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Question 1Paper I - Teaching Aptitude

In the memory–understanding–reflective hierarchy of teaching levels, which classroom behaviour best shows that a lesson has reached the reflective level?

  1. Pupils compare rival solutions and defend the criteria used to choose between them. Correct answer.
  2. Pupils solve numerical problems by applying a formula the teacher has just worked out.
  3. Pupils recite each definition of a key term exactly as it appears in the textbook.
  4. Pupils copy the teacher's completed solution into their notebooks without discussion.

Explanation

The three levels are ranked by the depth of mental engagement they demand: memory is rote recall, understanding is insight into relationships, and reflective teaching is the highest level. At the reflective level pupils identify the problem themselves, weigh competing alternatives and justify the standards on which their judgement rests. Comparing and defending criteria therefore belongs to the reflective level, while recitation, formula application and copying remain at lower levels.

Question 2Paper I - Teaching Aptitude

In the context of ICT-supported teaching in India, SWAYAM is best described as which of the following?

  1. A satellite television channel run by the UGC for live classroom telecast
  2. A national MOOC platform offering courses from school to higher education Correct answer.
  3. A learning management system installed only on central university campuses
  4. A question bank portal maintained by NCERT for school board examinations

Explanation

SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) is India's national massive open online course platform, offering free courses from class 9 up to higher education and professional programmes. Its courses are delivered through online video lectures, downloadable reading material, self-assessment tests and discussion forums, and proctored examinations are held for credit transfer. It is therefore a MOOC platform, not a broadcast channel, a campus-only system or a school question bank.

Question 3Paper I - Teaching Aptitude

A teacher writes the objective: "Students will explain in their own words how osmosis differs from diffusion." In Bloom's revised taxonomy, this objective chiefly targets which cognitive process?

  1. Remembering
  2. Applying
  3. Analysing
  4. Understanding Correct answer.

Explanation

In the revised taxonomy, remembering means retrieving relevant knowledge, understanding means constructing meaning through explaining, paraphrasing, comparing or classifying, and applying means using a procedure in a new situation. Because the pupil must restate the distinction in personal language rather than retrieve a definition or use it to solve a task, the target process is understanding. Analysing would require breaking the process into components or tracing causal relationships.

Question 4Paper I - Teaching Aptitude

A science teacher closes every week with a short ungraded quiz, reviews the scripts, and repeats a topic the following Monday only if many pupils did poorly. The quiz functions mainly as which kind of assessment?

  1. A diagnostic test used to place pupils in ability groups before teaching
  2. A formative assessment used to regulate ongoing teaching and learning Correct answer.
  3. A summative test used for certifying achievement at the end of the term
  4. An aptitude test used to predict future performance in science

Explanation

Formative assessment is assessment for learning: it is conducted during instruction, carries little or no grading weight, and its purpose is to give the teacher and pupils feedback that shapes the next steps of teaching. Here the weekly quiz directly triggers reteaching, which is the defining use of formative information. Summative assessment judges achievement at the end of a course, diagnostic assessment precedes teaching, and aptitude tests forecast potential.

Question 5Paper I - Teaching Aptitude

Which sequence correctly describes the standard micro-teaching cycle used in teacher preparation?

  1. Record a full lecture, upload it to a portal, then discuss the recording at year end
  2. Observe a full lesson, write an observation report, then teach that lesson to a full class
  3. Teach a short single-skill segment, receive feedback, then re-teach the revised segment Correct answer.
  4. Plan a whole unit, administer a summative test, then discuss results with the staff

Explanation

Micro-teaching is a scaled-down, supervised practice cycle in which a teacher trainee teaches a small group for a few minutes, concentrating on one teaching skill. The lesson is observed or recorded, feedback is analysed against that skill, and the trainee re-teaches the same content with modifications in a repeat cycle of teach–feedback–re-teach. Full lessons, full units and year-end reviews fall outside this deliberately reduced setting.

Question 6Paper I - Teaching Aptitude

A mathematics teacher opens a lesson with a puzzle whose answer pupils can reach but cannot yet justify, allows them to explore in small groups, and only then formalises the rule. This approach is best described as which method?

