis Bank (4) Nedungadi Bank
(2) The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are submerged parts of the
........................... mountain range.
(1) Arakan Yoma (2) Askai Chin
(3) Tien Shan (4) Pegu Yoma
(3) Imagine that you are the 9th person standing in a line that starts
from one end and the 11th person from the other end. What is
the total number of people standing in the line?
(1) 19 (2) 20 (3) 21 (4) 22
(4) Which country is the largest producer of wool?
(1) China
(2) USA
(3) Australia
(4) Russia
(5) The speed of a river current is 5 km/hr, while a boat’s speed
against the current is 18 km/hr. What will be the speed of the
boat with the current?
(1) 25 km/hr (2) 23 km/hr (3) 28 km/hr (4) 14 km/hr
(6) If table salt is sodium chloride, then baking soda is .......................
(1) Potassium bicarbonate (2) Potassium chloride
(3) Sodium bicarbonate (4) Potassium hydroxide
(7) India’s famous hill-station ‘Kodaikanal’ lies in .....................
hills.
(1) Palani (2) Cardamom (3) Nilgiri (4) Khasi

Vikas General Knowledge : Book 8 6

 (8) Which of the following lacks prokaryotic cells?
(1) nucleolus
(2) nuclear membrane
(3) membrane bound by organelles
(4) all of the above

(9) Pick the odd one out from the following series.
(1) (9 −72) (2) (10−90) (3) (8−56) (4) (11−115)

(10) The monument shown in the image was not built by the Mughals.
Can you name it?
(1) Safdarjung’s Tomb
(2) Charminar
(3) Bibi ka Maqbara
(4) Neela Gumbad

(11) Choose the option which is closest in meaning to ‘black sheep’.

(1) an unworthy person (2) a dirty cloth
(3) an attractive object (4) a warm object

(12) Tasuku Honjo and James Allison are the winners of the 2018
Nobel Prize in Medicine. From the options given below choose
what they have researched on.
(1) machinery regulating vesicular traffic
(2) inhibiting immune system to combat cancer
(3) infections caused by roundworm parasites
(4) cells for positioning system in the brain

(13) necklace : jewellery :: shirt : ............................

(1) cotton (2) thread (3) apparel (4) formal

(14) Suraj is Aman’s brother. Geeta is Suraj’s sister. Rajeev is Hemant’s

brother and Sunita is Aman’s daughter. Who is Rajeev’s uncle?
(1) Hemant (2) Suraj
(3) Aman (4) none mentioned

(15) Which of the following diseases is communicable through air?

(1) Gonorrhea
(2) Tuberculosis
(3) HIV
(4) Rabies

7 Vikas General Knowledge : Book 8

 SECTION 2 : TOPICS OF GENERAL INTEREST

1 THE ANCIENT WORLD

The earliest civilizations developed developed with underground drainage

along the banks of rivers as the land systems, proper bathrooms and
there was fertile and the nearness to wells. The people of this civilization
rivers meant greater access to water had also developed a written script as
for irrigation. The five important was evident through the inscriptions
civilizations that come to mind when left on handicrafts like pottery, seals,
thinking about the earliest human weights and copper tablets. However,
civilizations are: this script hasn’t been deciphered
by researchers yet. The civilization
1. The Indus Valley Civilization was also very rich in its cultural and
social aspects.
(C) Decline of the civilization:
The civilization started to decline
in the late 1,800 BC. Writings started
to disappear. The taxation system
started to decline too and connections
with other civilizations like the
Mesopotamian civilization, started to
deteriorate. The reasons for this fall
are not clear but many researchers
suggest that it was mainly due to the
(A) Brief introduction:
drying up of River Sarasvati that was
The Indus Valley Civilization is a source of the people’s livelihood.
one of the oldest civilizations which Others have blamed it on Aryan
developed beside the Indus river and invasions and the frequent flooding
its five tributaries. People started of the Indus river, which finally forced
migrating to this fertile land back in the civilization to come to an end.
5,500 BC followed by permanently
settling there in 3,000 BC. By 2,500 2. The Mesopotamian Civilization
BC, Indus Valley Civilization, also
known as the Harappan Civilization, (A) Brief introduction:
was at its peak. The word Mesopotamia means
(B) Highlights of the civilization: “between two rivers”. The two rivers
are the Tigris and the Euphrates. The
The archeologists first began civilization was located in the eastern
to excavate the sites of two urban Mesopotamian region, which we know
settlements, Harappa and Mohenjo- as present-day Iraq. Mesopotamia
Daro. The cities were properly is known to be one of the earliest

