NDA General Knowledge Physics
Hello NDA aspirants, as you know the National Defence Academy (NDA) entrance exam is conducted by the UPSC and it is the only gateway for aspirants to join the prestigious Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force. The General Ability Test (GAT) is a crucial in the written exam, accounting for 600 marks. A significant portion of the GAT is General Knowledge (GK), and within GK, Physics holds larger weight.
Here in this article we are provided with you a 1000+ NDA General Knowledge Physics for free to tests a candidate’s understanding of fundamental physics concepts, principles, and their application, essential for logical reasoning and problem-solving skills valued in defense services.
Mastering this NDA General Knowledge Physics GK isn’t just about scoring; it’s about building a scientific foundation crucial for a your NDA career. This article breaks down the NDA General Knowledge Physics, NDA Physics syllabus, preparation strategies, and points you towards vital resources like the NDA Physics syllabus PDF.
Detailed Breakdown: NDA Physics Syllabus
The official NDA Physics syllabus outlined by UPSC covers foundational topics. Here’s a comprehensive breakdown:
Mechanics: The Foundation of Motion & Forces
- Physical Quantities & Units: Understanding fundamental (length, mass, time) and derived quantities (velocity, acceleration, force), and their SI units.
- Motion in One and Two Dimensions: Concepts of displacement, velocity, acceleration; equations of motion; projectile motion; circular motion (centripetal force).
- Laws of Motion: Newton’s Laws of Motion (Inertia, F=ma, Action-Reaction) and their applications; concepts of momentum, impulse, and conservation of momentum; friction.
- Work, Energy, and Power: Definitions, relationship between work & energy; kinetic energy and potential energy; law of conservation of energy; power calculation.
- Gravitation: Newton’s Law of Gravitation; acceleration due to gravity (
g); motion of satellites (basic concepts of orbital velocity, geostationary satellites). - Properties of Matter: Elasticity (Stress, Strain, Hooke’s Law, Young’s Modulus); Pressure in fluids (Pascal’s law, Archimedes’ principle, buoyancy); Viscosity (Stoke’s law – basic concept); Surface Tension (capillary rise, drops, bubbles).
Thermal Physics: Heat, Temperature, and Gases
- Heat and Temperature: Difference between heat and temperature; thermometers and scales (Celsius, Fahrenheit, Kelvin); specific heat capacity; latent heat (fusion, vaporization).
- Thermodynamics: Basic concepts: system, surroundings; First Law of Thermodynamics (conservation of energy); simple applications.
- Transfer of Heat: Conduction, convection, radiation; thermal conductivity.
- Kinetic Theory of Gases: Basic postulates; concept of pressure exerted by a gas; relation between pressure, kinetic energy, and temperature; Boyle’s law, Charles’ law.
Wave Motion, Sound & Light (Optics)
- Wave Motion: Types of waves (transverse, longitudinal); characteristics (wavelength, frequency, speed, amplitude); simple harmonic motion (SHM) relation.
- Sound Waves: Nature and propagation; speed of sound in different media; reflection (echo); ultrasound and applications (SONAR); characteristics (pitch, loudness, quality); Doppler Effect (basic concept for sound).
- Light (Optics): Reflection (laws, mirrors – concave/convex, image formation); Refraction (laws, refractive index, Snell’s law, lenses – convex/concave, image formation, lens formula, magnification); Dispersion of light (prism, rainbow); scattering of light (blue sky, red sunset); Human Eye (defects – myopia, hypermetropia, correction).
Electricity & Magnetism
- Electric Charges and Fields: Types of charges; Coulomb’s law; electric field and potential (basic concepts); conductors and insulators.
- Current Electricity: Electric current (definition, unit); Ohm’s law; resistance, resistivity, and conductivity; series and parallel combinations of resistors; heating effect of current (Joule’s law); electrical power.
