General Science for BSSC CGL
General Science in BSSC CGL is set at NCERT Class 6–10 level. It covers physics, chemistry and biology, often through one-line factual questions on units, laws, human body systems, deficiency diseases and common chemical formulas. The paper rewards precise recall more than deep derivation.
Core areas to revise
- Physics: SI units (force in newton, work in joule, power in watt); speed = distance ÷ time; Newton's three laws; reflection and refraction; Ohm's law, V = IR.
- Chemistry: acids have pH below 7, bases above 7 and a neutral solution is 7; common formulas such as H₂O, CO₂, NaCl and CaCO₃; differences between metals and non-metals.
- Biology: vitamins and their deficiency diseases - A for night blindness, B1 for beriberi, C for scurvy, D for rickets, K for poor clotting; blood groups; photosynthesis; malaria caused by Plasmodium and tuberculosis by Mycobacterium.
- Health and nutrition: iodine deficiency causes goitre, iron deficiency causes anaemia, and a balanced diet must supply energy, protein, vitamins and minerals.
Worked example
A car covers 90 km in 2 hours. Find its average speed. Speed = distance ÷ time = 90 km ÷ 2 h = 45 km/h. The reasoning is to divide the total distance by the total time; the unit stays km/h because both quantities are in kilometres and hours.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating mass and weight as the same; weight = mg and is measured in newtons.
- Swapping vitamin C (scurvy) with vitamin D (rickets).
- Reading pH backwards: a lower pH means a stronger acid, not a weaker one.
- Forgetting that malaria is a protozoan disease, not a bacterial one.