Kerala PSC Plus Two Level cheat sheet

Kerala has 20 Lok Sabha seats and 9 Rajya Sabha seats; the state sends 140 members to the Kerala Legislative Assembly.

Thiruvananthapuram is the capital of Kerala; the High Court of Kerala sits at Ernakulam and is the seat of the state judiciary.

India's spaceport is at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh; ISRO's headquarters is at Bengaluru.

The Kasaragod district is the northernmost district of Kerala; Thiruvananthapuram is the southernmost.

Kerala's state animal is the elephant, state bird is the great hornbill, state tree is the coconut palm and state fish is the pearl spot (karimeen).

National Sports Day is 29 August, birthday of Major Dhyan Chand; National Science Day is 28 February, marking Raman's discovery of the Raman effect.

The 'Nava Kerala Mission' schemes cover health (Aardram), education (Bhoomika), housing (Life), agriculture (Haritha Keralam) and cleanliness.

Kerala was declared the first fully literate state in India in 1991, following the 1989-90 literacy campaign.

The Chera dynasty ruled Kerala from the early centuries CE; the Ashokan edicts mention Cheras as one of the southern kingdoms.

The Kalabhra interregnum preceded the Second Chera (Kulasekhara) empire, whose capital was at Mahodayapuram (Kodungallur).

The Zamorin (Samoothiri) of Kozhikode rose after the decline of the Kulasekharas; Vasco da Gama reached Kappad near Kozhikode in 1498.

The Battle of Colachel (1741) saw Marthanda Varma of Travancore defeat the Dutch; it is often called the first Asian victory over a European naval power.

Sree Narayana Guru founded the SNDP Yogam in 1903 and consecrated the Aruvippuram Shiva idol in 1888; his motto was 'One caste, one religion, one god for man'.

Chattampi Swamikal, Brahmananda Sivayogi, Vagbhatananda, Ayyankali, Poikayil Yohannan (Kumara Guru) and Poykayil Appachan led anti-caste and reform movements.

The Malayali Memorial (1891) and Ezhava Memorial (1896) were early petitions for representation in Travancore government service.

The Temple Entry Proclamation of 1936 in Travancore, issued by Chithira Thirunal, opened Hindu temples to all castes.

The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 in Bombay; W.C. Bannerjee was its first president and A.O. Hume its founder-organiser.

The partition of Bengal was announced in 1905 by Lord Curzon; the Swadeshi movement followed and the partition was annulled in 1911.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre occurred on 13 April 1919 in Amritsar under General Dyer; Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood in protest.

The Non-Cooperation Movement (1920) was launched after the Khilafat agitation; the Chauri Chaura incident (1922) led Gandhi to withdraw it.

The Dandi March (Salt Satyagraha) began on 12 March 1930 and covered about 240 miles from Sabarmati to Dandi.

The Quit India Movement was launched on 8 August 1942 at the Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay; the slogan was 'Do or Die'.

The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949; it came into force on 26 January 1950.

The Preamble declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic; the words socialist and secular were added by the 42nd Amendment (1976).

The Tropic of Cancer passes through eight Indian states, including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.

The Western Ghats run parallel to India's west coast; Anamudi in Kerala (2,695 m) is the highest peak in peninsular India.

Kerala's major rivers include Periyar (longest, 244 km), Bharathapuzha (second longest), Pamba and Chalakudy; none is navigable throughout.

The Vembanad Lake is the largest lake in Kerala and the longest lake in India; Ashtamudi Lake is known for its eight arms.

The Silent Valley National Park lies in Palakkad district; the Periyar Tiger Reserve is in Idukki.

The southwest monsoon (June-September) brings most of Kerala's rainfall; the northeast monsoon (October-November) affects Tamil Nadu more.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie in the Bay of Bengal; Lakshadweep is a union territory of coral atolls in the Arabian Sea.

The Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, lies in the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta in West Bengal and Bangladesh.

Newton's second law: F = ma; the SI unit of force is the newton (kg·m/s²).

Ohm's law: V = IR; power in an electrical circuit is P = VI = I²R = V²/R.

The pH scale runs 0-14; a pH below 7 is acidic, above 7 is basic, and 7 is neutral at 25°C.

Photosynthesis: 6CO₂ + 6H₂O + light → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂; it occurs in chloroplasts, with chlorophyll absorbing mainly red and blue light.

Blood groups follow the ABO and Rh systems; O-negative is the universal donor for red cells and AB-positive the universal recipient.

