1

B.Stat. (Hons.) & B.Math. (Hons.) Admission Test: 2012

Multiple-Choice Test
Time: 2 hours

1. A rod AB of length 3 rests on a wall as follows:

P is a point on AB such that AP : P B = 1 : 2. If the rod slides along the wall,

then the locus of P lies on
(A) 2x + y + xy = 2
(B) 4x2 + y 2 = 4
(C) 4x2 + xy + y 2 = 4
(D) x2 + y 2 − x − 2y = 0.
2. Consider the equation x2 + y 2 = 2007. How many solutions (x, y) exist such
that x and y are positive integers?
(A) None
(B) Exactly two
(C) More than two but finitely many
(D) Infinitely many.
3. Consider the functions f1 (x) = x, f2 (x) = 2 + loge x, x > 0 (where e is the base
of natural logarithm). The graphs of the functions intersect
(A) once in (0, 1) and never in (1, ∞)
(B) once in (0, 1) and once in (e2 , ∞)
(C) once in (0, 1) and once in (e, e2 )
(D) more than twice in (0, ∞).
2

4. Consider the sequence

n
X r
un = , n ≥ 1.
r=1
2r

Then the limit of un as n → ∞ is

(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) e (D) 1/2.

5. Suppose that z is any complex number which is not equal to any of {3, 3ω, 3ω 2 }
where ω is a complex cube root of unity. Then

1 1 1
+ +
z − 3 z − 3ω z − 3ω 2
equals
3z 2 +3z 3z 2 +3ωz 3z 2 3z 2
(A) (z−3)3
(B) z 3 −27
(C) z 3 −3z 2 +9z−27
(D) z 3 −27
.

6. Consider all functions f : {1, 2, 3, 4} → {1, 2, 3, 4} which are one-one, onto and
satisfy the following property:

if f (k) is odd then f (k + 1) is even, k = 1, 2, 3.

The number of such functions is

(A) 4 (B) 8 (C) 12 (D) 16.

7. A function f : R → R is defined by
½
− x1
f (x) = e , x > 0
0 x ≤ 0.

Then
(A) f is not continuous
(B) f is differentiable but f ′ is not continuous
(C) f is continuous but f ′ (0) does not exist
(D) f is differentiable and f ′ is continuous.

8. The last digit of 9! + 39966 is

(A) 3 (B) 9 (C) 7 (D) 1.
 3

9. Consider the function

2x2 + 3x + 1
f (x) = , 2 ≤ x ≤ 3.
2x − 1
Then
(A) maximum of f is attained inside the interval (2, 3)
(B) minimum of f is 28/5
(C) maximum of f is 28/5
(D) f is a decreasing function in (2, 3).
10. A particle P moves in the plane in such a way that the angle between the two
tangents drawn from P to the curve y 2 = 4ax is always 90◦ . The locus of P is
(A) a parabola (B) a circle (C) an ellipse (D) a straight line.
11. Let f : R → R be given by

f (x) = |x2 − 1|, x ∈ R.

Then
(A) f has a local minima at x = ±1 but no local maximum
(B) f has a local maximum at x = 0 but no local minima
(C) f has a local minima at x = ±1 and a local maximum at x = 0
(D) none of the above is true.

12. The number of triples (a, b, c) of positive integers satisfying

2a − 5b 7c = 1

is
(A) infinite (B) 2 (C) 1 (D) 0.
13. Let a be a fixed real number greater than −1. The locus of z ∈ C satisfying
|z − ia| = Im(z) + 1 is
(A) parabola (B) ellipse (C) hyperbola (D) not a conic.

14. Which of the following is closest to the graph of tan(sin x), x > 0?
4

15. Consider the function f : R \ {1} → R \ {2} given by

2x
f (x) = .
x−1
Then
(A) f is one-one but not onto
(B) f is onto but not one-one
(C) f is neither one-one nor onto
(D) f is both one-one and onto.

16. Consider a real valued continuous function f satisfying f (x + 1) = f (x) for all
x ∈ R. Let Z t
g(t) = f (x) dx, t ∈ R.
0
g(t+n)
Define h(t) = limn→∞ n
, provided the limit exists. Then
(A) h(t) is defined only for t = 0
(B) h(t) is defined only when t is an integer
(C) h(t) is defined for all t ∈ R and is independent of t
(D) none of the above is true.

17. Consider the sequence a1 = 241/3 , an+1 = (an + 24)1/3 , n ≥ 1. Then the integer
part of a100 equals
(A) 2 (B) 10 (C) 100 (D) 24.
 5

18. Let x, y ∈ (−2, 2) and xy = −1. Then the minimum value of

4 9
2
+
4−x 9 − y2
is
(A) 8/5 (B) 12/5 (C) 12/7 (D) 15/7.
19. What is the limit of √
³ 1 ´n2 + n
1+
n2 + n
as n → ∞?
(A) e (B) 1 (C) 0 (D) ∞.

20. Consider the function f (x) = x4 + x2 + x − 1, x ∈ (−∞, ∞). The function

(A) is zero at x = −1, but is increasing near x = −1
(B) has a zero in (−∞, −1)
(C) has two zeros in (−1, 0)
(D) has exactly one local minimum in (−1, 0).
21. Consider a sequence of 10 A’s and 8 B’s placed in a row. By a run we mean one
or more letters of the same type placed side by side. Here is an arrangement of
10 A’s and 8 B’s which contains 4 runs of A and 4 runs of B:

AAAB B AB B B AAB AAAAB B

In how many ways can 10 A’s and 8 B’s be arranged in a row so that there are
4 runs of A and 4 runs of B?
(A) 2 93 73 (B) 93 73 (C) 10
¡ ¢¡ ¢ ¡ ¢¡ ¢ ¡ ¢¡8¢ ¡10¢¡8¢
4 4
(D) 5 5
.

22. Suppose n ≥ 2 is a fixed positive integer and

f (x) = xn |x|, x ∈ R.

Then
(A) f is differentiable everywhere only when n is even
(B) f is differentiable everywhere except at 0 if n is odd
(C) f is differentiable everywhere
(D) none of the above is true.
6

23. The line 2x + 3y − k = 0 with k > 0 cuts the x axis and y axis at points A and
B respectively. Then the equation of the circle having AB as diameter is
(A) x2 + y 2 − k2 x − k3 y = k 2
(B) x2 + y 2 − k3 x − k2 y = k 2
(C) x2 + y 2 − k2 x − k3 y = 0
(D) x2 + y 2 − k3 x − k2 y = 0.
24. Let α > 0 and consider the sequence
(α + 1)n + (α − 1)n
xn = , n = 1, 2, . . . .
(2α)n
Then limn→∞ xn is
(A) 0 for any α > 0
(B) 1 for any α > 0
(C) 0 or 1 depending on what α > 0 is
(D) 0, 1 or ∞ depending on what α > 0 is.
25. If 0 < θ < π/2 then
(A) θ < sin θ
(B) cos(sin θ) < cos θ
(C) sin(cos θ) < cos(sin θ)
(D) cos θ < sin(cos θ).
26. Consider a cardboard box in the shape of a prism as shown below. The length
of the prism is 5. The two triangular faces ABC and A′ B ′ C ′ are congruent and
isosceles with side lengths 2,2,3. The shortest distance between B and A′ along
the surface of the prism is

√ √ p √ p √
(A) 29 (B) 28 (C) 29 − 5 (D) 29 − 3
27. Assume the following inequalities for positive integer k:
1 √ √ 1
√ < k+1− k < √ .
2 k+1 2 k
The integer part of
9999
X 1
√
k=2
k
 7

equals
(A) 198 (B) 197 (C) 196 (D) 195.
28. Consider the sets defined by the inequalities
A = {(x, y) ∈ R2 : x4 + y 2 ≤ 1}, B = {(x, y) ∈ R2 : x6 + y 4 ≤ 1}.
Then
(A) B ⊆ A
(B) A ⊆ B
(C) each of the sets A − B, B − A and A ∩ B is non-empty
(D) none of the above is true.
29. The number ³ 210 ´11
11
is
¡10¢2 ¡10¢2 ¡10¢2 ¡10¢2 ¡10¢
(A) strictly larger than 1 2 3 4 5
¡ ¢2 ¡10¢2 ¡10¢2 ¡10¢2
(B) strictly larger than 10 but strictly smaller than
¡10¢2 ¡10¢2 ¡10¢2 ¡10¢2 ¡10¢1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4 5
¡ ¢2 ¡10¢2 ¡10¢2 ¡10¢2
(C) less than or equal to 10 1 2 3 4
¡10¢2 ¡10¢2 ¡10¢2 ¡10¢2 ¡10¢
(D) equal to 1 2 3 4 5
.
30. If the roots of the equation x4 + ax3 + bx2 + cx + d = 0 are in geometric
progression then
(A) b2 = ac (B) a2 = b (C) a2 b2 = c2 (D) c2 = a2 d.
8

B.Stat. (Hons.) & B.Math. (Hons.) Admission Test: 2012

Short-Answer Type Test
Time: 2 hours
1. Let X, Y, Z be the angles of a triangle.
(i) Prove that
X Y X Z Z Y
tan tan + tan tan + tan tan = 1.
2 2 2 2 2 2
(ii) Using (i) or otherwise prove that
X Y Z 1
tan tan tan ≤ √ .
2 2 2 3 3

2. Let α be s real number. Consider the function

2
g(x) = (α+ | x |)2 e(5−|x|) , −∞ < x < ∞ · ∞.
(i) Determine the values of α for which g is continuous at all x.
(ii) Determine the values of α for which g is differentiable at all x.
3. Write the set of all positive integers in triangular array as
1 3 6 10 15 · ·
2 5 9 14 · · ·
4 8 13 · · · ·
7 12 · · · · ·
11 · · · · · ·
Find the row number and column number where 20096 occurs. For example 8
appears in the third row and second column.
4. Show that the polynomial x8 − x7 + x2 − x + 15 has no real root.
5. Let m be a natural number with digits consisting entirely of 6’s and 0’s. Prove
that m is not the square of a natural number.
6. Let 0 < a < b.
(i) Show that amongst the triangles with base a and perimeter a + b the
maximum area is obtained when the other two sides have equal length 2b .
(ii) Using the result (i) or otherwise show that amongst the quadrilateral of
given perimeter the square has maximum area.
 9

7. Let 0 < a < b. Consider two circles with radii a and b and centers (a, 0) and
(0, b) respectively with 0 < a < b. Let c be the center of any circle in the
crescent shaped region M between the two circles and tangent to both (See
figure below). Determine the locus of c as its circle traverses through region M
maintaining tangency.

8. Let n ≥ 1, and S = {1, 2, . . . , n}.For a function f : S → S, a subset D ⊂ S is

said t be invariant under f , if f (x) ∈ D for all x ∈ D. Note that the emptyset
and S are invariant for all f . Let deg(f ) be the number of subsets of S invariant
under f .
(i) Show that there is a function f : S → S such that deg(f ) = 2.
(ii) Further show that for any k such that 1 ≤ k ≤ n there is a function
f : S → S such that deg(f ) = 2k .
B.Stat. (Hons.) & B.Math. (Hons.) Admission Test: 2013
Multiple-Choice Test
Time: 2 hours
√
1. Let i = −1 and S = {i + i2 + · · · + in : n ≥ 1}. The number of distinct real
numbers in the set S is
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) infinite.
2. From a square of unit length, pieces from the corners are removed to form a
regular octagon. Then, the value of the area removed is
√ √ √
(A) 1/2 (B) 1/ 2 (C) 2 − 1 (D) ( 2 − 1)2 .
3. We define the dual of a line y = mx + c to be the point (m, −c). Consider a set
of n non-vertical lines, n > 3, passing through the point (1, 1). Then the duals
of these lines will always
(A) be the same (B) lie on a circle (C) lie on a line
(D) form the vertices of a polygon with positive area.
4. Suppose α, β and γ are three real numbers satisfying cos α + cos β + cos γ =
0 = sin α + sin β + sin γ. Then the value of cos(α − β) is
1 1 1 1
(A) − (B) − (C) (D) .
2 4 4 2
1
5. The value of lim (3x + 7x ) x is
x→∞

(A) 7 (B) 10 (C) e7 (D) ∞.

6. The distance between the two foci of the rectangular hyperbola defined by
xy = 2 is
√ √
(A) 2 (B) 2 2 (C) 4 (D) 4 2.
7. Suppose f is a differentiable
Rt and increasing function on [0, 1] such that f (0) <
0 < f (1). Let F (t) = 0 f (x)dx. Then
(A) F is an increasing function on [0, 1]
(B) F is a decreasing function on [0, 1]
(C) F has a unique maximum in the open interval (0, 1)
(D) F has a unique minimum in the open interval (0, 1).
8. In an isosceles triangle ∆ABC, the angle ∠ABC = 120o . Then the ratio of two
sides AC : AB is
√ √
(A) 2:1 (B) 3: 1 (C) 2 : 1 (D) 3 : 1.

1
 9. Let x, y, z be positive real numbers. If the equation

x2 + y 2 + z 2 = (xy + yz + zx) sin θ

has a solution for θ, then x, y and z must satisfy

(A) x = y = z (B) x2 + y 2 + z 2 ≤ 1
(C) xy + yz + zx = 1 (D) 0 < x, y, z ≤ 1.

10. Suppose sin θ = 45 and sec α = 47 where 0 ≤ θ ≤ π2 and − π2 ≤ α ≤ 0. Then

sin(θ + α) is
√ √ √ √
3 33 3 33 16 + 3 33 16 − 3 33
(A) (B) − (C) (D) .
35 35 35 35
√
11. Let i = −1 and z1 , z2 , . . . be a sequence of complex numbers defined by z1 = i
and zn+1 = zn2 + i for n ≥ 1. Then |z2013 − z1 | is
√
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 5.

12. The last digit of the number 2100 + 5100 + 8100 is

(A) 1 (B) 3 (C) 5 (D) 7.

13. The maximum value of |x − 1| subject to the condition |x2 − 4| ≤ 5 is

(A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 4 (D) 5.
14. Which of the following is correct?
(A) ex ≤ ex for all x. (B) ex < ex for x < 1 and ex ≥ ex for x ≥ 1.
(C) ex ≥ ex for all x. (D) ex < ex for x > 1 and ex ≥ ex for x ≤ 1.
15. The area of a regular polygon of 12 sides that can be inscribed in the circle
x2 + y 2 − 6x + 5 = 0 is
(A) 6 units (B) 9 units (C) 12 units (D) 15 units.
p
16. Let f (x) = log2 x − 1 + 21 log 1 x3 + 2. The set of all real values of x for which
2
the function f (x) is defined and f (x) < 0 is
(A) x > 2 (B) x > 3 (C) x > e (D) x > 4.

17. Let a be the largest integer strictly smaller than 78 b where b is also an integer.
Consider the following inequalities:
7 7 1
(1) 8
b −a ≤ 1 (2) 8
b −a ≥ 8

2
 and find which of the following is correct.
(A) Only (1) is correct. (B) Only (2) is correct.
(C) Both (1) and (2) are correct. (D) None of them is correct.
1000 k
X x
18. The value of lim is
x→−∞
k=1
k!
(A) −∞ (B) ∞ (C) 0 (D) e−1 .
19. For integers m and n, let fm,n denote the function from the set of integers to
itself, defined by
fm,n (x) = mx + n.
Let F be the set of all such functions,

F = {fm,n : m, n integers }.

Call an element f ∈ F invertible if there exists an element g ∈ F such that

g(f (x)) = f (g(x)) = x for all integers x. Then which of the following is true?
(A) Every element of F is invertible.
(B) F has infinitely many invertible and infinitely many non-invertible elements.
(C) F has finitely many invertible elements.
(D) No element of F is invertible.
20. Consider six players P1 , P2 , P3 , P4 , P5 and P6 . A team consists of two players.
(Thus, there are 15 distinct teams.) Two teams play a match exactly once
if there is no common player. For example, team {P1 , P2 } can not play with
{P2 , P3 } but will play with {P4 , P5 }. Then the total number of possible matches
is
(A) 36 (B) 40 (C) 45 (D) 54.

21. The minimum value of f (θ) = 9 cos2 θ + 16 sec2 θ is

(A) 25 (B) 24 (C) 20 (D) 16.
22. The number of 0’s at the end of the integer

100! − 101! + · · · − 109! + 110!

is
(A) 24 (B) 25 (C) 26 (D) 27.

3
23. We denote the largest integer less than or equal to z by [z]. Consider the
identity

(1 + x)(10 + x)(102 + x) · · · (1010 + x) = 10a + 10b x + a2 x2 + · · · + a11 x11 .

Then
(A) [a] > [b] (B) [a] = [b] and a > b
(C) [a] < [b] (D) [a] = [b] and a < b.

24. The number of four tuples (a, b, c, d) of positive integers satisfying all three
equations

a3 = b2
c3 = d 2
c − a = 64

is
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 4.

25. The number of real roots of ex = x2 is

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3.

26. Suppose α1 , α2 , α3 and α4 are the roots of the equation x4 + x2 + 1 = 0. Then

the value of α14 + α24 + α34 + α44 is
(A) −2 (B) 0 (C) 2 (D) 4.

27. Among the four time instances given in the options below, when is the angle
between the minute hand and the hour hand the smallest?
(A) 5:25 p.m. (B) 5:26 p.m. (C) 5:29 p.m. (D) 5:30 p.m.

28. Suppose all roots of the polynomial P (x) = a10 x10 + a9 x9 + · · · + a1 x + a0 are
real and smaller than 1. Then, for any such polynomial, the function

e10x e9x
f (x) = a10 + a9 + · · · + a1 ex + a0 x, x > 0
10 9

(A) is increasing (B) is either increasing or decreasing

(C) is decreasing (D) is neither increasing nor decreasing.

4
29. Consider a quadrilateral ABCD in the XY-plane with all of its angles less than
180o . Let P be an arbitrary point in the plane and consider the six triangles
each of which is formed by the point P and two of the points A, B, C, D. Then
the total area of these six triangles is minimum when the point P is
(A) outside the quadrilateral
(B) one of the vertices of the quadrilateral
(C) intersection of the diagonals of the quadrilateral
(D) none of the points given in (A), (B) or (C).
30. The graph of the equation x3 + 3x2 y + 3xy 2 + y 3 − x2 + y 2 = 0 comprises
(A) one point (B) union of a line and a parabola
(C) one line (D) union of a line and a hyperbola.

5
B.Stat. (Hons.) & B.Math. (Hons.) Admission Test: 2013
Short-Answer Type Test
Time: 2 hours
1. Let a, b, c be real numbers greater than 1. Let S denote the sum
S = loga bc + logb ca + logc ab.
Find the smallest possible value of S.
2. For x ≥ 0 define
1
f (x) = .
x + 2 cos(x)
Determine the set {y ∈ R : y = f (x), x ≥ 0}.
3. Let f : R −→ R be a function satisfying
|f (x + y) − f (x − y) − y| ≤ y 2
x
for all x, y ∈ R. Show that f (x) = 2
+ c, where c is a constant.
4. In a badminton singles tournament, each player played against all the others
exactly once and each game had a winner. After all the games, each player
listed the names of all the players she defeated as well as the names of all the
players defeated by the players defeated by her. For instance, if A defeats B
and B defeats C, then in the list of A both B and C are included. Prove that
at least one player listed the names of all other players.
5. Let AD be a diameter of a circle of radius r. Let B, C be points on the semi-
circle (with C distinct from A) so that AB = BC = 2r . Determine the ratio of
the length of the chord CD to the radius.
6. Let p(x), q(x) be distinct polynomials with real coefficients such that the sum
of the coefficients of each of the polynomials equals s. If (p(x))3 − (q(x))3 =
p(x3 ) − q(x3 ), then prove the following:
1. p(x) − q(x) = (x − 1)a r(x) for some integer a ≥ 1 and a polynomial r(x)
with r(1) 6= 0.
2. s2 = 3a−1 where a is as given in (a).
7. Let N be a positive integer such that N(N − 101) is the square of a positive
integer. Then determine all possible values of N. (Note that 101 is a prime
number).
8. Let ABCD be a square with the side AB lying on the line y = x + 8. Suppose
C, D lie on the parabola x2 = y. Find the possible values of the length of the
side of the square.

6
B.Stat. (Hons.) & B.Math. (Hons.) Admission Test: 2014
Multiple-Choice Test
Time: 2 hours
1. The system of inequalities
1 1 1 1
a − b2 ≥ , b − c2 ≥ , c − d2 ≥ , d − a2 ≥ has
4 4 4 4
(A) no solutions (B) exactly one solution
(C) exactly two solutions (D) infinitely many solutions.
2. Let log12 18 = a. Then log24 16 is equal to
8 − 4a 1 4a − 1 8 − 4a
(A) (B) (C) (D) .
5−a 3+a 2 + 3a 5+a
3. The number of solutions of the equation tan x+sec x = 2 cos x, where 0 ≤ x ≤ π,
is
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3.
4. Using only the digits 2, 3 and 9, how many six digit numbers can be formed
which are divisible by 6?
(A) 41 (B) 80 (C) 81 (D) 161
5. What is the value of the following integral?
Z 2014
tan−1 x
dx
1
2014
x

π π 1
(A) log 2014 (B) log 2014 (C) π log 2014 (D) log 2014
4 2 2
6. A light ray travelling along the line y = 1, is reflected by a mirror placed along
the line x = 2y. The reflected ray travels along the line
(A) 4x − 3y = 5 (B) 3x − 4y = 2 (C) x − y = 1 (D) 2x − 3y = 1.
7. For a real number x, let [x] denote the greatest integer less than or equal to x.
Then the number of real solutions of 2x − [x] = 4 is
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4.
8. What is the ratio of the areas of the regular pentagons inscribed inside and
circumscribed around a given circle?
(A) cos 36◦ (B) cos2 36◦ (C) cos2 54◦ (D) cos2 72◦

1
 9. Let z1 , z2 be nonzero complex numbers satisfying |z1 + z2 | = |z1 − z2 |. The
circumcentre of the triangle with the points z1 , z2 , and the origin as its vertices
is given by
1 1 1 1
(A) (z1 − z2 ) (B) (z1 + z2 ) (C) (z1 + z2 ) (D) (z1 − z2 ).
2 3 2 3
10. In how many ways can 20 identical chocolates be distributed among 8 students
so that each student gets at least one chocolate and exactly two students get
at least two chocolates each?
  
8 17
(A) 308 (B) 364 (C) 616 (D)
2 7
11. Two vertices of a square lie on a circle of radius r, and the other two vertices
lie on a tangent to this circle. Then, each side of the square is
3r 4r 6r 8r
(A) (B) (C) (D) ·
2 3 5 5
12. Let P be the set of all numbers obtained by multiplying five distinct integers
between 1 and 100. What is the largest integer n such that 2n divides at least
one element of P ?
(A) 8 (B) 20 (C) 24 (D) 25
13. Consider the function f (x) = ax3 + bx2 + cx + d, where a, b, c and d are
real numbers with a > 0. If f is strictly increasing, then the function g(x) =
′ ′′ ′′′
f (x) − f (x) + f (x) is
(A) zero for some x ∈ R (B) positive for all x ∈ R
(C) negative for all x ∈ R (D) strictly increasing.
14. Let A be the set of all points (h, k) such that the area of the triangle formed
by (h, k), (5, 6) and (3, 2) is 12 square units. What is the least possible length
of a line segment joining (0, 0) to a point in A?
4 8 12 16
(A) √ (B) √ (C) √ (D) √
5 5 5 5
15. Let P = {ab c : a, b, c positive integers, a2 + b2 = c2 , and 3 divides c}. What is
the largest integer n such that 3n divides every element of P ?
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4
16. Let A0 = ∅ (the empty set). For each i = 1, 2, 3, . . . , define the set Ai =
Ai−1 ∪ {Ai−1 }. The set A3 is
(A) ∅ (B) {∅} (C) {∅, {∅}} (D) {∅, {∅}, {∅, {∅}}}

2
 1
17. Let f (x) = · The graphs of the functions f and f −1 intersect at
x−2
√ √ √ √
(A) (1 + 2, 1 + 2) and (1 − 2, 1 − 2)
√ √ √
(B) (1 + 2, 1 + 2) and ( 2, −1 − √12 )
√ √ √
(C) (1 − 2, 1 − 2) and (− 2, −1 + √12 )
√ √
(D) ( 2, −1 − √12 ) and (− 2, −1 + √12 )

18. Let N be a number such that whenever you take N consecutive positive integers,
at least one of them is coprime to 374. What is the smallest possible value of
N?
(A) 4 (B) 5 (C) 6 (D) 7
19. Let A1 , A2 , . . . , A18 be the vertices of a regular polygon with 18 sides. How
many of the triangles △Ai Aj Ak , 1 ≤ i < j < k ≤ 18, are isosceles but not
equilateral?
(A) 63 (B) 70 (C) 126 (D) 144
sinα x
20. The limit lim exists only when
x→0 x
(A) α ≥ 1 (B) α = 1
(C) |α| ≤ 1 (D) α is a positive integer.

21. Consider the region R = {(x, y) : x2 + y 2 ≤ 100, sin(x + y) > 0}. What is the
area of R?
(A) 25π (B) 50π (C) 50 (D) 100π − 50
22. Consider a cyclic trapezium whose circumcentre is on one of the sides. If the
ratio of the two parallel sides is 1 : 4, what is the ratio of the sum of the two
oblique sides to the longer parallel side?
√ √ √ √ √
(A) 3 : 2 (B) 3 : 2 (C) 2 : 1 (D) 5 : 3
( √ !)2
4 + 2x
23. Consider the function f (x) = loge for x > 0. Then,
x

(A) f decreases upto some point and increases after that

(B) f increases upto some point and decreases after that
(C) f increases initially, then decreases and then again increases
(D) f decreases initially, then increases and then again decreases.

3
24. What is the number of ordered triplets (a, b, c), where a, b, c are positive integers
(not necessarily distinct), such that abc = 1000?
(A) 64 (B) 100 (C) 200 (D) 560

25. Let f : (0, ∞) → (0, ∞) be a function differentiable at 3, and satisfying f (3) =

3f ′(3) > 0. Then the limit
   x
3
f 3 + x 
lim  
x→∞  f (3) 

(A) exists and is equal to 3 (B) exists and is equal to e

(C) exists and is always equal to f (3) (D) need not always exist.

1
26. Let z be a non-zero complex number such that z − = 2. What is the
z
maximum value of |z|?
√ √
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 2 (D) 1 + 2.
27. The minimum value of

sin x + cos x + tan x + cosec x + sec x + cot x is

√ √
(A) 0 (B) 2 2 − 1 (C) 2 2 + 1 (D) 6
28. For any function f : X → Y and any subset A of Y , define

f −1 (A) = {x ∈ X : f (x) ∈ A}.

Let Ac denote the complement of A in Y . For subsets A1 , A2 of Y , consider the

following statements:
(i) f −1 (Ac1 ∩ Ac2 ) = (f −1 (A1 ))c ∪ (f −1 (A2 ))c
(ii) If f −1 (A1 ) = f −1 (A2 ) then A1 = A2 .
Then,
(A) both (i) and (ii) are always true
(B) (i) is always true, but (ii) may not always be true
(C) (ii) is always true, but (i) may not always be true
(D) neither (i) nor (ii) is always true.

4
29. Let f be a function such that f ′′ (x) exists, and f ′′ (x) > 0 for all x ∈ [a, b]. For
any point c ∈ [a, b], let A(c) denote the area of the region bounded by y = f (x),
the tangent to the graph of f at x = c and the lines x = a and x = b. Then
(A) A(c) attains its minimum at c = 21 (a + b) for any such f
(B) A(c) attains its maximum at c = 21 (a + b) for any such f
(C) A(c) attains its minimum at both c = a and c = b for any such f
(D) the points c where A(c) attains its minimum depend on f .
30. In △ABC, the lines BP , BQ trisect ∠ABC and the lines CM, CN trisect
∠ACB. Let BP and CM intersect at X and BQ and CN intersect at Y . If
∠ABC = 45◦ and ∠ACB = 75◦ , then ∠BXY is
A

M
P
X
N ?
Q

B C
◦
(A) 45 ◦
(B) 47 12 (C) 50 ◦
(D) 55◦

5
B.Stat. (Hons.) & B.Math. (Hons.) Admission Test: 2014
Short-Answer Type Test
Time: 2 hours

1. A class has 100 students. Let ai , 1 ≤ i ≤ 100, denote the number of friends the
i-th student has in the class. For each 0 ≤ j ≤ 99, let cj denote the number of
students having at least j friends. Show that
100
X 99
X
ai = cj .
i=1 j= 0

2. It is given that the graph of y = x4 + ax3 + bx2 + cx + d (where a, b, c, d are real)

has at least 3 points of intersection with the x-axis. Prove that either there are
exactly 4 distinct points of intersection, or one of those 3 points of intersection
is a local minimum or maximum.
3. Consider a triangle P QR in R2 . Let A be a point lying on △P QR or in the
region enclosed by it. Prove that, for any function f (x, y) = ax + by + c on R2 ,

f (A) ≤ max {f (P ), f (Q), f (R)} .

4. Let f and g be two non-decreasing twice differentiable functions defined on an

interval (a, b) such that for each x ∈ (a, b), f ′′ (x) = g(x) and g ′′ (x) = f (x).
Suppose also that f (x)g(x) is linear in x on (a, b). Show that we must have
f (x) = g(x) = 0 for all x ∈ (a, b).
5. Show that the sum of 12 consecutive integers can never be a perfect square.
Give an example of 11 consecutive integers whose sum is a perfect square.
6. Let A be the region in the xy-plane given by

A = {(x, y) : x = u + v, y = v, u2 + v 2 ≤ 1} .
Derive the length of the longest line segment that can be enclosed inside the
region A.
7. Let f : [0, ∞) → R be a non-decreasing continuous function. Show then that
the inequality
Zz Zz
(z − x) f (u)du ≥ (z − y) f (u)du
y x

holds for any 0 ≤ x < y < z.

6
8. Consider n (> 1) lotus leaves placed around a circle. A frog jumps from one
leaf to another in the following manner. It starts from some selected leaf. From
there, it skips exactly one leaf in the clockwise direction and jumps to the next
one. Then it skips exactly two leaves in the clockwise direction and jumps to
the next one. Then it skips three leaves again in the clockwise direction and
jumps to the next one, and so on. Notice that the frog may visit the same leaf
more than once. Suppose it turns out that if the frog continues this way, then
all the leaves are visited by the frog sometime or the other. Show that n cannot
be odd.

7
 Test Codes 2015
UGA (Multiple choice) and UGB (Short Answer Type)

Questions will include the following and related topics.

Algebra and number theory

Sets, operations on sets. Prime numbers, factorization of integers and divis-
ibility. Rational and irrational numbers. Permutations and combinations,
Binomial Theorem. Logarithms. Polynomials: relations between roots and
coefficients, Remainder Theorem, Theory of quadratic equations and ex-
pressions. Arithmetic and geometric progressions. Inequalities involving
arithmetic, geometric & harmonic means. Complex numbers.

Geometry
Class X level plane geometry. Geometry of 2 dimensions with Cartesian
and polar coordinates, concept of a locus, equation of a line, angle between
two lines, distance from a point to a line, area of a triangle, equations of
circle, parabola, ellipse and hyperbola and equations of their tangents and
normals, mensuration.

Trigonometry
Measures of angles, trigonometric and inverse trigonometric functions, trigono-
metric identities including addition formulae, solutions of trigonometric equa-
tions, properties of triangles, heights and distances.

Calculus
Sequences - bounded sequences, monotone sequences, limit of a sequence.
Functions - one-one functions, onto functions. Limit, continuity and differ-
entiability of functions of a single real variable. Derivatives and methods
of differentiation, slope of a curve, tangents and normals, maxima and min-
ima, use of calculus in sketching graphs of functions. Methods of integration,
definite and indefinite integrals, evaluation of areas using integrals.

1
 UGA - Sample Questions.

Instructions. UGA is a multiple choice examination. In each of the follow-

ing questions, exactly one of the choices is correct. Please tick the correct
answer. You get four marks for each correct answer, one mark for each
unanswered question, and zero marks for each incorrect answer. You have
two hours to answer these questions.

1. Define an = (12 + 22 + . . . + n2 )n and bn = nn (n!)2 . Recall n! is the

product of the first n natural numbers. Then,
(a) an < bn for all n > 1
(b) an > bn for all n > 1
(c) an = bn for infinitely many n
(d) none of the above.

2. The last digit of (2004)5 is:

(a) 4 (b) 8 (c) 6 (d) 2

3. If n is a positive integer such that 8n + 1 is a perfect square, then

(a) n must be odd (b) n cannot be a perfect square
(c) 2n cannot be a perfect square (d) none of the above.

4. The coefficient of a3 b4 c5 in the expansion of (bc + ca + ab)6 is:

12! 6! 6!


(a) 3!4!5! (b) 3! (c) 33 (d) 3 · 3!3!

5. If log10 x = 10log100 4 , then x equals

(a) 410 (b) 100 (c) log10 4 (d) none of the above.

6. Let C denote the set of all complex numbers. Define

A = {(z, w) |z, w ∈ C and |z| = |w|}

B = {(z, w) |z, w ∈ C, and z 2 = w2 }.

Then,
(a) A = B (b) A ⊂ B and A 6= B (c) B ⊂ A and B 6= A (d) none of
the above.

7. The set of all real numbers x such that x3 (x + 1)(x 2) ≥ 0 is:

(a) the interval 2 ≤ x < ∞ (b) the interval 0 ≤ x < ∞
(c) the interval 1 ≤ x < ∞ (d) none of the above.

2
 z
8. Let z be a non-zero complex number such that 1+z is purely imaginary.
Then
(a) z is neither real nor purely imaginary (b) z is real
(c) z is purely imaginary (d) none of the above.

9. In the interval (0, 2π), the function sin( x13 )

(a) never changes sign
(b) changes sign only once
(c) changes sign more than once, but finitely many times
(d) changes sign infinitely many times.
(ex ×1) tan2 x
10. lim x3
x→0
(a) does not exist (b) exists and equals 0
2
(c) exists and equals 3 (d) exists and equals 1.

11. Let f1 (x) = ex , f2 (x) = ef1 (x) and generally fn+1 (x) = efn (x) for all
d
n ≥ 1. For any fixed n, the value of dx fn (x) is:
(a) fn (x) (b) fn (x)fn×1 (x)
(c) fn (x)fn×1 (x) . . . f1 (x) (d) fn+1 (x)fn (x) . . . f1 (x)ex .

12. Let f (x) = a0 +a1 |x|+a2 |x|2 +a3 |x|3 , where a0 , a1 , a2 , a3 are constants.
Then
(a) f (x) is differentiable at x = 0 whatever be a0 , a1 , a2 , a3
(b) f (x) is not differentiable at x = 0 whatever be a0 , a1 , a2 , a3
(c) f (x) is differentiable at x = 0 only if a1 = 0
(d) f (x) is differentiable at x = 0 only if a1 = 0, a3 = 0.
2
13. If f (x) = cos(x) 1 + x2 , then
(a) f (x) is an increasing function on the real line
(b) f (x) is a decreasing function on the real line
(c) f (x) is increasing on the interval ∞ < x ≤ 0 and decreasing on
the interval 0 ≤ x < ∞
(d) f (x) is decreasing on the interval ∞ < x ≤ 0 and increasing on
the interval 0 ≤ x < ∞.

14. The area of the region bounded by the straight lines x = 12 and x = 2,
and the curves√ given5 by the equations y = loge x√and y = 2x is
(a) log 2 (4 + 2) 2 loge 2 + 2 (b) log1 2 (4
1 3
2) 52 loge 2
e √ e
(c) log1 2 (4 2) 52 loge 2 + 23 (d) none of the above.
e

3
15. The number of roots of the equation x2 + sin2 x = 1 in the closed
interval [0, π2 ] is
(a) 0 (b) 1 (c) 2 (d) 3

16. The number of maps f from the set {1, 2, 3} into the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
such that f (i) ≤ f (j) whenever i < j is
(a) 60 (b) 50 (c) 35 (d) 30

17. Let a be a real number. The number of distinct solutions (x, y) of the
system of equations (x a)2 + y 2 = 1 and x2 = y 2 , can only be
(a) 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 (b) 0, 1 or 3 (c) 0, 1, 2 or 4 (d) 0, 2, 3, or 4

18. The set of values of m for which mx2 6mx + 5m + 1 > 0 for all real
x is
(a) m < 14 (b) m ≥ 0 (c) 0 ≤ m ≤ 41 (d) 0 ≤ m < 14 .

19. A lantern is placed on the ground 100 feet away from a wall. A man
six feet tall is walking at a speed of 10 feet/second from the lantern to
the nearest point on the wall. When he is midway between the lantern
and the wall, the rate of change in the length of his shadow is
(a) 3.6 ft./sec. (b) 2.4 ft./sec. (c) 3 ft./sec. (d) 12 ft./sec.

20. Let n ≥ 3 be an integer. Assume that inside a big circle, exactly n

small circles of radius r can be drawn so that each small circle touches
the big circle and also touches both its adjacent small circles. Then,
the radius of the big circle is:
(a) r cosec πn (b) r(1 + cosec 2πn )
π
(c) r(1 + cosec 2n ) (d) r(1 + cosec πn ).

21. The digit in the units’ place of the number 1! + 2! + 3! + . . . + 99! is

(a) 3 (b) 0 (c) 1 (d) 7.
13 +23 +...+n3
22. The value of lim n4
is:
n→∞
3 1
(a) 4 (b) 4 (c) 1 (d) 4.

23. The function x(α x) is strictly increasing on the interval 0 < x < 1
if and only if
(a) α ≥ 2 (b) α < 2 (c) α < 1 (d) α > 2.
n
24. For any integer n ≥ 1, define an = 1000
n! . Then the sequence {an }
(a) does not have a maximum
(b) attains maximum at exactly one value of n

4
 (c) attains maximum at exactly two values of n
(d) attains maximum for infinitely many values of n.

