General Knowledge
What this domain tests
General knowledge in the LAT is breadth rather than depth: international organisations and their headquarters, capitals and currencies, major rivers, deserts and mountains, basic science (units, human body, planets), landmark world events, and notable firsts connected with Pakistan. Items are one-line facts, so spaced revision of short lists outperforms reading long articles.
Core rules and concept clusters
- Organisations: learn each headquarters beside its mandate - UN (New York), WHO (Geneva), ILO (Geneva), UNESCO (Paris), FAO (Rome), ICAO (Montreal), IMF and World Bank (Washington DC), ICJ (The Hague).
- Science: SI units (force = newton, pressure = pascal, power = watt, energy = joule), largest organ (skin), largest gland (liver), planet order from the Sun, and the distinction between mass and weight.
- Geography: longest rivers (Nile, Amazon), largest hot desert (Sahara) versus largest cold desert (Antarctica), highest peak (Everest), largest ocean (Pacific), Pakistan's neighbours and coastline.
- Current office-holders change constantly; verify the incumbent close to the test date rather than trusting old notes.
Worked example
Which of these is headquartered in Geneva? (A) UNESCO (B) ILO (C) FAO (D) ICAO Step 1: recall the four seats. UNESCO sits in Paris, FAO in Rome, ICAO in Montreal. Step 2: only ILO remains, and it is indeed Geneva-based, alongside WHO, WMO and ITU. Answer: (B) ILO. The method matters more than the fact: three confident eliminations beat one uncertain memory.
Traps that cost marks
- Mixing Geneva bodies (WHO, ILO, WMO, ITU) with Paris, Rome and Montreal agencies.
- Confusing the ICJ, a principal UN organ at The Hague, with the International Criminal Court, also at The Hague but created by a separate treaty.
- Answering from an outdated current-affairs note; check names of sitting heads of state, secretaries-general and chief justices before the test.
- Assuming 'largest' means 'longest' or 'highest' - read the exact superlative in the question.