UGCNET Questions

Digital India envisions reliable high-speed connectivity, digital identity, electronic service delivery and widespread digital literacy. These pillars support e-governance and ICT-based education by giving citizens the tools and skills to access resources. By framing digital infrastructure and services as utilities, the mission aims to make technology an integral part of daily life. This goal aligns closely with ICT in education and governance.

Option A:
Option A succinctly captures the three core vision areas often cited for Digital India and relates them to citizen empowerment. It shows how ICT systems form the backbone of modern service delivery and learning.

Option B:
Option B reverses the mission by advocating the closure of online services and a return to purely paper-based processes, which would undermine digital transformation efforts.

Option C:
Option C emphasises entertainment while blocking education, which is inconsistent with public policy objectives aimed at inclusive development.

Option D:
Option D proposes restricting technology use, directly contradicting the aim of digital inclusion and empowerment.

Formal communication follows officially recognized channels and is documented for record. A principal’s circular on letterhead is authoritative, written and directed to staff members in their official capacity. It flows from a higher position in the hierarchy to lower levels, making it downward as well as formal.

Option A:
Option A, grapevine communication, is informal and unofficial, arising through personal networks rather than documented channels, so it does not fit a signed circular on letterhead.

Option B:
Option B is correct because the message originates from institutional authority and moves to subordinates through an official medium, exemplifying formal downward communication.

Option C:
Option C, mass communication, applies to messages sent to large, undifferentiated public audiences outside the institution, often via mass media, which is not the case here.

Option D:
Option D, interpersonal communication between two friends, is typically dyadic and personal, not an institutional directive issued to all teachers.

Inductive generalisation infers a probable conclusion about a population based on evidence from a sample. A large random sample in which 85% have internet access supports the claim that most households in the population likely have access. However, it does not justify an exact percentage or absolute statements about all households. The word “probably” reflects the probabilistic nature of the inference correctly.

Option A:
Option A overstates the precision by claiming that the population must have exactly the same percentage as the sample, ignoring sampling error.

Option B:
Option B cautiously states that most households have access, which aligns with the sample finding while acknowledging some uncertainty.

Option C:
Option C falsely claims that no household lacks internet, which directly conflicts with the 15% of sampled households without access.

Option D:
Option D attributes a legal or regulatory requirement for access, which goes far beyond the descriptive data.

Vāda is upheld as the ideal debate form where both parties sincerely seek truth. They use accepted pramāṇas like perception and inference and avoid dishonest tactics. The emphasis is on justification rather than mere victory. Because of this, vāda is closely linked with philosophical inquiry and rational clarification.

Option A:
Option A describes jalpa, which prioritises winning over truth and may involve questionable strategies.

Option B:
Option B correctly describes vāda as a truth oriented discussion guided by recognised means of knowledge and fair reasoning.

Option C:
Option C corresponds more closely to vitaṇḍā, where one only tries to refute the opponent without defending a positive thesis.

Option D:
Option D restricts debate to scriptural authority, but vāda allows all recognised pramāṇas, not only scripture.

Teaching aptitude combines both inherent tendencies and systematically developed skills required for effective teaching. It includes planning lessons, selecting methods and communicating ideas clearly. It also involves understanding learners, motivating them and evaluating their progress appropriately. Thus, teaching aptitude is about overall suitability and preparedness for the teaching profession.

Option A:
This option restricts aptitude to the ability to memorise content, which is only one small part of a teacher’s work. Knowing content is necessary but not sufficient for teaching aptitude. Without pedagogical skills, mere memory of facts will not lead to effective teaching.

Option B:
This option rightly emphasises both natural ability and acquired skills needed for effective teaching. It shows that aptitude is not only a matter of talent but also of training, reflection and practice. By referring to planning, organisation and delivery, it captures major components of successful teaching behaviour.

Option C:
This option reduces aptitude to administrative efficiency, which is again only a peripheral aspect. While paperwork is part of institutional responsibilities, teaching aptitude primarily concerns instructional and relational skills with learners.

Option D:
This option confuses aptitude with authoritarian behaviour. Constant punishment usually harms learners’ motivation and does not demonstrate sound professional suitability for teaching.

Bloom’s framework distinguishes cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. Demonstrating a titration requires precise hand movements, coordination and control of apparatus, so the behaviour belongs mainly to the psychomotor domain.

Option A:
Option A, the cognitive domain, concerns knowledge and mental skills like remembering, understanding and problem solving. Conceptual knowledge of titration is cognitive, but the act of performing it is motor-skill based.

