NATIONAL BOARD FOR HIGHER MATHEMATICS

Research Scholarships Screening Test

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Time Allowed: 150 Minutes

Maximum Marks: 40

Please read, carefully, the instructions on the following page

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INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

• Please ensure that this booklet contains 11 numbered (and printed)

pages. The back of each printed page is blank and can be used for
rough work.

• There are five sections, containing ten questions each, entitled Al-
gebra, Analysis, Topology, Applied Mathematics and Miscellaneous.
Answer as many questions as possible. The assessment of the paper
will be based on the best four sections. Each question carries one point
and the maximum possible score is forty.

• Answer each question, as directed, in the space provided in the answer

booklet, which is being supplied separately. This question paper is
meant to be retained by you and so do not answer questions on it.

• In certain questions you are required to pick out the qualifying state-
ment(s) from multiple choices. None of the statements, or one or more
than one statement may qualify. Write none if none of the statements
qualify, or list the labels of all the qualifying statements (amongst (a),
(b), and (c)).

• Points will be awarded in the above questions only if all the correct
choices are made. There will be no partial credit.

• N denotes the set of natural numbers, Z - the integers, Q - the rationals,

R - the reals and C - the field of complex numbers. Rn denotes the
n-dimensional Euclidean space, which is assumed to be endowed with
its ‘usual’ topology. The symbol ]a, b[ will stand for the open interval
{x ∈ R | a < x < b} while [a, b] will stand for the corresponding
closed interval; [a, b[ and ]a, b] will stand for the corresponding left-
closed-right-open and left-open-right-closed intervals respectively. The
symbol I will denote the identity matrix of appropriate order. The
space of continuous real valued functions on an interval [a, b] is denoted
by C[a, b] and is endowed with its usual ‘sup’ norm.

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Section 1: Algebra

1.1 Solve:
x4 − 3x3 + 4x2 − 3x + 1 = 0.
1.2 Pick out the true statements:
a. Let H and K be subgroups of a group G. For g ∈ G, define the double
coset
HgK = {hgk | h ∈ H, k ∈ K}.
Then, if H is normal, we have HgH = gH for all g ∈ G.
b. Let GL(n; C) be the group of all n × n invertible matrices with complex
entries. The set of all n × n invertible upper triangular matrices is a normal
subgroup.
c. Let M(n; R) denote the set of all n×n matrices with real entries (identified
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with Rn and endowed with its usual topology) and let GL(n; R) denote the
group of invertible matrices. Let G be a subgroup of GL(n; R). Define

there exists ϕ : [0, 1] → G continuous,
H = A∈G| .
such that ϕ(0) = A, ϕ(1) = I
Then, H is a normal subgroup of G.

1.3 How many (non-isomorphic) groups of order 15 are there?

1.4 Pick out the true statements:

a. Let R be a commutative ring with identity. Let M be an ideal such that
every element of R not in M is a unit. Then R/M is a field.
b. Let R be as above and let M be an ideal such that R/M is an integral
domain. Then M is a prime ideal.
c. Let R = C[0, 1] be the ring of real-valued continuous functions on [0, 1]
with respect to pointwise addition and pointwise multiplication. Let

M = {f ∈ R | f (0) = f (1) = 0}.

Then M is a maximal ideal.

1.5 Write down all the possible values for the degree of an irreducible poly-
nomial in R[x].

1.6 Let V be the real vector space of all polynomials in R[x] with degree less
than, or equal to 4. Consider the linear transformation which maps p ∈ V
to its derivative p0 . If the matrix of this transformation with respect to the
basis {1, x, x2 , x3 , x4 } is A, write down the matrix A3 .

1.7 Let T(n; R) ⊂ M(n; R) denote the set of all matrices whose trace is zero.
Write down a basis for T(2; R).

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1.8 What is the quotient space M(n; R)/T(n; R) isomorphic to?

1.9 Construct a 2 × 2 matrix A(6= I) with real entries such that A3 = I.

1.10 If A ∈ M(n; R), let t A denote its transpose. A matrix S ∈ M(n; R) is

said to be skew-symmetric if t S = −S. Pick out the true statements:
a. If S ∈ M(n; R) is skew-symmetric and non-singular, then n is even.
b. Let

G = {T ∈ GL(n; R) | t T ST = S, for all skew-symmetric S ∈ M(n; R)}.

Then G is a subgroup of GL(n; R).

c. Let In and On denote the n × n identity and null matrices respectively.
let S be the 2n × 2n matrix given in block form by

On In
.
−In On

If X is a 2n×2n matrix such that t XS +SX = 0, then the trace of X is zero.

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Section 2: Analysis

P {an } be a sequence of positive terms. Pick out the cases which imply
2.1 Let
that an is convergent.
a.
3 3
lim n 2 an = .
n→∞ 2
b. X
n2 a2n < ∞.
c. 2
an+1 n
< , for all n.
an n+1
2.2 Evaluate:
n2

1 4
lim + + · · · + .
n→∞ 1 + n3 8 + n3 n3 + n3
2.3 Find the points in R where the following function is differentiable:
tan−1 x,

if |x| ≤ 1
f (x) = π |x|−1
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sgn(x) + 2 , if |x| > 1,
where sgn(x) equals +1 if x > 0, −1 if x < 0 and is equal to zero if x = 0
and tan−1 (x) takes its values in the range ] − π/2, π/2[ for real numbers x.

