How to crack UGC NET JRF Environmental Science

1. Introduction

I had cracked UGC NET JRF Environmental Science in my first attempt, despite coming from a background in social science. It is not difficult at all, but one needs to study and prepare strategically — instead of spending a lot of time and energy in it. In this article, I shall break down how to do it.

The syllabus, according to the official UGC NET website (Row 89, https://www.ugcnetonline.in/syllabus-new.php or http://ucgv2.ap-south-1.elasticbeanstalk.com/NTA_All_R_Syllabus/89/Environmental%20Science_English%20Only.pdf), is divided into ten modules that are listed below. The YCT book I have attached below is also a good PDF to just view the syllabus and browse through previous years’ question papers.

1. Fundamentals of Environmental Sciences
2. Environmental Chemistry
3. Environmental Biology
4. Environmental Geosciences
5. Energy and Environment
6. Environmental Pollution and Control
7. Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
8. Environmental Assessment, Management and Legislation
9. Statistical Approaches and Modelling in Environmental Sciences
10. Contemporary Environmental Issues

Please do not commit the mistake of going through the syllabus in the order in which it exists. If one arranges the modules according to their weightage on the test papers, then this is more or less the order that one would end up with:

1. Environmental Biology (50)
2. Environmental Pollution and Control (30)
3. Energy and Environment (22)
4. Environmental Geoscience (20)
5. Fundamentals of Environmental Science (18)
6. Environmental Chemistry (16)
7. Statistical Approaches and Modeling In Env Sc (16)
8. Environmental Impact Assessment, Management and Legislation (12)
9. Contemporary Environmental Issues (12)
10. Solid and Hazardous Waste Management (4)

The numbers in brackets show the marks allocation that each module got in the Dec 2019 exam. I did not bother calculating that for the Jun 2020 exam session. Please refer to Singh (2020) for a much more detailed table.

In the next section, I will break down how to go about these ten modules; and I have listed them in the order in which they appear in the syllabus and not according to their weightage, just to make it easier for you to keep the syllabus on one side and my blogpost on another. But do remember to prepare it in the order of marks-allocation.

I usually stick to peer-reviewed academic journals/books when I am doing academics. However, cracking competitive exams is a different game, so please do not hesitate in picking up some sections from popular textbooks or even books that are specifically written for UGC NET Environmental Science. I will be referring to both kinds of books hereon.

A checklist of sorts has been provided at the end of this blogpost that might or might not be useful to you.

2. Module breakdown

2.1 Fundamentals of Environmental Sciences

This module is essentially just a summation of 2.2 to 2.10.

Two topics that I had specifically studied for this were:

• Remote sensing, Madhuraj (2020: 62-9), which I think is sufficient.
• Atmospheric stratification (NCERT Textbook for Physical Geography for Class 11: 73). You may also refer to p68-9, Glossary 20 Sep 2020 for this purpose.

You will find numerical questions that are often asked in this section scattered through Masters and Ela (2014) or covered in Numericals 20 Sep 2020.pdf.

2.2 Environmental Chemistry

I would call it a moderate investment-low return module. This is quite a tough nut to crack. It has a lot of concepts, and if one gets too deep into it, then one will miss out on the other topics that are more important (read, scoring).

• Most concepts, equilibriums and thermodynamics are well explained in Masters and Ela (2014: 47-86). I also referred a bit to some NCERT school textbooks.
• For atmospheric chemistry, I went through Manahan (2017: 211-243), although I am not sure if I understood a lot or even if it is required to study all this in detail. Madhuraj (2020: 25-31) is a good resource to just memorise the relevant bits.
• Definitely read up on analytical techniques and instrumentation. They won’t ask you very difficult questions. Even if you just read what each technique is for and a get a basic understanding of how it works; it should be sufficient. For this, you may read up on either or all of the following
  • Madhuraj (2020: 82-7)
  • P71-4, Glossary 20 Sep 2020.pdf.
  • Maybe read a little bit of the techniques mentioned in Madhuraj (2020)/Glossary 20 Sep 2020.pdf from the web (?).
• I think I have solved nearly all the numerical questions from this module in Numericals 20 Sep 2020.pdf.

2.3 Environmental Biology

This is a moderate-investment-high-return module in that you can put in some effort and expect a lot of questions. You can do a reasonable job in a week or so, I would expect.

