Wednesday 20 April 2016

Strategy for Zoology paper 1

Download e-books for Zoology

There are two papers in Zoology optional in IFS Mains exam.
Each paper is of 200 marks.
There are two sections in each paper:
Section A- Question no.1,2,3,4
Section B- Question no. 5,6,7,8

Where question numbers 1 and 5 are compulsory. And then one need to attempt 3 more questions (but not all these 3 questions should be from the same section, this means that one can't attempt question number 2,3,4 together or question number 6,7,8 together)


Syllabus for paper 1


1. Non-chordata and chordata :

(a) Classfication and relationship of varous phyla upto sub-classes;


  • Acoelomata and Coelomata;
  • Protostomes and Deuterostomes,
  • Bilateralia and Radiata; 
  • Status of Protista, Parazoa, Onychophora and Hemichordata; 
  • Symmetry.

(b) Protozoa : 

  • Locomotion,
  •  nutrition
  • ,reproduction; 
  • evolution of sex 
  • General features and life history of Paramaecium, Monocystis, Plasmodium, and Leishmania.

(c) Porifera : 


  • Skeleton, 
  • canal system and 
  • reproduction.

(d) Coelenterata : 


  • Polymorphism, 
  • defensive structures and their mechanism; 
  • coral reefs and theirformation;
  •  metagenesis; 'general features and life history of Obelia and Aurelia

(e) Platyhelminthes : 


  • Parasitic adaptation; 
  • general features and lifehistory of Fasciola and Taenia andtheir relation to man.

(f) Nemathelminthes :

  •  General features,
  • life history and parasitic adaptation of Ascaris; nemathelminthsin relation to man.

(g) Annelida :

  •  Coelom and
  • metamerism; 
  • modes of life in polychaetes;
  • general features and lifehistory of nereis (Neanthes),earthworm (Pheretima) and leach(Hirudinaria).

(h) Arthropoda : 


  • Larval forms and parasitismin Crustacea; 
  • vision and respiration in anthropods (prawn,cockroach and scorpion); 
  • modificationof mouth parts in insects(cockroach, mosquito, housefly,honey bee and butterfly); 
  • metamorphosisin insects and its hormonalregulation; 
  • social organization in nsects (termites and honey bees).

(i) Mollusca : 


  • Feeding,
  •  respiration,
  • locomotion, 
  • shell diversiy; 
  • general eatures and life history ofLamellidens, Pila and Sepia, 
  • torsion nd detorsion in gastropods.

(j) Echinodermata : 


  • Feeding,
  •  respiration,
  • locomotion larval forms;
  •  general features and life history of Asterias 

(k) Protochordata : 


  • Origin of chordates;
  • general features and life history of Branchiostoma and Herdamania.

(l) Pisces : 

  • Scales, 
  • respiration,
  •  locomotion,
  • migration.

(m) Amphibia : 


  • Origin of tetrapods;
  • parental care, 
  • paedomorphosis.

(n) Reptilia : 


  • Origin of reptiles;
  •  skull types; 
  • status of Sphenodon and crocidiles.

(o) Aves : 


  • Origin of birds; 
  • flight adaptation,
  • migration.

(p) Mammalia : 


  • Origin of mammals; 
  • dentition; 
  • general features of egglaying mammals, pouched-mammals,aquatic mammals and primates;
  • endocrine glands and other hormone producing structures (pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, pancreas, gonads) and their interrelationships.

(q) Comparative functional anatomy of various systems of vertebrates

  • integument and its derivatives,
  • endoskeleton,
  •  locomotory organs,
  • digestive system, 
  • respiratory system,
  • circulatory system including heart and aortic arches; 
  • urinogenital system, 
  • brain and sense organs (eye and ear).

