RPSC Technical Assistant (Geophysics) Syllabus 2024 - ExamGarh

Syllabus Overview

The RPSC Technical Assistant (Geophysics) examination is conducted by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) for recruitment in the Ground Water Department. The exam consists of 150 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) divided into two parts:

Key Exam Features:

• Negative Marking: 1/3 mark deducted for each wrong answer.
• OMR Instructions: Candidates must darken only one circle (bubble) per question using a blue ballpoint pen.
• Eligibility: At least II class M.Sc./M.Tech. in Geophysics from a recognized university, with working knowledge of Hindi in Devnagri script and Rajasthani culture.

Subject-wise Syllabus

Part-A: General Knowledge of Rajasthan

Unit-I: History, Culture & Heritage of Rajasthan

• Pre & Early History of Rajasthan
• Age of Rajputs: Major dynasties and achievements of prominent rulers.
• Emergence of Modern Rajasthan: Socio-political awakening in the 19th century; peasant and tribal movements in the 20th century; political struggles and integration of Rajasthan.
• Visual Art of Rajasthan:
  • Architecture of forts and temples.
  • Sculpture traditions and schools of painting.
• Performing Arts of Rajasthan:
  • Folk music and musical instruments.
  • Folk dance and folk drama.
• Religious Cults, Saints, and Folk Deities of Rajasthan.
• Dialects and Literature of Rajasthani Language.

Unit-II: Geography, Natural Resources & Socio-Economic Development of Rajasthan

• Geography of Rajasthan:
  • Broad physical features: Mountains, Plateaus, Plains, and Desert.
  • Major rivers and lakes.
  • Climate and agro-climatic regions.
  • Major soil types and distribution.
  • Major forest types and distribution.
  • Demographic characteristics.
  • Environmental concerns: Desertification, droughts, floods, deforestation, and pollution.
• Economy of Rajasthan:
  • Major minerals (metallic and non-metallic).
  • Power resources (renewable and non-renewable).
  • Major agro-based industries: Textile, Sugar, Paper, and Vegetable Oil.
  • Poverty and unemployment.
  • Agro food parks.

Unit-III: Current Events and Issues of Rajasthan and India

• Important persons, places, and current events of Rajasthan.
• National and international events of importance.
• Recent welfare and development schemes in Rajasthan.

Part-B: Concerned Subject (Geophysics)

1. Mathematical Methods in Geophysics

• Properties of scalars, vectors, and tensors.
• Elements of vector analysis: Gradient, Divergence, and Curl.
• Gauss’s Divergence Theorem, Stokes’ Theorem, Green’s Theorem.
• Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors and their applications in geophysics.
• Laplace Transform (L.T): Definition, properties, L.T. of periodic functions, multiplication and division with L.T., L.T. of error and Bessel functions, Inverse Laplace Transform.
• Concept of Complex Variables.
• Numerical Techniques:
  • Root of functions.
  • Interpolation and extrapolation.
  • Integration by Trapezoid and Simpson’s rule.
  • Solution of first-order differential equations using the Runge-Kutta method.
  • Introduction to finite difference and finite element methods.

2. Solid Earth Geophysics

• Introduction to Geophysics: Branches and relationship with other sciences.
• Formation of the solar system, origin, and characteristics of planetary members.
• Earth: Rotation, figure of the Earth, and age determination methods.
• Plate tectonics and geodynamic processes.
• Thermal history and temperature variation in the Earth.
• Convection currents.
• Gravity and Isostasy: Concepts and geophysical evidence.
• Geomagnetism: Elements of Earth’s magnetism (internal and external fields), paleomagnetism, polar wandering paths, seafloor spreading, trenches, and mid-oceanic ridges.
• Internal structure of the Earth and variation of physical properties.

3. Geophysical Signal Processing

• Types of signals and sampling theorem.
• Aliasing effect, Fourier series, and periodic waveforms.
• Fourier transform and its properties.
• Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT).
• Inverse Fourier Transform.
• Auto and cross-correlations, power spectrum.
• Delta function and unit step function.
• Time-domain windows.
• Z-transform and its properties, Inverse Z-transform.
• Principles of digital filters: Types (recursive and non-recursive), low-pass, band-pass, and high-pass filters.
• Processing of random signals.