25. The equation x3 y + xy 3 + xy = 0 represents

(a) a circle (b) a circle and a pair of straight lines
(c) a rectangular hyperbola (d) a pair of straight lines.

26. Let P be a variable point on a circle C and Q be a fixed point outside

C. If R is the mid-point of the line segment P Q, then the locus of R
is
(a) a circle (b) an ellipse
(c) a line segment (d) segment of a parabola.

27. Let d1 , d2 , . . . , dk be all the factors of a positive integer n including 1

and n. If d1 + d2 + . . . + dk = 72, then d11 + d12 + · · · + d1k is:
k2 72 72
(a) 72 (b) k (c) n (d) none of the above.

28. A subset W of the set of real numbers is called a ring if it contains 1

and if for all a, b ∈ W , the numbers
n a b and ab are also oin W . Let
S = 2n | m, n integers and T = pq | p, q integers, q odd . Then:
m

(a) neither S nor T is a ring (b) S is a ring T is not a ring.

(b) T is a ring S is not a ring. (d) both S and T are rings.

5
 UGB - Sample Questions.

Instructions. All questions carry equal marks. You have two hours to
solve 6 problems. Credit will be given to a partially correct answer. Do not
feel discouraged if you cannot solve all the questions.

1. Find the sum of all distinct four digit numbers that can be formed
using the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, each digit appearing at most once.

2. Consider the squares of an 8 × 8 chessboard filled with the numbers 1

to 64 as in the figure below. If we choose 8 squares with the property
that there is exactly one from each row and exactly one from each
column, and add up the numbers in the chosen squares, show that the
sum obtained is always 260.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64

3. An isosceles triangle with base 6 cms. and base angles 30o each is
inscribed in a circle. A second circle, which is situated outside the
triangle, touches the first circle and also touches the base of the triangle
at its midpoint. Find its radius.

4. Let an = 1 . . . 1 with 3n digits. Prove that an is divisible by 3an×1 .

5. If a circle intersects the hyperbola y = 1/x at four distinct points

(xi , yi ), i = 1, 2, 3, 4, then prove that x1 x2 = y3 y4 .

6. Show that the function f (x) defined below attains a unique minimum
for x > 0. What is the minimum value of the function? What is the
value of x at which the minimum is attained?
1 1
f (x) = x2 + x + + for x 6= 0.
x x2
Sketch on plain paper the graph of this function.

6
 7. Let S = {1, 2, . . . , n}. Find the number of unordered pairs {A, B} of
subsets of S such that A and B are disjoint, where A or B or both
may be empty.

8. Find the maximum value of x2 + y 2 in the bounded region, including

the boundary, enclosed by y = x2 , y = x2 and x = y 2 + 1.

9. How many real roots does x4 + 12x 5 have?

10. Find the maximum among 1, 21/2 , 31/3 , 41/4 , . . ..

11. For real numbers x, y and z, show that

|x| + |y| + |z| ≤ |x + y z| + |y + z x| + |z + x y|.

7
 Hints and Answers.

There are also other ways to solve the problems apart from the ones sketched
in the hints. Indeed, a student should feel encouraged if she finds a different
way to solve some of these problems. All the Best!

Hints for UGA Sample Questions.

Q.1 (b). Take the nth root of an and bn and use A.M.≥ G.M.
Q.2 (a). As 2004 = 2000 +4, the last digits of (2004)5 and 45 are equal.
Q.3 (c) If 8n + 1 = m2 , then 2n is a product of two consecutive integers.
Q.4 (d) Use binomial expansion of (bc + a (b + c))6 .
Q.5 (b) Let y = log10 x. Then log10 y = log100 4. Hence y = 2.
Q.6 (c) z 2 = w2 ⇒ z = ±w ⇒ B ⊆ A. But |i| = 1 and i2 6= 1.
Q.7 (d) Check for ‘test points’ 1, and 1.
Q.8 (a) Check (b) and (c) are false, and then that (a) is true.
−1
Q.9 (d) sin x13 changes sign at the points (nπ) 3 for all n ≥ 1.


x 2 x
(d) Observe that (e ×1) = (e x×1) · sinx2 x · cos12 x .
tan x 2
Q.10 x3
Q.11 (c) Use induction and chain rule of differentiation.
Q.12 (c) Amongst 1, |x|, |x|2 , |x|3 , only |x| is not differentiable at 0.
Q.13 (d) Look at the derivative of f .
R2 R2
Q.14 (c) Compute the integral 2x dx log xdx.
1/2 1/2
Q.15 (b) Draw graphs of y = cos x and y = ±x and find the number of
points of intersections.
Q.16 (c) Compute the number of maps such that f (3) = 5, f (3) = 4 etc..
Alternatively, define g : {1, 2, 3} → {1, 2, . . . , 7} by g (i) = f (i) + (i 1).
Then, g is a strictly increasing function and its image is a subset of size 3
of {1, 2, . . . 7}.
Q.17 (d) Draw graphs of (x + y)(x y) = 0 and (x a)2 + y 2 = 1.
Q.18 (d) Calculate the discriminant (b2 4ac) of the given quadratic.
Q.19 (b) Show that the height function is 60 t .
Q.20 (d) Let s be distance between the centre of the big circle and the
centre of (any) one of the small circles. Then there exists a right angle
triangle with hypoteneuse s, side r and angle πn .
Q.21 (a) The unit digit of all numbers n! with n ≥ 5 is 0.
n
i3 .
P
Q.22 (b) Use the formula for
i=1

8
 Q.23 (a) Differentiate.
Q.24 (c) Find out the first values of n for which an+1
an becomes < 1.
Q.25 (d) The equation is xy(x 2 2
+ y + 1) = 0.
Q.26 (a) Compute for C = x2 + y 2 = 1 and Q = (a, 0) for some a > 1.


Q.27 (c) Multiply the given sum by n.

Q.28 (d) Verify using the given definition of a ring.

Hints for UGB Sample Questions.

Q.1 The answer is 399960. For each x ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, there are 4! such
numbers whose last digit is x. Thus the digits in the unit place of all the
120 numbers add up to 4! (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5). Similarly the numbers at ten’s
place add up to 360 and so on. Thus the sum is 360 (1 + 10 + 100 + 1000).
Q.2 Let the chosen entries be in the positions (i, ai ), 1 ≤ i ≤ 8. Thus
a1 , . . . , a8 is a permutation of {1, . . . , 8}. The entry in the square cor-
responding to (i, j)th place is i + 8 (j 1). Hence the required sum is
P8
(i + 8 (aj 1)).
i=1 √
Q.3 Radius is 3 2 3 . Use trigonometry.
n
Q.4 Observe that an = an×1 1 + t + t2 where t = 103


Q.5 Substitute y = x1 in the equation of a circle and clear denominator to

get a degree 4 equation in x. The product of its roots is the constant term,
which is 1.
Q.6 The function f (x) 4 is a sum of squares and hence non-negative. So
the minimum is 4 which is attained at x = 1.
n
Q.7 The number is 3 2+1 . An ordered pair (A, B) of disjoint subsets of S is
determined by 3 choices for every element of S (either it is in A, or in B or
in neither of them). Hence such pairs are 3n in number. An unordered pair
will be counted twice in this way, except for the case A and B both empty.
n
Hence the number is 1 + 3 2×1 .
Q.8 Answer is 5. The maximum is attained at points (2, 1) and (2, 1).
Q.9 Answer is 2. Let f be the given polynomial. Then f (0) is negative and
f is positive as x tends to ±∞. Hence
√ it has at least 2 real roots. Since
the derivative of f is zero only at 3 3, it cannot have more than two real
roots. √ 1
Q.10 Maximum
√ is 3 3. Either check the maximum of the function x x , or
√
compare 3 3 with n n.
Q.11 Rewrite the given inequality in terms of the new variables α = x+y z,
β = y + z x, γ = x + z y, and use the triangle inequality.

9
 Test Codes: UGA (Multiple-choice Type) and
UGB (Short Answer Type), 2016

Questions will be set on the following and related topics.

Algebra: Sets, operations on sets. Prime numbers, factorization of inte-

gers and divisibility. Rational and irrational numbers. Permutations and
combinations, Binomial Theorem. Logarithms. Polynomials: Remainder
Theorem, Theory of quadratic equations and expressions, relations between
roots and coefficients. Arithmetic and geometric progressions. Inequalities
involving arithmetic, geometric & harmonic means. Complex numbers.

Geometry: Plane geometry. Geometry of 2 dimensions with Cartesian and

polar coordinates. Equation of a line, angle between two lines, distance from
a point to a line. Concept of a Locus. Area of a triangle. Equations of circle,
parabola, ellipse and hyperbola and equations of their tangents and normals.
Mensuration.

Trigonometry: Measures of angles. Trigonometric and inverse trigonomet-

ric functions. Trigonometric identities including addition formulae, solutions
of trigonometric equations. Properties of triangles. Heights and distances.

Calculus: Sequences - bounded sequences, monotone sequences, limit of a

sequence. Functions, one-one functions, onto functions. Limits and continu-
ity. Derivatives and methods of differentiation. Slope of a curve. Tangents
and normals. Maxima and minima. Using calculus to sketch graphs of func-
tions. Methods of integration, definite and indefinite integrals, evaluation of
area using integrals.

Reference (For more sample questions)

Test of Mathematics at the 10 + 2 level, Indian Statistical Institute. Pub-
lished by Affiliated East-West Press Pvt. Ltd., 105, Nirmal Tower, 26
Barakhamba Road, New Delhi 110001.

1
 Sample Questions for UGA

Instructions. UGA is a multiple choice examination. In each of the fol-

lowing questions, exactly one of the choices is correct. You get four marks
for each correct answer, one mark for each unanswered question, and zero
marks for each incorrect answer.

1 Define an = (12 + 22 + . . . + n2 )n and bn = nn (n!)2 . Recall n! is the

product of the first n natural numbers. Then,
(A) an < bn for all n > 1 (B) an > bn for all n > 1
(C) an = bn for infinitely many n (D) None of the above

2 The sum of all distinct four digit numbers that can be formed using
the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, each digit appearing at most once, is
(A) 399900 (B) 399960 (C) 390000 (D) 360000

3 The last digit of (2004)5 is

(A) 4 (B) 8 (C) 6 (D) 2

4 The coefficient of a3 b4 c5 in the expansion of (bc + ca + ab)6 is

   
12! 6 6
(A) (B) 3! (C) 33 (D) 3
3!4!5! 3 3

5 Let ABCD be a unit square. Four points E, F , G and H are chosen

on the sides AB, BC, CD and DA respectively. The lengths of the
sides of the quadrilateral EF GH are α, β, γ and δ. Which of the
following is always true? √
(A) 1 ≤ α2 + β 2 + γ 2 + δ 2 ≤ 2 2
√ √
(B) 2 2 ≤ α2 + β 2 + γ 2 + δ 2 ≤ 4 2
(C) 2 ≤ α2 + β 2 + γ 2 + δ 2 ≤ 4
√ √
(D) 2 ≤ α2 + β 2 + γ 2 + δ 2 ≤ 2 + 2

6 If log10 x = 10log100 4 then x equals

(A) 410 (B) 100 (C) log10 4 (D) none of the above

7 z1 , z2 are two complex numbers with z2 6= 0 and z1 6= z2 and satisfying

z 1 + z2 z1
= 1. Then is
z 1 z2 z2
2
 (A) real and negative
(B) real and positive
(C) purely imaginary
(D) none of the above need to be true always

8 The set of all real numbers x satisfying the inequality x3 (x+1)(x 2) ≥

0 is
(A) the interval [2, ∞) (B) the interval [0, ∞)
(C) the interval [ 1, ∞) (D) none of the above

9 The minimum area of the triangle formed by any tangent to the ellipse
2
x2
a2
+ yb2 = 1 and the coordinate axes is
a2 +b2 (a+b)2 2 +ab+b2
(A) ab (B) 2 (C) 2 (D) a 3

10 Let A be the fixed point (0, 4) and B be a moving point (2t, 0).
Let M be the mid-point of AB and let the perpendicular bisector
of AB meet the y-axis at R. The locus of the mid-point P of M R is
(A) y + x2 = 2 (B) x2 + (y 2)2 = 1/4
(C) (y 2)2 x2 = 1/4 (D) none of the above

11 The sides of a triangle are given to be x2 + x + 1, 2x + 1 and x2 1.

Then the largest of the three angles of the triangle is
 
◦ x
(A) 75 (B) π radians (C) 120◦ (D) 135◦
x+1

12 Two poles, AB of length two metres and CD of length twenty me-

tres are erected vertically with bases at B and D. The two poles
are at a distance not less than twenty metres. It is observed that
tan ∠ACB = 2/77. The distance between the two poles is
(A) 72m (B) 68m (C) 24m (D) 24.27m

13 If A, B, C are the angles of a triangle and sin2 A + sin2 B = sin2 C,

then C is equal to
(A) 30◦ (B) 90◦ (C) 45◦ (D) none of the above
 
1
14 In the interval ( 2π, 0), the function f (x) = sin
x3
(A) never changes sign
(B) changes sign only once
(C) changes sign more than once, but finitely many times
(D) changes sign infinitely many times
3
15 The limit
(ex 1) tan2 x
lim
x→0 x3
(A) does not exist (B) exists and equals 0
(C) exists and equals 2/3 (D) exists and equals 1

16 Let f1 (x) = ex , f2 (x) = ef1 (x) and generally fn+1 (x) = efn (x) for all
d
n ≥ 1. For any fixed n, the value of fn (x) is equal to
dx
(A) fn (x) (B) fn (x)fn×1 (x)
(C) fn (x)fn×1 (x) · · · f1 (x) (D) fn+1 (x)fn (x) · · · f1 (x)ex

17 If the function
(
x2 ×2x+A
sin x if x 6= 0
f (x) =
B if x = 0
is continuous at x = 0, then
(A) A = 0, B = 0 (B) A = 0, B = 2
(C) A = 1, B = 1 (D) A = 1, B = 0

18 A truck is to be driven 300 kilometres (kms.) on a highway at a con-

stant speed of x kms. per hour. Speed rules of the highway require
that 30 ≤ x ≤ 60. The fuel costs ten rupees per litre and is consumed
at the rate 2 + (x2 /600) litres per hour. The wages of the driver are
200 rupees per hour. The most economical speed (in kms. per hour)
to drive the truck is
√ √
(A) 30 (B) 60 (C) 30 3.3 (D) 20 33

1
et a
e×t
Z Z
19 If b = dt then dt is
0 t+1 a×1 t a 1
(A) bea (B) be×a (C) be×a (D) bea

20 In the triangle ABC, the angle ∠BAC is a root of the equation

√
3 cos x + sin x = 1/2.
Then the triangle ABC is
(A) obtuse angled (B) right angled
(C) acute angled but not equilateral (D) equilateral

21 Let n be a positive integer. Consider a square S of side 2n units with

sides parallel to the coordinate axes. Divide S into 4n2 unit squares
by drawing 2n 1 horizontal and 2n 1 vertical lines one unit apart.
A circle of diameter 2n 1 is drawn with its centre at the intersection
4
 of the two diagonals of the square S. How many of these unit squares
contain a portion of the circumference of the circle?
(A) 4n 2 (B) 4n (C) 8n 4 (D) 8n 2

22 A lantern is placed on the ground 100 feet away from a wall. A man
six feet tall is walking at a speed of 10 feet/second from the lantern
to the nearest point on the wall. When he is midway between the
lantern and the wall, the rate of change (in ft./sec.) in the length of
his shadow is
(A) 2.4 (B) 3 (C) 3.6 (D) 12

23 An isosceles triangle with base 6 cms. and base angles 30◦ each is
inscribed in a circle. A second circle touches the first circle and also
touches the base of the triangle at its midpoint. If the second circle is
situated outside the triangle, then its radius (in cms.) is
√ √ √ √
(A) 3 3/2 (B) 3/2 (C) 3 (D) 4/ 3

24 Let n be a positive integer. Define

f (x) = min{|x 1|, |x 2|, . . . , |x n|}.
Z n+1
Then f (x)dx equals
0
(n + 4) (n + 3) (n + 2) (n + 2)
(A) (B) (C) (D)
4 4 2 4
25 Let S = {1, 2, . . . , n}. The number of possible pairs of the form (A, B)
with A ⊆ B for subsets A and B of S is
n   
n n
X n n
(A) 2 (B) 3 (C) (D) n!
k n k
k=0

26 The number of maps f from the set {1, 2, 3} into the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
such that f (i) ≤ f (j) whenever i < j is
(A) 60 (B) 50 (C) 35 (D) 30

27 Consider three boxes, each containing 10 balls labelled 1, 2, . . . , 10.

Suppose one ball is drawn from each of the boxes. Denote by ni , the
label of the ball drawn from the i-th box, i = 1, 2, 3. Then the number
of ways in which the balls can be chosen such that n1 < n2 < n3 is
(A) 120 (B) 130 (C) 150 (D) 160

28 Let a be a real number. The number of distinct solutions (x, y) of

the system of equations (x a)2 + y 2 = 1 and x2 = y 2 , can only be
5
 (A) 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 (B) 0, 1 or 3
(C) 0, 1, 2 or 4 (D) 0, 2, 3, or 4

29 The maximum of the areas of the isosceles triangles with base on the
positive x-axis and which lie below the curve y = e×x is:
(A) 1/e (B) 1 (C) 1/2 (D) e

30 Suppose a, b and n are positive integers, all greater than one. If an +bn
is prime, what can you say about n?
(A) The integer n must be 2
(B) The integer n need not be 2, but must be a power of 2
(C) The integer n need not be a power of 2, but must be even
(D) None of the above is necessarily true
31 Water falls from a tap of circular cross section at the rate of 2 me-
tres/sec and fills up a hemispherical bowl of inner diameter 0.9 metres.
If the inner diameter of the tap is 0.01 metres, then the time needed
to fill the bowl is
(A) 40.5 minutes (B) 81 minutes

(C) 60.75 minutes (D) 20.25 minutes

32 The value of the integral
Z 5π/2 −1 (sin x)
etan
−1 (sin x) −1 (cos x) dx
π/2 etan + etan
equals (A) 1 (B) π (C) e (D) none of these
33 The set of all solutions of the equation cos 2θ = sin θ + cos θ is given
by
(A) θ = 0
(B) θ = nπ + π2 , where n is any integer
(C) θ = 2nπ or θ = 2nπ π2 or θ = nπ π4 , where n is any integer
(D) θ = 2nπ or θ = nπ + π4 , where n is any integer
34 The number
 210 11
11
is
10 2 10 2 10 2 10 2 10






(A) strictly larger than 1 2 3 4 5
10 2 10 2 10 2 10 2





(B) strictly larger than 1 2 3 4 but strictly smaller than
10 2 10 2 10 2 10 2 10






1 2 3 4 5

2 10
2 10
2 10 2
(C) less than or equal to 10


1




2
3
10 2 10 2 10 2 10 2 10
4
(D) equal to 1 2 3 4 5 .
6
35 The value of
" ( r !) r r #
1 5 2 8
sin×1 cot sin×1 1 + cos×1 + sec×1
2 6 3 3

is
(A) 0 (B) π/6 (C) π/4 (D) π/2

36 Which of the following graphs represents the function

√
Z x
2 /x
f (x) = e×u du, for x > 0 and f (0) = 0?
0

(A) (B)

(C) (D)

2  3 n
22 32 n2
  
1
37 If an = 1 + 2 1+ 2 1 + 2 · · · 1 + 2 , then
n n n n
2
lim a×1/n
n→∞ n

is √
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) e (D) e/2
38 The function x(α x) is strictly increasing on the interval 0 < x < 1
if and only if
(A) α ≥ 2 (B) α < 2
(C) α < 1 (D) α > 2

39 Consider a circle with centre O. Two chords AB and CD extended

intersect at a point P outside the circle. If ∠AOC = 43◦ and ∠BP D =
18◦ , then the value of ∠BOD is
(A) 36◦ (B) 29◦ (C) 7◦ (D) 25◦
40 A box contains 10 red cards numbered 1, . . . , 10 and 10 black cards
numbered 1, . . . , 10. In how many ways can we choose 10 out of the
20 cards so that there are exactly 3 matches, where a match means a
red card and a black card with the same number?
7
      
10 7 4 10 7
(A) 2 (B)
3 4 3 4
    
10 7 10 14
(C) 2 (D)
3 3 4
41 Let P be a point on the ellipse x2 + 4y 2 = 4 which does not lie on the
axes. If the normal at the point P intersects the major and minor axes
at C and D respectively, then the ratio P C : P D equals
(A) 2 (B) 1/2 (C) 4 (D) 1/4
42 The set of complex numbers z satisfying the equation

(3 + 7i)z + (10 2i)z̄ + 100 = 0

represents, in the complex plane,

(A) a straight line
(B) a pair of intersecting straight lines
(C) a pair of distinct parallel straight lines
(D) a point
43 The number of triplets (a, b, c) of integers such that a < b < c and
a, b, c are sides of a triangle with perimeter 21 is
(A) 7 (B) 8 (C) 11 (D) 12.

44 Suppose a, b and c are three numbers in G.P. If the equations

ax2 + 2bx + c = 0 and dx2 + 2ex + f = 0 have a common root, then
d e f
, and are in
a b c
(A) A.P. (B) G.P. (C) H.P. (D) none of the above.

45 The number of solutions of the equation sin×1 x = 2 tan×1 x is

(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 5.

46 Suppose ABCD is a quadrilateral such that ∠BAC = 50◦ , ∠CAD =

60◦ , ∠CBD = 30◦ and ∠BDC = 25◦ . If E is the point of intersection
of AC and BD, then the value of ∠AEB is
(A) 75◦ (B) 85◦ (C) 95◦ (D) 110◦ .

47 Let R be the set of all real numbers. The function f : R → R defined

by f (x) = x3 3x2 + 6x 5 is
(A) one-to-one, but not onto
(B) one-to-one and onto
(C) onto, but not one-to-one
(D) neither one-to-one nor onto.
8
48 Let L be the point (t, 2) and M be a point on the y-axis such that LM
has slope t. Then the locus of the midpoint of LM , as t varies over
all real values, is
(A) y = 2 + 2x2 (B) y = 1 + x2
(C) y = 2 2x2 (D) y = 1 x2 .

49 Let f : (0, 2) ∪ (4, 6) → R be a differentiable function. Suppose also

that f ”(x) = 1 for all x ∈ (0, 2) ∪ (4, 6). Which of the following is
ALWAYS true?
(A) f is increasing
(B) f is one-to-one
(C) f (x) = x for all x ∈ (0, 2) ∪ (4, 6)
(D) f (5.5) f (4.5) = f (1.5) f (0.5)
50 A triangle ABC has a fixed base BC. If AB : AC = 1 : 2, then the
locus of the vertex A is
(A) a circle whose centre is the midpoint of BC
(B) a circle whose centre is on the line BC but not the midpoint of
BC
(C) a straight line
(D) none of the above.
51 Let P be a variable point on a circle C and Q be a fixed point outside
C. If R is the mid-point of the line segment P Q, then the locus of R is
(A) a circle (B) an ellipse
(C) a line segment (D) segment of a parabola

52 N is a 50 digit number. All the digits except the 26th from the right
are 1. If N is divisible by 13, then the unknown digit is
(A) 1 (B) 3 (C) 7 (D) 9.

53 Suppose a < b. The maximum value of the integral

Z b 
3 2
x x dx
a 4
over all possible values of a and b is
3 4 3 2
(A) (B) (C) (D) .
4 3 2 3
1 1 1
54 For any n ≥ 5, the value of 1 + + + ··· + n lies between
2 3 2 1
n n
(A) 0 and (B) and n
2 2
(C) n and 2n (D) none of the above.
9
55 Let ω denote a cube root of unity which is not equal to 1. Then the
number of distinct elements in the set
(1 + ω + ω 2 + · · · + ω n )m : m, n = 1, 2, 3, · · ·


is
(A) 4 (B) 5 (C) 7 (D) infinite.

56 The value of the integral

3
dx
Z

2 loge x
(A) is less than 2 (B) is equal to 2
(C) lies in the interval (2, 3) (D) is greater than 3.

57 The area of the region bounded by the straight lines x = 12 and x = 2,

and the curves √given by the equations y = loge x and x
1 5 3 1
√ y =5 2 is
(A) log 2 (4 + 2) 2 loge 2 + 2 (B) log 2 (4 2) 2 loge 2
1
e √ 5 3
e
(C) log 2 (4 2) 2 loge 2 + 2 (D) none of the above
e

58 In a win-or-lose game, the winner gets 2 points whereas the loser gets
0. Six players A, B, C, D, E and F play each other in a preliminary
round from which the top three players move to the final round. After
each player has played four games, A has 6 points, B has 8 points and
C has 4 points. It is also known that E won against F. In the next set
of games D, E and F win their games against A, B and C respectively.
If A, B and D move to the final round, the final scores of E and F are,
respectively,
(A) 4 and 2 (B) 2 and 4 (C) 2 and 2 (D) 4 and 4.

59 The number of ways in which one can select six distinct integers from
the set {1, 2, 3, · · · , 49}, such that no two consecutive integers are se-
lected, is
     
49 48 43
(A) 5 (B)
6 5 6
   
25 44
(C) (D) .
6 6
60 Let n ≥ 3 be an integer. Assume that inside a big circle, exactly n
small circles of radius r can be drawn so that each small circle touches
the big circle and also touches both its adjacent small circles. Then,
the radius of the big circle is
(A) r cosec πn (B) r(1 + cosec 2π
n )
π
(C) r(1 + cosec 2n ) (D) r(1 + cosec πn )
10
61 If n is a positive integer such that 8n + 1 is a perfect square, then
(A) n must be odd
(B) n cannot be a perfect square
(C) 2n cannot be a perfect square
(D) none of the above

62 Let C denote the set of all complex numbers. Define

A = {(z, w) |z, w ∈ C and |z| = |w|}
B = {(z, w) |z, w ∈ C, and z 2 = w2 }.
Then,
(A) A = B (B) A ⊂ B and A 6= B
(C) B ⊂ A and B 6= A (D) none of the above

63 Let f (x) = a0 +a1 |x|+a2 |x|2 +a3 |x|3 , where a0 , a1 , a2 , a3 are constants.
(A) f (x) is differentiable at x = 0 whatever be a0 , a1 , a2 , a3
(B) f (x) is not differentiable at x = 0 whatever be a0 , a1 , a2 , a3
Then
(C) f (x) is differentiable at x = 0 only if a1 = 0
(D) f (x) is differentiable at x = 0 only if a1 = 0, a3 = 0
2
64 If f (x) = cos(x) 1 + x2 , then
(A) f (x) is an increasing function on the real line
(B) f (x) is a decreasing function on the real line
(C) f (x) is increasing on ∞ < x ≤ 0 and decreasing on 0 ≤ x < ∞
(D) f (x) is decreasing on ∞ < x ≤ 0 and increasing on 0 ≤ x < ∞

65 The number of roots of the equation x2 + sin2 x = 1 in the closed

interval [0, π2 ] is
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3

66 The set of values of m for which mx2 6mx+5m+1 > 0 for all real x is
(A) m < 14 (B) m ≥ 0
1
(C) 0 ≤ m ≤ 4 (D) 0 ≤ m < 14

67 The digit in the unit’s place of the number 1! + 2! + 3! + . . . + 99! is

(A) 3 (B) 0 (C) 1 (D) 7

13 +23 +...+n3
68 The value of lim n4
is:
n→∞
3 1
(A) 4 (B) 4 (C) 1 (D) 4

11
 n
69 For any integer n ≥ 1, define an = 1000
n! . Then the sequence {an }
(A) does not have a maximum
(B) attains maximum at exactly one value of n
(C) attains maximum at exactly two values of n
(D) attains maximum for infinitely many values of n

70 The equation x3 y + xy 3 + xy = 0 represents

(A) a circle (B) a circle and a pair of straight lines
(C) a rectangular hyperbola (D) a pair of straight lines

71 For each positive integer n, define a function fn on [0, 1] as follows:


 0 if x=0
π 1


sin if 0<x≤


2n n




2π 1 2




 sin if < x ≤
2n n n



fn (x) = 3π 2 3
sin if <x≤
2n n n




. . .





 .. .. ..



 sin nπ if n 1 < x ≤ 1.



2n n
Z 1
Then, the value of lim fn (x) dx is
n→∞ 0
1 2
(A) π (B) 1 (C) (D) .
π π
72 Let d1 , d2 , . . . , dk be all the factors of a positive integer n including 1
and n. If d1 + d2 + . . . + dk = 72, then d11 + d12 + · · · + d1k is:
k2 72 72
(A) 72 (B) k (C) n (D) none of the above

73 A subset W of the set of real numbers is called a ring if it contains 1

and if for all a, b ∈ W , the numbers na b and ab are also inoW . Let
S = 2mn | m, n integers and T = pq | p, q integers, q odd . Then


(A) neither S nor T is a ring (B) S is a ring T is not a ring

(C) T is a ring S is not a ring (D) both S and T are rings
74 A rod AB of length 3 rests on a wall. P is a point on AB such that
AP : P B = 1 : 2. If the rod slides along the wall, then the locus of P
lies on
(A) 2x + y + xy = 2
(B) 4x2 + y 2 = 4
12
 (C) 4x2 + xy + y 2 = 4
(D) x2 + y 2 x 2y = 0.
75 Consider the equation x2 + y 2 = 2007. How many solutions (x, y) exist
such that x and y are positive integers?
(A) None
(B) Exactly two
(C) More than two but finitely many
(D) Infinitely many.
76 Consider the functions f1 (x) = x, f2 (x) = 2 + loge x, x > 0 (where e is
the base of natural logarithm). The graphs of the functions intersect
(A) once in (0, 1) and never in (1, ∞)
(B) once in (0, 1) and once in (e2 , ∞)
(C) once in (0, 1) and once in (e, e2 )
(D) more than twice in (0, ∞).
77 Consider the sequence
n
X r
un = , n ≥ 1.
2r
r=1

Then the limit of un as n → ∞ is

(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) e (D) 1/2.
78 Suppose that z is any complex number which is not equal to any of
{3, 3ω, 3ω 2 } where ω is a complex cube root of unity. Then
1 1 1
+ +
z 3 z 3ω z 3ω 2
equals
2 +3z 2 2 2
(A) 3z
(z×3)3
(B) 3zz 3+3ωz
×27
(C) z 3 ×3z3z
2 +9z×27 (D) z 33z×27 .
79 Consider all functions f : {1, 2, 3, 4} → {1, 2, 3, 4} which are one-one,
onto and satisfy the following property:
if f (k) is odd then f (k + 1) is even, k = 1, 2, 3.
The number of such functions is
(A) 4 (B) 8 (C) 12 (D) 16.
80 A function f : R → R is defined by
× x1

f (x) = e , x > 0
0 x ≤ 0.
Then
(A) f is not continuous
(B) f is differentiable but f 0 is not continuous
(C) f is continuous but f 0 (0) does not exist
(D) f is differentiable and f 0 is continuous.
81 The last digit of 9! + 39966 is
(A) 3 (B) 9 (C) 7 (D) 1.
13
82 Consider the function
2x2 + 3x + 1
f (x) = , 2 ≤ x ≤ 3.
2x 1
Then
(A) maximum of f is attained inside the interval (2, 3)
(B) minimum of f is 28/5
(C) maximum of f is 28/5
(D) f is a decreasing function in (2, 3).
83 A particle P moves in the plane in such a way that the angle between
the two tangents drawn from P to the curve y 2 = 4ax is always 90◦ .
The locus of P is
(A) a parabola (B) a circle (C) an ellipse (D) a straight line.
84 Let f : R → R be given by
f (x) = |x2 1|, x ∈ R.
Then
(A) f has a local minima at x = ±1 but no local maximum
(B) f has a local maximum at x = 0 but no local minima
(C) f has a local minima at x = ±1 and a local maximum at x = 0
(D) none of the above is true.
85 The number of triples (a, b, c) of positive integers satisfying
2a 5b 7c = 1
is
(A) infinite (B) 2 (C) 1 (D) 0.
86 Let a be a fixed real number greater than 1. The locus of z ∈ C
satisfying |z ia| = Im(z) + 1 is
(A) parabola (B) ellipse (C) hyperbola (D) not a conic.
87 Consider the function f : R \ {1} → R \ {2} given by
2x
f (x) = .
x 1
Then
(A) f is one-one but not onto
(B) f is onto but not one-one
(C) f is neither one-one nor onto
(D) f is both one-one and onto.
88 Consider a real valued continuous function f satisfying f (x+1) = f (x)
for all x ∈ R. Let
Z t
g(t) = f (x) dx, t ∈ R.
0

Define h(t) = limn→∞ g(t+n)

n , provided the limit exists. Then
(A) h(t) is defined only for t = 0
(B) h(t) is defined only when t is an integer
14
 (C) h(t) is defined for all t ∈ R and is independent of t
(D) none of the above is true.
89 Consider the sequence a1 = 241/3 , an+1 = (an + 24)1/3 , n ≥ 1. Then
the integer part of a100 equals
(A) 2 (B) 10 (C) 100 (D) 24.
90 Let x, y ∈ ( 2, 2) and xy = 1. Then the minimum value of
4 9
2
+
4 x 9 y2
is
(A) 8/5 (B) 12/5 (C) 12/7 (D) 15/7.
91 What is the limit of
√
 1 n2 + n
1+ 2
n +n
as n → ∞?
(A) e (B) 1 (C) 0 (D) ∞.
92 4 2
Consider the function f (x) = x + x + x 1, x ∈ ( ∞, ∞). The
function
(A) is zero at x = 1, but is increasing near x = 1
(B) has a zero in ( ∞, 1)
(C) has two zeros in ( 1, 0)
(D) has exactly one local minimum in ( 1, 0).
93 Consider a sequence of 10 A’s and 8 B’s placed in a row. By a run we
mean one or more letters of the same type placed side by side. Here
is an arrangement of 10 A’s and 8 B’s which contains 4 runs of A and
4 runs of B:
AAAB B AB B B AAB AAAAB B
In how many ways can 10 A’s and 8 B’s be arranged in a row so that
there are 4
runs

of A and 49
runs

of B?
(A) 2 93 73 (B) 3 73 (C) 10

8

(D) 10

8

4 4 5 5 .
94 Suppose n ≥ 2 is a fixed positive integer and
f (x) = xn |x|, x ∈ R.
Then
(A) f is differentiable everywhere only when n is even
(B) f is differentiable everywhere except at 0 if n is odd
(C) f is differentiable everywhere
(D) none of the above is true.
95 The line 2x + 3y k = 0 with k > 0 cuts the x axis and y axis at
points A and B respectively. Then the equation of the circle having
AB as diameter is
(A) x2 + y 2 k2 x k3 y = k 2
(B) x2 + y 2 k3 x k2 y = k 2
(C) x2 + y 2 k2 x k3 y = 0
15
 (D) x2 + y 2 k3 x k2 y = 0.
96 Let α > 0 and consider the sequence
(α + 1)n + (α 1)n
xn = , n = 1, 2, . . . .
(2α)n
Then limn→∞ xn is
(A) 0 for any α > 0
(B) 1 for any α > 0
(C) 0 or 1 depending on what α > 0 is
(D) 0, 1 or ∞ depending on what α > 0 is.
97 If 0 < θ < π/2 then
(A) θ < sin θ
(B) cos(sin θ) < cos θ
(C) sin(cos θ) < cos(sin θ)
(D) cos θ < sin(cos θ).
98 Assume the following inequalities for positive integer k:
1 √ √ 1
√ < k+1 k< √ .
2 k+1 2 k
The integer part of
9999
X 1
√
k=2
k
equals
(A) 198 (B) 197 (C) 196 (D) 195.
99 Consider the sets defined by the inequalities
A = {(x, y) ∈ R2 : x4 + y 2 ≤ 1}, B = {(x, y) ∈ R2 : x6 + y 4 ≤ 1}.
Then
(A) B ⊆ A
(B) A ⊆ B
(C) each of the sets A B, B A and A ∩ B is non-empty
(D) none of the above is true.
100 The number of one-to-one functions from a set with 3 elements to a
set with 6 elements is
(A) 20
(B) 120
(C) 216
(D) 720
101 The minimum value of the function f (x) = x2 + 4x + x4 + x12 where
x > 0, is
(A) 9.5 (B) 10 (C) 15 (D) 20
102 The angle between the hyperbolas xy = 1 and x2 y 2 = 1 (at their
point of intersection) is
(A) π2 (B) π3 (C) π4 (D) π6
16
 103 Given two complex numbers z, w with unit modulus (i.e., |z| = |w| =
1), which of the following
√ statements
√ will ALWAYS be correct?
(A) |z + w| < √ 2 and |z w| < √ 2
(B) |z + w| ≤ √2 and |z w| ≥√ 2
(C) |z + w| ≥ √2 or |z w| ≥ √2
(D) |z + w| < 2 or |z w| < 2

Hints and Answers to selected problems.

There are also other ways to solve the problems apart from the ones sketched
in the hints. Indeed, a student should feel encouraged upon finding a different
way to solve some of these problems.
Hints and Answers to selected UGA Sample Questions.

