Vitamins MCQs with Answers — Sources, Functions & Deficiencies
Solved Vitamins MCQs with answers — water-soluble & fat-soluble vitamins, deficiency diseases, plus carbs, proteins & fats. Free quiz + PDF for PPSC, FPSC, NTS, CSS, PMS & MDCAT.
Vitamins, Carbs, Proteins & Fats — Master Reference for Pakistani Competitive Exams
The food-science cluster of Vitamins, Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats is one of the highest-yield Everyday Science topics in Pakistan’s PPSC, FPSC, NTS, CSS, PMS, OTS, CTS, BPSC, KPPSC, SPSC and MDCAT exams. Almost every Junior Clerk, Tehsildar, Assistant, Sub-Inspector, Lecturer and BPS-14 to BPS-17 paper carries 2–4 MCQs from this chapter — and it is core CSS Screening MPT (General Science & Ability) content. This page consolidates 57 solved MCQs covering the discovery of vitamins (Casimir Funk, 1912), water-soluble vs fat-soluble classification, the chemical names of all 13 vitamins, their deficiency diseases (scurvy, beriberi, rickets, pellagra, night blindness, megaloblastic anaemia, neural tube defects, bleeding disorders), basic biochemistry of carbohydrates (mono/di/polysaccharides, glycogen, starch, cellulose, chitin), proteins (amino acids, polypeptides, ribosomes, pepsin), fats & lipids (saturated/unsaturated, bile, calories), and the cardinal “calories per gram” rule (carbs/protein 4, fat 9). For wider context, see Wikipedia: Vitamin and the official WHO: Healthy Diet.
13 Vitamins — Quick Reference (Chemical Name + Deficiency)
| Vitamin | Chemical Name | Soluble in | Deficiency |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Retinol | Fat | Night blindness, xerophthalmia |
| B1 | Thiamine | Water | Beriberi |
| B2 | Riboflavin | Water | Ariboflavinosis |
| B3 | Niacin | Water | Pellagra |
| B5 | Pantothenic acid | Water | Paresthesia |
| B6 | Pyridoxine | Water | Anaemia |
| B7 | Biotin | Water | Dermatitis |
| B9 | Folic acid | Water | Neural tube defects |
| B12 | Cobalamin | Water | Pernicious anaemia |
| C | Ascorbic acid | Water | Scurvy |
| D | Calciferol | Fat | Rickets / osteomalacia |
| E | Tocopherol | Fat | Sterility, neuro damage |
| K | Phytomenadione | Fat | Bleeding (clotting failure) |
Famous “Anchor Facts” — Most Tested in Exams
- Vitamins discovered by — Casimir Funk in 1912 (coined “vitamine”).
- Function of vitamins — co-factors / co-enzymes for enzymatic reactions.
- Water-soluble = B-complex + C (not stored, daily intake).
- Fat-soluble = A, D, E, K (stored in liver/fat).
- Vitamin C = Scurvy; best source = citrus fruits.
- Vitamin D = Rickets; synthesised in skin from sunlight (D₃).
- Vitamin A = Night blindness; needed for rhodopsin in retina.
- Vitamin K = Bleeding disorders; produced by intestinal bacteria.
- Vitamin E = antioxidant — protects cell walls.
- Vitamin B12 = Cobalamin; deficiency = pernicious anaemia.
- Calories per gram: Carbs 4, Protein 4, Fats 9 (highest).
- Cheapest source of energy — Carbohydrates.
- Carbohydrates = C, H, O atoms only.
- Monosaccharides = Glucose, Fructose, Galactose.
- Disaccharides = Sucrose, Lactose, Maltose.
- Polysaccharides = Starch (plants), Glycogen (animals), Cellulose, Chitin (arthropod exoskeleton + fungi).
- Proteins made of amino acids → polypeptides → proteins.
- Protein digestion begins in stomach with pepsin (HCl activates).
- Ribosomes synthesise proteins.
- Of 20 amino acids, humans synthesise 11 (9 are essential from diet).
- Bile made in liver, stored in gallbladder, emulsifies fats.
- Banana = high in carbohydrates; Fish has no carbs.
- Egg edible portion ≈ 13.3% protein.
- Haemoglobin = iron-containing protein in RBCs.
Exam tip: Lock the 5 most-asked vitamin pairs — C → Scurvy, D → Rickets, A → Night blindness, B1 → Beriberi, B3 → Pellagra — plus the calories rule (4-4-9). These alone cover ~60% of all food-science MCQs in PPSC/FPSC/NTS papers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Casimir Funk in 1912 — he coined the term “vitamine” (later shortened to “vitamin”).
A, D, E and K are fat-soluble — they are stored in the body’s fat & liver.
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) deficiency causes scurvy. Best food source: citrus fruits.
Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. The skin synthesises Vitamin D₃ (cholecalciferol) from sunlight.
Vitamin K (phytomenadione) — also produced by intestinal bacteria.
9 calories per gram — the highest of any nutrient. Carbohydrates and proteins both give 4 cal/g.
Yes — essential. Vitamin MCQs are tested in every One Paper, NTS NAT, GAT, OTS, CTS, BPSC, KPPSC, SPSC, PPSC, FPSC and MDCAT exam — and core CSS Screening MPT (General Science & Ability) content.
Yes. Click the Download PDF button to get all Vitamins MCQs as a branded QuizWing PDF for offline revision.