BCS Technical Cadre (ICT) October 2025 – 49th BCS Written (Special) (BPSC) question & solution

MCQ (96)

1. The size of the IPv6 address is:
   1. a) 128 bits
   2. b) 4 bits
   3. c) 32 bits
   4. d) None of the above
2. ________ acts as an active component in a circuit.
   1. a) Resistor
   2. b) Transistor
   3. c) Inductor
   4. d) Capacitor
3. ________ ensures that data cannot be altered in a blockchain.
   1. a) Consensus mechanism
   2. b) Smart contract
   3. c) Immutability
   4. d) Distributed ledger
4. ________ is not used as a performance metric for a regression model.
   1. a) R²
   2. b) RMSE
   3. c) Recall
   4. d) MAE
5. ________ algorithm is the most prominent method to avoid deadlock.
   1. a) Banker's
   2. b) Elevator
   3. c) Karn's
   4. d) None of the above
6. The average search time for a hash table using separate chaining with a load factor α is:
   1. a) O(1 + α)
   2. b) O(α²)
   3. c) O(log α)
   4. d) O(α)
7. Which of the following is not a main component of a CPU?
   1. a) Control unit
   2. b) ALU
   3. c) Cache
   4. d) Registers
8. Which of the following is true for the Superposition Theorem?
   1. a) Duality
   2. b) Linearity
   3. c) Reciprocity
   4. d) Non-linearity
9. ________ is the modulation technique used in the GSM system.
   1. a) MSK
   2. b) FSK
   3. c) ASK
   4. d) GMSK
10. Which key is known as the minimal super key?
    1. a) Primary key
    2. b) Secondary key
    3. c) Foreign key
    4. d) Candidate key
11. In the worst case, the number of comparisons in the Insertion sort algorithm is:
    1. a) n(n+1)
    2. b) n logₑ n
    3. c) n(n-1)/2
    4. d) n(n-1)/4
12. There are 32 kilo lines of code of an organic software. The normal development time (in months) using the COCOMO model (basic COCOMO…
    1. a) 6
    2. b) 7
    3. c) 14
    4. d) 21
13. A zombie process in Unix is:
    1. a) a process whose parent has not acknowledged its exit status
    2. b) a process waiting for I/O
    3. c) a process stuck in deadlock
    4. d) a process in an infinite loop
14. If x, y, z are inputs to a Full Adder, the logic expression of carry out is:
    1. a) x̄y+x̄z+yz
    2. b) x + y + z
    3. c) xy + xz + yz
    4. d) x ⊕ y ⊕ z
15. Which cryptographic algorithm is asymmetric?
    1. a) DES
    2. b) AES
    3. c) Triple DES
    4. d) RSA
16. The execution time (in sec) to execute 10^9 instructions with CPI = 2 and clock frequency = 1 GHz is:
    1. a) 0.5
    2. b) 1
    3. c) 2
    4. d) 3
17. ________ is the most used multiple access technique in WLAN.
    1. a) OFDMA
    2. b) TDMA
    3. c) CDMA
    4. d) TDMA+CDMA
18. Process control block includes:
    1. a) Process ID
    2. b) Process state
    3. c) program counter
    4. d) all of the above
19. If A⊆B, then A∩B:
    1. a) A
    2. b) B
    3. c) AUB
    4. d) φ
20. Basic difference between combinational and sequential circuits lies in:
    1. a) Feedback used
    2. b) Logic gates used
    3. c) Inputs
    4. d) None of the above
21. Which of the following runs the fastest?
    1. a) O(log n)
    2. b) O(n)
    3. c) O(n log n)
    4. d) O(√n)
22. Which one of the following is true for Entropy?
    1. a) Σᵢ Pᵢ log₂ Pᵢ
    2. b) -Σᵢ log₂ Pᵢ
    3. c) - Σᵢ Pᵢ log₂ Pᵢ
    4. d) None
23. ________ equation describes the wave nature of particles.
