UPSC Optional · 500 marks

Geology

Mineralogy, petrology, stratigraphy, economic geology, geomorphology.

Five deep-dives: syllabus, booklist, paper analysis, strategy, PYQ trends (2021–2025).

What UPSC actually asked in Geology, 2021–2025

80 questions across 5 years, taken from the official papers. Every one has its own page with the directive word, marks, word limit and evaluation rubric.

Paper 1
40 questions · 2000 marks total
Paper 2
40 questions · 2000 marks total

Topics that came up

Crystallography, mineralogy, petrology and sedimentary rocks · Banded iron formations, late magmatic and porphyry copper ore deposits · Biozonation, index fossils, Blaini Formation, saline water intrusion, engineering geology · Coastal geomorphology, remote sensing and GIS, thrust geometries · Continental drift, geomorphic diversity, rejuvenation · Continental drift, plate tectonics, aerial photography, linear structures · Convergent plate boundaries, GIS data types, drainage patterns, drag folds, unconformities · Cosmochemistry, mineral chemistry and petroleum geology

Directive words used most

discuss (31) · describe (24) · explain (13) · elucidate (4) · calculate (3) — see the directive words guide for how each one changes the answer you should write.

Mark distribution

80 questions at 50 marks

Browse all 80 Geology previous year questions →

Practice Geology answers, get AI feedback

Write an answer, upload it, and our evaluator scores it on content, structure, examples and directive-word fidelity — trained on UPSC-style marking.