Physics - Mains (Part V)

I have uploaded my answers in CSE 2007 Physics exam at the following links. These are not ideal answers but approximately what I wrote in the examination. These answers fetched me 208 and 170 marks in Physics 1 and Physics 2 respectively. I am sorry that the file size is quite large (2.5MB for Physics - 1 and 7.5 MB for Physics-2). Please inform me in the comments when these links stop working.

http://rapidshare.com/files/254431430/Phy01.pdf.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/254432329/Phy02.pdf.html

Based on Mayuresh's inputs, I am also uploading files at Mediafire. This is the link to my answers.

Choosing science optionals

This post comes quite late, more than an year after Civil Services results were declared. But it's better late than never. It has been necessitated by the fact that many aspirants are asking questions regarding taking two science optionals.

My view regarding science optionals (particularly Botany, Chemistry, Engineering subjects, Mathematics, Medical Science, Physics, Statistics, Zoology). I'll call above list as 'Science optionals' even though one Science subjects - Psychology - is outside this list: Please don't pick BOTH the optionals from the above list despite your interest in the topics. This approach has two significant drawbacks.

First, Civil services as a career benefits from exposure to Humanities/arts subjects. They give a new perspective which science students usually lack. Secondly, two of them make the syllabus for examination huge. Each Science optional has different concepts which don't add to either GS, Essay or Interview preparation. One humanities optional definitely adds to GS and essay.

Some secondary considerations are: A science optional takes more time to prepare than an arts optional. Advantage of having one science optional is that consistent scoring is easier in science optionals once the subject has been prepared well. Marks can fluctuate widely in Arts optional over various attempts but not so much in science optionals.

I chose optionals solely on the criterion of my interest in them. Whatever your background, your interest in the optionals has to be your first criterion. That probably helped to study them over a four year period. But during the attempts, I had realised that I was missing out on exposure to an Arts/humanities subject.

Why did I then stick to Engineering and Physics for four attempts? Simple, I had wasted my first attempt (appeared in Prelims without preparation and didn't clear it). Any optional is worth at least 2 Mains attempts - first Mains attempt gives very good feedback into preparation for next attempt. That's how I kept these two optionals for second and third attempts. And it didn't make much sense to change an optional for one final attempt after studying it for nearly 2.5 years.

It's crazy, I know!

Ode to solitude by Alexander Pope

As I said, I'll be off Civil Services guidance and try to build a place my own. Starting with one of my favourite poems by Alexander Pope (written when he was 12 years old):

Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire,
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter fire.

Blest! who can unconcern'dly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away,
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day,

Sound sleep by night; study and ease
Together mix'd; sweet recreation,
And innocence, which most does please,
With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.

Season's Greetings and gear up for Interview

Preparation for Personality Test has to be done as seriously as if appearing for Prelims or Mains exam. It is not possible to judge somebody’s suitability/unsuitability for Civil Services within a period of 30 minutes (my own interviews have not been more than 16-18 minutes). That’s where preparation comes in handy. Be prepared with answers for some of the expected questions on CV (from Mains form), background, optional subjects, Civil Services as a career option, current affairs etc.

Regarding Current Affairs, it is time to voice you opinions – yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is finally time to air your voice on issues as you see them and not as D.D. Basu or Supreme Court sees it. Take 26/11 as an example. What went wrong? What should be done to prevent further such calamities? Can we do an Iraq to Pakistan? Should we or should we not? Get your brain cells working on any matter that makes news. To get an in depth understanding of issue, EPW (Economic and Political Weekly) is an excellent source. It’s time to consult it. Regular reading of The Hindu along Mains pattern should be continued. But have your opinions on issues and be ready to supplement them if facts as and when required.

Questions on CV have to be guessed and prepared on your own. Be thorough with areas of interests, hobbies, your Home State and choice of Services. I had read Geography of Punjab, its history and culture especially related to Sikhism (3 books of BA syllabus), Human Development Report of Punjab (available on internet) to cover topics related to my home state (no question was asked on these, but it’s always good to be prepared).

My areas of interests and hobbies included Bird Watching, Skating, work with NGOs. Since I had pursued these interests quite seriously I didn’t have to work up much on these except revising my work experiences and learnings from these activities. I was asked nearly 8-10 questions on bird watching (difference between falcon and hawk, name of bird kept by Guru Gobind Singh, famous Congressman who was also a bird watcher, latest books about Indian birds, which species of vultures are dying and why, which community would suffer the most if vultures were to get extinct), though none on other interest areas.

Be thorough with basic principles of your optionals. Preparation should not be as thorough as Mains preparation, but basics must be quite clear. Moreover, their application to governance/administration must be done. For example, I had Electrical Engineering as an optional. I consulted Ministry of Power website for latest developments/schemes, role of regulatory commissions, non-conventional energy sources in India etc. from it. During both my interviews, nearly half the questions have been from background topics.

