1. The number of common terms in the two sequences {3, 7, 11, . . .

, 407}
and {2, 9, 16, . . . , 709} is

(A) 13 (B) 14 (C) 15 (D) 16.

2. The volume of the region S = {(x, y, z) : |x| + |y| + |z| ≤ 1} is

(A) 1/6 (B) 1/3 (C) 2/3 (D) 4/3.

3. The number of isosceles (but not equilateral) triangles with integer

sides and no side exceeding 10 is

(A) 65 (B) 75 (C) 81 (D) 90.

4. The greatest common divisor of all numbers of the form p2 − 1, where

p ≥ 7 is a prime, is

(A) 6 (B) 12 (C) 24 (D) 48.

5. The number of trailing zeros in 100! is

(A) 21 (B) 23 (C) 24 (D) 25.

6. The number of squares in the following figure is

(A) 25 (B) 26 (C) 29 (D) 30.

7. One needs to choose six real numbers x1 , x2 , . . . , x6 such that the

product of any five of them is equal to other number. The number
of such choices is

(A) 3 (B) 33 (C) 63 (D) 93.

3
 8. The rank of the matrix
 
1 2 3 4
 
 5 6 7 8 
  is
 6 8 10 12 
 
151 262 373 484

(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4.

9. A new flag of ISI club is to be designed with 5 vertical strips using

some or all of the four colours: green, maroon, red and yellow. In
how many ways this can be done so that no two adjacent strips have
the same colour ?

(A) 120 (B) 324 (C) 432 (D) 576.

10. Let A be a 3 × 3 real matrix with all diagonal entries equal to 0. If 1 + i

is an eigenvalue of A, the determinant of A equals

(A) -4 (B) -2 (C) 2 (D) 4.

" #
2 i
11. If A = , the trace of A10 is
i 0

(A) 2 (B) 2(1+i) (C) 0 (D) 210 .

12. Let a and b be two positive integers such that

a = k1 b + r1 and b = k2 r1 + r2 ,

where k1 , k2 , r1 , r2 are positive integers with r2 < r1 < b. Then

gcd(a, b) is same as

(A) gcd(r1 , r2 ) (B) gcd(k1 , k2 ) (C) gcd(k1 , r2 ) (D) gcd(k2 , r1 ).

13. The value of λ for which the system of linear equations 2x−y−z = 12,
x − 2y + z = −4, x + y + λz = 4 has no solution is

(A) 2 (B) -2 (C) 3 (D) -3.

14. If α is a root of x2 − x + 1 = 0, then α2018 + α−2018 is

(A) -1 (B) 0 (C) 1 (D) 2.

4
15. The x-axis divides the circle x2 + y 2 − 6x − 4y + 5 = 0 into two parts.
The area of the smaller part is

(A) 2π − 1 (B) 2(π − 1) (C) 2π − 3 (D) 2(π − 2).

16. The angle between the tangents drawn from the point (1, 4) to the
parabola y 2 = 4x is

(A) π/2 (B) π/3 (C) π/4 (D) π/6.

17. Let A1 = (0, 0), A2 = (1, 0), A3 = (1, 1) and A4 = (0, 1) be the four
vertices of a square. A particle starts from the point A1 at time 0 and
moves either to A2 or to A4 with equal probability. Similarly, in each of
the subsequent steps, it randomly chooses one of its adjacent vertices
and moves there. Let T be the minimum number of steps required to
cover all four vertices. The probability P (T = 4) is

(A) 0 (B) 1/16 (C) 1/8 (D) 1/4.

18. Consider a large village, where only two newspapers P1 and P2 are
available to the families. It is known that the proportion of families
(i) not taking P1 is 0.48,
(ii) not taking P2 is 0.58,
(iii) taking only P2 is 0.30.
The probability that a randomly chosen family from the village takes
only P1 is

(A) 0.24 (B) 0.28 (C) 0.40 (D) cannot be determined.

19. There are eight coins, seven of which have the same weight and the
other one weighs more. In order to find the coin having more weight,
a person randomly chooses two coins and puts one coin on each side
of a common balance. If these two coins are found to have the same
weight, the person then randomly chooses two more coins from the
rest and follows the same method as before. The probability that the
coin will be identified at the second draw is

(A) 1/2 (B) 1/3 (C) 1/4 (D) 1/6.

5
20. Consider the set of all functions from {1, 2, . . . , m} to {1, 2, . . . , n},
where n > m. If a function is chosen from this set at random, the
probability that it will be strictly increasing is

n
m n
n m+n−1
m m+n−1

(A) m /n (B) m /m (C) m−1 /n (D) m /mn .

21. Let X1 , X2 , . . . , Xn be independent and identically distributed with

P (Xi = 1) = P (Xi = −1) = p and P (Xi = 0) = 1 − 2p for all
i = 1, 2, . . . , n. Define
n
Y  n
Y  n
Y 
an = P Xi = 1 , bn = P Xi = −1 and cn = P Xi = 0 .
i=1 i=1 i=1

Which of the following is true as n tends to infinity?

(A) an → 1/3, bn → 1/3, cn → 1/3

(B) an → p, bn → p, cn → 1 − 2p
(C) an → 1/2, bn → 1/2, cn → 0
(D) an → 0, bn → 0, cn → 1.

22. For n ≥ 1, let

1 2 n
an = 2
+ 2 + ··· + and bn = c0 + c1 r + c2 r 2 + · · · + cn r n ,
2 3 (n + 1)2
where |ck | ≤ M for all integer k and |r| < 1. Then

(A) both {an } and {bn } are Cauchy sequences

(B) {an } is a Cauchy sequence, but {bn } is not a Cauchy sequence
(C) {an } is not a Cauchy sequence, but {bn } is a Cauchy sequence
(D) neither {an } nor {bn } is a Cauchy sequence.

23. The solution of the differential equation

(1 + x2 y 2 )ydx + (x2 y 2 − 1)xdy = 0 is

(A) xy = log x − log y + C

(B) xy = log y − log x + C
(C) x2 y 2 = 2(log x − log y) + C
(D) x2 y 2 = 2(log y − log x) + C.

6
24. Let f be a continuous function with f (1) = 1. Define
Z t2
F (t) = f (x)dx.
t

The value of F ′ (1) is

(A) -2 (B) -1 (C) 1 (D) 2.

25. Number of real solutions of the equation x7 + 2x5 + 3x3 + 4x = 2018

is

(A) 1 (B) 3 (C) 5 (D) 7.