Section- B

1. Ecology :

(a) Biosphere: Biogeochemical cycles, green-houses effect, ozone layer and its impact; ecological
succession, biomes and ecotones.
(b) Population, characteristics, population dynamics, population stabilization. (c) Conservation of natural resources- mineral mining, fisheries, aquaculture; forestry; grassland;wildlife (Project Tiger); sustainable production in agriculture integrated pest management.
(d) Environmental biodegradation; pollution and its impact on biosphere and its prevention.

II. Ethology :

(a) Behaviour : Sensory filtering, responsiveness, sign stimuli, learning, instinct, habituation,conditioning, imprinting.
(b) Role of hormones in drive; role of pheromones in alarm spreading; crypsis, predator detection, predator tactics, social behaviour in insects and primates; courtship(Drosophila, 3-spine stickleback
and birds).
(c) Orientation, navigation, homing;biological rhythms; biological clock, tidal, seasonal and circadian
rhythms.
(d) Methods of studying animal behaviour.

III. Economic Zoology :

(a) Apiculture, sericulture, lac culture, carp culture, pearl culture, prawn culture.
(b) Major infectious and communicable diseases (small pox, plague, malaria, tuberculosis, cholera and AIDS) their vectors, pathogens and prevention.
(c) Cattle and livestock diseases,their pathogens (helminthes) and vectors (ticks, mites,Tabanus,
Stomoxys)
(d) Pests of sugar cane (Pyrilla perpusiella), oil seed (Achaea janata) and rice (Sitophilus oryzae).

IV. Biostatistics :

 Designing of experiments; null hypothesis; correlation, regression, distribution and measure of central tendency, chi square, student t-test, F-test (oneway & two-way F-test).

V. Instrumental methods :

(a) Spectrophotometry, flame photometry, Geiger-Muller counter, scintillation counting.
(b) Electron microscopy (TEM, SEM).



Tips: There are minor differences in syllabus for civil services and forest services. To maintain a proper balance it is good to first cover the topics common for both.
There arefew topics like courtship behaviour in birds, flame photometry that are not in civil services syllabus- However I will be soon sharing my own handwritten concise notes on such topics.)

Trick: Biostatistics, instrumentation methods, ethology are very scoring topics
So if one is not very comfortable with taxonomy there is no need to worry. In that case s/he has an option to attempt more questions from this section.
NOTE: It is the quailty of the answer that matters not the quantity. My attempt in this paper was around 160 and I scored 100+ so there is no need to stress too much even if 60% of the syllabus is completed. Remember it is a science subject, revision is the key.

Source:
The detailed book list is mentioned in this article- Click here


For taxonomy- The small booklets for each phylum is worth reading. they are handy, concisely written and just enough for the exam. One may contact Rastogi publications to get the Kotpal series books.

For ecology Ignou notes are good enough

I will soon share my handwritten notes covering major portion of ethology, economic zoology, instrumentation methods along with model answers.

Meanwhile I am sharing a few ebooks I have. Click on the following to download.

Taxonomy introduction 
Non Chordates
Chordates
Ecology 
Ethology
Comparative anatomy 



30 comments:

  1. Thanks a lot Neha.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Replies
    1. please sir if u have any content provide me also

      Delete
  3. Hi Madam,

    can you please help me with Booklist for Botany ?
    Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You too with botany optional...
      Me too
      Please help me
      If got the book list & strategy please share with me.
      ........thanks

      Delete
  4. I may sound lazy and greedy but it will be of immense help if u could share ur notes for economic Zoology. Thanks a lot

    ReplyDelete
  5. I may sound lazy and greedy but it will be of immense help if u could share ur notes for economic Zoology. Thanks a lot

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Neha, which PMT guide books are good for zoology optional preparation - Krishna's or MTG or anything else. Please mention the one u followed.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. hi neha please upload handwritten notes for Zoology and botany ASAP......it would be of great help also strategy and booklist for botany
    And let me tell you are doing a great work foe unconventional science optional students

    ReplyDelete
  9. mam, please share ur zoology notes.. It would be of great help as I have limited time for preparing zoology as second optional for IFoS this year.. thanx

    ReplyDelete
  10. hi neha please upload handwritten notes for Zoology and botany ASAP......it would be of great help. Since I have less time for my ACF (Karnataka) mains. kprakash4@gmail.com is my ID. Plz guide me.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi mam,please upload your handwritten notes for comparative functional anatomy in vertebrates.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mam plz upload d notes soon...

