NDA (II) 2025 General Ability Test · Question 98 of 147

Correct — D, an antacid. Indigestion (dyspepsia) is commonly caused by excess hydrochloric acid in the stomach, and it is relieved by an antacid — a mild base such as magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia), aluminium hydroxide or sodium bicarbonate — which neutralises the excess acid and settles the discomfort. It is a simple acid-base neutralisation.

• (a)Analgesic — An analgesic is a painkiller (for example paracetamol or aspirin) that relieves pain; it does not neutralise stomach acid.
• (b)Antiseptic — An antiseptic (for example tincture of iodine or Dettol) kills or checks microbes on living tissue such as skin and wounds; it is not taken for acidity.
• (c)Antibiotic — An antibiotic (for example penicillin) kills or stops bacteria and treats bacterial infections; acidity is not a bacterial infection, so an antibiotic is not the remedy.

The stomach secretes hydrochloric acid to aid digestion; excess acid causes acidity or heartburn. Antacids are mild, often insoluble bases that neutralise this excess acid without harming the stomach — common ones are milk of magnesia (magnesium hydroxide) and sodium bicarbonate. This is a textbook use of acid-base neutralisation in daily life.

The options are a family of similar-sounding 'anti-' medicines with distinct jobs. Match the ailment to the mechanism — acidity is too much acid, so the cure is something basic (an antacid), not a painkiller, a germ-killer or a bacteria-killer.

• Acidity is caused by excess hydrochloric acid in the stomach.
• An antacid is a mild base that neutralises excess stomach acid (for example magnesium hydroxide, aluminium hydroxide or sodium bicarbonate).
• Milk of magnesia is a suspension of magnesium hydroxide used as an antacid.
• Analgesics relieve pain, antiseptics kill microbes on skin and wounds, and antibiotics treat bacterial infections.

• Confusing an antacid (for acidity) with an antibiotic (for bacterial infection) or an antiseptic (for skin and wounds).
• Thinking a painkiller (analgesic) treats acidity.

Asked as matching the ailment (acidity) to the correct class of medicine, or naming a common antacid.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Milk of magnesia, used to treat acidity, is chemically

  • (a)magnesium sulphate
  • (b)magnesium hydroxide
  • (c)magnesium carbonate
  • (d)magnesium chloride

  Answer(b) magnesium hydroxide, a mild base that neutralises stomach acid.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  A substance applied to wounds to kill microbes on living tissue is called a/an

  • (a)antacid
  • (b)analgesic
  • (c)antiseptic
  • (d)antibiotic

  Answer(c) antiseptic (for example tincture of iodine or Dettol).