  1. Programmed instruction, using small linear frames with immediate feedback
  2. The heuristic method, in which pupils discover the rule through guided exploration Correct answer.
  3. The lecture method, supported by a blackboard summary of solved examples
  4. Expository teaching, in which the teacher states and explains the rule before practice

Explanation

The heuristic method, associated with H. E. Armstrong, places problem or question first and explanation last, so pupils arrive at the generalisation through their own investigation under the teacher's guidance. The stem shows exactly this order: puzzling situation, exploration, then formal statement of the rule. Expository teaching and lecturing reverse the order by presenting the rule before any pupil inquiry.

Question 7Paper I - Teaching Aptitude

According to Gagné's nine events of instruction, which event immediately follows the presentation of the content or stimulus?

  1. Providing learning guidance that cues the expected response Correct answer.
  2. Enhancing retention and transfer to new situations
  3. Assessing performance against the stated objective
  4. Informing learners of the lesson objective

Explanation

Gagné's sequence runs: gaining attention, informing learners of the objective, stimulating recall of prior learning, presenting the stimulus, providing learning guidance, eliciting performance, providing feedback, assessing performance, and enhancing retention and transfer. Learning guidance comes directly after the content is presented because the learner now needs cues, hints or a suggested strategy to encode it correctly. Objective-setting occurs earlier, while assessment and transfer come later in the sequence.

Question 8Paper I - Research Aptitude

A researcher records each respondent's religion as Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Other. The level of measurement of this variable is:

  1. Interval
  2. Nominal Correct answer.
  3. Ratio
  4. Ordinal

Explanation

A nominal scale sorts cases into mutually exclusive categories that carry no order or numerical distance, so religion labels can only be classified, never ranked or added. Ordinal scales add order, interval scales add equal units, and ratio scales add a true zero point.

Question 9Paper I - Research Aptitude

In an experiment testing whether a new teaching method affects achievement, the null hypothesis states that:

  1. the new method raises achievement by at least ten marks
  2. achievement scores are unreliable under both methods
  3. the two methods do not differ in mean achievement Correct answer.
  4. the new method raises achievement more than the conventional method

Explanation

The null hypothesis is a statement of no effect or no difference between conditions, and it is the hypothesis actually tested statistically. A directional prediction of superiority belongs to the alternative hypothesis, not the null.

Question 10Paper I - Research Aptitude

A population of 2,000 teachers varies widely by school type (government, aided and private). To ensure each type is represented in proportion to its size, the most appropriate technique is:

  1. purposive sampling of accessible schools
  2. stratified random sampling with school type as the stratum Correct answer.
  3. simple random sampling from the full list
  4. snowball sampling through teacher referrals

Explanation

Stratified random sampling partitions the population into homogeneous subgroups called strata, here school type, and then draws randomly inside each stratum so that every subgroup is represented in proportion to its size. Simple random sampling may under-represent small subgroups purely by chance.

Question 11Paper I - Research Aptitude

A 20-item attitude scale yields almost identical total scores when administered twice to the same group two weeks apart, but its items cover only one narrow aspect of the construct it claims to measure. This pattern indicates:

  1. low test-retest reliability and high content validity
  2. high test-retest reliability but low content validity Correct answer.
  3. high content validity but low criterion validity
  4. high internal consistency but low test-retest reliability

Explanation

Test-retest reliability concerns the stability of scores across occasions, whereas content validity concerns whether the items adequately cover the whole construct domain. A scale can produce very stable scores and still measure only a narrow slice of what it claims to measure.

Question 12Paper I - Research Aptitude

During a six-month evaluation of an adult literacy programme, a statewide literacy campaign is launched midway. Post-test scores rise in the treatment group. The most serious threat to internal validity here is:

  1. maturation
  2. instrumentation
  3. statistical regression
  4. history Correct answer.

Explanation

History refers to external events occurring between the pre-test and post-test that can affect the dependent variable, such as a public campaign launched mid-study. Maturation is internal change in participants, instrumentation is change in measuring instruments or observers, and regression is extreme scores drifting toward the mean.

