Static general knowledge makes up about 90% of Part B of the NDA General Ability Test, about 360 of its 400 marks. The NDA & NA (II) 2026 notice divides it into five sections: Physics (about 25%), Chemistry (about 15%), General Science (about 10%), History, Freedom Movement etc. (about 20%) and Geography (about 20%). Half of Part B is science. Physics covers matter, motion, gravitation, heat, sound, light, magnetism, electricity and the working of everyday devices such as the siphon, pressure cooker, periscope and safety fuse. Chemistry covers changes of matter, elements and compounds, common gases, acids, bases and salts, carbon, fertilizers and the materials used to make soap, glass, cement and gunpowder. General Science covers cells, the human body, diseases, diet, the solar system and eminent scientists. Section D spans Indian history and culture, the freedom movement, the Constitution, Five Year Plans, Panchayati Raj and world history from the Renaissance to the Russian Revolution. Geography covers the Earth, rocks, oceans, the atmosphere and climate, and India's resources, industries, ports and trade. This page holds GK24's topic-wise GK notes for NDA, in English and Hindi, written as short facts and tables. Read a topic, then solve its quiz and previous-year questions on this site.
Which one of the following is known as 'water gas' ?
Water gas is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, made by passing steam over red-hot coke. The reaction is C + H2O → CO + H2, carried out at about 1,000 degrees Celsius.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following receives an average annual rainfall of below 50 cm in India, indicating highest inadequacy?
Ladakh lies in the rain shadow of the Great Himalaya, so the monsoon winds hardly reach it and it is a cold desert with well under 50 cm of rain a year.
Read the full explanation →By fulfilling which of the following conditions can a political party claim the status of a national party ? 1. It secures at least six per cent (6%) of the valid votes polled in any four or more states, at a general election to the House of the People or, to the State Legislative Assembly 2. It wins at least four seats in the House of the People from any State or States or wins at least two per cent (2%) seats in the House of the People (i.e., 11 seats in the existing House having 543 members), and these members are elected from at least three different States 3. The party in question has got recognition as a state party in at least two states 4. It must have its headquarters in New Delhi Select the correct answer using the code given below :
The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 sets the conditions in statements 1 and 2, while statements 3 and 4 misstate or invent conditions.
Read the full explanation →When pure water boils vigorously, the bubbles that rise to the surface are composed primarily of
At the boiling point, water turns into vapour inside the liquid itself, and these pockets of steam are the bubbles that rise and burst at the surface.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements about the refractive index of a material medium with respect to air is correct?
Light travels fastest in vacuum and almost as fast in air, so in any material medium it moves more slowly than in air, and the ratio of the two speeds is greater than one.
Read the full explanation →If the focal length of a convex lens is 50 cm, which one of the following is its power?
Power is the reciprocal of focal length in metres, and 50 cm is 0.5 m, so the power is 1 divided by 0.5, which is +2 dioptre.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is an example of Salt-Crystal growth ?
When salt crystals grow inside the pores and cracks of a rock, they push the grains apart and break the rock mechanically, without changing its minerals.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements related to the Virashaiva tradition in Karnataka : 1. The Virashaiva movement was led by a Brahmana named Basavanna, a minister in the court of the Kalachuri ruler in the twelfth century. 2. The Virashaivas encouraged practices, approved by the Dharmashastras, like post-puberty marriages and remarriage of widows. Which of the statement/s given above is/are correct ?
Basavanna did lead the Virashaiva movement, but the Virashaivas encouraged post-puberty marriage and widow remarriage precisely because the Dharmashastras disapproved of them.
Read the full explanation →For an area to be excluded from the drought-prone category, what percentage of its gross cropped area should be under irrigation?
The Irrigation Commission of 1972 treated an area as drought-prone when less than 30 per cent of its gross cropped area was irrigated, so an area with 30 per cent or more is left out.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following was not a part of the dhamma of King Ashoka ?
Ashoka's dhamma was a moral code for all his subjects and never asked people to honour or worship the king himself.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements about the process of photosynthesis is correct ?
In the light reaction of photosynthesis, water is broken up; its hydrogen is used to make food and its oxygen is given out.
Read the full explanation →According to the Indian Meteorological Department, which of the following is/are the feature/features of cloudburst? 1. Heavy precipitation in short period of time in a limited geographical area 2. It occurs generally during monsoon period and triggers flash flood and landslides Select the correct answer using the code given below.
A cloudburst is very heavy rain over a small area in a short time, and in India it mostly strikes in the monsoon, setting off flash floods and landslides.
Read the full explanation →Vapours of sulphur escaping from a volcano often form a crust on the rocks. The process involved is an example of
Sulphur vapour turns straight into solid sulphur on the cooler rocks without first becoming a liquid, and a direct change from gas to solid is called deposition.
Read the full explanation →Which among the following is the popular method for manufacture of ammonia ?
Almost all the world's ammonia is made by combining nitrogen and hydrogen directly in this process. In the Haber-Bosch process, nitrogen from the air and hydrogen, usually obtained from natural gas, are made to react in the ratio 1 to 3.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements regarding cyclones and anti-cyclones is/are correct ? 1. In the Northern Hemisphere, cyclones rotate counter clockwise and anticyclones rotate clockwise. 2. Cyclones are often associated with cloudy or rainy weather, whereas anticyclones are often associated with fair weather. 3. In the Southern Hemisphere, the cyclonic spiral will be clockwise because the Coriolis force acts to the left. Select the answer using the code given below :
All three statements follow from how the Coriolis force turns winds around low and high pressure. A cyclone is a low-pressure centre into which winds blow, and an anticyclone is a high-pressure centre from which winds blow out.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following has valency of 3?
Nitrogen has five electrons in its outer shell and needs three more to complete an octet, so its valency is 3.
Read the full explanation →Condensation of water vapour into water is influenced by which of the following factor/factors ? 1. Volume of air 2. Humidity 3. Temperature Select the answer using the code given below :
Condensation depends on how much air there is, how much moisture it holds and how cold it becomes, so all three factors count.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is an endothermic reaction ?
Breaking lead nitrate into lead oxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxygen needs a steady supply of heat, so the reaction absorbs energy and is endothermic.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements regarding extratropical cyclones : I. They usually develop in the mid and high latitudes. II. They affect a much larger area as compared to tropical cyclone. III. They move from east to west. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Extratropical cyclones form outside the tropics and cover wide areas, but they travel from west to east, not east to west.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements regarding the slash-and-burn agricultural practices in India: I. This practice is a primitive subsistence farming. II. This practice is known as Jhum in the North Eastern Hill region. III. When soil fertility decreases, farmers shift to a fresh patch of land. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
All three statements correctly describe slash-and-burn farming in India. Slash-and-burn is a form of primitive subsistence farming: farmers clear a patch of forest by cutting and burning the vegetation, grow food crops on it with simple tools, and mainly feed their own families.
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