BGYCT 137 Question Paper December 2025 is the freshest practice set you can put in front of yourself before your 2026 Term-End Exam. The solved version takes each question apart slowly, with fossil sketches, stratigraphic columns, and answers shaped exactly the way an IGNOU evaluator wants to read them.
About This Solved Paper
| Prepared by | Unnati Education academic team, IGNOU-experienced content writers |
|---|---|
| Qualification | M.Sc. Geology graduate with classroom teaching background in stratigraphy and palaeontology |
| Programme | IGNOU Bachelor of Science (General) BSCG and Bachelor of Science (Multidisciplinary) BSCM |
| Institution Reference | IGNOU Term-End Examination, December 2025 |
The download is one neat PDF, available within seconds of payment. Your link arrives by email and inside your Unnati Education dashboard at the same time. Read it on a phone, tablet, or laptop. If you write better next to printed material, A4 print works fine, fossil sketches stay legible. No Telegram links to chase, no waiting room, no missing pages.
What is the BGYCT-137 December 2025 Question Paper?
The BGYCT 137 December 2025 question paper is the official IGNOU Term-End Examination paper for Stratigraphy and Palaeontology, conducted in December 2025 for BSCG and BSCM students. It carries 50 marks across four compulsory questions and runs for two hours of descriptive writing.
Here's the part that matters: this is the most recent paper IGNOU has released for the course. Patterns from the latest cycle almost always echo into the next two sessions. Solving December 2025 thoroughly is the closest you'll get to a live preview of June 2026 or December 2026.
About IGNOU BGYCT-137 Stratigraphy and Palaeontology
BGYCT-137 is a 4-credit core course in the IGNOU B.Sc. (General) and BSCM programmes. The syllabus splits cleanly into two halves. The stratigraphy half covers principles like superposition, original horizontality, faunal succession, methods of correlation, the geological time scale, and Indian stratigraphy from Cuddapah and Vindhyan up to Gondwana, Mesozoic of Rajasthan, and Tertiary sequences.
The palaeontology half covers fossilization processes, fossil morphology, and the major invertebrate groups: brachiopods, bivalves, ammonoids, trilobites, plus plant fossils and vertebrate basics. Most students find palaeontology more visual and stratigraphy more memory-heavy. The trick is to give the visual sections enough sketching practice and the Indian stratigraphy enough revision rounds. Both halves carry roughly equal marks.
BGYCT 137 Question Paper December 2025, Exam Pattern and Marks Breakdown
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Duration | 2 Hours |
| Total Marks | 50 |
| Number of Questions | 4 main questions with sub-parts |
| Questions to Attempt | All 4 are compulsory, internal choice in Q3 and Q4 |
| Marks per Question | Q1 carries 10 (5×2), Q2 carries 20 (4×5), Q3 carries 10, Q4 carries 5+5 |
| Calculator Policy | Not required, fully descriptive paper |
| Missing Data Assumption | State your assumption clearly and continue |
| Diagram Requirement | Mandatory wherever asked, well labelled |
Q2 is where most of your scoring will happen, 20 marks out of 50. Plan your two hours so that Q2 gets at least 45 minutes of clean, structured writing time.
All Questions in the BGYCT 137 Question Paper December 2025 (Complete List)
BGYCT-137: STRATIGRAPHY AND PALAEONTOLOGY
Time: 2 Hours Maximum Marks: 50
Note: All questions are compulsory. Marks allotted for each question are indicated against it. Draw well labelled diagrams, wherever necessary.
1. Briefly answer any five of the following questions: 5×2=10
- (a) What is rock formation?
- (b) List the names of geochronologic units.
- (c) Name the three groups of the Delhi Supergroup.
- (d) What is the main lithology of Triassic succession of Spiti?
- (e) Define law of priority.
- (f) Differentiate between compression and impression.
- (g) Differentiate between bivalves and brachiopods.
2. Write short notes on any four of the following: 4×5=20
- (a) Morphological features of a brachiopods
- (b) Define the terms taxodont, heterodont, univalve, sinistral and dextral.
- (c) Plant fossils
- (d) Methods of stratigraphic correlation
- (e) Mesozoic stratigraphy of Rajasthan
- (f) Geological time scale and its major units
3. Answer any one of the following: 10
- (a) Define stratigraphy and discuss its various principles (in detail). Or
- (b) Discuss in detail the conditions and processes of fossilization.