26. Consider the following functions

( (
1, |x| ≤ 1 1, |x| ≤ 2
f (x) = and g(x) =
0, |x| > 1 2, |x| > 2.

Define h1 (x) = f (g(x)) and h2 (x) = g(f (x)). Which of the following
statements is correct?

(A) h1 and h2 are continuous everywhere

(B) h1 is continuous everywhere and h2 has discontinuity at ±1
(C) h2 is continuous everywhere and h1 has discontinuity at ±2
(D) h1 has discontinuity at ±2 and h2 has discontinuity at ±1.

27. The sum of the infinite series

2 6 10 14
1+ + + 3 + 4 + ··· is
3 32 3 3
(A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 4 (D) 6.

28. Let Ci (i = 0, 1, . . . , n) be the coefficient of xi in (1 + x)n . Then

C0 C1 C2 Cn
− + − · · · + (−1)n
2 3 4 n+2
is equal to

1 1 1 1
(A) n+1 (B) n+2 (C) n(n+1) (D) (n+1)(n+2) .

7
29. Consider the function
x2 x3 xn
 
f (x) = 1 + x + + + ... + e−x ,
2! 3! n!

where n ≥ 4 is a positive integer. Which of the following statements

is correct?

(A) f has no local extremum

(B) For every n, f has a local maximum at x = 0
(C) f has no local extremum if n is odd and has a local maximum at
x = 0 when n is even
(D) f has no local extremum if n is even and has a local maximum at
x = 0 when n is odd.

30. Let G be a finite group of even order. Then which of the following
statements is correct ?

(A) The number of elements of order 2 in G is even

(B) The number of elements of order 2 in G is odd
(C) G has no subgroup of order 2
(D) None of the above.

8
• N denotes the set of positive integers.
• Z denotes the set of integers.
• R denotes the set of real numbers.
• C denotes the set of complex numbers.

Q1. Find the values of a > 0 for which the improper integral
Z ∞
sin x
dx
0 xa
converges.

Q2. Let f : [0, 1] → R be a real-valued continuous function which is dif-

ferentiable on (0, 1) and satisfies f (0) = 0. Suppose there exists a
constant c ∈ (0, 1) such that

|f 0 (x)| ≤ c|f (x)| for all x ∈ (0, 1).

Show that f (x) = 0 for all x ∈ [0, 1].

Q3. Let G be an abelian group of order n.

(a) If f : G → C is a function, then prove that for all h ∈ G,

X X
f (g) = f (hg).
g∈G g∈G

(b) Let C∗ be the multiplicative group of non-zero complex numbers

and suppose f : G → C∗ is a homomorphism. Prove that
X X
f (g) = 0 or f (g) = n.
g∈G g∈G

(c) If f : G → C∗ is any homomorphism, then prove that

X
|f (g)| = n.
g∈G

Q4. (a) Is the ideal I = (X + Y, X − Y ) in the polynomial ring C[X, Y ] a

prime ideal? Justify your answer.
(b) Is the ideal I = (X + Y, X − Y ) in the polynomial ring Z[X, Y ] a
prime ideal? Justify your answer.

1
Q5. Let n ≥ 2 and A be an n × n matrix with real entries. Let Adj A
denote the adjoint of A, that is, the (i, j)-th entry of Adj A is the
(j, i)-th cofactor of A.
Show that the rank of Adj A is 0, 1 or n.

Q6. Suppose an urn contains a red ball and a blue ball. A ball is drawn at
random and a ball of the same colour is added to the urn along with
the one that was drawn. This process is repeated indefinitely.
Let X denote the random variable that takes the value n if the first
n − 1 draws yield red balls and the n-th draw yields a blue ball.

(a) If n ≥ 1, find P (X > n).

(b) Show that the probability of a blue ball being chosen eventually
is 1.
(c) Find E[X].

Q7. A real number x0 is said to be a limit point of a set S ⊆ R if every

neighbourhood of x0 contains a point of S other than x0 . Consider the
set n1 1 o
S = {0} ∪ + : m, n ∈ N .
m n
(a) Show that S contains infinitely many limit points of S.
(b) Show that S is a compact subset of R.
(c) Find all limit points of S.

Q8. (a) Let {fn }∞

n=1 be a sequence of continuous functions on [0, 1] such
P∞ ∞
P
that fn converges uniformly on (0, 1]. Show that fn (0)
n=1 n=1
converges.
(b) Find the set D of all points x ∈ [0, 1] such that the series
∞
X
e−nx cos nx
n=1

converges. Does this series converge uniformly on D? Justify

your answer.

2
1. The area lying in the first quadrant and bounded by the circle

x2 + y 2 = 4

and lines
x = 0 and x = 1

is given by
√ √ √ √
π 3 π 3 π 3 π 3
(A) + (B) + (C) − (D) +
3 2 6 4 3 2 6 2

2. If (x1 , y1 ) and (x2 , y2 ) are the opposite endpoints of a diameter of a

circle, then the equation of the circle is given by

(A) (x − x1 )(y − y1 ) + (x − x2 )(y − y2 ) = 0

(B) (x − x1 )(y − y2 ) + (x − x2 )(y − y1 ) = 0
(C) (x − x1 )(x − x2 ) + (y − y1 )(y − y2 ) = 0
(D) (x − x1 )(x − x2 ) = (y − y1 )(y − y2 ) = 0

3. If α, β and γ are the roots of the equation x3 + 3x2 − 8x + 1 = 0, then

an equation whose roots are α + 1, β + 1 and γ + 1 is given by

(A) y 3 − 11y + 11 = 0 (B) y 3 − 11y − 11 = 0

(C) y 3 + 13y + 13 = 0 (D) y 3 + 6y 2 + y − 3 = 0

4. Let S ⊆ R. Consider the statement:

“There exists a continuous function f : S → S such that

f (x) 6= x for all x ∈ S.”

This statement is false if S equals

(A) [2, 3] (B) (2, 3] (C) [−3, −2] ∪ [2, 3] (D) (−∞, ∞)

5. If A is a 2 × 2 matrix such that trace A = det A = 3, then what is the

trace of A−1 ?

(A) 1 (B) 1/3 (C) 1/6 (D) 1/2

3
 6. In a class of 80 students, 40 are girls and 40 are boys. Also, exactly 50
students wear glasses. Then the set of all possible numbers of boys
without glasses is

(A) {0, . . . , 30} (B) {10, . . . , 30} (C) {0, . . . , 40} (D) none of these

7. Let n ≥ 3 be an integer. Then the statement

n+1
(n!)1/n ≤
2
is

(A) true for every n ≥ 3

(B) true if and only if n ≥ 5
(C) not true for n ≥ 10
(D) true for even integers n ≥ 6, not true for odd n ≥ 5

8. Let X1 , X2 and X3 be chosen independently from the set {0, 1, 2, 3, 4},

each value being equally likely. What is the probability that the arith-
metic mean of X1 , X2 and X3 is the same as their geometric mean?

