KAAY Cadet Entrance Exam cheat sheet

Subject–verb agreement: a singular subject takes a singular verb; compound subjects joined by 'and' take a plural verb, except when they form a single idea (e.g., 'bread and butter is').

Tenses: present perfect = have/has + past participle for past actions with present relevance; past perfect = had + past participle for the earlier of two past actions.

Active vs passive: passive = form of 'be' + past participle; only transitive verbs can be made passive.

Articles: 'a' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds (an hour, a university); 'the' for specific or previously mentioned nouns.

Prepositions of time: in (months, years, seasons), on (days, dates), at (clock times, night, noon).

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

Conditionals: first (if + present, will + base), second (if + past, would + base), third (if + had + past participle, would have + past participle).

Common error pairs: affect (verb) vs effect (noun); its (possessive) vs it's (it is); their/there/they're; your/you're; then (time) vs than (comparison).

Punctuation: a comma splice joins two independent clauses with only a comma; fix with a period, semicolon, or conjunction.

Quadratic formula: x = [−b ± √(b² − 4ac)] / 2a for ax² + bx + c = 0; discriminant D = b² − 4ac tells the nature of roots (D > 0 two real, D = 0 equal, D < 0 complex).

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

Area and perimeter: rectangle A = lw, P = 2(l + w); triangle A = ½bh; circle A = πr², C = 2πr.

Trig ratios: sin θ = opposite/hypotenuse, cos θ = adjacent/hypotenuse, tan θ = opposite/adjacent; sin²θ + cos²θ = 1.

Arithmetic progression: nth term aₙ = a + (n − 1)d; sum Sₙ = n/2 [2a + (n − 1)d].

Geometric progression: nth term aₙ = arⁿ⁻¹; sum Sₙ = a(1 − rⁿ)/(1 − r) for r ≠ 1.

Probability of an event = number of favourable outcomes / total equally likely outcomes; P(A′) = 1 − P(A).

Mean = sum of values / number of values; median = middle value of ordered data; mode = most frequent value.

Percentage change = (new − old)/old × 100%; simple interest I = PRT/100.

Newton's second law: F = ma; weight W = mg, with g ≈ 9.8 m/s² near Earth's surface.

Kinematic equations (constant acceleration): v = u + at; s = ut + ½at²; v² = u² + 2as.

Work = force × displacement in the direction of force (W = Fd cos θ); power = work/time (P = W/t).

Kinetic energy KE = ½mv²; gravitational potential energy PE = mgh; mechanical energy is conserved without friction.

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

Density ρ = m/V; pressure P = F/A; pressure in a liquid P = ρgh.

Speed of light in vacuum c ≈ 3 × 10⁸ m/s; speed of sound in air ≈ 340 m/s at room temperature.

SI units: force newton (N), energy joule (J), power watt (W), pressure pascal (Pa), frequency hertz (Hz), charge coulomb (C).

Hooke's law: extension is proportional to applied force up to the elastic limit (F = kx).

Pakistan's capital is Islamabad; the country gained independence on 14 August 1947 and became a republic on 23 March 1956.

Pakistan has four provinces: Punjab (Lahore), Sindh (Karachi), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Peshawar), Balochistan (Quetta); Islamabad Capital Territory is separate.

The United Nations was founded in 1945; its headquarters is in New York; the Security Council has five permanent members (China, France, Russia, UK, USA).

SAARC headquarters: Kathmandu, Nepal; OIC headquarters: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; ASEAN headquarters: Jakarta, Indonesia.

Longest river in Pakistan: Indus; highest peak: K2 (8,611 m), the world's second-highest mountain.

Pakistan's national language is Urdu; official language also includes English; national animal markhor, national bird chukar, national tree deodar.

Current affairs: keep track of the current UN Secretary-General, Pakistan's President and Prime Minister, and major recent summits; verify names and dates from official sources rather than memory.

Nobel Prizes: physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, peace, and economic sciences; Pakistan's Nobel laureates include Abdus Salam (Physics, 1979) and Malala Yousafzai (Peace, 2014).

