Section 1: Algebra

1.1 Let σ = (14387) and τ = (548) be cycles in S8 . Express στ and τ σ (see,

Notations) as the product of disjoint cycles.

1.2 Let G and G0 be groups and let ϕ : G → G0 be a group homomorphism

which is surjective. Which of the following statements are true?
a. If G is abelian, then G0 is abelian.
b. If G is cyclic, then G0 is cyclic.
c. If N is a normal subgroup of G, then ϕ(N ) is a normal subgroup of G0 .

1.3 Let n ∈ N, n ≥ 2. Which of the following subgroups are normal in

GLn (C)?
a. H = {A ∈ GLn (C) | A is upper triangular}.
b. H = {A ∈ GLn (C) | A is diagonal}.
c. H = {A ∈ GLn (C) | det(A) = 1}.

1.4 Find the multiplicative inverse of x + 1 in the field F5 [x]/(x2 + x + 1).

1.5 Let N ≥ 2. Let x ∈ RN , x 6= 0, be a column vector. Find the rank of the

matrix A = xxT .

1.6 Let N ≥ 2. Let x ∈ RN , x 6= 0, be a column vector. Find the condition

on x such that the matrix I − 2xxT is orthogonal.

1.7 Let
W = {A ∈ M3 (R) | A = AT and tr(A) = 0}.
Write down a basis for W .

1.8 Which of the following statements are true?

a. There exists A ∈ M2 (R) which is orthogonal and has 2 as an eigenvalue.
b. There exists A ∈ M2 (R) which is orthogonal and has i as an eigenvalue.
c. If A ∈ M2 (R) is orthogonal, then kAxk = kxk for every x ∈ R2 , where k.k
denotes the usual euclidean norm on R2 .

1.9 Let A ∈ M2 (R) be such that its eigenvalues are 1 and −1. Which of the
following statements are true?
a. A−1 = A.
b. A−1 = −A.
c. No conclusion can be drawn about A−1 .

1.10 Solve the equation:

x4 − 10x3 + 26x2 − 10x + 1 = 0.

3
 Section 2: Analysis

2.1 Evaluate: 1
lim (cos x) sin2 x .
x→0

2.2 Evaluate:
1 n 1
lim (Πk=1 (n + k)) n .
n→∞ n

2.3 Let a > 0 be a real number and let k ∈ N. Evaluate:

n
n
n
a + n1 a + n2 · · · a + nk
lim .
n→∞ ank

2.4 Let f : R → R be a continuous function. Let a ∈ R. Evaluate:

1 a+h
Z
lim f (t) dt.
h→0 h a−h

2.5 Let fn (x) = n2 x(1 − x)n . Evaluate:

lim fn (x)
n→∞

for 0 < x < 1.

2.6 Which of the following series ∞

P
n=1 an are convergent?
a.
1
an = (n3 + 1) 3 − n.
b.
n3 + 1
an = .
2n + 1
c.
(n + 1)(n + 2) · · · (n + n)
an = .
nn

2.7 Determine if each of the following series is absolutely convergent, condi-

tionally convergent or divergent.
a. ∞
X 1
(−1)n .
n=1
n+8
b. ∞
X 1
(−1)n .
n=1
n(n + 8)
c. ∞
X n
(−1)n .
n=1
n + 8

4
 1
2.8 Let f (x) = e x . In which of the following domains is it uniformly contin-
uous?
a. ]0, 1[.
b. ]1, ∞[.
c. ]1, 2[.

1
2.9 Let f (z) = 7−z for z ∈ C, z 6= 7. Write down the Taylor expansion of f
in a neighbourhood of z = 5.

2.10 Let C be the contour in the complex plane consisting of two straight
line segments, one from z = 0 to z = i and the other from z = i to z = 1 + i.
Evaluate: Z
f (z) dz,
C
2
where f (z) = y − x − 3x i, z = x + iy, x, y ∈ R.

5
 Section 3: Miscellaneous
 
n
3.1 Let n ∈ N, n ≥ 2, be a fixed positive integer. Let Ck = for 0 ≤ k ≤
k
n. Evaluate:

C1 − 2C2 + 3C3 − 4C4 + · · · + (−1)n−1 nCn .

3.2 An algebraic number is a complex number which is the root of a polyno-

mial with integer coefficients. Which of the following numbers are algebraic?
1
a. 7√+ 2 3 .√
b. 3 + i 5.
c. cos 2π
7
.

3.3 From a set of three women and four men, three are chosen at random
to stand in a row for a photograph. What is the probability that the photo-
graph shows a woman in the middle flanked by two men, one on either side
of her?

3.4 Find the angle between the planes 2x−y +z = 6 and x+y +2z = 3 in R3 .

3.5 A line moves in the plane so that it passes through the point (1, 1) and
such that it intersects the two coordinate axes. Find the locus of the centre
of the circle which passes through these two points of intersection of the line
with the coordinate axes, and through the origin.

3.6 Sum the infinite series:

5 1 5.8 1 5.8.11 1
2
+ 3
+ + ···
3.6 4 3.6.9 4 3.6.9.12 44

3.7 A magic square of size N, N ≥ 2, is an N × N matrix with integer en-

tries such that the sums of the entries of each row, each column and the two
diagonals are all equal. If the entries of the magic square are made up of
integers in arithmetic progression with first term a and common difference
d, what is the value of this common sum?

3.8 Let n ∈ N. Define


log p, if n = pr , p a prime and r ∈ N,
Λ(n) =
0, otherwise.

Given N ∈ N, compute X
Λ(d),
d|N

where the sum ranges over all divisors of N .

6
3.9 For a ∈ R, define a+ = max{a, 0}. Let u : R → R be an arbitrary
function. Let t ∈ R. Define

v(x) = (u(x) − t)+ + t.

Which of the following statements are true?

a. {x ∈ R | v(x) = t} = {x ∈ R | u(x) = t}.
b. {x ∈ R | v(x) > t} = {x ∈ R | u(x) > t}.
c. {x ∈ R | v(x) > τ } = {x ∈ R | u(x) > τ } for all τ ≥ t.

3.10 Let V be a real vector space of real-valued functions on a fixed set X

such that (i) all constant functions are in V , and (ii) if f ∈ V , then f 2 (i.e.
the function defined by x 7→ (f (x))2 for all x ∈ X) and |f | (i.e. the function
defined by x 7→ |f (x)| for all x ∈ X) are also in V . Which of the following
statements are true?
a. If f and g belong to V , then f g (i.e. the function defined by x 7→ f (x)g(x)
for all x ∈ X) also belongs to V .
b. If f and g belong to V , then max{f, g} (i.e. the function defined by
x 7→ max{f (x), g(x)} for all x ∈ X) also belongs to V .
c. If f ∈ V and if p is a polynomial in one variable with real coefficients, then
p(f ) (i.e. the function defined by x 7→ p(f (x)) for all x ∈ X) also belongs to
V.

7
 Section 1: Algebra

1.1 Let αi , i = 1, 2, 3, be the roots of the polynomial

x3 + px2 + qx + r,

where p, q, r ∈ C. Express the sum

3
X
αi2 αj
i,j=1
i6=j

in terms of p, q and r.

1.2 How many subgroups of order 2 are there in S4 ?

1.3 What is the maximal order of an element in S7 ?

1.4 Let G = GLn (R). Which of the following subgroups are normal in G?
a. H = SLn (R).
b. H = the set of all upper-triangular matrices in GLn (R).
c. H = the set of all diagonal matrices in GLn (R).

1.5 In each of the cases where H is a normal subgroup, in Problem 1.4 above,
identify the quotient group G/H.

1.6 Consider the ring R = C 1 [−1, 1] of all continuously differentiable real

valued functions on [−1, 1] with the usual operations of pointwise addition
and pointwise multiplication. In each of the cases below, state whether the
given set is an ideal, a subring but not an ideal, or not a subring.
a. {f ∈ R | f (0) = 0}.
b. {f ∈ R | f 0 (0) = 0}.
c. {f ∈ R | f (0) = f 0 (0) = 0}.

1.7 List all integers n such that 1 ≤ n ≤ 10 and such that there exists a field
with n elements.

1.8 Let W ⊂ M2 (R) be the subspace of all matrices such that the entries of
the first column add up to zero. Write down a basis for W .

1.9 Write down the inverse of the following matrix:

 
1 0 0 0 0
 0 1 0 0 0 
 
 0 0 1 0 0 .
 
 0 0 2 1 0 
0 0 3 0 1

3
1.10 Let A ∈ Mn (R) be a singular matrix. Let x0 and b be vectors in Rn
such that Ax0 = b. Which of the following statements are true?
a. There exists y0 ∈ Rn such that AT y0 = b.
b. There exist infinitely many solutions to the equation Ax = b.
c. If AT x = 0, then it follows that bT x = 0.

4
 Section 2: Analysis

2.1 Let x0 be an arbitrary positive real number. Define

 
1 5
xn+1 = xn + , n ≥ 0.
2 xn

Which of the following statements

√ are true?
a. For all n ≥ 1, we have xn ≥ 5.
b. The sequence {xn }n≥1 is monotonic.
c. The sequence {xn }n≥1 is convergent.

2.2 Find the radius of convergence of the series

∞
X n3
z n , z ∈ C.
n=1
3n
5
2.3 Let f (x) = |x| 2 , x ∈ R. Which of the following statements are true?
a. The function f is not differentiable at x = 0.
3
b. The function f is differentiable everywhere and f 0 (x) = 25 |x| 2 .
1
c. The function f is differentiable everywhere and f 0 (x) = 52 |x| 2 x.

2.4 Which of the following statements are true?

a. | sin x| ≤ |x| for all x ∈ R.
b. |1 − cos x| ≤ |x| for all x ∈ R.
c. | tan−1 x| ≤ |x| for all x ∈ R.

2.5 Which of the following functions are uniformly continuous over R?

a. f (x) = xR3 .
x
b. f (x) = 0 g(t) dt, where g : R → R is a continuously differentiable func-
tion. Rx
c. f (x) = 0 g(t) dt, where g : R → R is a continuous function which is
bounded.

2.6 Find the relationship between the height (h) and the radius (r) of the
right circular cylinder of minimum total surface area amongst all right cir-
cular cylinders of volume 10cm3 .
Rπ
2.7 Let n ∈ N and let Jn = 02 cosn x dx.Which of the following statements
are true?
a. Jn is rational for all n ≥ 2.
b. Jn is irrational for all n ≥ 2.
c. Jn is rational if n = 7.

2.8 Evaluate: Z 5
max{x2 , 6x − 8} dx.
0

5
 1
2.9 Write down the power series expansion of the function f (z) = z2
in a
neighbourhood of z = −1.

2.10 Let z = x + iy. Which of the following functions are analytic in C?

a. f (z) = x − iy.
b. f (z) = ex (cos y − i sin y).
c. f (z) = e−x (cos y − i sin y).

6
 Section 3: Miscellaneous

3.1 Five persons, A,B,C,D and E, are to address a meeting.

a. If speaker A has to speak before speaker B, in how many ways can this
be arranged?
b. In how many of these arrangements does speaker A speak immediately
before speaker B?
 
n
3.2 Let n ∈ N be a fixed positive integer. Let Cr = , 0 ≤ r ≤ n.
r
Evaluate:
C1 C2 C3 Cn
C0 − + − + · · · + (−1)n .
2 3 4 n+1
3.3 Find a positive integer which is a multiple of 7 and which leaves a re-
mainder 1 when divided by 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

3.4 What is the remainder when 21000 is divided by 13?

3.5 Let 2s be the perimeter of a triangle, where s > 0 is a fixed constant.

What is the maximum possible value of the area of the triangle?

3.6 For (x, y) ∈ R2 , let

 
x+y y−x
T (x, y) = √ , √ .
2 2
If D is the unit disc in the plane, what is the area of T (D)?

3.7 Let S = {(x, y) ∈ R2 | ax2 + 2hxy + by 2 = 0}. In which of the following

cases does S represent a pair of distinct straight lines?
a. a = b = 5, h = −1.
b. a = b = 3, h = 4.
c. a = 1, b = 4, h = 2.