- Magnetism: Bar magnets (poles, properties); magnetic field lines; Earth’s magnetism (declination, dip); Electromagnetism: Oersted’s experiment; magnetic field due to a current (straight wire, solenoid); Force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field (Fleming’s Left-Hand Rule); Electromagnetic Induction (Faraday’s laws, Lenz’s law – basic concepts); AC vs DC generators (basic principle).
Modern Physics & Miscellaneous
- Atomic Structure: Basic constituents (electron, proton, neutron); Rutherford’s model; Bohr’s model (postulates, energy levels – basic idea).
- Nuclear Physics: Structure of nucleus; radioactivity (alpha, beta, gamma decay); nuclear fission and fusion (basic principles, energy release); uses of radioisotopes.
- Semiconductors: Basic types (intrinsic, extrinsic – n-type, p-type); diode (basic principle as rectifier).
- Astronomy: Solar system (planets, satellites); stars and constellations (very basic).
NDA Physics Syllabus Breakdown (Key Areas)
| Physics Topic Area | Key Sub-Topics | Importance Level |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanics | Laws of Motion, Work/Energy/Power, Gravitation, Properties of Matter | Very High |
| Thermal Physics | Heat Transfer, Thermodynamics (1st Law), Kinetic Theory of Gases | High |
| Waves, Sound & Light | Sound Propagation, Reflection/Refraction of Light, Lenses, Human Eye Defects | High |
| Electricity & Magnetism | Ohm’s Law, Circuits, Heating Effect, Electromagnetism, Induction | Very High |
| Modern Physics | Atomic Structure, Radioactivity, Nuclear Fission/Fusion, Semiconductors (Diode) | Medium |
1000+ NDA General Knowledge Physics Questions and Answers PDF
Mechanics NDA General Knowledge Physics
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1. What is the SI unit of force? | Newton (N) |
| 2. Which physical quantity is represented by the unit m/s²? | Acceleration |
| 3. Which law states that a body continues in its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force? | Newton’s First Law of Motion |
| 4. What is the formula for momentum? | Momentum = Mass × Velocity |
| 5. What does Newton’s second law of motion state? | Force = Mass × Acceleration (F = ma) |
| 6. What is the SI unit of work? | Joule (J) |
| 7. Define displacement. | Shortest distance between initial and final position in a given direction |
| 8. Which equation of motion relates velocity, acceleration, and displacement? | v² = u² + 2as |
| 9. What is the direction of centripetal force? | Always towards the centre of the circular path |
| 10. Which motion is involved in a projectile? | Two-dimensional motion |
| 11. What is the unit of power in SI? | Watt (W) |
| 12. What is the work done when the angle between force and displacement is 90°? | Zero |
| 13. State the law of conservation of energy. | Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed |
| 14. What is gravitational acceleration on Earth’s surface? | Approximately 9.8 m/s² |
| 15. What does Newton’s Law of Gravitation state? | Every mass attracts every other mass with a force proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of their distance |
| 16. What is orbital velocity? | The velocity required to keep a satellite in a stable orbit around a planet |
| 17. What is a geostationary satellite? | A satellite that remains fixed over one point of the Earth’s equator |
| 18. Define Young’s modulus. | Ratio of stress to strain in the elastic limit |
| 19. What is Pascal’s Law? | Pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted undiminished in all directions |
| 20. What principle explains why objects float in water? | Archimedes’ Principle |
| 21. What causes a rise in liquid inside a capillary tube? | Surface tension |
| 22. What is the force acting opposite to motion in viscous fluids? | Viscous force |
| 23. What does Stoke’s law calculate? | Viscous drag force on spherical objects in a fluid |
| 24. What is impulse equal to? | Change in momentum (Impulse = Force × Time) |
| 25. What is the SI unit of pressure? | Pascal (Pa) |
Thermal Physics NDA General Knowledge Physics
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1. What is the basic difference between heat and temperature? | Heat is energy in transit; temperature measures the degree of hotness. |
| 2. Which thermometer scale starts at absolute zero? | Kelvin scale |
| 3. What is the boiling point of water in Celsius? | 100°C |
| 4. What is the freezing point of water in Fahrenheit? | 32°F |
| 5. What is the SI unit of heat? | Joule (J) |
