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🇵🇰 CSS Compulsory Papers · flashcards
CSS Compulsory Papers General Science and Ability Flashcards
52 question-and-answer cards covering General Science and Ability as it is examined in CSS Compulsory Papers. 24 of them are printed below, taken from across the deck — no signup, no paywall on the preview.
24 sample cards from the General Science and Ability deck
Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.
List three structures found in plant cells but not in animal cells.
A cell wall (cellulose), chloroplasts (for photosynthesis), and a large central vacuole.
What is the function of ribosomes in a cell?
Ribosomes are the sites of protein synthesis, where amino acids are assembled into proteins according to instructions from messenger RNA.
Name the main organs and primary function of the human digestive system.
Mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine (with liver and pancreas as accessory organs). Its function is to break down food, absorb nutrients, and eliminate waste.
What are the four chambers of the human heart?
Two upper chambers called atria (right and left) and two lower chambers called ventricles (right and left).
Trace the path of blood through the heart and lungs (pulmonary circulation).
Deoxygenated blood enters the right atrium, passes to the right ventricle, is pumped to the lungs to be oxygenated, returns to the left atrium, passes to the left ventricle, and is pumped to the body via the aorta.
What is the basic functional unit of the kidney, and what does it do?
The nephron is the basic functional unit of the kidney; it filters blood, reabsorbs useful substances, and excretes waste as urine.
What are the three main parts of the human nervous system?
The central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), the peripheral nervous system (nerves outside the CNS), and the autonomic nervous system (controls involuntary functions).
What gas do we inhale and what gas do we exhale during respiration, and where does gas exchange occur in the lungs?
We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide; gas exchange occurs in tiny air sacs called alveoli.
Name the six main classes of nutrients required by the human body.
Carbohydrates, proteins, fats (lipids), vitamins, minerals, and water.
What are macronutrients and micronutrients? Give examples.
Macronutrients are needed in large amounts and provide energy: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Micronutrients are needed in small amounts: vitamins and minerals.
Which vitamin deficiencies cause scurvy, rickets, and night blindness?
Scurvy is caused by lack of vitamin C; rickets by lack of vitamin D; and night blindness by lack of vitamin A.
What is a balanced diet?
A diet that provides all the essential nutrients—carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, water, and fibre—in the correct proportions to maintain good health and meet the body's energy needs.
What is the deficiency disease caused by lack of iron, and what is its main symptom?
Lack of iron causes anaemia, whose main symptom is reduced red blood cells/haemoglobin leading to fatigue, weakness, and pale skin.
Distinguish between communicable and non-communicable diseases, with an example of each.
Communicable (infectious) diseases spread from person to person via pathogens (e.g., tuberculosis, malaria); non-communicable diseases do not spread by contact and are often lifestyle- or genetics-related (e.g., diabetes, hypertension).
Name the pathogens responsible for malaria, tuberculosis, and dengue.
Malaria is caused by the Plasmodium protozoan (spread by the female Anopheles mosquito); tuberculosis by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis; and dengue by a virus (spread by the Aedes mosquito).
What is the difference between bacteria and viruses as disease-causing agents?
Bacteria are living single-celled organisms that can reproduce on their own and are treated with antibiotics; viruses are non-living particles that can only reproduce inside a host cell and are not affected by antibiotics.
Write the overall word and chemical equation for photosynthesis.
Carbon dioxide + water → (sunlight, chlorophyll) glucose + oxygen. Chemically: 6CO₂ + 6H₂O → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂.
What is chlorophyll and why is it essential for photosynthesis?
Chlorophyll is the green pigment found in chloroplasts that absorbs light energy (mainly red and blue wavelengths) and uses it to drive the conversion of carbon dioxide and water into glucose.
What is transpiration in plants?
Transpiration is the loss of water vapour from a plant's surface, mainly through tiny pores called stomata on the leaves; it helps in water uptake and cooling the plant.
Define an ecosystem and distinguish between producers, consumers, and decomposers.
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms interacting with their non-living environment. Producers (plants) make their own food; consumers eat other organisms; decomposers (bacteria, fungi) break down dead matter into nutrients.
What is biodiversity, and why is it important?
Biodiversity is the variety of all living organisms—genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity. It is important because it maintains ecosystem stability, provides food, medicine, and resources, and supports ecological balance.
What are the main types of environmental pollution?
Air pollution, water pollution, soil (land) pollution, noise pollution, and (sometimes listed) radioactive, thermal, and light pollution.
What is the greenhouse effect, and name the main greenhouse gases.
The greenhouse effect is the trapping of the Sun's heat in the atmosphere by gases that absorb and re-radiate infrared radiation. Main greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), water vapour, and nitrous oxide (N₂O).
What is global warming, and what is its chief human cause?
Global warming is the long-term rise in Earth's average surface temperature, driven chiefly by human emission of greenhouse gases—especially carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels and deforestation.
What this deck covers
The General Science and Ability deck follows the CSS Compulsory Papers General Science and Ability syllabus — 6 chapters and 25 topics — so questions land on material that is genuinely examinable rather than trivia around it. That works out to roughly 8.7 cards per chapter.
Answers are written to be recallable, not just readable — averaging about 165 characters, which is long enough to carry the reasoning and short enough to say out loud.
A deck like this earns its keep on the second and third pass. Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then use the cards to find the specific facts that have not stuck.
General Science and Ability flashcards FAQ
How many General Science and Ability flashcards are in this CSS Compulsory Papers deck?
52 cards. This page previews 24 of them, sampled evenly across the deck so you can judge the difficulty before installing anything.
Are these CSS Compulsory Papers flashcards free?
Yes. The preview here is free to read with no signup, and the full 52-card deck is free inside the Examius app.
What do the General Science and Ability cards cover?
They follow the CSS Compulsory Papers General Science and Ability syllabus — 6 chapters and 25 topics — so the questions track what is actually examinable.
How should I use these flashcards?
Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then drill the deck. Examius schedules each card with spaced repetition, so cards you keep missing come back sooner and ones you know drift further apart.