3.8 Find the coordinates of the point in R3 which is the reflection of the
point (1, 2, 4) with respect to the plane x + y + z = 1.

3.9 A line segment moves in the plane with its end-points on the coordinate
axes so that the sum of the cubes of the lengths of its intercepts on the co-
ordinate axes is a constant c. Find the locus of the mid-point of this segment.

3.10 Which of the following statements are true?

a. Let f : R → R be such that f (x + y) = f (x) + f (y) for all x, y ∈ R. If
f (t) > 0 for all t > 0, then f is continuous.
b. Let f : R → R be such that f (x + y) = f (x)f (y) for all x, y ∈ R. Then
f (x) ≥ 0 for all x ∈ R.
c. Let f : R → R be continuous at x = 0 and such that f (x) + f (x/2) = 0
for all x ∈ R. Then f (x) = 0 for all x ∈ R.

7
 Section 1: Algebra

1.1 Which of the following statements are true?

a. If G is a group such that (ab)2 = a2 b2 for all a, b ∈ G, then G is abelian.
b. If G is a group such that a2 = e for all a ∈ G, where e is the identity
element in G, then G is abelian.
c. If G is a group such that a2 = e for all a ∈ G, where e is the identity
element in G, then G is finite.

1.2 For real numbers a and b, define the mapping τa,b : R → R by τa,b (x) =
ax + b. Let
G = {τa,b : a, b ∈ R, a 6= 0}.
Under composition of mappings, this becomes a group. Which of the follow-
ing subgroups of G are normal?
a. H = {τa,b | a 6= 0, a ∈ Q, b ∈ R}.
b. H = {τ1,b | b ∈ R}.
c. H = {τ1,b | b ∈ Q}.

1.3 Find all positive integers n > 1 such that the polynomial x4 + 3x3 + x2 +
6x + 10 belongs to the ideal generated by the polynomial x2 + x + 1 in Zn [x].

1.4 Find the number of irreducible monic polynomials of degree 2 over the
field F5 of five elements.

1.5 Find the number of invertible 2 × 2 matrices with entries in F2 , the field
of two elements.

1.6 Let V be a finite dimensional vector space and let A, B and C be sub-
spaces of V . Which of the following statements are true?
a. A ∩ (B + C) = A ∩ B + A ∩ C.
b. A ∩ (B + C) ⊂ A ∩ B + A ∩ C.
c. A ∩ (B + C) ⊃ A ∩ B + A ∩ C.

1.7 Write down the inverse of the following matrix:

 
0 1 0 0 0
 1 0 0 0 0 
 
 0 0 0 0 1 .
 
 0 0 1 0 0 
0 0 0 1 0

1.8 Find an orthogonal matrix P such that P AP −1 = B, where

   
0 0 1 0 1 0
A =  1 0 0  and B =  0 0 1  .
0 0 0 0 0 0

3
1.9 Let A = (aij ) ∈ Mn (R), where

1 if i + j = n + 1,
aij =
0 otherwise.

What is the value of det(A) when (i) n = 10 and (ii) n = 100?

1.10 Let n > 1 be a positive integer and let A ∈ Mn (R) be as defined in

Problem 1.9 above. Write down the set of eigenvalues of A.

4
 Section 2: Analysis

2.1 In each of the following cases, state whether the given series is absolutely
convergent, conditionally convergent or divergent.
a.
1 1 1
1− + − + ···
5 9 13

b. ∞
X n
(−1)n .
n=1
n + 1
c. ∞
X 1
(−1)n .
n=2
n(n − 1)
2.2 Evaluate:
lim(1 − 2 tan θ)cot θ .
θ→0

2.3 Let f : R → R be continuous. Let t ∈ R. Evaluate:

1 t+h
Z
lim f (s) ds.
h→0 h t−h

2.4 Evaluate: n
X n
lim .
n→∞
k=1
n2 + k2
2.5 Define: 
an + sin πx if x ∈ [2n, 2n + 1],
f (x) =
bn + cos πx if x ∈]2n − 1, 2n[,
where n varies over N ∪ {0}. Find all possible sequences {an } and {bn } such
that f is continuous on [0, ∞[.

2.6 Which of the following functions are uniformly continuous on the pre-
scribed domain?
a. f (x) = x sin x1 on ]0, 1[.
b. f (x) = ex cos x1 on ]0, 1[.
c. f (x) = sin(sin x) on ]0, ∞[.

2.7 Let k be a positive integer. Let a > 0. Evaluate:

(a + n1 )n (a + n2 )n · · · (a + nk )n
lim .
n→∞ ank
2.8 Which of the following functions defined on R are differentiable?
a. f (x) = x|x|.
[x] sin2 πx.
b. f (x) = p
c. f (x) = |x|.
(The symbol [x] in statement (b) stands for the integral part of x ∈ R, i.e.
the largest integer less than, or equal to, x.)

5
2.9 Which of the following statements are true?
a. Let f be continuously differentiable in [a, b] and twice differentiable on
]a, b[. If f (a) = f (b) and if f 0 (a) = 0, then there exists x0 ∈]a, b[ such that
f 00 (x0 ) = 0.
b. Let f be continuously differentiable in [a, b]. If f (a) = f (b) and if
f 0 (a) = f 0 (b), then there exists x1 and x2 in ]a, b[ such that x1 6= x2 and
such that f 0 (x1 ) = f 0 (x2 ).
c. Let f be continuously differentiable on [0, 2], and twice differentiable on
]0, 2[. If f (0) = 0, f (1) = 1 and f (2) = 2, then there exists x0 ∈]0, 2[ such
that f 00 (x0 ) = 0.

2.10 Let Γ be the boundary of the square in the complex plane with vertices
at the points 0, 1, 1+i and i, which is described in the anticlockwise direction.
Evaluate: Z
πeπz dz.
Γ

6
 Section 3: Miscellaneous

3.1 Which of the following relations are true?

n(n−1) n(n+1)
a. (−1) 2 = (−1) 2 .
n(n−1) n
b. (−1) 2 = (−1)[ 2 ] .
n(n−1) 2
c. (−1) 2 = (−1)n .
(The symbol [ n2 ] in statement (b) stands for the integral part of n2 ; see also
Problem 2.8.)

3.2 Let n, k and r be positive integers such that k < r < n and also such
that n > r + k. Which of the following statements are true?
a.    
n n n−1
= .
r r r−1
b.   k   
n X k n−k
= .
r l r−l
l=0
c.   k   
n X k n−l
= .
r l r−k
l=0

3.3 Let a, b, c ∈ R. Evaluate the determinant:

 
 a−b−c 2a 2a 
 

 2b b − c − a 2b .

 2c 2c c−a−b 

3.4 Find the sum of the following series up to n terms:

1 2 2 3 3
2+ 2 + 2 + ···
2.3 3.4 4.5
3.5 Let N = 7776. Find the number of divisors of N , excluding 1 and N .

3.6 Let Pn be the polygon in the complex plane with vertices situated at the
n-th roots of unity. Let An be its area and let Ln be its perimeter. Evaluate:
L2n
lim .
n→∞ An

3.7 Let a, b ∈ R. For P = (x, y) ∈ R2 , define f (P ) = ax + by. The line

ax + by = 4 intersects the line segment joining two points P1 and P2 in the
plane at a point R such that P1 R : RP2 = 1 : 2. If f (P1 ) = 3, what is the
value of f (P2 )?

3.8 Let n ∈ N. Which of the following statements are true?

n−1
a. xn − 1 ≥ n(x − 1)x 2 for all x ≥ 0.
n−1
b. xn − 1 ≥ n(x − 1)x 2 for all x ≥ 1.
n−1
c. xn − 1 ≥ n(x − 1)x 2 for all x ≥ n.

7
3.9 What is the radius of the sphere with centre at the origin and which has
the plane x + y + z = 1 as a tangent?

3.10 Let
S = {(x, y) ∈ R2 | x2 + 2hxy + y 2 = 1}.
For what values of h is the set S non-empty and bounded?

8
 Section 1: Algebra

1.1 Find the sign of the permutation σ defined below:

 
1 2 3 4
σ = .
3 1 4 2

1.2 Let G be an arbitrary group and let a and b be any two distinct elements
of G. Which of the following statements are true?
(a) If m is the order of a and if n is the order of b, then the order of ab is the
l.c.m. of m and n.
(b) The order of ab equals the order of ba.
(c) The elements ab and ba are conjugate to each other.

1.3 Let G be the group of invertible upper triangular matrices in M2 (R). If

we write A ∈ G as  
a11 a12
A = ,
0 a22
which of the following define a normal subgroup of G?
(a) H = {A ∈ G | a11 = 1}.
(b) H = {A ∈ G | a11 = a22 }.
(c) H = {A ∈ G | a11 = a22 = 1}.

1.4 Give an example of an ideal in the ring C[0, 1] of all continuous real
valued functions on the interval [0, 1] with pointwise addition and pointwise
multiplication as the ring operations.

1.5 Which of the following sets of vectors form a basis for R3 ?

(a) {(−1, 0, 0), (1, 1, 1), (1, 2, 3)}.
(b) {(0, 1, 2), (1, 1, 1), (1, 2, 3)}.
(c) {(−1, 1, 0), (2, 0, 0), (0, 1, 1)}.

1.6 Write down a basis for the following subspace of R4 :

V = {(x, y, z, t) ∈ R4 | z = x + y, x + y + t = 0}.

1.7 Let A ∈ M2 (R). Which of the following statements are true?

(a) If (tr(A))2 > 4det(A), then A is diagonalizable over R.
(b) If (tr(A))2 = 4det(A), then A is diagonalizable over R.
(c) If (tr(A))2 < 4det(A), then A is diagonalizable over R.

1.8 Let V be the vector space of all polynomials in a single variable with real
coefficients and of degree less than, or equal to, 3. Equip this space with the
standard basis consisting of the elements 1, x, x2 and x3 . Consider the linear
transformation T : V → V defined by

T (p)(x) = xp00 (x) + 3xp0 (x) + 2p(x), for all p ∈ V.

Write down the corresponding matrix of T with respect to the standard basis.

3
1.9 With the notations and definitions of Problem 1.8 above, find p ∈ V such
that
xp00 (x) + 3xp0 (x) + 2p(x) = 11x3 + 14x2 + 7x + 2.
1.10 If α, β and γ are the roots of the equation

x3 − 3x2 + 4x − 4 = 0,

write down an equation of degree 3 whose roots are α2 , β 2 and γ 2 .

4
 Section 2: Analysis

2.1 Which of the following series are convergent?

(a)
∞ r
X 2n2 + 3
3+1
.
n=1
5n
(b)
∞
X (n + 1)n
3 .
n=1 nn+ 2
(c)
∞
X
n2 x(1 − x2 )n , where 0 < x < 1.
n=1

2.2 Evaluate:
    1
1 2 n n
lim 1+ 1+ ··· 1 + .
n→∞ n n n

2.3 In each of the following, evaluate the limit if the limit exists, or state
that the limit does not exist if that is the case.
(a)
[x]
lim .
x→0 x

(b)  
1
lim x .
x→0 x
(c)
cos( π2 cos x)
lim .
x→0 sin(sin x)

(Note: The symbol [x] denotes the greatest integer less than, or equal to, x.)

2.4 In each of the following find the points of continuity of the function f .
(a) 
0, if x ∈ Q,
f (x) =
1, if x 6∈ Q.
(b) 
0, if x ∈ Q.
f (x) = 2
x − 1, if x 6∈ Q.
2.5 Let f : R → R be differentiable at x = a and let f (a) > 0. Evaluate:
 1
 log x−log
f (x) a
lim .
x→a f (a)

5
2.6 Which of the following functions are differentiable at x = 0?
(a) (  
tan−1 |x|1
, if x 6= 0,
f (x) = π
2
, if x = 0.
(b)
1
f (x) = |x| 2 x.

(c)  
x2 cos πx  , if x 6= 0,

f (x) =
0, if x = 0.
2.7 Let x, y ∈]0, ∞[. Which of the following statements are true?
(a) | log(1 + x2 ) − log(1 + y 2 )| ≤ |x − y|.
(b) | sin2 x − sin2 y| ≤ |x − y|.
(c) | tan−1 x − tan−1 y| ≤ |x − y|.