4. Earthquake Seismology

• Introduction to seismology and phenomena of earthquakes.
• Concepts: Focus, focal depth, epicenter, and great Indian earthquakes.
• Intensity and magnitude scales, energy of earthquakes.
• Foreshocks, aftershocks, and Elastic Rebound Theory.
• Fault plane solutions, seismicity, and seismotectonics of India.
• Frequency-magnitude relation (b-values).
• Elastic modulus and Lame’s Parameter.
• Velocity structure and Vp/Vs studies.
• Types of elastic waves and their propagation characteristics.
• Seismic ray theory for spherically and horizontally stratified Earth.
• Seismic networks, telemetry systems, and earthquake prediction.
• Seismic zoning map of India, seismic hazard, and risk.
• Seismometry and seismic arrays for detecting nuclear explosions.

5. Remote Sensing and GIS Applications

• Fundamental concepts of remote sensing.
• Electromagnetic radiation spectrum and energy-frequency-wavelength relationships.
• Boltzmann Law and Wien Law.
• Electromagnetic energy interactions in the atmosphere and terrain.
• Elements of photographic systems: Reflectance, emittance, and false color composites.
• Remote sensing platforms, flight planning, and orbits (geosynchronous and sun-synchronous).
• Sensors, resolution, parallax, vertical exaggeration, and relief displacement.
• Mosaic and aerial photo interpretation for geological applications.
• Fundamentals of photogrammetry and satellite remote sensing.
• Multispectral, thermal, and microwave remote sensing.
• Image processing and interpretation for geological applications.
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Spatial data structures, visualization, querying, and spatial data analysis.

6. Geophysical Well Logging

• Objectives of well logging and fundamental concepts in borehole geophysics.
• Borehole conditions and properties of reservoir rock formations.
• Formation parameters: Formation factor, porosity, permeability, formation water resistivity, water saturation, and hydrocarbon saturation.
• Archie’s and Humble’s equations.
• Principles, instrumentation, operational procedures, and interpretation of geophysical logs:
  • SP log.
  • Resistivity and micro-resistivity logs.
  • Nuclear/radioactive logs.
  • Acoustic log.
  • Temperature log.
  • Caliper log and directional logs.
• Clean sand and shaly sand interpretations.
• Determination of formation lithology and application in groundwater.

7. Gravity and Magnetic Methods

• Geophysical potential fields and Inverse Square Law.
• Principles of gravity and magnetic methods.
• Geoid, spheroid, and nature of gravity variations.
• Properties of Newtonian potential and Bouguer gravity anomaly.
• Rock densities and factors controlling them.
• Earth’s main magnetic field, origin, temporal variations, and intensity of magnetization.
• Magnetic anomalies, susceptibility, and rock classification.
• Natural and remnant magnetism, demagnetization effects.
• Conducting gravity and magnetic surveys.
• Reduction of gravity and magnetic data, magnetic gradient surveys, and airborne surveys.
• International Gravity Formula and IGRF corrections.
• Separation of regional and residual anomalies and interpretation.

8. Electrical Methods

• Electrical properties of rocks and their measurement.
• Concepts of horizontally stratified Earth and anisotropy.
• Geoelectrical and geological sections.
• D.C. Resistivity Method: Fundamental laws, natural electric field, electrode configuration, profiling, and Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES).
• Types of sounding curves and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT).
• SP Method: Origin and application of SP surveys.
• Induced Polarization (IP): Origin, membrane and electrode potential, time and frequency domains, chargeability, percent frequency effect, and metal factor.

9. Geohydrology

• Types of water-bearing formations.
• Porosity, permeability, storage coefficient, specific storage, specific retention, and specific yield.
• Types of aquifers and vertical distribution of groundwater.
• General flow equation for steady and unsteady groundwater flow in confined and unconfined aquifers.
• Darcy’s Law and groundwater movement.
• Dependency of groundwater quality and yield on recharge.