Option B:
Option B correctly identifies the psychomotor domain, which includes manual and physical skills. Accurate titration demands fine motor control and coordinated actions, matching this domain.

Option C:
Option C, the affective domain, deals with attitudes, values and feelings. Liking laboratory work is affective, but actually doing titration is primarily psychomotor.

Option D:
Option D refers to a social domain, which is not one of the original three domains in the classic taxonomy. Titration can be performed individually without social interaction.

Classroom climate describes the quality of life and relationships in the classroom. It includes perceptions of safety, support, fairness and mutual respect among teacher and students. A positive climate encourages interaction, motivation and risk taking in learning. Conversely, a negative climate can create anxiety and disengagement. Thus, it is essentially a psychosocial construct.

Option A:
This option concerns physical dimensions of space, which are part of the physical environment but not the full climate. While room size can affect comfort, climate emphasises interpersonal and emotional aspects.

Option B:
This option is correct because it captures the emotional and social dimensions of the classroom environment. It acknowledges that how students feel about the class strongly influences their willingness to participate and their academic performance. Attention to classroom climate is a major aspect of teaching aptitude.

Option C:
This option focuses on the frequency of examinations, which relates to assessment policy rather than classroom climate. Examinations can influence climate indirectly, but they do not define it.

Option D:
This option refers to the amount of syllabus, which is a curricular design issue. Although workload can affect stress, syllabus length alone does not represent the classroom climate.

Delimitations are conscious decisions made by the researcher to narrow the focus of the study. They specify aspects such as geographical area, time frame, population type or variables included. By stating delimitations, the researcher clarifies the scope and avoids overgeneralization. They are planned boundaries of the work, not flaws.

Option A:
Option A refers to limitations caused by factors beyond the researcher’s control, such as nonresponse or attrition. These are limitations, not delimitations.

Option B:
Option B correctly defines delimitations as chosen boundaries that structure the study. They inform readers about the context within which findings are valid and guide interpretation.

Option C:
Option C points to measurement errors, which are again limitations or problems rather than deliberate scope decisions.

Option D:
Option D concerns ethical issues, which are important but distinct from specifying the scope or boundaries of the study.

For feedback to enhance learning, it must give clear information about what was done well, what needs improvement and how to improve. Timely delivery ensures that the guidance is still connected to the task in students’ minds, and an improvement focus helps them take appropriate action.

Option A:
Option A gives only general comments like “good” or “bad”. Such feedback is too vague to guide students about specific strengths or weaknesses, so it does not strongly support improvement.

Option B:
Option B is correct because specific, timely, improvement-oriented feedback provides concrete next steps and is widely shown by research to promote academic growth.

Option C:
Option C involves feedback given long after the assessment, when the topic may no longer be salient; delayed comments are less likely to influence current learning or behaviour.

Option D:
Option D compares students with one another, which can create unhealthy competition and anxiety; it shifts attention away from learning goals and criteria for quality work.

Let the present ages of the father and son be 7x and 3x respectively. After 10 years, their ages will be 7x + 10 and 3x + 10. The future ratio is (7x + 10) : (3x + 10) = 13 : 7. Cross-multiplying gives 7(7x + 10) = 13(3x + 10), i.e., 49x + 70 = 39x + 130. This simplifies to 10x = 60, so x = 6. Therefore, the father’s present age is 7x = 7 × 6 = 42 years.

Option A:
Option A, 35 years, would make the son 15 years old (ratio 7 : 3), and after 10 years their ages would be 45 and 25, giving a ratio of 9 : 5, not 13 : 7.

Option B:
Option B, 42 years, makes the son 18 years old. After 10 years they would be 52 and 28, and 52 : 28 simplifies to 13 : 7, satisfying both the given present ratio and the future ratio.

Option C:
Option C, 49 years, would imply a son aged 21, and after 10 years their ages become 59 and 31, which do not reduce to 13 : 7.

Option D:
Option D, 56 years, would give the son 24 years at present and 66 and 34 after 10 years, with ratio 33 : 17, again not 13 : 7.

Abstract concepts are difficult for many students to visualise and relate to prior knowledge. Combining oral explanation with visual elements such as diagrams or concept maps engages multiple channels. This dual coding helps learners form mental images and connections, making the concept easier to grasp and remember.

Option A:
Option A is correct because it integrates verbal and visual channels, increasing channel richness and reducing misunderstanding when introducing abstract ideas.

