OSSSC Combined Recruitment Examination flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Blood relation: maternal uncle

The brother of one's mother is the maternal uncle, called mamu in Odia. In blood-relation puzzles, mark mother's siblings on her side of the family tree, never on the father's side.

Syllogism validity rule

A conclusion from 'All A are B' follows only if it is true in every possible Venn diagram of the premises. 'All B are A' is the converse and does not follow.

Right and left turns

Facing north, a right turn points east and a left turn points west; each turn rotates direction by 90 degrees. Four successive right turns return the walker to the original facing direction.

Letter position coding

English letters map to numbers A=1 through Z=26. A reverse mapping pairs A with Z, so a reversed letter's value equals 27 minus the original position.

Ranking in a row

For n people in a row, position from the left plus position from the right equals n + 1. Total people equals left rank plus right rank minus one.

Odisha state formation date

Odisha was constituted as a separate province on 1 April 1936, now observed as Utkal Divas. Bhubaneswar became the capital when the state was reorganised in 1956.

Chilika lagoon location

Chilika is a brackish-water lagoon on the eastern coast of Odisha, in Puri, Khordha and Ganjam districts. It is Asia's largest brackish-water lagoon and hosts Irrawaddy dolphins.

Deomali peak

Deomali, in the Koraput district of Odisha within the Eastern Ghats, is the highest peak of the state. It stands roughly 1,672 metres above sea level.

Successive percentage change

Two successive changes of a percent and b percent produce a net change of a + b + ab/100 percent. A 20 percent increase followed by a 20 percent decrease gives a net 4 percent decrease.

Compound interest formula

Amount A equals P times (1 + R/100) raised to T, so compound interest is A minus P. For two years, compound interest exceeds simple interest by P(R/100) squared.

Equal profit and loss trap

If two articles sell at the same price, one at x percent gain and the other at x percent loss, the seller always makes a net loss of x squared divided by 100 percent.

Speed unit conversion

To change kilometres per hour into metres per second, multiply by 5/18. To reverse, multiply metres per second by 18/5 to obtain kilometres per hour.

Boat and stream speeds

Downstream speed equals boat speed plus stream speed, upstream equals boat speed minus stream speed. Boat speed is their average and stream speed is half their difference.

Work together formula

If A finishes work in a days and B in b days, working together they take ab divided by (a + b) days. Using the LCM of days as total work units simplifies the calculation.

Alligation rule

To mix two ingredients at prices c and d to get mean price m, the quantity ratio is (m − c) to (d − m). The cheaper ingredient's share uses the dearer price difference.

Circle and cylinder mensuration

A circle's area is pi r squared and circumference is 2 pi r. A cylinder's volume is pi r squared h, and a rectangle's diagonal is the square root of l squared plus b squared.

Sum of first n numbers

The sum of the first n natural numbers is n(n + 1)/2. The sum of the first n odd numbers is n squared, and of the first n even numbers is n(n + 1).

Average after adding an item

When one new value is added to n items, the new average equals the old total plus the new value, divided by n + 1. Adding a constant k to every item raises the average by k.

Subject-verb agreement with one of

In 'one of the + plural noun', the verb agrees with 'one' and stays singular. Each, every, either and neither as subjects also take singular verbs.

Article a versus an

Use 'a' before consonant sounds and 'an' before vowel sounds, judged by pronunciation not spelling. Say an hour and an MLA, but a university and a European.

Present perfect versus past simple

Present perfect (has gone) links a past action to the present and avoids a definite past time. Past simple (went) is used with finished time markers like yesterday or in 2010.

Since versus for

Use 'since' with a starting point in time, such as since 2015 or since Monday. Use 'for' with a length of duration, such as for three years or for two hours.

Active to passive conversion

The object becomes the subject, the verb becomes a form of be plus the past participle, and the doer follows 'by'. Only transitive verbs can be made passive.

Reported speech tense shift

When the reporting verb is past, shift present to past, present perfect to past perfect, and will to would. Change now to then and today to that day.

Fewer versus less

Use 'fewer' with countable plural nouns, as in fewer students. Use 'less' with uncountable nouns, as in less water or less time.

Redundant phrase errors

Expressions like discuss about, return back, and cope up with repeat meaning already in the verb. Correct forms are discuss, return, and cope with.

Odia script structure

The Odia script has about 11 vowel letters and 39 consonant letters. The hasanta mark below a consonant suppresses its inherent vowel and builds conjunct consonants.

Odia classical language status

Odia was declared a classical language of India in 2014. It is the official language of Odisha and one of the scheduled languages in the Eighth Schedule.

Odia samasa types

Odia compound words are classed as karmadharaya, dvandva, tatpurusha, bahuvrihi, dvigu and avyayibhava. Dvandva joins words of equal grammatical rank, such as mother and father.

Upama versus rupaka

Upama is simile, comparing two things using words meaning 'like' or 'equal'. Rupaka is metaphor, identifying one thing directly with another without a comparison word.

Fakir Mohan Senapati

Fakir Mohan Senapati is called the father of modern Odia literature. He wrote the first Odia short story, Rebati, and the novel Chha Mana Atha Guntha.

Sarala Das

Sarala Das, a fifteenth-century poet, composed the Odia Mahabharata and is regarded as the first major poet of Odia literature, often called the Adikabi.

Konark Sun Temple

The Konark Sun Temple in Puri district was built by King Narasimhadeva I in the thirteenth century. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site shaped as the god's chariot.