Previous-year questions are the most reliable guide to the CDS General Knowledge paper, because the syllabus in the notice is one paragraph long and the paper is not. UPSC uploads the question papers of every CDS on upsc.gov.in the day after the exam, so a full record of what was asked exists for each cycle. Reading them shows the weight of each area, the depth UPSC expects in Polity, History, Geography, Economy and Science, and the question forms it prefers: statements with "which of the above are correct", "how many of the following pairs are correctly matched", match the lists, and arrange in chronological order. Many topics return: writs and constitutional bodies, dynasties and reform movements, Ramsar sites and World Heritage sites, budget and balance-of-payments terms, and school science applied to everyday situations. This page collects CDS previous-year General Knowledge questions in English and Hindi, each with the correct answer, an explanation and the topic it belongs to, so that a question leads you to the GK note that covers it. Use them in three passes: untimed to learn, timed to build speed, and a week later to revisit your wrong answers.
Which one of the following pairs of enzymes do not work at acidic pH?
Both work in neutral to alkaline conditions, in the mouth and the small intestine, and stop working in the acid of the stomach.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following clues about a State of India:
1. It is known as 'land of red river and blue hills'.
2. It contains three of the six physiographic divisions of India.
3. It covers about 2.39 percent of total areas of the country.
Identify the State on the basis of the given clues.
Assam is called the land of the red river and blue hills, the red river being the silt-laden Brahmaputra and the blue hills those that ring its valley.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is not correct about the Indian Independence Act, 1947?
The Indian Independence Act ended British rule but did not lay down the framework of the Constitution; that framework came largely from the Government of India Act, 1935.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following statements for the gases mentioned below is not correct?
Filament bulbs are commonly filled with argon, often mixed with nitrogen, not helium. An inert gas in a filament bulb slows the evaporation of the hot tungsten filament.
Read the full explanation →What is the correct sequence of the following mountain ranges as one moves from North towards South?
1. Karakoram
2. Kunlun
3. Ladakh
4. Zaskar
Select the answer using the code given below:
Going south from Central Asia one crosses the Kunlun, then the Karakoram, then the Ladakh Range and then the Zaskar Range.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is not a property of 'graphene'?
Graphene is not a wide band-gap semiconductor; it has practically zero band gap and behaves like a semimetal.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following statements related to electric cells is correct?
The emf of a battery equals the power it supplies divided by the current it drives, because power P = EI.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following groups of countries consists of the members of Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC)?
Mekong-Ganga Cooperation brings together India and the five Mekong basin countries: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The grouping was launched at Vientiane in Laos in 2000.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is not an allotrope of carbon?
Coal is an impure fossil fuel containing hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur besides carbon, so it is not a pure form of the element.
Read the full explanation →Bleeding of gums, falling of teeth, fragile bones and delayed wound healing occur due to the deficiency of which one of the following vitamins?
These are the signs of scurvy, the disease caused by a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Vitamin C is needed to make collagen, the protein that holds together gums, skin, blood vessels and bone.
Read the full explanation →Pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissues of a mollusk. Which one of the following is the main constituent of pearl?
A pearl is built up from layers of nacre, which is mostly calcium carbonate held together by a protein called conchiolin.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements:
1. There is no net moment on a body which is in equilibrium.
2. The momentum of a body is always conserved.
3. The kinetic energy of an object is always conserved.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A body in equilibrium has no net force and no net moment on it, while neither momentum nor kinetic energy is conserved in every situation.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following rivers takes a U turn at Namcha Barwa and enters India?
Flowing east across Tibet as the Tsangpo, the river bends sharply around Namcha Barwa and turns south into Arunachal Pradesh.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following animals has a three-chambered heart?
A salamander is an amphibian, and amphibians have a heart with two atria and one ventricle. Heart chambers increase along the vertebrate groups.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following gave evidence before the Joint Select Committee on the Government of India Bill, 1919 in favour of female franchise?
1. Mrs. Annie Besant
2. Mrs. Sarojini Naidu
3. Mrs. Hirabai Tata
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Annie Besant, Sarojini Naidu and Hirabai Tata all went before the Joint Select Committee in London in 1919 to argue for votes for Indian women.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements about the DDU-GKY is not correct?
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana does not rely only on government agencies; most of its training is run by private and non-government partners.
Read the full explanation →An electric bulb is connected to a 110 V generator. The current is 0.2 A. What is the power of the bulb?
Electric power is voltage multiplied by current, and 110 V × 0.2 A = 22 W. Power is the rate at which electrical energy is used.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements is correct about the cell membrane?
The cell membrane is flexible, and this lets a cell fold it around food and other material and take it in.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements about the process of photosynthesis is correct?
Chlorophyll absorbs light energy, which is used to split water and then to reduce carbon dioxide to sugar. In the light reactions, energy trapped by chlorophyll splits water molecules (photolysis), releasing oxygen, hydrogen ions and electrons and producing ATP and NADPH.
Read the full explanation →Where is the Vikramkhol Cave located?
Vikramkhol is a rock shelter near Belpahar in the Jharsuguda district of western Odisha. The shelter is known for a long panel of engraved and painted signs on its rock wall.
Read the full explanation →