Question 13Paper I - Research Aptitude

A researcher reports r = -0.78 between daily television viewing hours and examination scores for 150 students. The most defensible interpretation is:

  1. scores tend to fall as viewing rises, and the link is fairly strong Correct answer.
  2. television viewing causes roughly 78 per cent of the variation in examination scores
  3. the association is weak because the coefficient is negative
  4. 78 per cent of heavy viewers must have low scores

Explanation

The sign indicates the direction of the relationship and the absolute value indicates its strength, so r = -0.78 describes a fairly strong inverse association. A correlation coefficient cannot establish causation, and 0.78 is not the proportion of variance explained, which is r-squared, about 0.61.

Question 14Paper I - Research Aptitude

A researcher evaluating a remedial programme changes the significance level for the main test from 0.05 to 0.01 while keeping the sample size fixed. As a consequence:

  1. both Type I and Type II error probabilities decrease
  2. the probability of Type I error is unchanged because it depends only on sample size
  3. the probability of Type II error decreases and statistical power rises
  4. the probability of Type I error decreases and statistical power falls Correct answer.

Explanation

Alpha is the probability of rejecting a true null hypothesis, so lowering it from 0.05 to 0.01 reduces the Type I error rate. With sample size fixed, the stricter criterion makes rejecting the null harder, so Type II error rises and statistical power falls.

Question 15Paper I - Comprehension

Read this sentence: "The committee's report was laudatory, praising every department while glossing over the delays." In this context, the word "laudatory" most nearly means:

  1. Fault-finding
  2. Praising Correct answer.
  3. Lengthy
  4. Cautious

Explanation

The clause that follows the comma restates the difficult word, so "praising every department" is the meaning the writer supplies. In comprehension items, an appositive or restatement after a comma is the most reliable clue to an unfamiliar word's sense, and it outweighs guesses based on how the word sounds.

Question 16Paper I - Comprehension

Read this sentence: "Unlike her earlier novels, which lingered over landscape, Meera's latest work moves swiftly through dialogue, and readers who admired her descriptive prose may find the change unsettling." The sentence suggests that Meera's latest novel:

  1. devotes less space to description than before Correct answer.
  2. is set in a region she has never described
  3. has been praised chiefly for its landscape writing
  4. repeats the descriptive passages of her earlier books

Explanation

The contrast signalled by "Unlike" sets the earlier books' lingering description against the new book's swift dialogue, so the latest novel shifts its balance away from description. Readers must track the comparison between two bodies of work rather than treat either half of the sentence in isolation.

Question 17Paper I - Comprehension

Read this sentence: "Whatever the merits of the new syllabus, its authors have yet to explain how teachers already carrying full timetables will find time to prepare the additional units." The writer's attitude towards the new syllabus is best described as:

  1. qualified scepticism Correct answer.
  2. indifferent neutrality
  3. open hostility
  4. wholehearted endorsement

Explanation

The concessive opening "Whatever the merits" grants that the syllabus may have value, while "have yet to explain" records a specific unresolved practical doubt. That combination of partial concession and pointed reservation is the standard marker of qualified scepticism rather than outright rejection.

Question 18Paper I - Comprehension

Read this sentence: "The villagers rebuilt the bridge after the contractor abandoned it, and the district office later cited their effort as a model." In this sentence, the pronoun "it" refers to:

  1. the villagers' effort
  2. the bridge Correct answer.
  3. the model
  4. the district office

Explanation

A pronoun normally refers back to a matching noun phrase that makes sense with its verb, and the contractor abandoned the bridge, not the effort, the office, or the model. Checking grammatical number and semantic fit together resolves the reference without ambiguity.

Question 19Paper I - Comprehension

Read this sentence: "Although the survey received more than a thousand responses, only twelve came from rural districts - a gap the authors concede may limit how far the findings can be generalised." The authors' concession implies that the findings:

  1. may not apply well to rural districts Correct answer.
  2. were collected exclusively from rural districts
  3. are unusable because the overall sample was too small
  4. should be read as a full account of national opinion

Explanation

A stated limitation on generalisation points to where the evidence is thin, and the thin area named here is rural representation. The concession therefore warns that conclusions drawn for rural districts are the least secure part of the study, not that the whole survey is worthless.

