Basic Science for SSC: High-Yield Physics, Chemistry and Biology Facts
Units, vitamins, common chemical names, and human-body facts that SSC CGL, CHSL, MTS and railway papers repeat, with short reasons.
On this page
SSC science is a set of stable facts. The list below is not fifty isolated words. Each line has the reason you can use to reject a neighbouring option. Learn a group, then cover the right-hand column.
| Fact | Why it is asked |
|---|---|
| Vitamin A — night vision; deficiency linked with night blindness | Do not swap it with vitamin D |
| Vitamin C — scurvy; found in citrus | It is water-soluble, unlike A, D, E and K |
| Vitamin D — rickets; made in skin with sunlight | Often paired with calcium |
| Vitamin K — blood clotting | The letter K is the memory hook |
| Vitamin B1 (thiamine) — beriberi | B-complex names are a separate mini-list |
| Iron — haemoglobin | Deficiency is anaemia, not scurvy |
| Iodine — thyroid | Goitre is the deficiency disease to remember |
| Common salt — sodium chloride, NaCl | Washing soda is sodium carbonate; baking soda is sodium hydrogencarbonate |
| Quicklime — calcium oxide, CaO | Slaked lime is calcium hydroxide |
| Speed is a scalar distance over time; velocity is a vector | SSC options swap scalar and vector |
| The unit of force is the newton; the unit of power is the watt | Joule is energy, not force |
| Normal human body temperature is about 37°C or 98.6°F | The Kelvin equivalent is a favourite conversion trap |
| Red blood cells carry oxygen; white cells are involved in defence; platelets help clotting | Do not give clotting to red cells |
| Photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide and water and releases oxygen | The pigment is chlorophyll |
| The adult human skeleton is usually taught as 206 bones | A larger number in options is the trap |
Practice MCQs
1. Night blindness is linked with a deficiency of: (a) vitamin C (b) vitamin A (c) vitamin K (d) iodine
Answer: (b).
2. Baking soda is: (a) NaCl (b) Na2CO3 (c) NaHCO3 (d) CaO
Answer: (c).
3. The SI unit of force is the: (a) joule (b) watt (c) newton (d) pascal only as a second name for force
Answer: (c). Pascal is pressure.
4. Scurvy is due to lack of: (a) vitamin C (b) vitamin D (c) vitamin K (d) iron
Answer: (a).
5. Blood clotting involves: (a) platelets and vitamin K (b) only red cells (c) only iodine (d) chlorophyll
Answer: (a).
6. Goitre is associated with deficiency of: (a) iron (b) iodine (c) vitamin A (d) sodium chloride in every case
Answer: (b).
Practice a quiz
The free practice set on the homepage needs no account. Use it after you read, while the facts are still fresh.
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