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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where did Ramanujan's parents find a wife for him?
(a) Uttar Pradesh.
(b) Madras.
(c) An orphanage.
(d) A nearby village.

2. When did Ramanujan begin to speak?
(a) Two years.
(b) Three years.
(c) One year.
(d) Eighteen months.

3. When does Kanigel say Ramanujan got hold of 'A Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics'?
(a) At 10.
(b) At 16.
(c) At 19.
(d) At 13.

4. What does Kanigel say Ramanujan did at age 17?
(a) Got married.
(b) Graduated college.
(c) Ran away from home.
(d) Graduated high school.

5. When was Ramanujan born?
(a) 1877.
(b) 1890.
(c) 1887.
(d) 1892.

6. What happened to Ramanujan's scholarship?
(a) It was renewed for four years.
(b) It was expanded to his graduate study.
(c) It was withdrawn.
(d) It was jeopardized by Ramanujan's poor grades.

7. Who was G. H. Hardy?
(a) Ramanujan's father-in-law.
(b) Ramanujan's boss.
(c) The mathematician who helped Ramanujan.
(d) Ramanujan's Colorado-author.

8. Where would Ramanujan's technique of solving math problems run into difficulty?
(a) With multi-variable formulas.
(b) With very large or very small numbers.
(c) With Pi.
(d) With irrational numbers.

9. What was G. H. Hardy's status in Britain?
(a) Preeminent mathematician.
(b) Dean of Cambridge.
(c) Head of a secret society in London.
(d) Religious leader.

10. How does Kanigel characterize Ramanujan's first paper?
(a) Exciting but incomplete.
(b) Immaculate.
(c) Exquisite.
(d) Detailed.

11. What did Ramanujan do while he waited for his wife?
(a) Travel through Asia.
(b) Travel South India.
(c) Take a job in Madras.
(d) Live with his parents.

12. Why did Ramanujan leave school?
(a) He completed the coursework.
(b) He was expelled.
(c) His family could not afford it without the scholarship.
(d) He got sick.

13. What distinguished Ramanujan's class?
(a) Hand work.
(b) Learning and religion.
(c) Mercantilism.
(d) The trades.

14. How does Kanigel say Ramanujan would solve math problems?
(a) By solving one part at a time.
(b) He would intuit the solution.
(c) By adding numbers to formulas.
(d) By turning values into variables.

15. What did parents see when they looked at Ramanujan as a prospective husband?
(a) A genius.
(b) A well-connected man.
(c) A criminal.
(d) An unemployed man.

Short Answer Questions

1. What contributed to Ramanujan's status as a potential husband?

2. How does Kanigel describe Hardy?

3. When did Ramanujan win a scholarship for his math skills?

4. Where did Ramanujan publish his first journal article?

5. Where did Ramanujan go when he was 17?

(see the answer keys)

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