Vikas General Knowledge : Book 8 22

civilizations and was also known to they used to bury their dead kings,
have been multi-cultural. better known as Pharaohs, queens and
other important entities with all that
(B) Highlights of the civilization:
they would need for their afterlife. This
The Mesopotamian Civilization is would include their daily necessities,
credited with the invention of the first objects of entertainment and their
wheel. The proof lies in the fact that a riches and gold. Egyptians prayed to
half-ruined and four-wheeled wagon the sun and had made temples and
was discovered from this region. tombs. These tombs are better known
The civilization also had remains of as pyramids. People of ancient Egypt
sophisticated weapons, agricultural buried dead bodies after wrapping
tools, chariots and many other them in linen and chemicals that
developed objects that prove that the would keep the bones and flesh fresh
civilization was quite developed for its for centuries. They called these bodies
times. ‘mummies’. You can still find them or
(C) Decline of the civilization: their replicas in the museums all over
the world.
The decline of the Mesopotamian
civilization is attributed mainly to its (C) Decline of the civilization:
invasion by other rulers, resulting in The Egyptian Civilization is said
a cultural decline of the state. The to have declined after it became a
civilization eventually became a part part of the Roman Empire.
of the Persian Empire and lost its
own identity. 4. Chinese Civilization

3. Egyptian civilization (A) Brief introduction:

The Chinese Civilization marked
(A) Brief introduction:
its beginning with dynasties such
As you may already know, Egypt as the Xia that lasted from 2,100
is a country in North Africa that lies to 1,600 BC. This was followed by
beside river Nile. It is not only known the Shang Dynasty and the Zhou
for its beautiful landscape, but also Dynasty. The Chinese Dynasty grew
known for its ancient history. Ancient beside the Yellow river which is why it
Egypt is one of the oldest and well- is also referred to as the Yellow River
established civilizations known to Civilization.
mankind. The Egyptian Civilization
(B) Highlights of the civilization:
survived for thousands of years. It
was known for its lavish lifestyle and The Shang Dynasty has historical
its inclination towards art, religion evidences of many artefacts and
and culture. handicraft items of that era. This
includes bronze objects and jade
(B) Highlights of the civilization:
articles. They also had early writings
The highlights of the civilization that were found on Oracle bones used
have to be its art and religion. Ancient for divination. Confucianism and
Egyptians believed that there existed Daoism were the major philosophies
an afterlife after one’s death. Hence, followed in this civilization.
23 Vikas General Knowledge : Book 8
 (C) Decline of the civilization: about a writing system along with
it. This system was known as Linear
With the decline of the government
A. Later in history, Greek pottery
power, the whole dynasty faced a
and sculpture gained prominent
crisis. As a result of invasions from
importance.
other places and the growth of Daoism,
China faced a massive downfall and 6. Roman Civilization
that finally resulted in the decline of
the civilization. (A) Brief introduction

5. Greek Civilization The Roman Empire was known

to be one of the most influential
and powerful empires of all Western
Civilizations. It began in 27 BC, when
Augustus Caesar became its first
emperor.
(B) Highlights of the civilization:
Ancient Rome was known for its
class, taste and culture. Its people
were very class-conscious and
superstitious at the same time. They
(A) Brief introduction:
were in love with the idea of riches,
Greece is a South-east European properties and pleasure. Prior to being
country that is also known as Hellas. an empire, it was supposed to have
It has been home to a lot of discoveries the world’s first democracy. Roman
and discoverers in the fields of mythology still enchants its readers
medicine, mathematics, literature and and beholders all over the world. The
drama. Ancient Greece was marked empire was established later on as
by permanent settlement of people Rome’s generals and armies marched
who were mainly into agriculture and all over the world, conquering lands
animal husbandry. and adding to the empire’s territories.
(B) Highlights of the civilization: It is said that the Roman Empire
The Greeks had houses, temples started declining with the attacks of
and other buildings made of stones. the Barbarian tribes. Barbarian tribes
People generally earned a living like Goths moved into the borders of
through fishing and trade during the the empire and the Romans couldn’t
period of the Cycladic Civilization. stop the invasion.
The Minoan Civilization brought