1 1 3! 3
(A) (B) (C) (D)
52 53 53 53

9. A function y(x) that satisfies

dy
+ 4xy = x
dx
with the boundary condition y(0) = 0 is

1 2
(A) y(x) = (1 − ex ) (B) y(x) = (1 − e−2x )
4
1 2 1
(C) y(x) = (1 − e2x ) (D) y(x) = (1 − cos x)
4 4

10. The inequality |x2 − 5x + 4| > (x2 − 5x + 4) holds if and only if

(A) 1 < x < 4 (B) x ≤ 1 and x ≥ 4

(C) 1 ≤ x ≤ 4 (D) x takes any value except 1 and 4

4
11. The digit in the unit’s place of the number 20172017 is

(A) 1 (B) 3 (C) 7 (D) 9

12. Which of the following statements is true?

(A) There are three consecutive integers with sum 2015

(B) There are four consecutive integers with sum 2015

(C) There are five consecutive integers with sum 2015

(D) There are three consecutive integers with product 2015

13. An even function f (x) has left derivative 5 at x = 0. Then

(A) the right derivative of f (x) at x = 0 need not exist

(B) the right derivative of f (x) at x = 0 exists and is equal to 5

(C) the right derivative of f (x) at x = 0 exists and is equal to −5

(D) none of the above is necessarily true

14. Let (vn ) be a sequence defined by v1 = 1 and

s  n
2
1
vn+1 = vn +
5

for n ≥ 1. Then lim vn is

n→∞

p p
(A) 5/3 (B) 5/4 (C) 1 (D) nonexistent

15. The diagonal elements of a square matrix M are odd integers while
the off-diagonals are even integers. Then

(A) M must be singular

(B) M must be nonsingular

(C) there is not enough information to decide the singularity of M

(D) M must have a positive eigenvalue

5
16. Let (xn ) be a sequence of real numbers such that the subsequences
(x2n ) and (x3n ) converge to limits K and L respectively. Then

(A) (xn ) always converges

(B) if K = L, then (xn ) converges
(C) (xn ) may not converge, but K = L
(D) it is possible to have K 6= L

17. Suppose that X is chosen uniformly from {1, 2, ..., 100} and given
X = x, Y is chosen uniformly from {1, 2, ..., x}. Then P (Y = 30) =
 
1 1 1 1
(A) (B) × + ··· +
100 100 30 100

1 1 1 1
(C) (D) × + ··· +
30 100 1 30

18. Consider the following system of equations:

    
1 2 3 4 x1 0
    
 5 6 7 8   x2   0 
 x  =  0
    .
 a 9 b 10 
  3   
6 8 10 13 x4 0

The locus of all (a, b) ∈ R2 such that this system has at least two dis-
tinct solutions for (x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 ) is

(A) a parabola (B) a straight line (C) entire R2 (D) a point

19. If α, β and γ are the roots of x3 − px + q = 0, then the value of the

determinant  
 α β γ 
 
 
 β γ α 
 
 
 γ α β 

is

(A) p (B) p2 (C) 0 (D) p2 + 6q

6
20. The number of ordered pairs (X, Y ), where X and Y are n × n real
matrices such that XY − Y X = I is

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) n (D) infinite

21. There are four machines and it is known that exactly two of them are
faulty. They are tested one by one in a random order till both the
faulty machines are identified. The probability that only two tests are
required is

1 1 1 1
(A) (B) (C) (D)
2 3 4 6

22. The five vowels—A, E, I, O, U—along with 15 X’s are to be arranged

in a row such that no X is at an extreme position. Also, between any
two vowels there must be at least 3 X’s. The number of ways in which
this can be done is

(A) 1200 (B) 1800 (C) 2400 (D) 3000

23. What is the smallest degree of a polynomial with real coefficients and
having roots 2ω, 2 + 3ω, 2ω 2 , −1 − 3ω and 2 − ω − ω 2 ?

[Here ω 6= 1 is a cube root of unity.]

(A) 5 (B) 7 (C) 9 (D) 10

24. The number of polynomial functions f of degree ≥ 1 satisfying

f (x2 ) = (f (x))2 = f (f (x))

for all real x, is

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) infinitely many

7
25. For a, b ∈ R, and b > a, the maximum possible value of the integral

Z b
(7x − x2 − 10)dx
a

is

7 9 11
(A) (B) (C) (D) none of these
2 2 2

26. Let n be the number of ways in which 5 men and 7 women can stand
in a queue such that all the women stand consecutively. Let m be the
number of ways in which the same 12 persons can stand in a queue
m
such that exactly 6 women stand consecutively. Then the value of n
is

5 7
(A) 5 (B) 7 (C) (D)
7 5

27. A box contains 5 fair coins and 5 biased coins. Each biased coin has
probability of a head 54 . A coin is drawn at random from the box and
tossed. Then a second coin is drawn at random from the box (without
replacing the first one). Given that the first coin has shown head, the
conditional probability that the second coin is fair, is

20 20 1 7
(A) (B) (C) (D)
39 37 2 13

28. Let H be a subgroup of a group G and let N be a normal subgroup of

G. Choose the correct statement:

(A) H ∩ N is a normal subgroup of both H and N

(B) H ∩ N is a normal subgroup of H but not necessarily of N

(C) H ∩ N is a normal subgroup of N but not necessarily of H

(D) H ∩ N need not be a normal subgroup of either H or N

8
29. Suppose the rank of the matrix
 
1 1 2 2
 
 1 1 1 3 
 
a b b 1

is 2 for some real numbers a and b. Then b equals

(A) 1 (B) 3 (C) 1/2 (D) 1/3

30. The graph of a cubic polynomial f (x) is shown below. If k is a con-

stant such that f (x) = k has three real solutions, which of the follow-
ing could be a possible value of k?

6
3
0
-3
-6
-9
-12

(A) 3 (B) 0 (C) −7 (D) −3

9
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR CANDIDATES

• Please answer FOUR questions from EACH group.

• Each question carries 10 marks. Total marks : 80.

• R, C, Z and N denote respectively the set of real numbers, set of com-

plex numbers, set of all integers and set of all positive integers.