The Indus Waters Treaty (1960) divides the Indus basin rivers between Pakistan and India; the World Bank is a signatory.

Five pillars of Islam: Shahadah (declaration of faith), Salah (prayer), Zakat (almsgiving), Sawm (fasting in Ramadan), Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah).

The Qur'an has 114 surahs; the first revealed surah is Al-Alaq; the longest surah is Al-Baqarah.

Seerah: the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was born in Makkah in 570 CE, received the first revelation at age 40 in the cave of Hira, and migrated to Madinah in 622 CE (Hijrah, start of the Islamic calendar).

Pillars of Iman (faith): belief in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Day of Judgment, and divine decree (qadar).

Pakistan Movement milestones: Lahore Resolution 1940, Cabinet Mission 1946, 3 June Plan 1947, Independence 14 August 1947.

Constitutional history: Objectives Resolution 1949; first constitution 1956; current constitution 1973; 18th Amendment 2010 devolved powers to provinces.

Ethics: honesty, justice (adl), trust (amanah), and compassion are core Islamic values; interest (riba) and intoxicants are prohibited.

Allama Iqbal's Allahabad Address (1930) proposed a separate Muslim state in north-west India; Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was Pakistan's first Governor-General.

Number series: check differences, ratios, squares/cubes, and alternating patterns before assuming a single rule.

Letter series: convert letters to positions (A = 1 … Z = 26); common shifts are +1, +2, −1, or alternating shifts.

Analogies: identify the relationship type (part–whole, cause–effect, synonym/antonym, worker–tool) and apply the same relation to the answer pair.

Odd-one-out: look for a category that all but one item share; the exception is the answer.

Coding–decoding: test letter shifts, reversals, and position-based substitutions; write the alphabet with numbers to speed this up.

Direction sense: draw a quick sketch; net displacement uses Pythagoras when turns are at right angles.

Blood relations: draw a family tree; use gender-specific terms (brother/sister, son/daughter) to eliminate options.

Syllogism: valid conclusions must follow from all premises; a 'some' premise cannot yield an 'all' conclusion.

Time and work: if A finishes in x days and B in y days, together they finish in xy/(x + y) days.

BMI = weight (kg) / height (m)²; a BMI of 18.5–24.9 is generally classified as normal for adults.

Resting heart rate for a healthy adult is typically 60–100 beats per minute; lower resting rates often indicate better cardiovascular fitness.

Blood pressure is recorded as systolic/diastolic; a common normal adult range is around 120/80 mmHg.

Vision standards for many defence cadet entries require uncorrected acuity within a specified range or correction limits; colour vision must usually be normal.

Hearing standards typically require normal conversational hearing and no significant ear disease.

Common medical disqualifiers include active asthma, epilepsy, significant flat foot, severe scoliosis, and uncorrected vision or hearing deficits; final decisions rest with the medical board.

Chest measurement and expansion, height, and weight are measured against age- and gender-specific minimums set by the recruiting authority.

Physical training should combine cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and flexibility; progressive overload reduces injury risk.

Hydration and rest are essential before a fitness test; avoid heavy meals within 2–3 hours of strenuous exercise.

The interview assesses personality, motivation, awareness, and communication; answers should be truthful and specific rather than rehearsed.

Structure answers with a brief situation, the action taken, and the result (STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result).

Know your own application: academic record, extracurricular activities, family background, and reasons for choosing the cadet programme.

Demonstrate awareness of current affairs and Pakistan's defence institutions; avoid political controversy.

Body language: maintain eye contact, sit upright, speak clearly at a moderate pace, and greet the panel politely.

If a question is unclear, ask for clarification rather than guessing; admitting a knowledge gap is acceptable if followed by a reasoned response.

Panel interviews may include rapid-fire questions and stress questions; stay calm and answer one point at a time.

Dress formally and conservatively; punctuality and neat appearance are part of the assessment.

Show leadership potential through examples of teamwork, discipline, and responsibility rather than claims alone.