2.4 Pick out the true statements:

a. If P is a polynomial in one variable with real coefficients which has all its
roots real, then its derivative P 0 has all its roots real as well.
b. The equation cos(sin x) = x has exactly one solution in the interval [0, π2 ].
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c. cos x > 1 − x2 for all x > 0.

2.5 Let f, fn : [0, 1] → R be continuous functions. Complete the following

sentence such that both statements (a) and (b) below are true:
“Let fn → f .......”
a. Z 1 Z 1
lim fn (x) dx = f (x) dx.
n→∞ 0 0
b.
lim lim fn (x) = lim lim fn (x).
n→∞ x→0 x→0 n→∞

2.6 Let f :]0, 1[→ R be continuous. Pick out the statements which imply
that f is uniformly continuous.
p
a. |f (x) − f (y)| ≤ |x − y|, for all x, y ∈]0, 1[.
b. f (1/n) → 1/2 and f (1/n2 ) → 1/4.
c.
1 1
f (x) = x 2 sin 3 .
x

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2.7 Evaluate: Z Z
max{x, y} dxdy.
[0,1]×[0,1]

2.8 Let f : C → C be analytic. Pick out the cases when f is not necessarily
a constant.
a. Im(f 0 (z)) > 0 for all z ∈ C.
b. f (n) = 3 for all n ∈ Z.
c. f 0 (0) = 0 and |f 0 (z)| ≤ 3 for all z ∈ C.

2.9 Let f : C → C be analytic. Write z = x + iy and f = u + iv, where u

and v are real valued functions of x and y. Pick out the true statements.
a.
∂u ∂v
f 0 (z) = +i
∂x ∂x

b.
∂2u ∂2u
+ = 0.
∂x2 ∂y 2
c. Z
00 1 f (z)
f (0) = dz.
2πi |z|=1 z 3
√
2.10 Find the square roots of 1 + i 3.

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Section 3: Topology

3.1 Which of the following define a metric?

a. d((x, y), (x0 , y 0 )) = min{|x − x0 |, |y − y 0 |} on R2 .
b. d((x, y), (x0 , y 0 )) = |x| + |y| + |x0 | + |y 0 | on R2 .
c. D((x, y), (x0 , y 0 )) = d(x, x0 ) + d(y, y 0 ) on X × X, where (X, d) is a metric
space.

3.2 Let (X, d) be a metric space and let A ⊂ X. For x ∈ X define

d(x, A) = inf{d(x, y) | y ∈ A}.

Pick out the true statements:

a. x 7→ d(x, A) is a uniformly continuous function.
b. If

∂A = {x ∈ X | d(x, A) = 0} ∩ {x ∈ X | d(x, X\A) = 0},

then ∂A is closed for any A ⊂ X.

c. Let A and B be subsets of X and define

d(A, B) = inf{d(a, B) | a ∈ A}.

Then d(A, B) = d(B, A).

3.3 Let X be a topological space and for A ⊂ X, denote by A and A◦ , the

closure and interior of A respectively. Pick out the true statements.
a. A ∪ B = A ∪ B.
b. A ∩ B = A ∩ B.
c. Consider R as the x-axis in R2 . Then R◦ = ∅.

3.4 Pick out the true statements.

a. Let {Xi }i∈I be topological spaces. Then, the product topology is the
smallest topology on X = Πi∈I Xi such that each of the canonical projec-
tions pi : X → Xi is continuous.
b. Let X be a topological space and W ⊂ X. Then, the induced subspace
topology on W is the smallest topology such that id|W : W → X, where id
is the identity map, is continuous.
c. Let X = Rn with the usual topology. This is the smallest topology such
that all linear functionals on X are continuous.

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3.5 Which of the following subsets are dense in the given spaces?
a. The set of trigonometric polynomials in the space of continuous functions
on [−π, π] which are 2π-periodic (with the sup-norm topology).
b. The subset of C ∞ functions with compact support in R in the space of
bounded real-valued continuous functions on R (with the sup-norm topol-
ogy).
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c. GL(n; R) in M(n; R) (with its usual topology after identification with Rn ).

3.6 Pick out the compact sets.

a. {(x, y) | x2 − y 2 = 1} ⊂ R2 .
b. {Tr(A) | A ∈ M(n; R), A orthogonal} ⊂ R, where Tr(A) denotes the trace
of the matrix A.
c. The set of all matrices in M(n; R) all of whose eigenvalues satisfy the
condition |λ| ≤ 2.

3.7 Pick out the connected sets.

a. {(x, y) | xy = 1} ⊂ R2 .
b. The set of all upper triangular matrices in M(n; R).
c. The set of all invertible diagonal matrices in M(n; R).