    1. a) Schrödinger
    2. b) Maxwell's
    3. c) Newton's wave
    4. d) Gauss-Jordan
24. Calculate the physical address in 8086 with segment and offset addresses 2000H and 0020H, respectively:
    1. a) 200200H
    2. b) 20020H × 16
    3. c) 20020H
    4. d) 20020H+0020H
25. Identify wrong one w.r.t. IEEE standards.
    1. a) 802.5 [Ethernet]
    2. b) 802.11 [WLAN]
    3. c) 802.16 [WiMAX]
    4. d) 802.15.4 [LR-WPAN]
26. Key disadvantage of the sequential waterfall model is:
    1. a) Lack of documentation
    2. b) Overlapping phases
    3. c) Lack of client feedback
    4. d) Too many prototypes
27. Frequency range of the VHF band is:
    1. a) 3-30 MHz
    2. b) 30-300 MHz
    3. c) 300 MHz-3 GHz
    4. d) 3 GHz-30 GHz
28. After RESET, 8086 starts from memory location:
    1. a) FFFF0H
    2. b) 0FFFFH
    3. c) 00000H
    4. d) 00001H
29. A system has 4 processes and 3 resources. To avoid deadlock, the maximum number of processes that can be simultaneously executed is:
    1. a) 3
    2. b) 2
    3. c) 1
    4. d) 4
30. As per maximum power transfer theorem, maximum power transfer occurs when:
    1. a) RL = 0
    2. b) RL = Rs
    3. c) RL = ∞
    4. d) RL = 0 or ∞
31. Which one of the following is not a command/keyword in SQL?
    1. a) REMOVE
    2. b) ORDER BY
    3. c) SELECT
    4. d) WHERE
32. The main disadvantage of TDM over FDM is:
    1. a) Higher BW requirement
    2. b) Noise immunity
    3. c) Complex Synchronization
    4. d) Limited frequency usage
33. Channel capacity (in kbps) of band limited Gaussian channel (SNR = 15, bandwidth = 16 kHz) is:
    1. a) 32
    2. b) 64
    3. c) 18
    4. d) 128
34. Thrashing occurs when:
    1. a) too many processes wait for I/O
    2. b) CPU is under-utilized
    3. c) processes spend more time swapping pages than executing instructions
    4. d) Memory is fragmented
35. Random search is ________ algorithm.
    1. a) a greedy
    2. b) a local optimization
    3. c) an optimal
    4. d) a global optimization
36. ________ method is often used to prove lower bounds in sorting.
    1. a) Recursion tree
    2. b) Master theorem
    3. c) Decision tree
    4. d) Dynamic programming
37. For the symbol times of QPSK (TQ) and BPSK (TB), we have:
    1. a) TQ = 0.25TB
    2. b) TQ = 4TB
    3. c) TQ = 0.5TB
    4. d) TQ = 2TB
38. The power factor of a purely resistive load is:
    1. a) 1
    2. b) 0
    3. c) -1
    4. d) ∞
39. Which one below retrieves emails from a server?
    1. a) SMTP
    2. b) SNMP
    3. c) RIP
    4. d) POP3
40. The class in C++ contains:
    1. a) data only
    2. b) function only
    3. c) data and function both
    4. d) None of the above
41. MOV AX, BX:
    1. a) copies content of AX to BX
    2. b) copies content of BX to AX
    3. c) erases content of both AX and BX
    4. d) is a wrong instruction
42. ________ mapping is not a useful cache mapping technique.
    1. a) Direct
    2. b) Set associative
    3. c) Fully associative
    4. d) Random
43. Which one below is not an AI technique?
    1. a) Gradient descent
    2. b) Genetic algorithm
    3. c) Deep learning
    4. d) Reinforcement learning
44. Which sorting algorithm below is not comparison based?
    1. a) Merge sort
    2. b) Heap sort
    3. c) Counting sort
    4. d) Quick sort
45. Which of the following offers higher slope-overload and granular noise?
    1. a) DPCM
    2. b) DM
    3. c) APM
    4. d) PCM
46. The impedance of a series RLC circuit:
    1. a) R+j(XL+XC)
    2. b) R (XL + XC)
    3. c) √(R² + (XL − XC)²)
    4. d) R² + (XL + XC)²
47. Which one below declares a function pointer (f) pointing to a function taking an int and a float and returning a double?
    1. a) double *f (int, float)
    2. b) double (*f) (int, float)
    3. c) (*double) f (int, float)
    4. d) double f* (int, float)
48. If the carrier and modulating signal frequencies are 1 MHz and 10 kHz respectively, what is the required bandwidth for an…
    1. a) 5 kHz
    2. b) 10 kHz
    3. c) 20 kHz
    4. d) 2 MHz
49. The relationship between line voltage (VL) and phase voltage (VP) is:
    1. a) VL= VP
    2. b) VL= √3VP
    3. c) VL= VP / √3
    4. d) VL=3VP
50. ________ complement method is predominantly used to represent negative numbers in computer systems.