The human body has 206 bones in adults; the smallest bone is the stapes in the ear and the longest is the femur.

The speed of light in vacuum is about 3 × 10⁸ m/s; sound travels about 343 m/s in air at 20°C.

Scientific temperament means testing claims against evidence, distinguishing correlation from causation, and reporting uncertainty honestly.

Average = sum of terms ÷ number of terms; if a value x is added to n terms with average A, the new average is (nA + x)/(n+1).

Simple interest = P × R × T / 100; compound amount = P(1 + R/100)^T.

Profit percentage = (SP − CP)/CP × 100; loss percentage uses the same formula with a negative numerator.

Speed = distance ÷ time; to convert km/h to m/s multiply by 5/18, and to convert m/s to km/h multiply by 18/5.

Sum of the first n natural numbers = n(n+1)/2; sum of squares = n(n+1)(2n+1)/6.

In a series, check differences, ratios, squares and alternating patterns before assuming a rule.

For blood-relation puzzles, draw a family tree and mark gender with distinct symbols; never infer gender from a name.

For direction sense, fix north at the top and track net displacement using Pythagoras when the path turns at right angles.

1 byte = 8 bits; 1 KB = 1024 bytes, 1 MB = 1024 KB, 1 GB = 1024 MB, 1 TB = 1024 GB.

RAM is volatile working memory; ROM is non-volatile and holds firmware such as the BIOS/UEFI.

An IP address identifies a device on a network; IPv4 is 32-bit and IPv6 is 128-bit.

HTTP is the web transfer protocol; HTTPS adds TLS encryption, typically on port 443 versus port 80 for HTTP.

A compiler translates an entire program before execution; an interpreter translates and executes line by line.

Common file extensions: .docx (Word), .xlsx (Excel), .pptx (PowerPoint), .pdf (portable document), .jpg (image), .mp3 (audio).

In spreadsheets, a formula begins with '=' and a cell reference like A1 can be relative, absolute ($A$1) or mixed.

Malware categories include viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware and spyware; a firewall filters network traffic by rules.

GDP measures the market value of final goods and services produced within a country in a period; GNP adds net factor income from abroad.

Inflation is a sustained rise in the general price level; in India it is measured mainly by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

The Reserve Bank of India was established in 1935 and nationalised in 1949; it sets the repo rate, at which it lends to banks.

CRR is the share of deposits banks must keep with the RBI; SLR is the share held in approved securities and cash.

Fiscal deficit = total expenditure − total receipts excluding borrowings; revenue deficit = revenue expenditure − revenue receipts.

The Green Revolution in India is associated with M.S. Swaminathan and high-yielding wheat and rice varieties from the 1960s.

Kerala's economy relies heavily on remittances from the Gulf, spices, tourism and marine fisheries; the state has high human development indicators.

NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission in 2015; the First Five Year Plan (1951-56) focused on agriculture.

Simple present is used for habitual actions and general truths; present continuous for actions happening now.

Present perfect (have/has + past participle) links a past action to the present; past perfect marks the earlier of two past actions.

Passive voice: object + form of 'be' + past participle (+ by agent); only transitive verbs can be made passive.

Reported speech shifts tense back one step unless the reporting verb is in the present or the statement is a universal truth.

Commonly confused pairs: affect (verb) / effect (noun); principal (main) / principle (rule); stationary (fixed) / stationery (paper).

Prepositions of time: at for clock times, on for days and dates, in for months, years and longer periods.

Subject-verb agreement: each, every, either, neither and everyone take singular verbs; 'neither...nor' agrees with the nearer subject.

Articles: 'a' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds, 'the' for specific or unique references.

മലയാള അക്ഷരമാലയിൽ 15 സ്വരാക്ഷരങ്ങളും 41 വ്യഞ്ജനാക്ഷരങ്ങളും ഉൾപ്പെടുന്നു; ആകെ 56 അക്ഷരങ്ങൾ.

അനുസ്വാരം (ം), വിസർഗം (ഃ), ചന്ദ്രക്കല എന്നിവ സ്വരങ്ങളുടെ ഭാഗമായി കണക്കാക്കുന്നു.

സന്ധി: സ്വരസന്ധി, വ്യഞ്ജനസന്ധി, വിസർഗസന്ധി എന്നിങ്ങനെ മൂന്ന് പ്രധാന വിഭാഗങ്ങൾ.