2.8 For what values of x ∈ R is the following function decreasing?

f (x) = 2x3 − 9x2 + 12x + 4.

2.9 Which of the following πstatements are true?

(a) If n ∈ N, n > 2, then 02 sinn x dx is rational when n is even.
R
Rπ
(b) If n ∈ N, n > 2, then 02 sinn x dx is rational when n is odd.
Rπ
(c) If n ∈ N, n > 2, then 02 cosn x dx is irrational when n is even.

2.10 A right circular cylinder is inscribed in a sphere of radius a > 0. What

is the height of the cylinder when its volume is maximal?

6
 Section 3: Miscellaneous

3.1 Given a function u : R → R, define u+ (x) = max{u(x), 0} and u− (x) =

− min{u(x), 0}. If u1 and u2 are real valued functions defined on R, which
of the following statements are true?
(a) |u1 − u2 | = (u1 − u2 )+ + (u1 − u2 )− .
(b) max{u1 , u2 } = (u1 − u2 )+ + u2 .
(c) max{u1 , u2 } = (u1 − u2 )− + u1 .

3.2 Let a1 , · · · , an be positive real numbers. What is the minimum value of

a1 a2 an−1 an
+ + ··· + + ?
a2 a3 an a1
3.3 Let n be a fixed   integer. For 0 ≤ r ≤ n, let Cr denote the usual
positive
n
binomial coefficient , viz. the number of ways of choosing r objects
r
from n objects. Evaluate:
C0 C1 C2 Cn
− + − · · · + (−1)n .
1 2 3 n+1
3.4 Let a, b, c ∈ R. Evaluate:
 
 b+c a a 
 
 b c+a b .
 
 c c a+b 

3.5 Which of the following statements are true?

(a) For every n ∈ N, n3 − n is divisible by 6.
(b) For every n ∈ N, n7 − n is divisible by 42.
(c) Every perfect square is of the form 3m or 3m + 1 for some m ∈ N.

3.6 Find the sum of the following infinite series:

2 2.5 2.5.8
1+ + + + ···
6 6.12 6.12.18
3.7 Find the sum of the following infinite series:
1 1 1
− + − ···
1.2 2.3 3.4
3.8 Find the sum of the following infinite series:
1 4 9
+ + + ···
3! 4! 5!
3.9 Find the area of the triangle in the complex plane whose vertices are the
points representing the numbers 1, ω and ω 2 , the cube roots of unity.

3.10 Find the equation of the plane in R3 which passes through the point
(−10, 5, 4) and which is perpendicular to the line joining the points (4, −1, 2)
and (−3, 2, 3).

7
 Section 1: Algebra
1.1 Which of the following statements are true?
a. Every group of order 11 is cyclic.
b. Every group of order 111 is cyclic.
c. Every group of order 1111 is cyclic.

1.2 Let Sn denote the symmetric group of order n, i.e. the group of all
permutations of the n symbols {1, 2, · · · , n}. Given two permutations σ and
τ in Sn , we define the product στ as their composition got by applying σ
first and then applying τ to the set {1, 2, · · · , n}. Write down the following
permutation in S8 as the product of disjoint cycles:

(1 4 3 8 7)(5 4 8).
1.3 Write down all the permutations in S4 which are conjugate to the per-
mutation (1 2)(3 4).

1.4 Let R be a ring such that x2 = x for every x ∈ R. Which of the following
statements are true?
a. xn = x for every n ∈ N and every x ∈ R.
b. x = −x for every x ∈ R.
c. R is a commutative ring.

1.5 For a prime number p let Fp denote the field consisting of 0, 1, 2, · · · , p−1
with addition and multiplication modulo p. Which of the following quotient
rings are fields?
a.
F5 [x]/(x2 + x + 1)
b.
F2 [x]/(x3 + x + 1)
c.
F3 [x]/(x3 + x + 1)
1.6 Let V be the subspace of M2 (R) consisting of all matrices with trace zero
and such that the entries of the first row add up to zero. Write down a basis
for V .

1.7 Let V ⊂ Mn (R) be the subspace of all matrices such that the entries in
every row add up to zero and the entries in every column also add up to zero.
What is the dimension of V ?

1.8 Let T : M2 (R) → M2 (R) be the linear transformation defined by

T (A) = 2A + 3AT .
Write down the matrix of this transformation with respect to the basis
{Ei , 1 ≤ i ≤ 4} where
       
1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
E1 = , E2 = , E3 = , E4 = .
0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

3
1.9 Find the values of α ∈ R such that the matrix
 
3 α
α 5

has 2 as an eigenvalue.

1.10 Let A = (aij ) ∈ M3 (R) be such that aij = −aji for all 1 ≤ i, j ≤ 3. If
3i is an eigenvalue of A, find its other eigenvalues.

4
 Section 2: Analysis

2.1 Evaluate:   x  x 
lim x log 1 + − log .
x→∞ 2 2
2.2 Which of the following series are convergent?
a. ∞
X √ √
( n4 + 1 − n4 − 1).
n=1

b. ∞
1
X
((n3 + 1) 3 − n).
n=1
c.
1.2 2.3 3.4
+ + + ···
3.4.5 4.5.6 5.6.7
2.3 Find the points where the following function f : R → R is continuous:

0 if x is rational,
f (x) =
sin |x| if x is irrational.
2.4 Let f :]0, ∞[→]0, ∞[ be differentiable at a > 0. Evaluate:
 1
 log x−log
f (x) a
lim .
x→a f (a)
2.5 Define

x2 if x ∈]0, 2[ and x is rational,
f (x) =
2x − 1 if x ∈]0, 2[ and x is irrational.

Which of the following statements are true?

a. f is not differentiable at x = 1.
b. f is differentiable at x = 1.
c. f is differentiable only at x = 1.

2.6 Which of the following statements are true?

a. If
a1 a2 an
a0 + + + ··· + = 0,
2 3 n+1
where ai ∈ R for 0 ≤ i ≤ n, then the polynomial

a0 + a1 x + a2 x2 + · · · + an xn

has a root in the interval ]0, 1[.

b. If f : [a, b] → R is continuous and is differentiable in ]a, b[, where a > 0
and if
f (a) f (b)
= ,
a b
then there exists x0 ∈]a, b[ such that x0 f 0 (x0 ) = f (x0 ).
c. The polynomial x13 + 7x3 − 5 has only one real root.

5
2.7 Evaluate: Z 1
1
max{x, − x} dx.
0 2
2.8 In the collection of all right circular cylinders of fixed volume c, what is
the relationship between the height h and the radius r of the cylinder which
has the least total surface area?

2.9 Write down the Taylor series expansion √ about the origin valid in the
interval ] − 1, 1[ for the function f (x) = log 1 + x2 .

2.10 Let a > 0. Find the sum of the infinite series:

(log a)2 (log a)4 (log a)6
1+ + + + ···
2! 4! 6!

6
 Section 3: Geometry

3.1 Find the reflection of the point (2, 1) with respect to the line x = y in
the xy-plane.

3.2 Find the area of the circle in the xy-plane which has its centre at the
point (1,2) and which has the line x = y as a tangent.

3.3 Find the incentre of the triangle in the xy-plane whose sides are given
by the lines x = 0, y = 0 and x3 + y4 = 1.

3.4 Let A and B be fixed points in a plane such that the length of the line
segment AB is d. Let the point P describe an ellipse by moving on the plane
such that the sum of the lengths of the line segments P A and P B is a con-
stant, `. Express the length of the semi-major axis, a and the length of the
semi-minor axis, b, of the ellipse in terms of d and `.

3.5 Let A = (aij ) be a non-zero 2 × 2 symmetric matrix with real entries.

Let
S = {(x, y) ∈ R2 | a11 x2 + 2a12 xy + a22 y 2 = 0}.
Which of the following conditions imply that S is unbounded?
a. det(A) > 0.
b. det(A) = 0.
c. det(A) < 0.

3.6 Let A ∈ M2 (R) define an invertible linear transformation on R2 . Let T

be a triangle with one of its vertices at the origin and of area a. What is the
area of the triangle which is the image of T under this transformation?

3.7 Find the area of the ellipse whose equation in the xy-plane is given by

5x2 − 6xy + 5y 2 = 8.

3.8 Let a, b and c be positive real numbers. Find the equation of the sphere
which passes through the origin and through the points where the plane
x y z
+ + = 1
a b c
meets the coordinate axes.

3.9 Consider the sphere x2 + y 2 + z 2 = r2 . Let (a, b, c) 6= (0, 0, 0) be a point

in the interior of this sphere. Write down the equation of the plane whose
intersection with the sphere is a circle whose centre is the point (a, b, c).

3.10 Find the area of the polygon whose vertices are represented in the
complex plane by the eighth roots of unity.

7
 Section 1: Algebra

1.1 Solve the following equation, given that its roots are in arithmetic pro-
gression.
x3 − 6x2 + 13x − 10 = 0.

1.2 Evaluate: n  
X k n k
t (1 − t)n−k
n k
k=1
 
n
where stands for the usual binomial coefficient giving the number of
k
ways of choosing k objects from n objects.

1.3 Which of the following form a group under matrix multiplication?

a.   
a a
: a 6= 0, a ∈ R .
a a
b.   
a b
: |a| + |b| =
6 0, a, b ∈ R .
−b a
c.   
cos θ sin θ
: θ ∈ [0, 2π[ .
− sin θ cos θ

1.4 In each of the following, state whether the given set is a normal subgroup
or, is a subgroup which is not normal or, is not a subgroup of GLn (C).
a. The set of matrices with determinant equal to unity.
b. The set of invertible upper triangular matrices.
c. The set of invertible matrices whose trace is zero.

1.5 Let S5 denote the symmetric group of all permutations of the five sym-
bols {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}. What is the highest possible order of an element in this
group?

1.6 On R2 , consider the linear transformation which maps the point (x, y)
to the point (2x + y, x − 2y). Write down the matrix of this transformation
with respect to the basis
{(1, 1), (1, −1)}.

1.7 Let V be the subspace of M2 (R) consisting of matrices such that the
entries of the first row add up to zero. Write down a basis for V .

1.8 Let A ∈ M2 (R) such that tr(A) = 2 and det(A) = 3. Write down the
characteristic polynomial of A−1 .

3
1.9 A non-zero matrix A ∈ Mn (R) is said to be nilpotent if Ak = 0 for some
positive integer k ≥ 2. If A is nilpotent, which of the following statements
are true?
a. Necessarily, k ≤ n for the smallest such k.
b. The matrix I + A is invertible.
c. All the eigenvalues of A are zero.

1.10 Write down a necessary and sufficient condition, in terms of a, b, c and

d (which are assumed to be real numbers), for the matrix
 
a b
c d

not to have a real eigenvalue.

4
 Section 2: Analysis

2.1 Let {xn }∞n=1 be a sequence of real numbers. Pick out the cases which
imply that the sequence is Cauchy.
a. |xn − xn+1 | ≤ 1/n for all n.
b. |xn − xn+1 | ≤ 1/n2 for all n.
c. |xn − xn+1 | ≤ 1/2n for all n.

2.2 Pick out the convergent series.

a. ∞ 
X 1

(n3 + 1) 3 − n .
n=1

b. ∞
X (n + 1)n
3 .
n=1 nn+ 2
c. ∞
X 1
1
1+ n
.
n=1 n
2.3 List the sets of points of discontinuity, if any, for the following functions.
a. f : [−1, 1] → R defined by

1 if x is irrational,
f (x) =
0 if x is rational.

b. f : [−1, 1] → R defined by

x if x is irrational,
f (x) =
0 if x is rational.

c. f : [0, ∞[→ R defined by


(x) if [x] is even,
f (x) =
1 − (x) if [x] is odd

where [x] is the largest integer less than, or equal to x and (x) = x − [x].

2.4 Let {fn } be a sequence of functions defined on [0, 1]. Determine f (x) =
limn→∞ fn (x), for each of the following.
a. fn (x) = n2 x(1 − x2 )n .
b. fn (x) = nx(1 − x2 )n .
c. fn (x) = x(1 − x2 )n .

