UPSC Prelims 2008 · General Studies
Question 112: Science and Technology
Consider the following statements:
- 1.A widely used musical scale called diatonic scale has seven frequencies.
- 2.The frequency of the note Sa (स) is 256 Hz and that of Ni (नी) is 512 Hz.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
AnswerThe answer is (a).
Statement 1 is correct: the diatonic scale has seven notes, so seven different frequencies, and the eighth note repeats the first an octave higher. Statement 2 is wrong: if Sa is 256 Hz, the octave Sa is 512 Hz, not Ni. Ni, the seventh note, lies below the upper Sa, at 480 Hz in the ideal scale.
- 1. The diatonic scale has seven notes, each with its own frequency.
- 2. 512 Hz is the octave Sa; Ni is about 480 Hz.
How you could have got this
- If you were sure statement 1 is correct, (b) and (d) go: each of them leaves 1 out.
What you needed to know: The diatonic scale has seven notes, each with its own frequency.
- Then, if you were sure statement 2 is not correct, (c) goes: it includes 2.
What you needed to know: 512 Hz is the octave Sa; Ni is about 480 Hz.
Only (a) is left. This one needs every statement.
This follows an unofficial answer: UPSC has not published its key for this year, and if that answer is wrong, so is this path.
Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Statement 1 is right and statement 2 is wrong.
- (b) Statement 2 is wrong, since 512 Hz is the upper Sa, not Ni.
- (c) Statement 2 is wrong, so both cannot be correct.
- (d) Statement 1 is correct, so neither being correct is wrong.
Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2008, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.