സമാസം: തത്പുരുഷൻ, ദ്വന്ദൻ, ബഹുവ്രീഹി, കർമ്മധാരയൻ, ദ്വിഗു, അവ്യയീഭാവൻ എന്നിവ പ്രധാന വിഭാഗങ്ങൾ.

അലങ്കാരങ്ങൾ: ഉപമ, രൂപകം, ഉത്പ്രേക്ഷ, ദൃഷ്ടാന്തം, അർത്ഥാന്തരന്യാസം എന്നിവ അർത്ഥാലങ്കാരങ്ങൾ; അനുപ്രാസം, യമകം എന്നിവ ശബ്ദാലങ്കാരങ്ങൾ.

വൃത്തങ്ങൾ: കാകളി, മണികാകളി, ശാർദ്ദൂലവിക്രീഡിതം, മാലിനി എന്നിവ ഉദാഹരണങ്ങൾ; ഗണങ്ങൾ അടിസ്ഥാനമാക്കിയാണ് വൃത്തം നിർണ്ണയിക്കുന്നത്.

ഛന്ദസ്സ്: ഉപജാതി, വഞ്ചിപ്പാട്ട്, കിളിപ്പാട്ട് എന്നിവ കേരളീയ ഛന്ദസ്സുകൾക്ക് ഉദാഹരണങ്ങൾ.

തത്സമം, തദ്ഭവം, ദേശ്യം, ഗ്രാന്ഥ്യം എന്നിവയാണ് മലയാള ഭാഷയിലെ വാക്കുകളുടെ പ്രധാന വർഗ്ഗീകരണം.

Kerala's coastline is about 590 km long, the longest among Indian states after Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.

The Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) is a science popularisation movement founded in 1962 with a strong role in the total literacy campaign.

The Mullaperiyar Dam is on the Periyar river; the Idukki Arch Dam is Asia's first arch dam.

Kerala's Kuttanad region lies below sea level and is one of the few places in the world where farming is done below sea level.

Thiruvananthapuram's Padmanabhaswamy Temple and the Sree Chitra Art Gallery are major heritage sites; the Kochi-Muziris Biennale is a major contemporary art event.

The first Kerala Legislative Assembly election was held in 1957; E.M.S. Namboodiripad became the first Chief Minister.

Kerala was formed on 1 November 1956 by merging Travancore-Cochin with Malabar district and Kasargod taluk.

The Kerala Police Act, the Lokayukta and the State Information Commission are key state accountability institutions.

The Earth's rotation causes day and night; revolution around the Sun, tilted at 23.5°, causes seasons.

Latitudes run parallel to the equator; longitudes converge at the poles, and 1° of longitude equals 4 minutes of time difference.

The Tropic of Capricorn, the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer divide the Earth into torrid, temperate and frigid zones.

India's climate is monsoon-type; the Western Ghats create a rain shadow in the Deccan plateau.

Kerala's soil types include laterite, alluvium, black soil and forest soil; laterite is common in the midlands.

The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve spans Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka; the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve lies in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The largest desert in the world is the Sahara; the largest ocean is the Pacific; the deepest trench is the Mariana Trench.

The Suez Canal links the Mediterranean and the Red Sea; the Panama Canal links the Atlantic and the Pacific.

Area of a circle = πr²; circumference = 2πr; area of a triangle = ½ × base × height.

Volume of a cylinder = πr²h; volume of a sphere = (4/3)πr³; volume of a cone = (1/3)πr²h.

Pythagoras theorem: in a right triangle, a² + b² = c², where c is the hypotenuse.

Percentage change = (new value − old value)/old value × 100; successive discounts of a% and b% give a net discount of a + b − ab/100 percent.

Time and work: if A does a job in x days and B in y days, together they take xy/(x + y) days.

Ratio and proportion: if a:b = c:d, then ad = bc; for three quantities, a:b:c is found by equating the common term.

Coding-decoding: identify the shift (e.g., +1, +2, reverse alphabet) from the given pairs before applying it.

Series completion: check arithmetic, geometric, square/cube and alternating series; for alphabet series, note positions A=1 to Z=26.

The OSI model has seven layers: physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation and application.

TCP is connection-oriented and reliable; UDP is connectionless and faster but unreliable.

A primary key uniquely identifies each row in a relational table; a foreign key references the primary key of another table.

In MS Word, Ctrl+C copies, Ctrl+V pastes, Ctrl+X cuts, Ctrl+Z undoes and Ctrl+S saves.