2.5 For each of the cases (a), (b) and (c) of Question 2.4 above, determine
if the following claim is true or false:
Z 1 Z 1
lim fn (x) dx = f (x) dx.
n→∞ 0 0

5
2.6 Pick out the true statements:
a. | sin x − sin y| ≤ |x − y| for all x, y ∈ R.
b. | sin 2x − sin 2y| ≤ |x − y| for all x, y ∈ R.
c. | sin2 x − sin2 y| ≤ |x − y| for all x, y ∈ R.

2.7 Let x > 0. Fill in the blanks with the correct sign >, ≥, < or ≤:
a.
x
tan−1 x . . . . . . .
1 + x2
b.
x
log(1 + x) . . . . . . .
1+x
2.8 Write down explicitly the expression for the n-th derivative of the func-
tion f (x) = x2 e3x .

2.9 Find all the square roots of the complex number 2i.

2.10 Determine the points where f 0 (z) exists and write down its value at
those points in the following cases:
a. f (z) = y(x + iy)
b. f (z) = x2 + iy 2
where z = x + iy, x, y ∈ R.

6
 Section 3: Geometry

3.1 Find the area of the pentagon whose vertices are the fifth roots of unity
in the complex plane.

3.2 Let a, b ∈ R. If P is the point in the plane whose coordinates are (x, y),
define f (P ) = ax + by.Let the line segment AB bisect the line segment CD.
If f (A) = 5, f (B) = 5 and f (C) = 10, find f (D).

3.3 Which of the following sets are bounded in the plane R2 ?

a. {(x, y) : 2x2 + 2xy + 2y 2 = 1}.
b. {(x, y) : xy = 1}.
√
c. {(x, y) : y ≥ 0, |x| = y}.

3.4 Which of the sets described in Question 3.3 above are made up of two
(or more) disjoint connected components?

3.5 Let x1 > 0 and y1 > 0. If the portion of a line intercepted between the
coordinate axes is bisected at the point (x1 , y1 ), write down the equation of
the line.

3.6 Find λ such that the equation

x2 + 5xy + 4y 2 + 3x + 2y + λ = 0

represents a pair of straight lines.

3.7 Write down the condition that the plane `x + my + nz = p is tangent to

the sphere x2 + y 2 + z 2 = r2 .

3.8 Write down the equation of the plane parallel to 4x + 2y − 7z + 6 = 0

which passes through the point (2, −4, 5).

3.9 Write down the equation of the normal to the parabola y 2 = 4ax at the
point (at2 , 2at).

3.10 A plane moves so that its distance from the origin is a constant p. Write
down the equation of the locus of the centroid of the triangle formed by its
intersection with the three coordinate planes.

7
 Section 1: Algebra

1.1 Given that the sum of two of its roots is zero, solve the equation:

6x4 − 3x3 + 8x2 − x + 2 = 0.

1.2 From the following subgroups of GL2 (C), pick out those which are
abelian:
a. the subgroup of invertible upper triangular matrices;
b. the subgroup S defined by
  
a b 2 2
S = ; a, b ∈ R, and |a| + |b| = 1 .
−b a

c. the subgroup U defined by

  
a b 2 2
U = ; a, b ∈ C, and |a| + |b| = 1 .
−b a

1.3 Let ( )
4
X
S3 = (x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 ) ∈ R4 : x2i = 1 .
i=1

This can be identified with the set U of Question 1.2c above via the identi-
fication
a = x1 + ix2 , b = x3 + ix4
and hence automatically acquires a group structure. Compute the inverse of
the element ( 21 , 12 , 12 , 21 ) in this group.

1.4 Pick out the pairs which are conjugate to each other in the respective
groups:
a.    
1 1 1 0
and in GL2 (R);
0 1 1 1
b.    
1 1 1 0
and in SL2 (R);
0 1 1 1
c.    
1 3 1 0
and in GL2 (R).
0 2 0 2
1.5 Let R be a (commutative) ring (with identity). Let I and J be ideals
in R. Pick out the true statements:
a. I ∪ J is an ideal in R;
b. I ∩ J is an ideal in R;
c.
I + J = {x + y : x ∈ I, y ∈ J }
is an ideal in R.

3
1.6 Pick out the rings which are integral domains:
a. R[x], the ring of all polynomials in one variable with real coeffcients;
b. C 1 [0, 1], the ring of continuously differentiable real-valued functions on
the interval [0, 1] (with respect to pointwise addition and pointwise multipli-
cation);
c. Mn (R), the ring of all n × n matrices with real entries.

1.7 Let W ⊂ R4 be the subspace defined by

W = {x ∈ R4 : Ax = 0}

where  
2 1 2 3
A = .
1 1 3 0
Write down a basis for W .

1.8 let V be the space of all polynomials in one variable with real coefficients
and of degree less than, or equal to, 3. Define the linear transformation

T (α0 + α1 x + α2 x2 + α3 x3 ) = α0 + α1 (1 + x) + α2 (1 + x)2 + α3 (1 + x)3 .

Write down the matrix of T with respect to the basis

{1, 1 + x, 1 + x2 , 1 + x3 }.

1.9 Let A be a 2 × 2 matrix with real entries which is not a diagonal matrix
and which satisfies A3 = I. Pick out the true statements:
a. tr(A) = −1;
b. A is diagonalizable over R;
c. λ = 1 is an eigenvalue of A.

1.10 Let A be a symmetric n × n matrix with real entries, which is positive

semi-definite, i.e. xT Ax ≥ 0 for every (column) vector x, where xT denotes
the (row) vector which is the transpose of x. Pick out the true statements:
a. the eigenvalues of A are all non-negative;
b. A is invertible;
c. the principal minor ∆k of A (i.e. the determinant of the k × k matrix
obtained from the first k rows and first k columns of A) is non-negative for
each 1 ≤ k ≤ n.

4
 Section 2: Analysis
2.1 Evaluate:
cosecx
lim (1 + 3x2 )5 cot x+2 x .
x→0
2.2 Test the following series for convergence:
a. ∞
X √
(3 n3 + 1 − n);
n=1
b.
1 3 5 7
+ + + + ···
1.2.3 2.3.4 3.4.5 4.5.6
2.3 Find the sum of the infinite series:
1 5 5.8 5.8.11
+ + + + ···
6 6.12 6.12.18 6.12.18.24
2.4 Let [x] denote the largest integer less than, or equal to, x ∈ R. Find the
points of discontinuity (if any) of the following functions:
a. f (x) = [x2 ] sin πx, x > 0;
b. f (x) = [x] + (x − [x])[x] , x ≥ 1/2.

2.5 Pick out the uniformly continuous functions:

a. f (x) = cos x cos πx , x ∈]0, 1[;
b. f (x) = sin x cos πx , x ∈]0, 1[;
c. f (x) = sin2 x, x ∈ [0, ∞[;

2.6 Evaluate: n
X
kekx , x ∈ R\{0}.
k=1
2.7 Let f : R → R be a function which is differentiable at x = a. Evaluate
the following:
a.
an f (x) − xn f (a)
lim ;
x→a x−a
b. " k   #
X j
lim n f a+ − kf (a) .
n→∞
j=1
n
2.8 Find the cube roots of −i.

2.9 Evaluate: Z
z+2
dz
Γ z
iθ
where Γ is the semi-circle z = 2e , θ varying from 0 to π.

2.10 Find the points z in the complex plane where f 0 (z) exists and evaluate
it at those points:
a. f (z) = x2 + iy 2 ;
b. f (z) = zIm(z), where Im(z) denotes the imaginary part of z.

5
 Section 3: Geometry
3.1 Let BC be a fixed line segment of length d in the plane. Let A be a
point which moves such that sum of the lengths AB and AC is a constant
k. Find the maximum value of the area of the triangle ∆ABC.

3.2 Let A = (0, 1) and B = (2, 0) in the plane. Let O be the origin and
C = (2, 1). Let P move on the segment OB and let Q move on the segment
AC. Find the coordinates of P and Q for which the length of the path con-
sisting of the segments AP, P Q and QB is least.

3.3 A regular 2N -sided polygon of perimeter L has its vertices lying on a

circle. Find the radius of the circle and the area of the polygon.

3.4 Let BC be a fixed line segment of length d and let S be a fixed point
whose distance from the line BC is 2a. A point A moves such that the alti-
tude of the triangle ∆ABC from the vertex A is equal to the length of the
line segment AS. Find the minimum possible value of the area of the triangle
∆ABC.

3.5 Pick out the bounded sets:

a. S is the set of all points in the plane such that the product of its distances
from a fixed pair of orthogonal straight lines is a constant;
2
b. S = {(x,
n y) : 4x2 − 2xy + yo2 = 1};
2
c. S = (x, y) ; x 3 + y 3 = 1 .

3.6 A circle in the plane R2 centred at C and of unit radius moves without
slipping on the positive x-axis with C moving in the upper half-plane. Write
down the parametric equations of the locus of the point P on the circle which
coincides with the origin at the initial position of the circle and the parameter
θ being the angle through which the radius CP has turned from the initial
vertical position.

3.7 What are the direction cosines of the line joining the point (1, −8, −2)
to the point (3, −5, 4) in R3 ?

3.8 Find the equation of the plane passing through the point (1, −2, 1) and
which is perpendicular to the planes 3x + y + z − 2 = 0 and x − 2y + z + 4 = 0.

3.9 Find the equation of the plane containing the line

x−1 y+1 z−3
= =
2 −1 4
and which is perpendicular to the plane x + 2y + z = 12.

3.10 A moving plane passes through a fixed point (a, b, c) (which is not the
origin) and meets the coordinate axes at the points A, B and C, all away
from the origin O. Find the locus of the centre of the sphere passing through
the points O, A, B and C.

6
 Section 1: Algebra

1.1 Let a, b ∈ R and assume that x = 1 is a root of the polynomial

p(x) = x4 + ax3 + bx2 + ax + 1.

Find the range of values of a for which p has a complex root which is not real.

1.2 Let GLn (R) denote the group of all n ×n matrices with real entries (with
respect to matrix multiplication) which are invertible. Pick out the normal
subgroups from the following:
a. The subgroup of all real orthogonal matrices.
b. The subgroup of all invertible diagonal matrices.
c. The subgroup of all matrices with determinant equal to unity.

1.3 Pick out the true statements:

a. The set   
a a
| a ∈ R, a 6= 0
a a
is a group with respect to matrix multiplication.
b. The set   
a b
| a, b, c, d ∈ R
c d
is a commutative ring with identity with respect to matrix addition and
matrix multiplication.
c. The set   
a b
| a, b ∈ R
−b a
is a field with respect to matrix addition and matrix multiplication.

1.4 Let C[0, 1] denote the ring of all continuous real-valued functions on [0, 1]
with respect to pointwise addition and pointwise multiplication. Pick out
the true statements:
a. C[0, 1] is an integral domain.
b. Let a ∈ [0, 1]. Set

I = {f ∈ C[0, 1] | f (a) = 0} .

Then I is an ideal in C[0, 1].

c. If I is any proper ideal in C[0, 1], then there exists at least one point
a ∈ [0, 1] such that f (a) = 0 for all f ∈ I.

3
1.5 Let V be the real vector space of all polynomials in one variable with
real coefficients and of degree less than, or equal to, 3, provided with the
standard basis {1, x, x2 , x3 }. If

p(x) = a0 + a1 x + a2 x2 + a3 x3 ,

define
T (p)(x) = a0 + a1 (x + 1) + a2 (x + 1)2 + a3 (x + 1)3 .
Write down the matrix representing the linear transformation T with respect
to this basis.

1.6 Let V be the real vector space of all polynomials in one variable with real
coefficients and of degree less than, or equal to, 5. Let W be the subspace
defined by
W = {p ∈ V | p(1) = p0 (2) = 0}.
What is the dimension of W ?

1.7 Let A be a non-zero 2 × 2 matrix with real entries. Pick out the true
statements:
a. If A2 = A, then A is diagonalizable.
b. If A2 = 0, then A is diagonalizable.
c. If A is invertible, then

A = (tr(A))I − (det(A))A−1

where tr(A) and det(A) denote the trace and determinant of A respectively.