    ReplyDelete
  13. How to prepare for Zoology optional: strategy, Tips & Syllabus?

    Here is a strategy of Zoology optional by our subject matter experts by keeping UPSC Mains Examination as their focal point. We are also adding some tips that will help you crack this subject with much ease. Adding to that, we are also compiling a list of mandate books for Zoology optional.

    Click here

    ReplyDelete
  14. Madam, should i make concise note from book or otherwise underline and revise.
    Should i emphasis on number of word or diagram. And if i use single colour pen for diagram (same pen use for writing), that would be right or wrong. And if you have ethology note please upload.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thank you So much Sister 👍

    ReplyDelete
  16. Why Anthropology Optional is Best Optional Subject for the UPSC Civil Services Mains
    Watch Now: https://youtu.be/hk-tPqrU5EI

    Anthropology is a social science not a biological science like history, Sociology, Economics & Political science which is one of the popular optional subjects in UPSC/IAS/PSC exam. SAPIENS IAS is one of the prominent IAS Coaching institutes of India for UPSC Civil Services Anthropology Optional. Sapiens IAS also Provide Online Anthropology Optional Coaching and Online Anthropology Optional Mains Test Series for UPSC Mains Exam.

    Visit: www.sapiensias.in
    Call on: +91-8700922126 || +91-9718354962
    Email: info@sapiensias.in || www.sapiensias.in
    Address: 22, 3rd Floors, Opp. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Old Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi – 110060

    ReplyDelete
  17. Are you looking UPSC zoology Optional Coaching for Civil Services IAS Mains Exam, Sapiens IAS is Best Coaching Institute for zoology Optional for IAS Exam.

    SAPIENS IAS is one of the prominent IAS Coaching institutes for UPSC zoology Optional. SAPIENS IAS do not only teach the subject but make the students visualize about the subject-matter which is essential part of civil services preparation. Various scientific techniques, like Mnemonic, flow charts, diagrams, graphs etc.

    For More Info.
    Visit: www.sapiensias.in
    Call on: 8700922126, 9718354962
    Email: info@sapiensias.in
    Address: 22, 3rd Floors, Opp. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Old Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi – 110060

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ma'am I don't have biology in 12th ..and I was doing B.Sc with mathematics... am I eligible to give this exam?

    ReplyDelete
  19. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Mam,can you please share your strategy for botany optional..it will be very helpful for a lot of students without botany background like me and whole hearted thanks for helping us.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Kindly provide the name and writer of ethology book from which you have posted few chapters in pdf form(ebook). I found them beneficial and want to cover remaining topics from the same book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello students i want to help you by providing ZOOLOGY and BOTANY lectures and materials course of 6 month. I will share my ID and password with serious aspirant. Free to contact me. I am doing coaching for IFS and i thought i can share my account with those who are ready to work hard for their dream so free to feel contact me.Thank you mam.
      hardiksuthar00@gmail.com

      Delete
  22. Hello students i want to help you by providing ZOOLOGY and BOTANY lectures and materials course of 6 month. I will share my ID and password with serious aspirant. Free to contact me. I am doing coaching for IFS and i thought i can share my account with those who are ready to work hard for their dream so free to feel contact me.Thank you mam.
    hardiksuthar00@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. please mam its my humble rerquest to u from the core of my hear if u have any content of zoology for upsc please forward that material on this email peeraijaz121@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thank you so much madam for taking time to write this. This means a lot ��

    ReplyDelete