DECEMBER 2010 PAPER SOLVED QUESTIONS 1 - 10

1. The number of integers between 1 and 250 that are divisible by 2,5 and 7 is A) 2 (B) 3 C) 5 (D) 8Ans:- B. There are 3 integers between 1 and 250 that are divisible by 2,5 and 7. They are 70,140 and 210. 2. An undirected graph possess an Eulerian circuit if and only if it is connected and its vertices are A) All of even degree (B)All of odd degreeC) Of any degree (D)even in numberAns:- A. According to Euler's theorem 1, if a graph is undirected then it has an eulerian circuit if and only if it is connected and each vertex has an even degree.***It would be useful to know about the Hamiltonian circuit as well. 3. A partially ordered set is said to be a lattice if every two elements in the set haveA)a unique least upper bound (B)a unique greatest lower boundC)both (A) and (B) (D)none of the above.Ans:- C. 4. The minimum number of edges in a connected graph with 'n' vertices is equal to A)n(n-1) (B)n(n-1)/2C)n2 (D)n-1Ans:- D. The formula for counting the minimum number of edges in a connected graph is (n-1). 5. Would be done later..... 6. The decimal number equivalent of (4057.06)8 is :A) 2095.75 (B)2095.075C) 2095.937 (D)2095.09375Ans:- D. 7. Would be done later... 8. An astable multivibrator has A)one stable state (B)two stable statesC)no stable states (D)none of theseAns:- C. An astable multivibrator has two states but neither of them are stable. 9.12-bit 2's complement of -73.75 is A) 01001001.1100 (B)11001001.1100C) 10110110.0100 (D)10110110.1100Ans:- B 10. Encoding of data bits 0011 into 7-bit even parity Hamming code is A)0011110 (B)0101110C)0010110 (D)0011100Ans:- A. The explanation is quite lengthy. If you google the question, you would get a link to the book "Fundamentals of digital circuit" by A.Anand Kumar. The explanation is great there.

11. How many of the following declarations are correct?int z=7.0; double void=0.000;short array[2]={0,1,2};char c="\n";(A) None (B) One is correct(C) Two are correct (D)All four are correctAns:-The second declaration is for sure wrong because we cannot have a keyword as a variable name. The last declaration is also wrong because we cannot assign anything within double quotes to a character variable. So we are left with only the first and the array declaration.I think those two would still not give errors in c. So 'C' could be the answer for this question. 12. The value of the following expression (13 / 4 * 3) % 5 + 1 is (A) 5.75 (B) 2.95 (C) 1.4875 (D) 5 The answer is (D)

Explanation:The explanation for this question is very simple. According to the precedence of the different binary operators in C, * / and % precedes that of + and -. Since the expression enclosed in parenthesis is executed first, the expression which would be executed first is (13 / 4 * 3). Since all these operators precedence is the same, they would execute from left to right and so 13 / 4 gets executed first. 13 / 4 = 3 This intermediate answer is multiplied with 3 in order to get the answer 9. 3 * 3 = 9The next expression would be 9 % 5. The result is 4.% is the mod operator. It gives the remainder of dividing two numbers.9 % 5 = 4 Finally this 4 is added to 1 to get the final result of 5.It is always better to just know the precedence chart table of the different operators in C. 13.Which one of the following will set the value of y to 5 if x has the value 3, but not otherwise ? (A) if (x=3)y=5 (B) if x==3(y=5) (C) if (x==3);y=5 (D) if (x==3)y=5 ANS:-D

