UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

The IPAT identity expresses environmental Impact (I) as the product of Population (P), Affluence (A) and Technology (T). It suggests that impact grows with more people,higher consumption per person and technologies with higher environmental intensity. Therefore the correct mathematical form is P × A × T.

Option A:
A sum such as P + A + T would not capture the multiplicative interactions emphasised in the IPAT framework, where increases in any factor can scale total impact. Hence it does not match the established relationship.

Option B:
The product P × A × T highlights how even modest growth in each factor can combine to produce large changes in environmental impact. This multiplicative understanding aligns precisely with the way the identity is presented in the literature and described in the question.

Option C:
A subtraction expression like P – A – T would be conceptually meaningless in this context, as it could imply negative impacts for certain values and ignores the reinforcing nature of the drivers.

Option D:
A division form P ÷ A ÷ T similarly fails to represent growth in impact with increasing consumption and technological intensity. It is not how the identity is formulated,so it is not appropriate for the blank.

The IPAT identity summarises environmental impact as I = P × A × T,where P is population,A is affluence or consumption per person and T is the environmental impact per unit of consumption determined by technology. The stem asks for the T term in this product,which is technology. Therefore Option D correctly completes the identity. It highlights that cleaner technologies can reduce impact even when population and affluence grow.

Option A:
Trade influences how impacts are distributed between countries but is not one of the three core factors in the IPAT formulation. While trade patterns matter,they appear indirectly through affluence and technology,so trade is not the right answer.

Option B:
Territory refers to land area or jurisdiction and does not capture the environmental intensity of production and consumption processes. IPAT focuses on population,affluence and technology as primary drivers,not territory.

Option C:
Transport is an important sector contributing to environmental impact,but in IPAT it would be included within the broader technology term or activity patterns. It is too narrow to represent the general T factor requested in the question.

Option D:
Technology in IPAT encapsulates the resource and pollution intensity of economic activities. Cleaner technologies lower T and thus overall impact for given P and A values. This role matches precisely the description implied by the stem.