    1. a) 1's
    2. b) 2's
    3. c) 9's
    4. d) 10's
51. In a floating point representation, 'machine epsilon' refers to:
    1. a) The largest representable number
    2. b) The smallest representable number
    3. c) The difference between one and the next larger representable number
    4. d) The rounding error in subtraction
52. Spooling is generally used for:
    1. a) CPU scheduling
    2. b) deadlock detection
    3. c) printer management
    4. d) memory allocation
53. Which traversal will you perform to sort the elements of a binary search tree?
    1. a) Preorder
    2. b) Postorder
    3. c) Inorder
    4. d) Level order
54. In the breadth first search, which of the following should be used?
    1. a) Stack
    2. b) Queue
    3. c) Heap
    4. d) Linked list
55. Working principle of a tunnel diode:
    1. a) Quantum mechanical tunneling
    2. b) Zener breakdown
    3. c) Avalanche breakdown
    4. d) Ionization tunneling
56. Cascadeless schedules prevent:
    1. a) deadlocks
    2. b) aborts
    3. c) reading uncommitted data
    4. d) long transactions
57. Which one below is the most bandwidth efficient digital modulation?
    1. a) BPSK
    2. b) QPSK
    3. c) FSK
    4. d) 16QAM
58. In modulo-2 operation, ________ give the same result.
    1. a) Addition & division
    2. b) Addition & multiplication
    3. c) Multiplication & division
    4. d) Subtraction & addition
59. The main challenge of NLP is:
    1. a) ambiguity of sentences
    2. b) parts of speech tagging
    3. c) syntactic analysis
    4. d) tokenization
60. The main drawback of hill climbing search is:
    1. a) high memory requirement
    2. b) Can get stuck in local optima
    3. c) expands all nodes
    4. d) Requires heuristic functions
61. The phase difference between voltage and current in a series RLC circuit with R = 100 Ω, XL = 300 Ω, and XC = 100 Ω is:
    1. a) 0°
    2. b) 90°
    3. c) 45°
    4. d) 63.4°
62. Strict two-phase locking (S2PL) holds ________ till commit.
    1. a) All locks
    2. b) Only read locks
    3. c) Only write locks
    4. d) No locks
63. Which of the following could be the correct interpretation of 10110011?
    1. a) 179
    2. b) B3
    3. c) -77
    4. d) All of the above
64. The relation between α and β in a transistor is:
    1. a) β = α/(1 + α)
    2. b) β=1- α
    3. c) α = β²
    4. d) β = α /(1 - α)
65. Which mode in 8255 PPI allows handshake I/O?
    1. a) Mode-0
    2. b) Mode-1
    3. c) Mode-2
    4. d) None of the above
66. Which of the following is used to transfer an instruction from 8086 to 8087?
    1. a) INT 3
    2. b) JMP
    3. c) LOCK
    4. d) ESC
67. Which one corresponds to binding data and code together?
    1. a) Polymorphism
    2. b) Abstraction
    3. c) Encapsulation
    4. d) Inheritance
68. How will you declare an array (Arr) of four pointers to float?
    1. a) float Arr[4];
    2. b) (float) Arr[4];
    3. c) float *Arr[4];
    4. d) Ptr (float) Arr[4];
69. For velocity (V) frequency (f), and wavelength (λ), we have:
    1. a) v=f/λ
    2. b) v=λ/f
    3. c) v=fλ
    4. d) v=f+λ
70. A programmable logic array is mainly used for:
    1. a) Custom sequential circuits
    2. b) Memory
    3. c) Custom combinational circuits
    4. d) Fixed logic
71. ________ algorithm requires policy.
    1. a) Supervised learning
    2. b) Fuzzy logic
    3. c) Deep learning
    4. d) Reinforcement learning
72. The main goal of project scheduling is to:
    1. a) minimize coding error
    2. b) allocate resources & set deadlines
    3. c) test software early
    4. d) improve documentation quality
73. In a hospital, a patient file stores name, disease, date of admission, room number, bed number, as information. Which should be the…
    1. a) Name
    2. b) Date of admission
    3. c) Disease
    4. d) None of the above
74. The number of edges in a complete bipartite graph, Kmn is:
    1. a) mn
    2. b) m+n
    3. c) m2 + n2
    4. d) m! n!
75. ________ algorithm is best for time-series data.