1 (B). Take the nth root of an and bn and use A.M.≥ G.M.
3 (A). As 2004 = 2000 +4, the last digits of (2004)5 and 45 are equal.
4 (D) Use binomial expansion of (bc + a (b + c))6 .
6 (B) Let y = log10 x. Then log10 y = log100 4. Hence y = 2.
8 (D) Check for ‘test points’.
−1
14 (D) sin x13 changes sign at the points (nπ) 3 for all n ≥ 1.


x 2 x
15 (D) Observe that (e ×1) = (e x×1) · sinx2 x · cos12 x .
tan x 2
x3
16 (C) Use induction and chain rule of differentiation.
22 (B) Show that the height function is 60 t .
26 (C) Compute the number of maps such that f (3) = 5, f (3) = 4 etc..
Alternatively, define g : {1, 2, 3} → {1, 2, . . . , 7} by g (i) = f (i) + (i 1).
Then, g is a strictly increasing function and its image is a subset of size 3 of
{1, 2, . . . 7}.
28 (D) Draw graphs of (x + y)(x y) = 0 and (x a)2 + y 2 = 1.
38 (A) Differentiate.
51 (A) Compute for C = x2 + y 2 = 1 and Q = (a, 0) for some a > 1.


R2 R2
57 (C) Compute the integral 2x dx log xdx.
1/2 1/2
60 (D) Let s be distance between the centre of the big circle and the centre
of (any) one of the small circles. Then there exists a right angle triangle
with hypoteneuse s, side r and angle πn .
61(C) If 8n + 1 = m2 , then 2n is a product of two consecutive integers.
62 (C) z 2 = w2 ⇒ z = ±w ⇒ B ⊆ A. But |i| = 1 and i2 6= 1.
63 (C) Amongst 1, |x|, |x|2 , |x|3 , only |x| is not differentiable at 0.
64 (D) Look at the derivative of f .
65 (B) Draw graphs of y = cos x and y = ±x and find the number of points
of intersections.
66 (D) Calculate the discriminant (b2 4ac) of the given quadratic.
17
67 (A) The unit digit of all numbers n! with n ≥ 5 is 0.
n
i3 .
P
68 (B) Use the formula for
i=1
69 (C) Find out the first values of n for which an+1an becomes < 1.
2 2
70 (D) The equation is xy(x + y + 1) = 0.
72 (C) Multiply the given sum by n.
73 (D) Verify using the given definition of a ring.
75 (A) Observe that one of x, y is odd and the other one is even. Square
of an even number is divisible by 4 whereas square of an odd number leaves
remainder 1 when divided by 4. Compare this with the right hand side.
76 (C) Check that f1 (1) < f2 (1), f1 (e) < f2 (e) and f1 (e2 ) > f2 (e2 ).
83 (D) Note that a tangent to the parabola y 2 = 4ax has equation of the
a a
form y = mx + m . Coordinates of P satisfy two equations: y = mx + m and
x
y = m ma. Eliminate m.
84 (C) The function f is non-negative and it vanishes only at 1 and 1. The
derivative vanishes at x = 0 and it does not exist at x = √1, x = 1.
 n2 +√n  n2 +n  n22+ n
1 1 n +n
91 (A) Write 1 + n2 +n = 1 + n2 +n .
00 0 0
92 (D) As f = 12x2 + 2 > 0, the function f is increasing. Now f ( 1) < 0
0
whereas f (0) > 0.

18
 Sample Questions for UGB
Instructions UGB consists of questions that will require you to provide
answers with appropriate justification.
1 Find the sum of all distinct four digit numbers that can be formed
using the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, each digit appearing at most once.
2 How many natural numbers less than 108 are there, with sum of digits
equal to 7?
3 Consider the squares of an 8 × 8 chessboard filled with the numbers 1
to 64 as in the figure below. If we choose 8 squares with the property
that there is exactly one from each row and exactly one from each
column, and add up the numbers in the chosen squares, show that the
sum obtained is always 260.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64
4 Consider the function
loge (2 + x) x2n sin x
f (x) = lim
n→∞ 1 + x2n
defined for x > 0. Is f (x) continuous at x = 1? Justify your answer.
Show that f (x) does not vanish anywhere in the interval 0 ≤ x ≤ π2 .
Indicate the points where f (x) changes sign.
5 An isosceles triangle with base 6 cms. and base angles 30o each is
inscribed in a circle. A second circle, which is situated outside the
triangle, touches the first circle and also touches the base of the triangle
at its midpoint. Find its radius.
6 Suppose a is a complex number such that
1 1
a2 + a + + 2 + 1 = 0.
a a
If m is a positive integer, find the value of
1 1
a2m + am + m + 2m .
a a
7 Let an = 1 . . . 1 with 3n digits. Prove that an is divisible by 3an×1 .
8 Let f (u) be a continuous function and, for any real number u, let [u]
denote the greatest integer less than or equal to u. Show that for any
19
 x > 1,
Z x [x] Z x
X
[u]([u] + 1)f (u)du = 2 i f (u)du.
1 i=1 i

9 If a circle intersects the hyperbola y = 1/x at four distinct points

(xi , yi ), i = 1, 2, 3, 4, then prove that x1 x2 = y3 y4 .
10 Two intersecting circles are said to be orthogonal to each other if the
tangents to the two circles at any point of intersection are perpendicu-
lar to each other. Show that every circle through the points (2, 0) and
( 2, 0) is orthogonal to the circle x2 + y 2 5x + 4 = 0.
11 Show that the function f (x) defined below attains a unique minimum
for x > 0. What is the minimum value of the function? What is the
value of x at which the minimum is attained?
1 1
f (x) = x2 + x + + 2 for x 6= 0.
x x
Sketch on plain paper the graph of this function.
12 Show that there is exactly one value of x which satisfies the equation
2 cos2 (x3 + x) = 2x + 2×x .

13 Let S = {1, 2, . . . , n}. Find the number of unordered pairs {A, B} of

subsets of S such that A and B are disjoint, where A or B or both
may be empty.
14 An oil-pipe has to connect the oil-well O and the factory F , between
which there is a river whose banks are parallel. The pipe must cross
the river perpendicular to the banks. Find the position and nature of
the shortest such pipe and justify your answer.
15 Find the maximum value of x2 + y 2 in the bounded region, including
the boundary, enclosed by y = x2 , y = x2 and x = y 2 + 1.
16 Let x = (x1 , . . . , xn ) and y = (y1 , . . . , yn ) where x1 , · · · , xn , y1 , · · · , yn
are real numbers. We write x > y if either x1 > y1 or for some k,
with 1 ≤ k ≤ n 1, we have x1 = y1 , . . . , xk = yk , but xk+1 > yk+1 .
Show that for u = (u1 , . . . , un ), v = (v1 , . . . , vn ), w = (w1 , . . . , wn ) and
z = (z1 , . . . , zn ), if u > v and w > z, then u + w > v + z.
17 How many real roots does x4 + 12x 5 have?
18 For any positive integer n, let f (n) be the remainder obtained on
dividing n by 9. For example, f (263) = 2.
(a) Let n be a three-digit number and m be the sum of its digits.
Show that f (m) = f (n).
20
 (b) Show that f (n1 n2 ) = f (f (n1 ) · f (n2 )) where n1 , n2 are any two
positive three-digit integers.
19 Find the maximum among 1, 21/2 , 31/3 , 41/4 , . . ..
20 Show that it is not possible to have a triangle with sides a, b and c
whose medians have lengths 32 a, 32 b and 45 c.
21 For real numbers x, y and z, show that
|x| + |y| + |z| ≤ |x + y z| + |y + z x| + |z + x y|.

22 Let X, Y , Z be the angles of a triangle.

(i) Prove that
X Y X Z Z Y
tan tan + tan tan + tan tan = 1.
2 2 2 2 2 2
(ii) Using (i) or otherwise prove that
X Y Z 1
tan tan tan ≤ √ .
2 2 2 3 3

23 Let α be a real number. Consider the function

2
g(x) = (α + | x |)2 e(5×|x|) , ∞ < x < ∞.
(i) Determine the values of α for which g is continuous at all x.
(ii) Determine the values of α for which g is differentiable at all x.

24 Write the set of all positive integers in a triangular array as

1 3 6 10 15 . .
2 5 9 14 . . .
4 8 13 . . . .
7 12 . . . . .
11 . . . . . .
Find the row number and column number where 20096 occurs. For
example 8 appears in the third row and second column.

25 Show that the polynomial x8 x7 + x2 x + 15 has no real root.

26 Let m be a natural number with digits consisting entirely of 6’s and

0’s. Prove that m is not the square of a natural number.

P.T.O.
21
27 Let 0 < a < b.
(i) Show that amongst the triangles with base a and perimeter a + b,
the maximum area is obtained when the other two sides have
equal length 2b .
(ii) Using the result of (i) or otherwise show that amongst the quadri-
lateral of given perimeter the square has maximum area.
28 Let n ≥ 1, S = {1, 2, . . . , n}. For a function f : S → S, a subset D ⊂ S
is said to be invariant under f , if f (x) ∈ D for all x ∈ D. Note that
the empty set and S are invariant for all f . Let deg(f ) be the number
of subsets of S invariant under f .
(i) Show that there is a function f : S → S such that deg(f ) = 2.
(ii) Further show that for any k such that 1 ≤ k ≤ n there is a
function f : S → S such that deg(f ) = 2k .

29 Let
P (x) = xn + an×1 xn×1 + an×2 xn×2 + · · · + a1 x + a0
be a polynomial with integer coefficients, such that P (0) and P (1) are
odd integers. Show that:
(a) P (x) does not have any even integer as root.
(b) P (x) does not have any odd integer as root.
30 Let N = {1, 2, . . . , n} be a set of elements called voters. Let C =
{S : S ⊆ N } be the set of all subsets of N . Members of C are called
coalitions. Let f be a function from C to {0, 1}. A coalition S ⊆ N
is said to be winning if f (S) = 1; it is said to be a losing coalition
if f (S) = 0. A pair hN, f i as above is called a voting game if the
following conditions hold.
(a) N is a winning coalition.
(b) The empty set ∅ is a losing coalition.
(c) If S is a winning coalition and S ⊆ S 0 , then S 0 is also winning.
(d) If both S and S 0 are winning coalitions, then S ∩ S 0 6= ∅, i.e., S
and S 0 have a common voter.
Show that the maximum number of winning coalitions of a voting
game is 2n×1 . Find a voting game for which the number of winning
coalitions is 2n×1 .
31 Suppose f is a real-valued differentiable function defined on [1, ∞) with
f (1) = 1. Suppose, moreover, that f satisfies f 0 (x) = 1/(x2 + f 2 (x)).
Show that f (x) ≤ 1 + π/4 for every x ≥ 1.
32 If the normal to the curve x2/3 + y 2/3 = a2/3 at some point makes an
angle θ with the X-axis, show that the equation of the normal is
y cos θ x sin θ = a cos 2θ.

33 Suppose that a is an irrational number.

22
 (a) If there is a real number b such that both (a+b) and ab are rational
numbers, show that a is√a quadratic √ surd. (a is a quadratic surd
if it is of the form r + s or r s for some rationals r and s,
where s is not the square of a rational number).
(b) Show that there are two real numbers b1 and b2 such that
(i) a + b1 is rational but ab1 is irrational.
(ii) a + b2 is irrational but ab2 is rational.
(Hint: Consider the two cases, where a is a quadratic surd
and a is not a quadratic surd, separately).
34 Let A, B, and C be three points on a circle of radius 1.
(a) Show that the area of the triangle ABC equals
1
(sin(2∠ABC) + sin(2∠BCA) + sin(2∠CAB)) .
2
(b) Suppose that the magnitude of ∠ABC is fixed. Then show that
the area of the triangle ABC is maximized when ∠BCA = ∠CAB.
(c) Hence or otherwise show that the area of the triangle ABC is
maximum when the triangle is equilateral.
35 In the given figure, E is the midpoint of the arc E
ABEC and ED is perpendicular to the chord BC C
at D. If the length of the chord AB is l1 , and that of B
D
BD is l2 , determine the length of DC in terms of l1 A
and l2
36 (a) Let f (x) = x xe×1/x , x > 0. Show that f (x) is an increasing
function on (0, ∞), and limx→∞ f (x) = 1.
(b) Using part (a) and calculus, sketch the graphs of y = x 1, y = x,
y = x + 1, and y = xe×1/|x| for ∞ < x < ∞ using the same X
and Y axes.
37 For any integer n greater than 1, show that
2n
 
n 2n
2 < < n×1 .
n Y i
(1 )
n
i=0

38 Show that there exists a positive real number x 6= 2 such that log2 x =
x
2 . Hence obtain the set of real numbers c such that
log2 x
=c
x
has only one real solution.
39 Find a four digit number M such that the number N = 4 × M has the
following properties.
(a) N is also a four digit number.
23
 (b) N has the same digits as in M but in the reverse order.
40 Consider a function f on nonnegative integers such that f (0) = 1,
f (1) = 0 and f (n) + f (n 1) = nf (n 1) + (n 1)f (n 2) for n ≥ 2.
Show that
n
f (n) X ( 1)k
= .
n! k!
k=0

41 Of all triangles with a given perimeter, find the triangle with the max-
imum area. Justify your answer.
42 A 40 feet high screen is put on a vertical wall 10 feet above your eye-
level. How far should you stand to maximize the angle subtended by
the screen (from top to bottom) at your eye?
43 Study the derivatives of the function
p
y = x3 4x
and sketch its graph on the real line.
44 Suppose P and Q are the centres of two disjoint circles C1 and C2
respectively, such that P lies outside C2 and Q lies outside C1 . Two
tangents are drawn from the point P to the circle C2 , which intersect
the circle C1 at points A and B. Similarly, two tangents are drawn
from the point Q to the circle C1 , which intersect the circle C2 at
points M and N . Show that AB = M N .
 
1 2n
45 Evaluate: lim log .
n→∞ 2n n
46 Consider the equation x5 + x = 10. Show that
(a) the equation has only one real root;
(b) this root lies between 1 and 2;
(c) this root must be irrational.
47 In how many ways can you divide the set of eight numbers {2, 3, . . . , 9}
into 4 pairs such that no pair of numbers has g.c.d. equal to 2?
48 Suppose S is the set of all positive integers. For a, b ∈ S, define
l.c.m(a, b)
a∗b=
g.c.d(a, b)
For example, 8 ∗ 12 = 6.
Show that exactly two of the following three properties are satis-
fied :
(a) If a, b ∈ S then a ∗ b ∈ S.
(b) (a ∗ b) ∗ c = a ∗ (b ∗ c) for all a, b, c ∈ S.
(c) There exists an element i ∈ S such that a ∗ i = a for all a ∈ S.

24
 Hints and Answers to selected UGB Sample Questions.

1. The answer is 399960. For each x ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, there are 4! such
numbers whose last digit is x. Thus the digits in the unit place of all the
120 numbers add up to 4! (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5). Similarly the numbers at ten’s
place add up to 360 and so on. Thus the sum is 360 (1 + 10 + 100 + 1000).
3. Let the chosen entries be in the positions (i, ai ), 1 ≤ i ≤ 8. Thus a1 , . . . , a8
is a permutation of {1, . . . , 8}. The entry in the square corresponding to
8
P
(i, j)th place is i + 8 (j 1). Hence the required sum is (i + 8 (aj 1)).
i=1
√
3 3
5. Radius is 2 . Use trigonometry.
n
7. Observe that an = an×1 1 + t + t2 where t = 103

9. Substitute y = x1 in the equation of a circle and clear denominator to

get a degree 4 equation in x. The product of its roots is the constant term,
which is 1.
11. The function f (x) 4 is a sum of squares and hence non-negative. So
the minimum is 4 which is attained at x = 1.
n
13. The number is 3 2+1 . An ordered pair (A, B) of disjoint subsets of S is
determined by 3 choices for every element of S (either it is in A, or in B or
in neither of them). Hence such pairs are 3n in number. An unordered pair
will be counted twice in this way, except for the case A and B both empty.
n
Hence the number is 1 + 3 2×1 .
15. Answer is 5. The maximum is attained at points (2, 1) and (2, 1).
17. Answer is 2. Let f be the given polynomial. Then f (0) is negative and
f is positive as x tends to ±∞. √ Hence it has at least 2 real roots. Since the
derivative of f is zero only at 3 3, it cannot have more than two real roots.
√3 1
19. Maximum
√ is √ 3. Either check the maximum of the function x x , or
compare 3 3 with n n.
21. Rewrite the given inequality in terms of the new variables α = x + y z,
β = y + z x, γ = x + z y, and use the triangle inequality.
22. (i) Using the additive formula for tan(A/2 + B/2) and observing that
tan(A/2 + B/2) = tan(90◦ C/2) = cot(C/2), it is easy to prove (i).
(ii) Note that tan(A/2), tan(B/2), tan(C/2) are positive numbers. So the
arithmetic mean of tan(A/2) tan(B/2), tan(C/2) tan(B/2), tan(A/2) tan(C/2)
is greater than or equal to its geometric mean. Use this together with (i).
2
23. For any α, , h(x) = (α + x)2 e(5×x) , ∞ < x < ∞ is continuous and
differentiable at all x and note that f (x) = h(| x |), ∞ < x < ∞.
25
(i) As | x | is a continuous function, f is a continuous function at all x for
any real number α.
(ii) As | x | is a differentiable function at all x 6= 0 f is differentiable at all
x 6= 0 for any real number α. At x = 0, find the right hand and the left
hand derivatives of f . Check that f 0 (0) exists if and only if α = 0 or α = 51 .
24. The top row has the n-th triangular number n(n+1)/2 at the n-th place.
Now (200 × 201)/2 = 20100 > 20096 > 19900 = (199 × 200)/2. So, 20100
occurs on the first row and 200-th column and is on the first row of this 200-
th slanted line. Therefore 20096 = 20100 4 occurs on the 200 4 = 196-th
column and on the 5-th row.
25. The polynomial can be re-written as x7 (x 1) + x(x 1) + 15. It it easily
seen that the polynomial is strictly positive when x ≤ 0 and x ≥ 1. Further
if 0 < x < 1, then | x7 (x 1) |< 1 and | x(x 1) |< 1. This implies that the
polynomial is strictly positive for all real numbers x.
26. Suppose n is a perfect square. If 10|n, then 102 |n. Hence n ends in
an even (possibly zero) number of 0’s. So, for some k (possibly zero), the
number 10n2k ends in 6 and has digits consisting of 0’s and 6’s. Therefore 10n2k
ends in 66 or in 06. In both cases the number is even and leaves a remainder
2 on division by 4. This is a contradiction as an even perfect square is a
multiple of 4.
28. (i) If f (i) = i + 1 for all i = 1, · · · , n 1, with f (n) = 1 then deg(f ) = 2.
(ii) Consider disjoint subsets A1 , A2 , · · · , Ak of S such that each Ai has more
than one element. Let f be a cyclic function in each Ai . Then deg(f ) = 2k .

26
 A Model Question Paper for B.Math/B.Stat

Booklet No. Test Code : UGA

Forenoon

Questions : 30 Time : 2 hours

Write your Name, Registration Number, Test Centre, Test Code and the
Number of this Booklet in the appropriate places on the Answersheet.

This test contains 30 questions in all. For each of the 30 questions, there
are four suggested answers. Only one of the suggested answers is correct.
You will have to identify the correct answer in order to get full credit for
that question. Indicate your choice of the correct answer by darkening the
appropriate oval completely on the answersheet.
You will get
4 marks for each correctly answered question,
0 marks for each incorrectly answered question and
1 mark for each unattempted question.

All rough work must be done on this booklet only.

You are not allowed to use calculator.

WAIT FOR THE SIGNAL TO START.

27
 1 The system of inequalities
1 1 1 1
a b2 ≥ , b c2 ≥ , c d2 ≥ , d a2 ≥
4 4 4 4
(where a, b, c, d are real numbers) has
(A) no solutions (B) exactly one solution
(C) exactly two solutions (D) infinitely many solutions.
2 Let log12 18 = a. Then log24 16 is equal to
8 4a 1 4a 1 8 4a
(A) (B) (C) (D) .
5 a 3+a 2 + 3a 5+a
3 The number of solutions of the equation tan x + sec x = 2 cos x, where
0 ≤ x ≤ π, is
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3.
4 Using only the digits 2, 3 and 9, how many six digit numbers can be
formed which are divisible by 6?
(A) 41 (B) 80 (C) 81 (D) 161
5 What is the value of the following integral?
tan×1 x
Z 2014
dx
1 x
2014

π π 1
(A) log 2014 (B) log 2014 (C) π log 2014 (D) log 2014
4 2 2
6 A light ray travelling along the line y = 1, is reflected by a mirror
placed along the line x = 2y. The reflected ray travels along the line
(A) 4x 3y = 5 (B) 3x 4y = 2 (C) x y = 1 (D) 2x 3y = 1.
7 For a real number x, let [x] denote the greatest integer less than or
equal to x. Then the number of real solutions of 2x [x] = 4 is
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4.
8 What is the ratio of the areas of the regular pentagons inscribed inside
and circumscribed around a given circle?
(A) cos 36◦ (B) cos2 36◦ (C) cos2 54◦ (D) cos2 72◦
9 Let z1 , z2 be nonzero complex numbers satisfying |z1 + z2 | = |z1 z2 |.
The circumcentre of the triangle with the points z1 , z2 , and the origin
as its vertices is given by
1 1 1 1
(A) (z1 z2 ) (B) (z1 + z2 ) (C) (z1 + z2 ) (D) (z1 z2 ).
2 3 2 3
10 In how many ways can 20 identical chocolates be distributed among 8
students so that each student gets at least one chocolate and exactly
two students get at least two chocolates each?   
8 17
(A) 308 (B) 364 (C) 616 (D)
2 7
1
11 Two vertices of a square lie on a circle of radius r, and the other two
vertices lie on a tangent to this circle. Then, each side of the square is
3r 4r 6r 8r
(A) (B) (C) (D) ·
2 3 5 5
12 Let P be the set of all numbers obtained by multiplying five distinct
integers between 1 and 100. What is the largest integer n such that
2n divides at least one element of P ?
(A) 8 (B) 20 (C) 24 (D) 25
13 Consider the function f (x) = ax3 + bx2 + cx + d, where a, b, c and
d are real numbers with a > 0. If f is strictly increasing, then the
0 00 000
function g(x) = f (x) f (x) + f (x) is
(A) zero for some x ∈ R (B) positive for all x ∈ R
(C) negative for all x ∈ R (D) strictly increasing.

14 Let A be the set of all points (h, k) such that the area of the triangle
formed by (h, k), (5, 6) and (3, 2) is 12 square units. What is the least
possible length of a line segment joining (0, 0) to a point in A?
4 8 12 16
(A) √ (B) √ (C) √ (D) √
5 5 5 5
15 Let P = {ab c : a, b, c positive integers, a2 + b2 = c2 , and 3 divides c}.
What is the largest integer n such that 3n divides every element of P ?
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4
16 Let A0 = ∅ (the empty set). For each i = 1, 2, 3, . . . , define the set
Ai = Ai×1 ∪ {Ai×1 }. The set A3 is
(A) ∅ (B) {∅} (C) {∅, {∅}} (D) {∅, {∅}, {∅, {∅}}}
1
17 Let f (x) = · The graphs of the functions f and f ×1 intersect at
x 2
√ √ √ √
(A) (1 + √ 2, 1 + √ 2) and (1
√ 2, 1 2)
(B) (1 + 2, 1 + 2) and ( 2, 1 √12 )
√ √ √
(C) (1 2, 1 2) and ( 2, 1 + √12 )
√ √
(D) ( 2, 1 √12 ) and ( 2, 1 + √12 )
18 Let N be a number such that whenever you take N consecutive positive
integers, at least one of them is coprime to 374. What is the smallest
possible value of N ?
(A) 4 (B) 5 (C) 6 (D) 7

19 Let A1 , A2 , . . . , A18 be the vertices of a regular polygon with 18 sides.

How many of the triangles 4Ai Aj Ak , 1 ≤ i < j < k ≤ 18, are isosceles
but not equilateral?
(A) 63 (B) 70 (C) 126 (D) 144
2
 sinα x
20 The limit lim exists only when
x→0 x
(A) α ≥ 1 (B) α = 1
(C) |α| ≤ 1 (D) α is a positive integer.
21 Consider the region R = {(x, y) : x2 + y 2 ≤ 100, sin(x + y) > 0}. What
is the area of R?
(A) 25π (B) 50π (C) 50 (D) 100π 50
22 Consider a cyclic trapezium whose circumcentre is on one of the sides.
If the ratio of the two parallel sides is 1 : 4, what is the ratio of the
sum of √the two
√ oblique sides to the longer parallel
√ side? √ √
(A) 3 : 2 (B) 3 : 2 (C) 2 : 1 (D) 5 : 3
( √ !)2
4 + 2x
23 Consider the function f (x) = loge for x > 0. Then,
x

(A) f decreases upto some point and increases after that

(B) f increases upto some point and decreases after that
(C) f increases initially, then decreases and then again increases
(D) f decreases initially, then increases and then again decreases.

24 What is the number of ordered triplets (a, b, c), where a, b, c are positive
integers (not necessarily distinct), such that abc = 1000?
(A) 64 (B) 100 (C) 200 (D) 560
25 Let f : (0, ∞) → (0, ∞) be a function differentiable at 3, and satisfying
f (3) = 3f 0(3) > 0. Then the limit
   x
3
f 3 + x 
lim  
x→∞  f (3) 

(A) exists and is equal to 3 (B) exists and is equal to e

(C) exists and is always equal to f (3) (D) need not always exist.

1
26 Let z be a non-zero complex number such that z = 2. What is
z
the maximum value of |z|?
√ √
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 2 (D) 1 + 2.
27 The minimum value of
sin x + cos x + tan x + cosec x + sec x + cot x is
√ √
(A) 0 (B) 2 2 1 (C) 2 2 + 1 (D) 6

3
28 For any function f : X → Y and any subset A of Y , define
f ×1 (A) = {x ∈ X : f (x) ∈ A}.
Let Ac denote the complement of A in Y . For subsets A1 , A2 of Y ,
consider the following statements:
(i) f ×1 (Ac1 ∩ Ac2 ) = (f ×1 (A1 ))c ∪ (f ×1 (A2 ))c
(ii) If f ×1 (A1 ) = f ×1 (A2 ) then A1 = A2 .
Then,
(A) both (i) and (ii) are always true
(B) (i) is always true, but (ii) may not always be true
(C) (ii) is always true, but (i) may not always be true
(D) neither (i) nor (ii) is always true.
29 Let f be a function such that f 00 (x) exists, and f 00 (x) > 0 for all
x ∈ [a, b]. For any point c ∈ [a, b], let A(c) denote the area of the
region bounded by y = f (x), the tangent to the graph of f at x = c
and the lines x = a and x = b. Then
(A) A(c) attains its minimum at c = 21 (a + b) for any such f
(B) A(c) attains its maximum at c = 12 (a + b) for any such f
(C) A(c) attains its minimum at both c = a and c = b for any such f
(D) the points c where A(c) attains its minimum depend on f .

30 In 4ABC, the lines BP , BQ trisect ∠ABC and the lines CM , CN

trisect ∠ACB. Let BP and CM intersect at X and BQ and CN
intersect at Y . If ∠ABC = 45◦ and ∠ACB = 75◦ , then ∠BXY is
A

M
P
X
N ?
Q

B C
◦
(A) 45◦ (B) 47 12 (C) 50◦ (D) 55◦

4
 A Model Question Paper for B.Math/B.Stat

BOOKLET No. TEST CODE : UGB

Afternoon Session

There are 3 pages in this booklet.

The exam has 8 questions.
Answer as many as you can.

Time : 2 hours

Write your Name, Registration number, Test Centre, Test Code and the
Number of this booklet in the appropriate places on the answer-booklet.

ALL ROUGH WORK IS TO BE DONE ON THIS BOOKLET

AND/OR THE ANSWER-BOOKLET.
CALCULATORS ARE NOT ALLOWED.

STOP! WAIT FOR THE SIGNAL TO START.

P.T.O.
5
1 A class has 100 students. Let ai , 1 ≤ i ≤ 100, denote the number of
friends the i-th student has in the class. For each 0 ≤ j ≤ 99, let cj
denote the number of students having at least j friends. Show that
100
X 99
X
ai = cj .
i=1 j= 1

2 It is given that the graph of y = x4 + ax3 + bx2 + cx + d (where a, b, c, d

are real) has at least 3 points of intersection with the x-axis. Prove
that either there are exactly 4 distinct points of intersection, or one of
those 3 points of intersection is a local minimum or maximum.

3 Consider a triangle P QR in R2 . Let A be a point lying on 4P QR

or in the region enclosed by it. Prove that, for any function f (x, y) =
ax + by + c on R2 ,
f (A) ≤ max {f (P ), f (Q), f (R)} .
4 Let f and g be two non-decreasing twice differentiable functions de-
fined on an interval (a, b) such that for each x ∈ (a, b), f 00 (x) = g(x)
and g 00 (x) = f (x). Suppose also that f (x)g(x) is linear in x on (a, b).
Show that we must have f (x) = g(x) = 0 for all x ∈ (a, b).

5 Show that the sum of 12 consecutive integers can never be a perfect

square. Give an example of 11 consecutive integers whose sum is a
perfect square.

6 Let A be the region in the xy-plane given by

A = {(x, y) : x = u + v, y = v, u2 + v 2 ≤ 1} .
Derive the length of the longest line segment that can be enclosed in-
side the region A.

7 Let f : [0, ∞) → R be a non-decreasing continuous function. Show

then that the inequality
Zz Zz
(z x) f (u)du ≥ (z y) f (u)du
y x

holds for any 0 ≤ x < y < z. [P. T. O]

8 Consider n (> 1) lotus leaves placed around a circle. A frog jumps
from one leaf to another in the following manner. It starts from some
selected leaf. From there, it skips exactly one leaf in the clockwise
direction and jumps to the next one. Then it skips exactly two leaves
in the clockwise direction and jumps to the next one. Then it skips
three leaves again in the clockwise direction and jumps to the next
one, and so on. Notice that the frog may visit the same leaf more than
6
once. Suppose it turns out that if the frog continues this way, then all
the leaves are visited by the frog sometime or the other. Show that n
cannot be odd.

7
1 Consider a quadratic equation ax2 + 2bx + c = 0, where a, b and c are
positive real numbers. If the equation has no real roots, then which of
the following is true?
(A) a, b, c cannot be in AP or HP, but can be in GP.
(B) a, b, c cannot be in GP or HP, but can be in AP.
(C) a, b, c cannot be in AP or GP, but can be in HP.
(D) a, b, c cannot be in AP, GP or HP.

2 A unit square has its corners chopped off to form a regular polygon
with eight sides. What is the area of this polygon?
√ √ √ √
(A) 2( 3 2) (B) 2 2 2 (C) 22 (D) 79 .

3 A solid cube of side five centimeters has all its faces painted. The cube
is sliced into smaller cubes, each of side one centimeter. How many
of these smaller cubes will have paint on exactly one of its faces?
(A) 25 (B) 54 (C) 126 (D) 150.

z i
4 Let z be a complex number such that is purely imaginary. Then
z 1
the minimum value of |z (2 + 2i)| is
√ √ 3 1
(A) 2 2 (B) 2 (C) √ (D) √ .
2 2
5 Let f : R → R be a continuous function such that for any two real
numbers x and y,

|f (x) f (y)| ≤ 7 |x y|201 .

Then,
(A) f (101) = f (202) + 8 (B) f (101) = f (201) + 1
(C) f (101) = f (200) + 2 (D) None of the above.

6 In the Mathematics department of a college, there are 60 first year

students, 84 second year students, and 108 third year students. All
of these students are to be divided into project groups such that each
group has the same number of first year students, the same number
of second year students, and the same number of third year students.
What is the smallest possible size of each group?
(A) 9 (B) 12 (C) 19 (D) 21.
 7 Let a, b and c be real numbers, each greater than 1, such that
2 3 5
logb a + logc b + loga c = 3.
3 5 2
If the value of b is 9, then the value of a must be
√
(A) 3 81 (B) 27
2 (C) 18 (D) 27.

8 Consider a triangle ABC. The sides AB and AC are extended to

points D and E, respectively, such that AD = 3AB and AE = 3AC.
Then one diagonal of BDEC divides the other diagonal in the ratio
√ √
(A) 1 : 3 (B) 1 : 3 (C) 1 : 2 (D) 1 : 2.

9 The area of the region bounded by the curve y = tan x, the x-axis and
the tangent to the curve y = tan x at x = π4 is
1 1
(A) loge 2 2 (B) loge 2 + 2 (C) 21 (loge 2 1
2) (D) 12 (loge 2 + 21 ).

10 Let V be the set of vertices of a regular polygon with twenty sides.

Three distinct vertices are chosen at random from V . Then, the prob-
ability that the chosen triplet are the vertices of a right angled triangle
is
7 3 3 1
(A) 19 (B) 19 (C) 38 (D) 38 .

11 A “basic row operation” on a matrix means adding a multiple of one

row to another row. Consider the matrices
   
x 5 x 0 0 21
A= 1 3 2  and B = 1 1 14
4
2 2 2 0 3 4
It is given that B can be obtained from A by applying finitely many
basic row operations. Then, the value of x is:
(A) 3 (B) 3 (C) 1 (D) 2.

12 Let C be a circle of area A with centre at O. Let P be a moving point

such that its distance from O is always twice the length of a tangent
drawn from P to the circle. Then the point P must move along
(A) the sides of a square centred at O, with area 34 A.
(B) the sides of an equilateral triangle centred at O, with area 4A.
(C) a circle centred at O, with area 43 A.
(D) a circle centred at O, with area 4A.
13 A moving line intersects the lines x + y = 0 and x y = 0 at the points
A and B such that the area of the triangle with vertices (0, 0), A and
B has a constant area C. The locus of the midpoint of AB is given by
the equation
(A) (x2 + y 2 )2 = C 2 (B) (x2 y 2 )2 = C 2
(C) (x + y)2 = C 2 (D) (x y)2 = C 2 .

14 Let A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} and B = {a, b, c, d, e}. How many functions

f : A → B are there such that for every x ∈ A, there is one and exactly
one y ∈ A with y 6= x and f (x) = f (y)?
(A) 450 (B) 540 (C) 900 (D) 5400.

15 Two persons, both of height h, are standing at a distance of h from

each other. The shadow of one person cast by a vertical lamp-post
placed between the two persons is double the length of the shadow
of the other. If the sum of the lengths of the shadows is h, then the
height of the lamp post is
√  √  √ 
(A) 23 h (B) 2h (C) 1+2 2 h (D) 23+1√
2
h.

16 Let S be the set of all points z in the complex plane such that

1 4
 
1+ = 1.
z
Then, the points of S are
(A) vertices of a rectangle
(B) vertices of a right-angled triangle
(C) vertices of an equilateral triangle
(D) collinear

17 A circular lawn of diameter 20 meters on a horizontal plane is to be

illuminated by a light-source placed vertically above the centre of the
lawn. It is known that the illuminance at a point P on the lawn is
given by the formula I = C dsin2
θ
for some constant C, where d is the
distance of P from the light-source and θ is the angle between the line
joining the centre of the lawn to P and the line joining the light-source
to P . Then the maximum possible illuminance at a point on the cir-
cumference of the lawn is
C C√ C√ C√
(A) √
75 3
(B) 100 3
(C) 150 3
(D) 250 3
.
18 Let f and g be two real-valued continuous functions defined on the
closed interval [a, b], such that f (a) < g(a) and f (b) > g(b). Then the
area enclosed between the graphs of the two functions and the lines
x = a and x = b is always given by
Rb Rb
(A) a |f (x) g(x)| dx (B) a (f (x) g(x))dx
Rb Rb
(C) a (|f (x)| |g(x)|)dx (D) a ||f (x)| |g(x)|| dx.

19 Consider the function f : R → R, defined as follows:


(x 1)min x, x2

if x ≥ 0
f (x) = 1
x min x, if x < 0
x
Then, f is
(A) differentiable everywhere.
(B) not differentiable at exactly one point.
(C) not differentiable at exactly two points.
(D) not differentiable at exactly three points.

20 Let f : [0, 2] → R be a continuous function such that

1 2
Z
f (x)dx < f (2).
2 0
Then which of the following statements must be true?
(A) f must be strictly increasing.
(B) f must attain a maximum value at x = 2.
(C) f cannot have a minimum at x = 2.
(D) None of the above.

21 In a triangle ABC, 3 sin A + 4 cos B = 6 and 4 sin B + 3 cos A = 1 hold.

Then the angle C equals
(A) 30◦ (B) 60◦ (C) 120◦ (D) 150◦ .

2π
22 Let θ = 7 and consider the following matrix
 
cos θ sin θ
A=
sin θ cos θ
If An means A × · · · × A (n times), then A100 is
   
cos 2θ sin 2θ cos θ sin θ
(A) (B)
 sin 2θ
 cos 2θ sin θ  cos θ
1 0 0 1
(C) (D) .
0 1 1 0
23 Consider all the permutations of the twenty six English letters that
start with z. In how many of these permutations the number of let-
ters between z and y is less than those between y and x?
(A) 6 × 23! (B) 6 × 24! (C) 156 × 23! (D) 156 × 24!.

   
24 Let P = √12 , √12 and Q = √1 , √1
2 2
be two vertices of a regu-
lar polygon having 12 sides such that P Q is a diameter of the circle
circumscribing the polygon. Which of the following points is not a
vertex of this polygon?
√ √  √ √ 
(A) 23×1
√ , 3+1√ (B) 3+1
√ , 3×1√
 √ 2 2 √2   2 2 √ 2 2
3+1 1×√ 3 1 3
(C) 2 2 , 2 2
√ (D) 2, 2 .

25 Let a, b, c be real numbers such that a = a2 + b2 + c2 . What is the

smallest possible value of b?
1 1
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 4 (D) 2.

26 Consider the function f : R → R defined as

( x
if x 6= 0
f (x) = ex 1
1 if x = 0

Then which one of the following statements is correct?

(A) f is not continuous at x = 0.
(B) f is continuous but not differentiable at x = 0.
(C) f is differentiable at x = 0 and f 0 (0) = 12 .
(D) f is differentiable at x = 0 and f 0 (0) = 12 .

