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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Kanigel characterize Ramanujan's solutions to the math problems in 'A Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics'?
(a) As frequently wrong.
(b) As inconsistent.
(c) As odd.
(d) As flawless.

2. What contributed to Ramanujan's status as a potential husband?
(a) He was fat.
(b) He was wealthy.
(c) He was handsome.
(d) He was monomaniacally interested in math.

3. How does Kanigel describe Ramanujan's youth?
(a) Idle.
(b) Devout.
(c) Indifferent.
(d) Productive.

4. How does Kanigel describe education at Hardy's college?
(a) Students worked together to make presentations to tutors.
(b) Students followed their own inclination in study.
(c) Students took a ferocious load of classes.
(d) Students worked with tutors instead of taking classes.

5. What does Kanigel say about Ramanujan's marriage?
(a) It had all the ingredients for a lovely match.
(b) There were omens of disaster.
(c) Both parties resisted it.
(d) It was seen as fortuitous.

6. How old was the wife Ramanujan's parents found?
(a) 13.
(b) 9.
(c) 11.
(d) 15.

7. What was Ramanujan like in school?
(a) He liked math and science, but not literature.
(b) He was good at all his studies.
(c) He was a poor student.
(d) He excelled only in math.

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

9. Why did Hardy need to excel on the entrance exams for secondary education?
(a) Admissions were extremely competitive.
(b) He would have low status at school if his test scores were low.
(c) Testing was the sole criterion for admission.
(d) His family could not afford the best schools.

10. What class was Ramanujan raised in?
(a) Pancha-Gauda Brahmin.
(b) Pancha-Dravida Brahmin.
(c) Maharashtra Brahmin.
(d) Shaivite Brahmin.

11. What did Ramanujan contract from a mosquito-borne disease?
(a) Partial deafness.
(b) Swelling in his scrotum.
(c) Fevers.
(d) A limp.

12. What does Kanigel say Ramanujan learned from an old book?
(a) Algebra.
(b) Analytic trigonometry.
(c) The theory of relativity.
(d) Calculus.

13. Where was Ramanujan born?
(a) Kumbakonam.
(b) Erode.
(c) Madras.
(d) Uttar Pradesh.

14. What was Ramanujan's religion?
(a) Tamil.
(b) Confucian.
(c) Hindu.
(d) Muslim.

15. What was Ramanujan's father's employment?
(a) Low-level clerk.
(b) Tradesman.
(c) Merchant.
(d) Priest.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Ramanujan publish his first journal article?

2. Which god was Ramanujan's family devoted to?

3. How does Kanigel say Ramanujan would solve math problems?

4. How does Kanigel describe Ramanujan's early temperament?

5. What interrupted Ramanujan's wedding?

(see the answer keys)

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