BPSC Screening Test flashcards

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

Indian National Congress founding

Founded in 1885 in Bombay with Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee as first president; it became the main platform for the Indian national movement.

Article 32

Constitutional right to move the Supreme Court for enforcement of Fundamental Rights; called the heart and soul of the Constitution by Dr B. R. Ambedkar.

Tropic of Cancer

Latitude 23.5° north; passes through eight Indian states including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.

Repo rate

Rate at which the Reserve Bank of India lends short-term funds to commercial banks against government securities; raising it reduces liquidity and curbs inflation.

42nd Amendment Act

Enacted in 1976 during the Emergency; added Fundamental Duties, inserted socialist and secular in the Preamble, and is called the mini-Constitution.

Monsoon onset

Southwest monsoon normally reaches Kerala around 1 June and covers the whole country by mid-July; withdrawal begins from northwest India in late September.

Ohm's law

Current through a conductor is directly proportional to potential difference at constant temperature: V = IR, where R is resistance in ohms.

pH scale

pH = −log[H⁺]; values below 7 are acidic, above 7 basic, and 7 neutral at 25 °C. Human blood stays near 7.4.

Photosynthesis equation

6CO₂ + 6H₂O + light energy → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂, occurring in chloroplasts; chlorophyll absorbs red and blue light most strongly.

DNA base pairing

Adenine pairs with thymine via two hydrogen bonds; guanine pairs with cytosine via three, keeping the double helix uniform in width.

Fat-soluble vitamins

Vitamins A, D, E and K dissolve in fat, are stored in the liver, and can accumulate to toxic levels if over-supplemented.

Newton's second law

Force equals mass times acceleration (F = ma); the SI unit of force is the newton, equal to one kg·m/s².

Simple interest formula

SI = P × R × T ÷ 100, where P is principal, R the annual rate percent, and T the time in years.

Compound interest formula

CI = P(1 + R/100)^T − P for annual compounding; interest is charged on both principal and accumulated interest.

Combined work formula

If A alone takes x days and B alone takes y days, together they finish in xy/(x + y) days, assuming constant rates.

km/h to m/s

Multiply a speed in km/h by 5/18 to convert to m/s; multiply m/s by 18/5 to convert back to km/h.

Sum of first n naturals

Sum = n(n + 1)/2; sum of squares = n(n + 1)(2n + 1)/6; sum of cubes = [n(n + 1)/2]².

Successive percentage change

Two successive changes of a% and b% give a net change of a + b + ab/100 percent, applied to the original value.

Clock angle formula

Angle between hands = |30H − 5.5M| degrees; if the result exceeds 180°, the smaller angle is 360° minus that value.

Alphabet reverse position

Reverse position = 27 − forward position, so A is 1 and 26, Z is 26 and 1; used in coding and series questions.

Syllogism rule

A conclusion follows only if it holds in every Venn diagram consistent with the premises; a single counter-diagram invalidates it.

Mirror-image letters

Letters with vertical symmetry - A, H, I, M, O, T, U, V, W, X, Y - look unchanged in a mirror; others reverse left to right.

Bihar boundaries

Bihar borders Nepal to the north, West Bengal to the east, Jharkhand to the south, and Uttar Pradesh to the west; capital is Patna.

Bihar legislature strength

Bihar Legislative Assembly has 243 seats and the Legislative Council 75; the state sends 40 members to the Lok Sabha and 16 to the Rajya Sabha.

Kosi river

A major Ganga tributary in north Bihar, known as the Sorrow of Bihar for its shifting course and severe floods.

Bihar Diwas

Observed on 22 March each year, marking the separation of Bihar from the Bengal Presidency in 1912.

Bodh Gaya

Site in Bihar where the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree; the Mahabodhi Temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

NITI Aayog

Policy think tank formed on 1 January 2015, replacing the Planning Commission; the Prime Minister serves as its chairperson.

Financial emergency

Declared under Article 360 when India's financial stability is threatened; it has never been imposed in India.

Ozone layer

Concentrated in the stratosphere, absorbs most ultraviolet radiation; thinning is caused mainly by chlorofluorocarbons.

Disguised unemployment

A situation where more workers are engaged than needed, so removing some does not reduce output; common in Indian family farming.

Stock versus flow

A stock is measured at a point in time, such as wealth or capital; a flow is measured over a period, such as income or GDP.

Currency issuance

The Reserve Bank of India issues currency notes under the RBI Act, 1934; coins are minted by the Government of India.