EXPLANATION:It is always tricky to answer such questions where options look similar. In such cases it is a better approach to remove all the apparent wrong options and then go for the tricky ones. In this question option A is ruled out because it is given as x=3, and = is not a comparison operator but a assignment operator and so x will be assigned the value of 3 and not compared. so A is ruled out. C is also ruled out because the presence of a ; at the end of (x==3) makes it as a independent statement and so the next statement which is y=5 will be executed irrespective of the result of the comparison. So C is ruled out. Now we are left with only two options. It is either B or D. Since traditionally we enclose the operator to be compared within parenthesis i would choose D as the right answer. If anyone has any other explanation please post it to me. 14. Which one of the following sentences is true ? (A) The body of a while loop is executed at least once.(B) The body of a do ... while loop is executed at least once.(C) The body of a do ... while loop is executed zero or more times.(D) A for loop can never be used in place of a while loop.Ans:-B Explanation:- Since this question is a very simple and easy one i am posting the answer for this also today. Otherwise my idea was to take one question, explore it, analyze and then try to present the answer. Although many of the readers must be knowing this answer i still want to emphasize that the body of a dowhile loop is executed at least once, since the condition is tested at the bottom. In case of while loop and for loop, the condition is tested at the top of the loop, so there are chances that they may not be executed at all. But that is not the case with the dowhile loop. A dowhile loop will be executed at least once. 15. "Black refers in the Black-box testing means (A) Characters of the movie Black (B) IO is hidden (C) Design is hidden (D) Users are hidden Explanation:-For obvious reasons, option A is ruled out. Now let us look at the meaning of black box testing. The term "Black box" refers to the actual software that is getting tested. In black box testing one knows only the set of inputs and expected outputs and is unaware of how those inputs are transformed into outputs by the software. So

option C seems to be the right choice. There are many types of black box testing techniques. It is better to know some of them by name.
1. Boundary Value Analysis(BVA) 2. Equivalence Class Testing 3. Decision Table based testing 4. Cause-Effect Graphing Technique

Depending on any more questions based on black box testing we can go through the techniques in detail later. I think knowing some technique names could be useful for now. Ans:-C 16. In generalisation, the differences between members of an entity is(A) maximized(B) minimized (C) both (A) & (B)(D) None of these Ans:-B Explanation:Generalisation and specialization are two terms that have a opposite meaning. In generalization the differences between members of an entity is minimized. Generalisation is a bottom up process. It goes from more specific to more general. For example, if the subclasses are taken as car and bike they would fall under the category of superclass called vehicle. From the subclasses we would identify features which can take us to the superclass vehicle. Specialisation is the opposite of this. In Specialisation the differences between members of an entity are maximized. Specialisation is a top down process. It goes from more general to more specific. If vehicle is a super class and car and bike are its subclasses, identifying the characteristics or uniqueness of its subclasses is what happens in specialization. It is a sort of repeatedly asked question. In June 2010 the following question appeared.Generalization is _______ process.(A) top-down(B) bottom up(C) both (A) & (B)(D) None of these The answer of course is B, Generalisation is a bottom up process.To summarise, Generalisation - Bottom up - Differences between members of an entity is minimized.Specialisation - Top down - Differences between members of an entity is maximized.This could be a very important question. Please go through it again if need be.

17. The dependency preservation decomposition is a property to decompose database schema D, in which each functional dependency X Y specified in F, (A) appeared directly in one of the relation schemas Ri in the decomposed D. (B) could be inferred from dependencies that appear in some Ri. (C) both (A) and (B) (D) None of these Explanation:- The question itself requires a bit of explanation. It is not enough if you just know what is the right answer but you must also know why it is the right answer. The explanation would be a bit lengthy. Let us first dissect the question and explain some terms in terms of DBMS. Decomposition - This means replacing a relation with a collection of smaller relations. Relation - Relation is known as Table.Relation Schema - This is known as Table definition. Relation Schema for a "student" relation can be shown in the following way: Student(FirstName,LastName,DOB,Gender,Course,Regno,Address) Definition of Dependency preservation decomposition:-Each FD specified in F either appears directly in one of the relations in the decomposition, or be inferred from FDs that appear in some relation. Let us consider an example for Dependency preservationLet R be a relation R(A B C D) Let there be 3 functional dependencies. FD1: A>BFD2: B->CFD3: C->DLet the relation R be decomposed into two more relations.R1(A B C) : R2(C D)Let us first consider the relation R1(A B C). Here between A and B the functional dependency FD1 is preserved. Between B and C, FD2 is preserved. Let us now consider the second relation R2(C D). Between C and D the FD, FD3 is preserved. So in the two relations R1 and R2, all the 3 functional dependencies are preserved.Let us consider an example for Nondependency preservationLet R be a relation R(A B C D) Let there be again 3 functional dependencies.FD1:A->BFD2:B->CFD3:C->DLet the relation be decomposed into two more relations>R1(A C D) R2(B C)Let us first consider the relation R1(A C D). There is no FD between A and C. There is a FD3 between C and D.Now let us consider the second relation R2(B C). There is FD2 between B and C. So, the two relations only support only FD's FD2 and FD3. FD1 is not supported. So these relations does not preserve dependency. Generally there are three desirable properties of a decomposition.
1. Lossless

