UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

A modem performs the dual processes of modulation and demodulation to enable digital devices to communicate over analog channels. It converts digital bits into analog waveforms suitable for traditional telephone lines and then reconverts received analog signals back into digital form. This functionality historically allowed computers to access the Internet via dial-up and continues in various broadband forms. Therefore the device described is a modem.

Option A:
Option A, router, forwards packets between networks based on IP addresses but assumes digital signals on both sides. It does not inherently change signals from digital to analog or vice versa.

Option B:
Option B, switch, operates within a local area network to direct Ethernet frames between devices and does not interface with analog telephone lines. Its function is packet switching rather than modulation.

Option C:
Option C is correct because the very name modem arises from combining the words modulation and demodulation. Its purpose is to serve as a bridge between digital equipment and analog transmission media, exactly as described in the question.

Option D:
Option D, repeater, boosts or regenerates signals to extend the distance they can travel on a network. It does not change the fundamental signal type from digital to analog or back.

Samkhya typically recognises only three pramanas: perception, inference and verbal testimony. This restricted list reflects the school's attempt to balance epistemic sufficiency with theoretical economy. They consider these three sources adequate for demonstrating the existence of purusha, prakriti and other key categories. Thus the correct number of pramanas for Samkhya is three.

Option A:
Option A, two, would be insufficient for Samkhya because it relies not only on perception but also on inference and scripture to justify metaphysical claims. Reducing the list to two would remove an important epistemic pillar.

Option B:
Option B, four, incorrectly attributes to Samkhya the Nyaya inclusion of comparison as a separate pramana. Samkhya does not isolate upamana as an independent means of knowledge.

Option C:
Option C is correct because classical presentations of Samkhya doctrine repeatedly affirm three pramanas: pratyaksha, anumana and sabda. This triad supports their dualistic ontology and theory of liberation.

Option D:
Option D, five, mistakenly imports pramanas such as arthapatti and anupalabdhi that belong to Mimamsa or Vedanta traditions, not to standard Samkhya.

Photochemical smog is a secondary pollution phenomenon driven by sunlight. Nitrogen oxides and volatile hydrocarbons from vehicles and industries react under intense solar radiation to produce a mixture of oxidants including ozone and peroxyacetyl nitrate. These secondary pollutants irritate eyes, damage plant tissues and affect respiratory health. Thus, the combination of nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and strong sunlight described in option C correctly explains the origin of photochemical smog.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because sulphur dioxide and soot are associated more with classical industrial smog in cool, moist climates. Photochemical smog typically occurs in sunny, warm cities and involves different chemical reactions dominated by oxidant formation.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect since heavy rainfall tends to wash pollutants out of the air and improve visibility. Water vapour and dust alone do not generate the complex oxidant mixture that characterises photochemical smog.

Option C:
Option C is correct as it highlights the key ingredients and the role of solar radiation in initiating photochemical reactions. Urban traffic emissions supply nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons, and sunlight transforms them into harmful oxidants that accumulate under stagnant atmospheric conditions.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because interactions between carbon dioxide and oxygen in the upper stratosphere are not responsible for urban smog near the ground. The stratosphere is connected with the ozone layer, whereas photochemical smog is a tropospheric phenomenon close to human exposure.

Statements A, B and C correctly describe important components of student support services. A is true because academic counselling and mentoring assist students in course choices and learning strategies. B is correct since career guidance and placement services support the transition from education to employment. C is also true because grievance redressal and anti-harassment mechanisms are vital for ensuring a safe and supportive campus. Statement D is false as student support services are integral to quality assurance and student satisfaction. Therefore, the correct combination is A, B and C only.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it lists only A and B and excludes C, which is an essential component of providing a safe and responsive campus climate. Ignoring C narrows the concept of support services to academic and career aspects only.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because it selects B and C and omits A. Academic counselling is a key part of support services, helping students cope with academic demands and choices. Without A, the picture of support remains incomplete.

Option C:
Option C is correct because it gathers all the true statements about academic, career and safety-related support. By excluding D, it recognises that these services are core to institutional quality rather than optional luxuries.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because it includes only A and C and leaves out B. Career and placement services are significant determinants of student perception and outcomes, and excluding them underestimates the breadth of student support.

NEP 2020 recognises that unequal access to devices and internet can widen inequalities. It calls for targeted provision of hardware, local offline content, community access points and capacity building for teachers. These measures make digital learning more inclusive and effective.

Option A:
Assuming equal access ignores socio-economic disparities and contradicts NEP’s caution about the digital divide.

Option B:
This option reflects the multi-pronged, equity-focused strategy suggested in the policy.

Option C:
Limiting technology to elite schools would deepen inequality, not reduce it.

Option D:
Completely replacing books with costly devices without support would exclude many learners.