1.8 Let A be an n × n matrix with real entries. Pick out the true statements:
a. There exists a real symmetric n × n matrix B such that B 2 = A∗ A.
b. If A is symmetric, there exists a real symmetric n × n matrix B such that
B 2 = A.
c. If A is symmetric, there exists a real symmetric n × n matrix B such that
B 3 = A.

1.9 Let S = {λ1 , · · · , λn } be an ordered set of n real numbers, not all equal,
but not all necessarily distinct. Pick out the true statements:
a. There exists an n × n matrix with complex entries, which is not self-
adjoint, whose set of eigenvalues is given by S.
b. There exists an n × n self-adjoint, non-diagonal matrix with complex en-
tries whose set of eigenvalues is given by S.
c. There exists an n × n symmetric, non-diagonal matrix with real entries
whose set of eigenvalues is given by S.

1.10 Let p be a prime number and let Zp denote the field of integers modulo
p. Find the number of 2 × 2 invertible matrices with entries from this field.

4
 Section 2: Analysis

2.1 Let f : R → R be continuously differentiable. Evaluate:

n  
1X 0 k
lim f .
n→∞ n n
k=1

2.2 In each of the following verify whether the series is absolutely convergent,
conditionally convergent or divergent:
a. ∞ r
X
n n
(−1)
n=1
n+1
b. ∞
X 1 1
(−1)n sin
n=1
n n
c. ∞
X n
(−1)n
n=1
(n + 1)(n + 2)
2.3 Pick out the uniformly continuous functions over the interval ]0, 1[:
a. f (x) = sin x1
b. f (x) = x sin √1x
c. f (x) = exp(− x12 )

2.4 In each of the following, verify if the given function f : R → R is con-

tinuously differentiable, differentiable but not continuously differentiable or
not differentiable at the origin:
a. f (x) = x sin √1x , if x 6= 0 and f (0) = 0.
3
b. f (x) = |x| 2
c. f (x) = x sin |x|
√
2.5 Let f : R → R be such that f (0) = 0 and f 0 (x) = 1/ 1 + x2 . Write
down the coefficient of x7 in the Taylor series expansion of f about the origin.

2.6 Pick out the true statements:

a. | cos2 x − cos2 y| ≤ |x − y| for all x, y ∈ R.
b. If f : R → R satisfies
√
2
|f (x) − f (y)| ≤ |x − y|

for all x, y ∈ R, then f must be a constant function.

c. Let f : R → R be continuously differentiable and such that |f 0 (x)| ≤ 4/5
for all x ∈ R. Then, there exists a unique x ∈ R such that f (x) = x.

2.7 Sum the following infinite series:

1 5 5.8 5.8.11
+ + + + ···
6 6.12 6.12.18 6.12.18.24
5
2.8 Let C be the semicircle z = 2eiθ where θ varies from 0 to π, in the
complex plane. Evaluate: Z
z+2
dz.
C z
2.9 Find the order of the pole and its residue at z = 0 of the function
sinh z
f (z) = .
z4
2.10 Let C denote the circle |z| = 3 in the complex plane, described in the
positive (i.e. anti-clockwise) sense. Evaluate:

2z 2 − z − 2
Z
dz.
C z−2

6
 Section 3: Geometry

3.1 Let f (x, y) = ax + by + c where a, b, c ∈ R and c > 0. Find the largest

value of r such that f (x, y) > 0 for all pairs (x, y) satisfying x2 + y 2 < r2 .

3.2 Find the value of a such that the lines 3x + y + 2 = 0, 2x − y + 3 = 0

and x + ay − 3 = 0 are concurrent.

3.3 Find the condition that amongst the pair of lines represented by the
equation ax2 + 2hxy + by 2 = 0, the slope of one is twice that of the other.

3.4 Find the condition that the straight line y = mx + c is a tangent to the
circle x2 + y 2 = a2 .

3.5 Let (x1 , y1 ) lie on the ellipse

x2 y 2
+ 2 = 1.
a2 b
Find the slope of the normal to the ellipse at this point.

3.6 Find the lengths of the semi-axes of the ellipse

5x2 − 6xy + 5y 2 = 8.

3.7 Let Ln denote the perimeter and An the area of a regular polygon of n
sides, each of whose vertices is at unit distance from its centroid. Evaluate:

L2n
lim .
n→∞ An

3.8 Find the coordinates of the reflection of the point (1, −2, 3) with respect
to the plane 2x − 3y + 2z + 3 = 0.

3.9 Find the area of the circle formed by the intersection of the plane x +
2y + 2z − 20 = 0 with the sphere

x2 + y 2 + z 2 − 2x − 4y − 6z − 2 = 0.

3.10 A sphere of radius r passes through the origin and the other points
where it meets the coordinate axes are A, B and C. Find the distance of the
centroid of the triangle ABC from the origin.

7
 Section 1: Algebra

1.1 A polynomial in the variable x leaves a remainder 2 when divided by

(x − 3) and a remainder 3 when divided by (x − 2). Find the remainder when
it is divided by (x − 2)(x − 3).

1.2 Let a1 , · · · , an ∈ R. Evaluate the determinant:

 
 1 + a1
 a2 ··· an 

 a1
 1 + a2 · · · an 
.
 ··· ··· ··· ··· 
 
 a1 a2 · · · 1 + an 

1.3 Find the roots of the equation

27x3 + 42x2 − 28x − 8 = 0

given that they are in geometric progression.

1.4 Which of the following form a group?

a.   
a a
G = : a ∈ R, a 6= 0
a a
with respect to matrix multiplication.
b. Z4 , the set of all integers modulo 4, with respect to multiplication.
c.
G = {f : [0, 1] → R ; f continuous}
with respect to the operation defined by (f.g)(x) = f (x)g(x) for all x ∈ [0, 1].

1.5 Let G be a group and let H and K be subgroups of order 8 and 15

respectively. What is the order of the subgroup H ∩ K?

1.6 Let G be a finite abelian group of odd order. Which of the following
define an automorphism of G?
a. The map x 7→ x−1 for all x ∈ G.
b. The map x 7→ x2 for all x ∈ G.
c. The map x 7→ x−2 for all x ∈ G.

3
1.7 An algebraic number is one which occurs as the root of a monic polyno-
mial with
√ rational coefficients. Which of the following numbers are algebraic?
a. 5 + 3
1
b. 7 + 2 3
c. cos 2π
n
, where n ∈ N

1.8 Given that the matrix  

α 1
2 3
has 1 as an eigenvalue, compute its trace and its determinant.

1.9 Let A be a non-diagonal 2 × 2 matrix with complex entries such that

A = A−1 . Write down its characteristic and minimal polynomials.

1.10 Pick out the true statements:

a. Let A and B be two arbitrary n × n matrices. Then

(A + B)2 = A2 + 2AB + B 2 .

b. There exist n × n matrices A and B such that

AB − BA = I.

c. Let A and B be two arbitrary n × n matrices. If B is invertible, then

tr(A) = tr(B −1 AB)

where tr(M ) denotes the trace of an n × n matrix M .

4
 Section 2: Analysis

2.1 Evaluate:   x x
lim x log 1 + − log .
x→∞ 2 2
2.2 Evaluate: Z π
2
log tan θ dθ.
0
2.3 Test the following series for convergence:
a. ∞ 
X 1
n
n −1
n

n=1

b. ∞ √
X an
n=1
n
P∞
where n=1 an is a convergent series of positive terms.

2.4 Which of the following functions are continuous?

a.
1
f (x) = [x] + (x − [x])[x] , x ≥ ,
2
where [x] denotes the largest integer less than, or equal to, x.
b.
x2 enx + x
f (x) = lim nx , x ∈ R.
n→∞ e +1
c.
1
f (x) = lim log (en + xn ) , x ≥ 0.
n→∞ n

2.5 Write down the coefficient of x7 in the Taylor series expansion of the
function √
f (x) = log(x + 1 + x2 )
about the origin.

2.6 Let f : R → R be differentiable at x = a. Evaluate:

     
1 2  n
lim f a + 2 + f a + 2 + · · · + f a + 2 − nf (a) .
n→∞ n n n

5
2.7 Let
f (x, y) = x4 − 2x2 y 2 + y 4 + x2 − 6xy + 9y 2 .
Examine whether f admits a local maximum or minimum at (0, 0).

2.8 Let z = x + iy ∈ C and let f be defined by

f (z) = y − x − 3x2 i.

If C is the straightline segment joining z = 0 to z = 1 + i, compute

Z
f (z) dz.
C

2.9 Let C be the contour consisting of the lines x = ±2 and y = ±2, described
counterclockwise in the plane. Compute
Z
z
dz.
C 2z + 1

2.10 Let
5z − 2
f (z) = .
z(z − 1)
Write down the residues of f at each of its poles.

6
 Section 3: Geometry

3.1 Let M1 ad M2 be two points in the plane whose polar coordinates are
given as (12, 4π/9) and (12, −2π/9) respectively. Find the polar coordinates
of the midpoint of the line segment joining these points.
√
3.2 The length of the sides of a rhombus is given as 5 2. If two of its
opposite vertices have coordinates (3, −4) and (1, 2), find the length of the
altitude of the rhombus.

3.3 What figure does the equation

2
X
aij xi xj = 1
i,j=1

represent when A = (aij ) is the matrix given by

a.  
5 3
A = ?
3 2
b.  
2 3
A = ?
3 2
3.4 Find the locus of a point which moves such that the ratio of its distance
from the point (−5, 0) to its distance from the line 5x + 16 = 0 is 5/4.

3.5 Express the equations of the curves given below in parametric form in
the form f (x, y) = 0.
a.    
a 1 b 1
x = t+ , y = t− .
2 t 2 t
b.
x = 2R cos2 t, y = R sin 2t.
3.6 Let An be the area of the polygon whose vertices are given by the n-th
roots of unity in the complex plane. Evaluate:

lim An .
n→∞

7
3.7 Write down the equation of the diameter of the sphere

x2 + y 2 + z 2 + 2x − 6y + z − 11 = 0

which is perpendicular to the plane 5x − y + 2z = 17.

3.8 Find the values of a for which the plane x + y + z = a is tangent to the
sphere x2 + y 2 + z 2 = 12.

3.9 Let d(P, Q) denote the distance between two points P and Q in the plane.
Let

A = {(x, y) ∈ R2 : xy = 0}, and B = {(x, y) ∈ R2 : xy = 1}.

Compute:
inf d(P, Q).
p∈A,Q∈B

3.10 A ray, having the origin as its end-point, initially coincides with the x-
axis and rotates about the origin in the plane with constant angular velocity
ω. A point starts at the origin and moves along the ray with constant velocity
v. Write down the parametric equations of the locus of the point in the form
x = ϕ(t), y = ψ(t), with time t as the parameter.

8
 Section 1: Algebra
1.1 Let α, β and γ be the roots of the polynomial
x3 + 2x2 − 3x − 1.
Compute:
1 1 1
+ + .
αβ βγ γα
1.2 Let G be a cyclic group of order 8. How many of the elements of G are
generators of this group?

1.3 Which of the following statements are true?

(a) Any group of order 15 is abelian.
(b) Any group of order 25 is abelian.
(c) Any group of order 55 is abelian.

1.4 A real number is said to be algebraic if it is the root of a non-zero poly-

nomial with integer coefficients. Which of the following real numbers are
algebraic?
(a) cos 2π5
1
(b) e 2 log 2
1 1
(c) 5 7 + 7 5
√ √
1.5 Let Z + 3Z denote the ring of numbers
√ of the form a + b 3, where a
and b ∈ Z. Find the condition that a + b 3 is a unit in this ring.

1.6 Let Fp denote the field Z/pZ, where p is a prime. Let Fp [x] be the asso-
ciated polynomial ring. Which of the following quotient rings are fields?
(a) F5 [x]/{x2 + x + 1}
(b) F2 [x]/{x3 + x + 1}
(c) F3 [x]/{x3 + x + 1}

1.7 Let G denote the group of invertible 2 × 2 matrices with entries from F2
(the group operation being matrix multiplication). What is the order of G?

