Paper 1 Notes Series: Number systems (ICT)

Friends!

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, there will be 6 questions on ICT (Information & Communication technology). Most of times, there are 1-2 questions on the topic of number systems and conversions between different numbers systems. Here, I am going to guide you about how to solve these questions without difficulty. 

Read on....
What is number system?

Number system is a way to represent numbers. There are 2 kinds of systems-1. Non-positional 2. Positional. The best example of non-positional system is Roman number system. In a positional system, a value of each digit in a number can be determined using
1. The digit
2. The position of the digit in the number
3. The base of the number system ("base" is the total number of digits available in the number system).

The examples of positional system are:

1. Binary (Base 2. Digits used : 0, 1)
2. Octal (Base 8. Digits used : 0 to 7)
3. Decimal (Base 10. Digits used : 0 to 9)
4. Hexadecimal (Base 16. Digits used : 0 to 9, Letters used : A- F)

Decimal number system has base 10 as it uses 10 digits from 0 to 9. The successive positions to the left of the decimal point represent units, tens, hundreds, thousands and so on.

Each position in a positional number system represents a "x" power of the base (e.g. 2). Example 2^x where x represents the last position - 1. Similar rule can be applied to Octal and Hexadecimal also.

NOTE: The understanding of the above rules will help you in learning how to convert a number from one base to the another.

There are many methods or techniques which can be used to convert numbers from one base to another. For example:

1. Decimal to Other Base System
2. Other Base System to Decimal
3. Other Base System to Non-Decimal
4. Shortcut method - Binary to Octal
5. Shortcut method - Octal to Binary
6. Shortcut method - Binary to Hexadecimal
7. Shortcut method - Hexadecimal to Binary

The easiest way to understand how the conversion techniques work is to learn a few basic tricks:-

1. When converting a decimal number to others, apply division method

2. When converting a non-decimal number to decimal, apply addition method.

3. Under addition method, we first obtain the value of RHS by first multiplying it with base raised to power X, then adding it with the value at next position.

4. Under division method, we always divide the number in question with the base of the target number system. Its steps are:

Step 1 - Divide the decimal number to be converted by the value of the target base.

Step 2 - Get the remainder from Step 1 as the rightmost digit (least significant digit) of new base number.

Step 3 - Divide the quotient of the previous divide by the new base.

Step 4 - Record the remainder from Step 3 as the next digit (to the left) of the new base number.

Repeat the above steps till the number becomes less than the base of the target. In this case, we will stop when number becomes 1, which is less than the divisor.

1. Here, we give an example of conversion from decimal to binary:

Step	Operation	Result	Remainder
Step 1	35 / 2	17	1
Step 2	17 / 2	8	1
Step 3	8 / 2	4	0
Step 4	4 / 2	2	0
Step 5	2 / 2	1	0
Step 6	1/2	0	1

Now, arrange the remainder in the reverse order so that the first remainder becomes the least significant digit (LSD) and the last remainder becomes the most significant digit (MSD).

Thus the binary of 35 is 100011_2.

The similar steps will be applied when you convert a decimal no. to octal or hexadecimal. The only thing that will change will be the divisor, i.e. it will be the base of target number system.

2. Now, steps for converting From other base system to Decimal System

Step 1 - Determine the column (positional) value of each digit, starting from the rightmost digit first.

Step 2 - Multiply the digit with the base raised to power X (starting from 0, then increment it by 1 at each digit position of source number system.)

Step 3 - Sum the products calculated in Step 2. The total is the equivalent value in decimal.

_{Here is an example to make it simple to understand.}

_{We take the same number we obtained in previous example, i.e. 100011 to convert it back into decimal:}

Step	Binary Number	Decimal Number
Step 1	1000112	( (1 x 25) + (0 x 24) + (0 x 23) + (0 x 22) + (1 x 21) + (1 x 20))10
Step 2	1000112	(32 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 2 + 1)10
Step 3	1000112	3510

3. When converting from other Base Systems to Non-Decimal System, steps will be a little different. 

Step 1 - Convert the original number to a decimal number (base 10).

