NTA UGC NET (University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test) — Questions and Answers

Question 1: Who founded the Mauryan Empire in ancient India around 321 BCE?

Bindusara
Chandragupta II
Chandragupta Maurya (Correct answer)
Ashoka

Correct answer: Chandragupta Maurya

Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan Empire around 321 BCE with the guidance of his advisor Chanakya, overthrowing the Nanda dynasty.

Question 2: A is taller than B; B is taller than C; D is shorter than A but taller than B. Who is the tallest?

B
C
D
A (Correct answer)

Correct answer: A

Since A > D > B > C in height, A is the tallest.

Question 3: Statement: All cups are plates. Some plates are bowls. Conclusion I: Some cups are bowls. Conclusion II: Some bowls are cups. Which conclusion(s) follow?

Neither I nor II follows (Correct answer)
Both I and II follow
Only I follows
Only II follows

Correct answer: Neither I nor II follows

All cups are plates, and some plates are bowls, but those bowls may not include any cups, so neither conclusion necessarily follows.

Question 4: Which gas is most abundant in Earth's atmosphere?

Oxygen
Argon
Nitrogen (Correct answer)
Carbon Dioxide

Correct answer: Nitrogen

Nitrogen makes up approximately 78% of Earth's atmosphere, making it the most abundant gas.

Question 5: What is the atomic number of carbon?

14
6 (Correct answer)
12
8

Correct answer: 6

The atomic number of an element is defined by the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom of that element. Carbon atoms always contain 6 protons, which uniquely identifies it as carbon on the periodic table. This number also dictates its electron configuration and fundamental chemical properties.

Question 6: Which of the following is an example of a non-renewable resource?

Coal (Correct answer)
Solar
Wind
Tidal energy

Correct answer: Coal

Coal is a fossil fuel formed over millions of years and cannot be replenished on a human timescale.

Question 7: The water cycle process in which liquid water becomes water vapor is called:

Precipitation
Evaporation (Correct answer)
Condensation
Transpiration

Correct answer: Evaporation

Evaporation is the process where liquid water is converted to water vapor due to heat energy.

Question 8: The HCF of 36 and 48 is:

12 (Correct answer)
24
18
6

Correct answer: 12

Prime factorization gives 36 = 2²×3² and 48 = 2⁴×3, so HCF = 2²×3 = 12.

Question 9: What does the acronym 'URL' stand for?

Uniform Resource Locator (Correct answer)
Uniform Record Locator
Universal Record Link
Universal Resource Locator

Correct answer: Uniform Resource Locator

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator, the address used to access resources on the internet.

Question 10: Which of the following is a strong acid?

Citric acid
Hydrochloric acid (Correct answer)
Carbonic acid
Acetic acid

Correct answer: Hydrochloric acid

A strong acid is one that completely dissociates into its ions when dissolved in water, meaning nearly all its molecules release hydrogen ions (H+). Hydrochloric acid (HCl) is a classic example of a strong acid, dissociating fully into H+ and Cl- ions. In contrast, acetic acid, citric acid, and carbonic acid are weak acids, which only partially dissociate.

Question 11: Which number is the odd one out: 4, 9, 16, 25, 35, 49?

25
35 (Correct answer)
49
4

Correct answer: 35

All other numbers are perfect squares (2², 3², 4², 5², 7²), but 35 is not a perfect square.

Question 12: The food chain begins with:

Decomposers
Secondary consumers
Primary consumers
Producers (plants) (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Producers (plants)

Producers, such as plants, are at the base of the food chain because they convert sunlight into chemical energy.

Question 13: What is the speed of light in a vacuum?

3 × 10^6 meters per second
3 × 10^10 meters per second
3 × 10^8 meters per second (Correct answer)
3 × 10^12 meters per second

Correct answer: 3 × 10^8 meters per second

The speed of light in a vacuum, denoted by 'c', is a fundamental physical constant. Its universally accepted value is approximately 299,792,458 meters per second, which is commonly rounded to 3 × 10^8 meters per second. This speed represents the absolute upper limit for the speed at which all conventional matter and information can travel.

Question 14: Which ancient Indian civilization flourished along the Indus River and is known for its advanced urban planning?

Indus Valley Civilization (Correct answer)
Vedic Civilization
Mauryan Empire
Gupta Empire

Correct answer: Indus Valley Civilization

The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300–1300 BCE) flourished along the Indus River and is renowned for its grid-planned cities like Mohenjo-daro and Harappa.

Question 15: Which planet in our solar system has the most moons?

Saturn (Correct answer)
Uranus
Jupiter
Neptune

Correct answer: Saturn

As of recent discoveries, Saturn holds the record for the most confirmed moons in our solar system.

Question 16: The Vijayanagara Empire, one of the greatest Hindu kingdoms of medieval India, had its capital at which city?

Thanjavur
Madurai
Mysore
Hampi (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Hampi

Hampi (Vijayanagara) served as the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from c. 1336 to 1565 CE and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka.