Personality Test is an interesting exercise because it allows your own style to show. Some like to answer a question in 20 seconds, others answer the same question in 2 minutes. No problem with any style as long as you hit nail on the head. I remember answering my opinion on liberalization in India in 2 sentences i.e. around 20-25 seconds (many candidates can speak on it for 3-4 minutes), and a friend of mine answered a most basic equation in Physics in 10 sentences (I would have answered it in a single sentence). Both of us had good marks. All that matters is whether your content was relevant or not.

To improve spoken skills and expand your horizons, sit in group discussions with friends/fellow competitors. It is a must as it brings differing opinions to the fore and increases ability to tackle different point of views. Take mock interviews after getting interview call. Not more that 2-3 mock interviews – any more practice will take way your spontaneity.

Learn to say “I don’t know” to questions on which you know nothing about. It is safest reply to factual questions about which one has no idea. If many questions are going “I don’t know” way, try to hazard a guess but after saying “I don’t remember the answer, but I think, it is …..”. It is quite normal not to know answers especially in pressure cooker situation. However, try to answer opinion/situation based questions (that do not require prior memorization) to the best of your ability. Keep thinking!!

There will be tricky moments; there will be some serious moments. And if lucky, some humorous moments too in the interview. Just try to give a good account of yourself. Don’t show arrogance. If questioned on opinion, state facts to prove it. If questioned on fact, state your reference source or humbly say “I have forgotten the source, but I will check it up”

Lastly, be true to yourself during the interview and believe in God. It’s gonna be just fine.

Questions faced during CSE 2007 personality test:

Chairman:
What is your Roll No. and Date of Birth?
What is your work experience till date?
Why do you want to shift from Engineering to Civil Services?
1st Member:
How does a Hydro electric generator start?
What are the various ways of generating residual flux in hydro-electric generator?
What are the energy sources from ocean?
What is the status of Tidal energy and wave energy in India?
2nd Member:
What is your opinion on increasing inequalities due to liberalization in India?
What are the demands of rebels in Nagaland and why cannot State give in to these demands?
3rd Member:
· “Democracy is against law of nature. Explain”
4th Member: Questions on bird watching as described earlier
Chairman:
· Delhi Police writes its motto “With you, for you, always” on its vans. Somebody wrote underneath it “That’s the problem”. What will you do to correct image of Delhi Police?

My interview lasted for 17-18 minutes and was filled with “I don’t know answers”. Especially in the question “Democracy is against….”, my interaction was somewhat like this.

Board Member (BM): Democracy is against law of nature. Explain.
Myself (C): According to Darwin, stronger survive at the expense of weaker while democracy tries to protect all.

BM: I am not interested in Darwin. You have a background in Physics, think along those lines.

C: (After a pause of about 10 seconds) I cannot think of an explanation right now, Sir.

BM: You have done Physics, you have studied Engineering. Think along these lines. I give you more time.

C: (Again after a pause). I am sorry Sir.

BM: What do you know about “State of Entropy”

C: I don’t know, Sir.

BM: You don’t know what entropy is?

C: Sir, entropy is state of disorder of system. But I don’t know the term “State of Entropy”

BM: Ok, water flows from high altitude to lower altitude; current flows high potential to low potential. Can you think now?

C: Sir, a natural process goes from low entropy to high entropy.

BM: Now can you answer the question?

C: Sir, Democracy tries to bring equality –a state of low disorder or entropy. Hence it is not a natural process.

BM: Yes, now we understand why Communism failed!

This interaction lasted about 3-4 minutes. Needless to say, I was at my wits end and trying best to extricate myself from the situation, but to no avail. In retrospect, what probably helped me was that I did not panic and secondly, took questions after this one in right frame of mind. It is easy to think after a bad phase in interview that all is over. Avoid that. A few good answers can dramatically alter the scenario. KEEP YOUR COOL. TREAT QUESTIONS ON MERIT.

My conversation on “your opinion on increasing inequalities due to liberalization in India”: Sir, when a new system comes in place it is quite natural that people who are ready for it will benefit while others will lag behind. It is the role of government to make sure that all people benefit from the new system.

BM: Then where has government faltered because inequalities are rising in India?
C: Sir, I believe we have policies in place but they are not being implemented properly due to various factors.
BM: So, you are positioning yourself to become a bureaucrat?
C: (At this I could have said that above was true and various factors are so and so. But question was “Am I placing myself to become a bureaucrat”. I coolly decided to say:) Yes, Sir. (All the members laughed at this, and I was thankful for it. It was a double edged answer that was taken in good spirit by the Board).

Interviews, Competitive Magazines and Media: Something for the future toppers (Part I)

During the first three weeks after the D-day (May 16, 2007), I took many interviews with magazines, newspapers and was involved in two programs with NDTV. This post is mainly concerned about my experiences during that time.