1.8 Let A be a 3 × 3 upper triangular matrix with real entries. If a11 =

1, a22 = 2 and a33 = 3, determine α, β and γ such that
A−1 = αA2 + βA + γI.

3
1.9 Let V be a vector space such that dim(V ) = 5. Let W and Z be sub-
spaces of V such that dim(W ) = 3 and dim(Z) = 4. Write down all possible
values of dim(W ∩ Z).

1.10 Let T : R2 → R2 be the linear map which maps each point in R2 to its
reflection on the x-axis. What is the determinant of T ? What is its trace?

4
 Section 2: Analysis

2.1 Evaluate:
lim (1 − sin x cos x)cosec2x .
x→0

2.2 Evaluate: n
1 X 5
lim k .
n→∞ n6
k=1

2.3 Determine if each of the following series is absolutely convergent, condi-

tionally convergent or divergent:
(a)
∞
X cos nx
(−1)n , x ∈ R.
n=1
n2
(b)
∞
X n
(−1)n .
n=1
n+2
(c)
∞
X 1
(−1)n−1 .
n=1
2n + 3
2.4 Let f : R2 → R be a mapping such that f (0, 0) = 0. Determine which
of the following are jointly continuous at (0, 0):
(a)
x2 y 2
f (x, y) = 2 , (x, y) 6= (0, 0).
x + y2
(b)
xy
f (x, y) = , (x, y) 6= (0, 0).
x2 + y2
(c)
x sin y1 + y sin x1 if xy 6= 0

f (x, y) =
0 otherwise.
2.5 Which of the following functions are uniformly continuous?
(a) f (x) = sin2 x, x ∈ R.
(b) f (x) = x sin x1 , x ∈]0, 1[.
(c) f (x) = x2 , x ∈ R.

5
2.6 Which of the following maps are differentiable everywhere?
(a) f (x) = |x|3 x, x ∈ R. √
(b) f : R → R such that |f (x) − f (y)| ≤ |x − y| 2 for all x and y ∈ R.
(c) f (x) = x3 sin √1 when x 6= 0 and f (0) = 0.
|x|

2.7 Pick out theP true statements:

P P
(a) If the series n an and n bn are convergent, then n an bn is also con-
vergent. P P
(b) IfP the series n an is convergent and if n bn is absolutely convergent,
then n an bn is P absolutely convergent.
(c) If the series n anP is convergent, an ≥ 0 for all n, and if the sequence
{bn } is bounded, then n an bn is absolutely convergent.

2.8 Write down an equation of degree four satisfied by all the complex fifth
roots of unity.

2.9 Evaluate: π 
2 sin +i .
2
2.10 Let Γ be a simple closed contour in the complex plane described in the
positive sense. Evaluate
z 3 + 2z
Z
3
dz
Γ (z − z0 )

when
(a) z0 lies inside Γ, and
(b) z0 lies outside Γ.

6
 Section 3: Geometry

3.1 What is the locus of a point which moves in the plane such that the
product of the squares of its distances from the coordinate axes is a positive
constant?

3.2 Let
1 − t2 2t
x(t) = 2
and y(t) = .
1+t 1 + t2
What curve does this represent as t varies over [−1, 1]?

3.3 Consider the line 2x − 3y + 1 = 0 and the point P = (1, 2). Pick out the
points that lie on the same side of this line as P .
(a) (−1, 0)
(b) (−2, 1)
(c) (0, 0)

3.4 Consider the points A = (0, 1) and B = (2, 2) in the plane. Find the
coordinates of the point P on the x-axis such that the segments AP and BP
make the same angle with the normal to the x-axis at P .

3.5 Let K = {(x, y) | |x| + |y| ≤ 1}. Let P = (−2, 2). Find the point in K
which is closest to P .

3.6 Let S be the sphere in R3 with centre at the origin and of radius R.
Write down the unit outward normal vector to S at a point (x1 , x2 , x3 ) on S.

3.7 Pick out the sets which are bounded:

2 2
(a) {(x, y) | x 3 + y 3 = 1}.
(b) {(x, y) | (x + y)(x − y) = 2}.
(c) {(x, y) |x + 2y ≥ 2, 2x + 5y ≤ 10, x ≥ 0, y ≥ 0}.

3.8 Find the length of the radius of the circle obtained by the intersection of
the sphere
x2 + y 2 + z 2 − 2x − 4y − 6z − 2 = 0
and the plane x + 2y + 2z − 20 = 0.

7
3.9 Let λ1 and λ2 be the eigenvalues of the matrix
 
a h
.
h b

Assume that λ1 > λ2 > 0. Write down the lengths of the semi-axes of the
ellipse
ax2 + 2hxy + by 2 = 1
as functions of λ1 and λ2 .

3.10 Let V be the number of vertices, E, the number of edges and F , the
number of faces of a polyhedron in R3 . Write down the values of V, E, F and
V − E + F for the following polyhedra:
(a) a tetrahedron.
(b) a pyramid on a square base.
(c) a prism with a triangular cross section.

8
 Section 1: Algebra

1.1 Let A be the matrix

 √ 
1
√ 2
A=
− 2 −1

Compute the matrix B = 3A − 2A2 − A3 − 5A4 + A6 .

1.2 How many elements of order 2 are there in the group

(Z/4Z)3 ?

1.3 Consider the permutation π given by

n = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
π(n) = 5 7 8 10 6 1 2 4 9 3

Find the order of the permutation π.

1.4 Consider the system of simultaneous equations

2x −2y −2z = a1
−2x +2y −3z = a2
4x −4y +5z = a3

Write down the condition to be satisfied by a1 , a2 , a3 for this system NOT to

have a solution.

√ Write
1.5 √ down a polynomial of degree 4 with integer coefficients which has
3 + 5 as a root.

1.6 A finite group G acts on a finite set X, the action of g ∈ G on x ∈ X

being denoted by gx. For each x ∈ X the stabiliser at x is the subgroup
Gx = {g ∈ G : gx = x}. If x, y ∈ G and if y = gx, then express Gy in terms
of Gx .

1.7. Write down the last two digits of 91500 .

3
1.8 A permutation matrix A is a nonsingular square matrix in which each
row has exactly one entry = 1, the other entries being all zeros. If A is an
n × n permutation matrix, what are the possible values of determinant of A?

1.9 Let V be the vector space of all polynomials of degree at most equal to
2n with real coefficients. Let V0 stand for the vector subspace V0 = {P ∈ V :
P (1) + P (−1) = 0} and Ve stand for the subspace of polynomials which have
terms of even degree alone. If dim(U) stands for the dimension of a vector
space U, then find dim(V0 ) and dim(V0 ∩ Ve ).

1.10 Let a, b, m and n be integers, m, n positive, am + bn = 1. Find an

integer x (in terms of a, b, m, n, p, q) so that

x ≡ p (mod m)
x ≡ q (mod n)

where p and q are given integers.

1.11 In the ring Z/20Z of integers modulo 20, does the equivalence class 17
have a multiplicative inverse? Write down an inverse if your answer is yes.

1.12 Let R[x] be the ring of polynomials in the indeterminate x over the field
of real numbers and let J be the ideal generated by the polynomial x3 − x.
Find the dimension of the vector space R[x]/J .

1.13 In the ring of polynomials R = Z5 [x] with coefficients from the field Z5 ,
consider the smallest ideal J containing the polynomials,

p1 (x) = x3 + 4x2 + 4x + 1
p2 (x) = x2 + x + 3.

Which of the following polynomials q(x) has the property that J = q(x)R?
(a) q(x) = p2 (x)
(b) q(x) = x − 1
(c) q(x) = x + 1

1.14 In how many ways can 20 indistinguishable pencils be distributed among

four children A,B,C and D ?

4
1.15 Let w = u+iv and, z = x+iy be complex numbers such that w 2 = z 2 +1.
Then which of the following inequalities must always be true?
(a) x ≤ u
(b) y 2 ≤ v 2
(c) v 2 ≤ y 2

5
 Section 2: Analysis

2.1 Evaluate:   12
sin x x
lim .
x→0 x

2.2 Evaluate: n
1 X√ 2
lim n − k2 .
n→∞ n2
k=1

2.3 Pick out the uniformly continuous functions from the following and, in
such cases, given ε > 0, find δ > 0 explicitly as a function of ε so that
|f (x) − f (y)|√< ε whenever |x − y| < δ.
(a) f (x) = x, 1 ≤ x ≤ 2.
(b) f (x) = x3 , x ∈ R.
(c) f (x) = sin2 x, x ∈ R.

2.4 Which of the following functions are differentiable at x = 0?

(a)  2
x , if x is rational
f (x) =
0, if x is irrational.
(b) f (x) = |x|x.
(c)
x2 sin x1 , if x 6= 0

f (x) =
0, if x = 0.

2.5 Find the coefficient of x7 in the Maclaurin series expansion of the func-
tion f (x) = sin−1 x.

2.6 Compute
f (x) = lim n2 x(1 − x2 )n
n→∞

where 0 ≤ x ≤ 1.

6
2.7 Which of the following series are convergent?
(a)
∞ r
X 2n2 + 3
3+7
.
n=1
5n
(b)
∞
X (n + 1)n
3 .
n=1 nn+ 2
(c)
∞  
X 1 1
sin .
n=1
n n

2.8 Find the interval of convergence of the series:

∞
X log(n + 1)
√ (x − 5)n .
n=1
n + 1

2.9 Evaluate: π
sin2 x dx
Z
2
.
0 sin x + cos x

2.10 Examine for maxima and minima:

f (x, y) = x2 + 5y 2 − 6x + 10y + 6.

2.11 Find the point(s) on the parabola 2x2 + 2y = 3 nearest to the ori-
gin.What is the shortest distance?

2.12 Let S be the triangular region in the plane with vertices at (0, 0), (1, 0)
Rand
R (1, 1). Let f (x, y) be a continuous function. Express the double integral
f (x, y) dA in two different ways as iterated integrals (i.e. in the forms
R β SR δ(x) R b R d(y)
α γ(x)
f (x, y) dy dx and a c(y)
f (x, y) dx dy.)

2.13 Let ω 6= 1 be a seventh root of unity. Write down a polynomial equation

of degree ≤ 6 satisfied by ω.

7
2.14 Let z = x + iy. Which of the following functions are analytic in the
entire complex plane?
(a) f (x, y) = ex (cos y − i sin y).
(b) f (x, y) = e−x (cos y − i sin y).
(c) f (x, y) = min{2, x2 + y 2}.

2.15 Let C denote the boundary of the square whose sides are given by the
lines x = ±2 and y = ±2. Assume that C is described in the positive sense,
i.e., anticlockwise. Evaluate:
cos z dz
Z
2
.
C z(z + 8)

8
 Section 3: Geometry

3.1 Let A be the point (0, 4) in the xy-plane and let B be the point (2t, 0).
Let L be the mid point of AB and let the perpendicular bisector of AB meet
the y-axis at M. Let N be the mid-point of LM. Find the locus of N (as t
varies).

3.2 Let (a1 , a2 ), (b1 , b2 ) and (c1 , c2 ) be three non-collinear points in the xy-
plane. Let r, s and t be three real numbers such that (i)r + s + t = 0, (ii)
ra1 + sb1 + tc1 = 0 and (iii) ra2 + sb2 + tc2 = 0. Write down all the possible
values of r, s and t.

3.3 Consider the equation 2x + 4y − x2 − y 2 = 5. Which of the following

does it represent?
(a) a circle.
(b) an ellipse.
(c) a pair of straight lines.

3.4 Write down the equations of the circles of radius 5 passing through the
origin and having the line y = 2x as a tangent.

3.5 Two equal sides of an isoceles triangle are given by the equations y = 7x
and y = −x. If the third side passes through the point (1, −10), pick out the
equation(s) which cannot represent that side.
(a) 3x + y + 7 = 0.
(b) x − 3y − 31 = 0.
(c) x + 3y + 29 = 0.

a
3.6 Let m 6= 0. Consider the line y = mx + m and the parabola y 2 = 4ax.
Pick out the true statements.
(a) The line intersects the parabola at exactly one point. √
(b) The line intersects the parabola at two points whenever√ |m| < 2 a.
(c) The line is tangent to the parabola only when |m| = 2 a.