Group A

∞
P Pm
1. Let an ∈ R, such that |an | = ∞ and an → a ∈ R as m → ∞.
n=1 n=1
∞
Let a+ +
P
n = max{an , 0}. Show that n=1 an = ∞.

2. Let E = {(x, y, z) ∈ R3 | x, y, z > 0, xy + yz + zx = 1}. Prove that

there exists (a, b, c) ∈ E such that abc ≥ xyz, for all (x, y, z) ∈ E.

3. Let f : R → R be an increasing function. Suppose there are sequences

(xn ) and (yn ) such that xn < 0 < yn for all n ≥ 1 and f (yn )−f (xn ) → 0
as n → ∞. Prove that f is continuous at 0.

4. Do there exist continuous functions P and Q on [0, 1] such that y(t) =

sin(t2 ) is a solution to y 00 + P y 0 + Qy = 0 on [ n1 , 1] for all n ≥ 1? Justify
your answer.

5. Let f : R → R be defined by
3 +x
Z 1+ex
2
f (x) = er dr
ex3 +x

for all x ∈ R. Prove that f is monotone.

6. Let w = {w(i, j)}1≤i,j≤m be an m × m symmetric matrix with non-

negative real entries such that w(i, j) = 0 if and only if i = j. Show
k−1
P
that d(i, j) = min{ w(ij , ij+1 ) | k ≥ 1, i0 = i, ik = j, ij ∈ {1, ..., m}}
j=0
is a metric on {1, ..., m}.

1
 Group B

7. Factory A produces 1 bad watch in 100 and factory B produces 1 bad

watch in 200. You are given two watches from one of the factories and
you don’t know which one.

(a) What is the probability that the second watch works?

(b) Given that the first watch works, what is the probability that the
second watch works?

8. Let R be a commutative ring containing a field k as a sub-ring. As-

sume that R is a finite dimensional k-vector space. Show that every
prime ideal of R is maximal.

9. Let p, q be prime numbers and n ∈ N such that p - n − 1. If p | nq − 1

then show that q | p − 1.

10. Determine all finite groups which have exactly 3 conjugacy classes.

11. Let F be a field, a ∈ F , p a prime integer. Suppose the polynomial

xp − a is reducible in F [x]. Prove that this polynomial has a root in F .

12. Let V be a finite-dimensional vector space over a field F and let T :

V → V be a linear transformation. Let W ⊆ V be a subspace such
that T (W ) ⊆ W . Suppose T is diagonalizable. Is T restricted to W
also diagonalizable?

2
1. Suppose a, b, c > 0 are in geometric progression and ap = bq = cr 6= 1.
Which one of the following is always true?

(A) p, q, r are in geometric progression

(B) p, q, r are in arithmetic progression
(C) p, q, r are in harmonic progression
(D) p = q = r

2. How many complex numbers z are there such that |z + 1| = |z + i| and

|z| = 5?

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3

3. The number of real roots of the equation

 2 
x +x
2 cos = 2x + 2−x is
6

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) ∞

4. If a, b, c and d satisfy the equations

a + 7b + 3c + 5d = 16
8a + 4b + 6c + 2d = −16
2a + 6b + 4c + 8d = 16
5a + 3b + 7c + d = −16

Then (a + d)(b + c) equals

(A) −4 (B) 0 (C) 16 (D) −16

5. Let
2

 x y , if (x, y) 6= (0, 0)

f (x, y) = x4 + y 2
if (x, y) = (0, 0)

0

Then lim f (x, y)

(x,y)→(0,0)

(A) equals 0 (B) equals 1 (C) equals 2 (D) does not exist

3
 6. Find the centroid of the triangle whose sides are given by the follow-
ing equations:
4x − y = 19
x − y = 4
x + 2y = −11

       
11 7 5 7 11 7 7 11
(A) ,− (B) ,− (C) − , − (D) ,−
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

7. The set of value(s) of α for which y(t) = tα is a solution to the differ-

ential equation

d2 y dy
t2 − 2t + 2y = 0 for t > 0 is
dx2 dx

(A) {1} (B) {1, −1} (C) {1, 2} (D) {−1, 2}

8. Let g : R → R be differentiable with g 0 (x2 ) = x3 for all x > 0 and

g(1) = 1. Then g(4) equals

(A) 64/5 (B) 32/5 (C) 37/5 (D) 67/5

9. Suppose X and Y are two independent random variables both fol-

lowing Poisson distribution with parameter λ. What is the value of
E(X − Y )2 ?

(A) λ (B) 2λ (C) λ2 (D) 4λ2

10. If A1 , A2 , . . . , An are independent events with probabilities p1 , p2 , . . . ,

pn respectively, then
n
!
[
P Ai
i=1

equals

n
X n
Y n
Y n
Y
(A) pi (B) pi (C) (1 − pi ) (D) 1 − (1 − pi )
i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1

4
11. Ravi asked his neighbor to water a delicate plant while he is away.
Without water, the plant would die with probability 4/5 and with
water it would die with probability 3/20. The probability that Ravi’s
neighbor would remember to water the plant is 9/10. If the plant
actually died, what is the probability that Ravi’s neighbor forgot to
water the plant?

(A) 4/5 (B) 27/43 (C) 16/43 (D) 2/25

12. Suppose there are n positive real numbers such that their sum is 20
and the product is strictly greater than 1. What is the maximum pos-
sible value of n?

(A) 18 (B) 19 (C) 20 (D) 21

13. Which one of the following statements is correct regarding the ele-
ments and subsets of the set {1, 2, {1, 2, 3}}?

(A) {1, 2} ∈ {1, 2, {1, 2, 3}} (B) {1, 2} ⊆ {1, 2, {1, 2, 3}}

(C) {1, 2, 3} ⊆ {1, 2, {1, 2, 3}} (D) 3 ∈ {1, 2, {1, 2, 3}}

14. The number of terms independent of x in the binomial expansion of

1 10
 
2
3x + is
x

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 5

15. The number of positive integers n for which n2 +96 is a perfect square
is

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 4

16. Suppose a 6 digit number N is formed by rearranging the digits of

the number 123456. If N is divisible by 5, then the set of all possible
remainders when N is divided by 45 is

(A) {30} (B) {15, 30} (C) {0, 15, 30} (D) {0, 5, 15, 30}

5
17. The number of positive integers n for which

n3 + (n + 1)3 + (n + 2)3 = (n + 3)3

is

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3

!
−1 2
18. Let A = , and B = A + A2 + A3 + · · · + A50 . Then
0 −1

(A) B 2 = I (B) B 2 = 0 (C) B 2 = A (D) B 2 = B

19. Let A be a real 2 × 2 matrix. If 5 + 3i is an eigenvalue of A, then det(A)

(A) equals 4 (B) equals 8 (C) equals 16

(D) cannot be determined from the given information

20. Let f : (0, ∞) → (0, ∞) be a strictly decreasing function. Consider


x
f
1+x
h(x) =  .
x
1+f
1+x

Which one of the following is always true?

