Chemistry in Everyday Life: JEE Advanced PYQ, 2007–2026

Q1 · Chemistry · Chemistry in Everyday Life

Monosodium glutamate (MSG), used to enhance the savoury taste of food, is chemically:

• AThe sodium salt of aspartic acid
• BA dipeptide of aspartic acid and phenylalanine
• CThe sodium salt of glutamic acid
• DThe sodium salt of benzoic acid

Q2 · Chemistry · Chemistry in Everyday Life

Sodium stearate is dissolved in water at a concentration well above its critical micelle concentration. Which description of the aggregates formed, and of how they remove oily dirt, is correct?

• ASpherical aggregates with the hydrocarbon tails pointing inward and the carboxylate heads outward. Oil is held in the hydrocarbon core, and the negatively charged surfaces repel each other, so the aggregates stay dispersed.
• BAggregates with the carboxylate heads inward and the hydrocarbon tails outward, so the tails can grip the oil on the surface of the fabric.
• CAggregates that form as soon as any sodium stearate dissolves, even at very low concentration, so micelle formation does not depend on concentration.
• DAggregates with Na⁺ ions buried in the hydrocarbon core, which makes the micelle electrically neutral so that it coagulates and traps the dirt.

Q3 · Chemistry · Chemistry in Everyday Life

Which of the following statements about antifertility (birth control) drugs is correct?

• ANorethindrone is a synthetic estrogen derivative and ethynylestradiol is a synthetic progesterone derivative.
• BBirth control pills contain a mixture of synthetic estrogen and progesterone derivatives. The progesterone component suppresses ovulation, and synthetic derivatives are more potent than natural progesterone.
• CNatural progesterone is a more potent ovulation suppressor than synthetic progesterone derivatives, which is why it is used in pills.
• DBirth control pills contain only ethynylestradiol, a synthetic estrogen, which alone is responsible for suppressing ovulation.

Q4 · Chemistry · Chemistry in Everyday Life

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is added to cut apples and fruit juices to prevent browning. It does this mainly because it:

• ALowers the pH enough to kill all microbes in the juice
• BIs preferentially oxidised, protecting other components from oxidation
• CDissolves the brown pigment completely
• DForms a sweet complex with the fruit sugars

Q5 · Chemistry · Chemistry in Everyday Life

A small amount of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) is added to butter, and its shelf life increases greatly. Which statement best explains how BHA works?

• ABHA reacts with oxygen and free radicals in preference to the fats, so it is consumed first and delays rancidity.
• BBHA kills the bacteria and moulds that grow on butter, so it acts as an antimicrobial preservative.
• CBHA absorbs moisture from butter, so fats cannot undergo hydrolysis.
• DBHA lowers the pH of butter, which stops enzymes from acting on the fat.

Q6 · Chemistry · Chemistry in Everyday Life

A pharmacist compares three drugs: morphine, meprobamate (a tranquilizer) and aspirin. Which statement about them is correct?

• AMorphine relieves pain by acting on the central nervous system, causes sleep and stupor at higher doses and is addictive. Meprobamate relieves anxiety and tension without being an analgesic. Aspirin relieves mild pain without impairing consciousness and is not addictive.
• BMorphine and aspirin are both narcotic analgesics, differing only in potency, while meprobamate is a mild non-narcotic analgesic that is not addictive.
• CMeprobamate and morphine both relieve pain by depressing the central nervous system and are addictive. Aspirin is the only one of the three that is a tranquilizer.
• DMorphine is a non-narcotic analgesic because it is not addictive at medicinal doses. Aspirin is a narcotic because it can be taken regularly for pain.

Q7 · Chemistry · Chemistry in Everyday Life

Sulphonamides are synthetic antimicrobial drugs. Their action depends on their structural similarity to a natural substance that bacteria need to synthesise folic acid. Which substance do they resemble?

• Apara-Aminobenzoic acid (PABA)
• BThe beta-lactam ring of penicillin
• CPeptidoglycan subunits of the cell wall
• DGlucose

Q8 · Chemistry · Chemistry in Everyday Life

A pharmacology student sorts drugs into four groups: (i) analgesics, antipyretics and antiseptics, grouped by the therapeutic effect they produce; (ii) sulphonamides, grouped by a common structural skeleton; (iii) antihistamines, grouped by the specific biochemical process (the action of histamine) that they inhibit; (iv) drugs grouped by the biomolecule, such as a particular enzyme or receptor protein, to which they bind. Which option gives the basis of classification for groups (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) in that order?

• ADrug action; chemical structure; pharmacological effect; molecular targets
• BPharmacological effect; molecular targets; drug action; chemical structure
• CChemical structure; pharmacological effect; molecular targets; drug action
• DPharmacological effect; chemical structure; drug action; molecular targets

Q9 · Chemistry · Chemistry in Everyday Life

Histamine causes the symptoms of an allergy and also stimulates release of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. A patient suffering from both allergic rhinitis and hyperacidity takes only brompheniramine, an antiallergic drug. Which prediction, with its reason, is correct?

• ABoth problems will be relieved, because both are caused by the same chemical messenger, histamine.
• BAcidity will be relieved but the allergy will not, because the drug is absorbed mainly in the stomach.
• CThe allergy will be relieved and acidity will worsen, because blocking one histamine receptor diverts histamine to the stomach receptors.
• DThe allergy will be relieved but the acidity will not, because the histamine receptors in the stomach wall are different from those involved in the allergic response.

Q10 · Chemistry · Chemistry in Everyday Life

Sorbic acid and its potassium salt are used to inhibit moulds and yeasts in cheese and baked goods. Sorbic acid is:

• AHexa-2,4-dienoic acid, an unsaturated carboxylic acid
• BBenzoic acid
• CHexanoic acid, a saturated carboxylic acid
• DEthanoic acid, the acid in vinegar