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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What was Ramanujan's college's nickname?
(a) Cambridge of South India.
(b) The Bollytechnicum.
(c) Harvard of South India.
(d) Oxford of South India.

2. Where did Ramanujan go when he was 17?
(a) Bengal.
(b) Delhi.
(c) Madras.
(d) Uttar Pradesh.

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. How does Kanigel characterize Ramanujan's developing approach to math?
(a) Materialistic.
(b) Irreverent.
(c) Semi-religious.
(d) Pragmatic.

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

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

12. How does Kanigel describe Hardy?
(a) As a technical worker.
(b) As a Brahmin.
(c) As a teacher.
(d) As a laborer.

13. What is the British term for what Americans call private high schools?
(a) Private school.
(b) Public school.
(c) Technical school.
(d) Finishing school.

14. What was Ramanujan's family's status?
(a) Poor.
(b) Wealthy.
(c) Not very rich.
(d) Impoverished.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Ramanujan attend at Pachaiyappas College?

2. What does Kanigel say Ramanujan learned from an old book?

3. Why was Ramanujan late for his wedding?

4. Which person was NOT in the Bloomsbury Group?

5. How old was the wife Ramanujan's parents found?

(see the answer keys)

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