National Competition Syllabus

Unified Syllabus for Classes 9 and 10 • All Recognized Indian Boards

Lithosphere & Earth's Interior: Crust, mantle, outer core, inner core; seismic wave propagation (P & S waves), shadow zones, discontinuities (Moho, Gutenberg, Lehmann).
Geodynamics & Plate Tectonics: Continental drift, seafloor spreading, paleomagnetism, convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries, subduction zones, orogeny.
Volcanism & Plutonic Forms: Batholiths, laccoliths, lopoliths, dykes, sills, shield vs composite volcanoes.
Geomorphic Processes: Weathering, mass movement (creep, landslides), river landforms (meanders, ox-bow lakes, deltas), glacial landforms (cirques, hanging valleys, fjords), aeolian landforms (barchans, yardangs), coastal platforms, and karst topography.

Physiographic Divisions: Northern Himalayas, Great Indo-Gangetic Plains (Bhabar, Terai, Bhangar, Khadar), Peninsular Plateau (Deccan, Malwa, Chota Nagpur), Coastal Plains, Island Groups.
Drainage Systems: Himalayan antecedent rivers (Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra) vs Peninsular rivers (Narmada, Tapti, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery).
Indian Climate & Monsoons: Mechanism of SW monsoon, ITCZ migration, Tibetan high, Tropical Easterly Jet, Somali jet, Western Disturbances, retreating Northeast monsoon over Coromandel coast, El Niño, and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD).
Soils, Forests & Minerals: Alluvial, Black (Regur/Vertisols), Red, Laterite soils; tropical evergreen, deciduous, mangrove forests; Gondwana coal, Dharwar iron ore, bauxite, petroleum belts.

Global Landforms & Hydrography: Major fold mountain belts (Andes, Rockies, Alps, Himalayas, Urals), oceanic trenches (Mariana), major river systems (Amazon, Nile, Congo, Danube, Yangtze).
Strategic Maritime Choke Points: Straits of Malacca, Hormuz, Gibraltar, Bab-el-Mandeb, Bosphorus, Suez Canal, Panama Canal.
Global Biomes: Equatorial rainforests, savannas (Pampas, Prairies, Steppes), taiga/boreal, tundra, and hyper-arid deserts (Atacama, Namib, Sahara, Thar).

Survey of India Toposheets (1:50,000): Representative Fraction (R.F.), scale conversions, 20 m vertical interval.
Contour Analysis: Identifying hills, ridges, spurs, valleys, cols, saddles, cliffs, plateaus, and escarpments from contour configurations.
Cartographic Principles: 4-figure and 6-figure grid references, calculating gradients (V.I. / H.E.), conventional signs and colors (yellow wash, green wash, red settlements, black watercourses).
Map Projections: Cylindrical (Mercator), Conical, and Azimuthal planar projections; equal-area vs conformal preservation.

Atmospheric Dynamics: Atmospheric layers, adiabatic lapse rates (DALR & SALR), temperature inversions, Coriolis deflection.
Classification & Change: Köppen climate codes, tropical cyclones vs temperate frontal depressions, Milankovitch cycles, greenhouse warming, and ozone layer physics.

Quantitative Cartography: Interpreting climographs (temperature-precipitation plots), age-sex population pyramids, hypsographic curves, Choropleth shading, Lorenz inequality curves, dependency ratios, and GIS pixel resolutions.

Environmental Stewardship: Urban Heat Island (UHI) mitigation, watershed management (check dams, contour trenching), coastal mangrove bio-shields, GLOF risks, soil salinization in canal regimes, remote sensing False Colour Composites (FCC), and ecosystem carrying capacity.