NEP 2020 proposes SCMCs as participatory bodies that bring together principals, teachers, parents and local community members to manage and support the school complex. They collectively plan academic and developmental work for all schools in the cluster.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because limiting SCMCs to finance officials would ignore the voices of educators, parents and community members that NEP wants to include.

Option B:
Option B is correct as it reflects the multi-stakeholder composition of SCMCs envisaged by NEP for decentralised, community-based governance.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect; while students may contribute, the committee cannot consist only of senior students and exclude adults responsible for school management.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because NEP does not suggest giving SCMC membership solely to private company representatives; that would undermine democratic and community participation.

Statement C is wrong because correlation alone does not justify causal conclusions; without establishing time order and ruling out alternative explanations, causal claims are premature. Statements A, B, D and E are correct: positive correlation indicates a tendency for variables to move together, zero correlation suggests no linear relationship, causal claims need stronger evidence and confusing correlation with causation can misguide policy. Hence, C alone is the incorrect statement.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it combines A, which is true, with C as wrong, implying both are incorrect. This would deny the standard interpretation of positive correlation.

Option B:
Option B is also wrong as it labels B, a correct definition of zero correlation in the linear sense, as incorrect along with C. Treating B as wrong would confuse interpretation of correlation coefficients.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect since it includes D, which correctly notes that causal claims require more than correlation. Grouping D with C misrepresents the conditions for causal inference.

Option D:
Option D is correct because it isolates C as the only flawed statement and acknowledges implicitly that the others warn appropriately about the limits of correlational evidence.

A’s marks are 72% of 750, which is (72/100) × 750 = 540. B’s marks are 84% of 750, which is (84/100) × 750 = 630. The ratio A:B is 540:630. Dividing both numbers by 90 gives 6:7. Hence, the ratio of A’s marks to B’s marks is 6:7.

Option A:
Option A is correct because it simplifies the raw scores 540 and 630 using their highest common factor. Dividing both by 90 yields exactly 6:7, which preserves the proportion while using smaller, more convenient numbers. This process directly matches standard ratio reduction techniques.

Option B:
Option B, 7:8, might be guessed from the numerical percentages 72% and 84%, but the percentages cannot be compared directly without considering the total marks. When we compute the actual scores, the ratio 540:630 does not simplify to 7:8, so this option is incorrect.

Option C:
Option C, 4:5, would require A’s marks to be four-fifths of B’s marks. If B had 630, then A would need to have 504, not 540. Since A’s actual score is higher than 504, the ratio 4:5 understates A’s relative performance and does not match the data.

Option D:
Option D, 9:10, suggests a nearly equal performance, but if we scale 540 and 630 to 9 and 10, we find that 540 × 10 ≠ 630 × 9. This shows that 9:10 is not equivalent to 540:630, so it cannot represent their actual mark ratio.

Digital piracy refers to unauthorised copying or distribution of copyrighted digital materials such as films, music, software and e-books. Obtaining such works from illegal sources without paying or permission clearly violates copyright law and ethical norms, so this situation is a textbook example of digital piracy.

Option A:
This option correctly states that the user downloads and uses copyrighted works from unauthorised sites without payment or permission, which is exactly what counts as piracy.

Option B:
Purchasing a legal copy from an authorised vendor respects the rights holder and follows the law, so it is not piracy.

Option C:
Using open source software in accordance with its licence is explicitly allowed, because those licences grant users rights to copy, modify and share subject to stated conditions.

Option D:
Accessing open educational resources under Creative Commons or similar licences is lawful, since the creators have already given permission for reuse and sharing.

Statements A, B, C and E explain how ICT can enrich and monitor feedback processes. Immediate quiz feedback supports learning, rubrics clarify expectations, audio or video recordings can deepen explanations and analytics reveal whether students access comments. Statement D is false because personalisation remains important regardless of medium. Statement F is false since encouraging follow-up questions promotes dialogue and deeper understanding, so the correct set includes A, B, C and E only.

Option A:
Option A is incomplete because it omits E and therefore ignores the potential of analytics to inform improvements in feedback practice. A, B and C are true but do not consider whether students actually engage with the comments, so the set is partial.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because it includes D, suggesting that digital tools eliminate the need for personalised feedback. This contradicts good assessment practice where individual guidance is often crucial, so the presence of D makes the option invalid.

Option C:
Option C is correct because it integrates multiple dimensions of effective feedback: immediacy, clarity, richer media and monitoring of engagement. It appropriately rejects the idea that digital tools justify impersonal or closed feedback practices.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because it includes F and omits A. Accepting F discourages productive dialogue after feedback, and leaving out A neglects the widely used feature of instant quiz responses, so this combination cannot be accepted.

The premises place all course textbooks inside the class of expensive books and then state that some of the books I own are those textbooks. As a result, those particular owned textbooks must also be expensive. Therefore, at least some books that I own fall under the expensive category. This is a straightforward “some A are B; all B are C; therefore some A are C” style reasoning.