2. Dependency preservation 3. Minimal redundancy

The above question was based on dependency preservation decomposition. This example has been taken from the dependency preservation presentation by Jason Allen. The explanation is quite good there. SUMMARY:The dependency preservation decomposition is a property to be considered for decomposing a relation into two or more smaller relations. The functional dependency X->Y specified in F can appear directly in one of the relation schemas Ri in the decomposed D or it could be inferred from dependencies that appear in some Ri. So the answer for this question is C. Ans:-C 18. Which of the following is an optimistic concurrency control method ? (A) Validation based (B) Time stamp ordering (C) Lock-based (D) None of these Explanation:In order to know the answer for this let us first go through what concurrency control means. When many people try to make modifications to a database at any point of time, there should be a system of controls in place to ensure that changes made by one do not adversely affect the other. This is called concurrency control. THere are basically two major categories of concurrency control and types under them. Types of concurrency control 1. Pessimistic methods 1. Timestamp ordering methods 2. Serialization graph testing 3. Locking methods 2. Optimistic methods 1. Backward validation methods 2. Forward validation methods 3. Hybrid methods

The main idea behind pessimistic method is that it is assumed that transaction could be problem prone. In optimistic method it is assumed that transaction may not face any problem. Optimistic methods are deadlock-free whereas pessimistic method is deadlockprone. We can look at it in detail depending on any question which we will come across in future. In june 2011 paper -II we had the following question. The basic variants of time-stamp- based method of concurrency control are (A) Total time stamp-ordering (B) Partial time stamp ordering (C) Multiversion Time stamp ordering (D) All of the above We will look at all such questions later. Ans:-A 19. Optical storage is a (A) high-speed direct access storage device. (B) low-speed direct access storage device. (C) medium-speed direct access storage device. (D) high-speed sequential access storage device. Ans:-B Explanation:Actually the same question is available in the book "Database systems:Concepts, Design and application" by S.K.Singh. There are lot of questions at the end of every chapter in that book. According to the book, since the head assembly is heavier, DVD and CD drives have much longer seek time as compared to magnetic-disk drives. Rotational speeds of DVD and CD drives are lower than that of magnetic disk drives. So the answer for the above question is B which is optical storage is a low speed direct access storage device. 20. Which of the following is the process by which a users access to physical data in the application is limited, based on his privileges ? (A) Authorization (B) Authentication (C) Access Control (D) All of these Ans:-C

Explanation:In order to understand the answer for this we need to know the difference between authorization, authentication and access control. It is well explained in oracle docs. Authentication is the process by which a user's identity is checked.Authorization is the process by which the user's privileges are ascertained. Access control is the process by which the user's access to physical data in the application is limited, based on his privileges. 21. What is the maximum number of nodes in a B-tree of order 10 of depth 3 (root at depth 0) ? (A) 111 (B) 999 (C) 9999 (D) None of the above Ans:-C Explanation:- The formula for calculating the maximum number of nodes in a B-tree of order order n of depth h is m h+1-1Here, m=10 and h=3. So the formula becomes 104-1 which is 10000-1=9999 and therefore C is the correct option.

22. A binary tree with 27 nodes has _______ null branches. (A) 54 (B) 27 (C) 26 (D) None of the above Ans:-D Explanation:-This is quite a straightforward one. A binary tree with n nodes has n+1 null branches. So a binary tree with 27 nodes will have 28 null branches. Since 28 is not available as a option, D is the correct answer.There is some question based on binary trees or trees in most of the NET paper. The following question is from June 2011 paper and this is also based on trees.The number of different trees with 8 nodes is(A) 256(B) 255(C) 248(D) None of theseAns:-C Explanation:The number of different trees with n nodes can be calculated as 2n-n. Here the value of n=8. So, the formula would become2 8-8=2568=248So the answer is 248 and so the option is C.