• Stiling (2012) is an excellent book for this topic. However, you do not have to read the entire thing. I will leave it for you to decide which chapter you would like to read from this. I, for instance, read the portion on energy flow and food webs (Stiling 2012: 518-35) and natural selection (Stiling 2012: 47-67).
• Enger and Smith (2015: 109-42). This is the book I had referred to for studying succession, biogerography and biomes (terrestrial + marine). I personally feel this is a very good chapter for it, although feel free to refer to Stiling (2012: 446-515) for the same, if you feel like. I personally feel that studying Enger and Smith (2015: 109-42) for biomes and Stiling (2012: 450-5) will be the best combination.
• Definitely read up Spooner (2012: 89-105) as it covers a lot of key concepts that you will need for tackling modules 3 (Environmental Biology) and 1 (Fundamentals of Environmental Science). In fact, I suggest you read this before picking up Enger and Smith (2015: 109-42) or Stiling (2012: 446-515) for biomes etc.
• Spooner (2012: 107-29) is an excellent source for brushing up population biology. I found it sufficient for UGC NET Environmental Science and you can do it in a day. I suggest going in further detail after you have finished the entire syllabus. If you feel like going in further detail, you may consider Masters and Ela (2014: 87-126), although I had admittedly only glanced over it.
• Other than that, I suggest going through the following. I have included most of it in my Microsoft Word document (Glossary Sun 20 Sep 2020.pdf).
  • Different bacteria used in industry (industrial microbiology, basically)
  • Different antibiotics
  • Different earthworms and their types
  • Plant hormones
  • National Parks, sanctuaries, protected areas, sacred groves. No need to remember all of these, but do brush up their definitions. Try seeing the map on p82, Glossary 20 Sep 2020.
  • IUCN categories for the various species, and some common Indian species that come in those categories.

2.4 Environmental Geosciences

This is a moderate investment-moderate return module. It is difficult to really get your head around all these concepts, especially when you are preparing other modules as well — and it does not make much sense considering you do not get very many questions from this module either. The best thing, I felt, was to go through the previous years’ question papers and just read a bit on the terms you do not understand on Wikipedia. I did that and prepared my own Word document (please see References section below), however I strongly advise you to search for jargon and prepare your own Microsoft Word document.

• Check out Spooner (2020: 61-115) should hopefully be sufficient for rocks and minerals. It is a very good book, and you can read other bits as you like but only if you have time.
  • Definitely memorise the Mohs Hardness Scale (Fig 6-1, Spooner 2020: 65). You always get a question on that one.
  • Try memorising the mineral classification tables from Spooner (2020: 74-6), but not at the expense of other modules. Only if you have time, that is.
  • Also, there are quite a few questions with respect to clay minerals (that are silicates), so maybe try my notes (p64, Glossary Sun 20 Sep 2020.pdf) or Madhuraj (2020: 12-3).
• Biogeochemical cycles have been dealt with quite well by Stiling (2012: 562-78)
• Do not forget to memorise
  • Discontinuities in Earth’s interior (p62, Glossary 20 Sep 2020.pdf)
  • Concentration of elements in Earth’s crust-mantle-core (p62, Glossary Sun 20 Sep 2020.pdf)
  • Concentration of ions in sea water (Allaby 2013: 519)
• Of course, to reiterate my previous point, read up on previous year’s question papers and just Google search for the words you do not understand. Most of these words that will throw you off-guard are with respect to landforms etc., and I personally felt the Oxford Dictionary for Geology and Earth Sciences (Allaby 2013) is a very good resource for that.

Since this topic is a bit onerous, maybe ten days should be a good time-frame.

2.5 Energy and Environment

This is probably the best module of all, low investment – high return. The concepts are quite easy, except for nuclear energy, which too can be understood after investing 1-3 days on it. Most of the questions asked in this module are numerical questions, and are very easy and very scoring.

• Smith (2005: 51-63) is probably all you need for renewable energy sources (except nuclear energy, which I will cover in the next bullet) from wind power to tidal to hydroelectric.
• For nuclear energy…
  • …Smith (2005: 205-239) covers most of it very well except nuclear fusion (see the next bullet). But if that is a bit too difficult for you, consider starting with  Moore (2010: 43-54) before getting on to Smith (2005: 205-39)
  • For nuclear fusion, do not forget the memorise the reactions 6.46 to 6.49 from Boeker and van Grondelle (2011: 238). That is mostly all you need, other than the basic concept, for which Moore (2010: 43-54) should be sufficient. I have included a screenshot of those reactions in p34, Numericals Sun 20 Sep 2020.pdf.

***

This topic can be easily done in less than a week. I think I have covered all the numerical questions in the Numericals Sun 20 Sep 2020.pdf.