Step 2 - Convert the decimal number so obtained to the new base number. Example:

Octal Number : 25₈

Calculating Binary Equivalent:

Step 1 : Convert to Decimal

Step	Octal Number	Decimal Number
Step 1	258	((2 x 81) + (5 x 80))10
Step 2	258	(16 + 5 )10
Step 3	258	2110

Octal Number : 25₈ = Decimal Number : 21₁₀

Step 2 : Convert Decimal to Binary

Step	Operation	Result	Remainder
Step 1	21 / 2	10	1
Step 2	10 / 2	5	0
Step 3	5 / 2	2	1
Step 4	2 / 2	1	0
Step 5	1 / 2	0	1

Decimal Number : 21₁₀ = Binary Number : 10101₂

Octal Number : 25₈ = Binary Number : 10101₂

4. Shortcut method - Binary to Octal

Step 1 - Divide the binary digits into groups of three (starting from the right).

Step 2 - Convert each group of three binary digits to one octal digit.

Example: Binary Number: 10101₂

Calculating Octal Equivalent:

Step	Binary Number	Octal Number
Step 1	101012	010   101
Step 2	101012	28   58
Step 3	101012	258

Binary Number: 10101₂ = Octal Number : 25₈

_{5. Shortcut method - Octal to Binary}

Step 1 - Convert each octal digit to a 3 digit binary number (the octal digits may be treated as decimal for this conversion).

Step 2 - Combine all the resulting binary groups (of 3 digits each) into a single binary number.

Example: Octal Number : 25₈

Calculating Binary Equivalent:

Step	Octal Number	Binary Number
Step 1	258	210 510
Step 2	258	0102 1012
Step 3	258	0101012

Octal Number: 25₈ = Binary Number : 10101₂

_{6. Shortcut method - Binary to Hexadecimal}

Step 1 - Divide the binary digits into groups of four (starting from the right).

Step 2 - Convert each group of four binary digits to one hexadecimal symbol.

Example: Binary Number: 10101₂

Calculating hexadecimal Equivalent:

Step	Binary Number	Hexadecimal Number
Step 1	101012	0001 0101
Step 2	101012	110 510
Step 3	101012	1516

Binary Number: 10101₂ = Hexadecimal Number : 15₁₆

_{7. Shortcut method - Hexadecimal to Binary}

Step 1 - Convert each hexadecimal digit to a 4 digit binary number (the hexadecimal digits may be treated as decimal for this conversion).

Step 2 - Combine all the resulting binary groups (of 4 digits each) into a single binary number.

Example: Hexadecimal Number: 15₁₆

Calculating Binary Equivalent:

Step	Hexadecimal Number	Binary Number
Step 1	1516	110 510
Step 2	1516	00012 01012
Step 3	1516	000101012

Hexadecimal Number: 15₁₆ = Binary Number : 10101₂

_{I hope this post will help you understand the concept and you will be able to answer any question on Number System without mistake.}

Best of Luck for December' 15 Exam!!

Indian Polity Facts: Rajya Sabha

Continuing with the study material for UGC NET Paper 1, here, I am presenting some useful facts about Rajya Sabha of our Parliament. These facts may be useful for the questions on Indian Polity (for paper 1)->