23. The time complexity to build a heap of n elements is (A) 0(1) (B) 0(lgn) (C) 0(n) (D) 0(nlgn) Ans:-C Explanation:-The WORST CASE COMPLEXITY to build a heap of n elements is the option C. 24. Linear probing suffers from a problem known as (A) Secondary clustering (B) Primary clustering (C) Both (A) and (B) (D) None of these Ans:-B Explanation:- Linear probing is a term associated with hashing. Linear probing is a collision resolving technique in hashing. It suffers from a problem known as primary clustering. Any chosen hash function should uniformly distribute the records across the given available address space but sometimes clusters appear. If linear probing is used, it might spend a lot of time probing within the cluster instead of searching in the subsequent available space. One more collision resolving technique is Quadratic probing. Again we might come across the same topic depending on the nature of question encountered in future.

25. Which of the following can be the sequence of nodes examined in binary search tree while searching for key 88 ? (A) 90, 40, 65, 50, 88 (B) 90, 110, 80, 85, 88 (C) 190, 60, 90, 85, 88 (D) 65, 140, 80, 70, 88 Ans:-C Explanation:- Inorder to find a solution for a question like above, given the data draw a binary search tree for each one of the options.

The first item is the root. Any value less than the root will form the left side of the tree and any value greater than the root will form the right side of the tree. When you draw such a tree, if you find no node has a left and right child then such a sequence would be valid. If you find that the tree has a left and right child for any node then that sequence is invalid. If you draw the tree for all the 4 options given in the question you will find that only option C does not have left and right child for any node. So option C is correct. 26. Frequency shift keying is used mostly in (A) Radio transmission (B) Telegraphy (C) Telephone (D) None of the above Ans:-B Explanation:- Frequency shift keying is a method of transmitting digital signals.FSK was mostly used in telegraphy. The two binary states 0 and 1 are represented by a specific analog waveform in FSK. Nowadays, a modem converts the binary data into FSK for transmitting across telephone lines and does the reverse at the receiving end. There is one more method of transmitting digitals signals where the phase of a transmitted signal is varied to convey information. This is called Phase Shift Keying(PSK).

27. The baud rate is (A) always equal to the bit transfer rate (B) equal to twice the bandwidth of an ideal channel (C) not equal to the signalling rate (D) equal to half of the bandwidth of an ideal channel Ans:-B Explanation:The baud rate of a data communication system is the number of symbols per second transferred. It is equal to twice the bandwidth of an ideal channel.

28.How much bandwidth is there in 1 micron of spectrum at a wavelength of 1 micron ?

(A) 300 MHz (B) 3 GHz (C) 300 THz (D) 30 KHz Ans:-D

29. Which of the following file transfer protocols use TCP and establishes two virtual circuits between the local and remote server ? (A) FTP (B) TFTP (C) TELNET (D) NFS Ans:-A Explanation:- There could be a ambiguity between the options A and B for this one. C and D are ruled out. So, what is the difference between FTP and TFTP. The purpose of both the protocols is to obtain files from a remote host. But TFTP stands for trivial file transfer protocol. It is not very reliable or secure. It uses the packet delivery service offered by UDP. On the other hand, FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is a mechanism provided by TCP/IP. It uses the services offered by TCP. It is reliable and secure. It establishes two connections(virtual circuits)between the hosts, one for data transfer and another for control information. So the answer for this question is option A.

30. The threshold effect in demodulator is (A) exhibited by all demodulator, when the input signal to noise ratio is low. (B) the rapid fall on output signal to noise ratio when the input signal to noise ratio fall below a particular value. (C) the property exhibited by all A.M. suppressed carrier coherent demodulator. (D) the property exhibited by correlation receiver. Ans:-B 31. Object code is the output of ______. (A) Operating System (B) Compiler or Assembler (C) only Assembler

(D) only Compiler Ans:-B Explanation:- Again this is one of those questions where more than one option looks correct. I think option B is correct because both compiler and assembler converts the source language code to the object code. If anyone has any other version,please post it and we can discuss it.