4. Answer any one of the following:
- (a) (i) Describe the morphological features of ammonoid. Give neat well labelled diagrams in support of your answer. 5 (ii) Discuss the geological history of trilobites. 5
- Or
- (b) (i) Describe stratigraphy of the Cuddapah Supergroup. 5 (ii) Give an account of stratigraphy of the lower Gondwana sequence. Add a note on its economic importance. 5
Topics tested in this paper: rock formation, geochronologic units, fossilization, stratigraphic correlation, geological time scale, brachiopods and trilobites, ammonoids, Gondwana sequence.
Syllabus Topics Covered
The solutions in this PDF map cleanly onto the four blocks of BGYCT-137. Q1 short answers pull from across both halves, mostly definitions and quick distinctions. Q2 short notes spread across stratigraphy and palaeontology with a deliberate balance, two from each side typically.
Q3 always tests one core stratigraphy or palaeontology principle in depth, and December 2025 offered stratigraphic principles versus fossilization as the choice. Q4 splits five marks each between fossil morphology questions and Indian stratigraphy questions. If you've prepared brachiopod and ammonoid morphology, trilobite history, fossilization, principles of stratigraphy, Cuddapah, Vindhyan, and Gondwana sequences, you've covered roughly 90 percent of recurring questions.
Sample Answer Preview: BGYCT-137 Geology Explanation
Take Q4(a)(i), the 5-mark question on ammonoid morphology. It looks small, but it's a textbook example of how the diagram does the heavy lifting on this paper.
Here's how those 5 marks actually break down:
Definition (1 mark): Open with a one-line introduction. Ammonoids are extinct cephalopod molluscs with coiled, chambered shells, range Devonian to end-Cretaceous. Done in one line.
Shell morphology with diagram (2 marks): This is the scoring core. Draw a planispiral coiled ammonoid shell in side view. Label the protoconch (initial chamber), the phragmocone (chambered region), the body chamber (where the soft animal lived), the suture lines, and the venter (outer rim) versus dorsum (inner rim). The labels carry the marks, not the prose.
Suture pattern (1 mark): Mention that suture lines, where the septa meet the outer shell, are the primary classification feature. Briefly note the four major types: goniatitic, ceratitic, ammonitic, and prolambelitic. A small inset showing one suture pattern earns a clear bonus.
Mode of life and significance (1 mark): Note that ammonoids were free-swimming marine predators, used the chambered phragmocone for buoyancy control, and serve as zone fossils for Mesozoic stratigraphy because they evolved rapidly.
The full solution in your PDF follows exactly this shape, with the labelled ammonoid diagram and a separate suture-pattern inset already drawn out for you.
How to Write High-Scoring Answers
Time first. 50 marks in 120 minutes is roughly 2.4 minutes per mark. Q2 deserves around 45 of those minutes. If Q1 eats more than 25 minutes, you've already lost Q4.
Open every long answer with a one-line definition, even when not directly asked. Most IGNOU evaluators award the first mark for it.
For palaeontology, your sketch carries serious weight. Draw it in pencil, ink the labels. Brachiopod with pedicle and brachial valves, ammonoid with suture lines, trilobite with cephalon-thorax-pygidium, all need clear labels.
For Q1, four lines are plenty. Don't write a paragraph for two marks. That's how students lose Q4 time.
For Indian stratigraphy questions, structure matters. Group your answer by Supergroup, then by Group, then by Formation. Examiners scan for hierarchy, not loose recall of formation names.
Who Should Use This Solved Question Paper
This is built for the BSCG and BSCM student whose Term-End Exam falls in 2026 or beyond. June 2026 candidate, December 2026 candidate, or back-paper attempt, the December 2025 release is your closest, cleanest practice resource.
Two student profiles get the most out of it. The working professional doing IGNOU alongside a job, with maybe 30 to 60 minutes a day for revision. And the first-time distance learner who hasn't yet figured out what an IGNOU evaluator means by "well-labelled diagram."
Self-study students who skip regional study centre counselling will find the diagram-and-structure approach especially useful as a writing model.