Vikas General Knowledge : Book 8 24

 TEST YOURSELF

1. Answer the following questions:

(1) When was the Indus Valley Civilization at its
peak?
(2) Which were the two prominent cities of the Indus
Civilization?
(3) Between which two rivers did the Mesopotamian
Civilization flourish?
(4) Which empire did the Mesopotamian Civilization
eventually become a part of?
(5) Name any two things that were sent with the
Egyptians to their tombs after death.
(6) Did the Egyptians believe in an afterlife?
(7) For how long did the Xia Dynasty exist in China?
(8) What are the historical evidences that support
the presence of artefacts in China?
(9) Where is Greece located?
(10) What were the buildings in Greece made of?
(11) When did the Roman Civilization begin?
(12) What was ancient Rome known for?

2. Name the following:

(1) The tribe that caused a decline in the Roman Empire:
(2) The two things that the Indus Valley Civilization had in its cities:
(3) A thing invented during the Mesopotamian era:
(4) The two things mummies were wrapped in:
(5) The two philosophies followed in Ancient China:

25 Vikas General Knowledge : Book 8

 2 MATHEMATICS

1. Select the correct alternative and write its serial number in the box given
against each question:

Group A

1. 102 – 92=?
(1) 21 (2) 29 (3) 9 (4) 19
2. √0.000625 = ?
(1) 0.035 (2) 0.015 (3) 0.025 (4) 0.005
3. If √2 = 1.414 then √32 =?
(1) 5.656 (2) 5.212 (3) 5.565 (4) 5. 121
4. The smallest number that must be subtracted from 38 to make
it a perfect square is: ...................
(1) 3 (2) 2 (3) 4 (4) 9
5. 52 + (–5)2 = ?
(1) 0 (2) 25 (3) 10 (4) 50
6. √144 + √169 = ?
(1) 21 (2) 23 (3) 25 (4) 27
7. The square root of 30.25 is = ?
(1) 6.5 (2) 5.5 (3) 4.5 (4) 7.5
8. Carefully study the following pattern:
11 × 11= 121
111 × 111 = 12321
1111 × 1111 = 1234321
11111 × 11111 = 123454321
Now answer the following:
111111111 × 111111111 = ?
(1) 123456789105566
(2) 113321224454573
(3) 12345678987654321
(4) none of the above

9. 3
64 * 1000 = ?
(1) 40 (2) 400 (3) 4000 (4) 4

Vikas General Knowledge : Book 8 26

10. The cube root of 1331 is:
(1) 12 (2) 13 (3) 11 (4) 10
64 3
11. * 8 * 17 * 17 * 17 * 27 = ?
9
(1) 262 (2) 282 (3) 272 (4) 242

13 3 3 3 3
12. * 4 2 8 512 = ?
2
(1) 4 (2) 6.5 (3) 13 (4) 19
13. What is the length of a cube whose volume is 970299 cm3 = ?
(1) 109 m (2) 1.09 m (3) 99 m (4) 0.99 m
14. Which of the following is a perfect cube?
(1) 884736 (2)331556 (3) 331676 (4) 681473
15. Umar bought a table for 1260 rupees. However, owing to some
defect in the table, he had to sell it for 1197 rupees. Calculate his
loss percentage.
(1) 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) 5
16. Arnab bought a bicycle for 1500 rupees and sold it at loss of 6%.
Her selling price is:
(1) 1400 (2) 1410 (3) 1420 (4) 1430
17. You have bought a Smartphone for 8,800 rupees, which included
14% GST. Find out the original price.
(1) 7720 (2) 7920 (3) 7820 (4) 7620
18. The compound interest on 800 rupees at 5% per annum for 2
years is:
(1) 85 (2) 90 (3) 82 (4) 92
19. To increase a number by 30 % , we have to multiply it by:
(1) 3.33 (2) 1.3 (3) 0.76 (4) 0.3

Group B

1. A rectangle and a square with measurements as given in the figures

below have the same perimeter. Which field has a larger area?

30 m 40 m

27 Vikas General Knowledge : Book 8

 2. In the diagram given below, the shape of a garden is rectangular in
the middle and semi-circular at the ends. Find out the area and the
perimeter of the garden. Note that the length of the rectangle is 20–
(3.5+3.5) metres.

