RRB JE General Science Syllabus

General Science syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for General Science in RRB JE, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Physics

   4 topics

   • Mechanics
   • Thermodynamics
   • Optics
   • Electromagnetism
2. 2

   Chemistry

   4 topics

   • Periodic Table
   • Chemical Bonding
   • Organic Chemistry
   • Inorganic Chemistry
3. 3

   Biology

   4 topics

   • Cell Biology
   • Genetics
   • Human Physiology
   • Plant Biology

General Science flashcards for RRB JE

18 of 51 cards from the General Science deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. State Newton's three laws of motion.

   1) An object stays at rest or in uniform motion unless acted on by a net external force (inertia). 2) Force equals rate of change of momentum, F = ma. 3) For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

2. What is the SI unit of force, and how is it defined?

   The newton (N). One newton is the force that gives a 1 kg mass an acceleration of 1 m/s squared (1 N = 1 kg·m/s²).

3. Write the equations of motion for uniform acceleration.

   v = u + at; s = ut + ½at²; v² = u² + 2as, where u = initial velocity, v = final velocity, a = acceleration, s = displacement, t = time.

4. Define work, power, and their SI units.

   Work = force × displacement in the direction of force (joule, J). Power = rate of doing work = work/time (watt, W; 1 W = 1 J/s).

5. What is the difference between scalar and vector quantities, with examples?

   A scalar has only magnitude (e.g., mass, speed, distance, energy); a vector has both magnitude and direction (e.g., velocity, force, acceleration, displacement).

6. State the law of conservation of momentum.

   In the absence of external forces, the total momentum of a system remains constant; the total momentum before a collision equals the total momentum after it.

7. What is the formula for kinetic energy and potential energy (gravitational)?

   Kinetic energy KE = ½mv²; gravitational potential energy PE = mgh, where m = mass, v = velocity, g = acceleration due to gravity, h = height.

8. State the first law of thermodynamics.

   Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only converted; the heat added to a system equals the increase in internal energy plus the work done by the system: ΔQ = ΔU + W.

9. State the second law of thermodynamics.

   Heat flows spontaneously from a hotter to a colder body, never the reverse on its own; the entropy (disorder) of an isolated system always tends to increase.

10. What are the three modes of heat transfer? Briefly distinguish them.

    Conduction (heat through a solid by particle contact, no bulk movement), convection (heat carried by movement of a fluid), and radiation (heat via electromagnetic waves needing no medium).

11. What is the difference between heat and temperature?

    Heat is the total thermal energy transferred between bodies due to a temperature difference (measured in joules); temperature is the average kinetic energy of particles, indicating hotness/coldness (measured in kelvin/celsius).

12. Convert temperature scales: how are Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin related?

    K = °C + 273.15; °F = (9/5)°C + 32; °C = (5/9)(°F − 32). Absolute zero = 0 K = −273.15 °C.

13. What is specific heat capacity?

    The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1 °C (or 1 K). SI unit: J/(kg·K). Water has a high value of about 4186 J/(kg·K).

14. State the laws of reflection of light.

    1) The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. 2) The incident ray, reflected ray, and the normal at the point of incidence all lie in the same plane.

15. What is refraction, and what is Snell's law?

    Refraction is the bending of light as it passes between media of different optical density. Snell's law: n₁ sin θ₁ = n₂ sin θ₂, where n is the refractive index and θ the angle to the normal.

16. Distinguish between a convex and a concave lens by their action on light.

    A convex (converging) lens is thicker in the middle and converges parallel rays to a focus; a concave (diverging) lens is thinner in the middle and spreads parallel rays apart.

17. What is total internal reflection, and one application of it?

    When light travels from a denser to a rarer medium and the angle of incidence exceeds the critical angle, all light is reflected back. Application: optical fibres (also mirages, diamond brilliance).

18. Name the colours of the visible spectrum in order (VIBGYOR) from longest to shortest wavelength.

    From longest to shortest wavelength: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. (VIBGYOR lists them shortest-to-longest as violet→red.)

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