32. 'Macro' in an assembly level program is _______. (A) sub program (B) a complete program (C) a hardware portion (D) relative coding Ans:-A Explanation:-Looking at all the other options, the only one which seems more appropriate is option A.

33. Grammar of the programming is checked at ________ phase of compiler. (A) semantic analysis (B) code generation (C) syntax analysis (D) code optimization Ans:-C Explanation:- The following are the main phases of a compiler and the activities done in each one of the phases.1.Lexical Analysis:-In this phase the source program is split into what are called 'tokens'. 2.Syntax Analysis:-The tokens are grouped together into phrases which should match some specified grammar.Normally, one of the outputs of a syntax analysis phase would be a Abstract Syntax Tree. (AST)3.Semantic Analysis:-This phase would traverse through the AST and refine it.4.Intermediate code generation:-This phase generates a machine independent code.5.Code optimization:-Use some strategies to optimize the code that is generated.6.Code generation:-Generate the machine dependent code finally.Symbol table generation and error handling would be part of almost all phases. So the grammar checking would be done at syntax analysis phase. Hence the option is C.

34. The register or main memory location which contains the effective address of the operand is known as (A) pointer (B) special location (C) indexed register (D) None of the above Ans:-A

35. Macro-processors are ______. (A) Hardware (B) Compiler (C) Registers (D) None of the above Ans:-B 36. The dynamic allocation of storage areas with VSAM files is accomplished by (A) Hashing (B) Control splits (C) Overflow areas (D) Relative recoding Ans:-B Explanation:-VSAM stands for Virtual Storage Access Method. It was introduced by IBM. It is a method of managing files. It can speed up the access to data in the files. The dynamic allocation of storage areas with VSAM files is accomplished by Control Splits.

37. Which of the following command the file names in multiple columns ? (A) ISX (B) IS (C) IS 1 (D) ISfX Ans:-B Explanation:- Although the command appears to look like IS, it should be understood as ls. There is no command called IS anywhere i could think of. ls with a -1 option will list only one entry

per line. So option C is ruled out. The purpose of -X option is to sort out the list alphabetically by entry extension. The purpose of -f option is not to sort the list alphabetically. This option also puts on the -a option. So all the files including hidden ones will be displayed. So what is the option which would list columnar listing of names.It is actually -C. But the output of ls -C and ls simply matches and so i have chosen option B as the right answer which is ls itself. If anyone has any other answer or explanation please post it and we can discuss it.

38. WINDOWS is a _________ operating. (A) Real time (B) Multi-user (C) Preemptive (D) Non-preemptive Explanation:- I would straightaway go for the explanation here. The question is a typical UGC Net one intended to confuse the candidates. WINDOWS is specified, no specific version or anything is given. If you consider windows 3.x, it was cooperative and nonpreemptive. But windows 95,NT and 2000 are preemptive. Windows 3.x was not multi-user. But windows NT,2000 are multi-user. Again windows 3.x cannot be categorized as a real time operating system also. Since the question itself has got some ambiguity you can choose whatever option which you feel and keep your fingers crossed about it. I would not go with Real time. Anything else i could go with. Please post any other way of understanding this question and the correct answer for this. Till then, i refrain from answering this question.

39. Page making process from main memory to disk is called (A) Interruption (B) Termination (C) Swapping (D) None of the above Ans:-C Explanation:- Swapping is one of the memory management techniques used by the operating system. Since the size of the RAM is limited and finite, all the processes or programs to be executed cannot be made to fit in it. So the disk is also treated as an extension of the memory and is referred to as virtual memory. The page making process from main memory to disk is called swapping.

40.A Dead-lock in an Operating System is (A) Desirable process (B) Undesirable process (C) Definite waiting process (D) All of the above Ans:-B Explanation:- Deadlocks are undesirable. In a deadlock situation, processes never finish executing and system resources are tied up, preventing other jobs from ever starting. So the answer for this question is B.

