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.
Which Renaissance artist painted 'The Last Supper'?
He painted The Last Supper on a wall of the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan between about 1495 and 1498.
Read the full explanation →A car has an initial velocity of 12 m/s and is brought to rest over a distance of 45 m. The acceleration of the car is
Using v² = u² + 2as with u = 12 m/s, v = 0 and s = 45 m gives a = −144 ÷ 90 = −1.6 m/s².
Read the full explanation →Identify the functions that are controlled by the hind brain of human being
The human brain has three main parts: the fore-brain, the mid-brain and the hind-brain. The hind-brain consists of the pons, the medulla and the cerebellum.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following offices :
I. The Vice President of India
II. The Governors within their respective States
III. The Prime Minister of India
IV. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Which one of the following options represents the correct order of these offices for ceremonial occasions in the Table of Precedence as approved by the President of India?
In the Table of Precedence the Vice President is second, the Prime Minister third, Governors within their States fourth, and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha sixth.
Read the full explanation →20 g of common salt is dissolved in 180 g of water. What is the mass percentage of the salt in the solution?
The mass of the solution is 20 g + 180 g = 200 g, and 20 g of salt in 200 g of solution is 10 per cent.
Read the full explanation →The shortest day length that occurs in the Northern hemisphere is on
On the winter solstice the Sun is overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn, so the Northern Hemisphere has its shortest day and longest night.
Read the full explanation →Name the first major voluntary association representing primarily Indian landlord interests that was set up in Calcutta in 1851?
It was formed in Calcutta in October 1851 by merging the Landholders' Society and the Bengal British India Society. The British Indian Association was led by zamindars of Bengal such as Radhakanta Deb, its first president, with Debendranath Tagore as secretary.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following leaders started the Indian Home Rule League?
Tilak founded the Indian Home Rule League at Belgaum in April 1916. Two Home Rule Leagues were set up in 1916 on the model of the Irish Home Rule movement, to demand self-government for India within the British Empire.
Read the full explanation →An Election Commissioner can be removed from office on the recommendation of
Article 324(5) says that an Election Commissioner cannot be removed from office except on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.
Read the full explanation →When the short circuit condition occurs, the current in the circuit
In a short circuit the resistance of the path falls almost to zero, so by Ohm's law the current rises sharply.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following was the head of the Government that was overthrown by the Bolsheviks in the 1917 Revolution ?
He headed the Provisional Government that the Bolsheviks under Lenin overthrew in the October Revolution of 1917. Russia had two revolutions in 1917.
Read the full explanation →What is the total number of chambers in the stomach of domestic animals like cattle, buffalo, goat and sheep?
Cattle, buffaloes, goats and sheep are ruminants, and a ruminant's stomach has four chambers. The four chambers are the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum and the abomasum.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is likely to be the most prevalent form of weathering in hot-tropical desert areas?
Hot deserts have a large daily range of temperature and very little moisture, so rocks break up physically rather than decay chemically.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is not a power of Panchayats under Article 243G?
It is not among the 29 matters of the Eleventh Schedule that Article 243G lets a State entrust to the Panchayats.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following positions of Sun, Earth and Moon is/are suitable for Spring Tide ?
1. SYZYGY Conjunction
2. SYZYGY Opposition
3. Quadrature
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Spring tides occur whenever the Sun, the Earth and the Moon lie in a straight line, a position called syzygy, whether the Moon is on the same side as the Sun or the opposite side.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements about gallantry awards in India:
1. Post-independence, first three gallantry awards were instituted on 26th January, 1950.
2. The first three gallantry awards were Ashoka Chakra Class-I, Ashoka Chakra Class-II and Ashoka Chakra Class-III.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The first three gallantry awards of independent India were instituted on 26 January 1950, but they were the Param Vir Chakra, the Maha Vir Chakra and the Vir Chakra.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements about Ajanta paintings :
1. The surface of the rock was coated with clay mixed with rice husk and gum and a coat of lime was applied over this.
2. The outline drawing was done first on the lime coating and colours were added subsequently.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Both statements correctly describe how the Ajanta murals were prepared and painted. The Ajanta caves in Maharashtra, carved between about the 2nd century BCE and the 5th century CE, hold the finest surviving Buddhist murals of ancient India.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following statements about arteries and veins in humans is NOT correct ?
It reverses the facts: the pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood and the pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blood. Arteries and veins are named by the direction of flow, not by the oxygen they carry.
Read the full explanation →With reference to the Constitution of India, consider the following statements about the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India :
I. The CAG shall be appointed by the President of India.
II. The CAG is not eligible for further office under the Government of India after he has ceased to hold his office.
III. The reports of the CAG relating to the accounts of the Union shall be submitted to the Prime Minister who shall cause them to be laid before the House of the People.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
The CAG is appointed by the President and is barred from further office under the Government, but the CAG's reports go to the President, not the Prime Minister.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements regarding the role of political parties in modern democracies :
I. In most democracies, elections are fought mainly among the candidates put up by political parties.
II. Political parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from them.
III. Political parties shape public opinion.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
All three statements describe functions that political parties perform in a modern representative democracy. Parties contest elections: in most democracies the real contest is between candidates nominated by parties, and in India too most members of the Lok Sabha belong to some party.
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