27 Let the function f : [0, 1] → R be defined as

 
|x y|
f (x) = max : 0 ≤ y ≤ 1 for 0 ≤ x ≤ 1.
x+y+1
Then which of the following statements is correct?
(A) f is strictly increasing on 0, 12 and strictly decreasing on 21 , 1 .
   

(B) f is strictly decreasing on 0, 12 and strictly increasing on 12 , 1 .

   
h √ i h√ i
3×1 3×1
(C) f is strictly increasing on 0, 2 and strictly decreasing on ,1 .
h √ i h√2 i
3×1 3×1
(D) f is strictly decreasing on 0, 2 and strictly increasing on 2 , 1 .
28 For a positive real number α, let Sα denote the set of points (x, y)
satisfying
|x|α + |y|α = 1.
A positive number α is said to be good if the points in Sα that are clos-
est to the origin lie only on the coordinate axes. Then
(A) all α in (0, 1) are good and others are not good.
(B) all α in (1, 2) are good and others are not good.
(C) all α > 2 are good and others are not good.
(D) all α > 1 are good and others are not good.

29 A water pitcher has a hemispherical bottom and a neck in the shape of

two truncated cones of the same size. The vertical 40
cross-section of the pitcher with relevant dimensions 10
30
is shown in the figure. Suppose that the pitcher is 10
filled with water to the brim. If a solid cylinder with 40
diameter 24 cm and height greater than 60 cm is in-
serted vertically into the pitcher as far down to the
bottom as possible, how much water would remain in the pitcher?
(A) 6316π cm3 (B) 6116π cm3 (C) 6336π cm3 (D) 6136π cm3
 x
30 Let f : [ 1, 1] → R be a function such that f sin = sin x + cos x,
2
for all x ∈ [ π, π]. The value of f 53 is

24 31 33
(A) 25 (B) 25 (C) 25 (D) 75 .
1. Let 0 < x < 16 be a real number. When a certain biased dice is rolled, a
particular face F occurs with probability 16 − x and and its opposite face
occurs with probability 16 + x; the other four faces occur with probabil-
ity 16 . Recall that opposite faces sum to 7 in any dice. Assume that the
probability of obtaining the sum 7 when two such dice are rolled is 13 96 .
Then, the value of x is:

1 1 1 1
(A) 8 (B) 12 (C) 24 (D) 27 .

2. An office has 8 officers including two who are twins. Two teams, Red and
Blue, of 4 officers each are to be formed randomly. What is the probability
that the twins would be together in the Red team?

1 3 1 3
(A) 6 (B) 7 (C) 4 (D) 14

3. Suppose Roger has 4 identical green tennis balls and 5 identical red tennis
balls. In how many ways can Roger arrange these 9 balls in a line so
that no two green balls are next to each other and no three red balls are
together?

(A) 8 (B) 9 (C) 11 (D) 12

4. The number of permutations σ of 1, 2, 3, 4 such that |σ(i) − i| < 2 for

every 1 ≤ i ≤ 4 is

(A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 4 (D) 5.

5. Let f (x) be a degree 4 polynomial with real coefficients. Let z be the
number of real zeroes of f , and e be the number of local extrema (i.e.,
local maxima or minima) of f . Which of the following is a possible (z, e)
pair?

(A) (4, 4) (B) (3, 3) (C) (2, 2) (D) (0, 0)

6. A number is called a palindrome if it reads the same backward or forward.
For example, 112211 is a palindrome. How many 6-digit palindromes are
divisible by 495?

(A) 10 (B) 11 (C) 30 (D) 45

1
 7. Let A be a square matrix of real numbers such that A4 = A. Which of
the following is true for every such A?
(A) det(A) �= −1
(B) A must be invertible.
(C) A can not be invertible.
(D) A2 + A + I = 0 where I denotes the identity matrix.

8. Consider the real-valued function h : {0, 1, 2, . . . , 100} → R such that

h(0) = 5, h(100) = 20 and satisfying h(i) = 12 (h(i + 1) + h(i − 1)), for
every i = 1, 2, . . . , 99. Then, the value of h(1) is:

(A) 5.15 (B) 5.5 (C) 6 (D) 6.15.

9. An up-right path is a sequence of points a0 = (x0 , y0 ), a1 = (x1 , y1 ), a2 =

(x2 , y2 ), . . . such that ai+1 − ai is either (1, 0) or (0, 1). The number of
up-right paths from (0, 0) to (100, 100) which pass through (1, 2) is:

�197� �100� �197� �197�

(A) 3 · 99 (B) 3 · 50 (C) 2 · 98 (D) 3 · 100 .

10. Let f (x) = 12 x sin x − (1 − cos x). The smallest positive integer k such
lim f (x) �= 0 is:
that x→0 xk

(A) 3 (B) 4 (C) 5 (D) 6.

11. Nine students in a class gave a test for 50 marks. Let S1 ≤ S2 ≤ · · · ≤

S5 ≤ · · · ≤ S8 ≤ S9 denote their ordered scores. Given that S1 = 20 and
�9
Si = 250, let m be the smallest value that S5 can take and M be the
i=1
largest value that S5 can take. Then the pair (m, M ) is given by
(A) (20, 35) (B) (20, 34) (C) (25, 34) (D) (25, 50) .
12. Let 10 red balls and 10 white balls be arranged in a straight line such
that 10 each are on either side of a central mark. The number of such
symmetrical arrangements about the central mark is
10! 10!
(A) 5! 5! (B) 10! (C) (D) 2 · 10!
5!
� �
� �
13. If z = x+iy is a complex number such that � z−i
z+i � < 1, then we must have

(A) x > 0 (B) x < 0 (C) y > 0 (D) y < 0.

2
14. Let S = {x − y | x, y are real numbers with x2 + y 2 = 1}. Then the
maximum number in the set S is
√ √ √
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 2 2 (D) 1 + 2.

15. In a factory, 20 workers start working on a project of packing consign-

ments. They need exactly 5 hours to pack one consignment. Every hour
4 new workers join the existing workforce. It is mandatory to relieve a
worker after 10 hours. Then the number of consignments that would be
packed in the initial 113 hours is

(A) 40 (B) 50 (C) 45 (D) 52.

16. Let ABCD be a rectangle with its shorter side a > 0 units and perimeter
2s units. Let P QRS be any rectangle such that vertices A, B, C and D
respectively lie on the lines P Q, QR, RS and SP . Then the maximum
area of such a rectangle P QRS in square units is given by

s2 5
(A) s2 (B) 2a (s − a) (C) 2 (D) 2 a (s − a).

17. The number of pairs of integers (x, y) satisfying the equation

xy(x + y + 1) = 52018 + 1 is:

(A) 0 (B) 2 (C) 1009 (D) 2018.

18. Let p(n) be the number of digits when 8n is written in base 6, and let
q(n) be the number of digits when 6n is written in base 4. For example,
lim p(n)q(n)
82 in base 6 is 144, hence p(2) = 3. Then n→∞ equals:
n2

4 3
(A) 1 (B) 3 (C) 2 (D) 2.

19. For a real number α, let Sα denote the set of those real numbers β that
satisfy α sin(β) = β sin(α). Then which of the following statements is
true ?
(A) For any α, Sα is an infinite set.
(B) Sα is a finite set if and only if α is not an integer multiple of π.
(C) There are infinitely many numbers α for which Sα is the set of all
real numbers.
(D) Sα is always finite.

3
 � � � �
1 1 a b
20. If A = and A2018 = , then a + d equals:
0 i c d
(A) 1 + i (B) 0 (C) 2 (D) 2018.

21. Let f : R → R and g : R → R be two functions. Consider the following

two statements:
lim f (x) exists and lim f (x)g(x) exists, then lim g(x) must exist.
P(1): If x→0 x→0 x→0
P(2): If f, g are differentiable with f (x) < g(x) for every real number x,
then f � (x) < g � (x) for all x.
Then, which one of the following is a correct statement?

(A) Both P(1) and P(2) are true.

(B) Both P(1) and P(2) are false.
(C) P(1) is true and P(2) is false.
(D) P(1) is false and P(2) is true.

22. The number of solutions of the equation sin(7x) + sin(3x) = 0 with

0 ≤ x ≤ 2π is

(A) 9 (B) 12 (C) 15 (D) 18.

23. A bag contains some candies, 25 of them are made of white chocolate and
the remaining 35 are made of dark chocolate. Out of the white chocolate
candies, 13 are wrapped in red paper, the rest are wrapped in blue paper.
Out of the dark chocolate candies, 23 are wrapped in red paper, the rest
are wrapped in blue paper. If a randomly selected candy from the bag is
found to be wrapped in red paper, then what is the probability that it is
made up of dark chocolate?
2 3 3 1
(A) 3 (B) 4 (C) 5 (D) 4

24. A party is attended by twenty people. In any subset of four people, there is
at least one person who knows the other three (we assume that if X knows
Y , then Y knows X). Suppose there are three people in the party who
do not know each other. How many people in the party know everyone?
(A) 16 (B) 17 (C) 18
(D) Cannot be determined from the given data.

25. The sum of all natural numbers a such that a2 − 16a + 67 is a perfect
square is:

(A) 10 (B) 12 (C) 16 (D) 22.

4
26. The sides of a regular hexagon ABCDEF are extended by doubling them
(for example, BA extends to BA� with BA� = 2BA) to form a bigger
regular hexagon A� B � C � D� E � F � as in the figure.

Then, the ratio of the areas of

√ the bigger to the smaller hexagon is:
(A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 2 3 (D) π.

27. Between 12 noon and 1 PM, there are two instants when the hour hand
and the minute hand of a clock are at right angles. The difference in
minutes between these two instants is:

8 8 5 5
(A) 32 11 (B) 30 11 (C) 32 11 (D) 30 11 .

28. For which values of θ, with 0 < θ < π/2, does the quadratic polynomial
in t given by t2 + 4t cos θ + cot θ have repeated roots?

π 5π π 5π π 5π π 5π
(A) 6 or 18 (B) 6 or 12 (C) 12 or 18 (D) 12 or 12

29. Let α, β, γ be complex numbers which are the vertices of an equilateral

triangle. Then, we must have:

(A) α + β + γ = 0 (B) α2 + β 2 + γ 2 = 0
(C) α +β +γ +αβ+βγ+γα = 0 (D) (α−β)2 +(β−γ)2 +(γ−α)2 = 0
2 2 2

30. Assume that n copies of unit cubes are glued together side by side to form
a rectangular solid block. If the number of unit cubes that are completely
invisible is 30, then the minimum possible value of n is:

(A) 204 (B) 180 (C) 140 (D) 84.

5
 UGA
2019

1. You are given a 4 × 4 chessboard, and asked to fill it with five 3 × 1

pieces and one 1 × 1 piece. Then, over all such fillings, the number of
squares that can be occupied by the 1 × 1 piece is
(A) 4 (B) 8 (C) 12 (D) 16.

2. A brand called Jogger’s Pride produces pairs of shoes in three dif-

ferent units that are named U1 , U2 and U3 . These units produce
10%, 30%, 60% of the total output of the brand with the chance that
a pair of shoes being defective is 20%, 40%, 10% respectively. If a ran-
domly selected pair of shoes from the combined output is found to be
defective, then what is the chance that the pair was manufactured in
the unit U3 ?

3
(A) 30% (B) 15% (C) 5 × 100% (D) Cannot be determined from
the given data.

3. Consider a paper in the shape of an equilateral triangle ABC with

circumcenter O and perimeter 9 units. If we fold the paper in such a
way that each of the vertices A, B, C gets identified with O, then the
area of the resulting shape in square units is:
√ √
3 3 4 3 3 √
(A) (B) √ (C) (D) 3 3.
4 3 2

4. Let P be a regular twelve-sided polygon. The number of right-angled

triangles formed by the vertices of P is

(A) 60 (B) 120 (C) 160 (D) 220.

5. If the n terms a1 , a2 , . . . , an are in arithmetic progression with incre-

ment r, then the difference between the mean of their squares and the
square of their mean is

r2 ((n − 1)2 − 1) r2 r2 (n2 − 1) n2 − 1

(A) (B) (C) (D)
12 12 12 12

6. A father wants to distribute a certain sum of money between his daugh-

ter and son in such a way that if both of them invest their shares in
the scheme that offers compound interest at 25 3 % per annum, for t and
t + 2 years respectively, then the two shares grow to become equal. If

1
 the son’s share was rupees 4320, then the total money distributed by
the father was

(A) rupees 9360 (B) rupees 9390 (C) rupees 16, 590 (D) rupees
16, 640.

7. Let α denote a real number. The range of values of |α − 4| such that

|α − 1| + |α + 3| ≤ 8 is

(A) (0, 7) (B) (1, 8) (C) [1, 9] (D) [2, 5].

8. For each natural number k, choose a complex number zk with |zk | = 1

and denote by ak the area of the triangle formed by zk , izk , zk + izk .
Then, which of the following is true for the series below?
∞
�
(ak )k
k=1

(A) It converges only if every zk lies in the same quadrant. (B) It

always diverges. (C) It always converges. (D) none of the above.

9. The function y = ekx satisfies

d2 y dy dy dy
( 2
+ )( − y) = y
dx dx dx dx
for
(A) exactly one value of k. (B) two distinct values of k. (C) three
distinct values of k. (D) infinitely many values of k.

10. For a real number θ, consider the following simultaneous equations:

cos(θ)x − sin(θ)y = 1

sin(θ)x + cos(θ)y = 2
The number of solutions of these equations in x and y is

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) infinite for some values of θ (D) finite only when
mπ
θ= for integers m, and n �= 0.
n

2
 1
11. In the range 0 ≤ x ≤ 2π, the equation cos(sin(x)) = has
2

(A) 0 solutions. (B) 2 solutions. (C) 4 solutions. (D) infinitely

many solutions.

12. A particle is allowed to move in the XY -plane by choosing any one of

the two jumps:
1. move two units to right and one unit up, i.e., (a, b) �→ (a + 2, b + 1)
or
2. move two units up and one unit to right, i.e., (a, b) �→ (a + 1, b + 2).
Let P = (30, 63) and Q = (100, 100). If the particle starts at the
origin, then
(A) P is reachable but not Q.
(B) Q is reachable but not P .
(C) both P and Q are reachable.
(D) neither P nor Q is reachable.

13. For a real polynomial in one variable P , let Z(P ) denote the locus of
points (x, y) in the plane such that P (x) + P (y) = 0. Then,
(A) there exist polynomials Q1 and Q2 such that Z(Q1 ) is a circle and
Z(Q2 ) is a parabola.
(B) there does not exist any polynomial Q such that Z(Q) is a circle
or a parabola.
(C) there exists a polynomial Q such that Z(Q) is a circle but there
does not exist any polynomial P such that Z(P ) is a parabola.
(D) there exists a polynomial Q such that Z(Q) is a parabola but there
does not exist any polynomial P such that Z(P ) is a circle.

14. Let P (X) = X 4 + a3 X 3 + a2 X 2 + a1 X + a0 be a polynomial in X with

real coefficients. Assume that

P (0) = 1, P (1) = 2, P (2) = 3, and P (3) = 4.

Then, the value of P (4) is

(A) 5 (B) 24 (C) 29 (D) not determinable from the given data.

15. Let f be a real-valued differentiable function defined on the real line R

such that its derivative f � is zero at exactly two distinct real numbers
α and β. Then,
(A) α and β are points of local maxima of the function f .
(B) α and β are points of local minima of the function f .

3
 (C) one must be a point of local maximum and the other must be a
point of local minimum of f .
(D) given data is insufficient to conclude about either of them being
local extrema points.

16. A school allowed the students of a class to go to swim during the days
March 11th to March 15, 2019. The minimum number of students the
class should have had that ensures that at least two of them went to
swim on the same set of dates is :

(A) 6 (B) 32 (C) 33 (D) 121.

17. Let a1 < a2 < a3 < a4 be positive integers such that

4
� 1 11
= .
ai 6
i=1

Then, a4 − a2 equals

(A) 11 (B) 10 (C) 9 (D) 8.

18. Three children and two adults want to cross a river using a rowing
boat. The boat can carry no more than a single adult or, in case no
adult is in the boat, a maximum of two children. The least number of
times the boat needs to cross the river to transport all five people is:

(A) 9 (B) 11 (C) 13 (D) 15.

19. Let M be a 3×3 matrix with all entries being 0 or 1. Then, all possible
values for det(M ) are

(A) 0, ±1 (B) 0, ±1, ±2 (C) 0, ±1, ±3 (D) 0, ±1, ±2, ±3.

20. In the following picture, ABC is an isosceles triangle with an inscribed

circle with center O. Let P be the mid-point of BC. If AB = AC = 15
and BC = 10, then OP equals:

4
 A

R Q

B C
P

√
5 5 √ √
(A) √ (B) √ (C) 2 5 (D) 5 2.
2 2
x
21. For every real number x �= −1, let f (x) = . Write f1 (x) = f (x)
x+1
and for n ≥ 2, fn (x) = f (fn−1 (x)). Then,

f1 (−2) · f2 (−2) · · · · · fn (−2)

must equal

2n 1 �2n� �2n�
(A) (B) 1 (C) (D) .
1·3·5····(2n−1) 2 n n

22. Let the integers ai for 0 ≤ i ≤ 54 be defined by the equation

(1 + X + X 2 )27 = a0 + a1 X + a2 X 2 + · · · + a54 X 54 .

Then, a0 + a3 + a6 + a9 + · · · + a54 equals

(A) 326 (B) 327 (C) 328 (D) 329 .

23. An examination has 20 questions. For each question the marks that
can be obtained are either −1 or 0 or 4. Let S be the set of possible
total marks that a student can score in the examination. Then, the
number of elements in S is

(A) 93 (B) 94 (C) 95 (D) 96.

5
24. Chords AB and CD of a circle intersect at right angle at the point P .
If the lengths of AP, P B, CP, P D are 2, 6, 3, 4 units respectively, then
the radius of the circle is:
√ √ √
65 66 67
(A) 4 (B) (C) (D)
2 2 2
25. The locus of points (x, y) in the plane satisfying sin2 (x) + sin2 (y) = 1
consists of

(A) A circle that is centered at the origin.

(B) infinitely many circles that are all centered at the origin.
(C) infinitely many lines with slope ±1.
(D) finitely many lines with slope ±1.
� n � �n+1�
26. The number of integers n ≥ 10 such that the product 10 · 10 is a
perfect square is

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3

27. Let a ≥ b ≥ c ≥ 0 be integers such that 2a + 2b − 2c = 144. Then,

a + b − c equals:
(A) 7 (B) 8 (C) 9 (D) 10.

28. The number of integers n for which the cubic equation X 3 − X + n = 0

has 3 distinct integer solutions is:
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) infinite.

29. The number of real solutions of the equation x2 = ex is:

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3.

30. The number of distinct real roots of the equation x sin(x)+cos(x) = x2

is
(A) 0 (B) 2 (C) 24 (D) none of the above.

6
 Solution Key

1. (A)

2. (A)

3. (C)

4. (A)

5. (C)

6. (B)

7. (C)

8. (C)

9. (C)

10. (B)

11. (A)

12. (D)

13. (C)

14. (C)

15. (D)

16. (C)

17. (B)

18. (B)

19. (B)

20. (B)

21. (A)

22. (A)

23. (C)

24. (B)

25. (C)

7
26. (B)

27. (B)

28. (B)

29. (B)

30. (B)

8
1. The number of subsets of {1, 2, 3, . . . , 10} having an odd number of ele-
ments is

(A) 1024 (B) 512 (C) 256 (D) 50.

2. For the function on the real line R given by f (x) = |x| + |x + 1| + ex ,

which of the following is true ?

(A) It is differentiable everywhere.

(B) It is differentiable everywhere except at x = 0 and x = 1.
(C) It is differentiable everywhere except at x = 1/2.
(D) It is differentiable everywhere except at x = 1/2.

3. If f, g are real-valued differentiable functions on the real line R such that

f (g(x)) = x and f 0 (x) = 1 + (f (x))2 , then g 0 (x) equals

1 1
(A) (B) 1 + x2 (C) (D) 1 + x4 .
1 + x2 1 + x4

4. The number of real solutions of ex = sin(x) is

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) infinite.

n
X e×k/n
5. What is the limit of as n tends to ∞ ?
n
k=1

(A) The limit does not exist.

(B) ∞
(C) 1 e×1
(D) e×0.5

1
 6. A group of 64 players in a chess tournament needs to be divided into 32
groups of 2 players each. In how many ways can this be done ?
     
64! 64 62 4 2
(A) (B) ···
32!232 2 2 2 2
64! 64!
(C) (D)
32!32! 264
9999
X 1
7. The integral part of √ equals
n=2
n

(A) 196 (B) 197 (C) 198 (D) 199.

8. Let an be the number of subsets of {1, 2, . . . , n} that do not contain any

two consecutive numbers. Then

(A) an = an×1 + an×2 (B) an = 2an×1

(C) an = an×1 an×2 (D) an = an×1 + 2an×2 .

9. There are 128 numbers 1, 2, . . . , 128 which are arranged in a circular

pattern in clockwise order. We start deleting numbers from this set
in a clockwise fashion as follows. First delete the number 2, then skip
the next available number (which is 3) and delete 4. Continue in this
manner, that is, after deleting a number, skip the next available number
clockwise and delete the number available after that, till only one number
remains. What is the last number left ?

(A) 1 (B) 63 (C) 127 (D) None of the above.

10. Let z and w be complex numbers lying on the circles of radii 2 and 3
respectively, with centre (0, 0). If the angle between the corresponding
vectors is 60 degrees, then the value of |z + w|/|z w| is:
√ √ √ √
19 7 12 7
(A) √ (B) √ (C) √ (D) √ .
7 19 7 12

2
11. Two vertices of a square lie on a circle of radius r and the other two
vertices lie on a tangent to this circle. Then the length of the side of the
square is

3r 4r 6r 8r
(A) (B) (C) (D) .
2 3 5 5

12. For a real number x, let [x] denote the greatest integer less than or equal
to x. Then the number of real solutions of 2x [x] = 4 is

(A) 4 (B) 3 (C) 2 (D) 1.

13. Let f, g be differentiable functions on the real line R with f (0) > g(0).
Assume that the set M = {t ∈ R | f (t) = g(t)} is non-empty and that
f 0 (t) ≥ g 0 (t) for all t ∈ M . Then which of the following is necessarily
true ?

(A) If t ∈ M , then t < 0.

(B) For any t ∈ M , f 0 (t) > g 0 (t).
(C) For any t ∈
/ M , f (t) > g(t).
(D) None of the above.

14. Consider the sequence 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, . . . obtained by

writing one 1, two 2’s, three 3’s and so on. What is the 2020th term in
the sequence ?

(A) 62 (B) 63 (C) 64 (D) 65

15. Let A = {x1 , x2 , . . . , x50 } and B = {y1 , y2 , . . . , y20 } be two sets of real
numbers. What is the total number of functions f : A → B such that f
is onto and f (x1 ) ≤ f (x2 ) ≤ · · · ≤ f (x50 ) ?

49 49 50 50





(A) 19 (B) 20 (C) 19 (D) 20

3
16. The number of complex roots of the polynomial z 5 z4 1 which have
modulus 1 is

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) more than 2.

17. The number of real roots of the polynomial

p(x) = (x2020 + 2020x2 + 2020)(x3 2020)(x2 2020)

is

(A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 2023 (D) 2025.

18. Which of the following is the sum of an infinite geometric sequence whose
terms come from the set {1, 21 , 14 , . . . , 21n , . . .} ?

1 1 1 1
(A) (B) (C) (D)
5 7 9 11

19. If a, b, c are distinct odd natural numbers, then the number of rational
roots of the polynomial ax2 + bx + c

(A) must be 0.

(B) must be 1.

(C) must be 2.

(D) cannot be determined from the given data.

4
20. Let A, B, C be finite subsets of the plane such that A ∩ B, B ∩ C and
C ∩ A are all empty. Let S = A ∪ B ∪ C. Assume that no three points
of S are collinear and also assume that each of A, B and C has at least
3 points. Which of the following statements is always true ?

(A) There exists a triangle having a vertex from each of A, B, C that

does not contain any point of S in its interior.

(B) Any triangle having a vertex from each of A, B, C must contain a

point of S in its interior.

(C) There exists a triangle having a vertex from each of A, B, C that

contains all the remaining points of S in its interior.

(D) There exist 2 triangles, both having a vertex from each of A, B, C

such that the two triangles do not intersect.

21. Shubhaangi thinks she may be allergic to Bengal gram and takes a test
that is known to give the following results:
• For people who really do have the allergy, the test says “Yes” 90% of
the time.
• For people who do not have the allergy, the test says “Yes” 15% of the
time.
If 2% of the population has the allergy and Shubhaangi’s test says “Yes”,
then the chances that Shubhaangi does really have the allergy are

(A) 1/9

(B) 6/55

(C) 1/11

(D) cannot be determined from the given data.

q
22. If sin(tan×1 (x)) = cot(sin×1 ( 13
17 )) then x is

4 2 q
172 ×132
q
172 ×132
(A) (B) (C) 172 +132
(D) 17−13 .
17 3

5
23. If the word PERMUTE is permuted in all possible ways and the different
resulting words are written down in alphabetical order (also known as
dictionary order), irrespective of whether the word has meaning or not,
then the 720th word would be:

(A) EEMPRTU (B) EUTRPME (C) UTRPMEE (D) MEET-

PUR.

24. The points (4, 7, 1), (1, 2, 1), ( 1, 2, 1) and (2, 3, 1) in R3 are the
vertices of a

(A) rectangle which is not a square.

(B) rhombus.

(C) parallelogram which is not a rectangle.

(D) trapezium which is not a parallelogram.

25. Let f (x), g(x) be functions on the real line R such that both f (x) + g(x)
and f (x)g(x) are differentiable. Which of the following is FALSE ?

(A) f (x)2 + g(x)2 is necessarily differentiable.

(B) f (x) is differentiable if and only if g(x) is differentiable.

(C) f (x) and g(x) are necessarily continuous.

(D) If f (x) > g(x) for all x ∈ R, then f (x) is differentiable.

26. Let S be the set consisting of all those real numbers that can be written
as p 2a where p and a are the perimeter and area of a right-angled
triangle having base length 1. Then S is

(A) (2, ∞) (B) (1, ∞) (C) (0, ∞) (D) the real line R.

6
27. Let S = {1, 2, . . . , n}. For any non-empty
P subset A of S, let l(A) denote
the largest number in A. If f (n) = A⊆S l(A), that is, f (n) is the sum
of the numbers l(A) while A ranges over all the nonempty subsets of S,
then f (n) is

(A) 2n (n + 1) (B) 2n (n + 1) 1
(C) 2n (n 1) (D) 2n (n 1) + 1.

28. The area of the region in the plane R2 given by points (x, y) satisfying
|y| ≤ 1 and x2 + y 2 ≤ 2 is

(A) π + 1 (B) 2π 2 (C) π + 2 (D) 2π 1.

n  
X n r
29. Let n be a positive integer and t ∈ (0, 1). Then r t (1 t)n×r
r
r=0
equals

(A) nt (B) (n 1)(1 t) (C) nt + (n 1)(1 t) (D) (n2 2n + 2)t.

30. For any real number x, let [x] be the greatest integer m such that m ≤ x.
Then the number of points of discontinuity of the function g(x) = [x2 2]
on the interval ( 3, 3) is

(A) 5 (B) 9 (C) 13 (D) 16.

7
1. The sum of all the solutions of 2 + log2 (x 2) = log(x×2) 8 in the
interval (2, ∞) is

35 49 55
(A) 8
. (B) 5. (C) 8
. (D) 8
.

2. The value of
1 1 1
1+ + + ··· +
1+2 1+2+3 1 + 2 + 3 + · · · 2021
is

2021 2021 2021 2021

(A) 1010
. (B) 1011
. (C) 1012
. (D) 1013
.

3. The number of ways one can express 22 33 55 77 as a product of two

numbers a and b, where gcd(a, b) = 1, and 1 < a < b, is

(A) 5. (B) 6. (C) 7. (D) 8.

4. Let f : R → R be a continuous function such that

1
f (x + 1) = f (x) for all x ∈ R ,
2
Rn
and let an = f (x) dx for all integers n ≥ 1. Then:
0
R1
(A) limn→∞ an exists and equals 0 f (x) dx.
(B) limn→∞ an does not exist.
R1
(C) limn→∞ an exists if and only if | 0 f (x) dx| < 1.
R1
(D) limn→∞ an exists and equals 2 0 f (x) dx.

5. Let a, b, c, d > 0, be any real numbers. Then the maximum possible

2 2
value of cx + dy, over all points on the ellipse xa2 + yb2 = 1, must be
√ √
(A) a2 c2 + b2 d2 . (B) a2 b2 + c2 d2 .
q q
a2 c2 +b2 d2 a2 b2 +c2 d2
(C) a2 +b2
. (D) c2 +d2
.

6. Let f (x) = sin x + αx, x ∈ R, where α is a fixed real number. The

function f is one-to-one if and only if
(A) α > 1 or α < 1. (B) α ≥ 1 or α ≤ 1.
(C) α ≥ 1 or α < 1. (D) α > 1 or α ≤ 1.

1
 7. The volume of the region S = {(x, y, z) : |x| + 2|y| + 3|z| ≤ 6} is

(A) 36. (B) 48. (C) 72. (D) 6.

d2 f (x)
8. Let f : R → R be a twice differentiable function such that dx2
is
positive for all x ∈ R, and suppose f (0) = 1, f (1) = 4. Which of the
following is not a possible value of f (2)?

(A) 7. (B) 8. (C) 9. (D) 10.

9. Let
f (x) = e×|x| , x ∈ R ,

and Z 1 x
g(θ) = f dx, θ 6= 0 .
×1 θ
Then,
g(θ)
lim
θ→0 θ

(A) equals 0. (B) equals +∞.

(C) equals 2. (D) does not exist.

10. Consider the curves x2 + y 2 4x 6y 12 = 0, 9x2 + 4y 2 900 = 0

and y 2 6y 6x + 51 = 0. The maximum number of disjoint regions
into which these curves divide the XY -plane (excluding the curves
themselves), is

(A) 4. (B) 5. (C) 6. (D) 7.

11. A box has 13 distinct pairs of socks. Let pr denote the probability of
having at least one matching pair among a bunch of r socks drawn at
random from the box. If r0 is the maximum possible value of r such
that pr < 1, then the value of pr0 is

12 13 213 212
(A) 1 26 C
12
. (B) 1 26 C
13
. (C) 1 26 C
13
. (D) 1 26 C
12
.

2
12. Consider the following two subsets of C :
1 1
A= z
: |z| = 2 and B = z
: |z 1| = 2 .

Then

(A) A is a circle, but B is not a circle.

(B) B is a circle, but A is not a circle.
(C) A and B are both circles.
(D) Neither A nor B is a circle.

13. Let a, b, c and d be four non-negative real numbers where a+b+c+d =

1. The number of different ways one can choose these numbers such
that a2 + b2 + c2 + d2 = max{a, b, c, d} is

(A) 1. (B) 5. (C) 11. (D) 15.

14. Suppose f (x) is a twice differentiable function on [a, b] such that

f (a) = 0 = f (b)

and
d2 f (x) df (x)
x2 2
+ 4x + 2f (x) > 0 for all x ∈ (a, b) .
dx dx
Then,

(A) f is negative for all x ∈ (a, b).

(B) f is positive for all x ∈ (a, b).
(C) f (x) = 0 for exactly one x ∈ (a, b).
(D) f (x) = 0 for at least two x ∈ (a, b).

15. The polynomial x4 + 4x + c = 0 has at least one real root if and only
if

(A) c < 2. (B) c ≤ 2. (C) c < 3. (D) c ≤ 3.

3
16. The number of different ways to colour the vertices of a square P QRS
using one or more colours from the set {Red, Blue, Green, Yellow},
such that no two adjacent vertices have the same colour is

(A) 36. (B) 48. (C) 72. (D) 84.

17. Define a = p3 + p2 + p + 11 and b = p2 + 1, where p is any prime

number. Let d = gcd (a, b) . Then the set of possible values of d is

(A) {1, 2, 5}. (B) {2, 5, 10}. (C) {1, 5, 10}. (D) {1, 2, 10}.

18. Consider all 2 × 2 matrices whose entries are distinct and taken from
the set {1, 2, 3, 4}. The sum of determinants of all such matrices is

(A) 24. (B) 10. (C) 12. (D) 0.

19. Let f : R → R be any twice differentiable function such that its second
derivative is continuous and
df (x)
6= 0 for all x 6= 0 .
dx
If
f (x)
lim = π,
x→0 x2

then

(A) for all x 6= 0, f (x) > f (0).

(B) for all x 6= 0, f (x) < f (0).
d2 f (x)
(C) for all x, dx2
> 0.
d2 f (x)
(D) for all x, dx2
< 0.

20. The number of all integer solutions of the equation x2 + y 2 + x y=

2021 is

(A) 5. (B) 7. (C) 1. (D) 0.

4
21. The number of different values of a for which the equation x3 x+a =
0 has two identical real roots is

(A) 0. (B) 1. (C) 2. (D) 3.

22. For a positive integer n, the equation

x2 = n + y 2 , x, y integers,

does not have a solution if and only if

(A) n = 2.
(B) n is a prime number.
(C) n is an odd number.
(D) n is an even number not divisible by 4.

23. For 0 ≤ x < 2π, the number of solutions of the equation

sin2 x + 2 cos2 x + 3 sin x cos x = 0

is

(A) 1. (B) 2. (C) 3. (D) 4.

24. Let f : R → [0, ∞) be a continuous function such that

f (x + y) = f (x)f (y) ,

for all x, y ∈ R. Suppose that f is differentiable at x = 1 and

df (x)
= 2.
dx x=1

Then, the value of f (1) loge f (1) is

(A) e. (B) 2. (C) loge 2. (D) 1.

5
25. The expression
10
X
2k tan(2k )
k=0

equals
(A) cot 1 + 211 cot (211 ). (B) cot 1 210 cot (210 ).
(C) cot 1 + 210 cot (210 ). (D) cot 1 211 cot (211 ).

26. Define f : R → R by

1


(1 cos x) sin x
, x 6= 0,
f (x) =
0 , x = 0.

Then,

(A) f is discontinuous.
(B) f is continuous but not differentiable.
(C) f is differentiable and its derivative is discontinuous.
(D) f is differentiable and its derivative is continuous.

27. If the maximum and minimum values of sin6 x + cos6 x, as x takes all
real values, are a and b, respectively, then a b equals

(A) 21 . (B) 23 . (C) 34 . (D) 1.

28. If two real numbers x and y satisfy (x + 5)2 + (y 10)2 = 196, then
the minimum possible value of x2 + 2x + y 2 4y is
√ √
(A) 271 112 5. (B) 14 4 5.
√ √
(C) 276 112 5. (D) 9 4 5.

29. Let us denote the fractional part of a real number x by {x} (note:
{x} = x [x] where [x] is the integer part of x). Then,
n √ o
lim (3 + 2 2)n
n→∞

(A) equals 0. (B) equals 1.

(C) equals 21 . (D) does not exist.

6
30. Let
p(x) = x3 3x2 + 2x, x ∈ R ,
R
 x p(t)dt, x ≥ 0,
0
f0 (x) = R 0

x
p(t)dt, x < 0 ,

f1 (x) = ef0 (x) , f2 (x) = ef1 (x) , ... , fn (x) = efn−1 (x) .
dfn (x)
How many roots does the equation = 0 have in the interval
dx
( ∞, ∞)?

(A) 1. (B) 3. (C) n + 3. (D) 3n.

7
1. Suppose, for some θ ∈ [0, π2 ], cos 3θ
cos θ = 13 . Then (cot 3θ) tan θ equals

1 1
(A) 2 (B) 3
1 1
(C) 8 (D) 7
2. Any positive real number x can be expanded as

x = an ·2n +an−1 ·2n−1 +· · ·+a1 ·21 +a0 ·20 +a−1 ·2−1 +a−2 ·2−2 +· · · ,

for some n ≥ 0, where each ai ∈ {0, 1}. In the above-described

expansion of 21.1875, the smallest positive integer k such that
a−k �= 0 is:
(A) 3 (B) 2 (C) 1 (D) 4

3. Amongst all polynomials p(x) = c0 + c1 x + · · · + c10 x10 with real

coefficients satisfying |p(x)| ≤ |x| for all x ∈ [−1, 1], what is the
maximum possible value of (2c0 + c1 )10 ?

(A) 410 (B) 310 (C) 210 (D) 1

4. The locus of points z in the complex plane satisfying z 2 + |z|2 = 0 is

(A) a straight line
(B) a pair of straight lines
(C) a circle
(D) a parabola

5. Let A and B be two 3 × 3 matrices such that (A + B)2 = A2 + B 2 .

Which of the following must be true?
(A) A and B are zero matrices.
(B) AB is the zero matrix.
(C) (A − B)2 = A2 − B 2
(D) (A − B)2 = A2 + B 2
6. Let Z denote the set of integers. Let f : Z → Z be such that
f (x)f (y) = f (x + y) + f (x − y) for all x, y ∈ Z. If f (1) = 3, then f (7)
equals

(A) 840 (B) 844 (C) 843 (D) 842

1
 7. The sides of a regular hexagon ABCDEF is extended by doubling
them to form a bigger hexagon A� B � C � D� E � F � as in the figure below.

Then the ratio of the areas of the bigger to the smaller hexagon is:
√ √
(A) 3 (B) 3 (C) 2 3 (D) 4

8. Let (n1 , n2 , · · · , n12 ) be a permutation of the numbers 1, 2, · · · , 12.

The number of arrangements with

n1 > n2 > n3 > n4 > n5 > n6

and
n6 < n7 < n8 < n9 < n10 < n11 < n12

equals:
�12� �12� �11� 11!
(A) 5 (B) 6 (C) 6 (D) 2
9. Suppose the numbers 71, 104 and 159 leave the same remainder r
when divided by a certain number N > 1. Then, the value of 3N + 4r
must equal:
(A) 53 (B) 48 (C) 37 (D) 23

10. In how many ways can we choose a1 < a2 < a3 < a4 from the set
{1, 2, . . . , 30} such that a1 , a2 , a3 , a4 are in arithmetic progression?

