PMS Compulsory Papers General Knowledge Syllabus

What is biodiversity?

The variety of all living organisms—species, genetic, and ecosystem diversity—within a given area or on Earth as a whole.

What is the Higgs boson, and which experiment confirmed it?

An elementary particle giving mass to other particles; its discovery was confirmed in 2012 at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

What is CRISPR-Cas9 used for?

It is a gene-editing technology that allows precise cutting and modification of DNA sequences in living organisms.

What are gravitational waves, and who first predicted them?

Ripples in spacetime caused by accelerating massive objects; predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916 and first directly detected by LIGO in 2015.

What is an mRNA vaccine, and name a disease it was famously used against.

A vaccine that uses messenger RNA to instruct cells to produce a viral protein, triggering immunity; used widely against COVID-19.

What are the four basic functional units (operations) of a computer system?

Input, processing (CPU), storage (memory), and output.

Differentiate between hardware and software.

Hardware is the physical components of a computer (CPU, monitor, keyboard); software is the set of programs and instructions that run on it.

What does CPU stand for and what is its function?

Central Processing Unit; it is the 'brain' of the computer that executes instructions and performs calculations.

Differentiate between RAM and ROM.

RAM (Random Access Memory) is volatile temporary working memory lost when power is off; ROM (Read-Only Memory) is non-volatile permanent memory that retains data without power.

How many bits are in a byte, and how many bytes in a kilobyte?

1 byte = 8 bits; 1 kilobyte = 1024 bytes.

What is an operating system, and give three examples.

System software that manages computer hardware and software resources. Examples: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android.

What does 'Internet' stand for as a concept, and what is the protocol suite that runs it?

The Internet is a global network of interconnected computer networks; it runs on the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) suite.

What does 'WWW' stand for, and who invented it?

World Wide Web; invented by Sir Tim Berners-Lee in 1989.

What is the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web?

The Internet is the global hardware/network infrastructure connecting computers; the WWW is a service of interlinked hypertext documents and pages accessed over the Internet.

What does 'IP address' mean, and what is the difference between IPv4 and IPv6?

An Internet Protocol address uniquely identifies a device on a network. IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses (about 4.3 billion); IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses for vastly more devices.

What does 'HTTP' stand for, and what is the difference with HTTPS?

HyperText Transfer Protocol; HTTPS is its secure version that encrypts data using SSL/TLS.

Differentiate between LAN and WAN.

LAN (Local Area Network) covers a small area like a building or campus; WAN (Wide Area Network) spans large geographic areas, e.g., the Internet.

What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

The branch of computer science that builds machines and software able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, and problem-solving.

Differentiate between Machine Learning and Deep Learning.

Machine Learning lets systems learn patterns from data without explicit programming; Deep Learning is a subset of ML using multi-layered artificial neural networks to model complex patterns.

What is Generative AI, and give one well-known example.

AI that creates new content (text, images, audio, code) from learned patterns; e.g., ChatGPT or DALL·E.

What is the 'Internet of Things' (IoT)?

A network of physical devices embedded with sensors and software that connect and exchange data over the Internet (e.g., smart appliances, wearables).

What is blockchain technology?

A decentralized, distributed digital ledger that records transactions across many computers so records cannot be altered retroactively; it underpins cryptocurrencies.

What is cyber security?

The practice of protecting computers, networks, programs, and data from unauthorized access, attacks, damage, or theft.

Differentiate between a virus and a worm in computing.

A virus attaches to a host file and needs user action to spread; a worm is self-replicating and spreads automatically across networks without a host.

What is phishing?

A cyber-attack that uses fraudulent emails, messages, or websites impersonating trusted sources to trick users into revealing sensitive information like passwords or bank details.

What is the difference between authentication and authorization?

Authentication verifies who a user is (identity); authorization determines what an authenticated user is permitted to access or do.

What is a firewall in cyber security?

A network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing traffic based on predetermined security rules, acting as a barrier between trusted and untrusted networks.

What is the United Nations, when was it founded, and where is its headquarters?

An international organization for peace and cooperation, founded on 24 October 1945, headquartered in New York City, USA.

Name the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China (each holds veto power).

What is the Paris Agreement (2015), and what is its main goal?

An international climate treaty under the UNFCCC aiming to limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably 1.5°C, above pre-industrial levels.

What is SAARC, and name its member states?

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (founded 1985); members are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.