UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

This option is correct because 3³ means 3 multiplied by itself three times. Calculating 3 × 3 × 3 gives 27. This follows directly from the definition of exponentiation. Therefore, 3³ equals 27.

Option A:
Squaring 3 gives 3² = 9, which is too small. The exponent 3 requires one more multiplication by 3. Hence, 9 is not the correct value for 3³.

Option B:
The result 27 comes from multiplying 3 by itself three times in succession. The sequence 3, 9 and then 27 confirms that 3³ = 27. This directly matches the required calculation, so this option is correct.

Option C:
The number 18 does not arise from any standard power of 3. It would require 3 × 6, not 3 × 3 × 3. Therefore, 18 is not correct here.

Option D:
The number 21 also does not match the cube of 3. It lies between 16 and 25 but has no connection to 3³. Thus, this option is incorrect.