Question 20Paper I - Comprehension

Read this passage: "In 1998 the city planted 4,000 saplings along the ring road; by 2010, surveys counted fewer than 900 surviving trees, most of them near the water tank." Which option is a fact stated in the passage rather than an opinion?

  1. Fewer than 900 of the planted trees survived to 2010. Correct answer.
  2. The planting programme was poorly planned.
  3. The water tank is what saved the surviving trees.
  4. The city should have watered the saplings more often.

Explanation

A stated fact is one that the passage reports as verifiable data, here the survey count of surviving trees in 2010. The other options add judgement, causal explanation, or recommendation, none of which the passage asserts as recorded information.

Question 21Paper I - Comprehension

Read this argument: "The library extended its weekend hours and borrowing rose by a fifth within three months. The librarian concludes that the longer hours alone caused the increase." The librarian's conclusion is most vulnerable to the objection that:

  1. weekend borrowing is always higher than weekday borrowing
  2. an online reservation system was launched then Correct answer.
  3. borrowing figures are collected only at weekends
  4. the librarian has not worked there for long

Explanation

A causal claim drawn from a before-and-after comparison fails if another factor changed over the same period, because that factor could explain the rise instead. Pointing to a simultaneous change introduces exactly this alternative cause, which is the standard challenge to a post hoc causal inference.

Question 22Paper I - Communication

The formula 'Who says what, in which channel, to whom, with what effect?' is the basis of which model of communication?

  1. Shannon and Weaver's mathematical model
  2. Osgood and Schramm's circular model
  3. Berlo's SMCR model
  4. Lasswell's model of communication Correct answer.

Explanation

Lasswell compressed mass communication into five linked elements: communicator, message, channel, audience and effect, and this formula is the standard summary of his model. Shannon and Weaver concentrate on signal transmission and noise, Berlo on source and receiver attributes, and Osgood and Schramm on the circular flow of messages with feedback.

Question 23Paper I - Communication

In the seven Cs of communication, which quality is achieved when a message uses the fewest words needed to convey the intended meaning?

  1. Courtesy
  2. Clarity
  3. Completeness
  4. Conciseness Correct answer.

Explanation

Conciseness means expressing the message in the minimum number of words without losing essential meaning, avoiding repetition and padding. Clarity concerns easy decoding, courtesy concerns respectful tone, and completeness concerns supplying all the information the receiver needs.

Question 24Paper I - Communication

During a video lecture, students miss several sentences because of a weak internet connection. In Shannon and Weaver's model, this interference is best classified as:

  1. feedback
  2. channel noise Correct answer.
  3. semantic noise
  4. redundancy

Explanation

Shannon and Weaver separate the channel from the message and treat any physical disturbance in transmission as channel or technical noise. Semantic noise arises from problems of meaning such as jargon or ambiguity, not from a faulty medium, while feedback and redundancy are mechanisms that can reduce disruption rather than cause it.

Question 25Paper I - Communication

In Berlo's SMCR model, which factor is listed as an attribute of both the source and the receiver?

  1. Feedback loop
  2. The channel
  3. Physical noise
  4. Attitudes Correct answer.

Explanation

Berlo identifies communication skills, attitudes, knowledge, social system and culture as the factors shaping both source and receiver. Feedback and noise belong to other formulations of the communication process, while the channel is a separate element of the SMCR sequence.

Question 26Paper I - Communication

A teacher explains a concept using terms that are familiar in the subject but unknown to the class, and students fail to grasp the lesson. This is primarily an example of:

  1. physiological barrier
  2. psychological barrier
  3. organisational barrier
  4. semantic barrier Correct answer.

Explanation

Semantic barriers arise from problems in the meaning of words, including jargon, technical vocabulary and ambiguous expressions that the receiver cannot decode. Physiological barriers involve bodily limitations such as hearing loss, psychological barriers involve emotions or attitudes, and organisational barriers involve structure or hierarchy.

Question 27Paper I - Communication

In classroom communication, a teacher who moves close to a hesitant student and leans forward while speaking is mainly using which non-verbal category?

  1. Haptics
  2. Proxemics Correct answer.
  3. Paralanguage
  4. Chronemics

Explanation

Proxemics is the study of how space and distance communicate meaning, including a teacher's movement towards a learner and the closeness maintained during interaction. Chronemics concerns the use of time, haptics concerns touch, and paralanguage concerns vocal features such as pitch, stress and pace.