(A) 135 (B) 145 (C) 155 (D) 165

2
11. What is the minimum value of the function |x−3|+|x+2|+|x+1|+|x|
for real x?

(A) 3 (B) 5 (C) 6 (D) 8

12. If x, y are positive real numbers such that 3x + 4y < 72, then the
maximum possible value of 12xy(72 − 3x − 4y) is:

(A) 12240 (B) 13824 (C) 10656 (D) 8640

13. A straight road has walls on both sides of height 8 feet and 4 feet
respectively. Two ladders are placed from the top of one wall to the
foot of the other as in the figure below. What is the height (in feet)
of the maximum clearance x below the ladders?

√ 8
√
(A) 3 (B) 2 2 (C) 3 (D) 2 3

14. Consider a differentiable function u : [0, 1] → R. Assume the function

u satisfies
� a+r
1
u(a) = u(x) dx, for all a ∈ (0, 1) and all r < min(a, 1−a).
2r a−r

Which of the following four statements must be true?

(A) u attains its maximum but not its minimum on the set {0, 1}.
(B) u attains its minimum but not maximum on the set {0, 1}.
(C) If u attains either its maximum or its minimum on the set
{0, 1}, then it must be constant.
(D) u attains both its maximum and its minimum on the set {0, 1}.

3
15. In the figure below, ABCD is a square and ΔCEF is a triangle with
given sides inscribed as in the figure. Find the length BE.

(A) √13 (B) √14

17 17

(C) √15 (D) √16

17 17

16. Let y = x + c1 , y = x + c2 be the two tangents to the ellipse

x2 + 4y 2 = 1. What is the value of |c1 − c2 |?
√ √ √
(A) 2 (B) 5 (C) 25 (D) 1

17. For n ∈ N, let an be defined as

� n
1
an = dx.
0 1 + nx2

Then limn→∞ an
π
(A) equals 0 (B) equals 4
π
(C) equals 2 (D) does not exist

4
18. Let p and q be two non-zero polynomials such that the degree of
p is less than or equal to the degree of q, and p(a)q(a) = 0 for
a = 0, 1, 2, . . . , 10. Which of the following must be true?
(A) degree of q �= 10
(B) degree of p �= 10
(C) degree of q �= 5
(D) degree of p �= 5

19. The number of positive integers n less than or equal to 22 such that
7 divides n5 + 4n4 + 3n3 + 2022 is

(A) 7 (B) 8 (C) 9 (D) 10

20. A 3 × 3 magic square is a 3 × 3 rectangular array of positive integers

such that the sum of the three numbers in any row, any column or any
of the two major diagonals, is the same. For the following incomplete
magic square

27 36

31

the column sum is

(A) 90 (B) 96 (C) 94 (D) 99

21. Let 1, ω, ω 2 be the cube roots of unity. Then the product

2 2 3 9 10
(1 − ω + ω 2 )(1 − ω 2 + ω 2 )(1 − ω 2 + ω 2 ) · · · (1 − ω 2 + ω 2 )

is equal to:

(A) 210 (B) 310 (C) 210 ω (D) 310 ω 2

5
22. In a class of 45 students, three students can write well using either
hand. The number of students who can write well only with the right
hand is 24 more than the number of those who write well only with
the left hand. Then, the number of students who can write well with
the right hand is:

(A) 33 (B) 36 (C) 39 (D) 41

23. The number of triples (a, b, c) of positive integers satisfying the

equation
1 1 1 2
+ + =1+
a b c abc
and such that a < b < c, equals:

(A) 3 (B) 2 (C) 1 (D) 0

24. The function x2 loge x in the interval (0, 2) has:

(A) exactly one point of local maximum and no points of local minimum.
(B) exactly one point of local minimum and no points of local maximum.
(C) points of local maximum as well as local minimum.
(D) neither a point of local maximum nor a point of local minimum.

√ √ √
25. A triangle has sides of lengths 5, 2 2, 3 units. Then, the radius
of its inscribed circle is :
√ √ √ √ √ √
5+ 3+2 2 5+ 3+2 2
(A) 2 (B) 3
√ √ √ √ √ √
5+ 3−2 2
(C) 5+ 3+2 2 (D) 2

26. An urn contains 30 balls out of which one is special. If 6 of these balls
are taken out at random, what is the probability that the special ball
is chosen?
1 1 1 1
(A) 30
(B) 6
(C) 5
(D) 15

6
27. If x1 > x2 > · · · > x10 are real numbers, what is the least possible
value of � x − x �� x − x � �x − x �
1 10 1 10 1 10
··· ?
x1 − x2 x2 − x3 x9 − x10
(A) 1010 (B) 109 (C) 99 (D) 910

28. Two ships are approaching a port along straight routes at constant
velocities. Initially, the two ships and the port formed an equilateral
triangle. After the second ship travelled 80 km, the triangle became
right-angled.

When the first ship reaches the port, the second ship was still 120 km
from the port. Find the initial distance of the ships from the port.

(A) 240 km (B) 300 km (C) 360 km (D) 180 km

29. In the following diagram, four triangles and their sides are given.
Areas of three of them are also given. Find the area x of the remaining
triangle.

(A) 12 (B) 13 (C) 14 (D) 15

7
30. The range of values that the function

x2 + 2x + 4
f (x) =
2x2 + 4x + 9
takes as x varies over all real numbers in the domain of f is:
3 1 3 1
(A) < f (x) ≤ (B) ≤ f (x) <
7 2 7 2
3 4 3 1
(C) < f (x) ≤ (D) ≤ f (x) ≤
7 9 7 2

8
The following notations are used in the question paper:

R is the set of real numbers,

C is the set of complex numbers,
Z is the set of integers,
� �
n n!
= for all n = 1, 2, 3, . . . and r = 0, 1, . . . , n.
r r!(n − r)!

1. For a real number x,

x3 − 7x + 6 > 0

if and only if

(A) x > 2. (B) −3 < x < 1.

(C) x < −3 or 1 < x < 2. (D) −3 < x < 1 or x > 2.

2. Define a polynomial f (x) by

� �
� 1 x x�
� �
� �
f (x) = �x 1 x�
� �
�x x 1 �

for all x ∈ R, where the right hand side above is a determinant.

Then the roots of f (x) are of the form
(A) α, β ± iγ where α, β, γ ∈ R, γ �= 0 and i is a square root of
−1.
(B) α, α, β where α, β ∈ R are distinct.
(C) α, β, γ where α, β, γ ∈ R are all distinct.
(D) α, α, α for some α ∈ R.

1
3. Let S be the set of those real numbers x for which the identity
∞
�
cosn x = (1 + cos x) cot2 x
n=2

is valid, and the quantities on both sides are finite. Then

(A) S is the empty set.
(B) S = {x ∈ R : x �= nπ for all n ∈ Z}.
(C) S = {x ∈ R : x �= 2nπ for all n ∈ Z}.
(D) S = {x ∈ R : x �= (2n + 1)π for all n ∈ Z}.

4. The number of consecutive zeroes adjacent to the digit in the

unit’s place of 40150 is

(A) 3. (B) 4. (C) 49. (D) 50.

5. Consider a right angled triangle �ABC whose hypotenuse AC

is of length 1. The bisector of ∠ACB intersects AB at D. If
BC is of length x, then what is the length of CD?
�
2x2 1
(A) 1+x
(B) √2+2x
� x x
(C) 1+x
(D) √1−x 2

6. Consider a triangle with vertices (0, 0), (1, 2) and (−4, 2). Let A
be the area of the triangle and B be the area of the circumcircle
B
of the triangle. Then A
equals

π 5π √3 π.
(A) 2
. (B) 4
. (C) 2
(D) 2π.

2
7. Let f, g be continuous functions from [0, ∞) to itself,
� 3x
h(x) = f (t) dt , x > 0 ,
2x

and � h(x)
F (x) = g(t) dt , x > 0 .
0

If F � is the derivative of F , then for x > 0,

(A) F � (x) = g(h(x)).
(B) F � (x) = g(h(x)) [f (3x ) − f (2x )].
(C) F � (x) = g(h(x)) [x3x−1 f (3x ) − x2x−1 f (2x )].
(D) F � (x) = g(h(x)) [3x f (3x ) ln 3 − 2x f (2x ) ln 2].

8. How many numbers formed by rearranging the digits of 234578

are divisible by 55?

(A) 0 (B) 12 (C) 36 (D) 72

9. Let
�� � �
πθ 1 πθ
S= θ sin , cos : θ ∈ R, θ > 0
1+θ θ 1+θ

and � �
1
T = (x, y) : x ∈ R, y ∈ R, xy = .
2
How many elements does S ∩ T have?

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3

3
10. The limit
3 � �1
lim n− 2 (n + 1)(n+1) (n + 2)(n+2) . . . (2n)(2n) n2
n→∞

equals
1 3
(A) 0. (B) 1. (C) e− 4 . (D) 4e− 4 .

11. Suppose x and y are positive integers. If 4x + 3y and 2x + 4y

are divided by 7, then the respective remainders are 2 and 5. If
11x + 5y is divided by 7, then the remainder equals

(A) 0. (B) 1. (C) 2. (D) 3.

12. The value of � � � �

202
�
k 202 kπ
(−1) cos
k=0
k 3
equals
� 202 � � 202 �
(A) sin 3
π . (B) − sin 3
π .
� 202 � � π
�
(C) cos 3 π . (D) cos202 3 .

13. For real numbers a, b, c, d, a� , b� , c� , d� , consider the system of

equations

ax2 + ay 2 + bx + cy + d = 0 ,
a� x2 + a� y 2 + b� x + c� y + d� = 0 .

If S denotes the set of all real solutions (x, y) of the above

system of equations, then the number of elements in S can
never be

(A) 0. (B) 1. (C) 2. (D) 3.

4
14. The limit
� � � � � �
1 1 1
lim cos(x) + cos − cos(x) cos −1
x→0 x x x

(A) equals 0. (B) equals 12 .

(C) equals 1. (D) does not exist.

15. Let n be a positive integer having 27 divisors including 1 and

n, which are denoted by d1 , . . . , d27 . Then the product of
d1 , d2 , . . . , d27 equals
27
(A) n13 . (B) n14 . (C) n 2 . (D) 27n.

16. Suppose F : R → R is a continuous function which has exactly

one local maximum. Then which of the following is true?
(A) F cannot have a local minimum.
(B) F must have exactly one local minimum.
(C) F must have at least two local minima.
(D) F must have either a global maximum or a local minimum.

17. Suppose z ∈ C is such that the imaginary part of z is non-zero

and z 25 = 1. Then
2023
�
zk
k=0

equals

(A) 0 . (B) 1 . (C) −1 − z 24 . (D) −z 24 .

5
18. Let f : R → R be a twice differentiable one-to-one function. If
f (2) = 2, f (3) = −8 and
� 3
f (x) dx = −3 ,
2

then � 2
f −1 (x) dx
−8

equals

(A) −25. (B) 25. (C) −31. (D) 31.

19. If f : [0, ∞) → R is a continuous function such that

� x
f (x) + ln 2 f (t) dt = 1 , x ≥ 0 ,
0

then for all x ≥ 0,

(A) f (x) = ex ln 2. (B) f (x) = e−x ln 2.

� �x
(C) f (x) = 2x . (D) f (x) = 12 .

20. If [x] denotes the largest integer less than or equal to x, then
� √ �
(9 + 80)20

equals
√ √
(A) (9 + 80)20 − (9 − 80)20 .
√ √
(B) (9 + 80)20 + (9 − 80)20 − 20.
√ √
(C) (9 + 80)20 + (9 − 80)20 − 1.
√
(D) (9 − 80)20 .

6
21. The limit � �2−n
−2n+1 −2n−1
lim 2 +2
n→∞

equals

(A) 1. (B) √1 . (C) 0. (D) 1

.
2 4

22. In the following figure, OAB is a quarter-circle. The unshaded

region is a circle to which OA and CD are tangents.

If CD is of length 10 and is parallel to OA, then the area of the

shaded region in the above figure equals

(A) 25π. (B) 50π. (C) 75π. (D) 100π.

23. Three left brackets and three right brackets have to be arranged
in such a way that if the brackets are serially counted from the
left, then the number of right brackets counted is always less
than or equal to the number of left brackets counted. In how
many ways can this be done?

(A) 3 (B) 4 (C) 5 (D) 6

7
24. The polynomial x10 + x5 + 1 is divisible by

(A) x2 + x + 1. (B) x2 − x + 1.
(C) x2 + 1. (D) x5 − 1.

25. Suppose a, b, c ∈ R and

f (x) = ax2 + bx + c , x ∈ R .

If 0 ≤ f (x) ≤ (x − 1)2 for all x, and f (3) = 2, then

(A) a = 12 , b = −1, c = 12 . (B) a = 13 , b = − 13 , c = 0.

(C) a = 23 , b = − 53 , c = 1. (D) a = 34 , b = −2, c = 54 .

26. As in the following figure, the straight line OA lies in the

second quadrant of the (x, y)-plane and makes an angle θ with
the negative half of the x-axis, where 0 < θ < π2 .

The line segment CD of length 1 slides on the (x, y)-plane in

such a way that C is always on OA and D on the positive side
of the x-axis. The locus of the mid-point of CD is
(A) x2 + 4xy cot θ + y 2 (1 + 4 cot2 θ) = 14 .
1
(B) x2 + y 2 = 4
+ cot2 θ.
(C) x2 + 4xy cot θ + y 2 = 14 .
(D) x2 + y 2 (1 + 4 cot2 θ) = 14 .

8
27. Suppose that f (x) = ax3 + bx2 + cx + d where a, b, c, d are real
numbers with a �= 0. The equation f (x) = 0 has exactly two
distinct real solutions. If f � (x) is the derivative of f (x), then
which of the following is a possible graph of f � (x)?

(A) (B)

(C) (D)

28. Consider the function f : C → C defined by

f (a + ib) = ea (cos b + i sin b) , a, b ∈ R ,
where i is a square root of −1. Then
(A) f is one-to-one and onto.
(B) f is one-to-one but not onto.
(C) f is onto but not one-to-one.
(D) f is neither one-to-one nor onto.

9
29. Suppose f : Z → Z is a non-decreasing function. Consider the
following two cases:

Case 1. f (0) = 2 , f (10) = 8 ,

Case 2. f (0) = −2 , f (10) = 12 .

In which of the above cases it is necessarily true that there exists

an n with f (n) = n?
(A) In both cases.
(B) In neither case.
(C) In Case 1. but not necessarily in Case 2.
(D) In Case 2. but not necessarily in Case 1.

30. How many functions f : {1, 2, . . . , 10} → {1, . . . , 2000}, which

satisfy
f (i + 1) − f (i) ≥ 20 , for all 1 ≤ i ≤ 9 ,

are there?
� � � �
1829 1830
(A) 10! (B) 11!
10 11
� � � �
1829 1830
(C) (D)
10 11

10
 √ √ √ √ � �30
1. If x = 1 + 5
2+ 5
4+ 5
8+ 5
16, then the value of 1 + x1 is

(A) 2 (B) 5 (C) 32 (D) 64

2. Let j be a number selected at random from {1, 2, . . . , 2024}.

What is the probability that j is divisible by 9 and 15?

1 1
(A) (B)
23 46
1 1
(C) (D)
44 253

3. Let Sn be the set of all n-digit numbers whose digits are

all 1 or 2 and there are no consecutive 2’s. (Example: 112 is
in S3 but 221 is not in S3 ). Then the number of elements in S10 is

(A) 512 (B) 256 (C) 144 (D) 89

4. There are 30 True or False questions in an examination. A

student knows the answer to 20 questions and guesses the
answers to the remaining 10 questions at random. What is
the probability that the student gets exactly 24 answers correct?

105 105 105 4

(A) (B) (C) (D)
29 28 210 210

5. Let T be a right-angled triangle in the plane whose side lengths

are in a geometric progression. Let n(T ) denote the number of
sides of T that have integer lengths. Then the maximum value
of n(T ) over all such T is

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3

1
 6. Let x1 , x2 , ..., xn be non-negative real numbers such that
�n �
n √
xi = 1. What is the maximum possible value of xi ?
i=1 i=1

√
(A) 1 (B) n (C) n3/4 (D) n

7. The precise interval on which the function

f (x) = log1/2 (x2 − 2x − 3) is monotonically decreasing, is

(A) (−∞, −1) (B) (−∞, 1)

(C) (1, ∞) (D) (3, ∞)

8. The angle subtended at the origin by the common chord of the

circles x2 + y 2 − 6x − 6y = 0 and x2 + y 2 = 36 is

(A) π/2 (B) π/4 (C) π/3 (D) 2π/3

A
9. In �ABC, CD is the median and
BE is the altitude. Given that D E
CD = BE, what is the value of
∠ACD? B C

(A) π/3 (B) π/4 (C) π/5 (D) π/6

10. If the points z1 and z2 are on the circles |z| = 2 and |z| = 3,
respectively, and the angle included between these vectors is
|z1 +z2 |
60◦ , then the value of |z1 −z2 |
is
� �
19 √ √ 7
(A) (B) 19 (C) 7 (D)
7 19

2
11. Let n � 1. The maximum possible number of primes in the set
{n + 6, n + 7, ..., n + 34, n + 35} is

(A) 7 (B) 8 (C) 12 (D) 13

12. Suppose 40 distinguishable balls are to be distributed into 4

different boxes such that each box gets exactly 10 balls. Out
of these 40 balls, 10 are defective and 30 are non-defective. In
how many ways can the balls be distributed such that all the
defective balls go to the first two boxes?

40! 30! · 20! 20! · 20! 30! · 10!

(A) (B) (C) (D)
(10!)4 (10!)5 (10!)5 (10!)4

13. The number of elements in the set

� � � �
{x : 0 � x � 2, �x − x5 � = �x5 − x6 �}
is

(A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 4 (D) 5

14. In a room with n � 2 people, each pair shakes hands between

2
themselves with probability n2
and independently of other pairs.
If pn is the probability that the total number of handshakes is
at most 1, then lim pn is equal to
n→∞

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) e−1 (D) 2e−1

15. The number of positive solutions to the equation

√
ex sin x = log x + e x
+2
is

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) ∞

3
16. Let n > 1 be the smallest composite integer that is coprime to
10000!
9900!
. Then

(A) n � 100 (B) 100 < n � 9900

(C) 9900 < n � 10000 (D) n > 10000

17. Let P = {(x, y) : x + 1 � y, x � −1, y � 2x}. Then the

minimum value of (x + y) where (x, y) varies over the set P is

(A) −1 (B) −3 (C) 3 (D) 0

18. Let A = {1, ..., 5} and B = {1, ..., 10}. Then the number of
ordered pairs (f, g) of functions f : A → B and g : B → A
satisfying (g ◦ f ) (a) = a for all a ∈ A is

10! �10�
(A) × 55 (B) 510 × 5! (C) 10! × 5! (D) 5
× 105
5!

19. Let
1 1 1
S=√ +√ + ··· + √ .
10000 10001 160000
Then the largest positive integer not exceeding S is

(A) 200 (B) 400 (C) 600 (D) 800

20. The real number x satisfies

|x|2 − |x| − 2
>2
2 |x| − |x|2 − 2
if and only if x belongs to

(A) (−2, −1) ∪ (1, 2) (B) (−2/3, 0) ∪ (0, 2/3)

(C) (−1, −2/3) ∪ (2/3, 1) (D) (−1, 0) ∪ (0, 1)

4
21. Consider points of the form (n, nk ), where n and k are integers
with n ≥ 0, k ≥ 1. How many such points are strictly inside the
circle of radius 10 with centre at the origin?

(A) 11 (B) 12 (C) 15 (D) 17

� �n
22. Let n > 1, and let us arrange the expansion of x1/2 + 2x11/4 in
decreasing powers of x. Suppose the first three coefficients are
in arithmetic progression. Then, the number of terms where x
appears with an integer power, is

(A) 3 (B) 2 (C) 1 (D) 0

23. The limit

2 log 2 + 3 log 3 + · · · + n log n
lim
n→∞ n2 log n
is equal to

(A) 0 (B) 1/4 (C) 1/2 (D) 1

24. Let p < q be prime numbers such that p2 + q 2 + 7pq is a perfect

square. Then, the largest possible value of q is:

(A) 7 (B) 11 (C) 23 (D) 29

1−x2
25. The set of all real numbers x for which 32 is an integer has

(A) 3 elements (B) 15 elements

(C) 24 elements (D) infinitely many elements

5
26. Let a, b, c be three complex numbers. The equation

az + bz̄ + c = 0

represents a straight line on the complex plane if and only if

(A) a = b (B) āc = bc̄

(C) |a| = |b| �= 0 (D) |a| = |b| �= 0 and āc = bc̄

27. In the adjoining figure, C is the A

centre of the circle drawn, A, F, E F
B
lie on the circle and BCDF is a
DE FE
rectangle. If AB
= 2, then FA
equals C E
D
�
3 √
(A) (B) 2
2
�
5 √
(C) (D) 3
2

28. For every increasing function b : [1, ∞) → [1, ∞) such that

� ∞
dx
< ∞,
1 b(x)

we must have
√
�
∞ log k �
∞ log k
(A) <∞ (B) <∞
k=1 b(k) k=3 b (log k)

�∞ ek �
∞ 1
(C) k
<∞ (D) � <∞
k=1 b(e ) k=3 b (log k)

6
29. Consider the following two statements:

(I) There exists a differentiable function g : R → R such that

g(x3 + x5 ) = ex − 100.
(II) There exists a continuous function g : R → R such that
g(ex ) = x3 + x5 .

Then

(A) Only (I) is correct.

(B) Only (II) is correct.
(C) Both (I) and (II) are correct.
(D) Neither (I) nor (II) is correct.

�1
30. Let ψ : R → R be a continuous function with −1
ψ(x)dx = 1.
Let f : R → R be a differentiable function. Then
� � �
1 1+ε 1−y
lim f (y)ψ dy
ε→0 ε 1−ε ε

equals

(A) f (1) (B) f (1)ψ(0)

(C) f � (1)ψ(0) (D) f (1)ψ(1)

7
 Test Codes 2015
UGA (Multiple choice) and UGB (Short Answer Type)

Questions will include the following and related topics.

Algebra and number theory

Sets, operations on sets. Prime numbers, factorization of integers and divis-
ibility. Rational and irrational numbers. Permutations and combinations,
Binomial Theorem. Logarithms. Polynomials: relations between roots and
coefficients, Remainder Theorem, Theory of quadratic equations and ex-
pressions. Arithmetic and geometric progressions. Inequalities involving
arithmetic, geometric & harmonic means. Complex numbers.

Geometry
Class X level plane geometry. Geometry of 2 dimensions with Cartesian
and polar coordinates, concept of a locus, equation of a line, angle between
two lines, distance from a point to a line, area of a triangle, equations of
circle, parabola, ellipse and hyperbola and equations of their tangents and
normals, mensuration.

Trigonometry
Measures of angles, trigonometric and inverse trigonometric functions, trigono-
metric identities including addition formulae, solutions of trigonometric equa-
tions, properties of triangles, heights and distances.

Calculus
Sequences - bounded sequences, monotone sequences, limit of a sequence.
Functions - one-one functions, onto functions. Limit, continuity and differ-
entiability of functions of a single real variable. Derivatives and methods
of differentiation, slope of a curve, tangents and normals, maxima and min-
ima, use of calculus in sketching graphs of functions. Methods of integration,
definite and indefinite integrals, evaluation of areas using integrals.

1
 UGA - Sample Questions.

Instructions. UGA is a multiple choice examination. In each of the follow-

ing questions, exactly one of the choices is correct. Please tick the correct
answer. You get four marks for each correct answer, one mark for each
unanswered question, and zero marks for each incorrect answer. You have
two hours to answer these questions.

1. Define an = (12 + 22 + . . . + n2 )n and bn = nn (n!)2 . Recall n! is the

product of the first n natural numbers. Then,
(a) an < bn for all n > 1
(b) an > bn for all n > 1
(c) an = bn for infinitely many n
(d) none of the above.

2. The last digit of (2004)5 is:

(a) 4 (b) 8 (c) 6 (d) 2

3. If n is a positive integer such that 8n + 1 is a perfect square, then

(a) n must be odd (b) n cannot be a perfect square
(c) 2n cannot be a perfect square (d) none of the above.

4. The coefficient of a3 b4 c5 in the expansion of (bc + ca + ab)6 is:

12! 6! 6!


(a) 3!4!5! (b) 3! (c) 33 (d) 3 · 3!3!

5. If log10 x = 10log100 4 , then x equals

(a) 410 (b) 100 (c) log10 4 (d) none of the above.

6. Let C denote the set of all complex numbers. Define

A = {(z, w) |z, w ∈ C and |z| = |w|}

B = {(z, w) |z, w ∈ C, and z 2 = w2 }.

Then,
(a) A = B (b) A ⊂ B and A 6= B (c) B ⊂ A and B 6= A (d) none of
the above.

7. The set of all real numbers x such that x3 (x + 1)(x 2) ≥ 0 is:

(a) the interval 2 ≤ x < ∞ (b) the interval 0 ≤ x < ∞
(c) the interval 1 ≤ x < ∞ (d) none of the above.

2
 z
8. Let z be a non-zero complex number such that 1+z is purely imaginary.
Then
(a) z is neither real nor purely imaginary (b) z is real
(c) z is purely imaginary (d) none of the above.

9. In the interval (0, 2π), the function sin( x13 )

(a) never changes sign
(b) changes sign only once
(c) changes sign more than once, but finitely many times
(d) changes sign infinitely many times.
(ex ×1) tan2 x
10. lim x3
x→0
(a) does not exist (b) exists and equals 0
2
(c) exists and equals 3 (d) exists and equals 1.

11. Let f1 (x) = ex , f2 (x) = ef1 (x) and generally fn+1 (x) = efn (x) for all
d
n ≥ 1. For any fixed n, the value of dx fn (x) is:
(a) fn (x) (b) fn (x)fn×1 (x)
(c) fn (x)fn×1 (x) . . . f1 (x) (d) fn+1 (x)fn (x) . . . f1 (x)ex .

12. Let f (x) = a0 +a1 |x|+a2 |x|2 +a3 |x|3 , where a0 , a1 , a2 , a3 are constants.
Then
(a) f (x) is differentiable at x = 0 whatever be a0 , a1 , a2 , a3
(b) f (x) is not differentiable at x = 0 whatever be a0 , a1 , a2 , a3
(c) f (x) is differentiable at x = 0 only if a1 = 0
(d) f (x) is differentiable at x = 0 only if a1 = 0, a3 = 0.
2
13. If f (x) = cos(x) 1 + x2 , then
(a) f (x) is an increasing function on the real line
(b) f (x) is a decreasing function on the real line
(c) f (x) is increasing on the interval ∞ < x ≤ 0 and decreasing on
the interval 0 ≤ x < ∞
(d) f (x) is decreasing on the interval ∞ < x ≤ 0 and increasing on
the interval 0 ≤ x < ∞.

14. The area of the region bounded by the straight lines x = 12 and x = 2,
and the curves√ given5 by the equations y = loge x√and y = 2x is
(a) log 2 (4 + 2) 2 loge 2 + 2 (b) log1 2 (4
1 3
2) 52 loge 2
e √ e
(c) log1 2 (4 2) 52 loge 2 + 23 (d) none of the above.
e

3
15. The number of roots of the equation x2 + sin2 x = 1 in the closed
interval [0, π2 ] is
(a) 0 (b) 1 (c) 2 (d) 3

16. The number of maps f from the set {1, 2, 3} into the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
such that f (i) ≤ f (j) whenever i < j is
(a) 60 (b) 50 (c) 35 (d) 30

17. Let a be a real number. The number of distinct solutions (x, y) of the
system of equations (x a)2 + y 2 = 1 and x2 = y 2 , can only be
(a) 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 (b) 0, 1 or 3 (c) 0, 1, 2 or 4 (d) 0, 2, 3, or 4

18. The set of values of m for which mx2 6mx + 5m + 1 > 0 for all real
x is
(a) m < 14 (b) m ≥ 0 (c) 0 ≤ m ≤ 41 (d) 0 ≤ m < 14 .

19. A lantern is placed on the ground 100 feet away from a wall. A man
six feet tall is walking at a speed of 10 feet/second from the lantern to
the nearest point on the wall. When he is midway between the lantern
and the wall, the rate of change in the length of his shadow is
(a) 3.6 ft./sec. (b) 2.4 ft./sec. (c) 3 ft./sec. (d) 12 ft./sec.

20. Let n ≥ 3 be an integer. Assume that inside a big circle, exactly n

small circles of radius r can be drawn so that each small circle touches
the big circle and also touches both its adjacent small circles. Then,
the radius of the big circle is:
(a) r cosec πn (b) r(1 + cosec 2πn )
π
(c) r(1 + cosec 2n ) (d) r(1 + cosec πn ).

21. The digit in the units’ place of the number 1! + 2! + 3! + . . . + 99! is

(a) 3 (b) 0 (c) 1 (d) 7.
13 +23 +...+n3
22. The value of lim n4
is:
n→∞
3 1
(a) 4 (b) 4 (c) 1 (d) 4.

23. The function x(α x) is strictly increasing on the interval 0 < x < 1
if and only if
(a) α ≥ 2 (b) α < 2 (c) α < 1 (d) α > 2.
n
24. For any integer n ≥ 1, define an = 1000
n! . Then the sequence {an }
(a) does not have a maximum
(b) attains maximum at exactly one value of n

4
 (c) attains maximum at exactly two values of n
(d) attains maximum for infinitely many values of n.

25. The equation x3 y + xy 3 + xy = 0 represents

(a) a circle (b) a circle and a pair of straight lines
(c) a rectangular hyperbola (d) a pair of straight lines.

26. Let P be a variable point on a circle C and Q be a fixed point outside

C. If R is the mid-point of the line segment P Q, then the locus of R
is
(a) a circle (b) an ellipse
(c) a line segment (d) segment of a parabola.

27. Let d1 , d2 , . . . , dk be all the factors of a positive integer n including 1

and n. If d1 + d2 + . . . + dk = 72, then d11 + d12 + · · · + d1k is:
k2 72 72
(a) 72 (b) k (c) n (d) none of the above.

28. A subset W of the set of real numbers is called a ring if it contains 1

and if for all a, b ∈ W , the numbers
n a b and ab are also oin W . Let
S = 2n | m, n integers and T = pq | p, q integers, q odd . Then:
m

(a) neither S nor T is a ring (b) S is a ring T is not a ring.

(b) T is a ring S is not a ring. (d) both S and T are rings.

5
 UGB - Sample Questions.

Instructions. All questions carry equal marks. You have two hours to
solve 6 problems. Credit will be given to a partially correct answer. Do not
feel discouraged if you cannot solve all the questions.

1. Find the sum of all distinct four digit numbers that can be formed
using the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, each digit appearing at most once.

2. Consider the squares of an 8 × 8 chessboard filled with the numbers 1

to 64 as in the figure below. If we choose 8 squares with the property
that there is exactly one from each row and exactly one from each
column, and add up the numbers in the chosen squares, show that the
sum obtained is always 260.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64

3. An isosceles triangle with base 6 cms. and base angles 30o each is
inscribed in a circle. A second circle, which is situated outside the
triangle, touches the first circle and also touches the base of the triangle
at its midpoint. Find its radius.

4. Let an = 1 . . . 1 with 3n digits. Prove that an is divisible by 3an×1 .

5. If a circle intersects the hyperbola y = 1/x at four distinct points

(xi , yi ), i = 1, 2, 3, 4, then prove that x1 x2 = y3 y4 .

6. Show that the function f (x) defined below attains a unique minimum
for x > 0. What is the minimum value of the function? What is the
value of x at which the minimum is attained?
1 1
f (x) = x2 + x + + for x 6= 0.
x x2
Sketch on plain paper the graph of this function.

6
 7. Let S = {1, 2, . . . , n}. Find the number of unordered pairs {A, B} of
subsets of S such that A and B are disjoint, where A or B or both
may be empty.

8. Find the maximum value of x2 + y 2 in the bounded region, including

the boundary, enclosed by y = x2 , y = x2 and x = y 2 + 1.

9. How many real roots does x4 + 12x 5 have?

10. Find the maximum among 1, 21/2 , 31/3 , 41/4 , . . ..

11. For real numbers x, y and z, show that

|x| + |y| + |z| ≤ |x + y z| + |y + z x| + |z + x y|.

7
 Hints and Answers.

There are also other ways to solve the problems apart from the ones sketched
in the hints. Indeed, a student should feel encouraged if she finds a different
way to solve some of these problems. All the Best!

Hints for UGA Sample Questions.

Q.1 (b). Take the nth root of an and bn and use A.M.≥ G.M.
Q.2 (a). As 2004 = 2000 +4, the last digits of (2004)5 and 45 are equal.
Q.3 (c) If 8n + 1 = m2 , then 2n is a product of two consecutive integers.
Q.4 (d) Use binomial expansion of (bc + a (b + c))6 .
Q.5 (b) Let y = log10 x. Then log10 y = log100 4. Hence y = 2.
Q.6 (c) z 2 = w2 ⇒ z = ±w ⇒ B ⊆ A. But |i| = 1 and i2 6= 1.
Q.7 (d) Check for ‘test points’ 1, and 1.
Q.8 (a) Check (b) and (c) are false, and then that (a) is true.
−1
Q.9 (d) sin x13 changes sign at the points (nπ) 3 for all n ≥ 1.


x 2 x
(d) Observe that (e ×1) = (e x×1) · sinx2 x · cos12 x .
tan x 2
Q.10 x3
Q.11 (c) Use induction and chain rule of differentiation.
Q.12 (c) Amongst 1, |x|, |x|2 , |x|3 , only |x| is not differentiable at 0.
Q.13 (d) Look at the derivative of f .
R2 R2
Q.14 (c) Compute the integral 2x dx log xdx.
1/2 1/2
Q.15 (b) Draw graphs of y = cos x and y = ±x and find the number of
points of intersections.
Q.16 (c) Compute the number of maps such that f (3) = 5, f (3) = 4 etc..
Alternatively, define g : {1, 2, 3} → {1, 2, . . . , 7} by g (i) = f (i) + (i 1).
Then, g is a strictly increasing function and its image is a subset of size 3
of {1, 2, . . . 7}.
Q.17 (d) Draw graphs of (x + y)(x y) = 0 and (x a)2 + y 2 = 1.
Q.18 (d) Calculate the discriminant (b2 4ac) of the given quadratic.
Q.19 (b) Show that the height function is 60 t .
Q.20 (d) Let s be distance between the centre of the big circle and the
centre of (any) one of the small circles. Then there exists a right angle
triangle with hypoteneuse s, side r and angle πn .
Q.21 (a) The unit digit of all numbers n! with n ≥ 5 is 0.
n
i3 .
P
Q.22 (b) Use the formula for
i=1

8
 Q.23 (a) Differentiate.
Q.24 (c) Find out the first values of n for which an+1
an becomes < 1.
Q.25 (d) The equation is xy(x 2 2
+ y + 1) = 0.
Q.26 (a) Compute for C = x2 + y 2 = 1 and Q = (a, 0) for some a > 1.


Q.27 (c) Multiply the given sum by n.

Q.28 (d) Verify using the given definition of a ring.

Hints for UGB Sample Questions.

Q.1 The answer is 399960. For each x ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, there are 4! such
numbers whose last digit is x. Thus the digits in the unit place of all the
120 numbers add up to 4! (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5). Similarly the numbers at ten’s
place add up to 360 and so on. Thus the sum is 360 (1 + 10 + 100 + 1000).
Q.2 Let the chosen entries be in the positions (i, ai ), 1 ≤ i ≤ 8. Thus
a1 , . . . , a8 is a permutation of {1, . . . , 8}. The entry in the square cor-
responding to (i, j)th place is i + 8 (j 1). Hence the required sum is
P8
(i + 8 (aj 1)).
i=1 √
Q.3 Radius is 3 2 3 . Use trigonometry.
n
Q.4 Observe that an = an×1 1 + t + t2 where t = 103


Q.5 Substitute y = x1 in the equation of a circle and clear denominator to

get a degree 4 equation in x. The product of its roots is the constant term,
which is 1.
Q.6 The function f (x) 4 is a sum of squares and hence non-negative. So
the minimum is 4 which is attained at x = 1.
n
Q.7 The number is 3 2+1 . An ordered pair (A, B) of disjoint subsets of S is
determined by 3 choices for every element of S (either it is in A, or in B or
in neither of them). Hence such pairs are 3n in number. An unordered pair
will be counted twice in this way, except for the case A and B both empty.
n
Hence the number is 1 + 3 2×1 .
Q.8 Answer is 5. The maximum is attained at points (2, 1) and (2, 1).
Q.9 Answer is 2. Let f be the given polynomial. Then f (0) is negative and
f is positive as x tends to ±∞. Hence
√ it has at least 2 real roots. Since
the derivative of f is zero only at 3 3, it cannot have more than two real
roots. √ 1
Q.10 Maximum
√ is 3 3. Either check the maximum of the function x x , or
√
compare 3 3 with n n.
Q.11 Rewrite the given inequality in terms of the new variables α = x+y z,
β = y + z x, γ = x + z y, and use the triangle inequality.

9
 Test Codes: UGA (Multiple-choice Type) and
UGB (Short Answer Type), 2016

Questions will be set on the following and related topics.