3.8 Pick out the true statements.

a. Let f : Z → Z2 be a bijection. There exists a continuous function from R
to R2 which extends f .
b. Let D denote the closed unit disc in R2 . There exists a continuous map-
ping f : D\{(0, 0)} → {x ∈ R | |x| ≤ 1} which is onto.
c. Let D denote the closed unit disc in R2 . There exists a continuous map-
ping f : D\{(0, 0)} → {x ∈ R | |x| > 1} which is onto.

3.9 A Hausdorff topological space is said to be normal if given any two dis-
joint closed sets A and B, there exist disjoint open sets U and V such that
A ⊂ U and B ⊂ V . Pick out the true statements.
a. Every metric space is normal.
b. If X is a normal space with at least two distinct points, then there exist
non-constant real-valued continuous functions on X.
c. If X is normal and Y ⊂ X is closed, then Y is normal for the induced
topology.

3.10 Which of the following pairs of sets are homeomorphic?

a. A = {(x, y) | x2 + y 2 − 2x + 4y − 5 = 0} and
B = {(x, y) |5x2 + 3y 2 = 1}.
b. A = {(x, y) | x2 + y 2 − 2x + 4y − 5 = 0} and
B = {(x, y) |5x2 − 3y 2 = 1}.
c. A = {(x, y) | x2 + y 2 − 2x + 4y − 5 ≤ 0} and
B = {(x, y) |5x2 + 3y 2 ≥ 1}.

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Section 4: Applied Mathematics
R1
4.1 Simpson’s rule is used to approximate the integral 0 f (x) dx. If f is a
polynomial, what is the maximum possible degree it can have so that Simp-
son’s rule gives the exact value of this integral?

4.2 A right circular cylinder of fixed volume has maximum total surface area.
What is the relationship between its height h and radius r?

4.3 In the equations governing the flow of an incompressible fluid of uniform

density, if u is the velocity vector and p is the pressure, write down the equa-
tion which expresses the law of conservation of mass.

4.4 A particle of mass M is attached to a fixed wall by a spring. The spring

exerts no force when the particle is at its equilibrium position at x = 0 and
exerts a restoring force proportional to the displacement when it is displaced
to a distance x. In addition, there is a damping force due to the medium
in which the displacement takes place, which is a force opposing the motion
and is proportional to the velocity of the particle. If the particle is pulled to
a position x0 at time t = 0 and is released without any velocity, write down
the initial value problem governing the motion of the particle.

4.5 Solve the following linear programming problem:

max z = 5x + 7y
x−y ≤ 1
2x + y ≥ 2
x + 2y ≤ 4
x, y ≥ 0.
4.6 Write down the dual of the above problem.

4.7 Find the general solution of the system:

dx
dt
= x+y
dy
dt
= 4x − 2y.
4.8 Let a, b and c be vectors in R3 . Express a × (b × c) as a linear combi-
nation of b and c.

4.9 Solve:
∂2u ∂u
2
= 6xy; u(0, y) = y; (1, y) = 0.
∂x ∂x
4.10 Let Ω be a smooth plane domain of unit area. Let u(x, y) = 3x2 + y 2 .
∂u
If ∂n denotes its outer normal derivative on ∂Ω, the boundary of Ω, compute
Z
∂u
ds.
∂Ω ∂n

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Section 5: Miscellaneous

5.1 Let V be a real vector space of real-valued functions on a given set. As-
sume that constant functions are in V and that if f ∈ V , then f 2 ∈ V and
that |f | ∈ V . Pick out the true statements.
a. If f, g ∈ V , then f g ∈ V .
b. If f, g ∈ V , then max{f, g} ∈ V .
c. If f ∈ V and p is any polynomial in one variable, with real coefficients,
then p(f ) ∈ V .

5.2 A fair coin is tossed 10 times, the tosses being independent of each other.
Find the probability that the results of the third, fourth and fifth tosses are
identical.

5.3 Determine if the following collections are countable or uncountable.

a. The collection of all finite subsets of N.
b. The collection of all infinite sequences of positive integers.
c. The collection of all roots of all polynomials in one variable, with integer
coefficients.

5.4 Find the maximum value of x + 2y + 3z subject to the constraint x2 +

y 2 + z 2 = 1.

5.5 Let An be the n × n matrix whose (i, j)-th entry is given by

2δij − δi+1,j − δi,j+1

where δij equals 1 if i = j and zero otherwise. Compute the determinant of

An .

5.6 How many real roots does the following equation have?

3x + 4x = 5x

5.7 Let N > 1 be a positive integer. Let φ(N ) denote the number of positive
integers less than N and prime to it (unity being included in this count). Ex-
press the sum of all the integers less than N and prime to it in terms of φ(N ).

5.8 Pick out the true statements.

a. The sum of r consecutive positive integers is divisible by r.
b. The product of r consecutive positive integers is divisible by r!.
c. For each positive integer r, there exist r consecutive positive integers
which are all composite.

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5.9 Let n be a fixed positive integer and let 0 ≤ k ≤ n. We denote by Ck ,
the number of ways of choosing k objects from n distinct objects. Sum to n
terms:
3C1 + 7C2 + 11C3 + · · ·
5.10 Find the sum of the following infinite series:
1 1.4 1.4.7
− + − ···
5 5.10 5.10.15

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