Question 28Paper I - Communication

In mass communication theory, the process by which an editor decides which events become news and which are excluded is known as:

  1. Cultivation
  2. Agenda setting
  3. Uses and gratifications
  4. Gatekeeping Correct answer.

Explanation

Gatekeeping describes the selection and filtering of information by media professionals at various points before it reaches the audience. Agenda setting concerns the salience of issues after publication, cultivation concerns long-term perceptions of social reality, and uses and gratifications concerns audience motives for media use.

Question 29Paper I - Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude

In the number series 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ?, the next term is

  1. 48
  2. 42 Correct answer.
  3. 46
  4. 44

Explanation

The terms follow the pattern n(n + 1) for n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, giving 2, 6, 12, 20 and 30. Equivalently, the successive differences are 4, 6, 8 and 10, so the next difference must be 12, and 30 + 12 = 42.

Question 30Paper I - Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude

The average of five numbers is 28. If the number 40 is removed from the set, the average of the remaining four numbers is

  1. 24
  2. 26
  3. 25 Correct answer.
  4. 27

Explanation

The sum of the five numbers is 5 × 28 = 140. Removing 40 leaves a total of 140 − 40 = 100, and dividing this by the four remaining numbers gives 100 ÷ 4 = 25.

Question 31Paper I - Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude

A can finish a piece of work in 12 days and B in 18 days. They work together for 4 days, after which A leaves. In how many more days will B alone complete the remaining work?

  1. 8 Correct answer.
  2. 7
  3. 9
  4. 6

Explanation

Working together, A and B complete 1/12 + 1/18 = 5/36 of the work per day. In 4 days they finish 20/36 = 5/9 of the work, leaving 4/9. At B's rate of 1/18 per day, the remaining work takes (4/9) × 18 = 8 days.

Question 32Paper I - Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude

The present ages of A and B are in the ratio 5 : 7. After 6 years the ratio of their ages becomes 3 : 4. What is B's present age?

  1. 30 years
  2. 35 years
  3. 28 years
  4. 42 years Correct answer.

Explanation

Let the present ages be 5x and 7x. Then (5x + 6)/(7x + 6) = 3/4, which cross-multiplies to 20x + 24 = 21x + 18, giving x = 6. Therefore B's present age is 7 × 6 = 42 years.

Question 33Paper I - Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude

A shopkeeper marks an article 40% above its cost price and then allows a discount of 25% on the marked price. His profit percentage is

  1. 10%
  2. 15%
  3. 5% Correct answer.
  4. 20%

Explanation

Take the cost price as 100, so the marked price is 140. A 25% discount reduces this to 140 × 0.75 = 105, which is 5 more than the cost price. Hence the profit is 5% of cost.

Question 34Paper I - Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude

In how many different ways can the letters of the word NUMBER be arranged so that the two vowels always occupy odd-numbered positions?

  1. 144 Correct answer.
  2. 288
  3. 72
  4. 720

Explanation

NUMBER has six distinct letters, of which U and E are vowels, and the odd positions are 1, 3 and 5. The two vowels can be placed in these three positions in 3 × 2 = 6 ways, and the four consonants can fill the remaining four places in 4! = 24 ways. The total is 6 × 24 = 144.

Question 35Paper I - Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude

A vessel contains 50 litres of pure milk. First, 10 litres of milk are drawn out and replaced with water. The same operation is repeated once more. The quantity of pure milk now left in the vessel is

  1. 30 litres
  2. 36 litres
  3. 28 litres
  4. 32 litres Correct answer.

Explanation

Each operation removes one-fifth of the mixture, so four-fifths of the milk remains after each replacement. Applying the replacement twice gives 50 × (4/5) × (4/5) = 50 × 16/25 = 32 litres of pure milk.

Question 36Paper I - Logical Reasoning

In the number series 3, 8, 15, 24, 35, ?, which number should replace the question mark?

  1. 44
  2. 46
  3. 50
  4. 48 Correct answer.