(A) h is strictly decreasing

(B) h is strictly increasing
(C) h is strictly decreasing at first and then strictly increasing
(D) h is strictly increasing at first and then strictly decreasing

21. Let A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}. How many functions f : A → A can be

defined such that f (1) < f (2) < f (3)?
     
8 8 8 8 5 8!
(A) (B) 5 (C) 8 (D)
3 3 3 3!

6
 ∞
X an log n
22. The infinite series converges if and only if
n2
n=1

(A) a ∈ [−1, 1) (B) a ∈ (−1, 1] (C) a ∈ [−1, 1] (D) a ∈ (−∞, ∞)

Z ∞
2 /2 √
23. Given that e−x dx = 2π, what is the value of
−∞
Z ∞
|x|−1/2 e−|x| dx?
−∞

√ √
(A) 0 (B) π (C) 2 π (D) ∞

24. Let f : R → R be a strictly increasing function. Then which one of the

following is always true?

(A) The limits lim f (x) and lim f (x) exist for all real numbers a
x→a+ x→a−

(B) If f is differentiable at a then f 0 (a) > 0

(C) There cannot be any real number B such that f (x) < B for all
real x

(D) There cannot be any real number L such that f (x) > L for all
real x

25. An integer is said to be a palindrome if it reads the same forward or

backward. For example, the integer 14541 is a 5-digit palindrome and
12345 is not a palindrome.

How many 8 digit palindromes are prime?

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 11 (D) 19

26. Let x and y be real numbers satisfying 9x2 + 16y 2 = 1. Then (x + y) is

maximum when

(A) y = 9x/16 (B) y = −9x/16 (C) y = 4x/3 (D) y = −4x/3

7
27. Consider the function

e−|x|
f (x) = , x ∈ R.
max{ex , e−x }

Then

(A) f is not continuous at some points

(B) f is continuous everywhere, but not differentiable anywhere
(C) f is continuous everywhere, but not differentiable at exactly one
point
(D) f is differentiable everywhere

28. Let A be a square matrix such that A3 = 0, but A2 6= 0. Then which of

the following statements is not necessarily true?

(A) A 6= A2
(B) Eigenvalues of A2 are all zero
(C) rank(A) > rank(A2 )
(D) rank(A) > trace(A)

29. Suppose a is a real number for which all the roots of the equation
x4 − 2ax2 + x + a2 − a = 0 are real. Then

2 3 3
(A) a < − (B) a = 0 (C) 0 < a < (D) a ≥
3 4 4

30. A club with n members is organized into four committees so that each
member belongs to exactly two committees and each pair of commit-
tees has exactly one member in common. Then

(A) n = 4
(B) n = 6
(C) n = 8
(D) n cannot be determined from the given information

8
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR CANDIDATES

• Please answer FOUR questions from EACH group.

• Each question carries 10 marks. Total marks : 80.

• R, C, Q and N denote respectively the set of all real numbers, the set
of all complex numbers, the set of all rational numbers and the set of
all positive integers.

Group A

1. Let {xn }n∈N be a sequence of real numbers defined as follows: x1 = 1

and for all n ∈ N, xn+1 = (3 + 2xn )/(3 + xn ).

(a) Show that there exists λ ∈ (0, 1) such that for all n ≥ 2,

|xn+1 − xn | ≤ λ|xn − xn−1 |.

(b) Prove that limn→∞ xn exists and find its value.

2. Examine, with justification, whether the following limit exists:

Z eN
2016
lim xe−x dx.
N →∞ N

If the limit exists, then find its value.

3. Does there exist a continuous function f : R → R that takes every real

value exactly twice? Justify your answer.

4. Suppose f : [0, 1] → R is a bounded function such that f is Riemann

integrable on [a, 1] for every a ∈ (0, 1). Is f Riemann integrable on
[0, 1]? Justify your answer. [P. T. O.]

1
5. Let h : R2 → R2 be a surjective function such that

kh(x) − h(y)k ≥ 3kx − yk

for all x, y ∈ R2 . Here k · k denotes the Euclidean norm on R2 . Show

that the image of every open set (in R2 ) under the map h is an open
set (in R2 ).

6. Suppose that g : [0, 1] × [0, 1] → R is a continuous function and

D = {(x, y) ∈ R2 : 0 < x < y < 1}.

Define a new function G : [0, 1] × [0, 1] → R by

Z x
G(x, v) = g(u, v)du, (x, v) ∈ [0, 1] × [0, 1].
0

Now define another function ψ : D → R by

Z y
ψ(x, y) = G(x, v)dv, (x, y) ∈ D.
x

∂ψ
Does ∂y exist at every point in D? Justify your answer.

Group B

7. Let A be a 2 × 2 matrix with complex entries. Suppose that det(A) = 0

and trace(A) 6= 0. Show the followimg:

(a) Kernel(A) ∩ Range(A) = {0}.

(b) C2 = span Kernel(A) ∪ Range(A) .

8. Suppose that B is a nonzero 2 × 2 matrix with complex !

entries. Prove
0 0
that B 2 = 0 if and only if the B and the matrix are similar.
1 0

9. Let S17 be group of all permutations of 17 distinct symbols. How

many subgroups of order 17 does S17 have? Justify your answer.

2
10. Suppose that H and K are two subgroups of a group G. Assume that
[G : H] = 2 and K is not a subgroup of H. Show that HK = G.

11. For any ring R, let R[X] denote the ring of all polynomials with in-
determinate X and coefficients from R. Examine, with justification,
whether the following pairs of rings are isomorphic:

(a) R[X] and C[X].

(b) Q[X]/(X 2 − X) and Q × Q.

12. For any α ∈ R \ Q, let Q(α) be the smallest subfield of R containing

√ √ √
Q ∪ {α}. Find a basis for the vector space Q( 3 + 5) over Q( 15).

3
1. A new sequence is obtained from the sequence of positive integers
{1, 2, 3, . . .} by deleting all the perfect squares. Then the 2015-th term
of the new sequence is C

(A) 2058 (B) 2059 (C) 2060 (D) 2062.