• Rajya Sabha was initially called "The Council of States". It was first constituted on 13 May, 1952. It was renamed to "Rajya Sabha" by its chairman on 23 August 1954.
• Dr. S. Radhakrishnan was the first Chairman of Rajya Sabha for two consecutive terms
• Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the current chairman since 11 August 2012.
• The minimum age for being nominated as its member is 30 years.
• The maximum strength of Rajya Sabha is two hundred and fifty (250), of which 238 are to be elected and 12 are to be nominated by the President of India. The actual strength is two hundred and forty five (245), of which 233 are elected and 12 are nominated.
•  The nominated members of Rajya Sabha have a right to vote in the election of the Vice-President of India, they are not entitled to vote in the election of the President of India.
• The allocation of seats in Rajya Sabha to the States is based on population. The maximum representation is of U.P. (31 members) and the minimum is 1 by total 9 states/UTs:
  Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, and Tripura.
• Except of Delhi and Puducherry, Other Union territories are not represented in Rajya Sabha.
• Members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the Assemblies of States and Union territories in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
• Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution; It is a permanent body. As nearly as possible, one-third of its members retire every second year.
• The term of a member of Rajya Sabha is 6 years.
• The quorum to constitute a meeting of Rajya Sabha is 1/10 of total members, i.e. 25.
• The Vice-President is the ex officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. The Deputy Chairman is elected by the members of Rajya Sabha from amongst its members.
• The Chairman too has right to vote; has a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.
• In Rajya Sabha, generally four methods of voting are adopted: Voice vote, Counting, Division by automatic vote recorder and Division by going into the Lobbies.
• A Minister who is a Member of Lok Sabha has the right to speak and otherwise to take part in the proceedings of Rajya Sabha but has no right to vote in Rajya Sabha and vice versa.
• In legislative matters, Rajya Sabha enjoys almost equal powers with Lok Sabha. However, Money Bills cannot be introduced in Rajya Sabha and are deemed to have been passed if these are not returned to Lok Sabha within fourteen (14) days.
• A Bill is a legislative proposal brought before the House for its approval. 
• The Bills initiated by Ministers are called Government Bills and those introduced by Members, who are not Ministers, are known as Private Members’ Bills. Depending on their contents, Bills may further be classified broadly into:->

1. original Bills which embody new proposals,
2. amending Bills which seek to amend existing Acts,
3. consolidating Bills which seek to consolidate existing law on a particular subject,
4. Expiring Laws (Continuance) Bills which, otherwise, would expire on a specified date, 
5. repealing Bills,
6. Bills to replace Ordinances,
7. Money and financial Bills and
8. Constitution Amendment Bills.

• A Bill passed by both Houses of Parliament becomes an Act only after it has been assented to by the President.

How to Ensure Great Score In NET Exam?

Hello Friends!

From the analysis of past UGC NET exams of last 3 years, I have found some very useful and interesting insights. I am here sharing my views which may help candidates appearing in forthcoming January 2017 UGC NET exam.

Point #1.

Solve all available previous Question papers of NET exam. They are available to download from the links below:

1. July 2016 

2. December 2015

3. June 2015

4. December 2014

5. June 2009 to June 2014

The best way to solve previous question papers is not just to check the answer keys, but research the aspects related to the right answer choice as well as other choices. For example:

Q. The mode of communication that involves a single source transmitting information to a large number of receivers simultaneously, is called

(A) Group Communication

(B) Mass Communication

(C) Intrapersonal Communication

(D) Interpersonal Communication

The right answer is B here. Now, you must study other terms also. Research about Intrapersonal Communication,  Interpersonal Communication and Group Communication. There definitely are questions where right answer is from any of these 3 terms.

Point #2.

Give very much importance to Paper I. Some candidates think that Paper II and Paper III are more demanding and need more time to prepare. It's true that one needs very good preparation for subject papers, but if you give enough time and attention to paper I, it will prove to be a deciding factor in clearing the exam. Let me tell you how it may work for you:

One must target to score at least 80% in paper I and it is very much easy. I have myself scored 80%+ score thrice.

Why it is important? As you know, only top 15% candidates are declared qualified. Subject-wise cut-off is different, but for all subjects, paper I is common. In my observation, most of candidates fail to score even 50% marks in paper III. If you fall under unreserved category, it becomes very crucial to pass all papers as well as rise above the high cut-off percentage. Further, those candidates who pass all papers, very few candidates score 60% or above in paper III. As I said, if you score around 80% in paper I, you will be on safe side and can hope to score marks near or above the cut-off.