    1. a) CNN
    2. b) RNN
    3. c) DNN
    4. d) ANN
76. Which one is used for Software development project scheduling?
    1. a) Pie chart
    2. b) Bar chart
    3. c) Gantt chart
    4. d) All of the above
77. Which one is not a focus of white box testing method?
    1. a) Code coverage
    2. b) Data flow and variable
    3. c) User perspective
    4. d) Code logic and flow
78. What gate voltage needs to be applied to an enhancement-type N-channel MOSFET?
    1. a) +VDD
    2. b) -VDD
    3. c) 0
    4. d) None of the above
79. What is the value of maximum efficiency of a transformer coupled class-A power amplifier?
    1. a) 25 %
    2. b) 30 %
    3. c) 50%
    4. d) 78%
80. Write-ahead logging requires:
    1. a) Data first, log later
    2. b) No redo phase
    3. c) Log record flushed before data page
    4. d) None of the above
81. In NLP, which one is used to convert words into numerical vectors that capture semantic meaning?
    1. a) Tokenization
    2. b) Word embeddings
    3. c) Stemming
    4. d) POS tagging
82. In software testing, which technique is called structural testing?
    1. a) Black box
    2. b) Regression
    3. c) System
    4. d) White box
83. Convert (101.101)₂ into a decimal number.
    1. a) 4.525
    2. b) 4.535
    3. c) 5.515
    4. d) 5.625
84. The number of states in a 4-bit BCD ripple counter is:
    1. a) 4
    2. b) 10
    3. c) 16
    4. d) 5
85. A Hamiltonian Cycle must visit:
    1. a) all edges once
    2. b) some vertices
    3. c) only leaves
    4. d) All vertices once
86. How many address lines are multiplexed with the data lines in Intel 8086?
    1. a) 8
    2. b) 32
    3. c) 64
    4. d) 16
87. ____ gate is known as "Anticoincidence".
    1. a) NOR
    2. b) XNOR
    3. c) XOR
    4. d) OR
88. Which C operator below has right-to-left associativity?
    1. a) *
    2. b) +
    3. c) ?
    4. d) =
89. A simple connected planar graph with V≥ 3 vertices, E edges and F faces satisfies:
    1. a) E≤ 3V-6
    2. b) E≥ 3V
    3. c) V+E = F
    4. d) F≤V-2
90. In Java, which keyword prevents a method from being overridden?
    1. a) const
    2. b) final
    3. c) static
    4. d) synchronized
91. Which principle is followed during user interface design?
    1. a) High coupling
    2. b) User-centered design
    3. c) Sequential processing
    4. d) Cost optimization
92. Which one describes a pure virtual function in C++?
    1. a) virtual void f() = 0;
    2. b) virtual void f();
    3. c) void f()=0;
    4. d) pure virtual f ();
93. A tree with K leaves has at least ____ vertices.
    1. a) K
    2. b) K-1
    3. c) K+1
    4. d) 2K
94. Von-Neumann architecture uses ________ memory for data and instructions.
    1. a) separate
    2. b) same
    3. c) no
    4. d) None of the above
95. Which case a suffix tree is useful for?
    1. a) Fast string search
    2. b) Minimum cut
    3. c) Sorting numbers
    4. d) Graph coloring
96. Bitmap indexes are particularly well-suited for:
    1. a) High-cardinality columns
    2. b) Low-cardinality columns
    3. c) Large text fields
    4. d) JSON

Written (10)

1. The characteristic polynomial of adjacency matrix is used to study: (A) chromatic number directly (B) Graph spectra (C) connectivity only…
2. (a) Explain the photoelectric effect and its significance in quantum theory. (b) Derive the equation for the de Broglie wavelength of a…
3. (a) State and prove De Morgan's theorem using Boolean algebra. (b) Design a 4-to-1 multiplexer circuit and explain its working principle…
4. (a) Explain the concept of pipelining and its impact on CPU performance. (b) Compare and contrast between RISC and CISC architectures. (c)…
5. (a) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA). (b) For a…
6. (a) What is cryptography? Explain the working principle of RSA algorithm. (b) Explain the concept of IPv6 addressing scheme and its…
7. (a) Distinguish between White Box and Black Box testing. (b) Explain the principles of low coupling and high cohesion in software design…
8. (a) Differentiate between stored procedure and trigger in Structured Query Language (SQL). (b) What are the properties of a transaction?…
9. (a) Discuss the causes and solutions of deadlock in operating systems. (b) What is an expert system? Explain its components. (c) Write…
10. (a) Differentiate between supervised and unsupervised learning. (b) Present the KNN algorithm. What is the significance of the value of K…

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