UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Hetu is the middle term or reason whose presence in the paksha, together with known vyapti, justifies the conclusion that the sadhya is also present there. In the classic example, smoke functions as hetu for fire on the hill. A proper hetu must satisfy specific conditions to avoid fallacies. Therefore the inferential sign referred to in the stem is called hetu.

Option A:
Option A, paksha, is the subject in which the hetu and sadhya are discussed and does not itself function as the reason for the conclusion. Confusing the subject with the middle term would obscure the structure of inference.

Option B:
Option B is correct because hetu explicitly names the factor that serves as logical ground for the sadhya. Nyaya analysis of inference revolves around whether a proposed hetu genuinely exhibits vyapti with the probandum.

Option C:
Option C, sadhya, is the goal or probandum to be established and stands as the consequent of the argument, not the evidential basis.

Option D:
Option D, drstanta, is the illustrative example used to clarify the relation between hetu and sadhya and is distinct from the actual reason located in the paksha.

Statements A, B and C correctly describe mood, figure and the Barbara form, and E is also true, while D and F are false. The three-term rule states that a valid syllogism must have exactly three distinct terms, so a four-term syllogism is invalid. In the second figure, the middle term actually appears as predicate in both premises, not “never as predicate”. Exam items often ask students to classify mood and figure. Thus the correct group of statements is A, B, C and E only.

Option A:
Option A is incomplete because it leaves out E, which notes the exam practice of asking about mood and figure. Although A, B and C describe the technical notions, they do not show how these ideas appear in UGC NET. Therefore this combination is not fully aligned with the question.

Option B:
Option B is correct since it collects the three structural facts and the exam-oriented statement while excluding D and F, which contradict basic rules. It stays faithful to both classical logic and test patterns. This makes it the accurate choice.

Option C:
Option C is wrong because it includes D, incorrectly claiming that a four-term syllogism is valid, and still omits nothing to correct that mistake. Once the number of distinct terms exceeds three, the form cannot be a standard valid syllogism. Hence the option is logically flawed.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect since it uses B, C, E and F only, omitting A and accepting F. Without A, the meaning of mood is missing, and F misdescribes the position of the middle term in the second figure. Therefore this option cannot be the right answer.

Statements A, B, C and D correctly describe the standard structure of a categorical syllogism: it has two premises and one conclusion, with the major term as predicate, the minor term as subject and the middle term linking the premises but not appearing in the conclusion. Statement E is false because a syllogism with two negative premises is invalid; such premises fail to provide a constructive linkage between terms. Thus the combination containing A, B, C and D and excluding E is the only fully correct option.

Option A:
Option A is correct since it includes all structural truths about categorical syllogisms while rejecting E, which misstates a condition for validity. It reflects rules that are often checked using Venn diagrams in NET questions.

Option B:
Option B is incomplete because although A, B and C are true, it omits D, so it does not explain the crucial role of the middle term in linking the premises without appearing in the conclusion. Without D, the structure is only partially described.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect because it includes E, the false claim that two negative premises yield validity, and excludes B, so it both admits an invalid rule and omits a correct one. This makes the combination logically unsound.

Option D:
Option D is wrong because it leaves out A and therefore fails to note that the standard syllogism has exactly two premises and one conclusion. While B, C and D are true, omitting A gives an incomplete account of the syllogistic form.

Statements A, B and C correctly identify the roles of major, minor and middle terms, and E is true about their use in solving exam questions. D is false because the major premise is defined as the premise containing the major term, not the minor term. Therefore, the correct collection of true statements is A, B, C and E only.

Option A:
Option A is incomplete since it omits E, not acknowledging the practical importance of term identification for applying rules like distribution and mood-figure checks. Without E, the answer does not reflect the exam-related aspect.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because it includes D, which incorrectly defines the major premise by reference to the minor term. This misidentification would mislead students about syllogism structure.

Option C:
Option C is wrong as it leaves out A, omitting the statement that the major term is the predicate of the conclusion, which is central to understanding syllogistic form. Thus B, C and E only cannot be right.

Option D:
Option D is correct, gathering all true statements about the three terms and their exam relevance while excluding the false definition in D of the stem. It matches the standard explanation of terminology in categorical syllogism.

The middle term is the one that occurs in each of the two premises but does not appear in the conclusion. Its function is to link the major and minor terms, thereby allowing a relation to be inferred between them. Proper distribution of the middle term is essential for the validity of the syllogism. Hence the term described in the stem is the middle term.

Option A:
Option A, major, is the predicate of the conclusion and appears in the major premise and the conclusion. It is not confined to the premises alone and therefore does not match the description.

Option B:
Option B, minor, is the subject of the conclusion and appears in the minor premise and the conclusion. Like the major term, it is not the connecting term exclusively in the premises.

