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UPSC 1996: Two important characteristics of a hypothesis are that it should be testable and that it should be stated in a manner that it can be refuted. Which one of the following hypotheses fulfils these characteristics?
(a)Intelligent persons have good memory
(b)Some birds are animals
(c)Some businessmen are dishonest
(d)All men are mortal
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Not attemptedCorrect Answer: (a) Intelligent persons have good memory
A valid scientific hypothesis must be empirically testable and falsifiable. Statement (a) 'Intelligent persons have good memory' can be assessed by measuring intelligence and memory and can be refuted by finding intelligent people with poor memory. Statements (b) and (c) are existential claims that are hard to refute conclusively, while (d) is a universal tautology that is not practically testable.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the correct answer to this UPSC 1996 Science & Technology question?▼
The correct answer is option (a): Intelligent persons have good memory. Watch the detailed video explanation in our Sherlocking Prelims course on UnlockIAS.
Which year was this Logical Reasoning & Puzzles question asked in UPSC Prelims?▼
This question was asked in UPSC CSE Prelims 1996, GS Paper 1, as Question 135. It falls under Science & Technology > Logical Reasoning & Puzzles.
What is the difficulty level of this UPSC question?▼
This question is rated "moderate". It requires sound conceptual understanding of the topic.
How many UPSC Prelims questions have been asked from Logical Reasoning & Puzzles?▼
UPSC has asked 71 questions from Logical Reasoning & Puzzles (under Science & Technology) across multiple years. Visit the topic page to see the full list and year-wise trends.