Explanation

The series follows the pattern n² − 1 for n = 2, 3, 4, ...: 2²−1=3, 3²−1=8, 4²−1=15, and so on. The next term is 7²−1=48. Equivalently, the successive differences are the odd numbers 5, 7, 9, 11, so the next difference is 13 and 35+13=48.

Question 37Paper I - Logical Reasoning

Pointing to a photograph, a woman says, "He is the son of the only brother of my mother's husband." How is the man in the photograph related to the woman?

  1. Nephew
  2. Brother
  3. Cousin Correct answer.
  4. Uncle

Explanation

The woman's mother's husband is her father, and the only brother of her father is her paternal uncle. The son of that uncle is therefore her cousin. The words "only brother" remove any ambiguity about which paternal uncle is meant.

Question 38Paper I - Logical Reasoning

Statements: All pens are books. Some books are pencils. Conclusions: I. Some pens are pencils. II. Some pencils are books. Which conclusion follows?

  1. Only II follows Correct answer.
  2. Both I and II follow
  3. Neither I nor II follows
  4. Only I follows

Explanation

From "Some books are pencils" we may validly convert to "Some pencils are books", so conclusion II follows. The first conclusion does not follow because the pens are a subset of books, but that subset need not overlap the pencils. In a standard syllogism, "some" does not imply "all" or guarantee an overlap between two subgroups.

Question 39Paper I - Logical Reasoning

In a certain code, the word LOGIC is written by moving every letter one place forward in the English alphabet. What is the code for LOGIC?

  1. MPHDJ
  2. MHPJD
  3. MPHJD Correct answer.
  4. MPHID

Explanation

The rule shifts each letter one position forward: L→M, O→P, G→H, I→J, and C→D. Applying this uniformly gives MPHJD. The position of every letter must be preserved, because only the alphabet value changes.

Question 40Paper I - Logical Reasoning

A man walks 5 km north, turns right and walks 3 km, then turns right again and walks 5 km. Where is he now with respect to his starting point?

  1. 5 km east
  2. 8 km north
  3. 3 km east Correct answer.
  4. 3 km west

Explanation

The first move of 5 km north is cancelled by the final 5 km south, so there is no net north-south displacement. The only remaining displacement is the 3 km walked east after the first right turn. Hence he is 3 km east of the starting point.

Question 41Paper I - Logical Reasoning

Statement: "Use our brand of water purifier to get 100% safe drinking water." - an advertisement. Assumptions: I. People want safe drinking water. II. Other brands do not provide safe drinking water. Which assumption is implicit?

  1. Both I and II are implicit
  2. Only II is implicit
  3. Neither I nor II is implicit
  4. Only I is implicit Correct answer.

Explanation

An advertisement urging people to use a purifier for safe water assumes that the audience values safe drinking water, so assumption I is implicit. It does not necessarily assume that every other brand fails to provide safe water; the claim is about this brand's promise, not a verified comparison. Therefore only I is implicit.

Question 42Paper I - Logical Reasoning

Five friends A, B, C, D and E sit in a row facing north. A is immediately to the left of C. B is at one of the ends. D is not adjacent to A. E sits second to the right of B. Who sits in the middle?

  1. B
  2. E Correct answer.
  3. C
  4. A

Explanation

Since B is at an end and E is second to the right of B, B must be at the left end and E in the third seat; placing B at the right end would put E outside the row. The pair A–C with A immediately left of C can then occupy only seats 4 and 5, because seats 2–3 would conflict with E. D takes the remaining seat 2, which satisfies the condition that D is not adjacent to A, and the middle seat is E.

Question 43Paper I - Data Interpretation

A pie chart of a family's monthly budget of ₹36,000 shows: Food 30%, Rent 25%, Transport 15%, Education 20% and Savings 10%. The central angle of the sector representing Rent is:

  1. 72°
  2. 54°
  3. 108°
  4. 90° Correct answer.

Explanation

A pie chart maps the whole quantity to 360°, so a component's central angle equals its share of the total multiplied by 360°. Rent is 25% of the budget, giving 0.25 × 360° = 90°. The monthly amount of ₹36,000 is not needed for the angle.