Option C:
Option C, predicate, is a grammatical role and in logic corresponds to the term that is asserted of the subject in a proposition. While the major term is often a predicate, predicate is not the specific label for the term appearing only in the premises.

Option D:
Option D is correct because the middle term uniquely occupies the central position, joining the premises without entering the conclusion. Its correct distribution ensures that the premises genuinely support the stated relation between subject and predicate in the conclusion.

The figure of a syllogism is classified according to how the middle term is placed in the major and minor premises. Different arrangements of the middle term yield the first, second, third or fourth figure. This position affects which moods will produce valid arguments. Therefore the element that determines figure is the middle term.

Option A:
Option A, major term, appears in the major premise and the conclusion but its position does not by itself determine the figure. It is always the predicate of the conclusion regardless of figure.

Option B:
Option B, minor term, is the subject of the conclusion and occurs in the minor premise, yet its location relative to the middle does not provide the basis for the figure classification.

Option C:
Option C is correct because the middle term is the connecting link between major and minor terms, and its positions across the two premises define the structural pattern of the syllogism. Knowing where the middle term stands allows us to identify the figure precisely.

Option D:
Option D, distributed term, refers to whether a term refers to all members of its class in a proposition, which is important for testing validity but is not what figure classification is based on.

Statements A, B and C accurately describe key similarities and differences between Nyaya’s five-member syllogism and Aristotelian syllogisms, and E is true about syllabus emphasis. D is false because Aristotelian syllogisms often involve universal propositions. Thus A, B, C and E only is correct.

Option A:
Option A is incomplete as it omits E.

Option B:
Option B is correct because it includes all true statements and excludes D.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect because it omits A (five-member vs three-proposition contrast).

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because it omits B (shared middle-term idea), so it is incomplete.

Statements A, B, C and E correctly explain the roles of the three terms in a categorical syllogism and their exam relevance, whereas D is false. The major term is indeed the predicate of the conclusion, the minor term its subject, and the middle term connects the premises but does not appear in the conclusion. A valid syllogism requires the middle term to be distributed at least once, so it cannot remain undistributed in both premises, making D incorrect. Therefore A, B, C and E only is the correct combination.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it omits C and E, leaving out the description of the middle term and the explicit reference to exam use. A, B only reports only part of the true information and fails to capture the full set of correct statements.

Option B:
Option B improves on option A by including C, but it still omits E, which emphasises how these terms are tested in UGC NET. Since the question explicitly mentions such context, A, B, C only remains incomplete as an answer.

Option C:
Option C is correct because it gathers all the true statements about the three terms and their significance in exam questions while excluding D. This option reflects both the standard textbook account and the way syllogisms are handled in UGC NET Paper 1.

Option D:
Option D is wrong since it excludes A, the identification of the major term, and presents only a subset of true statements. B, C, E only does not include all the correct information and therefore cannot satisfy the requirement to pick all correct statements.

Statements A and B correctly describe the standard structure: two premises leading to a conclusion, each with subject and predicate terms. D is also correct because syllogistic validity concerns whether the conclusion follows logically from the premises, regardless of whether those premises are actually true. C is false since the middle term appears in the premises, not the conclusion, and E is false because a valid argument can have a true conclusion even when its premises are false. Therefore A, B and D only are correct.

Option A:
Option A is correct since it includes exactly the structural and logical-form facts without importing the false claims about the middle term and truth of premises forcing truth of conclusion.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because it includes C, which mislocates the middle term in the conclusion instead of in the premises, so it puts a wrong statement into the combination.

Option C:
Option C is wrong as it adds E, which wrongly insists that false premises force a false conclusion, and it also fails to include B, so it contains errors/omissions.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because although B and D are true, E is false, and dropping A loses the accurate description that a categorical syllogism has two premises and one conclusion.

Hetu is the term used for the inferential mark or reason that is known to be invariably associated with the probandum. Its presence in the paksha licenses the move to the conclusion, as when smoke functions as hetu for fire on the hill. A proper hetu must satisfy conditions ensuring its reliability. Thus the reason described in the stem is called hetu.

Option A:
Option A, vyapti, is the underlying universal concomitance between hetu and sadhya, not the particular instance observed in the paksha. It is a general relation rather than the concrete reason present in the subject.

Option B:
Option B is correct because hetu is explicitly defined as that which, being pervaded by the sadhya, serves as the logical ground for inference. Without hetu there would be no inferential step from paksha to sadhya.

Option C:
Option C, drstanta, is the illustrative example used to show the vyapti, like a kitchen where smoke and fire co-occur. It supports the argument but is distinct from the reason stated in the paksha.

Option D:
Option D, prameya, is the object of knowledge in general, not specifically the middle term of an inference.