How can I check the version of the tool that is included in the Linux distribution that I am using?

Tools that are included in Linux distribution can be checked with the command "rpm."
Here is an example of checking the bash version.

Example of checking bash version (as of March 2015):  
#  
#rpm ?qa ?queryformat="%{NAME}-%{VERSION}-%{RELEASE}-%{ARCH}.rpmn" | grep bash  
bash-3.2-32.el5.x86_64.rpm  
#  
#

In this case, the bash version operates with 3.2 patch 32.

Note: The result of each command and the expression might differ according to the OS version and settings.
When practicing this procedure, check the settings beforehand, and refer to the example above.