UPSC
This exam has two parts:
Prelims exam
The prelims exam consists of two papers:
(1) General studies paper – I (carries 200 marks) (100 questions)
(2) General studies paper – II :- This exam is also known as CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude
Test) (Carries 200 marks) (80 questions)
Two hours for each exam
Minimum of 30% is required to qualify this part of exam which means atleast 120
out of 400 is required.
Mains part
The main point is that after clearing the UPSC prelims exam you must file applications for
writing or giving the UPSC mains examination.
This exam comprises of 9 question papers and out of these 9 papers two are qualifying
papers in which your pass is compulsory
SYLLABUS FOR UPSC PRELIMS
[1] General studies paper -I
Topics this paper includes are:
Indian history
Government policies
General science
Current affairs
Indian and world geography
Environment and bio-diversity
Economics and social development
Indian politics and governance
[2] General studies paper – II
Topics this paper includes are:
Decision making and logical reasoning
Communication skills
Mental ability
Number and data interpretation
Comprehension
PRELIMS PREPARATION
GEOGRAPHY
# CELESTIAL BODIES
Sun, moon, stars, planets and all those bodies which shine or are visible in the sky
during day or night are called celestial bodies.
# STARS
The celestial bodies which have their own heat and light, which they emit in a large
amount of energy are called Stars. For example, our nearest star is the Sun.
# CONSTELLATIONS
The various shapes or patterns formed by different groups of stars are called
constellations. For example, Ursa Major or Big Bear, Saptarishi, or the Group of
Seven Stars are examples of constellations.
# PLANETS
Some celestial bodies do not have their own heat and light and are illuminated by the light of
the stars or get energy from the stars and revolve around the stars, such bodies are called
planets. For example, Earth, Mars, etc. Our star, the Sun, has eight planets. Pluto is not a
planet, but has been deemed a dwarf planet because it has not cleared its orbit yet.
# ASTEROIDS
Those celestial bodies which are apart from stars, planets, and satellites and which revolve
around the Sun are called asteroids. Asteroids are found in our solar system between Mars
and Jupiter and their number is in millions. Asteroids are fragments of planets that have been
separated by the explosion of planets.
# METEOROIDS
The small pieces of rocks that revolve around the Sun are called meteorites. Sometimes these
meteorites come near the earth and enter the atmosphere and due to the friction of air
molecules in the atmosphere, they get heated and burn, as a result of which light is produced
from them.
Sometimes meteorites do not burn completely and form craters when they fall to Earth.
# SOLAR SYSTEM
The Sun is the center of our solar system. It is made of extremely hot gases. Nuclear
fusion is the ultimate source of Sun energy generation. The Sun, eight planets,
satellites, and some other celestial bodies such as asteroids and meteoroids form a
solar system.
# ORBITS
All the planets of the solar system move around the Sun in a fixed path are called
Orbits.
# UNIVERSE
The universe is made up of millions of galaxies. It is also very difficult to imagine how big
the universe is.
# GALAXY
The galaxy contains billions of stars, clouds of dust, and gases. Our solar system is part of the
Milky Way galaxy. In ancient India, we call as "Akash Ganga" or " the river of light".
SUN
The Sun is the star at the center of our Solar System. It is a perfect sphere of hot plasma. It
has some internal convective motion (convective motion means transfer of internal energy
into or out of an object by the physical movement) that generates a magnetic field via a
dynamo process (dynamo theory describes the process through which a rotating, convecting
and electrically conducting fluid can maintain a magnetic field over astronomical time
scales).
Distance From Earth – 149.6 million km
Surface Temperature – 5,778 K
Mass – 1.989 × 10^30 kg
Radius – 696,340 km
A scale from largest to smallest:
Universe>Galaxy>Solar System>Star>Planet>Moon>Asteroid
MOON
Earth has only one satellite, which is the Moon.
Its diameter = 1/4th of the diameter of the Earth.
The distance from Earth is 3,84,400 km.
It takes 27.3 days to make one revolution around the earth.
There is no water and air on the moon.
Its lunar surface has mountains, plains, and depressions. They cast shadows on the
surface of the Moon.
PLANETS
There are total eight planets in our solar system and they are:
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
There is a trick to learn the names of these planets:
My Very Efficient Mother Just Served Us Nuts
Some Important points to be considered:
Venus is considered to be Earth's twin, the size of both is largely equal.
Saturn has the largest number of moons.
Jupiter is the largest in size among all the planets.
Mercury is the smallest in size among all the planets.
