General Knowledge
Bharat Ratna Timeline — Remember first three: CV Raman (1954), Rajaji (1954), Radhakrishnan (1954) all start with 'R' sound. Latest: PV Narasimha Rao (2024) - economic reforms PM gets it 33 years later.
Computer Memory Hierarchy — "Really Cool Managers Solve Hard Disk Problems" = Register, Cache, Main memory, Secondary storage, Hard disk. Speed decreases, capacity increases as you descend.
Indian Freedom Struggle Trio — LAL for extremist trio: Lala Lajpat Rai (Punjab), Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Maharashtra), Bipin Chandra Pal (Bengal). All three regions represented.
Peninsular River East-West — "Go Make Karmic Peace" (Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, Pennar) flow east to Bay of Bengal. Narmada & Tापती flow west (both have 'N'/'T' sounds, westward rebels).
Emergency Articles Suspended — During 1975 Emergency, Articles 14, 19, 21, 22 suspended. Remember: 14+7=21, 19+3=22 (arithmetic pairs for civil rights frozen).
Tamil Sangam Eras — First Sangam (Madurai-flooded), Second Sangam (Kapadapuram-flooded), Third Sangam (Madurai-survived). Pattern: M-K-M locations, first two drowned by sea.
Seven Sisters Northeast — "MANIT AS" = Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Assam, Sikkim (eighth brother added 1975).
Indian Polity & Constitution
Fundamental Rights Articles — Articles 14-18 (Equality), 19-22 (Freedom), 23-24 (Exploitation), 25-28 (Religion), 29-30 (Culture/Education), 32 (Remedies). Count in 4-5 article blocks.
President vs Governor Powers — President appoints: CJI, CAG, CEC, Attorney General (all 'C'/'A' national posts). Governor appoints: HC judges, AG of state (state-level only).
Directive Principles Gandhian — Articles 40 (Panchayats), 43 (Living wage), 46 (SC/ST welfare), 47 (Nutrition), 48 (Agriculture/animal) = Gandhi's village-focus ideas in DPSPs.
General Science
EM Spectrum Wavelength — "Raging Martians Invaded Venus Using X-ray Guns" = Radio, Microwave, Infrared, Visible, Ultraviolet, X-ray, Gamma. Wavelength decreases left to right, frequency increases.
Mohs Hardness Scale — Talc (1), Gypsum (2), Calcite (3), Fluorite (4), Apatite (5), Orthoclase (6), Quartz (7), Topaz (8), Corundum (9), Diamond (10). Remember: "The Girls Can Flirt And Other Queer Things Can Do."
Vitamin Deficiency Diseases — A=Night blindness, B1=Beriberi, B3=Pellagra, C=Scurvy, D=Rickets, K=Blood clotting. Mnemonic: "ABCD-K" matches alphabet gaps.
Psychology / Mental Ability
Blood Relations Gender Trick — Maternal side: uncle=mama, aunt=mausi, grandfather=nana (all 'ma'/'na' soft sounds = mother's side). Paternal harder sounds: chacha, bua, dada.
Direction Sense Clockwise — Starting North, each 90° clockwise turn: N→E→S→W. Visualize clock: 12=N, 3=E, 6=S, 9=W. Right turns add, left turns subtract.
Coding Sum-Shift Pattern — If A=1, B=2...Z=26, many codes use letter position ±constant. Check: does coded value = original position + same number throughout? Test first two letters.
Series Difference Method — Write differences between consecutive terms below. If differences form pattern (constant, arithmetic, geometric, squares), next term follows that difference rule.
Mathematics & Numerical Ability
Divisibility by 11 — Alternating digit sum: (1st+3rd+5th...) minus (2nd+4th+6th...) must equal 0 or multiple of 11. Example: 121→(1+1)−2=0, divisible.
Percentage-Fraction Conversions — 12.5%=1/8, 16.67%=1/6, 20%=1/5, 25%=1/4, 33.33%=1/3, 50%=1/2, 66.67%=2/3. Memorize these for instant calculations without long division.
Profit & Loss Successive Discount — Two discounts a% and b%: combined = (a+b−ab/100)%. Example: 20%+10% = 30−200/100 = 28% total discount, NOT 30%.
Time & Distance Average Speed — For same distance at speeds S1 and S2, average speed = 2S1S2/(S1+S2), NOT (S1+S2)/2. Harmonic mean applies here.
LCM-HCF Product Rule — For two numbers: LCM × HCF = Product of the two numbers. If you know three values, instantly find the fourth without full factorization.
Compound Interest Shortcut — For 2 years: CI = P(R/100)(2 + R/100). For 3 years at 10%: Amount ≈ 1.331P (remember 1.1³=1.331). Saves calculation time.
Time & Work Combined Rate — If A finishes in 'a' days, B in 'b' days, together they finish in ab/(a+b) days. Example: 6 days + 8 days → 48/14 = 24/7 days together.
Ratio Proportion Multiplier — If A:B = 2:3 and B:C = 4:5, make B equal: multiply first by 4, second by 3 → A:B:C = 8:12:15. Always equalize the common term.
Tamil / English Language
English Tense Formula — Present: S+V1, Past: S+V2, Future: S+will+V1. Continuous adds "be+Ving", Perfect adds "have+V3". 12 tenses = 4 times × 3 aspects grid.
Idioms Color-Coded — "Red" idioms mean anger/alert (red flag, see red). "Blue" means sadness (feeling blue). "Green" means envy/inexperience (green with envy, greenhorn).
Tamil Sandhi Trick — When two vowels meet: அ+அ=ஆ, இ+இ=ஈ (same vowel doubles to long). அ+இ=ஏ, அ+உ=ஓ (different vowels merge by blending).
Subject-Verb Agreement — Singular subjects (each, every, either, neither) take singular verbs even if followed by plural nouns. "Each of the boys IS ready" (not 'are').