How To Crack NDA Exam in First Attempt

NDA Written Exam is conducted twice a year by UPSC (Union Public Service Commission). Around 4 lakh aspirants, every year, sit for the exam, and only 6 thousand get the call for the SSB interview. So, most of the defense aspirants search for the tips and tricks to crack NDA in first attempt!

Several aspirants clear the exam in their very first attempt, and several cannot do it in 3,4 attempts. One should always focus on the syllabus and exam pattern.

So this article contains some NDA tips and tricks, NDA Syllabus based on proper exam analysis.

Note: Before joining NDA, one should clear the exam and SSB interview. This article strictly focuses on the exam.

About National Defense Academy (NDA)

Before you crack the exam, you should know what you are preparing for; NDA (National Defense Academy). NDA is a prestigious joint service defense training institute of Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air force train before they go to their respective Academies like IMA, INA, AFA. NDA is situated in Khadakwasla, Pune.

READ MORE: NDA Previous Year Paper With Solution PDF Download

You will be excited to know that the recent chief of all three services Army, Navy, Air force, all are NDA alumni.

NDA Written Exam Pattern

It’s very crucial to understand exam patterns before appearing in. The paper consists of two parts.

• Mathematics (Paper 1)
  1. Max marks –300
  2. No. Of questions -120
  3. Negative Marking – 0.83
• General Studies (Paper 2)
  1. Max marks – 600
  2. No of questions – 150
  3. Negative Marking -1.33
  4. Time – 2.5 hours

NDA Written Exam tests your knowledge, patience level, and basics of your academics. Each paper is for 2.5 hours, and in between 1 hour 30-minute refreshment break is given.

NOTE: You have to clear both the paper cut-off individually and then the overall cut-off.

• For Mathematics, the cut-off nearly varies from 75 to 100 marks.
• For General studies, the cut-off varies from150 to 180 marks.

As you can see the two paper has different cut-off, so one should prepare strategically.

NDA Written Exam Syllabus

Mathematics Syllabus

Algebra: Complex numbers – basic properties, modulus, Conversion of a number in decimal system to binary system and vice-versa, Arithmetic, argument, cube roots of unity, Geometric and Harmonic progressions, Solution of linear in equations of two variables by graphs, Representation of real numbers on a line, Binary system of numbers, Binomial theorem and its application, Quadratic equations with real coefficients, Permutation and Combination, Logarithms and their applications.

Differential Calculus: Composite functions, one to one, onto and inverse functions, geometrical and physical interpretation of a derivative – applications, increasing and decreasing functions, Continuity of functions – examples, algebraic operations on continuous functions, Application of derivatives in problems of maxima and minima, Concept of a real valued function – domain, range and graph of a function, Notion of limit, Standard limits – examples, geometrical and physical interpretation of a derivative – applications, Derivative of a function at a point, Derivatives of sum, product and quotient of functions, derivative of a function with respect of another function, derivative of a composite function and Second order derivatives.

Vector Algebra: Vectors in two and three dimensions, scalar multiplication of vector, scalar product or dot product of two-vectors, Applications-work done by a force and moment of a force, and in geometrical problems, magnitude and direction of a vector, Unit and null vectors, addition of vectors, Vector product and cross product of two vectors.

Integral Calculus and Differential equations: Integration by substitution and by parts, trigonometric, Definition of order and degree of a differential equation, formation of a differential equation by examples, exponential and hyperbolic functions, solution of first order and first degree differential equations of various types – examples, standard integrals involving algebraic expressions, Evaluation of definite integrals – determination of areas of plane regions bounded by curves – applications, General and particular solution of a differential equation, Integration as inverse of differentiation, Application in problems of growth and decay.

Matrices and Determinants: Types of Matrices, Determinant of a matrix, adjoin and inverse of a square matrix, operations on matrices, Applications – Solution of a system of linear equations in two or three unknowns by Cramer’s rule and by Matrix Method, basic  properties of determinant.

Analytical Geometry of two and three dimensions: Distance formula, Equation of a circle in standard and in general form, Ellipse and hyperbola, Angle between two lines, Rectangular Cartesian Coordinate system, Equation of a line in various forms, Standard forms of parabola, Distance of a point from a line, Eccentricity and axis of a conic.

Point in a three-dimensional space, distance between two points, Equation of a plane and a line in various forms, Equation of a sphere, Direction Cosines and direction ratios, angle between two lines and angle between two planes.

Statistics: Frequency distribution, Classification of data, cumulative frequency distribution – examples Graphical representation – Histogram, Measures of Central tendency – mean, median and mode, Pie Chart, Frequency Polygon – examples, Variance and standard deviation – determination and comparison, Correlation and regression.

Probability: Outcomes and associated sample space, Binomial distribution, Random experiment, examples of random experiments giving rise to Binominal distribution, events, mutually exclusive and exhaustive events, Bayes’ theorem – simple problems, impossible and certain events, Complementary, elementary and composite events, Union and Intersection of events, Definition of probability – classical and statistical – examples, Conditional probability, Random variable as function on a sample space, Elementary theorems on probability – simple problems, Binomial distribution, examples of random experiments giving rise to Binominal distribution.

General Ability Syllabus

The general ability section comprises of two parts which are mentioned below:

Part – A

English: The English syllabus covers vocabulary, Grammar and usage, comprehension, and cohesion in extended text to test the candidate’s proficiency in English..

Part – B

General Knowledge: The question paper comprises of general knowledge and covers the subjects that include Physics (11 and 12 NCERT), Chemistry (11 and 12 NCERT), Social Studies (6 to 10 NCERT), General Science, Geography(6 to 10 NCERT), and Current Events.

As ,You have seen the Syllabus is so vast, to prepare  one should need hard work and determination and also most important proper strategy.

Tips and Tricks To Crack NDA in First Attempt

Now, here are some tips which most aspirants follow to crack the Exam.

1. An individual should have a basic knowledge of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology; so you should go through the previous year’s question papers.
2. For current Affairs, you can use platforms like YouTube, Telegram, etc. On YouTube, you can see the channel like Study IQ, Wi-Fi Study, etc.
3. For Mathematics, Clear the basics from NCERT books of 11 and 12, and then you can go for RS Aggarwal or the previous year paper (at least five years ).
4. English can be deciding factor because you can see around 50 questions from English, so solved previous year paper, S.P. Bakshi, Arihant PathFinder.
5. For History, Geography, Polity, If you complete with your other subject then take these subjects.
6. One of the most important is Time Management, especially when you are solving a paper of mathematics and general studies do only that question which you know; do not go for a guess.
7. Remember negative marking is there; Firstly solve those questions on which you are 100% sure.

These are some tricks and tips one should follow based on my experience, so best of luck to all.