| 6. Define specific heat capacity. | Amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1°C. |
| 7. What is latent heat of fusion? | Heat required to change a solid to liquid without temperature change. |
| 8. What is latent heat of vaporization? | Heat required to convert a liquid into gas without change in temperature. |
| 9. What is the zeroth law of thermodynamics used to define? | Temperature |
| 10. What is the first law of thermodynamics? | Heat supplied = Increase in internal energy + Work done by system. |
| 11. In thermodynamics, what do we call the part of the universe under study? | System |
| 12. What is the surrounding in thermodynamics? | Everything external to the system. |
| 13. Name the three modes of heat transfer. | Conduction, convection, radiation |
| 14. Which mode of heat transfer does not require any medium? | Radiation |
| 15. What is thermal conductivity? | Property of a material to conduct heat. |
| 16. Which metal has the highest thermal conductivity? | Silver |
| 17. What does the kinetic theory of gases assume about gas molecules? | They are in constant random motion and collisions are elastic. |
| 18. What is the cause of pressure in a gas according to kinetic theory? | Collisions of molecules with the walls of the container. |
| 19. What is the relation between kinetic energy and temperature of a gas? | Average kinetic energy is directly proportional to absolute temperature. |
| 20. What does Boyle’s Law state? | Pressure is inversely proportional to volume at constant temperature. |
| 21. What does Charles’s Law state? | Volume is directly proportional to temperature at constant pressure. |
| 22. What is the SI unit of temperature? | Kelvin (K) |
| 23. What is the absolute zero temperature in Celsius? | –273.15°C |
| 24. Which device is used to measure temperature accurately? | Thermometer |
| 25. What does specific heat explain about a material? | Its ability to store heat. |
Wave Sound & Light NDA General Knowledge Physics
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1. What are the two main types of waves based on particle motion? | Transverse and Longitudinal waves |
| 2. Which wave has particle vibration perpendicular to wave direction? | Transverse wave |
| 3. What is the SI unit of frequency? | Hertz (Hz) |
| 4. Define amplitude of a wave. | Maximum displacement from the mean position |
| 5. What is the relation between wave speed, frequency, and wavelength? | Speed = Frequency × Wavelength |
| 6. Which physical motion follows a simple harmonic motion (SHM)? | Pendulum or vibrating tuning fork |
| 7. In which medium does sound travel fastest – air, water, or steel? | Steel |
| 8. What is the approximate speed of sound in air at room temperature? | 343 m/s |
| 9. What is an echo? | Reflection of sound heard after a short delay |
| 10. What is the minimum distance to hear a clear echo? | 17.2 meters |
| 11. What is SONAR used for? | Measuring ocean depth and locating underwater objects |
| 12. What property of sound determines pitch? | Frequency |
| 13. What property of sound determines loudness? | Amplitude |
| 14. What property of sound determines quality or timbre? | Waveform |
| 15. What is the Doppler Effect in sound? | Change in frequency due to relative motion of source and observer |
| 16. State the law of reflection of light. | Angle of incidence = Angle of reflection |
| 17. What type of image is formed by a concave mirror when object is placed beyond the centre of curvature? | Real, inverted, and diminished |
| 18. What is the refractive index? | Ratio of speed of light in vacuum to that in the medium |
| 19. What does Snell’s Law state? | n₁sinθ₁ = n₂sinθ₂ |
| 20. What type of image does a convex lens form when the object is between lens and focus? | Virtual, erect, and magnified |
| 21. What is the lens formula? | 1/f = 1/v – 1/u |
| 22. What causes dispersion of white light through a prism? | Different refractive indices for different wavelengths |
| 23. Why does the sky appear blue? | Due to scattering of shorter (blue) wavelengths |
| 24. Why do sunsets appear red? | Red light is least scattered during sunset |
| 25. Which lens is used to correct myopia? | Concave lens |
Electricity and Magnetism NDA General Knowledge Physics
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1. What are the two types of electric charges? | Positive and Negative |
| 2. What does Coulomb’s Law state? | Force between two charges is directly proportional to the product of charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them |
