Explanation
This problem is based on the Fundamental Principle of Counting, where we determine the total number of ways to perform a series of independent tasks.
1. Analyze a Single Question:
For each individual question, a candidate has the following choices:
Therefore, the number of ways to "answer" (or deal with) a single question is:
Number of ways per question=4 (options)+1 (unanswered)=5 ways
2. Analyze the Entire Paper:
The question paper consists of 120 questions. Since the way one question is answered does not affect the others, these are independent events.
To find the total number of ways to answer the entire paper, we multiply the number of choices for each question together:
Total ways=5×5×5×… (up to 120 times)
Using exponents, this is written as:
Conclusion:
Since there are 5 possible outcomes for each of the 120 questions, the total number of ways to complete the paper is 5120.
Correct Option:
(a) 5120