First, the competitive magazines. My interviews were published in Civil Services Chronicle, Civil Services Times, Competition Success Review, Competition Refresher and Pratyogita Darpan. I won't go into the details of my experiences with each of these, but experience ranged from disappointing to outright disgusting.

Two of these magazines didn't leave any stone unturned - including trying to make a complete fool of me (trying to get signatures on an empty sheet of paper or on a pre-written letter), bribing me, asking favour in the name of religion etc. - to ensure that I recommended their magazines to the aspirants. I did not recommend any of these and even told one of them not to publish my interview, but to no avail. The interview format itself gives away the intentions. Questions like "Apart from our publication ...... what else did you read?". And since they ask to fill up the form in a hurry, many of these tricky questions slip by and it appears as if the successful candidate is endorsing these magazines. I was lucky enough to spot most of these and strike out such questions, but many have fallen into the trap. BEWARE!!

All the five magazines (including the interview published in the magazine that I actually read) have altered the interview to suit their interests. What I wrote does not appear in toto in any of these. Thus none of these gives a complete picture of my preparation. After my experiences with first three magazines to approach me, I asked the remaining two to get the final interview approved by me before printing it. None of them did it and changed the interview as per their interests.

And one the magazines has quoted me completely out of context. I always say that newspaper reading is much more important than magazines even though magazines are excellent from an examination perspective. So I was very surprised to see a statement which implied that magazines are all important for the examination.

Why am I posting this today? That is due to the conversation I had with Mr. Adapa Karthik (AIR 1) today. After my experiences, I realised why he had refused to be interviewed by any of these magazines. He was aware about all these tactics and refused all interviews. Bravo Karthik, that was well done! I just wish I had been aware too.

And as I write this I am aware that at least two toppers from previous batches and one from our batch had similar experience.and couldn't do much about it. Out of the five of us, Karthik has done what each of us wished we could have too.

Attempting the Mains Examination (Part II)

I’ll probably be going against popular opinion among serious aspirants when I say this paper is not a no brainer. I agree that innovative thinking and conceptual clarity have a limited role to play in the paper. Memorizing the facts is a must. But utilizing those facts in the paper requires a cool, calm and thinking brain. I’ll illustrate my point:

Let’s take the first question in General Studies Paper 2 (CSE 2007):

Answer in about 150 words
(a) Indo-Russian Defence Co-operation
(b) India’s response to political crisis in Bangladesh
(c) Elaborate on India’s Nuclear Doctrine

Question (a) does not read “Recent Developments in Indo-Russian Defence Co-operation”. So if an examinee just mentions the recent developments the answer is incomplete. What’s required in this answer is, probably, 60-75 words on defence relation between the two countries from 1947-2007 and 75-90 words on recent developments.

Question (b) is quite self-explanatory but examinee must organize the answer into various heads like India’s stand on the issue, political response, diplomatic response, humanitarian aid etc.

Question (c) says “Elaborate on …”. This does not mean just mentioning the points in India’s Nuclear Doctrine. The answer to this question should explain the need for the doctrine, and the reason behind each and every point in it.

So read the question very carefully. Spend time on thinking what the examiner is asking and then bring out the relevant facts and analysis from memory. There is enough time to think. Please don’t start writing the answer straight away. Don’t get carried away thinking you know all the relevant facts and will do well in the question. Chances are that by doing so you’ll end up with much less marks than what you deserve just because you didn’t answer what was asked.

The above is equally true for optional papers. I will try to bring out a similar analysis on Physics paper later.

Physics - Mains (Part IV)

Electricity and Magnetism: I had studied Field and Wave Electromagnetics by D K Cheng at college and that remained my textbook for the topic. It explains concepts well but it is not a popular book though and neither is it sufficient.

Cheng does not cover multipole expansion which is done adequately in Griffiths (a popular textbook for the topic). Cheng is quite good in solutions to boundary value problems. Magnetic shell is from D C Tayal. Clausius Mossoti equation can be done from textbook in Solid State Physics.

Cheng and Tayal are ok for Current Electricity portion of the syllabus.

Chopra/Aggarwal is a must for Electromagnetic waves. It’s a good book. Concepts are explained well in Cheng also but not in sufficient detail. EM Field Tensor and covariance are from J C Upadhyaya (Classical Mechanics). Rayleigh scattering is dealt well in Chopra/Aggarwal.

For Black Body Radiation and Thermal and Stastical Physics two books are needed – Thermal Physics by Garg/Bansal/Ghosh and Heat Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics by Satya Prakash. Garg/Bansal/Ghosh is a better book for most topics. So be thorough with it.

Satya Prakash is needed mostly for Otto and Diesel Engines, derivations of statistical distributions (Maxwell-Boltzmann, Fermi-Dirac, Bose-Einstein). Again stick to the syllabus and prepare answers. There will be more than one way to derive many questions. Be thorough with the one you are confident about.