Algebra: Sets, operations on sets. Prime numbers, factorization of inte-

gers and divisibility. Rational and irrational numbers. Permutations and
combinations, Binomial Theorem. Logarithms. Polynomials: Remainder
Theorem, Theory of quadratic equations and expressions, relations between
roots and coefficients. Arithmetic and geometric progressions. Inequalities
involving arithmetic, geometric & harmonic means. Complex numbers.

Geometry: Plane geometry. Geometry of 2 dimensions with Cartesian and

polar coordinates. Equation of a line, angle between two lines, distance from
a point to a line. Concept of a Locus. Area of a triangle. Equations of circle,
parabola, ellipse and hyperbola and equations of their tangents and normals.
Mensuration.

Trigonometry: Measures of angles. Trigonometric and inverse trigonomet-

ric functions. Trigonometric identities including addition formulae, solutions
of trigonometric equations. Properties of triangles. Heights and distances.

Calculus: Sequences - bounded sequences, monotone sequences, limit of a

sequence. Functions, one-one functions, onto functions. Limits and continu-
ity. Derivatives and methods of differentiation. Slope of a curve. Tangents
and normals. Maxima and minima. Using calculus to sketch graphs of func-
tions. Methods of integration, definite and indefinite integrals, evaluation of
area using integrals.

Reference (For more sample questions)

Test of Mathematics at the 10 + 2 level, Indian Statistical Institute. Pub-
lished by Affiliated East-West Press Pvt. Ltd., 105, Nirmal Tower, 26
Barakhamba Road, New Delhi 110001.

1
 Sample Questions for UGA

Instructions. UGA is a multiple choice examination. In each of the fol-

lowing questions, exactly one of the choices is correct. You get four marks
for each correct answer, one mark for each unanswered question, and zero
marks for each incorrect answer.

1 Define an = (12 + 22 + . . . + n2 )n and bn = nn (n!)2 . Recall n! is the

product of the first n natural numbers. Then,
(A) an < bn for all n > 1 (B) an > bn for all n > 1
(C) an = bn for infinitely many n (D) None of the above

2 The sum of all distinct four digit numbers that can be formed using
the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, each digit appearing at most once, is
(A) 399900 (B) 399960 (C) 390000 (D) 360000

3 The last digit of (2004)5 is

(A) 4 (B) 8 (C) 6 (D) 2

4 The coefficient of a3 b4 c5 in the expansion of (bc + ca + ab)6 is

   
12! 6 6
(A) (B) 3! (C) 33 (D) 3
3!4!5! 3 3

5 Let ABCD be a unit square. Four points E, F , G and H are chosen

on the sides AB, BC, CD and DA respectively. The lengths of the
sides of the quadrilateral EF GH are α, β, γ and δ. Which of the
following is always true? √
(A) 1 ≤ α2 + β 2 + γ 2 + δ 2 ≤ 2 2
√ √
(B) 2 2 ≤ α2 + β 2 + γ 2 + δ 2 ≤ 4 2
(C) 2 ≤ α2 + β 2 + γ 2 + δ 2 ≤ 4
√ √
(D) 2 ≤ α2 + β 2 + γ 2 + δ 2 ≤ 2 + 2

6 If log10 x = 10log100 4 then x equals

(A) 410 (B) 100 (C) log10 4 (D) none of the above

7 z1 , z2 are two complex numbers with z2 6= 0 and z1 6= z2 and satisfying

z 1 + z2 z1
= 1. Then is
z 1 z2 z2
2
 (A) real and negative
(B) real and positive
(C) purely imaginary
(D) none of the above need to be true always

8 The set of all real numbers x satisfying the inequality x3 (x+1)(x 2) ≥

0 is
(A) the interval [2, ∞) (B) the interval [0, ∞)
(C) the interval [ 1, ∞) (D) none of the above

9 The minimum area of the triangle formed by any tangent to the ellipse
2
x2
a2
+ yb2 = 1 and the coordinate axes is
a2 +b2 (a+b)2 2 +ab+b2
(A) ab (B) 2 (C) 2 (D) a 3

10 Let A be the fixed point (0, 4) and B be a moving point (2t, 0).
Let M be the mid-point of AB and let the perpendicular bisector
of AB meet the y-axis at R. The locus of the mid-point P of M R is
(A) y + x2 = 2 (B) x2 + (y 2)2 = 1/4
(C) (y 2)2 x2 = 1/4 (D) none of the above

11 The sides of a triangle are given to be x2 + x + 1, 2x + 1 and x2 1.

Then the largest of the three angles of the triangle is
 
◦ x
(A) 75 (B) π radians (C) 120◦ (D) 135◦
x+1

12 Two poles, AB of length two metres and CD of length twenty me-

tres are erected vertically with bases at B and D. The two poles
are at a distance not less than twenty metres. It is observed that
tan ∠ACB = 2/77. The distance between the two poles is
(A) 72m (B) 68m (C) 24m (D) 24.27m

13 If A, B, C are the angles of a triangle and sin2 A + sin2 B = sin2 C,

then C is equal to
(A) 30◦ (B) 90◦ (C) 45◦ (D) none of the above
 
1
14 In the interval ( 2π, 0), the function f (x) = sin
x3
(A) never changes sign
(B) changes sign only once
(C) changes sign more than once, but finitely many times
(D) changes sign infinitely many times
3
15 The limit
(ex 1) tan2 x
lim
x→0 x3
(A) does not exist (B) exists and equals 0
(C) exists and equals 2/3 (D) exists and equals 1

16 Let f1 (x) = ex , f2 (x) = ef1 (x) and generally fn+1 (x) = efn (x) for all
d
n ≥ 1. For any fixed n, the value of fn (x) is equal to
dx
(A) fn (x) (B) fn (x)fn×1 (x)
(C) fn (x)fn×1 (x) · · · f1 (x) (D) fn+1 (x)fn (x) · · · f1 (x)ex

17 If the function
(
x2 ×2x+A
sin x if x 6= 0
f (x) =
B if x = 0
is continuous at x = 0, then
(A) A = 0, B = 0 (B) A = 0, B = 2
(C) A = 1, B = 1 (D) A = 1, B = 0

18 A truck is to be driven 300 kilometres (kms.) on a highway at a con-

stant speed of x kms. per hour. Speed rules of the highway require
that 30 ≤ x ≤ 60. The fuel costs ten rupees per litre and is consumed
at the rate 2 + (x2 /600) litres per hour. The wages of the driver are
200 rupees per hour. The most economical speed (in kms. per hour)
to drive the truck is
√ √
(A) 30 (B) 60 (C) 30 3.3 (D) 20 33

1
et a
e×t
Z Z
19 If b = dt then dt is
0 t+1 a×1 t a 1
(A) bea (B) be×a (C) be×a (D) bea

20 In the triangle ABC, the angle ∠BAC is a root of the equation

√
3 cos x + sin x = 1/2.
Then the triangle ABC is
(A) obtuse angled (B) right angled
(C) acute angled but not equilateral (D) equilateral

21 Let n be a positive integer. Consider a square S of side 2n units with

sides parallel to the coordinate axes. Divide S into 4n2 unit squares
by drawing 2n 1 horizontal and 2n 1 vertical lines one unit apart.
A circle of diameter 2n 1 is drawn with its centre at the intersection
4
 of the two diagonals of the square S. How many of these unit squares
contain a portion of the circumference of the circle?
(A) 4n 2 (B) 4n (C) 8n 4 (D) 8n 2

22 A lantern is placed on the ground 100 feet away from a wall. A man
six feet tall is walking at a speed of 10 feet/second from the lantern
to the nearest point on the wall. When he is midway between the
lantern and the wall, the rate of change (in ft./sec.) in the length of
his shadow is
(A) 2.4 (B) 3 (C) 3.6 (D) 12

23 An isosceles triangle with base 6 cms. and base angles 30◦ each is
inscribed in a circle. A second circle touches the first circle and also
touches the base of the triangle at its midpoint. If the second circle is
situated outside the triangle, then its radius (in cms.) is
√ √ √ √
(A) 3 3/2 (B) 3/2 (C) 3 (D) 4/ 3

24 Let n be a positive integer. Define

f (x) = min{|x 1|, |x 2|, . . . , |x n|}.
Z n+1
Then f (x)dx equals
0
(n + 4) (n + 3) (n + 2) (n + 2)
(A) (B) (C) (D)
4 4 2 4
25 Let S = {1, 2, . . . , n}. The number of possible pairs of the form (A, B)
with A ⊆ B for subsets A and B of S is
n   
n n
X n n
(A) 2 (B) 3 (C) (D) n!
k n k
k=0

26 The number of maps f from the set {1, 2, 3} into the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
such that f (i) ≤ f (j) whenever i < j is
(A) 60 (B) 50 (C) 35 (D) 30

27 Consider three boxes, each containing 10 balls labelled 1, 2, . . . , 10.

Suppose one ball is drawn from each of the boxes. Denote by ni , the
label of the ball drawn from the i-th box, i = 1, 2, 3. Then the number
of ways in which the balls can be chosen such that n1 < n2 < n3 is
(A) 120 (B) 130 (C) 150 (D) 160

28 Let a be a real number. The number of distinct solutions (x, y) of

the system of equations (x a)2 + y 2 = 1 and x2 = y 2 , can only be
5
 (A) 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 (B) 0, 1 or 3
(C) 0, 1, 2 or 4 (D) 0, 2, 3, or 4

29 The maximum of the areas of the isosceles triangles with base on the
positive x-axis and which lie below the curve y = e×x is:
(A) 1/e (B) 1 (C) 1/2 (D) e

30 Suppose a, b and n are positive integers, all greater than one. If an +bn
is prime, what can you say about n?
(A) The integer n must be 2
(B) The integer n need not be 2, but must be a power of 2
(C) The integer n need not be a power of 2, but must be even
(D) None of the above is necessarily true
31 Water falls from a tap of circular cross section at the rate of 2 me-
tres/sec and fills up a hemispherical bowl of inner diameter 0.9 metres.
If the inner diameter of the tap is 0.01 metres, then the time needed
to fill the bowl is
(A) 40.5 minutes (B) 81 minutes

(C) 60.75 minutes (D) 20.25 minutes

32 The value of the integral
Z 5π/2 −1 (sin x)
etan
−1 (sin x) −1 (cos x) dx
π/2 etan + etan
equals (A) 1 (B) π (C) e (D) none of these
33 The set of all solutions of the equation cos 2θ = sin θ + cos θ is given
by
(A) θ = 0
(B) θ = nπ + π2 , where n is any integer
(C) θ = 2nπ or θ = 2nπ π2 or θ = nπ π4 , where n is any integer
(D) θ = 2nπ or θ = nπ + π4 , where n is any integer
34 The number
 210 11
11
is
10 2 10 2 10 2 10 2 10






(A) strictly larger than 1 2 3 4 5
10 2 10 2 10 2 10 2





(B) strictly larger than 1 2 3 4 but strictly smaller than
10 2 10 2 10 2 10 2 10






1 2 3 4 5

2 10
2 10
2 10 2
(C) less than or equal to 10


1




2
3
10 2 10 2 10 2 10 2 10
4
(D) equal to 1 2 3 4 5 .
6
35 The value of
" ( r !) r r #
1 5 2 8
sin×1 cot sin×1 1 + cos×1 + sec×1
2 6 3 3

is
(A) 0 (B) π/6 (C) π/4 (D) π/2

36 Which of the following graphs represents the function

√
Z x
2 /x
f (x) = e×u du, for x > 0 and f (0) = 0?
0

(A) (B)

(C) (D)

2  3 n
22 32 n2
  
1
37 If an = 1 + 2 1+ 2 1 + 2 · · · 1 + 2 , then
n n n n
2
lim a×1/n
n→∞ n

is √
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) e (D) e/2
38 The function x(α x) is strictly increasing on the interval 0 < x < 1
if and only if
(A) α ≥ 2 (B) α < 2
(C) α < 1 (D) α > 2

39 Consider a circle with centre O. Two chords AB and CD extended

intersect at a point P outside the circle. If ∠AOC = 43◦ and ∠BP D =
18◦ , then the value of ∠BOD is
(A) 36◦ (B) 29◦ (C) 7◦ (D) 25◦
40 A box contains 10 red cards numbered 1, . . . , 10 and 10 black cards
numbered 1, . . . , 10. In how many ways can we choose 10 out of the
20 cards so that there are exactly 3 matches, where a match means a
red card and a black card with the same number?
7
      
10 7 4 10 7
(A) 2 (B)
3 4 3 4
    
10 7 10 14
(C) 2 (D)
3 3 4
41 Let P be a point on the ellipse x2 + 4y 2 = 4 which does not lie on the
axes. If the normal at the point P intersects the major and minor axes
at C and D respectively, then the ratio P C : P D equals
(A) 2 (B) 1/2 (C) 4 (D) 1/4
42 The set of complex numbers z satisfying the equation

(3 + 7i)z + (10 2i)z̄ + 100 = 0

represents, in the complex plane,

(A) a straight line
(B) a pair of intersecting straight lines
(C) a pair of distinct parallel straight lines
(D) a point
43 The number of triplets (a, b, c) of integers such that a < b < c and
a, b, c are sides of a triangle with perimeter 21 is
(A) 7 (B) 8 (C) 11 (D) 12.

44 Suppose a, b and c are three numbers in G.P. If the equations

ax2 + 2bx + c = 0 and dx2 + 2ex + f = 0 have a common root, then
d e f
, and are in
a b c
(A) A.P. (B) G.P. (C) H.P. (D) none of the above.

45 The number of solutions of the equation sin×1 x = 2 tan×1 x is

(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 5.

46 Suppose ABCD is a quadrilateral such that ∠BAC = 50◦ , ∠CAD =

60◦ , ∠CBD = 30◦ and ∠BDC = 25◦ . If E is the point of intersection
of AC and BD, then the value of ∠AEB is
(A) 75◦ (B) 85◦ (C) 95◦ (D) 110◦ .

47 Let R be the set of all real numbers. The function f : R → R defined

by f (x) = x3 3x2 + 6x 5 is
(A) one-to-one, but not onto
(B) one-to-one and onto
(C) onto, but not one-to-one
(D) neither one-to-one nor onto.
8
48 Let L be the point (t, 2) and M be a point on the y-axis such that LM
has slope t. Then the locus of the midpoint of LM , as t varies over
all real values, is
(A) y = 2 + 2x2 (B) y = 1 + x2
(C) y = 2 2x2 (D) y = 1 x2 .

49 Let f : (0, 2) ∪ (4, 6) → R be a differentiable function. Suppose also

that f ”(x) = 1 for all x ∈ (0, 2) ∪ (4, 6). Which of the following is
ALWAYS true?
(A) f is increasing
(B) f is one-to-one
(C) f (x) = x for all x ∈ (0, 2) ∪ (4, 6)
(D) f (5.5) f (4.5) = f (1.5) f (0.5)
50 A triangle ABC has a fixed base BC. If AB : AC = 1 : 2, then the
locus of the vertex A is
(A) a circle whose centre is the midpoint of BC
(B) a circle whose centre is on the line BC but not the midpoint of
BC
(C) a straight line
(D) none of the above.
51 Let P be a variable point on a circle C and Q be a fixed point outside
C. If R is the mid-point of the line segment P Q, then the locus of R is
(A) a circle (B) an ellipse
(C) a line segment (D) segment of a parabola

52 N is a 50 digit number. All the digits except the 26th from the right
are 1. If N is divisible by 13, then the unknown digit is
(A) 1 (B) 3 (C) 7 (D) 9.

53 Suppose a < b. The maximum value of the integral

Z b 
3 2
x x dx
a 4
over all possible values of a and b is
3 4 3 2
(A) (B) (C) (D) .
4 3 2 3
1 1 1
54 For any n ≥ 5, the value of 1 + + + ··· + n lies between
2 3 2 1
n n
(A) 0 and (B) and n
2 2
(C) n and 2n (D) none of the above.
9
55 Let ω denote a cube root of unity which is not equal to 1. Then the
number of distinct elements in the set
(1 + ω + ω 2 + · · · + ω n )m : m, n = 1, 2, 3, · · ·


is
(A) 4 (B) 5 (C) 7 (D) infinite.

56 The value of the integral

3
dx
Z

2 loge x
(A) is less than 2 (B) is equal to 2
(C) lies in the interval (2, 3) (D) is greater than 3.

57 The area of the region bounded by the straight lines x = 12 and x = 2,

and the curves √given by the equations y = loge x and x
1 5 3 1
√ y =5 2 is
(A) log 2 (4 + 2) 2 loge 2 + 2 (B) log 2 (4 2) 2 loge 2
1
e √ 5 3
e
(C) log 2 (4 2) 2 loge 2 + 2 (D) none of the above
e

58 In a win-or-lose game, the winner gets 2 points whereas the loser gets
0. Six players A, B, C, D, E and F play each other in a preliminary
round from which the top three players move to the final round. After
each player has played four games, A has 6 points, B has 8 points and
C has 4 points. It is also known that E won against F. In the next set
of games D, E and F win their games against A, B and C respectively.
If A, B and D move to the final round, the final scores of E and F are,
respectively,
(A) 4 and 2 (B) 2 and 4 (C) 2 and 2 (D) 4 and 4.

59 The number of ways in which one can select six distinct integers from
the set {1, 2, 3, · · · , 49}, such that no two consecutive integers are se-
lected, is
     
49 48 43
(A) 5 (B)
6 5 6
   
25 44
(C) (D) .
6 6
60 Let n ≥ 3 be an integer. Assume that inside a big circle, exactly n
small circles of radius r can be drawn so that each small circle touches
the big circle and also touches both its adjacent small circles. Then,
the radius of the big circle is
(A) r cosec πn (B) r(1 + cosec 2π
n )
π
(C) r(1 + cosec 2n ) (D) r(1 + cosec πn )
10
61 If n is a positive integer such that 8n + 1 is a perfect square, then
(A) n must be odd
(B) n cannot be a perfect square
(C) 2n cannot be a perfect square
(D) none of the above

62 Let C denote the set of all complex numbers. Define

A = {(z, w) |z, w ∈ C and |z| = |w|}
B = {(z, w) |z, w ∈ C, and z 2 = w2 }.
Then,
(A) A = B (B) A ⊂ B and A 6= B
(C) B ⊂ A and B 6= A (D) none of the above

63 Let f (x) = a0 +a1 |x|+a2 |x|2 +a3 |x|3 , where a0 , a1 , a2 , a3 are constants.
(A) f (x) is differentiable at x = 0 whatever be a0 , a1 , a2 , a3
(B) f (x) is not differentiable at x = 0 whatever be a0 , a1 , a2 , a3
Then
(C) f (x) is differentiable at x = 0 only if a1 = 0
(D) f (x) is differentiable at x = 0 only if a1 = 0, a3 = 0
2
64 If f (x) = cos(x) 1 + x2 , then
(A) f (x) is an increasing function on the real line
(B) f (x) is a decreasing function on the real line
(C) f (x) is increasing on ∞ < x ≤ 0 and decreasing on 0 ≤ x < ∞
(D) f (x) is decreasing on ∞ < x ≤ 0 and increasing on 0 ≤ x < ∞

65 The number of roots of the equation x2 + sin2 x = 1 in the closed

interval [0, π2 ] is
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3

66 The set of values of m for which mx2 6mx+5m+1 > 0 for all real x is
(A) m < 14 (B) m ≥ 0
1
(C) 0 ≤ m ≤ 4 (D) 0 ≤ m < 14

67 The digit in the unit’s place of the number 1! + 2! + 3! + . . . + 99! is

(A) 3 (B) 0 (C) 1 (D) 7

13 +23 +...+n3
68 The value of lim n4
is:
n→∞
3 1
(A) 4 (B) 4 (C) 1 (D) 4

11
 n
69 For any integer n ≥ 1, define an = 1000
n! . Then the sequence {an }
(A) does not have a maximum
(B) attains maximum at exactly one value of n
(C) attains maximum at exactly two values of n
(D) attains maximum for infinitely many values of n

70 The equation x3 y + xy 3 + xy = 0 represents

(A) a circle (B) a circle and a pair of straight lines
(C) a rectangular hyperbola (D) a pair of straight lines

71 For each positive integer n, define a function fn on [0, 1] as follows:


 0 if x=0
π 1


sin if 0<x≤


2n n




2π 1 2




 sin if < x ≤
2n n n



fn (x) = 3π 2 3
sin if <x≤
2n n n




. . .





 .. .. ..



 sin nπ if n 1 < x ≤ 1.



2n n
Z 1
Then, the value of lim fn (x) dx is
n→∞ 0
1 2
(A) π (B) 1 (C) (D) .
π π
72 Let d1 , d2 , . . . , dk be all the factors of a positive integer n including 1
and n. If d1 + d2 + . . . + dk = 72, then d11 + d12 + · · · + d1k is:
k2 72 72
(A) 72 (B) k (C) n (D) none of the above

73 A subset W of the set of real numbers is called a ring if it contains 1

and if for all a, b ∈ W , the numbers na b and ab are also inoW . Let
S = 2mn | m, n integers and T = pq | p, q integers, q odd . Then


(A) neither S nor T is a ring (B) S is a ring T is not a ring

(C) T is a ring S is not a ring (D) both S and T are rings
74 A rod AB of length 3 rests on a wall. P is a point on AB such that
AP : P B = 1 : 2. If the rod slides along the wall, then the locus of P
lies on
(A) 2x + y + xy = 2
(B) 4x2 + y 2 = 4
12
 (C) 4x2 + xy + y 2 = 4
(D) x2 + y 2 x 2y = 0.
75 Consider the equation x2 + y 2 = 2007. How many solutions (x, y) exist
such that x and y are positive integers?
(A) None
(B) Exactly two
(C) More than two but finitely many
(D) Infinitely many.
76 Consider the functions f1 (x) = x, f2 (x) = 2 + loge x, x > 0 (where e is
the base of natural logarithm). The graphs of the functions intersect
(A) once in (0, 1) and never in (1, ∞)
(B) once in (0, 1) and once in (e2 , ∞)
(C) once in (0, 1) and once in (e, e2 )
(D) more than twice in (0, ∞).
77 Consider the sequence
n
X r
un = , n ≥ 1.
2r
r=1

Then the limit of un as n → ∞ is

(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) e (D) 1/2.
78 Suppose that z is any complex number which is not equal to any of
{3, 3ω, 3ω 2 } where ω is a complex cube root of unity. Then
1 1 1
+ +
z 3 z 3ω z 3ω 2
equals
2 +3z 2 2 2
(A) 3z
(z×3)3
(B) 3zz 3+3ωz
×27
(C) z 3 ×3z3z
2 +9z×27 (D) z 33z×27 .
79 Consider all functions f : {1, 2, 3, 4} → {1, 2, 3, 4} which are one-one,
onto and satisfy the following property:
if f (k) is odd then f (k + 1) is even, k = 1, 2, 3.
The number of such functions is
(A) 4 (B) 8 (C) 12 (D) 16.
80 A function f : R → R is defined by
× x1

f (x) = e , x > 0
0 x ≤ 0.
Then
(A) f is not continuous
(B) f is differentiable but f 0 is not continuous
(C) f is continuous but f 0 (0) does not exist
(D) f is differentiable and f 0 is continuous.
81 The last digit of 9! + 39966 is
(A) 3 (B) 9 (C) 7 (D) 1.
13
82 Consider the function
2x2 + 3x + 1
f (x) = , 2 ≤ x ≤ 3.
2x 1
Then
(A) maximum of f is attained inside the interval (2, 3)
(B) minimum of f is 28/5
(C) maximum of f is 28/5
(D) f is a decreasing function in (2, 3).
83 A particle P moves in the plane in such a way that the angle between
the two tangents drawn from P to the curve y 2 = 4ax is always 90◦ .
The locus of P is
(A) a parabola (B) a circle (C) an ellipse (D) a straight line.
84 Let f : R → R be given by
f (x) = |x2 1|, x ∈ R.
Then
(A) f has a local minima at x = ±1 but no local maximum
(B) f has a local maximum at x = 0 but no local minima
(C) f has a local minima at x = ±1 and a local maximum at x = 0
(D) none of the above is true.
85 The number of triples (a, b, c) of positive integers satisfying
2a 5b 7c = 1
is
(A) infinite (B) 2 (C) 1 (D) 0.
86 Let a be a fixed real number greater than 1. The locus of z ∈ C
satisfying |z ia| = Im(z) + 1 is
(A) parabola (B) ellipse (C) hyperbola (D) not a conic.
87 Consider the function f : R \ {1} → R \ {2} given by
2x
f (x) = .
x 1
Then
(A) f is one-one but not onto
(B) f is onto but not one-one
(C) f is neither one-one nor onto
(D) f is both one-one and onto.
88 Consider a real valued continuous function f satisfying f (x+1) = f (x)
for all x ∈ R. Let
Z t
g(t) = f (x) dx, t ∈ R.
0

Define h(t) = limn→∞ g(t+n)

n , provided the limit exists. Then
(A) h(t) is defined only for t = 0
(B) h(t) is defined only when t is an integer
14
 (C) h(t) is defined for all t ∈ R and is independent of t
(D) none of the above is true.
89 Consider the sequence a1 = 241/3 , an+1 = (an + 24)1/3 , n ≥ 1. Then
the integer part of a100 equals
(A) 2 (B) 10 (C) 100 (D) 24.
90 Let x, y ∈ ( 2, 2) and xy = 1. Then the minimum value of
4 9
2
+
4 x 9 y2
is
(A) 8/5 (B) 12/5 (C) 12/7 (D) 15/7.
91 What is the limit of
√
 1 n2 + n
1+ 2
n +n
as n → ∞?
(A) e (B) 1 (C) 0 (D) ∞.
92 4 2
Consider the function f (x) = x + x + x 1, x ∈ ( ∞, ∞). The
function
(A) is zero at x = 1, but is increasing near x = 1
(B) has a zero in ( ∞, 1)
(C) has two zeros in ( 1, 0)
(D) has exactly one local minimum in ( 1, 0).
93 Consider a sequence of 10 A’s and 8 B’s placed in a row. By a run we
mean one or more letters of the same type placed side by side. Here
is an arrangement of 10 A’s and 8 B’s which contains 4 runs of A and
4 runs of B:
AAAB B AB B B AAB AAAAB B
In how many ways can 10 A’s and 8 B’s be arranged in a row so that
there are 4
runs

of A and 49
runs

of B?
(A) 2 93 73 (B) 3 73 (C) 10

8

(D) 10

8

4 4 5 5 .
94 Suppose n ≥ 2 is a fixed positive integer and
f (x) = xn |x|, x ∈ R.
Then
(A) f is differentiable everywhere only when n is even
(B) f is differentiable everywhere except at 0 if n is odd
(C) f is differentiable everywhere
(D) none of the above is true.
95 The line 2x + 3y k = 0 with k > 0 cuts the x axis and y axis at
points A and B respectively. Then the equation of the circle having
AB as diameter is
(A) x2 + y 2 k2 x k3 y = k 2
(B) x2 + y 2 k3 x k2 y = k 2
(C) x2 + y 2 k2 x k3 y = 0
15
 (D) x2 + y 2 k3 x k2 y = 0.
96 Let α > 0 and consider the sequence
(α + 1)n + (α 1)n
xn = , n = 1, 2, . . . .
(2α)n
Then limn→∞ xn is
(A) 0 for any α > 0
(B) 1 for any α > 0
(C) 0 or 1 depending on what α > 0 is
(D) 0, 1 or ∞ depending on what α > 0 is.
97 If 0 < θ < π/2 then
(A) θ < sin θ
(B) cos(sin θ) < cos θ
(C) sin(cos θ) < cos(sin θ)
(D) cos θ < sin(cos θ).
98 Assume the following inequalities for positive integer k:
1 √ √ 1
√ < k+1 k< √ .
2 k+1 2 k
The integer part of
9999
X 1
√
k=2
k
equals
(A) 198 (B) 197 (C) 196 (D) 195.
99 Consider the sets defined by the inequalities
A = {(x, y) ∈ R2 : x4 + y 2 ≤ 1}, B = {(x, y) ∈ R2 : x6 + y 4 ≤ 1}.
Then
(A) B ⊆ A
(B) A ⊆ B
(C) each of the sets A B, B A and A ∩ B is non-empty
(D) none of the above is true.
100 The number of one-to-one functions from a set with 3 elements to a
set with 6 elements is
(A) 20
(B) 120
(C) 216
(D) 720
101 The minimum value of the function f (x) = x2 + 4x + x4 + x12 where
x > 0, is
(A) 9.5 (B) 10 (C) 15 (D) 20
102 The angle between the hyperbolas xy = 1 and x2 y 2 = 1 (at their
point of intersection) is
(A) π2 (B) π3 (C) π4 (D) π6
16
 103 Given two complex numbers z, w with unit modulus (i.e., |z| = |w| =
1), which of the following
√ statements
√ will ALWAYS be correct?
(A) |z + w| < √ 2 and |z w| < √ 2
(B) |z + w| ≤ √2 and |z w| ≥√ 2
(C) |z + w| ≥ √2 or |z w| ≥ √2
(D) |z + w| < 2 or |z w| < 2

Hints and Answers to selected problems.

There are also other ways to solve the problems apart from the ones sketched
in the hints. Indeed, a student should feel encouraged upon finding a different
way to solve some of these problems.
Hints and Answers to selected UGA Sample Questions.

1 (B). Take the nth root of an and bn and use A.M.≥ G.M.
3 (A). As 2004 = 2000 +4, the last digits of (2004)5 and 45 are equal.
4 (D) Use binomial expansion of (bc + a (b + c))6 .
6 (B) Let y = log10 x. Then log10 y = log100 4. Hence y = 2.
8 (D) Check for ‘test points’.
−1
14 (D) sin x13 changes sign at the points (nπ) 3 for all n ≥ 1.


x 2 x
15 (D) Observe that (e ×1) = (e x×1) · sinx2 x · cos12 x .
tan x 2
x3
16 (C) Use induction and chain rule of differentiation.
22 (B) Show that the height function is 60 t .
26 (C) Compute the number of maps such that f (3) = 5, f (3) = 4 etc..
Alternatively, define g : {1, 2, 3} → {1, 2, . . . , 7} by g (i) = f (i) + (i 1).
Then, g is a strictly increasing function and its image is a subset of size 3 of
{1, 2, . . . 7}.
28 (D) Draw graphs of (x + y)(x y) = 0 and (x a)2 + y 2 = 1.
38 (A) Differentiate.
51 (A) Compute for C = x2 + y 2 = 1 and Q = (a, 0) for some a > 1.


R2 R2
57 (C) Compute the integral 2x dx log xdx.
1/2 1/2
60 (D) Let s be distance between the centre of the big circle and the centre
of (any) one of the small circles. Then there exists a right angle triangle
with hypoteneuse s, side r and angle πn .
61(C) If 8n + 1 = m2 , then 2n is a product of two consecutive integers.
62 (C) z 2 = w2 ⇒ z = ±w ⇒ B ⊆ A. But |i| = 1 and i2 6= 1.
63 (C) Amongst 1, |x|, |x|2 , |x|3 , only |x| is not differentiable at 0.
64 (D) Look at the derivative of f .
65 (B) Draw graphs of y = cos x and y = ±x and find the number of points
of intersections.
66 (D) Calculate the discriminant (b2 4ac) of the given quadratic.
17
67 (A) The unit digit of all numbers n! with n ≥ 5 is 0.
n
i3 .
P
68 (B) Use the formula for
i=1
69 (C) Find out the first values of n for which an+1an becomes < 1.
2 2
70 (D) The equation is xy(x + y + 1) = 0.
72 (C) Multiply the given sum by n.
73 (D) Verify using the given definition of a ring.
75 (A) Observe that one of x, y is odd and the other one is even. Square
of an even number is divisible by 4 whereas square of an odd number leaves
remainder 1 when divided by 4. Compare this with the right hand side.
76 (C) Check that f1 (1) < f2 (1), f1 (e) < f2 (e) and f1 (e2 ) > f2 (e2 ).
83 (D) Note that a tangent to the parabola y 2 = 4ax has equation of the
a a
form y = mx + m . Coordinates of P satisfy two equations: y = mx + m and
x
y = m ma. Eliminate m.
84 (C) The function f is non-negative and it vanishes only at 1 and 1. The
derivative vanishes at x = 0 and it does not exist at x = √1, x = 1.
 n2 +√n  n2 +n  n22+ n
1 1 n +n
91 (A) Write 1 + n2 +n = 1 + n2 +n .
00 0 0
92 (D) As f = 12x2 + 2 > 0, the function f is increasing. Now f ( 1) < 0
0
whereas f (0) > 0.

18
 Sample Questions for UGB
Instructions UGB consists of questions that will require you to provide
answers with appropriate justification.
1 Find the sum of all distinct four digit numbers that can be formed
using the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, each digit appearing at most once.
2 How many natural numbers less than 108 are there, with sum of digits
equal to 7?
3 Consider the squares of an 8 × 8 chessboard filled with the numbers 1
to 64 as in the figure below. If we choose 8 squares with the property
that there is exactly one from each row and exactly one from each
column, and add up the numbers in the chosen squares, show that the
sum obtained is always 260.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64
4 Consider the function
loge (2 + x) x2n sin x
f (x) = lim
n→∞ 1 + x2n
defined for x > 0. Is f (x) continuous at x = 1? Justify your answer.
Show that f (x) does not vanish anywhere in the interval 0 ≤ x ≤ π2 .
Indicate the points where f (x) changes sign.
5 An isosceles triangle with base 6 cms. and base angles 30o each is
inscribed in a circle. A second circle, which is situated outside the
triangle, touches the first circle and also touches the base of the triangle
at its midpoint. Find its radius.
6 Suppose a is a complex number such that
1 1
a2 + a + + 2 + 1 = 0.
a a
If m is a positive integer, find the value of
1 1
a2m + am + m + 2m .
a a
7 Let an = 1 . . . 1 with 3n digits. Prove that an is divisible by 3an×1 .
8 Let f (u) be a continuous function and, for any real number u, let [u]
denote the greatest integer less than or equal to u. Show that for any
19
 x > 1,
Z x [x] Z x
X
[u]([u] + 1)f (u)du = 2 i f (u)du.
1 i=1 i

9 If a circle intersects the hyperbola y = 1/x at four distinct points

(xi , yi ), i = 1, 2, 3, 4, then prove that x1 x2 = y3 y4 .
10 Two intersecting circles are said to be orthogonal to each other if the
tangents to the two circles at any point of intersection are perpendicu-
lar to each other. Show that every circle through the points (2, 0) and
( 2, 0) is orthogonal to the circle x2 + y 2 5x + 4 = 0.
11 Show that the function f (x) defined below attains a unique minimum
for x > 0. What is the minimum value of the function? What is the
value of x at which the minimum is attained?
1 1
f (x) = x2 + x + + 2 for x 6= 0.
x x
Sketch on plain paper the graph of this function.
12 Show that there is exactly one value of x which satisfies the equation
2 cos2 (x3 + x) = 2x + 2×x .

13 Let S = {1, 2, . . . , n}. Find the number of unordered pairs {A, B} of

subsets of S such that A and B are disjoint, where A or B or both
may be empty.
14 An oil-pipe has to connect the oil-well O and the factory F , between
which there is a river whose banks are parallel. The pipe must cross
the river perpendicular to the banks. Find the position and nature of
the shortest such pipe and justify your answer.
15 Find the maximum value of x2 + y 2 in the bounded region, including
the boundary, enclosed by y = x2 , y = x2 and x = y 2 + 1.
16 Let x = (x1 , . . . , xn ) and y = (y1 , . . . , yn ) where x1 , · · · , xn , y1 , · · · , yn
are real numbers. We write x > y if either x1 > y1 or for some k,
with 1 ≤ k ≤ n 1, we have x1 = y1 , . . . , xk = yk , but xk+1 > yk+1 .
Show that for u = (u1 , . . . , un ), v = (v1 , . . . , vn ), w = (w1 , . . . , wn ) and
z = (z1 , . . . , zn ), if u > v and w > z, then u + w > v + z.
17 How many real roots does x4 + 12x 5 have?
18 For any positive integer n, let f (n) be the remainder obtained on
dividing n by 9. For example, f (263) = 2.
(a) Let n be a three-digit number and m be the sum of its digits.
Show that f (m) = f (n).
20
 (b) Show that f (n1 n2 ) = f (f (n1 ) · f (n2 )) where n1 , n2 are any two
positive three-digit integers.
19 Find the maximum among 1, 21/2 , 31/3 , 41/4 , . . ..
20 Show that it is not possible to have a triangle with sides a, b and c
whose medians have lengths 32 a, 32 b and 45 c.
21 For real numbers x, y and z, show that
|x| + |y| + |z| ≤ |x + y z| + |y + z x| + |z + x y|.

22 Let X, Y , Z be the angles of a triangle.

(i) Prove that
X Y X Z Z Y
tan tan + tan tan + tan tan = 1.
2 2 2 2 2 2
(ii) Using (i) or otherwise prove that
X Y Z 1
tan tan tan ≤ √ .
2 2 2 3 3

23 Let α be a real number. Consider the function

2
g(x) = (α + | x |)2 e(5×|x|) , ∞ < x < ∞.
(i) Determine the values of α for which g is continuous at all x.
(ii) Determine the values of α for which g is differentiable at all x.

24 Write the set of all positive integers in a triangular array as

1 3 6 10 15 . .
2 5 9 14 . . .
4 8 13 . . . .
7 12 . . . . .
11 . . . . . .
Find the row number and column number where 20096 occurs. For
example 8 appears in the third row and second column.

25 Show that the polynomial x8 x7 + x2 x + 15 has no real root.

26 Let m be a natural number with digits consisting entirely of 6’s and

0’s. Prove that m is not the square of a natural number.