Why This is Better Than Free PDFs and Telegram Files
Free PDFs look attractive until you actually open one. Most are old papers, badly scanned, with answers stitched together from random blogs. Fossil sketches are missing or so small you can't read the labels. Indian stratigraphy lists carry typos in formation names that nobody bothered to check.
The actual cost isn't money. It's writing the wrong formation under the wrong group in your real exam because you trusted a careless file. We've seen students place Talchir under Upper Gondwana because a free PDF had the table reversed.
This solved paper is checked against the official IGNOU release, written by a subject expert who teaches the course, and corrected when something needs an update. There's also a real human at the other end if you spot anything off.
Student Reviews
Tanvi, Bhubaneswar. First-year BSCG student, full-time at home preparing for state geology exams alongside IGNOU. The fossilization processes answer was beautifully structured, I copied that exact shape into my mock and the evaluator wrote "well organised" in the margin.
Rohit, Lucknow. Working at a state geology department as a junior assistant, doing IGNOU to formalise the qualification. The lower Gondwana stratigraphy answer with economic importance tied in was exactly how my senior at work explains it. Clean, hierarchical, useful.
Aisha, Hyderabad. Second-year BSCM student, part-time tuition teacher. Honestly, the trilobite geological history used to confuse me with all those eras. The way the timeline was laid out here finally made it click. Got 9 out of 10 in my mock test on it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the genuine BGYCT-137 December 2025 IGNOU paper?
Yes, this is the actual IGNOU Term-End Examination paper from December 2025, reproduced exactly as it appeared in the exam hall. We've matched every question word for word against the official IGNOU release for BSCG and BSCM students. The solutions are written by our subject expert team, but the questions themselves are completely authentic and verifiable against the institute's records.
Will this paper help me for the June 2026 or December 2026 exam?
Absolutely, the December 2025 paper is your sharpest practice tool for any 2026 attempt. IGNOU recycles topic patterns, expected sub-parts, and definition formats across cycles, so the patterns you spot here will repeat. Most students who solve this paper twice and study the answer structures report a clear jump in their stratigraphy and fossil questions during the actual exam.
Are the diagram-based questions fully solved?
Yes, every diagram-based question is fully drawn and labelled the way IGNOU evaluators expect. Brachiopod morphology, ammonoid suture lines, trilobite divisions, plant fossil sketches, all included. BGYCT-137 is descriptive rather than numerical, so the focus stays on accurate diagrams and structured Indian stratigraphy. Each long answer comes with a marks-wise breakdown so you see exactly where the scoring happens.
Can I use this for my BGYCT-137 assignment too?
You can use it as a reference, but please don't copy directly into your assignment. IGNOU runs plagiarism checks on assignment submissions and direct copying risks rejection or zero marks. Treat this solved paper as a structure guide. Study how points are arranged, then write your assignment in your own words. Most students use it to internalise the answer pattern first, then frame original responses for assignment submission.
How quickly will the file reach me after payment?
The PDF is delivered the moment your payment goes through. Your download link reaches your registered email and your Unnati Education account dashboard within a minute. There's no manual sending, no Telegram redirect, no waiting period. If the email lands in spam or you face any glitch, our support team responds on WhatsApp the same day to share the file with you directly.
What if I find an error or I'm not satisfied?
You're protected. Write to our support team within 48 hours and we will fix it or refund you. We take quality seriously because most of our team has actually sat in IGNOU exam halls. If a question is missing, a diagram unclear, or content does not match the official paper, we either send a corrected version or process the refund without putting you through any argument.
About Unnati Education
Unnati Education is a small academic team that builds study material specifically for IGNOU students. The people who write our papers have either studied at IGNOU themselves or taught at IGNOU study centres. We're not a mass-produced PDF mill. Each solved paper is reviewed by a subject expert before going live, and we keep updating files when IGNOU changes weightage or releases a new session.
Explore More IGNOU BGYCT-137 Study Material
If this paper helps, you might also want the previous session solved papers (June 2025, December 2024), the BGYCT-137 assignment solutions for the current session, an important questions guide for last-minute revision, and topic-wise notes for Indian stratigraphy, which most students find the most memory-heavy section. Bundle pricing kicks in if you pick up two or more resources together.