Two-thirds of the Earth's surface is covered with water, so the Earth appears blue
from outer space.
The earth is neither too hot nor too cold. Water and air are also present on the earth
which are very essential for survival. This is the reason why life is possible on the
Earth.
GLOBE : LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES
Our Earth is not a sphere it is slightly flattened at poles.
A globe is actually a real form of Earth in its miniature form.
We can rotate it in the same way as the Earth rotates around its axis at a tilted angle
from west to east. The earth rotates on its axis but in reality, there is no needle but
the globe spins in an inclined manner through the needle.
Two points on the globe through which the needle passes are two poles – North Pole
and South Pole.
The Earth is slightly flattened at the north and south poles and bulges (bulge means
the swollen part) in the middle.
Earth has two poles which are none other than north pole and south pole.
# EQUATOR
An equator is nothing but an imaginary line that runs across the globe that
divides the globe into two equal parts that is northern hemisphere and
southern hemisphere.
The half of the Earth located on the north of the equator is called the northern
hemisphere.
And the other half of the Earth located on the south of the equator is called of
the southern hemisphere.
The Earth moves from west to east.
# LATITUDES
Latitudes are measured in degrees.
All parallel circles from the equator to the poles are called lines of latitude.
The equator is also known as zero degree latitudes.
All parallel lines to the north of the equator are called northern latitude.
All parallel lines to the south of the equator are called southern latitude.
When we move from the either side of the equator, the length of the latitude
decreases that’s the only reason why equator is the longest latitude and the
length of the latitudes at the poles is zero.
As the distance from the equator to any pole is one-quarter of circle around
the Earth. So, the poles are measured by 90 degrees. (360/4 = 90).
SOME OF THE IMPORTANT LATITUDES ARE:
(1) Tropic of Cancer – 23.5 N (north) latitude
(2) Arctic Circle – 66.5 N (north) latitude
(3) Tropic of Capricorn – 23.5 S (south) latitude
(4) Antarctic Circle - 66.5 S (south) latitude
HEAT ZONES OF THE EARTH
Torrid Zone (maximum heat zone) -- This area between the Tropic of
Cancer(23.5 N) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 S) is called the Tropical Zone. In
this region the sun is directly overhead at all latitudes. Therefore, this region receives
maximum heat.
Temperate Zone (moderate heat zone) -- In the Northern Hemisphere, the
region between the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 N) and the Arctic Circle (66.5 N), and in
the Southern Hemisphere between the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 S) and the Antarctic
Circle (66.5 S) is called the Temperate Zone. The rays of sun goes slanting towards
the poles that’s why the temperature in this region remains moderate.
Frigid Zone (very cold zone) – The region between the Arctic Circle(66.5 N)
and the North Pole in the Northern Hemisphere and the Antarctic Circle (66.5 S) and
the South Pole in the Southern Hemisphere is called the Cold Zone. These regions
are very cold because here the sun does not rise much above.
# LONGITUDES
Longitudes are the imaginary lines running from the North poles to the South
poles.
The distance between longitudes is measured in degrees of longitude.
The distance between the longitudes at the poles is zero and it is greatest at
the equator so, the distance between the longitude will decrease as you will
move towards the poles.
The longitude which passes through the Greenwich meridian or the prime
meridian has a value of zero degrees. We can calculate longitudes upto 180
degrees east and 180 degrees west of the prime meridian.
The meridian to the 180 degrees east of the prime meridian is called the
eastern hemisphere and the meridian to the 180 degrees west of the prime
meridian is called the western hemisphere.
[The prime meridian is also known as Greenwich meridian because it passes
through the place called Greenwich (where the British royal observatory is
located) in London]
MEASUREMENT OF DAY AND TIME
The main factor in measuring time is the motion of the Earth, moon and
planets.
Earlier, the local time was measured by the shadow of the sun.
The shadow is shortest in the afternoon and the same is greatest at the time of
sunset and sunrise.
The sun rotates from west to east, so the time to the west of the Greenwich will
be behind and the time of the area to the east of the Greenwich will be ahead.
The earth rotates 360° in about 24 hours, which means 15° an hour or 1° in
four minutes. Thus, when it is 12 noon at Greenwich, the time at 15° east of
Greenwich will be 15 × 4 = 60 minutes, i.e., 1 hour ahead of Greenwich time,
which means 1 p.m.
But, at 15° west of Greenwich, the time will be behind Greenwich time by
one hour, i.e., it will be 11.00 a.m.
Earth has been divided into 24 (twenty-four) time zones on the basis of an interval of one
hour.