Binary to decimal: multiply each bit by 2 raised to its position from the right, starting at 0.

Cloud computing service models: IaaS (infrastructure), PaaS (platform) and SaaS (software); examples include AWS, Azure and Google Cloud.

A URL has the form protocol://domain/path; DNS translates domain names into IP addresses.

Artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning are nested: deep learning is a subset of machine learning, which is a subset of AI.

Demand curve slopes downward; supply curve slopes upward; equilibrium is where they intersect.

Elasticity of demand = percentage change in quantity demanded ÷ percentage change in price.

Direct taxes are levied on income and wealth (income tax, corporate tax); indirect taxes are on goods and services (GST).

GST in India was introduced on 1 July 2017; it replaced multiple indirect taxes and has slabs of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.

The Reserve Bank of India controls money supply through repo rate, reverse repo rate, CRR, SLR and open market operations.

Balance of payments records all transactions with the rest of the world; the current account covers trade, services and transfers.

The MGNREGA (2005) guarantees 100 days of wage employment per rural household per year.

Kerala's Human Development Index is among the highest in India, driven by literacy, health and remittances.

Idioms: 'a blessing in disguise' means an apparent misfortune that turns out well; 'bite the bullet' means to endure a difficult situation.

Synonyms and antonyms are best learned in context; 'abundant' (plentiful) is opposite to 'scarce'.

One-word substitutions: 'philanthropist' (lover of mankind), 'misanthrope' (hater of mankind), 'optimist' (sees the good side).

Direct to indirect speech: change pronouns to match the reporter, shift tense, and adjust time/place words (now → then, here → there).

Question tags use the opposite polarity: 'She is coming, isn't she?' and 'They didn't go, did they?'

Conditional sentences: first conditional (if + present, will + verb), second (if + past, would + verb), third (if + past perfect, would have + past participle).

Formal letter structure: sender's address, date, receiver's address, subject, salutation, body, closing and signature.

Common error: 'one of the' takes a plural noun and a singular verb, as in 'One of the boys is absent'.

വാക്യഘടന: കർത്താവ്, കർമ്മം, ക്രിയ എന്നിവയാണ് മലയാള വാക്യത്തിന്റെ പ്രധാന ഘടകങ്ങൾ.

നിഷേധവാക്യം: 'അല്ല', 'ഇല്ല', 'അരുത്' എന്നിവയാണ് പ്രധാന നിഷേധരൂപങ്ങൾ; 'അല്ല' സമ്പത്തിനെയും 'ഇല്ല' അസ്തിത്വത്തെയും സൂചിപ്പിക്കുന്നു.

വിഭക്തികൾ: നാമത്തിന് എട്ട് വിഭക്തികളുണ്ട് - നിർദ്ദേശിക, സംബന്ധിക, സംപ്രദാനിക, ദ്വിതീയ, അപാദാനിക, സംബോധന, അധികരണ, ഉദ്ദേശിക.

വചനം: ഏകവചനം, ബഹുവചനം എന്നിവയാണ് മലയാളത്തിലെ വചനങ്ങൾ; ബഹുവചനം സൂചിപ്പിക്കാൻ 'കൾ', 'മാർ' എന്നിവ ചേർക്കുന്നു.

പദവിഭാഗം: നാമം, സർവ്വനാമം, വിശേഷണം, ക്രിയ, അവ്യയം എന്നിവ പ്രധാന പദവിഭാഗങ്ങൾ.

ശൈലികൾ: 'കൈയും കണക്കും നോക്കുക' എന്നതിന്റെ അർത്ഥം വളരെ കൃത്യമായി കണക്കുകൂട്ടുക എന്നാണ്.

പഴഞ്ചൊല്ലുകൾ: 'ആഴമുള്ള വെള്ളത്തിൽ ചെളി കുറവ്' എന്നത് ഗുണമുള്ള വസ്തുവിൽ ദോഷം കുറവ് എന്ന് അർത്ഥമാക്കുന്നു.

മലയാള സാഹിത്യം: ഏഴാം നൂറ്റാണ്ടിലെ രാമചരിതം ആദ്യകാല കൃതിയായി കണക്കാക്കുന്നു; തുഞ്ചത്ത് എഴുത്തച്ഛന്റെ അദ്ധ്യാത്മരാമായണം കേരളീയ ഭക്തിസാഹിത്യത്തിന്റെ നെടുംതൂൺ.