Question 17: The arithmetic mean of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 is:

20
17
15 (Correct answer)
12

Correct answer: 15

Mean = (5+10+15+20+25)/5 = 75/5 = 15.

Question 18: A clock shows 3:15. What is the angle between the hour and minute hands?

45°
0°
7.5° (Correct answer)
15°

Correct answer: 7.5°

At 3:15, the minute hand is at 90° and the hour hand is at 97.5° (3×30 + 15×0.5), giving a difference of 7.5°.

Question 19: The Cold War was primarily a geopolitical tension between which two superpowers?

United States and Germany
United States and China
Soviet Union and United Kingdom
United States and Soviet Union (Correct answer)

Correct answer: United States and Soviet Union

The Cold War (1947–1991) was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States (and its NATO allies) and the Soviet Union (and its Warsaw Pact allies).

Question 20: What does HTML stand for?

HyperText Markup Language (Correct answer)
High Text Markup Language
HyperText Modern Language
High Transfer Markup Language

Correct answer: HyperText Markup Language

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language, the standard language for creating web pages.

Question 21: What is the output of: 5 % 3 in most programming languages?

1
0
2 (Correct answer)
5

Correct answer: 2

The modulo operator (%) returns the remainder of division: 5 ÷ 3 = 1 remainder 2.

Question 22: The Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked the beginning of British political dominance in India. Who led the British East India Company forces in this battle?

Charles Cornwallis
Arthur Wellesley
Robert Clive (Correct answer)
Warren Hastings

Correct answer: Robert Clive

Robert Clive led the British East India Company forces against Siraj ud-Daulah at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, securing British supremacy in Bengal.

Question 23: The French Revolution of 1789 was sparked by widespread discontent with the monarchy and was preceded by which major economic crisis?

Industrial collapse due to British competition
Loss of French colonies in North America
Severe financial crisis caused by war debts and crop failures (Correct answer)
Failure of the Continental System

Correct answer: Severe financial crisis caused by war debts and crop failures

France's financial bankruptcy from wars (including the American Revolution) combined with crop failures and food shortages created the economic conditions that ignited the French Revolution.

Question 24: Which of the following best describes cloud computing?

Storing data only on local hard drives
Delivering computing services over the internet (Correct answer)
Using physical servers in one location only
A type of internet browser

Correct answer: Delivering computing services over the internet

Cloud computing delivers computing services like servers, storage, and software over the internet on demand.

Question 25: Which greenhouse gas is most responsible for recent human-caused climate change?

Nitrous oxide (N₂O)
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) (Correct answer)
Water vapor
Methane (CH₄)

Correct answer: Carbon dioxide (CO₂)

CO₂ is the primary greenhouse gas driving recent climate change due to fossil fuel combustion and deforestation.

Question 26: Who founded the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1885?

Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Allan Octavian Hume (Correct answer)
Mahatma Gandhi
Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Correct answer: Allan Octavian Hume

Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British civil servant, founded the Indian National Congress in 1885, which later became the primary organization leading the independence movement.

Question 27: What is the primary function of the ribosome?

Energy production
DNA replication
Protein synthesis (Correct answer)
Cell division

Correct answer: Protein synthesis

Ribosomes are essential cellular organelles responsible for protein synthesis, a process also known as translation. They read the genetic information encoded in messenger RNA (mRNA) and use it to assemble amino acids into specific protein chains. This function is crucial for all cellular activities and structures, as proteins perform a vast array of functions within the cell.

Question 28: What is the principle of conservation of energy?

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed. (Correct answer)
Energy is always increasing in a closed system.
Energy can be created by converting mass.
Energy is only conserved in isolated systems.

Correct answer: Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed.

The principle of conservation of energy, also known as the First Law of Thermodynamics, states that energy cannot be created or destroyed within a closed system. Instead, it can only be transformed from one form to another, such as from potential energy to kinetic energy or chemical energy to heat. The total amount of energy in the universe remains constant, only changing its manifestation.

Question 29: What is the area of a circle with radius 7 cm? (Use π ≈ 22/7)

49 cm²
154 cm² (Correct answer)
196 cm²
144 cm²

Correct answer: 154 cm²

Area = πr² = (22/7) × 7² = (22/7) × 49 = 154 cm².

Question 30: The primary key in a relational database is used to:

Sort records alphabetically
Link two databases
Encrypt data
Uniquely identify each record (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Uniquely identify each record

A primary key uniquely identifies each row in a database table and cannot contain NULL values.

NTA UGC NET (University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test)

The NTA UGC NET is India's national-level eligibility test for candidates seeking to qualify as Assistant Professors or Junior Research Fellows in Indian universities, covering general teaching/research aptitude (Paper 1) and subject-specific knowledge across disciplines such as Chemistry, History, Computer Science, and Environmental Science (Paper 2).

Questions

35 min

Time Limit

40%

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