10. Electromagnetic and Magnetotelluric Methods

• Principles of electromagnetic (EM), telluric, and magnetotelluric (MT) methods.
• Passive and active source methods.
• Maxwell’s equations, electromagnetic potential, and wave equations.
• Depth of penetration, amplitude, and phase relations.
• Principles of EM prospecting and various EM methods:
  • Dip angle method.
  • Turam method.
  • Moving source-receiver methods (e.g., Slingram).
  • AFMAG and VLF methods.
  • Airborne EM systems (e.g., rotary field and INPUT methods).
• EM profiling and sounding, interpretation of EM anomalies.
• Origin and characteristics of MT fields, field methods, and interpretation of MT data.
• Principles of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).

11. Seismic Method

• Basic principles of seismic methods.
• Factors affecting seismic velocities in rocks.
• Fermat’s principle and Snell’s Law.
• Reflection, refraction, and diffraction from multi-layered media.
• Reflection and transmission coefficients.
• Propagation model for exploration seismology.
• Seismic resolution, absorption, and anisotropy.
• Seismic data acquisition: Sources of energy, geophones, geometry of arrays, and digital recording.
• Types of multiples and seismic surveys.
• Principles for multilayer refraction, travel time curves, and static corrections.
• Interpretation of seismic data.
• Reflection principles, Common Depth Point (CDP), NMO correction, Dix’s equation.
• Velocities: Interval, average, and RMS.
• Fundamentals of Vertical Seismic Profiling (VSP).

12. Geophysical Inversion

• Fundamental concepts of inverse theory.
• Definition of inversions with applications in geophysics.
• Probability and inverses with discrete and continuous models.
• Forward problems vs. inverse problems.
• Formulation of inverse problems and relation to matrix problems.
• Linear inverse problems, classification, least square solutions, and minimum norm solutions.
• Concept of norms and 'a priori' information.
• Constrained linear least square inversion and review of matrix theory.

13. Geophysical Equipment

• Gravitymeters: Principles, stable and unstable gravitymeters, zero-length spring, and calibration.
• Magnetometers: Principles and operations of fluxgate, proton precession, and optical pumping magnetometers.
• Resistivity Meters: D.C. and A.C. resistivity meters.
• IP and EM Equipment: Time-domain and frequency-domain IP and EM equipment.
• Seismographs: Principles of electromagnetic seismographs, short-period, long-period, and broadband sensors, accelerometers, and engineering seismographs.
• Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR): Principles and operation of GPR and antennae.
• Geophones and Hydrophones.

Important Topics (High Weightage)

Part-A: General Knowledge of Rajasthan

• History: Major dynasties (e.g., Chauhans, Rathores, Kachwahas), socio-political movements, and integration of Rajasthan.
• Culture: Folk music (e.g., Maand, Panihari), dance (e.g., Ghoomar, Kalbelia), and religious cults (e.g., Meera, Ramdevji).
• Geography: Physical features (e.g., Aravalli Range, Thar Desert), rivers (e.g., Chambal, Luni), and agro-climatic regions.
• Economy: Major minerals (e.g., zinc, copper, gypsum), power resources, and agro-based industries.
• Current Affairs: Recent government schemes (e.g., Mukhyamantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan) and national/international events.

Part-B: Geophysics

• Mathematical Methods: Laplace Transform, Fourier Transform, and numerical techniques.
• Solid Earth Geophysics: Plate tectonics, geomagnetism, and internal structure of the Earth.
• Seismology: Earthquake prediction, seismic zoning, and fault plane solutions.
• Remote Sensing & GIS: Image processing, spatial data analysis, and applications in geology.
• Well Logging: Interpretation of SP, resistivity, and nuclear logs.
• Gravity & Magnetic Methods: Bouguer anomaly, IGRF corrections, and interpretation of anomalies.
• Electrical Methods: VES, ERT, and IP methods.
• Geohydrology: Darcy’s Law, aquifer types, and groundwater flow equations.
• Seismic Methods: Reflection and refraction principles, CDP, and NMO correction.