2. The maximum value of cos α1 · cos α2 · · · cos αn under the conditions

0 ≤ αi ≤ π/2 for all i and cot α1 · cot α2 · · · cot αn = 1 is A

1 1 1
(A) (B) (C) (D) none of these.
2n/2 2n 2n

3. Three distinct squares are selected at random from a 8×8 chess board.
Then the probability that they form an L-shaped pattern (looked at
from one fixed side only) as drawn below is B

     
64 64 64
(A) 196/ (B) 49/ (C) 36/ (D) greater than 1/2.
3 3 3

4. The number of functions f : {1, 2, . . . , 10} → {1, 2, . . . , 10} such that

f (x) 6= x for all x is B

(A) 10! (B) 910 (C) 109 (D) 1010 − 1.

5. The set of all real numbers satisfying y 2 − 2y − x2 + 4x = 3 is a D

(A) circle (B) point (C) hyperbola (D) pair of straight lines.

524
6. The fractional part of equals C
24

(A) 5/24 (B) 9/24 (C) 1/24 (D) none of these.

1
 7. Suppose X is distributed as Poisson with mean λ. Then E(1/(X + 1))
is C

eλ − 1 eλ − 1 1 − e−λ 1 − e−λ
(A) (B) (C) (D) .
λ λ+1 λ λ+1

8. In a triangle with sides of length a, b, c, suppose b + c = x and bc = y.

If also (x + a)(x − a) = y, then the triangle is necessarily D

(A) equilateral (B) right angled

(C) acute angled (D) obtuse.

9. Let
log(2 + x) − x2n sin x
f (x) = lim for x > 0.
n→∞ 1 + x2n
Then B

(A) f is continuous at x = 1
(B) lim f (x) 6= lim f (x)
x→1+ x→1−
(C) lim f (x) = sin 1
x→1+
(D) lim f (x) does not exist.
x→1−

10. Suppose a real matrix A satisfies A3 = A, A 6= I, A 6= 0. If Rank(A) =

r and Trace(A) = t, then B

(A) r ≥ t and r + t is odd

(B) r ≥ t and r + t is even
(C) r < t and r + t is odd
(D) r < t and r + t is even.

dy
11. The equation ex + 3y = x2 y is C
dx
(A) separable and not linear
(B) linear and not separable
(C) separable and linear
(D) neither separable nor linear.

2
12. Let G be the cyclic group generated by an element a of order 30. What
is the order of a18 ? D

(A) 30 (B) 10 (C) 6 (D) none of these.

13. The remainder when x2015 + x2014 + 2015 is divided by x2 − 1 equals A

(A) x + 2016 (B) x − 2016 (C) 2016x + 1 (D) x + 2015.

14. If P, Q are two invertible matrices such that P Q = −QP , then A

(A) Trace(P ) = Trace(Q) = 0

(B) Trace(P ) = Trace(Q) = 1
(C) Trace(P ) 6= Trace(Q)
(D) None of these.

15. Let f be a convex function, i.e.,

f (tx + (1 − t)y) ≤ tf (x) + (1 − t)f (y)

for all 0 ≤ t ≤ 1 and x, y ∈ R. Then which of the following is neces-

sarily true? A

(A) 2f (0) + f (4) ≥ 2f (1) + f (2)

(B) f g is a convex function whenever g is convex
(C) f is nondecreasing
(D) none of these.

16. Suppose A is a 100×100 real symmetric matrix whose diagonal entries

are all positive. Then which of the following is necessarily true? C

(A) All eigenvalues of A are greater than 0

(B) no eigenvalue of A is greater than 0
(C) at least one eigenvalue of A is greater than 0
(D) none of these.

3
17. The function F (k) is defined for positive integers as F (1) = 1, F (2) =
1, F (3) = −1 and F (2k) = F (k), F (2k + 1) = F (k) for k ≥ 2. Then
F (1) + F (2) + · · · + F (63) equals A

(A) 1 (B) −1 (C) −32 (D) 32.

18. For a > 0, the series

∞
X
aloge n
n=2
is convergent if and only if D

(A) 0 < a < 1 (B) 0 < a ≤ e

(C) 0 < a < e (D) 0 < a < 1/e.

19. Let
1 1
f (x) = x2 + +x+ , x>0
x2 x
and let m = min{f (x)}. Then B

(A) m = 1 (B) m = 4 (C) m = 27/4 (D) m does not exist.

20. The integral

Z 1
sin x
dx
0 xα

(A) is finite only for α = 0 C

(B) is finite only for |α| < 1
(C) is finite for all α < 2
(D) is infinite for any value of α.

21. Given θ in the range 0 ≤ θ < π, the equation

2x2 + 2y 2 + 4x cos θ + 8y sin θ + 5 = 0

represents a circle for all θ in the interval B

(A) 0 < θ < π/3 (B) π/4 < θ < 3π/4

(C) 0 < θ < π/2 (D) 0 ≤ θ < π.

4
22. For a natural number n, let d(n) denote the number of divisors of n,
including 1 and n. If 1525 ≤ n ≤ 1675 and d(n) = 21, then n equals B

(A) 1550 (B) 1600 (C) 1625 (D) 1650.

23. How many 5 × 5 matrices are there such that each entry is 0 or 1 and
each row sum and each column sum is 4? C

(A) 64 (B) 32 (C) 120 (D) 96.

24. There are 10 boxes each containing 6 white and 7 red balls. Two ran-
dom boxes are chosen, one ball is drawn simultaneously at random
from each and transferred to the other box. Now a box is again chosen
from the 10 boxes and a ball is chosen from it. Then the probability
that this ball is white is A

(A) 6/13 (B) 7/13 (C) 5/13 (D) none of these.

25. The integral

∞Z ∞
e−(x+y)
Z
dxdy
0 0 x+y
is C

(A) infinite
(B) finite, but cannot be evaluated in closed form
(C) 1
(D) 2.

26. Let
1 · 2 · 3 + 2 · 3 · 4 + · · · upto n terms
An = .
n(1 · 2 + 2 · 3 + · · · upto n terms)
Then lim An is C
n→∞

(A) 1/4 (B) 1/2 (C) 3/4 (D) 5/4.

5
 π k
27. For n ≥ 1, let Gn be the geometric mean of {sin( · ) : 1 ≤ k ≤ n}.
2 n
Then lim Gn is D
n→∞

1
(A) 1/4 (B) log 2 (C) 2 log 2 (D) 1/2.