2.6 Environmental Pollution and Control

This is a high-investment-high-return module. You simply cannot ignore it for the sheer number of questions you find from this module. But, whatever time you spend studying it will be worth it. You can expect to spend around 10-15 days studying this properly. The good thing is that you do not have to shuttle a lot between books and articles. One book (largely) has it all.

• Air Pollution
  • Masters and Ela (2014: 367-499).
    • If you have less time, just memorise (you have no option) p30-7, Glossary Sun 20 Sep 2020.pdf. I have made those notes from Masters and Ela (2014) and then read Masters and Ela (2014) if you have time. One topic you won’t find in my notes is Air Pollution and Meteorology (Masters and Ela 2014: 438-51) so read those twelve pages from the book directly. The concepts are a bit twisted, so it might take a day to go through Masters and Ela (2014: 438-51)
  • Spooner (2012: 223-36) is a good tool to brush up. You can actually take it up before Masters and Ela (2014: 367-499) as I feel it will make the latter easier.
• Water Pollution
  • Masters and Ela (2014: 173-280).
    • Each and every bit in this chapter is important, from BOD to thermal stratification to Darcy’s Law. The one sub-unit from this topic that I had left was contaminant transport (P240-5) because I never came across a question on that.
    • Again, if you do not have time, memorise p38-42, Glossary Sun 20 Sep 2020.pdf. But, I have only covered some key water pollutants in my notes. You won’t find thermal stratification or aquifers or BOD in my notes.
    • Spooner (2012: 237-47), as usual, gives a good overview of water pollution, and the bit on the oxygen sag curve is explained very well. If you wish, you may try reading it before Masters and Ela (2014: 173-280)
  • Don’t forget to read heavy metal pollution in water from Manahan (2017: 137-9) and make a table (you will not find one in Glossary 20 Sep 2020.pdf because I had no time to make one), because Masters and Ela (2014) gives short shrift to heavy metal water pollutants. I clearly remember they asked a question on CH₃Hg in the June 2020 and on Cadmium in Jun 2019. I am so glad I studied this just a night before!
  • Masters and Ela (2014: 281-367) — honestly, I had not studied this in great detail or made notes for it. But even though I did clear NET JRF, I wish I had studied this topic a bit more properly.
• Noise Pollution
  • The questions that are mostly asked here are numerical questions. Please see p18-21, Numericals 20 Sep 2020.pdf.
• Soil Pollution
  • Not a lot of questions are asked from this one, but Manahan (2017: 409-48) should be more than enough. Focus on Air, Water and Noise Pollution more.

2.7 Solid and Hazardous Waste Management

I do not really know what to make of this topic as I have only seen one or two questions per year from this one. So, I will categorise it as a low return module.

Try reading

• Spooner (2012: 249-75)
• Some random bits that I have just collated p83-6, Glossary PDF.
• Masters and Ela (2014: 601-84) — truth be told, I did not read this one.

2.8 Environmental Assessment, Management and Legislation

Another low investment high return module. There is nothing to understand here, only memorise. You can start preparing this from today itself.

• Memorise Table 19, p77, Glossary Sun 20 Sep 2020.pdf. You always get one question on that.
• International Environmental Legislation
  • I personally believe that Table 20, p78-80, Glossary Sun 20 Sep 2020.pdf that I have prepared should enable you to understand and memorise things easily in a condensed manner. I have referenced to the relevant Wikipedia pages on p80. But…
  • …try reading Spooner 2012 (311-6) first. A very good place to get started before you move on to my table.
• Indian Environmental Legislation
  • Madhuraj 2020 (94-101) does a very good job of condensing Indian environmental legislation into five-six pages. But do consider memorising it in chronological order: I found that a bit easier.
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
  • Honestly, I had just memorised the bit from Madhuraj (2020: 75-86)…
  • …but consider reading chapter 4 from Masters and Ela (2014) as well if you have time.
• Although solving previous years’ question papers is important for each topic, I’d stress that particularly for this one. Just doing that will cover a lot of things already. I remember there were quite a few questions on Jun 2020 session that have been asked in the previous years’ question papers, especially with respect to EIA, which I had just memorised and regurgitated.

2.9 Statistical Approaches and Modelling in Environmental Sciences

This could be a low or high return module depending on your statistical prowess. I am no statistics wizard, but I have tried solving some questions on my Numerical PDF. Read Rumsey (2019) — I won’t suggest any specific chapters or pages. Just read whatever you think you want to.

