(C) It receives and passes the raw input data to the hidden layers.
The input layer is the first layer of a neural network. Its job is to acquire data and feed it to the network; no processing occurs at the input layer.
Source: Chapter 2, Section 2.3 Artificial Neural Networks
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The passage explicitly states: "The job of an input layer is to acquire data and feed it to the Neural Network. No processing occurs at the input layer." This rules out options (A) and (D). Option (B) describes the output layer's role, not the input layer. Examiners expect you to recall that the input layer only receives and forwards raw data — all computation happens in the hidden layers.