Option B:
Option B suggests fast speaking without visuals, which can overwhelm students and make it harder to follow complex ideas because there are no visual anchors.

Option C:
Option C provides only a printed handout; while useful for later review, it offers no live explanation or opportunity to clarify doubts during the first exposure.

Option D:
Option D postpones communication to an email after class and does not permit immediate questioning, which is crucial when students encounter an abstract topic for the first time.

Research is essentially a systematic and objective investigation aimed at generating new knowledge or validating existing knowledge. It is driven by clearly defined questions or problems that require reasoned answers. Through careful collection and analysis of data, research attempts to provide solutions or explanations. Therefore, the central purpose of research is to expand understanding and address real or theoretical problems in a disciplined manner.

Option A:
Option A highlights the systematic and purposeful nature of research. It includes both the search for new knowledge and the attempt to solve identified problems. This aligns with standard definitions used in research methodology across disciplines. By stressing system and solution orientation, it correctly captures the fundamental purpose of research.

Option B:
Option B suggests data collection without an objective, which contradicts the requirement that research must be problem or objective oriented. Random data gathering does not qualify as scientific research. Without a clear purpose, analysis and interpretation become meaningless.

Option C:
Option C implies mere repetition of existing knowledge without verification or critical scrutiny. Genuine research involves testing, confirming, modifying or extending existing ideas, not simply restating them. Therefore, this option is incomplete and misleading.

Option D:
Option D reduces research to the production of lengthy reports for awards, which is only a byproduct and not the core purpose. Reports are communication tools for research findings, but research itself is about inquiry and understanding, not about document length or recognition.

The question requires students to go beyond reproducing existing procedures. They must understand the experimental design deeply enough to modify it for a new purpose. This involves analysis of variables, evaluation of possible approaches and creative generation of alternatives. Such cognitive processes are characteristic of higher order thinking and problem solving.

Option A:
This option focuses on rote memorisation, which is not required here. Students are not being asked to list steps but to rethink and redesign them. Rote responses would not answer the teacher’s question adequately.

Option B:
This option is correct because it explicitly links the question to higher levels of Bloom taxonomy, such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. It indicates that students are being encouraged to think creatively about methods and to justify new designs.

Option C:
This option suggests recall of a definition, which is a lower order task. The question does not ask for definitions but for a new design, so simple recall is insufficient.

Option D:
This option describes mechanical repetition, whereas the question asks for change and redesign. Repeating the same procedure without modification does not meet the requirement of exploring a different hypothesis.

Constructive alignment is an approach to curriculum design in which intended learning outcomes, teaching–learning activities and assessment tasks are systematically aligned. The idea is that students construct meaning through activities that are directly linked to outcomes, and assessments then test the same outcomes. This coherence helps ensure that teaching efforts genuinely lead to the desired competencies.

Option A:
This option describes the opposite of alignment. Random selection of activities may lead to enjoyable but unfocused experiences that do not clearly support intended outcomes. Such an approach weakens the connection between teaching and learning goals.

Option B:
This option correctly identifies the practice as constructive alignment. It stresses that objectives are not just statements on paper but guide the choice of methods and assessment formats. When alignment is strong, students receive clear signals about what is important and are more likely to achieve deep learning.

Option C:
This option privileges teacher preferences without considering whether chosen activities help students meet the outcomes. While teacher enthusiasm is valuable, decisions must also be justified in terms of effectiveness for learner achievement.

Option D:
This option refers to assessments that are disconnected from instruction, which can appear unfair to students. When tests focus on content or skills that were not taught or emphasised, they fail to measure the impact of teaching and do not support learning.

Ratio scales possess all properties of interval scales plus a true zero point, allowing meaningful statements about ratios. Time taken to complete a test has an absolute zero and permits comparisons such as one student taking twice as long as another.

Option A:
This option describes a nominal variable, where categories represent different types without inherent order or equal intervals. Hostel and rented house are labels, not quantities.

Option B:
This option refers to ordinal data, where ranks indicate order but not equal differences between positions; you cannot say that the difference between rank 1 and 2 equals that between 2 and 3.

Option C:
Option C describes temperature in degrees Celsius, which is usually treated as an interval scale: differences are meaningful, but zero does not represent the complete absence of temperature and ratios (40°C is not “twice as hot” as 20°C) are not meaningful.

Option D:
Option D is correct because time in minutes has a true zero and equal units, so both differences and ratios are meaningful, satisfying the definition of a ratio scale.