7m

20 m
3. The diagonal of a quadrilateral is 50 m and length of the perpendicular
from its opposite vertices are 12.6 cm and 9.6 cm. Find the area of the
quadrilateral.
4. Find the area of a rhombus in which one of the sides is equal to 60 cm
and one of its diagonal is equal to 48 cm.
5. How many bricks will be required to build a wall which is 16 m long,
12 m high and 45 cm thick if each brick measures 25 cm × 11.25 cm
× 6 cm?
6. ABCD is a quadrilateral in which AB = 5 cm, BC = 10 cm, CD = 8 cm,
DE = 11 cm < ADC = <ABC = 90o. Find its area.
7. An iron pipe is 21 cm long and its exterior diameter is 8 cm. If the
thickness of the pipe is 1 cm and the density of iron is 8g/cm3, find
the weight of the pipe.
8. The area of a trapezium is 1440 cm2. If the lengths of its parallel sides
are 54.6 cm and 35.4 cm, find the distance between them.
9. The rectangular garden of Peter’s neighbourhood has a circular pond
in the middle of it. The measurements are given in the image. Find out
the total area of the land in the garden.

Radius =
60 m

15 m

100 m

Vikas General Knowledge : Book 8 28

 10. Find out the area of the following figure:

60 m
50 m

150 m
50 m
60 m

Group C

Magic of Fibonacci Series

Have you ever heard of a Fibonacci sequence? It goes like this:
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 and so on. In this type of progression, which
starts with 0 followed by 1, each term is the sum of two preceding terms.
The appearance of the Fibonacci series in our daily lives, during different
circumstances, is overwhelming. For example, the number of petals in a flower,
the seed heads of a flower, paintings and even in the beauty of human face.
This sequence is named after Fibonacci, also known as Leonardo of Pisa or
Leonardo Pisano. Fibonacci numbers were first introduced in his book, Liber
Abaci in 1202. Pisano was the son of a Pisan merchant. He travelled far and
wide and traded expansively. Mathematics was very important to the traders
in those days and his obsession for numbers was cultivated in his youth.
Let us discuss the famous rabbit problem posed by Fibonacci himself.
Suppose a newly-born pair of rabbits, a male and a female, is placed in a
field. Since rabbits are able to start mating from the early age of a month, this
newly-born pair mates to produce yet another pair of rabbits (one male, one
female). If this pattern keeps repeating itself every month, how many pairs of
rabbits will there be at the end of a year?

29 Vikas General Knowledge : Book 8

 Solution: At the end of the first month, the original pair will produce only
1 pair. At end of the second month, the female rabbit will produce 1 more pair,
so in total there will be 2 pairs of rabbits in the field. At end of the third month,
the original female rabbit will produce a second pair, making the total number
of pairs in the field 3. At end of the fourth month, the original female will
produce yet another new pair, while the female rabbit born two months ago
will produce her first pair also, making 5 pairs of rabbits in all.
So, the number of pairs of rabbits
in the field at the start of each month is
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, and so on...
Can you spot the relation between the
numbers? Yes! You are right! They form
a Fibonacci sequence.
Now consider the following problem
and try to find out a solution. This
problem is known as the honeybees
and the family tree problem. It goes like
this:
1. In a colony of honeybees, there is one unique female called the queen.
There are many worker bees that are female but unlike the queen bee, they
do not produce eggs. There are some drone bees who are male and do not
work. The queen’s unfertilised eggs produce only male bees, so they only
have a mother but no father! All the females are produced when the queen
has mated with a male and so have two parents while male bees have only
one parent. So let us make a family tree of a female and of a male honey
bee respectively in which the subject bee will be placed at the top of the
family tree and the subsequent levels will denote the number of ancestors
of the bee in that generation. For example, for a female bee, the tree will
look something like the one given below:

Parents Grandparents Great grandparents

Female bee 2 3 5

Observe how the number of ancestors increases as you go through the

family tree.
2. Make the same kind of family tree for yourself. Assume you have 2 parents,
4 grandparents, 8 great grandparents and so on. Observe how the number
of ancestors increases as you go through the family tree.

Vikas General Knowledge : Book 8 30