Laboratory Attendant — Question Paper Analysis (Set-A)
Laboratory Attendant — Question Paper Analysis (Set-A)
Exam: JKSSB Laboratory Attendant, Home Department, J&K — held 10.05.2026 Structure: 120 MCQs • 120 marks • 120 minutes • 1 mark each • ¼ negative marking Blueprint: 6 sections × 20 marks each. The paper covers all six but orders them English → Mathematics → Mental Ability → General Awareness → General Science → Computer Applications (Maths and Mental Ability appear before GA/Science, unlike the syllabus listing). Corrections: No questions were discarded or revised in the provisional key.
1. Section-wise distribution
| Section | Questions | No. of Q | Marks | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General English | Q1–Q20 | 20 | 20 | 16.7% |
| Mathematics | Q21–Q40 | 20 | 20 | 16.7% |
| Mental Ability | Q41–Q60 | 20 | 20 | 16.7% |
| General Awareness | Q61–Q80 | 20 | 20 | 16.7% |
| General Science | Q81–Q100 | 20 | 20 | 16.7% |
| Computer Applications | Q101–Q120 | 20 | 20 | 16.7% |
The paper is perfectly balanced — 20 marks per section.
General English ████████████████████ 20
Mathematics ████████████████████ 20
Mental Ability ████████████████████ 20
General Awareness ████████████████████ 20
General Science ████████████████████ 20
Computer Applications ████████████████████ 20
2. General English (Q1–Q20): sub-topic breakdown
| Sub-topic | Questions | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Comprehension (passage Q11–13) | Q11, Q12, Q13 | 3 |
| Spellings | Q16, Q19 | 2 |
| Synonyms | Q1, Q2 | 2 |
| Antonyms | Q3, Q4 | 2 |
| Rearranging jumbled sentences | Q5, Q6 | 2 |
| Narration | Q7, Q10 | 2 |
| Editing / Proof Reading | Q14, Q15 | 2 |
| Vocabulary / one-word / fill-blank | Q9, Q17 | 2 |
| Idioms and phrases | Q8 | 1 |
| Pronouns | Q18 | 1 |
| Sentence correction | Q20 | 1 |
Emphasis: A single reading passage (on Kuhn's paradigm shifts) yields a 3-mark cluster that cleverly tests comprehension + voice + clause type together. Vocabulary is notably hard (persiflage, recalcitrant, succinct, perturbed, colloquial, conflagration) — the toughest English of the whole paper set.
3. Mathematics (Q21–Q40): topic breakdown
| Sub-topic | Questions | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Mensuration (surface areas/volumes, conversions) | Q23, Q25, Q26, Q33, Q37, Q39 | 6 |
| Profit & Loss | Q27, Q30, Q31, Q34 | 4 |
| Simple / Compound Interest | Q28, Q35, Q38 | 3 |
| Progression | Q21, Q29 | 2 |
| Probability | Q32, Q40 | 2 |
| Linear equations | Q24, Q36 | 2 |
| BODMAS / surds | Q22 | 1 |
Emphasis: Mensuration dominates (6 Qs) — exactly matching the syllabus's stress on "surface areas and volumes of combinations… frustum, converting one solid into another." Together with Profit & Loss (4) and Interest (3), this is a calculation-heavy section and the biggest time sink of the paper — several problems (Q24 minimisation, Q33 sphere-in-cube, Q35 loan return) are multi-step and genuinely hard.
4. Mental Ability (Q41–Q60): topic breakdown
| Sub-topic | Questions | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Statements & conclusions | Q53, Q54, Q58, Q59, Q60 | 5 |
| Number series | Q41, Q42, Q43 | 3 |
| Letter series | Q44, Q45, Q46 | 3 |
| Speed, Distance & Time | Q55, Q56, Q57 | 3 |
| Coding-decoding | Q47, Q48 | 2 |
| Direction sense | Q49, Q50 | 2 |
| Blood relations | Q51, Q52 | 2 |
Emphasis: Statements-and-conclusions / assertion-reason (5) leads, including two logical A-R pairs (Q59, Q60). Series (number + letter = 6) and Speed-Distance-Time (3) are the reliable scoring clusters. This section is the fastest and most predictable of the quantitative half.
5. General Awareness (Q61–Q80): theme breakdown
| Theme | Questions | Count |
|---|---|---|
| J&K-specific | Q74, Q75, Q76, Q77, Q78, Q79, Q80 | 7 |
| Atomic / Nuclear research | Q61, Q65, Q66 | 3 |
| Current events (national) | Q64, Q71 | 2 |
| International organisations / UN | Q62, Q63 | 2 |
| Honours & Economy | Q67, Q68, Q69 | 3 |
| Geography / Transport / Weather | Q70, Q72, Q73 | 3 |
Emphasis: As across the whole JKSSB set, J&K is the biggest theme (7 questions) — Rauf dance, wetlands, ODOP products, the MUMKIN scheme, IUCN species, the Reorganisation Act and Jhelum tributaries. Reflecting the "Home Department / science-lab" character and the syllabus's atomic-research emphasis, there is an unusually strong nuclear/atomic cluster (SHANTI Act, PFBR, ITER) and very fresh current affairs (Axiom-4, Nobel Peace 2025, Economic Survey 2025-26, SHANTI Act 2025).