At any rate, please do not spend more than 7-10 days for this topic because if you are good at it, you won’t need to spend more than that and if you are a total statistics noob, then spending more than ten days won’t really benefit you a lot and just take away from the time you spend

2.10 Contemporary Environmental Issues

I had not prepared anything for this topic in particular. There is quite a bit of overlap between this and Module 8. Just solve and memorise previous years’ question papers and read up on things on the web e.g. important biodiversity hotspots, Ramsar sites, wildlife reserves, dams in India. I have covered a little bit of that in the Glossary PDF.

***

I hope you do not find anything in the question papers that is not covered in the resources mentioned above. Even if they are covered, it is probably not worth reading the entire chapter. Whenever this happens, a quick online search usually suffices.

All the books mentioned in this blogpost, except Singh (2020), which you will have to buy from Amazon, are available for free. Please see the References section below for URLs to free PDFs or purchasing the book, whichever is applicable. Most of the URLs to the free PDFs are not hyperlinked as WordPress does not allow me to paste URLs from pirated websites like sci-hub or LibGen. So, just copy and paste the URL in your browser.

Please visit http://ritvikc.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/UGC-NET-EVS-Checklist.pdf for a rough checklist. Please exercise your own discretion while using it.

3. References

3.1 Previous Years’ Question Papers

Singh R. 2020. Fundamentals of Environmental Science for NET JRF. Catalyst Publications. https://www.amazon.in/Fundamentals-Environmental-Sciences-Theory-Practice/dp/8193786157.

YCT. 2019. Environmental Science UGC NET JRF Solved Papers. Full Text PDF.

3.2 Resource Books and other PDFs

Allaby M. 2013. Oxford Dictionary of Geology and Earth Sciences. Oxford University Press, New York, USA. https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9NBLGGGZ19SN (Application for PC), http://library.lol/main/41ECB68326E37F7DF6732F6574C45618 (Free full text PDF). I personally prefer the PC application over the PDF, even though it is paid, as it is easier to search for words and it is updated constantly.

Boeker E, van Grondelle R. 2011. Environmental Physics: Sustainable Energy and Climate Change. John Wiley & Sons, West Sussex, United Kingdom. http://library.lol/main/8FCADD5D7AF790D22EB1EDDA8DB5D0A0.

Enger ED, Smith BF (eds). 2016. Environmental science: a study of interrelationships. McGraw-Hill Education, New York. http://library.lol/main/9986E76E1C21B4527191B2F2BF0ECC50.

Glossary Sun 20 Sep 2020.pdf

Madhuraj P. 2020. UGC NET JRF Environmental Science: Complete Guide. Environ Books, Thalassery, Kerala. https://drive.google.com/file/d/19VUmxbSiaqlafpH0rQANyHnPkorMFabR/view.

Manahan SE. 2017. Environmental chemistry. CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group, New York. http://library.lol/main/A1AF22D2545A53A55EDCC62857FA580C.

Masters GM, Ela WP. 2014. Introduction to environmental engineering and science. Pearson, Harlow. http://93.174.95.29/main/2235000/db38533af11c5158e0779ca66560c69a/%28Pearson%20custom%20library%29%20Ela%2C%20Wendell%20P._%20Masters%2C%20Gilbert%20M.%20-%20Introduction%20to%20environmental%20engineering%20and%20science-Pearson%20%282014%29.pdf.

Moore JT. 2010. Chemistry essentials for dummies. Wiley Pub., Inc, Hoboken, NJ. http://library.lol/main/B491BC9D20B8F491F0CFE63C9867C964.

NCERT. 2020. Fundamentals of Physical Geography (Textbook in Geography for Class 11). Full Text PDF.

Numericals Sun 20 Sep 2020.pdf

Rumsey D. 2019. Statistics essentials for dummies. John Wiley & Sons, Indianapolis, IN, USA. http://library.lol/main/6FAF11330686E2BE6CA7F6B447E8918B.

Smith C. 2005. Environmental physics. Routledge, London; New York. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10615112.

Spooner AM. 2012. Environmental Science for Dummies. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ, USA. http://library.lol/main/5AAF28669DBC5E5EBAC4FD8240D72995.

Spooner AM. 2020. Geology for dummies. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ, USA. http://library.lol/main/9A64FADE9B5466EB16C96ECB8638CAD7.

Stiling PD. 2012. Ecology: global insights & investigations. McGraw-Hill, New York. http://library.lol/main/CB77ECECA3C8C7ED91807E8120AED723.

 

 

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