28. Suppose a, b, x, y are real numbers such that a2 +b2 = 81, x2 +y 2 = 121
and ax + by = 99. Then the set of all possible values of ay − bx is A
     
9 9 9
(A) {0} (B) 0, (C) 0, (D) ,∞ .
11 11 11

29. A solution of
d2 x dx
+ − 2x = 0
dt2 dt
that satisfies x(0) = 3 and remains bounded as t → ∞ is C

(A) x = 3e−t (B) x = 4e−2t − et (C) x = 3e−2t (D) x = 2e−2t + e−t .

√
30. Let G1 = {1, −1, i, −i} and G2 = {1, ω, ω 2 }, where i = −1 and ω is a
complex cube root of 1. Define an operation on the Cartesian product
G = G1 × G2 by

(x1 , y1 ) ? (x2 , y2 ) = (x1 x2 , y1 y2 ).

Then D
(A) (G, ?) is not a group
(B) (G, ?) is a group but not cyclic
(C) (G, ?) is a group but not commutative
(D) (G, ?) is a commutative cyclic group.

6
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR CANDIDATES

• Please answer FOUR questions from EACH group.

• Each question carries 10 marks. Total marks : 80.

• R and Q denote the set of real numbers and the set of rational numbers
respectively.

Group A

n
1 P
1. If (an ) is a sequence in (0, 1), show that n ak → 0 if and only if
k=1
n
1
a2k → 0.
P
n
k=1

2. Let f : R → R be a continuously differentiable function. Suppose

δ = inf f 0 (x) > 0. Prove that f (a) = 0 for some a ∈ R.
x∈R

R∞  sin x 
3. Show that   dx = ∞.
x
0

4. Prove that a sequence of continuous functions fn : [0, 1] → R con-

verges uniformly to a continuous function f if and only if fn (xn ) →
f (x) whenever xn → x.

5. Let (X, d) be a metric space. If there exists an uncountable set A ⊂ X

such that inf{d(x, y) : x ∈ A, y ∈ A, x 6= y} > 0, show that X is
not separable. [This means there is no countable subset of X which
is dense.] Hence or otherwise show the following metric space is not
separable: X is the space of all functions f : R → [0, 1] and d(f, g) =
sup{|f (x) − g(x)| : x ∈ R}.

6. Let y1 and y2 be solutions of y 00 +P (x)y 0 +Q(x)y = R(x) on [a, b] where

P, Q, R are continuous functions on [a, b]. Prove that either y1 = y2 or
{x ∈ [a, b] | y1 (x) = y2 (x)} is finite.

1
 Group B

1. Let T : X → Y be an R-linear map of R-vector spaces X and Y of

finite dimension. Let W ⊆ Y be an R vector subspace such that Im T
and W together span Y . Let Z = T −1 (W ). Show that

dim X + dim W = dim Y + dim Z.

2. Let f ∈ Q[X] be a polynomial of degree n > 0. Let p1 , p2 , . . . , pn+1 be

distinct prime numbers. Show that there exists a non-zero polynomial
n+1
ci X pi with ci ∈ Q.
P
g ∈ Q[X] such that f g =
i=1

3. Prove that the largest possible number of 1’s in an n × n invertible

matrix with all entries 0 or 1, is n2 − n + 1.

4. Let G be a group which has only finitely many subgroups. Prove that
G must be finite.

5. Let A be a commutative ring with unity. Prove that the set

Z = {a ∈ A : ab = 0 for some nonzero b ∈ A}

contains a prime ideal of A.

6. Suppose the polynomial X 4 + X + 1 has multiple roots over a field of

characteristic p. Determine the possible values of p.

2
1. The four distinct points (−a, −b), (0, 0), (a, b) and (a2 , ab) are

(A) vertices of parallelogram (B) vertices of rectangle

(C) collinear (D) lying on a circle.

2. Two integers m and n are chosen at random with replacement from

the natural numbers 1, 2, . . . , 9. The probability that m2 − n2 is divisi-
ble by 4 is

41 37 2 4
(A) (B) (C) (D) .
81 81 3 9

3. If |2z | = 1 for a non-zero complex number z then which one of the

following is necessarily true.

(A) Re(z) = 0. (B) |z| = 1. (C) Re(z) = 1. (D) No such z exists.

4. How many pair of positive integers of (m, n) are there satisfying

n
X
i! = m!
i=1

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3.

 
1
5. The value of lim sin x sin
x→0 x

(A) is 0 (B) is 1 (C) is 2 (D) does not exist.

6. The sum of an infinite geometric series of real numbers is 14, and the
sum of the cubes of the terms of this series is 392. Then the first term
of the series is

(A) −14 (B) 10 (C) 7 (D) −5.

Z π
x
7. The value of the integral dx is
0 1 + sin2 x

√ π2 π2 √
(A) 2 2π 2 (B) √ (C) √ (D) 2π 2 .
2 2 2

1
 8. Number of integers x between 1 and 95 such that 96 divides 60x is

(A) 0 (B) 7 (C) 8 (D) 11.

9. Consider the function for all x ∈ (0, 1),


x if x is rational,
f (x) =
1 − x otherwise.

Then, the function f is

(A) everywhere continuous on (0, 1)
(B) continuous only on rational points in (0, 1)
(C) nowhere continuous on (0, 1)
(D) continuous only at a single point in (0, 1).

10. E1 and E2 are two events such that P (E1 ) = 0.2 and P (E2 ) = 0.5.
What are the minimum and maximum possible values of P (E1c | E2c )?

(A) 0 and 0.6 (B) 0.4 and 0.6 (C) 0.4 and 1 (D) 0.6 and 1.

11. Let X1 , X2 , X3 , X4 be i.i.d. random variables each assuming the val-

ues 1 and −1 with probability 1/2 each. Then, the probability that the
matrix !
X1 X2
X3 X4
is nonsingular equals

(A) 1/2 (B) 3/8 (C) 5/8 (D) 1/4.

12. For any matrix A, let At denote its transpose matrix. What is the min-
imum value of trace(AAt ) for an n × n nonsingular matrix A with
integer entries?

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) n (D) n2 .

13. The area bounded by the curves arg(z) = π/3, arg(z) = 2π/3 and
√
arg(z − 2 − 2 3i) = π on the complex plane is given by
√ √ √ √
(A) 2 3 (B) 4 3 (C) 3 (D) 3 3.

2
14. The locus of the center of a circle that passes through origin and cuts
off a length 2a from the line y = c is

(A) x2 + 2cx = a2 + c2 (B) x2 + 2cy = a2 + c2

(C) y 2 + cx = a2 + c2 (D) y 2 + 2cy = a2 + c2 .