Question 44Paper I - Data Interpretation

The table gives the number of candidates who appeared and qualified in a district-level examination from four districts - A: appeared 400, qualified 320; B: appeared 250, qualified 175; C: appeared 500, qualified 425; D: appeared 200, qualified 150. Which district recorded the highest pass percentage?

  1. District A
  2. District C Correct answer.
  3. District D
  4. District B

Explanation

Pass percentage is qualified divided by appeared, multiplied by 100, and each district must be computed separately before comparing. A gives 80%, B gives 70%, C gives 425/500 = 85% and D gives 75%. District C therefore records the highest pass percentage.

Question 45Paper I - Data Interpretation

The production of a factory (in tonnes) was: 2019 - 400; 2020 - 480; 2021 - 600; 2022 - 660; 2023 - 792. In which year was the percentage increase in production over the previous year the greatest?

  1. 2023
  2. 2021 Correct answer.
  3. 2022
  4. 2020

Explanation

Percentage increase must be measured against the immediately preceding year's figure, not against the first year of the series. The successive increases are 80/400 = 20% in 2020, 120/480 = 25% in 2021, 60/600 = 10% in 2022 and 132/660 = 20% in 2023. The steepest rise is therefore in 2021.

Question 46Paper I - Data Interpretation

Two schools' results are recorded. School X: 300 boys appeared and 240 qualified; 200 girls appeared and 150 qualified. School Y: 250 boys appeared and 200 qualified; 150 girls appeared and 120 qualified. The ratio of the overall pass percentage of School X to that of School Y is:

  1. 78:85
  2. 40:39
  3. 39:40 Correct answer.
  4. 13:14

Explanation

Overall pass percentage is total qualified divided by total appeared for each school, combining boys and girls rather than averaging their separate rates. School X gives 390/500 = 78% and School Y gives 320/400 = 80%. The ratio 78:80 simplifies to 39:40.

Question 47Paper I - Data Interpretation

A shop's total sales in 2023 were ₹5,00,000, of which Electronics contributed 40%, Clothing 25%, Groceries 25% and Others 10%. In 2024 total sales rose by 20% while the Electronics share fell to 30%. What was the change in the value of Electronics sales from 2023 to 2024?

  1. A decrease of 10% Correct answer.
  2. An increase of 10%
  3. A decrease of 11.1%
  4. A decrease of 25%

Explanation

The rupee value of a head equals its percentage share multiplied by total sales, and the base for a percentage change is the earlier year's value. Electronics in 2023 was 40% of ₹5,00,000 = ₹2,00,000, and in 2024 it was 30% of ₹6,00,000 = ₹1,80,000. The fall of ₹20,000 on a base of ₹2,00,000 is 10%.

Question 48Paper I - Data Interpretation

Of 25,000 households surveyed, 48% are urban and the rest rural. 65% of the urban households and 40% of the rural households have internet access. What percentage of all surveyed households have internet access?

  1. 52% Correct answer.
  2. 48%
  3. 52.5%
  4. 53%

Explanation

Sub-group percentages must be weighted by the size of each sub-group, not averaged directly, because the urban and rural groups differ in size. Urban households number 0.48 × 25,000 = 12,000, of which 65% (7,800) have access; rural households number 13,000, of which 40% (5,200) have access. The combined figure is 13,000 out of 25,000, i.e. 52%.

Question 49Paper I - Information and Communication Technology

Which of the following storage types loses its contents as soon as the computer is switched off?

  1. Hard disk drive
  2. Solid-state drive
  3. ROM
  4. RAM Correct answer.

Explanation

RAM is volatile memory: it holds the programs and data currently in use only while the machine is powered, and everything in it is erased when power is removed. ROM, hard disks and solid-state drives are non-volatile and keep their contents without a power supply, which is why programs and files survive a shutdown.

Question 50Paper I - Information and Communication Technology

Which of the following is a widely adopted set of technical standards that allows e-learning content to be packaged, described with metadata and reused across different learning management systems?

  1. HTTP
  2. SMTP
  3. SCORM Correct answer.
  4. MPEG-4

Explanation

SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) specifies how e-learning material is packaged and described so that the same content object can be imported, launched and tracked in different learning management systems. The other options are protocols or formats for web transfer, mail delivery and video compression, and none of them defines reusable learning content with metadata.