J&K-specific ███████ 7
Atomic/Nuclear ███ 3
Honours & Economy ███ 3
Geography/Transport ███ 3
Current events ██ 2
Intl. organisations ██ 2
6. General Science (Q81–Q100): topic breakdown
| Sub-topic | Questions | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Metals — properties/reactivity/extraction/ores | Q86, Q87, Q88, Q89, Q90, Q91 | 6 |
| Life processes / reproduction / classification | Q92, Q93, Q98, Q99, Q100 | 5 |
| Energy sources (conventional/ocean) | Q83, Q84 | 2 |
| Environmental pollution / ecosystem / ozone | Q95, Q96, Q97 | 3 |
| Excretion | Q94 | 1 |
| Acids | Q82 | 1 |
| Gravitation | Q81 | 1 |
| Non-metals | Q85 | 1 |
Emphasis: Chemistry of metals dominates (6 Qs) — physical/chemical properties, reactivity series, ores and extraction — mirroring the syllabus's detailed metallurgy block. Biology (life processes, reproduction, classification = 5) is the next-strongest. This is a broad, factual, class-X-level science section — high-yield for a prepared candidate.
7. Computer Applications (Q101–Q120): sub-topic breakdown
| Sub-topic | Questions | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system (virtual memory, file system, Linux) | Q113, Q114, Q115 | 3 |
| Hardware & Software (troubleshooting, drivers, OS abstraction) | Q103, Q105, Q112 | 3 |
| Input & Output devices | Q102, Q104, Q111 | 3 |
| E-mail & Internet (Gmail, cloud, browser/DNS) | Q108, Q109, Q116 | 3 |
| MS Office (Word/Excel/Access/PowerPoint) | Q106, Q107, Q117, Q118 | 4 |
| Fundamentals (execution, cache/register/compiler) | Q101, Q110 | 2 |
| MS Word/PowerPoint templates | Q119 | 1 |
| Databases | Q120 | 1 |
Emphasis: A scenario/application-heavy computer section — most questions are framed as real situations ("a technician swaps the OS drive…", "Riya on a LAN with no Internet…", "a video editor installs a GPU…"). MS Office (4), OS, Hardware, I/O and Internet each contribute ~3. It rewards practical understanding over rote definitions.
8. Difficulty & question-type profile
| Type | Approx. count | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-step calculation | ~18 | Mathematics + Speed-Distance-Time |
| Statement / assertion-reason / "which correct" | ~25 | Heavy in GA, Science, Mental Ability |
| Match-the-following | ~8 | Q62, Q72, Q76, Q82, Q99, Q110, etc. |
| Scenario / application | ~12 | Almost all of the Computer section |
| Reading comprehension | 3 | Q11–Q13 |
| Direct factual / single-line | ~25 | Science facts, GA one-liners, English vocab |
- Easiest scoring zones: Mental Ability series/coding, General Science facts, and grammar items in English.
- Hardest / most time-consuming: the Mathematics section (Mensuration + minimisation + loan-return) and the hard English vocabulary.
- Freshest content: GA current affairs — Axiom-4, SHANTI Act 2025, Nobel Peace 2025, Economic Survey 2025-26 — all need up-to-date knowledge.
9. Which portions are most emphasized (overall takeaways)
- J&K General Awareness is the single biggest theme (7 Qs) — Rauf, wetlands, ODOP, MUMKIN, IUCN species, Reorganisation Act, rivers. Highest-yield prep area.
- Mensuration is the maths backbone (6 of 20) — practise combined solids, conversions and surface-area/volume problems; this section is the main score differentiator.
- Metallurgy dominates science (6 of 20) — reactivity series, ores, extraction methods, metal/non-metal properties.
- A strong nuclear/atomic-research cluster in GA (SHANTI Act, PFBR, ITER) reflects this post's science/Home-Department flavour.
- The Computer section is scenario-based — understand why, not just definitions (virtual memory, drivers, DNS, Slide Master, Excel/Access logic).
- English demands advanced vocabulary plus a comprehension passage — build a hard word list and practise synonyms/antonyms.
- Current affairs is very recent and specific (2025–26) — Axiom-4, Nobel Peace 2025, Economic Survey 2025-26, SHANTI Act 2025.
- Statement-based / assertion-reason is the dominant format (~25 Qs) — with ¼ negative marking, verify each statement before marking.
10. One-line summary
A balanced six-section (6 × 20) paper whose identity is a hard, mensuration-heavy Mathematics block and a metallurgy-rich General Science block, anchored by J&K-focused General Awareness with a distinctive nuclear/atomic-research cluster and very fresh 2025-26 current affairs, a scenario-based Computer section, and an advanced-vocabulary English section — with statement/assertion-reason questions and ¼ negative marking rewarding precision over guesswork.