41. Prototyping is used to (A) test the software as an end product (B) expand design details (C) refine and establish requirements gathering (D) None of the above Ans:-C Explanation:- Prototyping is one of SDLC model. It starts with requirement gathering and establishing a quick prototype which is an early approximation of a final product. This prototype is then evaluated by the customer/user and used to refine the requirements for the software to be developed. So, C is the option.

42. Which one of these are not software maintenance activity ? (A) Error correction (B) Adaptation (C) Implementation of Enhancement (D) Establishing scope Ans:-D Explanation:- Actually i have had my own doubts with the answer for this question. I have referred to lots of materials and paper and resolved the correct answer for this. According to Lientz and Swanson, software maintenance can be divided into three components. corrective, adaptive and perfective maintenance. Corrective maintenance involves correcting errors or actual faults in the software. So this is option A. Adaptive maintenance is the changes needed as a consequence of some change in the

environment in which the system must operate. And this is option B. Finally perfective maintenance refers to changes that originate from user requests. Infact adaptive and perfective categories can be joined together and called as enhancements which is option C. So the only one which is not talked about is option D and so D is the right answer.

43. The system specification is the first deliverable in the computer system engineering process which does not include (A) Functional Description (B) Cost (C) Schedule (D) Technical Analysis Ans:-A Explanation:- The system specification document describes the system and gives a high-level view of what the system will provide. The system specification is the guide that will allow details on hardware,software and test requirements. So i think functional description will not be a part of system specification. So the correct answer is A.

44. The COCOMO model was introduced in the book title Software Engineering Economics authored by (A) Abraham Silberschatz (B) Barry Boehm (C) C.J. Date (D) D.E. Knuth Ans:-B Explanation:- This is a fairly simple question. COCOMO model was introduced in the book authored by Barry Boehm. So the correct answer is B.

45. The Warnier diagram enables analyst (A) to represent information hierarchy in a compact manner (B) to further identify requirement (C) to estimate the total cost involved (D) None of the above Ans:-A

Explanation:- The Warnier diagram enables analyst to represent information hierarchy in a compact manner. It is also referred to as Warnier-Orr diagram. It is a graphic charting technique used in software engineering for system analysis and design.

46. A data mart may contain (A) summarised data (B) de-normalized data (C) aggregate departmental data (D) All of the above Ans:-D Explanation:- Datawarehouses are huge. If a department has its own data mart, it can customize the data as the data flows into the data mart from the data warehouse. It can summarize,sort,select and structure its own data.So the option would be D.

47. Data mining is (A) the process of extracting valid, previously unknown, comprehensible and actionable information from large databases and using it to make crucial business decisions. (B) a tool that allows end users direct access and manipulation of data from within data- warehousing environment without the intervention of customised programming activity. (C )a tool that helps end users extract useful business information from large database. (D)All of the above Ans:-A Explanation:- Since it is a definition of Data Mining which is spoken about, option A is correct.

48. E-Choupal refers to (A) calling meeting of Surpanches electronically. (B) conducting Panchayat meeting using latest electronic gadgets. (C) providing window of information to villagers and farmers in NIC network. (D) None of the above Ans:-C

Explanation:- E-Choupal is an initiative by ITC. Through this initiative they want to empower the farmers with expert knowledge. This would enhance his competitiveness in the global market.

49. The basic concepts of ethics in information society is/are (A) Responsibility (B) Accountability (C) Liability (D) All of the above Ans:-D Explanation:- Nothing much. The basic concepts of ethics in information society is/are Responsibilty,Accountability and Liability. I think most of you would have guessed it anyway.

50. One of the distinguished features of super-computer over other category of computer is (A) parallel processing (B) highest accuracy level (C) more speed (D) more capacity Ans:-A Explanation:- Option B is ruled out. But all the other options also look similar but since they are asking about distinguished feature i would go with option A. Any other ideas please post.

Whewwe are done with December 2010 QP. Wait and watch for the next paper and discussion of its solutions.