General Knowledge is worth 50 marks on the CSS MPT, level with English, and behind only General Abilities. It is broad rather than deep: short factual questions across everyday science, current affairs, Pakistan affairs, and world history and geography. That breadth makes it feel unmanageable, but the same topics repeat across past papers year after year, which is what makes it manageable once you know where to look. Here's what each part tests, ten worked practice questions, and a plan for revising it.
For how the section fits the whole paper, see the MPT syllabus and marks; for a week-by-week plan, see CSS MPT in One Month.
Key takeaways
- General Knowledge is 50 marks and splits into everyday science, current affairs, Pakistan affairs, and world history and geography.
- Everyday science and Pakistan affairs have the most repetitive, predictable facts: start there.
- Revise from question banks, not textbooks; the tested facts repeat across papers.
- Current affairs: build a one-page monthly note on the last twelve months and revise it in the final week.
What General Knowledge covers
Everyday science draws on biology (the human body, common diseases, vitamins and their deficiencies, blood, cells), the physics and chemistry of daily life (light, sound, heat and energy; common gases, acids and bases, elements and compounds, metals and alloys), and earth and space science (the solar system, the atmosphere and its layers, the ozone layer, pollution and climate). Questions are one-line and factual, no calculation.
Current affairs covers international relations (the UN, OIC, SAARC, SCO, FATF, major treaties and summits), standing facts about international organizations and institutions, and recent national and world events, appointments and bilateral agreements. Alongside the institutional facts, keep a one-page monthly note on the past year's events.
Pakistan affairs covers the freedom struggle (the War of Independence of 1857, the Pakistan Movement and its key figures), post-1947 political history (the wars, the constitutions of 1956, 1962 and 1973, major office-holders), and the country's geography and facts (rivers, dams, mountains, resources, and provincial detail).
World history and geography is the non-Pakistan material: world history (major ideologies, movements and figures) and world geography such as capitals, oceans, time zones and countries.
Ten practice questions
1. Which gas do green plants absorb from the air during photosynthesis?
- A. Oxygen
- B. Nitrogen
- C. Carbon dioxide
- D. Hydrogen
Answer: C. Plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis.
2. A deficiency of vitamin D in children causes:
- A. Scurvy
- B. Rickets
- C. Night blindness
- D. Goitre
Answer: B. Vitamin D is needed to absorb calcium; its deficiency softens and weakens growing bones, causing rickets. Scurvy is a vitamin C deficiency; night blindness is vitamin A; goitre is iodine.
3. Which instrument is used to measure atmospheric pressure?
- A. Hygrometer
- B. Barometer
- C. Ammeter
- D. Lactometer
Answer: B. A barometer measures atmospheric pressure. A hygrometer measures humidity, an ammeter measures electric current, and a lactometer checks the purity of milk.
4. The planet closest to the Sun is:
- A. Venus
- B. Earth
- C. Mercury
- D. Mars
Answer: C. Mercury is the innermost planet and also the fastest-orbiting.
5. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has its permanent secretariat in:
- A. Riyadh
- B. Jeddah
- C. Cairo
- D. Islamabad
Answer: B. The OIC secretariat has been based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, since the organization was founded in 1969.
6. How many member states does SAARC have?
- A. Six
- B. Seven
- C. Eight
- D. Nine
Answer: C. SAARC has eight members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
7. The Lahore Resolution was passed in:
- A. 1930
- B. 1940
- C. 1946
- D. 1947
Answer: B. The All-India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution on 23 March 1940.
8. How many federating units does Pakistan have under the 1973 Constitution?
- A. Three
- B. Four
- C. Five
- D. Six
Answer: B. Pakistan is a federation of four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
9. Who was the first Prime Minister of Pakistan?
- A. Liaquat Ali Khan
- B. Khawaja Nazimuddin
- C. Muhammad Ali Bogra
- D. Chaudhry Muhammad Ali
Answer: A. Liaquat Ali Khan served as the first Prime Minister from 1947 until his assassination in 1951.
10. The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea to the:
- A. Black Sea
- B. Red Sea
- C. Caspian Sea
- D. Arabian Sea
Answer: B. The Suez Canal runs through Egypt, linking the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and shortening the sea route between Europe and Asia.
How to revise General Knowledge fast
- Work from a past-paper question bank. The everyday-science and Pakistan-affairs facts repeat across years: doing several hundred MCQs surfaces them faster than reading textbooks.
- Build fact tables for the repeating patterns: vitamins and deficiency diseases, instruments and what they measure, organizations and their abbreviations, constitutions and their years, first office-holders.
- Keep a one-page monthly current-affairs note covering the last twelve months: economy, foreign relations, major appointments, international bodies, sport and awards. Update it weekly and revise it in the final week.
- Keep a leak list of everything you get wrong and revise only that in the final week.
- Check your accuracy on a timed set is above ~65% before exam day.
Frequently asked questions
50 marks out of 200: level with English, and behind only General Abilities' 60.
Build a one-page monthly note through your preparation (the last twelve months of economy, foreign relations, major appointments, international bodies, sport and awards) and revise it in the final week.
No. The questions are factual and general (vitamins, instruments, planets, common gases), not conceptual. Systematic MCQ practice matters far more than prior study of science.
Everyday science and Pakistan affairs: their facts repeat most reliably across past papers, so timed practice pays off fastest there. Cover world history and geography last.
Trust the number, not the feeling. Run a timed General Knowledge set every few days and track your accuracy across attempts rather than judging by how familiar the questions felt. Familiarity climbs faster than real recall, especially once you've seen a past paper twice.