General Awareness is where most SSC CGL Tier-1 candidates either grab a quick edge or quietly lose marks — and inside it, General Science is usually the single biggest sub-block. The best part: unlike current affairs, General Science is static. Learn a fact once and it stays worth marks for years. This guide gives you the complete SSC CGL 2026 General Science syllabus, an honest PYQ-based weightage estimate, and ready-reference tables of the exact facts SSC repeats the most.
Updated: August 2026 · Based on SSC CGL PYQ analysis (2016–2025). SSC does not publish a sub-topic weightage — the figures below are honest trend estimates, not official numbers.
How much General Science comes in SSC CGL 2026?
General Science is not a separate section. It sits inside the General Awareness section of Tier-1. Here is the full Tier-1 pattern so you can see where it fits:
| Section | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| General Intelligence & Reasoning | 25 | 50 |
| General Awareness (includes General Science) | 25 | 50 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 25 | 50 |
| English Comprehension | 25 | 50 |
| Total | 100 | 200 |
Total time is 60 minutes. Under the 2026 sectional-timing pattern, each section runs in its own fixed 15-minute window — so your General Awareness (and the General Science inside it) has to be answered in one focused block, with no going back later. That makes instant recall of static facts far more valuable than slow reasoning.
The honest weightage picture: SSC never tells you how the 25 GA questions split between History, Geography, Polity, Economics, Current Affairs and Science. From year-on-year PYQ analysis, General Science has typically landed in the 6–10 question range — frequently the largest single sub-area in GA. Treat this as a trend, not a guarantee: some shifts lean heavier on current affairs, others on science. The practical takeaway is the same either way — General Science is too big to skip and too static to be worth skipping.
Complete General Science syllabus for SSC CGL 2026
There is no official chapter list; SSC only says “General Science.” The syllabus below is reconstructed from what has actually been asked across recent years, grouped into the three standard branches.
Physics
- Units & measurement; SI units of physical quantities
- Motion — distance, speed, velocity, acceleration; Newton’s laws of motion; momentum
- Work, energy & power; forms of energy
- Gravitation; mass vs weight
- Properties of matter — pressure, density, buoyancy, surface tension
- Heat & temperature; modes of heat transfer; specific heat
- Light — reflection, refraction, lenses & mirrors, dispersion, the human eye and its defects
- Sound — waves, echo, ultrasonics, audible range
- Electricity & magnetism — electric current, Ohm’s law, conductors/insulators, magnetic effects
- Modern physics (basics) — atom, radioactivity, semiconductors
- Everyday science — scientific instruments and their uses
Chemistry
- Matter — states, changes, physical vs chemical change
- Atomic structure & the periodic table (basics)
- Elements, compounds and mixtures
- Chemical bonding (basic idea only)
- Acids, bases & salts; the pH scale
- Metals & non-metals; reactivity
- Common compounds and their everyday uses
- Alloys and their composition
- Fuels, combustion and flame
- Carbon and its compounds (basics)
- Chemistry in everyday life — food, medicines, cleaning agents
Biology
- Cell — structure, organelles, cell as the basic unit of life
- Classification of living organisms
- Plant biology — photosynthesis, transpiration, plant parts, plant hormones
- Human body systems — digestive, respiratory, circulatory, nervous, excretory, skeletal, endocrine
- Nutrition — carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals
- Deficiency diseases and their causes
- Human diseases — bacterial, viral and other pathogens
- Blood, blood groups and circulation
- Genetics and heredity (basics)
- Ecology and environment (basics)
Most-repeated General Science facts (ready-reference tables)
These four tables cover the topics SSC returns to almost every cycle. If you memorise nothing else, memorise these — they are the highest return-on-effort facts in the entire GA section.
