Static GK carries most of the 100 marks of the CDS General Knowledge paper. Of the 120 questions in the CDS (II) 2026 paper, about 20 were on Indian Polity, about 20 on the History of India, about 15 on Geography and the environment, about 10 on the Indian Economy and about 37 on Physics, Chemistry and Biology, which makes CDS the most science-heavy General Knowledge paper among the major recruitment exams. Polity questions test writs, the NHRC, electoral systems, disqualification of legislators, GST and delimitation. History runs from the Upanishads and the Shunga dynasty to Vijayanagara, temple architecture, the Sylhet referendum and the SNDP Yogam. Geography asks about the atmosphere, earthquakes and tsunamis, Ramsar sites, mangroves and World Heritage sites. Science stays at school level but expects reasoning: a lens problem, a magnetic field direction, molarity versus molality, what cooking soda is, how enzymes act. This page holds GK24's topic-wise GK notes for CDS, written as short facts and tables so that a topic can be revised in one sitting. Read a topic, then solve its previous-year questions and quiz on this site to check what stayed with you.
The resistivity ρ of a material may be expressed in units of
Resistivity equals resistance multiplied by area and divided by length, which leaves the unit ohm × length.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following statements pertaining to the President's term of office is not correct?
Under Article 56, the President resigns by writing to the Vice-President of India, not to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, so this statement is not correct.
Read the full explanation →The excess of total expenditure of Government over its total receipts, excluding borrowings, is known as
Fiscal deficit is total expenditure minus total receipts other than borrowings, so it shows how much the government must borrow in a year.
Read the full explanation →Rupa and Sachin observed an animal in their school garden. Rupa called it an insect while Sachin identified it as an earthworm. Which one of the following characteristics confirms that it is an insect ?
Jointed legs are the mark of the phylum Arthropoda, to which insects belong; an earthworm has no legs at all.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is the main reason of acid rains ?
These gases react with water in the air to form sulphuric and nitric acids, which fall as acid rain. Sulphur dioxide comes mainly from burning coal and oil in power plants and smelters, and nitrogen oxides from vehicle engines and high-temperature furnaces.
Read the full explanation →A metal wire of length l and diameter d has a resistance R. What would be the resistance of another wire of the same metal and of same length but having double the diameter ?
Resistance varies inversely with the area of cross-section, and doubling the diameter makes the area four times larger. The resistance of a wire is R = ρl/A, where ρ is the resistivity of the metal, l the length and A the cross-sectional area.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following is the highest mountain in Africa ?
At about 5,895 m, it is the highest peak in Africa and the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano in north-eastern Tanzania, close to the Kenyan border.
Read the full explanation →The use of plastics has led to a number of environment-related problems. For this, which one of the following statements is correct?
Bacteria and fungi cannot break down most plastics, so plastic waste stays in soil and water for hundreds of years.
Read the full explanation →A motorcycle has initial velocity of 5 m/s. After 3 seconds, the velocity is 7 m/s. The displacement of the motorcycle in 3 seconds is :
With the velocity changing steadily from 5 m/s to 7 m/s, the average velocity is 6 m/s, and 6 m/s × 3 s = 18 m. For uniform acceleration, displacement s = ((u + v)/2) × t. Here u = 5 m/s, v = 7 m/s and t = 3…
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following is the correct scheme followed for classification of animals ?
This is the taxonomic hierarchy for animals, going from the broadest group down to the most specific. Linnaeus built this ladder of ranks, and each rank contains one or more ranks below it.
Read the full explanation →With reference to the Indian polity, consider the following statements : I. An Ordinance can amend any Central Act. II. An Ordinance can abridge a Fundamental Right. III. An Ordinance can come into effect from a back date. Which of the statements given above are correct?
An ordinance has the same force as an Act of Parliament, so it can amend a central law and can be retrospective, but like any law it cannot take away a Fundamental Right.
Read the full explanation →With reference to the 'Gram Nyayalaya Act', which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. As per the Act, Gram Nyayalayas can hear only civil cases and not criminal cases. 2. The Act allows local social activists as mediators/reconciliators. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Gram Nyayalayas hear both civil and criminal cases, and the Act lets social workers at the village level act as conciliators.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements is/are true of the Fundamental Duties of an Indian citizen ? 1. A legislative process has been provided to enforce these duties. 2. They are correlative to legal duties. Select the correct answer using the code given below :
The Fundamental Duties are moral obligations that the Constitution itself does not enforce, and they are not the legal counterpart of any right.
Read the full explanation →With reference to the "Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA)", which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. GACSA is an outcome of the Climate Summit held in Paris in 2015. 2. Membership of GACSA does not create any binding obligations. 3. India was instrumental in the creation of GACSA. Select the correct answer using the code given below :
GACSA is a voluntary alliance whose members take on no binding obligations, but it was not born in Paris and India did not drive its creation.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements : 1. The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 recommended granting voting rights to all the women above the age of 21. 2. The Government of India Act of 1935 gave women reserved seats in legislature. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The 1919 reforms gave no such right to all women, while the 1935 Act did reserve seats for women in the legislatures.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements : 1. Biofilms can form on medical implants within human tissues. 2. Biofilms can form on food and food processing surfaces. 3. Biofilms can exhibit antibiotic resistance. Which of the statements given above are correct ?
Biofilms form on almost any moist surface, including implants and food equipment, and they are notoriously hard to kill with antibiotics.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following dynasties : 1. Hoysala 2. Gahadavala 3. Kakatiya 4. Yadava How many of the above dynasties established their kingdoms in early eighth century AD?
All four rose much later, between the 10th and 12th centuries, mostly as feudatories who broke away from the declining Western (Kalyani) Chalukyas or the Pratiharas.
Read the full explanation →According to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which of the following animals cannot be hunted by any person except under some provisions provided by law ? 1. Gharial 2. Indian wild ass 3. Wild buffalo Select the correct answer using the code given below:
All three are listed in Schedule I of the Act, so none of them can be hunted except in the narrow cases the Act itself allows.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements are correct about the deposits of 'methane hydrate'? 1. Global warming might trigger the release of methane gas from these deposits. 2. Large deposits of 'methane hydrate' are found in Arctic Tundra and under the seafloor. 3. Methane in atmosphere oxidizes to carbon dioxide after a decade or two. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
All three statements are correct. Methane hydrate, also called gas hydrate or "fire ice", is methane trapped inside a cage of frozen water molecules.
Read the full explanation →With reference to the history of ancient India, Bhavabhuti, Hastimalla and Kshemeshvara were famous
All three wrote dramas in Sanskrit, and the question tests the names of classical playwrights after Kalidasa.
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