Preparation Approach

Part-A: General Knowledge of Rajasthan

• History & Culture:
  • Focus on major dynasties, freedom movements, and cultural heritage.
  • Use NCERT books (Class 6-12) and Rajasthan-specific books (e.g., Rajasthan Adhyayan by Dr. S.K. Bhardwaj).
  • Practice previous year question papers to understand the pattern.
• Geography & Economy:
  • Study physical and economic geography from Rajasthan Geography by Laxmi Publications.
  • Refer to government reports (e.g., Economic Survey of Rajasthan).
• Current Affairs:
  • Follow daily newspapers (e.g., The Hindu, Dainik Bhaskar).
  • Use monthly magazines (e.g., Pratiyogita Darpan).

Part-B: Geophysics

• Mathematical Methods:
  • Strengthen vector analysis, Laplace/Fourier transforms, and numerical techniques.
  • Practice problem-solving from Mathematical Methods in Geophysics by Gubbins.
• Solid Earth Geophysics:
  • Focus on plate tectonics, geomagnetism, and Earth’s internal structure.
  • Refer to Introduction to Geophysics by Sharma.
• Seismology:
  • Study earthquake mechanisms, seismic zoning, and prediction methods.
  • Use Quantitative Seismology by Aki and Richards.
• Remote Sensing & GIS:
  • Learn image processing and GIS applications from Remote Sensing and GIS by Lillesand.
• Well Logging:
  • Understand log interpretation from Well Logging for Earth Scientists by Ellis.
• Gravity & Magnetic Methods:
  • Master anomaly interpretation from Potential Theory in Gravity and Magnetic Applications by Blakely.
• Electrical Methods:
  • Practice VES and ERT techniques from Applied Geophysics by Telford.
• Geohydrology:
  • Study groundwater flow and aquifer properties from Groundwater Hydrology by Todd.
• Seismic Methods:
  • Focus on reflection and refraction principles from Exploration Seismology by Sheriff.

Preparation Resources

Books

• General Knowledge of Rajasthan:
  • Rajasthan Adhyayan by Dr. S.K. Bhardwaj.
  • Rajasthan Geography by Laxmi Publications.
  • Lucent’s General Knowledge (for current affairs).
• Geophysics:
  • Introduction to Geophysics by Sharma.
  • Mathematical Methods in Geophysics by Gubbins.
  • Quantitative Seismology by Aki and Richards.
  • Remote Sensing and GIS by Lillesand.
  • Well Logging for Earth Scientists by Ellis.
  • Potential Theory in Gravity and Magnetic Applications by Blakely.
  • Applied Geophysics by Telford.
  • Groundwater Hydrology by Todd.
  • Exploration Seismology by Sheriff.

Online Resources

• RPSC Official Website: https://rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in (for syllabus updates and notifications).
• ExamGarh: https://examgarh.com (for study materials and mock tests).
• YouTube Channels:
  • Study IQ Education (for current affairs).
  • Geology and Geophysics (for subject-specific topics).

Mock Tests & Previous Papers

• Solve previous year question papers to understand the exam pattern.
• Take mock tests on platforms like ExamGarh, Gradeup, or Testbook.
• Focus on time management and accuracy.

Exam Day Instructions

• OMR Sheet: Use a blue ballpoint pen to darken the correct bubble. Leave no question unanswered (darken bubble '5' if unsure).
• Negative Marking: Avoid guesswork; 1/3 mark is deducted for wrong answers.
• Documents: Carry admit card, ID proof (Aadhar/PAN), and passport-sized photos.
• Prohibited Items: Do not carry electronic devices, calculators, or study materials.

Final Tips

• Revision: Allocate the last month for revision and mock tests.
• Time Management: Divide time equally between Part-A and Part-B.
• Health: Maintain a balanced diet and sleep schedule during preparation.
• Stay Updated: Follow RPSC notifications for any changes in the exam pattern or syllabus.