1. Vitamins, chemical names & deficiency diseases
| Vitamin | Chemical Name | Deficiency Disease |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A | Retinol | Night blindness |
| Vitamin B1 | Thiamine | Beri-beri |
| Vitamin B12 | Cyanocobalamin | Pernicious anaemia |
| Vitamin C | Ascorbic acid | Scurvy |
| Vitamin D | Calciferol | Rickets (children), Osteomalacia (adults) |
| Vitamin E | Tocopherol | Reproductive weakness |
| Vitamin K | Phylloquinone | Delayed blood clotting |
2. Common compounds — common name, chemical name & formula
| Common Name | Chemical Name | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| Baking soda | Sodium bicarbonate | NaHCO₃ |
| Washing soda | Sodium carbonate | Na₂CO₃·10H₂O |
| Common salt | Sodium chloride | NaCl |
| Quick lime | Calcium oxide | CaO |
| Slaked lime | Calcium hydroxide | Ca(OH)₂ |
| Marble / Limestone | Calcium carbonate | CaCO₃ |
| Plaster of Paris | Calcium sulphate hemihydrate | CaSO₄·½H₂O |
| Blue vitriol | Copper sulphate | CuSO₄·5H₂O |
3. Scientific instruments & their uses
| Instrument | Measures / Used For |
|---|---|
| Barometer | Atmospheric pressure |
| Hygrometer | Humidity in air |
| Seismograph | Intensity of earthquakes |
| Lactometer | Purity (density) of milk |
| Anemometer | Wind speed |
| Sphygmomanometer | Blood pressure |
| Ammeter | Electric current |
| Tachometer | Rotational speed (RPM) |
4. Important alloys & their composition
| Alloy | Main Composition |
|---|---|
| Brass | Copper + Zinc |
| Bronze | Copper + Tin |
| Stainless steel | Iron + Chromium + Nickel + Carbon |
| Solder | Lead + Tin |
| German silver | Copper + Zinc + Nickel |
| Duralumin | Aluminium + Copper + Magnesium + Manganese |
Quick physics recall — SI units: Force → Newton · Work/Energy → Joule · Power → Watt · Pressure → Pascal · Frequency → Hertz · Electric charge → Coulomb · Resistance → Ohm. These get asked in one form or another almost every year.
How should you prepare General Science for SSC CGL 2026?
General Science rewards breadth of recall over depth of understanding. A realistic, honest plan:
- Anchor on NCERT Class 8–10. For most candidates this is enough. You are not being tested on derivations — you are being tested on facts and simple concepts.
- Prioritise Biology, then Chemistry, then Physics. Across recent papers, Biology (especially human body, vitamins and diseases) tends to give the most direct, one-line questions, followed by everyday Chemistry. Physics questions are fewer and more concept-based.
- Build a one-liner revision sheet from the tables above and add to it as you solve PYQs. Static facts are best fought with repetition, not fresh reading.
- Solve previous years’ questions by topic. The same facts recur — PYQs are the syllabus that actually matters.
- Time your recall under the sectional clock. Knowing a fact slowly is not the same as answering it in 20 seconds inside a 15-minute GA window.
If you want a quick reality check on where your General Awareness stands, a full-length sectional mock in the 2026 pattern will show you exactly which sub-areas are costing you marks — more useful than guessing.
A last-weeks revision plan
With the Tier-1 window in the August–September stretch, this is revision season, not fresh-learning season. A simple loop that works:
- Day-wise rotation: Biology → Chemistry → Physics → repeat, with one mock-day in every cycle.
- Every session, re-read your one-liner sheet first — spaced repetition is what moves facts into instant recall.
- After each mock, mine your wrong answers back into the revision sheet. Your own mistakes are the highest-value study material you have right now.
- Do not chase new sources this late. Depth-first reading now trades exam-day recall for comfort. Revise what you already know until it’s automatic.
Test your General Science before the exam, not on exam day. Take a free SSC CGL sectional mock in the exact 2026 pattern — the result page tells you which section (and which topics) are dragging your score down, so you revise what actually matters.
Frequently asked questions
Q1. How many General Science questions come in SSC CGL Tier-1?
SSC does not publish a sub-split of the 25 General Awareness questions. Based on recent PYQ trends, General Science usually contributes around 6–10 of them — treat that as an estimate, not an official figure.
Q2. Is General Science asked in SSC CGL Tier-2?
General Science is primarily a Tier-1 topic, within the General Awareness section. Tier-2 Paper-1 does include a General Awareness module (Section-II), where a few science-based GK questions can appear, but Tier-2 weightage is dominated by Maths, Reasoning, English and comprehension.
Q3. What is the standard of General Science in SSC CGL?
Roughly Class 8–10 (NCERT) level. Questions are conceptual and factual — there are no lengthy numerical derivations.
Q4. Which branch matters most — Physics, Chemistry or Biology?
Across recent papers, Biology (human body, vitamins, diseases) tends to give the most direct questions, followed by everyday Chemistry, then Physics. Prioritise in that order if time is short.
Q5. Is NCERT enough for SSC CGL General Science?
For most candidates, yes — NCERT Class 8–10 plus disciplined PYQ practice covers the majority of what is asked. Extra sources give diminishing returns close to the exam.
Q6. How much time should I give General Science daily?
In the final weeks, 30–45 minutes of focused revision from a one-liner sheet, plus PYQ practice, is usually enough to keep static facts fresh.
Q7. Does General Science have negative marking?
Yes. In Tier-1, every wrong answer costs 0.50 marks, so avoid blind guessing on facts you genuinely don’t recall.
Related reading: SSC CGL 2026 General Awareness — Complete Guide · SSC CGL 2026 Geography Syllabus
