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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What did Ramanujan use as evidence of his credentials in interviews?
(a) His math notebooks.
(b) Falsified diplomas.
(c) His letters of reference.
(d) His resume.

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

4. What was Hardy's experience of secondary education like, according to Kanigel?
(a) It transformed him into an upstanding citizen.
(b) He hated it.
(c) He passed through without distinction.
(d) He loved it.

5. How does Kanigel describe the seriousness of Ramanujan's condition?
(a) Not life-threatening but uncomfortable.
(b) Debilitating.
(c) Crippling.
(d) Life-threatening.

6. How does Kanigel describe life in Ramanujan's hometown?
(a) People had every luxury.
(b) A middle class was just emerging.
(c) Crushing poverty was the norm.
(d) Childhood illness and death were common.

7. Where did families NOT look for wives for their sons in India in Ramanujan's time?
(a) Friends of the family.
(b) Neighbors.
(c) Prominent villagers.
(d) Extended family.

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

9. When did Ramanujan win a scholarship for his math skills?
(a) After high school.
(b) After college.
(c) After middle school.
(d) During high school.

10. Who was Komalatammal?
(a) Ramanujan's sister.
(b) Ramanujan's mother.
(c) Ramanujan's teacher.
(d) Ramanujan's aunt.

11. What language did Ramanujan speak?
(a) Tamil.
(b) Bengali.
(c) English.
(d) Hindi.

12. What did Ramanujan practice as part of his religion?
(a) Community service.
(b) Animal sacrifice.
(c) A year as a monk.
(d) Vegetarianism.

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

14. Who gave Ramanujan money to study in Madras?
(a) A relative.
(b) His in-laws.
(c) His parents.
(d) A patron.

15. What energy does Kanigel say Ramanujan redirected into mathematics?
(a) Sexual desire.
(b) Political restlessness.
(c) Troublemaking.
(d) Religious devotion.

Short Answer Questions

1. What makes 'A Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics' notable, according to Kanigel?

2. Who were the Senior Wranglers?

3. Why was Ramanujan's scholarship changed?

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

5. When does Kanigel say Ramanujan got hold of 'A Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics'?

(see the answer keys)

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