| 3. What is the SI unit of electric charge? | Coulomb (C) |
| 4. What is an electric field? | Region around a charge where its influence can be felt by another charge |
| 5. What is the unit of electric field? | Newton per Coulomb (N/C) |
| 6. What is the electric potential at a point? | Work done to bring a unit positive charge from infinity to that point |
| 7. Name two good conductors of electricity. | Copper and Silver |
| 8. Name two insulators. | Plastic and Rubber |
| 9. Define electric current. | Rate of flow of electric charge |
| 10. What is the SI unit of current? | Ampere (A) |
| 11. State Ohm’s Law. | V = IR (Voltage = Current × Resistance) |
| 12. What is resistivity? | Resistance of a unit cube of the material |
| 13. What happens to resistance in a series combination? | It adds up (R = R₁ + R₂ + R₃…) |
| 14. What happens to total resistance in a parallel combination? | It decreases (1/R = 1/R₁ + 1/R₂ +…) |
| 15. What is the SI unit of resistance? | Ohm (Ω) |
| 16. State Joule’s Law of Heating. | Heat = I²Rt (where I = current, R = resistance, t = time) |
| 17. What is the formula for electrical power? | Power = Voltage × Current (P = VI) |
| 18. What are the poles of a bar magnet? | North Pole and South Pole |
| 19. What do magnetic field lines indicate? | Direction and strength of magnetic field |
| 20. What is magnetic declination? | Angle between geographic north and magnetic north |
| 21. What does Oersted’s experiment show? | Electric current produces magnetic field |
| 22. What is the magnetic field inside a solenoid? | Uniform and strong |
| 23. State Fleming’s Left-Hand Rule. | Used to find the direction of force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field |
| 24. State Faraday’s First Law of Electromagnetic Induction. | An emf is induced when magnetic flux through a coil changes |
| 25. What is the difference between AC and DC current? | AC reverses direction periodically; DC flows in one direction |
Modern Physics NDA General Knowledge Physics
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1. What are the basic constituents of an atom? | Electron, proton, and neutron |
| 2. Who discovered the nucleus of an atom? | Ernest Rutherford |
| 3. What is the major drawback of Rutherford’s model? | It couldn’t explain atomic stability |
| 4. Who proposed the concept of quantized energy levels in atoms? | Niels Bohr |
| 5. What happens when an electron jumps from a higher to a lower orbit? | Energy is emitted as radiation |
| 6. What is the charge of an electron? | –1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ coulomb |
| 7. Where are protons and neutrons located in an atom? | In the nucleus |
| 8. What is radioactivity? | Spontaneous emission of particles or rays from unstable nuclei |
| 9. Which radiation has the highest penetrating power? | Gamma rays |
| 10. What is alpha decay? | Emission of 2 protons and 2 neutrons (Helium nucleus) |
| 11. What is beta decay? | Emission of an electron or positron from the nucleus |
| 12. What is nuclear fission? | Splitting of a heavy nucleus into two lighter nuclei with energy release |
| 13. What is nuclear fusion? | Combining of two light nuclei to form a heavier nucleus with energy release |
| 14. Which nuclear process powers the Sun? | Nuclear fusion |
| 15. Name one medical use of radioisotopes. | Cancer treatment (radiotherapy) |
| 16. What is a semiconductor? | A material whose conductivity lies between that of conductors and insulators |
| 17. Name two types of semiconductors. | Intrinsic and Extrinsic |
| 18. What are the two types of extrinsic semiconductors? | n-type and p-type |
| 19. What is a diode used for? | To allow current in one direction only (acts as a rectifier) |
| 20. What is the function of a p-n junction diode? | Converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) |
| 21. Name the planet closest to the Sun. | Mercury |
| 22. What is the largest planet in our solar system? | Jupiter |
| 23. Name Earth’s natural satellite. | Moon |
| 24. What are constellations? | Groups of stars forming recognizable patterns |
| 25. Which star is closest to Earth after the Sun? | Proxima Centauri |
Strategies for NDA Physics GK Preparation
Success hinges on a focused approach:
- Master the Official Syllabus: Download the latest NDA syllabus 2025 PDF from the UPSC website. This is your blueprint – ensure you cover everything listed under Physics in the NDA GAT syllabus.