P.T.O.
21
27 Let 0 < a < b.
(i) Show that amongst the triangles with base a and perimeter a + b,
the maximum area is obtained when the other two sides have
equal length 2b .
(ii) Using the result of (i) or otherwise show that amongst the quadri-
lateral of given perimeter the square has maximum area.
28 Let n ≥ 1, S = {1, 2, . . . , n}. For a function f : S → S, a subset D ⊂ S
is said to be invariant under f , if f (x) ∈ D for all x ∈ D. Note that
the empty set and S are invariant for all f . Let deg(f ) be the number
of subsets of S invariant under f .
(i) Show that there is a function f : S → S such that deg(f ) = 2.
(ii) Further show that for any k such that 1 ≤ k ≤ n there is a
function f : S → S such that deg(f ) = 2k .

29 Let
P (x) = xn + an×1 xn×1 + an×2 xn×2 + · · · + a1 x + a0
be a polynomial with integer coefficients, such that P (0) and P (1) are
odd integers. Show that:
(a) P (x) does not have any even integer as root.
(b) P (x) does not have any odd integer as root.
30 Let N = {1, 2, . . . , n} be a set of elements called voters. Let C =
{S : S ⊆ N } be the set of all subsets of N . Members of C are called
coalitions. Let f be a function from C to {0, 1}. A coalition S ⊆ N
is said to be winning if f (S) = 1; it is said to be a losing coalition
if f (S) = 0. A pair hN, f i as above is called a voting game if the
following conditions hold.
(a) N is a winning coalition.
(b) The empty set ∅ is a losing coalition.
(c) If S is a winning coalition and S ⊆ S 0 , then S 0 is also winning.
(d) If both S and S 0 are winning coalitions, then S ∩ S 0 6= ∅, i.e., S
and S 0 have a common voter.
Show that the maximum number of winning coalitions of a voting
game is 2n×1 . Find a voting game for which the number of winning
coalitions is 2n×1 .
31 Suppose f is a real-valued differentiable function defined on [1, ∞) with
f (1) = 1. Suppose, moreover, that f satisfies f 0 (x) = 1/(x2 + f 2 (x)).
Show that f (x) ≤ 1 + π/4 for every x ≥ 1.
32 If the normal to the curve x2/3 + y 2/3 = a2/3 at some point makes an
angle θ with the X-axis, show that the equation of the normal is
y cos θ x sin θ = a cos 2θ.

33 Suppose that a is an irrational number.

22
 (a) If there is a real number b such that both (a+b) and ab are rational
numbers, show that a is√a quadratic √ surd. (a is a quadratic surd
if it is of the form r + s or r s for some rationals r and s,
where s is not the square of a rational number).
(b) Show that there are two real numbers b1 and b2 such that
(i) a + b1 is rational but ab1 is irrational.
(ii) a + b2 is irrational but ab2 is rational.
(Hint: Consider the two cases, where a is a quadratic surd
and a is not a quadratic surd, separately).
34 Let A, B, and C be three points on a circle of radius 1.
(a) Show that the area of the triangle ABC equals
1
(sin(2∠ABC) + sin(2∠BCA) + sin(2∠CAB)) .
2
(b) Suppose that the magnitude of ∠ABC is fixed. Then show that
the area of the triangle ABC is maximized when ∠BCA = ∠CAB.
(c) Hence or otherwise show that the area of the triangle ABC is
maximum when the triangle is equilateral.
35 In the given figure, E is the midpoint of the arc E
ABEC and ED is perpendicular to the chord BC C
at D. If the length of the chord AB is l1 , and that of B
D
BD is l2 , determine the length of DC in terms of l1 A
and l2
36 (a) Let f (x) = x xe×1/x , x > 0. Show that f (x) is an increasing
function on (0, ∞), and limx→∞ f (x) = 1.
(b) Using part (a) and calculus, sketch the graphs of y = x 1, y = x,
y = x + 1, and y = xe×1/|x| for ∞ < x < ∞ using the same X
and Y axes.
37 For any integer n greater than 1, show that
2n
 
n 2n
2 < < n×1 .
n Y i
(1 )
n
i=0

38 Show that there exists a positive real number x 6= 2 such that log2 x =
x
2 . Hence obtain the set of real numbers c such that
log2 x
=c
x
has only one real solution.
39 Find a four digit number M such that the number N = 4 × M has the
following properties.
(a) N is also a four digit number.
23
 (b) N has the same digits as in M but in the reverse order.
40 Consider a function f on nonnegative integers such that f (0) = 1,
f (1) = 0 and f (n) + f (n 1) = nf (n 1) + (n 1)f (n 2) for n ≥ 2.
Show that
n
f (n) X ( 1)k
= .
n! k!
k=0

41 Of all triangles with a given perimeter, find the triangle with the max-
imum area. Justify your answer.
42 A 40 feet high screen is put on a vertical wall 10 feet above your eye-
level. How far should you stand to maximize the angle subtended by
the screen (from top to bottom) at your eye?
43 Study the derivatives of the function
p
y = x3 4x
and sketch its graph on the real line.
44 Suppose P and Q are the centres of two disjoint circles C1 and C2
respectively, such that P lies outside C2 and Q lies outside C1 . Two
tangents are drawn from the point P to the circle C2 , which intersect
the circle C1 at points A and B. Similarly, two tangents are drawn
from the point Q to the circle C1 , which intersect the circle C2 at
points M and N . Show that AB = M N .
 
1 2n
45 Evaluate: lim log .
n→∞ 2n n
46 Consider the equation x5 + x = 10. Show that
(a) the equation has only one real root;
(b) this root lies between 1 and 2;
(c) this root must be irrational.
47 In how many ways can you divide the set of eight numbers {2, 3, . . . , 9}
into 4 pairs such that no pair of numbers has g.c.d. equal to 2?
48 Suppose S is the set of all positive integers. For a, b ∈ S, define
l.c.m(a, b)
a∗b=
g.c.d(a, b)
For example, 8 ∗ 12 = 6.
Show that exactly two of the following three properties are satis-
fied :
(a) If a, b ∈ S then a ∗ b ∈ S.
(b) (a ∗ b) ∗ c = a ∗ (b ∗ c) for all a, b, c ∈ S.
(c) There exists an element i ∈ S such that a ∗ i = a for all a ∈ S.

24
 Hints and Answers to selected UGB Sample Questions.

1. The answer is 399960. For each x ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, there are 4! such
numbers whose last digit is x. Thus the digits in the unit place of all the
120 numbers add up to 4! (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5). Similarly the numbers at ten’s
place add up to 360 and so on. Thus the sum is 360 (1 + 10 + 100 + 1000).
3. Let the chosen entries be in the positions (i, ai ), 1 ≤ i ≤ 8. Thus a1 , . . . , a8
is a permutation of {1, . . . , 8}. The entry in the square corresponding to
8
P
(i, j)th place is i + 8 (j 1). Hence the required sum is (i + 8 (aj 1)).
i=1
√
3 3
5. Radius is 2 . Use trigonometry.
n
7. Observe that an = an×1 1 + t + t2 where t = 103

9. Substitute y = x1 in the equation of a circle and clear denominator to

get a degree 4 equation in x. The product of its roots is the constant term,
which is 1.
11. The function f (x) 4 is a sum of squares and hence non-negative. So
the minimum is 4 which is attained at x = 1.
n
13. The number is 3 2+1 . An ordered pair (A, B) of disjoint subsets of S is
determined by 3 choices for every element of S (either it is in A, or in B or
in neither of them). Hence such pairs are 3n in number. An unordered pair
will be counted twice in this way, except for the case A and B both empty.
n
Hence the number is 1 + 3 2×1 .
15. Answer is 5. The maximum is attained at points (2, 1) and (2, 1).
17. Answer is 2. Let f be the given polynomial. Then f (0) is negative and
f is positive as x tends to ±∞. √ Hence it has at least 2 real roots. Since the
derivative of f is zero only at 3 3, it cannot have more than two real roots.
√3 1
19. Maximum
√ is √ 3. Either check the maximum of the function x x , or
compare 3 3 with n n.
21. Rewrite the given inequality in terms of the new variables α = x + y z,
β = y + z x, γ = x + z y, and use the triangle inequality.
22. (i) Using the additive formula for tan(A/2 + B/2) and observing that
tan(A/2 + B/2) = tan(90◦ C/2) = cot(C/2), it is easy to prove (i).
(ii) Note that tan(A/2), tan(B/2), tan(C/2) are positive numbers. So the
arithmetic mean of tan(A/2) tan(B/2), tan(C/2) tan(B/2), tan(A/2) tan(C/2)
is greater than or equal to its geometric mean. Use this together with (i).
2
23. For any α, , h(x) = (α + x)2 e(5×x) , ∞ < x < ∞ is continuous and
differentiable at all x and note that f (x) = h(| x |), ∞ < x < ∞.
25
(i) As | x | is a continuous function, f is a continuous function at all x for
any real number α.
(ii) As | x | is a differentiable function at all x 6= 0 f is differentiable at all
x 6= 0 for any real number α. At x = 0, find the right hand and the left
hand derivatives of f . Check that f 0 (0) exists if and only if α = 0 or α = 51 .
24. The top row has the n-th triangular number n(n+1)/2 at the n-th place.
Now (200 × 201)/2 = 20100 > 20096 > 19900 = (199 × 200)/2. So, 20100
occurs on the first row and 200-th column and is on the first row of this 200-
th slanted line. Therefore 20096 = 20100 4 occurs on the 200 4 = 196-th
column and on the 5-th row.
25. The polynomial can be re-written as x7 (x 1) + x(x 1) + 15. It it easily
seen that the polynomial is strictly positive when x ≤ 0 and x ≥ 1. Further
if 0 < x < 1, then | x7 (x 1) |< 1 and | x(x 1) |< 1. This implies that the
polynomial is strictly positive for all real numbers x.
26. Suppose n is a perfect square. If 10|n, then 102 |n. Hence n ends in
an even (possibly zero) number of 0’s. So, for some k (possibly zero), the
number 10n2k ends in 6 and has digits consisting of 0’s and 6’s. Therefore 10n2k
ends in 66 or in 06. In both cases the number is even and leaves a remainder
2 on division by 4. This is a contradiction as an even perfect square is a
multiple of 4.
28. (i) If f (i) = i + 1 for all i = 1, · · · , n 1, with f (n) = 1 then deg(f ) = 2.
(ii) Consider disjoint subsets A1 , A2 , · · · , Ak of S such that each Ai has more
than one element. Let f be a cyclic function in each Ai . Then deg(f ) = 2k .

26
 A Model Question Paper for B.Math/B.Stat

Booklet No. Test Code : UGA

Forenoon

Questions : 30 Time : 2 hours

Write your Name, Registration Number, Test Centre, Test Code and the
Number of this Booklet in the appropriate places on the Answersheet.

This test contains 30 questions in all. For each of the 30 questions, there
are four suggested answers. Only one of the suggested answers is correct.
You will have to identify the correct answer in order to get full credit for
that question. Indicate your choice of the correct answer by darkening the
appropriate oval completely on the answersheet.
You will get
4 marks for each correctly answered question,
0 marks for each incorrectly answered question and
1 mark for each unattempted question.

All rough work must be done on this booklet only.

You are not allowed to use calculator.

WAIT FOR THE SIGNAL TO START.

27
 1 The system of inequalities
1 1 1 1
a b2 ≥ , b c2 ≥ , c d2 ≥ , d a2 ≥
4 4 4 4
(where a, b, c, d are real numbers) has
(A) no solutions (B) exactly one solution
(C) exactly two solutions (D) infinitely many solutions.
2 Let log12 18 = a. Then log24 16 is equal to
8 4a 1 4a 1 8 4a
(A) (B) (C) (D) .
5 a 3+a 2 + 3a 5+a
3 The number of solutions of the equation tan x + sec x = 2 cos x, where
0 ≤ x ≤ π, is
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3.
4 Using only the digits 2, 3 and 9, how many six digit numbers can be
formed which are divisible by 6?
(A) 41 (B) 80 (C) 81 (D) 161
5 What is the value of the following integral?
tan×1 x
Z 2014
dx
1 x
2014

π π 1
(A) log 2014 (B) log 2014 (C) π log 2014 (D) log 2014
4 2 2
6 A light ray travelling along the line y = 1, is reflected by a mirror
placed along the line x = 2y. The reflected ray travels along the line
(A) 4x 3y = 5 (B) 3x 4y = 2 (C) x y = 1 (D) 2x 3y = 1.
7 For a real number x, let [x] denote the greatest integer less than or
equal to x. Then the number of real solutions of 2x [x] = 4 is
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4.
8 What is the ratio of the areas of the regular pentagons inscribed inside
and circumscribed around a given circle?
(A) cos 36◦ (B) cos2 36◦ (C) cos2 54◦ (D) cos2 72◦
9 Let z1 , z2 be nonzero complex numbers satisfying |z1 + z2 | = |z1 z2 |.
The circumcentre of the triangle with the points z1 , z2 , and the origin
as its vertices is given by
1 1 1 1
(A) (z1 z2 ) (B) (z1 + z2 ) (C) (z1 + z2 ) (D) (z1 z2 ).
2 3 2 3
10 In how many ways can 20 identical chocolates be distributed among 8
students so that each student gets at least one chocolate and exactly
two students get at least two chocolates each?   
8 17
(A) 308 (B) 364 (C) 616 (D)
2 7
1
11 Two vertices of a square lie on a circle of radius r, and the other two
vertices lie on a tangent to this circle. Then, each side of the square is
3r 4r 6r 8r
(A) (B) (C) (D) ·
2 3 5 5
12 Let P be the set of all numbers obtained by multiplying five distinct
integers between 1 and 100. What is the largest integer n such that
2n divides at least one element of P ?
(A) 8 (B) 20 (C) 24 (D) 25
13 Consider the function f (x) = ax3 + bx2 + cx + d, where a, b, c and
d are real numbers with a > 0. If f is strictly increasing, then the
0 00 000
function g(x) = f (x) f (x) + f (x) is
(A) zero for some x ∈ R (B) positive for all x ∈ R
(C) negative for all x ∈ R (D) strictly increasing.

14 Let A be the set of all points (h, k) such that the area of the triangle
formed by (h, k), (5, 6) and (3, 2) is 12 square units. What is the least
possible length of a line segment joining (0, 0) to a point in A?
4 8 12 16
(A) √ (B) √ (C) √ (D) √
5 5 5 5
15 Let P = {ab c : a, b, c positive integers, a2 + b2 = c2 , and 3 divides c}.
What is the largest integer n such that 3n divides every element of P ?
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4
16 Let A0 = ∅ (the empty set). For each i = 1, 2, 3, . . . , define the set
Ai = Ai×1 ∪ {Ai×1 }. The set A3 is
(A) ∅ (B) {∅} (C) {∅, {∅}} (D) {∅, {∅}, {∅, {∅}}}
1
17 Let f (x) = · The graphs of the functions f and f ×1 intersect at
x 2
√ √ √ √
(A) (1 + √ 2, 1 + √ 2) and (1
√ 2, 1 2)
(B) (1 + 2, 1 + 2) and ( 2, 1 √12 )
√ √ √
(C) (1 2, 1 2) and ( 2, 1 + √12 )
√ √
(D) ( 2, 1 √12 ) and ( 2, 1 + √12 )
18 Let N be a number such that whenever you take N consecutive positive
integers, at least one of them is coprime to 374. What is the smallest
possible value of N ?
(A) 4 (B) 5 (C) 6 (D) 7

19 Let A1 , A2 , . . . , A18 be the vertices of a regular polygon with 18 sides.

How many of the triangles 4Ai Aj Ak , 1 ≤ i < j < k ≤ 18, are isosceles
but not equilateral?
(A) 63 (B) 70 (C) 126 (D) 144
2
 sinα x
20 The limit lim exists only when
x→0 x
(A) α ≥ 1 (B) α = 1
(C) |α| ≤ 1 (D) α is a positive integer.
21 Consider the region R = {(x, y) : x2 + y 2 ≤ 100, sin(x + y) > 0}. What
is the area of R?
(A) 25π (B) 50π (C) 50 (D) 100π 50
22 Consider a cyclic trapezium whose circumcentre is on one of the sides.
If the ratio of the two parallel sides is 1 : 4, what is the ratio of the
sum of √the two
√ oblique sides to the longer parallel
√ side? √ √
(A) 3 : 2 (B) 3 : 2 (C) 2 : 1 (D) 5 : 3
( √ !)2
4 + 2x
23 Consider the function f (x) = loge for x > 0. Then,
x

(A) f decreases upto some point and increases after that

(B) f increases upto some point and decreases after that
(C) f increases initially, then decreases and then again increases
(D) f decreases initially, then increases and then again decreases.

24 What is the number of ordered triplets (a, b, c), where a, b, c are positive
integers (not necessarily distinct), such that abc = 1000?
(A) 64 (B) 100 (C) 200 (D) 560
25 Let f : (0, ∞) → (0, ∞) be a function differentiable at 3, and satisfying
f (3) = 3f 0(3) > 0. Then the limit
   x
3
f 3 + x 
lim  
x→∞  f (3) 

(A) exists and is equal to 3 (B) exists and is equal to e

(C) exists and is always equal to f (3) (D) need not always exist.

1
26 Let z be a non-zero complex number such that z = 2. What is
z
the maximum value of |z|?
√ √
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 2 (D) 1 + 2.
27 The minimum value of
sin x + cos x + tan x + cosec x + sec x + cot x is
√ √
(A) 0 (B) 2 2 1 (C) 2 2 + 1 (D) 6

3
28 For any function f : X → Y and any subset A of Y , define
f ×1 (A) = {x ∈ X : f (x) ∈ A}.
Let Ac denote the complement of A in Y . For subsets A1 , A2 of Y ,
consider the following statements:
(i) f ×1 (Ac1 ∩ Ac2 ) = (f ×1 (A1 ))c ∪ (f ×1 (A2 ))c
(ii) If f ×1 (A1 ) = f ×1 (A2 ) then A1 = A2 .
Then,
(A) both (i) and (ii) are always true
(B) (i) is always true, but (ii) may not always be true
(C) (ii) is always true, but (i) may not always be true
(D) neither (i) nor (ii) is always true.
29 Let f be a function such that f 00 (x) exists, and f 00 (x) > 0 for all
x ∈ [a, b]. For any point c ∈ [a, b], let A(c) denote the area of the
region bounded by y = f (x), the tangent to the graph of f at x = c
and the lines x = a and x = b. Then
(A) A(c) attains its minimum at c = 21 (a + b) for any such f
(B) A(c) attains its maximum at c = 12 (a + b) for any such f
(C) A(c) attains its minimum at both c = a and c = b for any such f
(D) the points c where A(c) attains its minimum depend on f .

30 In 4ABC, the lines BP , BQ trisect ∠ABC and the lines CM , CN

trisect ∠ACB. Let BP and CM intersect at X and BQ and CN
intersect at Y . If ∠ABC = 45◦ and ∠ACB = 75◦ , then ∠BXY is
A

M
P
X
N ?
Q

B C
◦
(A) 45◦ (B) 47 12 (C) 50◦ (D) 55◦

4
 A Model Question Paper for B.Math/B.Stat

BOOKLET No. TEST CODE : UGB

Afternoon Session

There are 3 pages in this booklet.

The exam has 8 questions.
Answer as many as you can.

Time : 2 hours

Write your Name, Registration number, Test Centre, Test Code and the
Number of this booklet in the appropriate places on the answer-booklet.

ALL ROUGH WORK IS TO BE DONE ON THIS BOOKLET

AND/OR THE ANSWER-BOOKLET.
CALCULATORS ARE NOT ALLOWED.

STOP! WAIT FOR THE SIGNAL TO START.

P.T.O.
5
1 A class has 100 students. Let ai , 1 ≤ i ≤ 100, denote the number of
friends the i-th student has in the class. For each 0 ≤ j ≤ 99, let cj
denote the number of students having at least j friends. Show that
100
X 99
X
ai = cj .
i=1 j= 1

2 It is given that the graph of y = x4 + ax3 + bx2 + cx + d (where a, b, c, d

are real) has at least 3 points of intersection with the x-axis. Prove
that either there are exactly 4 distinct points of intersection, or one of
those 3 points of intersection is a local minimum or maximum.

3 Consider a triangle P QR in R2 . Let A be a point lying on 4P QR

or in the region enclosed by it. Prove that, for any function f (x, y) =
ax + by + c on R2 ,
f (A) ≤ max {f (P ), f (Q), f (R)} .
4 Let f and g be two non-decreasing twice differentiable functions de-
fined on an interval (a, b) such that for each x ∈ (a, b), f 00 (x) = g(x)
and g 00 (x) = f (x). Suppose also that f (x)g(x) is linear in x on (a, b).
Show that we must have f (x) = g(x) = 0 for all x ∈ (a, b).

5 Show that the sum of 12 consecutive integers can never be a perfect

square. Give an example of 11 consecutive integers whose sum is a
perfect square.

6 Let A be the region in the xy-plane given by

A = {(x, y) : x = u + v, y = v, u2 + v 2 ≤ 1} .
Derive the length of the longest line segment that can be enclosed in-
side the region A.

7 Let f : [0, ∞) → R be a non-decreasing continuous function. Show

then that the inequality
Zz Zz
(z x) f (u)du ≥ (z y) f (u)du
y x

holds for any 0 ≤ x < y < z. [P. T. O]

8 Consider n (> 1) lotus leaves placed around a circle. A frog jumps
from one leaf to another in the following manner. It starts from some
selected leaf. From there, it skips exactly one leaf in the clockwise
direction and jumps to the next one. Then it skips exactly two leaves
in the clockwise direction and jumps to the next one. Then it skips
three leaves again in the clockwise direction and jumps to the next
one, and so on. Notice that the frog may visit the same leaf more than
6
once. Suppose it turns out that if the frog continues this way, then all
the leaves are visited by the frog sometime or the other. Show that n
cannot be odd.

7
(1) Let the sequence {an }n≥1 be defined by
an = tan(nθ),
where tan(θ) = 2. Show that for all n, an is a rational number which
can be written with an odd denominator.

(2) Consider a circle of radius 6 as given in the diagram below. Let B,

C, D and E be points on the circle such that BD and CE, when
extended, intersect at A. If AD and AE have length 5 and 4 respec-
tively,
√
and DBC is a right angle, then show that the length of BC is
12+9 15
5 .

(3) Suppose f : R → R is a function given by

(
1 if x = 1,
f (x) = 10
 
e(x ×1) + (x 1)2 sin x×1 1
if x 6= 1.
(a) Find f 0 (1).
100 
" #
X k
(b) Evaluate lim 100 u u f 1+ .
u→∞ u
k=1

(4) Let S be the square formed by the four vertices (1, 1), (1, 1), ( 1, 1),
and ( 1, 1). Let the region R be the set of points inside S which
are closer to the centre than to any of the four sides. Find the area
of the region R.

P.T.O.
(5) Let g : N → N with g(n) being the product of the digits of n.
(a) Prove that g(n) ≤ n for all n ∈ N.
(b) Find all n ∈ N, for which n2 12n + 36 = g(n).

(6) Let p1 , p2 , p3 be primes with p2 6= p3 , such that 4 + p1 p2 and 4 + p1 p3

are perfect squares. Find all possible values of p1 , p2 , p3 .

(7) Let A = {1, 2, . . . , n}. For a permutation P = (P (1), P (2), · · · , P (n))

of the elements of A, let P (1) denote the first element of P . Find the
number of all such permutations P so that for all i, j ∈ A:
• if i < j < P (1), then j appears before i in P ; and
• if P (1) < i < j, then i appears before j in P .

(8) Let k, n and r be positive integers.

(a) Let Q(x) = xk + a1 xk+1 + · · · + an xk+n be a polynomial with
real coefficients. Show that the function Q(x)
xk
is strictly positive
for all real x satisfying
1
0 < |x| < n .
P
1+ |ai |
i=1
(b) Let P (x) = b0 + b1 x + · · · + br xr
be a non-zero polynomial with
real coefficients. Let m be the smallest number such that bm 6=
0. Prove that the graph of y = P (x) cuts the x-axis at the origin
(i.e. P changes sign at x = 0) if and only if m is an odd integer.
 Notations: In the following, N = {1, 2, 3, · · ·} denotes the set of natural
numbers, R denotes the set of real numbers.

1. Find all pairs (x, y) with x, y real, satisfying the equations:

� �
x+y
sin = 0, |x| + |y| = 1.
2

2. Suppose that P Q and RS are two chords of a circle intersecting at a

point O. It is given that P O = 3 cm and SO = 4 cm. Moreover, the
area of the triangle P OR is 7 cm2 . Find the area of the triangle QOS.

3. Let f : R → R be a continuous function such that for all x ∈ R and

for all t ≥ 0,
f (x) = f (et x).
Show that f is a constant function.

4. Let f : (0, ∞) → R be a continuous function such that for all x ∈

(0, ∞),
f (2x) = f (x).
Show that the function g defined by the equation
� 2x
dt
g(x) = f (t) for x > 0
x t

is a constant function.

P.T.O.

1
5. Let f : R → R be a differentiable function such that its derivative f �
is a continuous function. Moreover, assume that for all x ∈ R,
� � 1
0 ≤ �f � (x)� ≤ .
2
Define a sequence of real numbers {an }n∈N by:

a1 = 1,

an+1 = f (an ) for all n ∈ N.

Prove that there exists a positive real number M such that for all
n ∈ N,
|an | ≤ M.

6. Let a ≥ b ≥ c > 0 be real numbers such that for all n ∈ N, there

exist triangles of side lengths an , bn , cn . Prove that the triangles are
isosceles.

7. Let a, b, c ∈ N be such that

a2 + b2 = c2 and c − b = 1.

Prove that

( i ) a is odd,
( ii ) b is divisible by 4,
( iii ) ab + ba is divisible by c.

8. Let n ≥ 3. Let A = ((aij ))1≤i,j≤n be an n × n matrix such that

aij ∈ {1, −1} for all 1 ≤ i, j ≤ n. Suppose that

ak1 = 1 for all 1 ≤ k ≤ n and

n
�
aki akj = 0 for all i �= j.
k=1

Show that n is a multiple of 4.

2
 UGB
2019

Notation.
R denotes the set of all real numbers.
C denotes the set of all complex numbers.

1. Prove that the positive integers n that cannot be written as a sum of

r consecutive positive integers, with r > 1, are of the form n = 2l for
some l ≥ 0.

2. Let f : (0, ∞) → R be defined by

� 1 �
f (x) = lim cosn .
n→∞ nx
(a) Show that f has exactly one point of discontinuity.
(b) Evaluate f at its point of discontinuity.

3. Let Ω = {z = x + iy ∈ C : |y| ≤ 1}. If f (z) = z 2 + 2, then draw a

sketch of
f (Ω) = {f (z) : z ∈ Ω}.
Justify your answer.

4. Let f : R → R be a twice differentiable function such that

� x+y
1
f (t) dt = f (x), for all x ∈ R, y > 0.
2y x−y

Show that there exist a, b ∈ R such that f (x) = ax + b for all x ∈ R.

5. A subset S of the plane is called convex if given any two points x

and y in S, the line segment joining x and y is contained in S. A
quadrilateral is called convex if the region enclosed by the edges of the
quadrilateral is a convex set.
Show that given a convex quadrilateral Q of area 1, there is a rectangle
R of area 2 such that Q can be drawn inside R.

1
6. For all natural numbers n, let
� � �
√
An = 2 − 2 + 2 + · · · + 2 (n many radicals).

(a) Show that for n ≥ 2,

π
An = 2 sin .
2n+1

(b) Hence, or otherwise, evaluate the limit

lim 2n An .
n→∞

7. Let f be a polynomial with integer coefficients. Define

� �
a1 = f (0), a2 = f (a1 ) = f f (0) ,

and
an = f (an−1 ) for n ≥ 3.
If there exists a natural number k ≥ 3 such that ak = 0, then prove
that either a1 = 0 or a2 = 0.

8. Consider the following subsets of the plane:

C1 = {(x, y) : x > 0, y = x1 }

and
C2 = {(x, y) : x < 0, y = −1 + x1 }.
Given any two points P = (x, y) and Q = (u, v) of the plane, their
distance d(P, Q) is defined by
�
d(P, Q) = (x − u)2 + (y − v)2 .

Show that there exists a unique choice of points P0 ∈ C1 and Q0 ∈ C2

such that

d(P0 , Q0 ) ≤ d(P, Q) for all P ∈ C1 and Q ∈ C2 .

2
1. Let i be a root of the equation x2 + 1 = 0 and let ω be a root of the
equation x2 + x + 1 = 0. Construct a polynomial

f (x) = a0 + a1 x + . . . + an xn

where a0 , a1 , . . . , an are all integers such that f (i + ω) = 0.

2. Let a be a fixed real number. Consider the equation

(x + 2)2 (x + 7)2 + a = 0, x ∈ R,

where R is the set of real numbers. For what values of a, will the equation
have exactly one double-root?

3. Let A and B be variable points on x-axis and y-axis respectively such

that the line segment AB is in the first quadrant and of a fixed length
2d. Let C be the mid-point of AB and P be a point such that

(a) P and the origin are on the opposite sides of AB and,

(b) P C is a line segment of length d which is perpendicular to AB.

Find the locus of P .

4. Let a real-valued sequence {xn }n≥1 be such that

lim nxn = 0.
n→∞

Find all possible real values of t such that limn→∞ xn (log n)t = 0.

5. Prove that the largest pentagon (in terms of area) that can be inscribed
in a circle of radius 1 is regular (i.e., has equal sides).

6. Prove that the family of curves

x2 y2
+ = 1
a2 + λ b2 + λ
satisfies
dy 2 dy dy
(a b2 ) = (x + y ) (x y).
dx dx dx

1
7. Consider a right-angled triangle with integer-valued sides a < b < c
where a, b, c are pairwise co-prime. Let d = c b. Suppose d divides a.
Then

(a) Prove that d ≤ 2.

(b) Find all such triangles (i.e. all possible triplets a, b, c) with perime-
ter less than 100.

8. A finite sequence of numbers (a1 , . . . , an ) is said to be alternating if

a1 > a2 , a2 < a3 , a3 > a4 , a4 < a5 , . . . .

or a1 < a2 , a2 > a3 , a3 < a4 , a4 > a5 , . . . .

How many alternating sequences of length 5, with distinct numbers

a1 , . . . , a5 can be formed such that ai ∈ {1, 2, . . . , 20} for i = 1, . . . , 5?

2
 Notations: The set of integers {· · · , 2, 1, 0, 1, 2 · · · } is denoted by
Z. The set of real numbers is denoted by R.

1. There are three cities each of which has exactly the same number of
citizens, say n. Every citizen in each city has exactly a total of n + 1
friends in the other two cities. Show that there exist three people, one
from each city, such that they are friends. We assume that friendship
is mutual (that is, a symmetric relation).

2. Let f : Z → Z be a function satisfying f (0) 6= 0 = f (1). Assume also

that f satisfies equations (A) and (B) below.

f (xy) = f (x) + f (y) f (x)f (y) (A)

f (x y)f (x)f (y) = f (0)f (x)f (y) (B)

for all integers x, y.

(i) Determine explicitly the set {f (a) : a ∈ Z}.
(ii) Assuming that there is a non-zero integer a such that f (a) 6= 0,
prove that the set {b : f (b) 6= 0} is infinite.

3. Prove that every positive rational number can be expressed uniquely

as a finite sum of the form
a2 a3 an
a1 + + + ··· + ,
2! 3! n!
where an are integers such that 0 ≤ an ≤ n 1 for all n > 1.

4. Let g : (0, ∞) → (0, ∞) be a differentiable function whose derivative

is continuous, and such that g(g(x)) = x for all x > 0. If g is not the
identity function, prove that g must be strictly decreasing.

5. Let a0 , a1 , · · · , a19 ∈ R and

19
X
20
P (x) = x + ai x i , x ∈ R.
i=0

If P (x) = P ( x) for all x ∈ R, and

P (k) = k 2 , for k = 0, 1, 2 · · · , 9,

1
 then find
P (x)
lim .
x→0 sin2 x

6. If a given equilateral triangle fi of side length a lies in the union of

five equilateral triangles of side length b, show that there exist four
equilateral triangles of side length b whose union contains fi.

7. Let a, b, c be three real numbers which are roots of a cubic polynomial,

and satisfy a + b + c = 6 and ab + bc + ac = 9. Suppose a < b < c.
Show that
0 < a < 1 < b < 3 < c < 4.

8. A pond has been dug at the Indian Statistical Institute as an inverted

truncated pyramid with a square base (see figure below). The depth
of the pond is 6m. The square at the bottom has side length 2m and
19
the top square has side length 8m. Water is filled in at a rate of 3
cubic meters per hour. At what rate is the water level rising exactly
1 hour after the water started to fill the pond?

2
Note. In this question-paper, R denotes the set of real numbers.

1. Consider a board having 2 rows and n columns. Thus there are

2n cells in the board. Each cell is to be filled in by 0 or 1.

(a) In how many ways can this be done such that each row sum
and each column sum is even?
(b) In how many ways can this be done such that each row sum
and each column sum is odd?

2. Consider the function

m
�
f (x) = (x − k)4 , x ∈ R,
k=1

where m > 1 is an integer. Show that f has a unique minimum

and find the point where the minimum is attained.

3. Consider the parabola C : y 2 = 4x and the straight line

L : y = x + 2. Let P be a variable point on L. Draw the
two tangents from P to C and let Q1 and Q2 denote the two
points of contact on C. Let Q be the mid-point of the line
segment joining Q1 and Q2 . Find the locus of Q as P moves
along L.

4. Let P (x) be an odd degree polynomial in x with real coefficients.

Show that the equation P (P (x)) = 0 has at least as many
distinct real roots as the equation P (x) = 0.

5. For any positive integer n, and i = 1, 2, let fi (n) denote the

number of divisors of n of the form 3k + i (including 1 and n).
Define, for any positive integer n,

f (n) = f1 (n) − f2 (n).

Find the values of f (52022 ) and f (212022 ).

1
6. Consider a sequence P1 , P2 , . . . of points in the plane such that
P1 , P2 , P3 are non-collinear and for every n ≥ 4, Pn is the mid-
point of the line segment joining Pn−2 and Pn−3 . Let L denote
the line segment joining P1 and P5 . Prove the following:

(a) The area of the triangle formed by the points Pn , Pn−1 , Pn−2
converges to zero as n goes to infinity.
(b) The point P9 lies on L.

7. Let
P (x) = 1 + 2x + 7x2 + 13x3 , x ∈ R.

Calculate for all x ∈ R,

� � x ��n
lim P .
n→∞ n

8. Find the minimum value of

| sin x + cos x + tan x + cot x + sec x + cosec x|

for real numbers x not multiple of π/2.

9. Find the smallest positive real number k such that the following
inequality holds
1
|z1 + . . . + zn | ≥ (|z1 | + . . . + |zn |) .
k
for every positive integer n ≥ 2 and every choice z1 , . . . , zn of
complex numbers with non-negative real and imaginary parts.
[Hint: First find k that works for n = 2. Then show that the
same k works for any n ≥ 2.]

2
Q 1.
Determine all integers n > 1 such that every power of n has an odd
number of digits.
Q 2.
1
Let a0 = 2
and an be defined inductively by
r
1 + an−1
an = ,n ≥ 1.
2
(a) Show that for n = 0, 1, 2, . . .,
π
an = cos θn for some 0 < θn < ,
2
and determine θn .
(b) Using (a) or otherwise, calculate

lim 4n (1 − an ) .
n→∞

Q 3.
In a triangle ABC, consider points D and E on AC and AB,
respectively, and assume that they do not coincide with any of the
vertices A, B, C. If the segments BD and CE intersect at F ,
consider the areas w, x, y, z of the quadrilateral AEF D and the
triangles BEF, BF C, CDF , respectively.
(a) Prove that y 2 > xz.
(b) Determine w in terms of x, y, z.

1
Q 4.
Let n1 , n2 , · · · , n51 be distinct natural numbers each of which has
exactly 2023 positive integer factors. For instance, 22022 has exactly
2023 positive integer factors 1, 2, 22 , · · · , 22021 , 22022 . Assume that no
prime larger than 11 divides any of the ni ’s. Show that there must
be some perfect cube among the ni ’s. You may use the fact that
2023 = 7 × 17 × 17.
Q 5.
There is a rectangular plot of size 1 × n. This has to be covered by
three types of tiles - red, blue and black. The red tiles are of size 1 × 1,
the blue tiles are of size 1 × 1 and the black tiles are of size 1 × 2. Let
tn denote the number of ways this can be done. For example, clearly
t1 = 2 because we can have either a red or a blue tile. Also, t2 = 5
since we could have tiled the plot as: two red tiles, two blue tiles, a
red tile on the left and a blue tile on the right, a blue tile on the left
and a red tile on the right, or a single black tile.
(a) Prove that t2n+1 = tn (tn−1 + tn+1 ) for all n > 1.
P
n−2d
(b) Prove that tn = d≥0 n−d d
2 for all n > 0.
Here, 
   m!
m , if 0 ≤ r ≤ m ,
= r!(m−r)!
r 0 , otherwise ,
for integers m, r.
Q 6.
Let {un }n≥1 be a sequence of real numbers defined as u1 = 1 and
1
un+1 = un + for all n ≥ 1 .
un
√
3 n
Prove that un ≤ 2
for all n.

2
Q 7.
(a) Let n ≥ 1 be an integer. Prove that X n +Y n +Z n can be written as
a polynomial with integer coefficients in the variables α = X + Y + Z,
β = XY + Y Z + ZX and γ = XY Z.
(b) Let Gn = xn sin(nA) + y n sin(nB) + z n sin(nC), where
x, y, z, A, B, C are real numbers such that A + B + C is an integral
multiple of π. Using (a) or otherwise, show that if G1 = G2 = 0, then
Gn = 0 for all positive integers n.
Q 8.
Let f : [0, 1] → R be a continuous function which is differentiable on
(0, 1). Prove that either f is a linear function f (x) = ax + b or there
exists t ∈ (0, 1) such that |f (1) − f (0)| < |f ′ (t)|.