3.7 Consider the circle x2 + (y + 1)2 = 1. Let a line through the origin
O meet the circle again at a point A. Let B be a point on OA such that
OB/OA = p, where p is a given positive number. Find the locus of B.

9
3.8 Let a > 0 and b > 0. Let a straight line make an intercept a on the x-axis
and b on the line through the origin which is inclined at an angle θ to the x-
axis, both in the first quadrant. Write down the equation of the straight line.

3.9 What does the following equation represent?

12x2 + 7xy − 10y 2 + 13x + 45y − 35 = 0.

3.10 Find the coordinates of the centre of the circumcircle of the triangle
whose vertices are the points (4, 1), (−1, 6) and (−4, −3).

3.11 Let A and B be the points of intersection of the circles x2 +y 2 −4x−5 = 0

and x2 + y 2 + 8y + 7 = 0. Find the centre and radius of the circle whose
diameter is AB.

3.12 Ten points are placed at random in the unit square. Let ρ be the min-
imum distance between all pairs of distinct points from this set. Find the
least upper bound for ρ.

3.13 Let K be a subset of the plane. It is said to be convex if given any two
points in K, the line segment joining them is also contained in K. It is said
to be strictly convex if given any two points in K, the mid-point of the line
segment joining them lies in the interior of K. In each of the following cases
determine whether the given set is convex (but not strictly convex), strictly
convex or not convex.
(a) K = {(x, y) | x2 + y 2 ≤ 1}.
(b) K = {(x, y) | |x| + |y| ≤ 1}.
2 2
(c) K = {(x, y) | x 3 + y 3 ≤ 1}.

3.14 Consider the set K = {(x, y) | |x| + |y| ≤ 1} in the plane. Given a
point A in the plane, let PK (A) be the point in K which is closest to A. Let
B = (1, 0) ∈ K. Determine the set

S = {A | PK (A) = B}.

10
 A B
a b
c C

e
d
E
D

3.15 Let A, B, C, D and E be five points on a circle and let a, b, c, d and e be

the angles as shown in the figure above. Which of the following equals the
ratio AD/BE?
(a) sin(a+d)
sin(b+e)
.
sin(b+c)
(b) sin(c+d)
.
sin(a+b)
(c) sin(b+c)
.

11
 SECTION 1: ALGEBRA
√ √
1.1 Compute ( 3 + i)14 + ( 3 − i)14 (Hint: Use De Moivre’s theorem).

1.2 Let p(x) be the polynomial x3 − 11x2 + ax − 36, where a is a real number.
Assume that it has a positive root which is the product of the other two
roots. Find the value of a.

1.3 Identify which of the following groups (if any) is cyclic:

(a) Z8 ⊕ Z8
(b) Z8 ⊕ Z9
(c) Z8 ⊕ Z10 .

1.4 In each of the following examples determine the number of homomor-

phisms between the given groups:
(a) from Z to Z10 ;
(b) from Z10 to Z10 ;
(c) from Z8 to Z10 .

1.5 Let S7 be the group of permutations on 7 symbols. Does S7 contain an

element of order 10? If the answer is “yes”, then give an example.

1.6 Let G be a finite group and H be a subgroup of G. Let O(G) and O(H)
denote the orders of G and H respectively. Identify which of the following
statements are necessarily true.
(a) If O(G)/O(H) is a prime number then H is normal in G.
(b) If O(G) = 2O(H) then H is normal in G.
(c) If there exist normal subgroups A and B of G such that H = {ab | a ∈
A, b ∈ B} then H is normal in G.

1.7 Which of the following statements are true?

(a) There exists a finite field in which the additive group is not cyclic.
(b) If F is a finite field, there exists a polynomial p over F such that p(x) 6= 0
for all x ∈ F , where 0 denotes the zero in F .
(c) Every finite field is isomorphic to a subfield of the field of complex num-
bers.

3
1.8 Let V be a vector space of dimension 4 over the field Z3 with 3 elements.
What is the number of one-dimensional vector subspaces of V ?

1.9 Let V be a vector space of dimension d < ∞, over R. Let U be a vec-

tor subspace of V . Let S be a subset of V . Identify which of the following
statements is true:
(a) If S is a basis of V then U ∩ S is a basis of U.
(b) If U ∩ S is a basis of U and {s + U ∈ V /U | s ∈ S} is a basis of V /U
then S is a basis of V .
(c) If S is a basis of U as well as V then the dimension of U is d.

1.10 Let M(n, R) be the vector space of n × n matrices with real entries.
Let U be the subset of M(n, R) consisting {(aij ) | a11 + a22 + . . . + ann = 0}.
Is it true that U is a vector subspace of V over R? If so what is its dimension?

1.11 Let A be a 3 × 3 matrix with complex entries, whose eigenvalues are

1, i and −2i. If A−1 = aA2 + bA + cI, where I is the identity matrix, with
a, b, c ∈ C, what are the values of a, b and c?

1.12 Let T : Rn → Rn be a linear transformation of Rn , where n ≥ 3, and let

λ1 , . . . , λn ∈ C be the eigenvalues of T . Which of the following statements
are true?
(a) If λi = 0, for some i = 1, . . . , n, then T is not surjective.
(b) If T is injective, then λi = 1 for some i, 1 ≤ i ≤ n.
(c) If there is a 3-dimensional subspace U of V such that T (U) = U, then
λi ∈ R for some i, 1 ≤ i ≤ n.

1.13 Let p(x) = a0 + a1 + · · · + an xn be the characteristic polynomial of a

n × n matrix A with entries in R. Then which of the following statements is
true?
(a) p(x) has no repeated roots.
(b) p(x) can be expressed as a product of linear polynomials with real coef-
ficients.
(c) If p(x) can be expressed as a product of linear polynomials with real
coefficients then there is a basis of Rn consisting of eigenvectors of A.

4
1.14 Let Zn be the ring of integers modulo n, where n is an integer ≥ 2.
Then complete the following:
(a) If Zn is a field then n is ... .
(b) If Zn is an integral domain then n is ... .
(c) If there is an injective ring homomorphism of Z5 to Zn then n is ... .

1.15 Let C[0, 1] be the ring of continuous real-valued functions on [0, 1], with
addition and multiplication defined pointwise. For any subset S of C[0, 1] let
Z(S) = {f ∈ C[0, 1] | f (x) = 0 for all x ∈ S}. Then which of the following
statements are true?
(a) If Z(S) is an ideal in C[0, 1] then S is closed in [0, 1].
(b) If Z(S) is a maximal ideal then S has only one point.
(c) If S has only one point then Z(S) is a maximal ideal.

5
 SECTION 2: ANALYSIS

2.1 Evaluate:
lim (1 − 5 cot θ)tan θ .
θ→ π
2

2.2 Evaluate: n  
1X πk
lim cos .
n→∞ n 2n
k=0

2.3 Let x > 0. Define x

sin xy
Z
f (x) = dy.
0 y
0
Evaluate f (x) as a function of x.

2.4 What is the relation between the height h and the radius r of a right
circular cylinder of fixed volume V and minimal total surface area?

2.5 Find the coefficient of x7 in the Taylor series expansion of the function
f (x) = sin−1 x around 0 in the interval −1 < x < 1.

2.6 Find the minimum value of the function:

f (x, y) = x2 + 5y 2 − 6x + 10y + 6.

2.7 Find the interval of convergence of the series:

(x + 1)2 (x + 1)3 (x + 1)4

(x + 1) − + − + ...
4 9 16

2.8 For what values of p does the following series converge?

1 1 1
1− + p − p + ...
2 p 3 4

6
2.9 Pick out the series which are absolutely convergent:
(a)
∞
X cos nα
(−1)n
n=1
n2
where α ∈ R is a fixed real number.
(b)
∞
X n log n
(−1)n .
n=1
en
(c)
∞
X n
(−1)n .
n=1
n+2

2.10 Pick out the functions which are continuous at least at one point in the
real line:
(a) 
1 if x is rational,
f (x) =
0 if x is irrational.
(b) 
x if x is rational,
f (x) =
0 if x is irrational.
(c) 
sin πx if x is rational,
f (x) =
0 if x is irrational.

2.11 Pick out the functions which are uniformly continuous:

(a)
1
f (x) = , x ∈]0, 1[.
x
(b)
sin x
f (x) = , x ∈]0, 1[.
x
(c)
f (x) = sin2 x, x ∈ R.

7
2.12 Let C 1 (R) denote the set of all continuously differentiable real valued
functions defined on the real line. Define

A = {f ∈ C 1 (R) | f (0) = 0, f (1) = 1, |f 0(x)| ≤ 1/2 for all x ∈ R}

where f 0 denotes the derivative of the function f . Pick out the true state-
ment:
(a) A is an empty set.
(b) A is a finite and non-empty set.
(c) A is an infinite set.

2.13 Let ωi , 1 ≤ i ≤ 7 denote the seventh roots of unity. Evaluate:

Π7i=1 ωi .

2.14 Pick out the true statements:

(a) | sin z| ≤ 1 for all z ∈ C.
(b) sin2 z + cos2 z = 1 for all z ∈ C.
(c) sin 3z = 3 sin z − 4 sin3 z for all z ∈ C.

2.15 Evaluate:
dz
Z
.
{|z|=2} (z − 1)
3

8
 SECTION 3: GEOMETRY

3.1 Write down the equation of the locus of a point which moves in the xy-
plane so that it is equidistant from the straight lines y = x and y = −x.

3.2 What is the shape of the locus of a point which moves in the plane so
that it is equidistant from a given point A and a given straight line ` (which
does not contain the point A)?

3.3 What is the area of a quadrilateral in the xy-plane whose vertices are
(0, 0), (1, 0), (2, 3) and (0, 1)?

3.4 What is the surface area of the sphere whose equation is given by

x2 + y 2 + z 2 − 4x + 6y − 2z + 13 = 0?

3.5 What is the number of points of intersection of the curves

(x2 + y 2 + 1)(x2 + y 2 − 2x − 4y + 1) = 0 and x2 + y 2 − 2x − 2y − 2 = 0?

3.6 The plane m1 (x − 1) + m2 (y − 2) + m3 (z − 3) = 0 is tangent to the

surface x3 + y 3 − z 3 + 3xyz
P3 = 0 2at the point (1, 2, 3). What are the values of
mi , 1 ≤ i ≤ 3 such that i=1 mi = 1?

3.7 Find the area enclosed by the circle formed by the intersection of the
sphere x2 + y 2 + z 2 − 2x − 2y − 2z = 1 and the plane x + y + z = 1.

3.8 Find the lengths of the semi-axes of the ellipse

2x2 + 2xy + 2y 2 = 1.

3.9 Let A, B, C and D be the vertices (in clockwise order) of a rectangle

in the xy-plane. Let f (x, y) = ax + by for some fixed real numbers a and
b. Given that f (A) = 5, f (B) = f (D) = 10, find f (C) (here, if a point
P = (u, v), we write f (P ) for f (u, v)).

9
3.10 Let Ai = (xi , yi ), 1 ≤ i ≤ 3 be the vertices of a triangle in the xy-
plane. Then, given any point P = (x, y) inside the triangle, we can find
three numbers λi = λi (x, y), 1 ≤ i ≤ 3 such that

0 ≤ λi ≤ 1, for all 1 ≤ i ≤ 3,
λ1 + λ2 + λ3 = 1,
x = λ1 x1 + λ2 x2 + λ3 x3 and y = λ1 y1 + λ2 y2 + λ3 y3 .

If A1 = (0, 0), A2 = (1, 0) and A3 = (0, 1), write down λi , 1 ≤ i ≤ 3 as

functions of x and y.

3.11 Consider the points A = (0, 2) and B = (1, 1) in the xy-plane. Consider
all possible paths AP B where P is an arbitrary point on the x-axis and AP
and P B are straight line segments. Find the coordinates of the point P such
that the length of the path AP B is shortest amongst all such possible paths.

