UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Social networking sites facilitate the building of online relationships by enabling users to follow, message and share posts with one another. Platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn exemplify this category. They have significant implications for communication, identity and learning in the digital age. Hence, such platforms are called social networking sites.

Option A:
Option A is correct because the description of user profiles, connections and content sharing matches the standard definition of social networking sites.

Option B:
Option B, e commerce, focuses on buying and selling goods or services online and is not primarily about forming social connections.

Option C:
Option C, search engine, helps locate information across the web and does not fundamentally revolve around building user networks.

Option D:
Option D, digital library, provides organised access to digital documents and not interactive user communities.

Statement B is the only wrong statement because effective environmental awareness today uses a mix of media, including digital and social platforms, rather than depending solely on printed posters. Statements A, C and D are correct as they highlight community-level folk media, experiential learning through eco-clubs and the role of mass media campaigns in shaping attitudes. Since only B misrepresents good practice in awareness-building, the correct choice is the combination that isolates B alone as wrong.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it treats both A and B as wrong, whereas statement A is actually correct. Community-level tools like street plays and rallies are widely used to communicate environmental messages in an accessible way. Including a correct statement among wrong ones makes this option logically inconsistent with the question.

Option B:
Option B is correct because it identifies B only as the wrong statement and leaves A, C and D recognised as valid. It acknowledges that limiting programmes to printed posters and excluding digital and social media would be a serious weakness in modern awareness strategies.Thus, this option precisely matches the requirement to select the wrong statement or statements.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect because it considers B and C as wrong. Statement C is in fact correct since eco-clubs and hands-on activities have been repeatedly emphasised in environmental education policies as important for student learning. Misclassifying it as wrong leads to an incorrect combination.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because it treats B, C and D as wrong. While B is wrong, C and D are correct: eco-clubs support behaviour change and mass media campaigns are essential for reaching wide audiences. Grouping correct statements with the wrong one cannot satisfy the condition of the question.

A blog is a type of website or section where posts are added regularly, often reflecting personal views, educational resources or commentary on various topics. Entries are usually displayed with the most recent post first. Blogs use ICT to democratise publishing by making it easy for non specialists to share content online. Hence, the website described is a blog.

Option A:
Option A is correct because the structure of frequently updated posts in reverse chronological order is characteristic of blogs.

Option B:
Option B, wiki, is a collaborative site where users can collectively edit content, which has a different structure and purpose.

Option C:
Option C, portal, aggregates links and services, functioning as an entry point to various resources rather than as a chronological journal.

Option D:
Option D, search engine, is a tool for finding information across the web and is not itself the publishing site described.

Statements A, B and D correctly capture both the opportunities and risks of using social media in education, whereas statement C is false. Social media can support peer interaction and collaborative learning, it can also distract when overused and closed groups can be used for sharing academic information. It is wrong to say that social media can never be used for formal academic communication, as many institutions use it for official updates. Therefore, the combination that includes A, B and D but excludes C is the correct answer.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it lists only A and B as correct and omits D. While A and B are true, D also accurately describes how closed groups or channels can support academic communication. Leaving out a true statement means this option is incomplete.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because it includes only B and D and omits A. Statement A is also valid, highlighting the collaborative learning potential of social media. Since one correct statement is missing, this combination does not represent the full set of correct statements.

Option C:
Option C is correct because it groups A, B and D together and excludes the false statement C. It recognises that social media can be both a learning tool and a potential distraction, and that it can be used formally through structured groups. By omitting the claim that social media can never serve formal purposes, this option aligns with current educational practice.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because it treats all four statements as correct, thereby accepting statement C. The assertion that social media can never be used for formal academic communication is clearly false. Including this incorrect statement invalidates the combination.

Social media platforms enable users to produce, comment on and exchange content in a networked environment. They emphasise user profiles, follower relationships and interactive features such as likes and shares. These characteristics distinguish them from one-way broadcasting media. Therefore the applications described in the stem are best classified as social media.

Option A:
Option A is correct because the term social media directly encapsulates the social networking and media-sharing functions of platforms like Facebook and Instagram. These sites exemplify the shift toward participatory Web 2.0 environments.

Option B:
Option B, search engine, is focused on information retrieval and does not primarily host user timelines or social interactions, even though some social elements may appear.

Option C:
Option C, operating system, is system software that manages hardware and provides a platform for applications and is quite different from online social platforms.

Option D:
Option D, firmware, is embedded software inside hardware devices and has no resemblance to the interactive websites described.