15. Let f : R → R be such that f (x) = x3 − 3x2 + 5x − 10. Then, f is

(A) neither one to one nor onto
(B) one to one but not onto
(C) not one to one but onto
(D) both one to one and onto.

16. Let X, Y be random variables such that

1
P (X = 1 | Y = 1) = P (X = 1 | Y = 2) = P (X = 1 | Y = 3) = .
2
Then, which one of the following statements is true?
(A) No such X and Y can exist satisfying the above condition.
(B) P (X = 1 | Y ∈ {1, 2, 3}) = 1/2.
(C) P (X = 1 | Y ∈ {1, 2, 3}) < 1/2.
(D) P (X = 1 | Y ∈ {1, 2, 3}) > 1/2.

17. What is the minimum value of |z + w| for complex numbers z and w

with zw = 1?

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3.

18. Let
   
a b c −x a −p
   
D1 = det  x y z  and D2 = det  y −b
  
.
q 
p q r z −c r

Then

(A) D1 = D2 (B) D1 = 2D2 (C) D1 = −D2 (D) D2 = 2D1 .

3
19. Let a and b be real numbers such that
 
sin 3x a
lim + 2 + b = 0.
x→0 x3 x

Then

(A) a = −3, b = 9/2 (B) a = 3, b = 9/2

(C) a = −3, b = −9/2 (D) a = −3, b = −9/2.

20. Let α, β, γ be the roots of x3 − px + q = 0. Then

 
α β γ
 
 β γ α  equals to
det  
γ α β

(A) p (B) q (C) pq (D) 0.

1 1 1 1
21. Let x, y, z be consecutive positive integers such that x + y + z > 10 .
Then the maximum value of x + y + z is

(A) 99 (B) 96 (C) 90 (D) 87.

22. Let G denote the group {1, ω, ω 2 } under multiplication where ω is a

complex cube root of unity. How many group homomorphism are
there from G to S3 , the permutation group over 3 elements?

(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 6.

23. Let 1, w1 , w2 , . . . , w9 be the distinct complex 10th roots of unity. Then

9
X 1
(1 − w1 ) · · · (1 − w9 ) × ( ) equals to
1 − wj
j=1

(A) 90 (B) 45 (C) 10 (D) 9.

24. The number of five digit integers of the form x678y which is divisible
by 55 is
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 4.

4
25. Let [x] denote the greatest integer less than or equal to x. Then
p p
lim n2 + 2n − [ n2 + 2n]
n→∞

(A) is 0 (B) is 1/2 (C) is 1 (D) does not exist.

26. Let f : (0, ∞) → R be a function defined as f (x) = x1/x then the range
of f is

(A) (0, ∞) (B) (0, 1] (C) (0, e1/e ] (D) [e1/e , ∞).

27. A sequence of real numbers xn are defined as follows:

1 + xn+1
xn+2 = , n = 0, 1, 2, · · · and x0 = 1, x1 = 2.
xn

Then x2014 equals to

(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) none of the above.

28. How many triangles can be formed with vertices of a 10-sided poly-
gon so that no side of the triangle is a side of the polygon?
       
10 8 10 10
(A) (B) (C) − 80 (D) − 70.
3 3 3 3

29. Let S = {1, 2, . . . , 10}. Then the number of pairs (A, B), where A and
B are non-empty disjoint subsets of S is

(A) 310 − 1 (B) 310 − 210 (C) 310 − 210 + 1 (D) 310 − 211 + 1.

30. Let vt denote the transpose of the column vector v. Consider two
non-zero p-dimensional column vectors a and b, p ≥ 2. How many
non-zero distinct eigenvalues does the p × p matrix abt + bat have?

(A) 0 or 1 (B) 1 or 2 (C) exactly 2 (D) 0, 1, or 2.

5
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR CANDIDATES

• Please answer FOUR questions from EACH group.

• Each question carries 10 marks. Total marks : 80.

• R, C, Z and N denote respectively the set of real numbers, set of com-

plex numbers, set of all integers and set of all positive integers.

Group A

1. Let f be a twice differentiable function on (0, 1). It is given that for all
x ∈ (0, 1), |f 00 (x)| ≤ M where M is a non-negative real number. Prove
that f is uniformly continuous on (0, 1).

2. Let f be a real-valued continuous function on [0, 1] which is twice

continuously differentiable on (0, 1). Suppose that f (0) = f (1) = 0
and f satisfies the following equation:

x2 f 00 (x) + x4 f 0 (x) − f (x) = 0.

(a) If f attains its maximum M at some point x0 in the open interval

(0, 1), then prove that M = 0.
(b) Prove that f is identically zero on [0, 1].

3. Consider the set S consisting of all Cauchy sequences (an )n∈N with
an ∈ N for all n. Is the set S countable? Justify your answer.

4. Let A be a compact subset of R \ {0} and B be a closed subset of Rn .

Prove that the set {a · b | a ∈ A, b ∈ B} is closed in Rn .

5. Does there exist a continuous function f : [0, 1] → [0, ∞) such that

Z 1
xn f (x) dx = 1 for all n ≥ 1? Justify your answer.
0

6. Prove that there exists a constant c > 0 such that for all x ∈ [1, ∞),
X 1 c
2
≤ .
n x
n≥x

1
 Group B

1. Let (Q, +) be the group of rational numbers under addition. If G1 , G2

are nonzero subgroups of (Q, +), then prove that G1 ∩ G2 6= {0}.

2. With proper justifications, examine whether there exists any surjec-

tive group homomorphism
√
(a) from the group (Q( 2), +) to the group (Q, +),
(b) from the group (R, +) to the group (Z, +).

3. Consider the ring

 k  
2 m 
R= m, n odd integers; k is a non-negative integer .
n 

(a) Describe all the units (invertible elements) of R.

(b) Demonstrate one nonzero proper ideal I of R.
(c) Examine whether the ideal I that you have chosen, is a prime
ideal of R (that is, whether a · b ∈ I implies a ∈ I or b ∈ I).

4. Let T : Rn → Rn be a linear transformation such that T 2 = 0. If r

denotes the rank of T (that is, r = dim(Image(T ))), then show that
r ≤ n2 .

5. Let A be a 2 × 2 matrix with real entries such that Tr(A) = 0 and

det(A) = −1.

(a) Prove that there is a basis of R2 consisting of eigenvectors of A.

(b) Suppose that T is a 2 × 2 real matrix with respect to the above
basis such that T A = AT . Prove that T is a diagonal matrix with
respect to that basis.
√ √
6. Let i = −1 and α = i + 2. Construct a polynomial f (x) with
integer coefficients such that f (α) = 0.