3.12 What curve does the following equation represent in polar coordinates:
2 1
= 1 + cos θ?
r 2
3.13 Find the angle between the planes 2x − y + z = 6 and x + y + 2z = 3.

3.14 Which of the following equations represent bounded sets in the xy-
plane?
2 2
(a) x 3 + y 3 = 1.
(b) xy = 1
(c) 17x2 − 12xy + 8y 2 + 46x − 28y + 17 = 0.

3.15 Let Pn be a regular polygon of n sides inscribed in a circle of radius a,

where a > 0. Let Ln and An be the perimeter and area of Pn respectively.
Evaluate:
L2
lim n .
n→∞ An

10
 ALGEBRA

1. Let p(x) = x4 − 4x3 + 2x2 + ax + b. Suppose that for every root λ of

p, 1/λ is also a root of p. Find the values of a and b.

Answer: a = ............. b = .............

2. Pick out the true statements:

(a) Every polynomial of odd degree with real coefficients has a real root.
(b) Every non-constant polynomial with real coefficients can be factorised
such that every factor has real coeffcients and is of degree at most two.

Answer:

3. Let N > 1 be a positive integer. What is the arithmetic mean of all

positive integers less than N and prime to it (including unity)?

Answer:

4. What is the order of the subgroup generated by 25(mod30) in the cyclic

group Z30 ?

Answer:

5. Describe an isomorphism f : R → R+ from the additive group R of real

numbers onto the multiplicative group R+ of positive real numbers.

Answer: f (x) = . . . . . . for all x ∈ R.

6. Pick out the true statements:

(a) Every group of order 36 is abelian.
(b) A group in which every element is of order at most 2 is abelian.

Answer:

3
7. How many abelian groups of order 8 are there (up to isomorphism)?

Answer:

8. Let G be a group and let H be a subgroup of G which has exactly two

distinct cosets. Let

C = {H ′ ⊂ G | H ′ = gHg −1 for some g ∈ G}.

How many elements does the set C have?

Answer:

9. Let F and F ′ be two finite fields with nine and four elements respectively.
How many field homomorphisms are there from F to F ′ ?

Answer:

10. How many fields are there (up to isomorphism) with exactly 6 elements?

Answer:

11. Let R be a ring and let p be a polynomial of degree n with coefficients

in R. Then p has at most n roots in R. - True or False?

Answer:

12. Pick out the true statements:

(a) A commutative integral domain is always a subring of a field.
(b) The ring of continuous real valued functions on the closed interval [0, 1]
(with pointwise addition and pointwise multiplication as the ring operations)
is an integral domain.

Answer:

4
13. Let F3 be a finite field of 3 elements. How many 2 × 2 invertible matrices
with entries from F3 are there?

Answer:

14. Let A be a 3 × 3 matrix with real entries which commutes with all 3 × 3
matrices with real entries. What is the maximum number of distinct roots
that the characteristic polynomial of A can have?

Answer:

15. Let V be a vector space (over R) of dimension 7 and let f : V → R

be a non-zero linear functional. Let W be a linear subspace of V such that
V = Ker(f ) ⊕ W where Ker(f ) is the null space of f . What is the dimension
of W ?

Answer:

16. Pick out the true statements:

(a) The eigenvalues of a unitary matrix are all equal to ±1.
(b) The determinant of real orthogonal matrix is always ±1.

Answer:

17. Let A be a 3 × 3 upper triangular matrix whose diagonal entries are 1, 2

and −3. Express A−1 as a linear combination of I, A and A2 .

Answer:

5
18. Let A = (aij ) be a 2 × 2 lower triangular matrix with diagonal entries
a11 = 1 and a22 = 3. If A−1 = (bij ), what are the values of b11 and b22 ?

Answer: b11 = . . . . . . . . . . . . , b22 = . . . . . . . . . . . .

19. Pick out the true statements:

(a) Let A be a hermitian N × N positive definite matrix. Then, there exists
a hermitian positive definite N × N matrix B such that B 2 = A.
(b) Let B be a nonsingular N × N matrix with real entries. Let B ′ be its
transpose. Then B ′ B is a symmetric and positive definite matrix.

Answer:

20. Let A be a singular N × N matrix with real entires and let b be a N × 1

matrix (i.e. a column vector). Let A′ and b′ be their respective transposes.
Consider the system of N linear equations in N unknowns written in matrix
form as:
A′ x = b.
Complete the following sentence: The above linear system has a solution, if,
and only if, b′ u = 0, for all column vectors u such that ...

Answer:

6
 ANALYSIS
1. Let Dn be the open disc of radius n with centre at the point (n, 0) ∈ R2 .
Does there exist a function f : R2 → R of the form f (x, y) = ax + by such
that
∪∞
n=1 Dn = {(x, y) | f (x, y) > 0}?

If your answer is ‘Yes’, give the values of a and b.

Answer: No. / Yes, with a = . . . . . . , b = . . . . . .

2. Find the sum of the series ∞

X k2
.
k!
k=1
Answer:

3. What is the radius of convergence of the power series

∞
X p
log k xk ?
k=1

Answer:

4. What are the values of α ∈ R for which the following series is convergent?
∞
X (−1)n
.
n=1
nα
Answer:

5. Evaluate: √ √
lim ( n2 + n − n2 + 1).
n→∞
Answer:

6. Evaluate: n
X 1
lim √ .
n→∞
k=1
n2 + k 2
Answer:

7
7. Let f : R → R be a given function. List those amongst the following
properties which will ensure that f is uniformly continuous:
(a) for all x and y ∈ R,
1
|f (x) − f (y)| ≤ |x − y| 2 .

(b)
∞
X g(x − n)
f (x) =
n=1
2n
where g : R → R is a uniformly continuous function such that the series
converges for each x ∈ R.

Answer:

8. Let f (x) = [x] + (x − [x])2 for x ∈ R, where [x] denotes the largest integer
not exceeding x. What is the set of all values taken by the function f ?

Answer:

9. Let n be a positive integer. Let f (x) = xn+2 sin x1 if x =6 0 and let

f (0) = 0. For what value of n will f be twice differentiable but with its
second derivative discontinuous at x = 0?

Answer:

10. What is the coefficient of x8 in the expansion of x2 cos(x2 ) around x = 0?

Answer:

11. Let g : R → R be a differentiable function such that |g ′ (x)| ≤ M for all

x ∈ R. For what values of ε will the function f (x) = x + εg(x) be necessarily
one-to-one?

Answer:

8
12. Differentiate: Z x2
2
f (x) = et dt, x > 1.
x

Answer: f (x) =
′

13. Let
x2
f (x) = cos x − 1 + , x ∈ R.
2!
Pick out the true statements:
(a) f (x) ≥ 0 for x ≥ 0 and f (x) ≤ 0 for x ≤ 0.
(b) f is a decreasing function on the entire real line.

Answer:

14. Let f : [−1, 2] → R be given by f (x) = 2x3 − x4 − 10. What is the value
of x where f assumes its minimum value?

Answer:

R1
15. Does the integral 0
log x dx exist?. If it exists, give its value.

Answer:No. / Yes, the value is . . . . . .

16. Let 
1 if |y| ≥ x2 ,
f (x, y) =
0 otherwise.
Does the directional derivative of f in the direction of (1, 10−6 ) at the point
(0, 0) exist? If yes, give its value.

Answer:No. / Yes, and the value is . . . . . .

9
17. Write down a solution, other than the zero function, of the differential
equation:
yy ′′ − (y ′)2 = 0.
Answer:

18. Write down the general solution of the system of differential equations:

f ′ (x) = g(x); g ′(x) = −f (x).

Answer:

19. Let u and v be two twice continuously differentiable functions on R2

satisfying the Cauchy-Riemann equations. Let z = x + iy. Define f (z) =
u(x, y) + iv(x, y). Express the complex derivative of f , i.e. f ′ (z), in terms
of the partial derivatives of u and v.

Answer:

20. Let {X, d} be a metric space and let E ⊂ X. For x ∈ X, define

d(x, E) = inf d(x, y).

y∈E

Pick out the true statements:

(a) |d(x, E) − d(y, E)| ≤ d(x, y) for all x and y ∈ X.
(b) d(x, E) = d(x, y0 ) for some y0 ∈ E.

Answer:

10
 GEOMETRY
√
1. What are the equations of the circles of radius 17, with centres on the
x-axis and passing through the point (0, 1)?

Answer:

2. A point moves so that the sum of its distances from two fixed points is a
constant. What is the path traced by this point?

Answer:

3. A point moves so that the line segments joining it to the points (2, 0) and
(0, 2) are always perpendicular. What is the equation of its path?

Answer:

4. How many points are there on the curve x2 − 4y 2 = 1 at which the tan-
gents are parallel to the line x − 2y = 0?

Answer:

5. A non-empty set in the Euclidean plane is said to be convex if the line

segments joining any two points in the set is completely contained in the set.
Pick out the convex sets:
(a) The intersection of two circular discs of radius 2 having centres (0, 0) and
(3, 0).
(b) The set of all (x, y) ∈ R2 satisfying the inequalities:

x + y ≥ 1,
x + 3y ≥ 2,
x ≤ 2.

Answer:

11
6. Let ABCD be a parallellogram in the plane with area 1 and such that
B and C lie on the x-axis and A and D lie on the line y = h. With BC as
base, triangles BCE of area 1/4 are constructed. Write down the equation
of the locus of E.

Answer:

7. What is the intersection of the planes x+2y +3z +1 = 0, x−y +z −1 = 0

and y + z = 0? Is it
(a) a point, or
(b) the empty set?

Answer:

8. Do the lines x − 1 = y − 2 = z − 3 and 2(x + 1) = 3(y − 1) = 6(z − 4)

intersect? If yes, give the point of intersection.

Answer: No./ Yes, the point of intersection is . . . . . .

9. Let ax2 + 2hxy + by 2 = 1 represent an ellipse and let λ1 and λ2 , where

λ1 > λ2 > 0, be the eigenvalues of the matrix
 
a h
.
h b

Express the lengths of the semi-axes of the ellipse in terms of λ1 and λ2 .

Answer: Semi-major axis = . . . . . ., semi-minor axis = . . . . . ..

10. The normal to the sphere with centre at (1, 1, 0) and radius 5 at the
point (1, 4, 4) is perpendicular to the plane x + 3y − 4z = 2. True or False?

Answer:

12
11. What are the points of intersection of the line y − x = 1 and the set
represented by the equation xy(2x2 + 2y 2 − 5) = 0?

Answer:

12. Pick out the bounded sets from amongst those represented by the fol-
lowing equations:
(a) xy = 1.
(b) 2x2 + xy − y 2 = 0.

Answer:

13. What do the following equations represent in three-dimensional Eu-

clidean space?
(a) x2 − z 2 = 0.
(b) x2 + y 2 − z 2 = 0.

Answer: (a)
(b)

14. Find the centre and the eccentricity of the hyperbola:

2(y − 1)2 − 2(x − 3)2 = 9.
Answer:

15. Assume that the parabola y 2 = 8x is the cross section of a parabolic

reflector. A ray of light from a source at the point (2, 0) strikes the point
(2, 4). Through which of the following points does the reflected ray pass?
(a) (1, 4)
(b) (5, 4)

Answer:

16. What figure does the equation r 2 cos2 (θ−π/3) = 2 (in polar coordinates)
represent?

Answer:

13
17. A particle moves from the point (0, 0) to the point (1, 1) in a straight
2 2
line and
√ then moves along the arc of the circle x + y = 2 for a distance
of π/2 2 and then moves back to the origin in a straight line. What is the
area enclosed by its trajectory?

Answer:

18. What is the shape of the region whose boundary is given by

(2x2 + xy − y 2 + 6y − 8)(x − y) = 0?

Answer:

19. Find the area of the region enclosed by the intersection of the surfaces:
x2 + y 2 + z 2 − 2x − 2y − 2z = 1 and x + y + z = 1.

Answer:

20. How many common tangents can be drawn to the curves 2x2 + 4y 2 = 1
and x2 + y 2 − 4x − 4y + 7 = 0?

Answer:

14