Now, how to plan your efforts to target 80% marks in paper I? You get 60 questions and are required to solve 50 only. There are 10 topics and you will be given 6 questions from each topic. That means, you are supposed to solve only 66% questions (40 correct answers). You must solve all 50 required questions. There is no negative marking, and who knows, some of your guesses also turn out as correct :-) !!! Anyways, if your 10 answers are wrong, you will still get 80% marks. Isn't it good?

Check the list of topics from which you will be asked questions:-

Topic 1. Teaching Aptitude-> Most of the questions are based on common sense and you can prepare this topic very well by solving different MCQs from books and previous NET papers.

Topic 2: Reading Comprehension-> Answers to all 6 questions are hidden in the passage itself. Read the passage at least twice and re-read the lines from which question is asked, and you are done!

Topic 3. Information and Communicating Technology (ICT)-> Being and IT person, these questions are peace of cake for me and people like me. But for others, one must focus on the theory of those topics which are mostly asked in NET. (In a later post, I will post about important topics for computer questions).

Topic 4. Data Interpretation-> This is one of the easiest topic. You are given a tabular data and are asked questions which mostly require little bit of statistical analysis. For example, there is a data of salary figures of 5 different years for different age groups. You are asked to find the age-group which had the higher income than the others for 3 years. To solve this question, find the average of each age group for given 3 years. You then can find the age group.

With a little calculation and concentration, you can get full 12 marks (6x2) for this topic.

Topic 5. Logical Reasoning-> If you have been preparing for different competition exams, then you will find the level of questions very easy here. Otherwise you will need to practice questions on reasoning topics. Example: blood relation, direction, jumbled words, analogies, Venn diagrams, argument & reasoning, types of reasoning. etc. are common topics.

Topic 6. Mathematical Reasoning-> It covers number & letter series, classification etc. This topic too is easy if you solve a lot of practice questions.

Topic 7. Communication: If you are not a student of mass communication like me, then you may follow the approach I follow. I have a habit of reading news paper and find that answers to many questions of communication stem because of this habit. For example, I found answer to questions like "what is grapevine?" "What is yellow journalism?" from the articles I read in newspapers. Rest of questions are asked from class-room communication. Follow tips in Point #1 to handle this topic.

Topic 8. Research Aptitude-> This topic cover research methodologies, types, steps to research, research ethics.

Topic 9. People and Environment-> I find this particular topic a bit tough. It may not apply to you if you have good understanding of it. Since your target is to score 40 questions and if you are short of time, then you should decide to leave one particular topic; it might be "People and Environment" on any other. If you need to study this topic, focus more on questions on natural hazards, pollution agents and gases.

Topic 10. Higher Education System : Governance Polity And Administration-> To cover this topic, gather facts from different education related websites of different governing bodies like NCTE, AICTE, UGC.AC.IN, MHRD etc. But before that, analyse the type of questions from previous papers and accordingly target your fact finding.

Since one cannot be expert in all topics, it is wise to leave one or two topics you find hard and focus only on 8-9 topics you can study. 

Point # 3

Have faith in your abilities. It does not matter if you are appearing for the exam for the first time or it is tenth time. If you doubt yourself, you will doubt your answer and get confused while solving the questions. Since there is not much of time to think, you must make yourself mentally prepared also before exam day. In a later post, we will discuss about mental preparation. Here, I will make only one point-stay confident, focused and relaxed.

Point #4

Don't waste time and energy on tough questions: There need to be a strategy before you start solving your papers. While attempting the questions, sometimes, we try to solve every question. Since there is no negative marking, you may not like to leave any question unanswered. But at the same time, it does not mean that you devote good amount of time to every question. Make it a rule to first answer only those questions for which you know the answer well. Then, devote the rest of time for other questions.

Point #5

Don't forget to carry your wrist watch with you. Since you will not be allowed to carry your mobile, you should carry a wrist watch with you to check the available time. I hear many a times that candidates failed to answer all questions (especially in paper I and paper II) because of no time left.

I hope this post will help you to score well and clear the NET exam. Best of luck!!