- Build Strong Conceptual Foundations: Focus on understanding concepts rather than rote learning. Use NCERT Physics textbooks (Class 9-12) – they are excellent for clarity. Bold Key Terms: Ensure you clearly define and understand terms like Inertia, Refractive Index, Electromagnetic Induction.
- Practice MCQs Relentlessly: Solve previous years’ NDA question papers and dedicated MCQ banks. Analyze mistakes to identify weak areas.
- Focus on Application: NDA questions often test the application of principles to everyday situations or simple problems. Practice numericals based on formulas from mechanics, electricity, and optics.
- Use Quality Resources: Supplement NCERT with reputable NDA-specific guidebooks (e.g., Paramount, Pathfinder) known for covering the NDA Physics syllabus comprehensively. Look for NDA General Knowledge Physics PDF compilations of notes or question banks from trusted sources. (Be cautious of unverified “free download” sources).
- Regular Revision: Physics concepts are interconnected. Schedule frequent revisions using short notes or flashcards for formulas and definitions.
Recommended Books & Resources
- NCERT Physics Textbooks (Class XI & XII): These books are absolute bedrock for your basic to complex conceptual clarity.
- “Objective General Knowledge” by Lucent’s: It is Good for concise GK coverage including Physics.
- “Pathfinder for NDA & NA” by Arihant Publications: Comprehensive guide covering all sections, including detailed Physics as per NDA syllabus.
- “NDA & NA Previous Years’ Solved Papers” (Arihant/Upkar/Paramount): Essential for understanding the pattern and practicing MCQs.
- Official UPSC Website: For downloading the latest NDA syllabus 2025 PDF and official notifications. Search for “NDA syllabus PDF download“.
- Reputable Online Platforms: Sites like ybstudy, SSBCrack, BYJU’S Exam Prep (Defence), Unacademy (Defence) offer structured courses, notes (sometimes NDA general knowledge physics pdf free download), and practice tests.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: Where can I find the official NDA Physics syllabus PDF?
Answer: You can Download the latest NDA syllabus 2026 PDF directly from the UPSC official website (www.upsc.gov.in) under the ‘Examination’ > ‘Notification’ section for NDA/NA.
Q2: Is the NDA Physics syllabus tough?
Answer: No, It covers Class 11-12 NCERT fundamentals. Focus on concepts & application, not advanced theory. Consistent study makes it manageable.
Q3: Which Physics topics are most important for NDA?
Answer: Mechanics (Laws of Motion, Work/Energy), Electricity & Magnetism (Ohm’s Law, Circuits, E&M), Light (Reflection/Refraction, Lenses), and Sound are consistently high-yield areas.
Q4: Are numerical problems asked in NDA Physics GK?
Answer: Yes, expect numericals based on core formulas (e.g., motion, lenses, mirrors, circuits, work/power). Practice calculations without calculators.
Q5: Can I rely solely on NCERT for NDA Physics GK?
Answer: as we know NCERT is essential for each concepts. However, you can supplement it with NDA-specific guides for question patterns, additional practice MCQs, and coverage of application-based questions as per the NDA GAT syllabus.