Option A:
Option A overgeneralises by claiming that all owned books are expensive, which is not justified; I may also own inexpensive books.

Option B:
Option B conservatively states that some of my books are expensive, exactly those that are course textbooks, which is logically required by the premises.

Option C:
Option C contradicts the premises, since we have already established the existence of some expensive owned books.

Option D:
Option D introduces expensive books that are not textbooks, about which the premises say nothing, so it cannot be inferred.

Each new term is obtained by doubling the previous term and then adding consecutive odd numbers. From 2 to 5 we apply 2×2+1, from 5 to 13 we use 5×2+3, from 13 to 31 we use 13×2+5, and from 31 to 69 we use 31×2+7. The series of added odd numbers is 1, 3, 5, 7, so the next odd number must be 9. Therefore the next term is 69×2+9 = 147.

Option A:
Option A would correspond to 69×2+5, reusing an earlier odd adjustment instead of moving to 9. This would make the added sequence 1, 3, 5, 7, 5, which does not show a clear progression. As such, 143 does not respect the steadily increasing odd-number adjustment rule.

Option B:
Option B equals 141, which would arise from 69×2+3. That uses an even smaller odd addition than in the previous step, reversing the pattern 1, 3, 5, 7. Hence 141 cannot be justified by the observed rule.

Option C:
Option C uses 69×2+9, giving 147 and continuing the series of added odd numbers as 1, 3, 5, 7, 9. This maintains both the doubling structure and the simple progression among the adjustments. Therefore 147 is the correct next term.

Option D:
Option D, 151, would require adding 13 to 69×2, jumping from an added 7 directly to 13 and skipping 9 and 11. This breaks the neat sequence of consecutive odd numbers that defines the pattern. Thus 151 is not a valid extension.

Systematic sampling involves arranging the population in some order, choosing a random starting point and then selecting every kth element, where k is the sampling interval determined by the ratio of population size to desired sample size. This method is simpler to implement than simple random sampling while still maintaining an element of randomness. Because the stem explicitly mentions selecting every kth element after a random start, it describes systematic sampling.

Option A:
Cluster sampling focuses on selecting entire groups or clusters, such as schools or classes, often for reasons of cost and convenience. It does not rely on selecting every kth element from a list, so it does not match the feature described in the question.

Option B:
Systematic sampling ensures that the sample is spread relatively evenly across the ordered list, which can be advantageous when the list has no hidden periodicity that coincides with the sampling interval. The process of choosing a random start and then every kth case corresponds exactly to the stem’s description, confirming systematic as the correct answer.

Option C:
Quota sampling is a non-probability method in which the researcher fills pre-specified quotas for particular subgroups, often using convenience within each subgroup. It does not involve selecting elements at a fixed interval from a list and does not rely on random starts. Therefore, quota is not an appropriate answer here.

Option D:
Purposive sampling involves deliberately choosing cases judged to be particularly informative rather than following a fixed interval rule. It is commonly used in qualitative research and does not follow the mechanical pattern described in the stem. Hence, purposive sampling is not correct for this question.

Statements A, B, C and E capture the practical, cyclical and developmental nature of action research. It is carried out in the teacher’s own setting to solve immediate problems, uses a cycle of planning, action, observation and reflection, and supports professional growth and sharing of insights with colleagues. Statement D is false because action research is usually context-specific and does not necessarily seek grand universal theories. Therefore, the combination that includes A, B, C and E and excludes D is the only completely correct set.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it omits statement E, which rightly points out that sharing action research findings can improve institutional practices. Leaving out E underestimates the collaborative and school-improvement potential of action research. Although A, B and C are true, the set is incomplete.

Option B:
Option B is correct as it includes all four true statements A, B, C and E while excluding D, which wrongly claims that action research must pursue universal theory. This option reflects the local, problem-focused and reflective character of teacher action research.

Option C:
Option C is wrong because it includes statement D, which misrepresents the aims of action research, and excludes A, which correctly notes the focus on immediate contextual problems. Mixing a false statement with some true ones means this option cannot be accepted.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because it again incorporates D, the false statement about universal theories, and also omits B, which is important for describing the cyclic nature of action research. As a result, the combination is both conceptually and descriptively flawed.

NEP 2020 calls for a shift from passive reception to active engagement. Experiential learning means that students learn by doing, observing, experimenting and reflecting. It aligns with constructivist theories of learning and helps develop deeper understanding and skills.

Option A:
This option describes practical strategies that embody experiential education in classrooms.

Option B:
Lectures alone, without interaction, are considered insufficient.

Option C:
Rote memorisation of definitions does not qualify as experiential learning.

Option D:
Continuous copying is a mechanical activity that hinders conceptual grasp.