3
Q1. Find, with proof, all possible values of t such that
� �
1 + 21/3 + 31/3 + · · · + n1/3
lim =c
n→∞ nt

for some real number c > 0. Also find the corresponding values of c.

Q2. Suppose n ≥ 2. Consider the polynomial

Qn (x) = 1 − xn − (1 − x)n .

Show that the equation Qn (x) = 0 has only two real roots, namely 0
and 1.

Q3. Let ABCD be a quadrilateral with all internal angles < π.

Squares are drawn on each side as shown in the picture below. Let
Δ1 , Δ2 , Δ3 and Δ4 denote the areas of the shaded triangles shown.
Prove that
Δ1 − Δ2 + Δ3 − Δ4 = 0.

E G

F
B

A
C

K
J

L
I

1
Q4. Let f : R → R be a function which is differentiable at 0. Define
another function g : R → R as follows:

f (x) sin( 1 ) if x �= 0,
x
g(x) =
0 if x = 0.

Suppose that g is also differentiable at 0. Prove that

g � (0) = f � (0) = f (0) = g(0) = 0.

Q5. Let P (x) be a polynomial with real coefficients. Let α1 , . . . , αk

be the distinct real roots of P (x) = 0. If P � is the derivative of P ,
show that for each i = 1, 2, . . . , k,

(x − αi )P � (x)
lim = ri ,
x→αi P (x)

for some positive integer ri .

�2024
Q6. Let x1 , . . . , x2024 be non-negative real numbers with i=1 xi = 1.
Find, with proof, the minimum and maximum possible values of the
expression
1012
� 2024
�
xi + x2i .
i=1 i=1013

2
Q7. Consider a container of the shape obtained by revolving a segment
of the parabola x = 1 + y 2 around the y-axis as shown below. The
container is initially empty. Water is poured at a constant rate of
1 cm3 /s into the container. Let h(t) be the height of water inside the
container at time t. Find the time t when the rate of change of h(t)
is maximum.

Q8. In a sports tournament involving N teams, each team plays every

other team exactly once. At the end of every match, the winning
team gets 1 point and the losing team gets 0 points. At the end of
the tournament, the total points received by the individual teams are
arranged in decreasing order as follows:

x1 ≥ x2 ≥ · · · ≥ xN .

Prove that for any 1 ≤ k ≤ N ,

N −k k+1
≤ xk ≤ N − .
2 2

3
 CHENNAI MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE
Undergraduate Programme in Mathematics and Computer Science/Physics
Common Entrance Examination
1st August 2021

Enter your Admit Card Number : U

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS
• Points: 40 for part A and 60 for part B. Carefully read the specific instructions given
for each part in the question paper.
• Part A will be used for screening. Part B will be graded only if you score a certain
minimum in part A. However your individual scores in both parts will be used while making
the final decision.
• Enter your answers to part A into the computer as instructed. Each part A question
has four statements, of which at least one is true. You have to select exactly the true
option(s) for each question. Deciding the truth/falsity of all four options correctly is worth
4 points. Getting three out of four correct is worth 1 point. There is no negative marking.
• This booklet is ONLY for part B answers and rough work. For each part B problem,
write your solution on the pages designated for that problem in pages numbered 2 to 13. For
extra space and rough work, use the blank pages numbered 14 to 26 at the end.
• Time allowed: 3 hours. You are advised to leave about 2 hours for part B.

For office use only

Points Remarks Points Remarks

Part A B1

Part B B2

Total B3

B4

B5

B6

Total

1
 Part A

In each question four statements are given, of which at least one is true. Select exactly the
true option(s) for each question. Deciding the truth/falsity of all four options correctly is
worth 4 points. Getting three out of four correct is worth 1 point. There is no negative
marking. Points will be given based only on answers entered into the computer.

1. Consider the two equations numbered [1] and [2]:

log2021 a = 2022 a [1]

b
2021 = 2022 b [2]

(a) Equation [1] has a unique solution.

(b) Equation [2] has a unique solution.
(c) There exists a solution a for [1] and a solution b for [2] such that a = b.
(d) There exists a solution a for [1] and a solution b for [2] such that a+b is an integer.

2. A prime p is an integer 2 whose only positive integer factors are 1 and p.

(a) For any prime p the number p2 p is always divisible by 3.

(b) For any prime p > 3 exactly one of the numbers p 1 and p + 1 is divisible by 6.
(c) For any prime p > 3 the number p2 1 is divisible by 24.
(d) For any prime p > 3 one of the three numbers p + 1, p + 3 and p + 5 is divisible
by 8.

3. We want to construct a triangle ABC such that angle A is 20.21 , side AB has length
1 and side BC has length x where x is a positive real number. Let N (x) = the number
of pairwise noncongruent triangles with the required properties.

(a) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 0.

(b) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 1.
(c) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 2.
(d) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 3.

1
4. Consider polynomials of the form f (x) = x3 + ax2 + bx + c where a, b, c are integers.
Name the three (possibly non-real) roots of f (x) to be p, q, r.

(a) If f (1) = 2021, then f (x) = (x 1)(x2 + sx + t) + 2021 where s, t must be integers.
(b) There is such a polynomial f (x) with c = 2021 and p = 2.
(c) There is such a polynomial f (x) with r = 12 .
(d) The value of p2 + q 2 + r2 does not depend on the value of c.

5. For any complex number z define P (z) = the cardinality of {z k |k is a positive integer},
i.e., the number of distinct positive integer powers of z. It may be useful to remember
that ⇡ is an irrational number.

(a) For each positive integer n there is a complex number z such that P (z) = n.
(b) There is a unique complex number z such that P (z) = 3.
(c) If |z| =
6 1, then P (z) is infinite.
(d) P (ei ) is infinite.

6. A stationary point of a function f is a real number r such that f 0 (r) = 0. A polynomial

need not have a stationary point (e.g. x3 + x has none). Consider a polynomial p(x).

(a) If p(x) is of degree 2022, then p(x) must have at least one stationary point.
(b) If the number of distinct real roots of p(x) is 2021, then p(x) must have at least
2020 stationary points.
(c) If the number of distinct real roots of p(x) is 2021, then p(x) can have at most
2020 stationary points.
(d) If r is a stationary point of p(x) AND p00 (r) = 0, then the point (r, p(r)) is neither
a local maximum nor a local minimum point on the graph of p(x).

7. Given three distinct positive constants a, b, c we want to solve the simultaneous equa-
tions
p
ax + by = 2
p
bx + cy = 3

(a) There exists a combination of values for a, b, c such that the above system has
infinitely many solutions (x, y).
(b) There exists a combination of values for a, b, c such that the above system has
exactly one solution (x, y).
(c) Suppose that for a combination of values for a, b, c, the above system has NO
solution. Then 2b < a + c.
(d) Suppose 2b < a + c. Then the above system has NO solution.

2
 8. Given two distinct nonzero vectors v1 and v2 in 3 dimensions, define a sequence of
vectors by

vn+2 = vn ⇥ vn+1 (so v3 = v1 ⇥ v2 , v4 = v2 ⇥ v3 and so on).

Let S = {vn |n = 1, 2, . . .} and U = { |vvnn | |n = 1, 2, . . .}. (Note: Here ⇥ denotes the

cross product of vectors and |v| denotes the magnitude of the vector v. The vector 0
with 0 magnitude, if it occurs in S, is counted. But in that case of course the 0 vector
is not considered while listing elements of U .)

(a) There exist vectors v1 and v2 for which the cardinality of S is 2.

(b) There exist vectors v1 and v2 for which the cardinality of S is 3.
(c) There exist vectors v1 and v2 for which the cardinality of S is 4.
(d) Suppose that for some v1 and v2 , the set S is infinite. Then the set U is also
infinite.

9.
x x4 + x6
f (x) = and g(x) = .
x + sin x e x 1 x2
(a) Limit as x ! 0 of f (x) is 12 .
(b) Limit as x ! 1 of f (x) does not exist.
(c) Limit as x ! 1 of g(x) is finite.
(d) Limit as x ! 0 of g(x) is 720.

10. Let f (u) = tan 1 (u), a function

R v whose domain in the set of all real numbers and whose
⇡ ⇡
range is ( 2 , 2 ). Let g(v) = 0 f (t)dt.

(a) f (1) = ⇡4 .
(b) f (1) + f (2) + f (3) = ⇡.
(c) g is an increasing function on the entire real line.
(d) g is an odd function, i.e., g( x) = g(x) for all real x.

3
 Part B

Each problem is worth 10 points. Clearly explain your entire reasoning unless in-
structed otherwise. No credit will be given without correct reasoning. Partial solutions may
get partial credit. You may solve a later part of a problem by assuming a previous part,
even if you could not do the earlier part.

B1. Solve the following two independent problems on pages 2–3 of the answer booklet.
(i) Let f be a function from domain S to codomain T . Let g be another function from
domain T to codomain U . For each of the blanks below choose a single letter corre-
sponding to one of the four options listed underneath. (It is not necessary that each
choice is used exactly once.) Write your answers on page 2 as a sequence of four letters
in correct order. Do NOT explain your answers.

If g f is one-to-one then f and g .

If g f is onto then f and g .

Option A: must be one-to-one and must be onto.

Option B: must be one-to-one but need not be onto.
Option C: need not be one-to-one but must be onto.
Option D: need not be one-to-one and need not be onto.

Recall: g f is the function defined by g f (a) = g(f (a)). The function f is said
to be one-to-one if, for any a1 and any a2 in S, f (a1 ) = f (a2 ) implies a1 = a2 . The
function f is said to be onto if, for any b in T , there is an a in S such that f (a) = b.

(ii) In the given figure ABCD is a square. Points X and Y , respectively on sides BC and
CD, are such that X lies on the circle with diameter AY . What is the area of the
square ABCD if AX = 4 and AY = 5? (Figure is schematic and not to scale.)
B X C

A D

4
B2. Solve the following two independent problems on pages 4–5 of the answer booklet.

(i) A mother and her two daughters participate in a game show. At first, the mother
tosses a fair coin.

Case 1: If the result is heads, then all three win individual prizes and the game ends.

Case 2: If the result is tails, then each daughter separately throws a fair die and wins
a prize if the result of her die is 5 or 6. (Note that in case 2 there are two independent
throws involved and whether each daughter gets a prize or not is una↵ected by the
other daughter’s throw.)

(a) Suppose the first daughter did not win a prize. What is the probability that the
second daughter also did not win a prize?
(b) Suppose the first daughter won a prize. What is the probability that the second
daughter also won a prize?

(ii) Prove or disprove each of the following statements.

(a) 240 > 20!

1
(b) 1 x
 ln x  x 1 for all x > 0.

B3. You are supposed to create a 7-character long password for your mobile device.

(i) How many 7-character passwords can be formed from the 10 digits and 26 letters?
(Only lowercase letters are taken throughout the problem.) Repeats are allowed, e.g.,
0001a1a is a valid password.

(ii) How many of the passwords contain at least one of the 26 letters and at least one of
the 10 digits? Write your answer in the form: (Answer to part i) (something).

(iii) How many of the passwords contain at least one of the 5 vowels, at least one of the 21
consonants and at least one of the 10 digits? Extend your method for part ii to write
a formula and explain your reasoning.

(iv) Now suppose that in addition to the lowercase letters and digits, you can also use 12
special characters. How many 7-character passwords are there that contain at least
one of the 5 vowels, at least one of the 21 consonants, at least one of the 10 digits and
at least one of the 12 special characters? Write only the final formula analogous to
your answer to part iii. Do NOT explain.

5
B4. Show that there is no polynomial p(x) for which cos(✓) = p(sin ✓) for all angles ✓ in
some nonempty interval.
Hint: Note that x and |x| are di↵erent functions but their values are equal on an interval
(as x = |x| for all x 0). You may want to show as a first step that this cannot happen for
two polynomials, i.e., if polynomials f and g satisfy f (x) = g(x) for all x in some interval,
then f and g must be equal as polynomials, i.e., in each degree they must have the same
coefficient.

B5. Define a function f as follows: f (0) = 0 and, for any x > 0,

Z L ⇣ Z 1 ⌘
1 1
f (x) = lim cos(t)dt or, in simpler notation, the improper integral cos(t)dt .
L!1 1 t2 1 t2
x x

(i) Show that the definition makes sense for any x > 0 by justifying why the limit in the
definition exists, i.e., why the improper integral converges.
(ii) Find f 0 ( ⇡1 ) if it exists. Clearly indicate the basic result(s) you are using.
(iii) Using the hint or otherwise, find limh!0+ f (h) h f (0) , i.e., the right hand derivative of f
at x = 0. We can take the limit only from the right hand side because f (x) is undefined for
negative values of x.
Hint: Break f (h) into two terms by using a standard technique with an appropriate choice.
Then separately analyze the resulting two terms in the derivative.

B6. n and k are positive integers, not necessarily distinct. You are given two stacks of cards
with a number written on each card, as follows.
Stack A has n cards. On each card a number in the set {1, . . . , k} is written.
Stack B has k cards. On each card a number in the set {1, . . . , n} is written.
Numbers may repeat in either stack. From this, you play a game by constructing a sequence
t0 , t1 , t2 , . . . of integers as follows. Set t0 = 0. For j > 0, there are two cases:
If tj  0, draw the top card of stack A. Set tj+1 = tj + the number written on this card.
If tj > 0, draw the top card of stack B. Set tj+1 = tj the number written on this card.
In either case discard the taken card and continue. The game ends when you try to draw
from an empty stack. Example: Let n = 5, k = 3, stack A = 1, 3, 2, 3, 2 and stack B = 2, 5, 1.
You can check that the game ends with the sequence 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 1 (and with one
card from stack A left unused).
(i) Prove that for every j we have n + 1  tj  k.
(ii) Prove that there are at least two distinct indices i and j such that ti = tj .
(iii) Using the previous parts or otherwise, prove that there is a nonempty subset of cards
in stack A and another subset of cards in stack B such that the sum of numbers in
both the subsets is same.

6
 2021 CMI BSc entrance examination

Part A Answers with explanation

1. Consider the two equations numbered [1] and [2]:

log2021 a = 2022 a [1]

2021b = 2022 b [2]

(a) Equation [1] has a unique solution.

(b) Equation [2] has a unique solution.
(c) There exists a solution a for [1] and a solution b for [2] such that a = b.
(d) There exists a solution a for [1] and a solution b for [2] such that a+b is an integer.

Correct options: a,b,d Wrong: c

a = 2021, b = 1 is the unique solution. (This can also be solved qualitatively, e.g., the
graph of y = 2022 x is decreasing, with range the set of real numbers. It is easy
to see that it must intersect each of the graphs y = 2021x and y = log2021 x (both
of which are increasing) exactly once. Substituting c = 2022 a, the first equation
is equivalent to 2021c = 2022 c, which is the same as the second equation, so the
(unique) solutions c and b are equal, i.e., b = c = 2022 a, so a + b = 2022. If a = b,
both would need to be 1011, which is manifestly not a solution to either equation.)

2. A prime p is an integer ≥ 2 whose only positive integer factors are 1 and p.

(a) For any prime p the number p2 p is always divisible by 3.

(b) For any prime p > 3 exactly one of the numbers p 1 and p + 1 is divisible by 6.
2
(c) For any prime p > 3 the number p 1 is divisible by 24.
(d) For any prime p > 3 one of the three numbers p + 1, p + 3 and p + 5 is divisible
by 8.

Correct options: b,c Wrong: a,d

(a) is false for any number that is 2 modulo 3, in particular for 2. To see that (b) and
(c) are true, note that any prime p greater than 3 is not divisible by 3, so p is either
1 mod 3 (which makes p 1 divisible by 3) or 2 mod 3 (which makes p + 1 divisible
by 3). Note also that both p 1 and p + 1 are even, which gives (b). In fact they
are consecutive even numbers, so one of them is a multiple of 4, making their product
p2 1 a multiple of 8, giving (c). Finally, note that any prime p that is 1 mod 8 violates
(d), e.g., p = 17.

1
3. We want to construct a triangle ABC such that angle A is 20.21◦ , side AB has length
1 and side BC has length x where x is a positive real number. Let N (x) = the number
of pairwise noncongruent triangles with the required properties.

(a) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 0.

(b) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 1.
(c) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 2.
(d) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 3.

Correct options: a,b,c Wrong: d

Draw a ray with endpoint A. The point C will be chosen on this ray later on. Draw a
segment AB of length 1 making an angle 20.21◦ with this ray. Now, to fulfil the required
properties, a necessary and sufficient condition for C is that it is on the original ray as
well as on the circle with center B and radius x. As x increases from 0, the number
of intersections of the expanding circle with the ray goes from 0 to 1 (when ABC is a
right angled triangle, i.e., when x = sin 20.21◦ ) to 2 and finally back to 1.

4. Consider polynomials of the form f (x) = x3 + ax2 + bx + c where a, b, c are integers.

Name the three (possibly non-real) roots of f (x) to be p, q, r.

(a) If f (1) = 2021, then f (x) = (x 1)(x2 + sx + t) + 2021 where s, t must be integers.
(b) There is such a polynomial f (x) with c = 2021 and p = 2.
(c) There is such a polynomial f (x) with r = 21 .
(d) The value of p2 + q 2 + r2 does not depend on the value of c.

Correct options: a,d Wrong: b,c

(a) is true by the remainder theorem. Long division automatically gives integers s, t.
Uniqueness of quotient and remainder for polynomial long division means those are the
only values of s, t that work. (b) is false by substituting x = 2 into f (x) and noting that
c = 2021 forces f (2) to be odd, in particular nonzero. To see that (c) is false, substitute
x = 21 into f (x), multiply by 8 to clear denominators and see that the leading term
makes the integer 8f ( 12 ) odd. So f ( 21 ) is nonzero. (General version of (b) and (c) that
one gets by the similar reasoning: suppose a polynomial p(x) with integer coefficients
has a rational root rs written in lowest form. Then the leading coefficient of p(x) is
divisible by s and the constant term of p(x) is divisible by r. Often used special case: for
a polynomial p(x) = xn + lower terms with integer coefficients, any rational root must
be an integer.) For (d) note that p2 +q 2 +r2 = (p+q +r)2 2(pq +pr +qr) = ( a)2 2b
does not depend on c.

2
5. For any complex number z define P (z) = the cardinality of {z k |k is a positive integer},
i.e., the number of distinct positive integer powers of z. It may be useful to remember
that π is an irrational number.

(a) For each positive integer n there is a complex number z such that P (z) = n.
(b) There is a unique complex number z such that P (z) = 3.
(c) If |z| =
6 1, then P (z) is infinite.
(d) P (ei ) is infinite.

Correct options: a,c,d Wrong: b

2πi
(a) is true by z = e n or any primitive nth root of unity. (b) is false: there are 2
2πi
primitive third roots of 1, namely ω = e 3 and ω 2 . (c) is true because then each |z i |
is a distinct positive real number. (d) is true because P (z) is finite only if powers of
z cycle back to 1, which happens for z = reiθ only if (r = 1 and) the argument θ is a
rational multiple of π. But for z = ei , we have θ = 1.

6. A stationary point of a function f is a real number r such that f 0 (r) = 0. A polynomial

need not have a stationary point (e.g. x3 + x has none). Consider a polynomial p(x).

(a) If p(x) is of degree 2022, then p(x) must have at least one stationary point.
(b) If the number of distinct real roots of p(x) is 2021, then p(x) must have at least
2020 stationary points.
(c) If the number of distinct real roots of p(x) is 2021, then p(x) can have at most
2020 stationary points.
(d) If r is a stationary point of p(x) AND p00 (r) = 0, then the point (r, p(r)) is neither
a local maximum nor a local minimum point on the graph of p(x).

Correct options: a,b Wrong: c,d

(a) p0 (x) is a polynomial of degree 2021, which is odd, so it has a root by intermediate
value theorem by looking at behaviour as x → ±∞. (b) The graph of p(x) has to turn
between any two consecutive zeros, giving a stationary point, in fact a local max/min
(c) The graph of p(x) can turn more than once between zeros, or turn outside extreme
zeros or have stationary points that are not maxima or minima. (d) is false, e.g.,
p(x) = x4 .

3
7. Given three distinct positive constants a, b, c we want to solve the simultaneous equa-
tions
√
ax + by = 2
√
bx + cy = 3

(a) There exists a combination of values for a, b, c such that the above system has
infinitely many solutions (x, y).
(b) There exists a combination of values for a, b, c such that the above system has
exactly one solution (x, y).
(c) Suppose that for a combination of values for a, b, c, the above system has NO
solution. Then 2b < a + c.
(d) Suppose 2b < a + c. Then the above system has NO solution.

Correct options: a,b,c Wrong: d

Each of the given equations defines a line in the XY plane. (a) One can arrange
both lines to√ be identical by having each equation a scalar multiple of the other, e.g.,
a = 1, b = √32 , c = 32 . (b) There is a unique solution when the two lines are distinct
and not parallel. (c) The two lines are given to be parallel. So slopes are equal, i.e.,
b2 = ac. Thus b is the geometric mean of a and c, so b < the arithmetic mean a+c 2
.
2
(Recall that a, b, c are distinct and positive.) (d) is absurd. Just ensure b 6= ac.

8. Given two distinct nonzero vectors v1 and v2 in 3 dimensions, define a sequence of

vectors by

vn+2 = vn × vn+1 (so v3 = v1 × v2 , v4 = v2 × v3 and so on).

Let S = {vn |n = 1, 2, . . .} and U = { |vvnn | |n = 1, 2, . . .}. (Note: Here × denotes the

cross product of vectors and |v| denotes the magnitude of the vector v. The vector 0
with 0 magnitude, if it occurs in S, is counted. But in that case of course the 0 vector
is not considered while listing elements of U .)

(a) There exist vectors v1 and v2 for which the cardinality of S is 2.

(b) There exist vectors v1 and v2 for which the cardinality of S is 3.
(c) There exist vectors v1 and v2 for which the cardinality of S is 4.
(d) Suppose that for some v1 and v2 , the set S is infinite. Then the set U is also
infinite.

Correct options: b,c Wrong: a,d

4
 It is easiest to do this geometrically, remembering that the cross product p×q of vectors
p and q is perpendicular to both of them and |p × q| = |p| |q| sin(angle between p
and q) = |p| |q| if p and q are perpendicular. The cross product of nonzero vectors is
zero if and only if the vectors are collinear. It is easy to see that the only way the zero
vector is in S is if v3 is zero, which will happen only when the nonzero vectors v1 and
v2 are collinear, and in that case the sequence is zero all the way from v3 onwards.

As the starting vectors v1 and v2 are distinct and nonzero, the third vector v3 = v1 ×v2 ,
being perpendicular to both v1 and v2 , is distinct from them. This is true even if v3
is 0 due to v1 and v2 being collinear. So (a) is false.

Basic calculation. Taking v1 = i and v2 = j, the sequence cycles: i, j, k, i, j, k, . . ., so

(b) is true. (c) is also true because we can arrange the sequence to be the following:
a vector not in {i, j, k}, j, k, i, j, k, . . . (e.g., take v1 = i + j and v2 = j. The basic
calculation repeats after v3 .) Note that any vector in the sequence depends only on
the previous two vectors.

(d) is false. The set S can easily be infinite (e.g., if you start with i and 2j, the mag-
nitudes of subsequent vectors will keep increasing), but U is always finite. First note
that the cycle of three vectors occurs whenever one starts with any two perpendicular
vectors of unit length. Now U consists of unit vectors in the direction of each nonzero
vector in S. So depending on the angle θ between v1 and v2 , the cardinality of U is
either 1 (when θ = 0), 2 (when θ = π), 3 (when θ = π/2) or 4 (in all other cases,
because v2 and v3 are still perpendicular).

9.
x x 4 + x6
f (x) = and g(x) = .
x + sin x e x 1 x2
(a) Limit as x → 0 of f (x) is 21 .
(b) Limit as x → ∞ of f (x) does not exist.
(c) Limit as x → ∞ of g(x) is finite.
(d) Limit as x → 0 of g(x) is 720.

Correct options: a,c Wrong: b,d

Calculate (a) and (c) using L’Hôpital’s rule. (Or in (a) use that sin x behaves like x
near 0 and in (c) the limit is 0 because ex dominates any polynomial for large x.) In
x
(b) the limit is 1 as f (x) is sandwiched between x±1 , both of which → 1. L’Hôpital’s
rule is not applicable as the expression one gets after attempting it does not have a
limit as x → ∞, so L’Hôpital’s rule does not tell us anything. In (d) the limit is 0 by
L’Hôpital’s rule used correctly. Only one application is enough.

5
 10. Let f (u) = tan×1 (u), a function
R v whose domain in the set of all real numbers and whose
π π
range is ( 2 , 2 ). Let g(v) = 0 f (t)dt.

(a) f (1) = π4 .
(b) f (1) + f (2) + f (3) = π.
(c) g is an increasing function on the entire real line.
(d) g is an odd function, i.e., g( x) = g(x) for all real x.

Correct options: a,b Wrong: c,d

(a) is direct and (b) is a straightforward calculation using the formula for tan(A + B)
keeping in mind the range of tan×1 . By the fundamental theorem of calculus, g 0 (x) =
f (x), so g is increasing when f is positive, which is true only in (0, ∞). g is an
even
R q function Rasp its derivative f is odd. Note that g(x) is defined for all real x as
p
f (t)dt = q
f (t)dt.

Part B Solutions

B1. Solve the following two independent problems on pages 2{3 of the answer booklet.

(i) Let f be a function from domain S to codomain T . Let g be another function from
domain T to codomain U . For each of the blanks below choose a single letter corre-
sponding to one of the four options listed underneath. (It is not necessary that each
choice is used exactly once.) Write your answers on page 2 as a sequence of four letters
in correct order. Do NOT explain your answers.

If g ◦ f is one-to-one then f B and g D .

If g ◦ f is onto then f D and g C .

Option A: must be one-to-one and must be onto.

Option B: must be one-to-one but need not be onto.
Option C: need not be one-to-one but must be onto.
Option D: need not be one-to-one and need not be onto.

Recall: g ◦ f is the function defined by g ◦ f (a) = g(f (a)). The function f is said
to be one-to-one if, for any a1 and any a2 in S, f (a1 ) = f (a2 ) implies a1 = a2 . The
function f is said to be onto if, for any b in T , there is an a in S such that f (a) = b.

6
 (ii) In the given figure ABCD is a square. Points X and Y , respectively on sides BC and
CD, are such that X lies on the circle with diameter AY . What is the area of the
square ABCD if AX = 4 and AY = 5? (Figure is schematic and not to scale.)

B X C

A D

Solution: AXY is a right angle, being an angle in a semicircle. Therefore by Pythagoras,

XY = 3. Triangles ABX and XCY are similar, because both are right angled triangles and
at the point X the three angles add to 180◦ , with the middle angle AXY being a right angle.
We have the following three equations in three unknowns.
AB 4
= by similarity BX + CX = AB AB 2 + BX 2 = 16.
CX 3
Solving these gives the answer, e.g., CX = 43 AB by the first equation, so BX = 14 AB by
1 2
the second equation, so AB 2 + 16 AB 2 = 16 by the third equation, so area = AB 2 = 16
17
.

B2. Solve the following two independent problems on pages 4{5 of the answer booklet.

(i) A mother and her two daughters participate in a game show. At first, the mother
tosses a fair coin.

Case 1: If the result is heads, then all three win individual prizes and the game ends.

Case 2: If the result is tails, then each daughter separately throws a fair die and wins
a prize if the result of her die is 5 or 6. (Note that in case 2 there are two independent
throws involved and whether each daughter gets a prize or not is unaffected by the
other daughter’s throw.)

(a) Suppose the first daughter did not win a prize. What is the probability that the
second daughter also did not win a prize?
Solution: Since the first daughter did not win a prize, the coin toss must have
shown tails. Now the second daughter does not win precisely when she throws 1,
2, 3 or 4. The probability of this is unaffected by the first daughter’s throw. So
the desired probability is 46 = 23 . One can also do this more pedantically in a way
similar to part (b), see below.

7
 (b) Suppose the first daughter won a prize. What is the probability that the second
daughter also won a prize?
Solution: Let T = the event that the coin toss gives tails. Similarly H = heads,
F = first daughter wins, S = second daughter wins. We want P(S | F). Note that
the outcome of the throw of each die is independent of that of the other die and
is unaffected by the coin toss that preceded it.
P(S | F) = P(S & F)/P(F) = ( 59 )/( 23 ) = 5
6
because
1
P(F) = P(H) + P(T) P(first die = 5 or 6 | T) = 2
+ 21 26 = 23 , and
1
P(S & F) = P(H) + P(T) P(each die = 5 or 6 | T) = 2
+ 12 ( 26 )2 = 59 .
We can also solve part (a) similarly to find the desired P(not S | not F).
P(not S | not F) = P((not S) & (not F))/ P(not F) = 64 because
P(not F) = P(T) P(1 ≤ first die ≤ 4 | T) = 21 46 , and
P((not S) & (not F)) = P(T) P(1 ≤ both dice ≤ 4 | T) = 12 ( 64 )2 .

(ii) Prove or disprove each of the following statements.

(a) 240 > 20!
Solution: False. In fact 262 > 20! > 261 , so even crude estimation is enough
to solve this. For example LHS = 240 = 420 = 4 × 4 × · · · × 4 (20 times).
RHS = 1 × 2 × · · · × 20. Consider the ratio RHS/LHS and pair the 20 numbers
in each product. The initial three fractions less than 1, namely 41 , 24 , 34 are easily
overpowered by the remaining ones, e.g., they are individually matched by 16 , 8, 6.
4 4 4
(OR, using 2 × 3 > 22 , 4 × · · · × 7 > 44 = 28 , 8 × · · · × 15 > 88 = 224 and
16 × · · · × 20 > 165 = 220 , one gets 20! > 254 .)
1
(b) 1 x
≤ ln x ≤ x 1 for all x > 0.
Solution: True. Let f (x) = x 1 ln x. By analyzing the sign of f 0 (x) = 1 x1
(or by looking at the sign of f 00 (x)), see that f (x) has a global minimum at x = 1
and that this minimum value is 0, giving ln x ≤ x 1. For the other inequality,
substitute x = 1t in ln x ≤ x 1 to get ln 1t = ln t ≤ 1t 1, i.e., 1 1t ≤ ln t
for all t such that 1t > 0, which is equivalent to having the same inequality for all
t > 0. So we may replace t by x, giving the desired result. (Of course, it is also
possible to repeat the earlier logic by analyzing ln x 1 + x1 .)

B3. You are supposed to create a 7-character long password for your mobile device.
(i) How many 7-character passwords can be formed from the 10 digits and 26 letters?
(Only lowercase letters are taken throughout the problem.) Repeats are allowed, e.g.,
0001a1a is a valid password.
Solution: For each character there are 36 choices. So number of passwords = 367 .

8
 (ii) How many of the passwords contain at least one of the 26 letters and at least one of
the 10 digits? Write your answer in the form: (Answer to part i) (something).

Solution: From 367 remove 267 passwords containing only letters and 107 passwords
containing only digits. Required number = 367 (267 + 107 ).

(iii) How many of the passwords contain at least one of the 5 vowels, at least one of the 21
consonants and at least one of the 10 digits? Extend your method for part ii to write
a formula and explain your reasoning.

Solution: Apply the inclusion exclusion principle or use a Venn diagram. Out of 367
passwords, 317 contain no vowels (V), 157 contain no consonants (C) and 267 contain no
digits (D). As first step we take 367 (317 missing V + 157 missing C + 267 missing D).
But this removes the passwords without two types of characters (i.e., those containing
only one type of character) twice. So we need to add these back so as to effectively
remove them only once. So we need to add (107 missing VC + 217 missing VD + 57
missing CD). So the final answer is

367 (317 + 157 + 267 ) + (107 + 217 + 57 ).

(iv) Now suppose that in addition to the lowercase letters and digits, you can also use 12
special characters. How many 7-character passwords are there that contain at least
one of the 5 vowels, at least one of the 21 consonants, at least one of the 10 digits and
at least one of the 12 special characters? Write only the final formula analogous to
your answer to part iii. Do NOT explain.

Solution: The answer is

487 (437 + 277 + 387 + 367 ) + (227 + 337 + 177 + 317 + 157 + 267 ) + (57 + 217 + 107 + 127 ).

A password missing one type of character is subtracted only in the second term. A
password missing two types of character is subtracted twice in the second term, so
added once in the third term. A password
missing three types of character is subtracted
thrice in the second term, added back 32 = 3 times in the third term and subtracted
once in the last term. (This is easier to understand as an application of the inclusion
exclusion principle. Venn diagram gets harder to keep track of as there are more
possibilities for overlaps.)

B4. Show that there is no polynomial p(x) for which cos(θ) = p(sin θ) for all angles θ in
some nonempty interval.
Hint: Note that x and |x| are different functions but their values are equal on an interval
(as x = |x| for all x ≥ 0). You may want to show as a first step that this cannot happen for
two polynomials, i.e., if polynomials f and g satisfy f (x) = g(x) for all x in some interval,

9
then f and g must be equal as polynomials, i.e., in each degree they must have the same
coefficient.
Solution: To prove the assertion in the hint, note that the polynomial f g would have
infinitely many roots and hence must be the zero polynomial.
Suppose a polynomial p satisfies cos(θ) = p(sin θ) for θ in an interval. Let t = sin θ. Then
the following equality is true for the (infinitely many) values of t in some nonempty interval:

p(t)2 = cos2 (θ) = 1 sin2 (θ) = 1 t2 .

By the hint, this forces the polynomial 1 x2 to be the square of the polynomial p(x). But
1 x2 is not a square because, e.g., the square of the leading coefficient would need to be
1, which cannot happen. (Or p would need to be a linear polynomial ax + b, etc.)
Note: The italicized part “in some nonempty interval” at the end of the problem statement
was missing in the actual exam due to oversight. As sin of two angles can be equal without
their cos being equal, a very easy solution now becomes possible, e.g., just plug in θ = 0 and
θ = π to get p(0) = 1 as well as p(0) = 1. So in fact there cannot be any function (not
just polynomial) p such that cos(θ) = p(sin θ) for ALL angles θ. In the exam, everyone who
gave any correct solution to the problem as stated there was given full credit.

B5. Define a function f as follows: f (0) = 0 and, for any x > 0,

Z L Z ∞
1  1 
f (x) = lim cos(t)dt or, in simpler notation, the improper integral cos(t)dt .
L→∞ 1 t2 1 t2
x x

(i) Show that the definition makes sense for any x > 0 by justifying why the limit in the
definition exists, i.e., why the improper integral converges.
Solution: As | cos(t)| ≤ 1, the integral defining f (x) is in fact absolutely convergent.
Z ∞ Z ∞
1 1 1 ∞
2
cos(t) dt ≤ 2
dt = = x.
1
x
t 1
x
t t 1
x

(ii) Find f 0 ( π1 ) if it exists. Clearly indicate the basic result(s) you are using.
df
Solution: For x 6= 0, let u = x1 . By the fundamental theorem of calculus1 , du = 1
u2
cos(u) =
2 1 du 1 df 1 0 1
x cos( x ). Since dx = x2 , by chain rule dx = cos( x ), so f ( π ) = cos(π) = 1.
(iii) Using the hint or otherwise, find limh→0+ f (h)×f
h
(0)
, i.e., the right hand derivative of f
at x = 0. We can take the limit only from the right hand side because f (x) is undefined for
negative values of x.
Hint: Break f (h) into two terms by using a standard technique with an appropriate choice.
Then separately analyze the resulting two terms in the derivative.
1
To use the standard version of the fundamental theorem where the lower endpoint is a fixed finite
R x1 1
number, take some positive constant K. Then f (x) = K t2
cos(t)dt + a constant (by part i).

10
Solution: Integrate by parts using u = t12 and dv = cos(t)dt. Then du = 2
t3
dt and
v = sin(t). (The method below does not work with u = cos(t) and dv = t12 dt.) So

1 ∞ 1 1 sin(t) ∞ 1 ∞ 2 sin(t)
Z Z
f (h) f (0)
= cos(t)dt = + dt.
h h h1 t2 h t2 h1 h h1 t3
∞
1 sin(t)
The first term in the sum = h t2 1
= h sin( h1 ) → 0 as h → 0+ , where we have twice used
h
that | sin(t)| ≤ 1 for all t. For the the second term, by logic similar to part (i) we get

1 ∞ 2 sin(t) 1 ∞ 2
Z Z
1 ×2 ∞
dt ≤ dt = t 1 = h → 0 as h → 0+ .
h h1 t3 h h1 t3 h h

So the desired limit is 0.

Rx
Note: Substituting s = 1t gives f (x) = the simpler looking improper integral 0 cos( 1s )ds.
This makesR x parts (i) and (ii) more transparent. Now x < 0 is also ok in the improper
1
integral 0 cos( s )ds. For the function g(x) defined by this new integral, the above analysis
gives one way to show that g 0 (0) exists (see math.stackexchange.com/questions/2127903). g
is differentiable everywhere (the only case requiring work being x = 0) but the derivative is
not continuous at x = 0, as g 0 does not have a limit at x = 0.

B6. n and k are positive integers, not necessarily distinct. You are given two stacks of cards
with a number written on each card, as follows.
Stack A has n cards. On each card a number in the set {1, . . . , k} is written.
Stack B has k cards. On each card a number in the set {1, . . . , n} is written.
Numbers may repeat in either stack. From this, you play a game by constructing a sequence
t0 , t1 , t2 , . . . of integers as follows. Set t0 = 0. For j > 0, there are two cases:
If tj ≤ 0, draw the top card of stack A. Set tj+1 = tj + the number written on this card.
If tj > 0, draw the top card of stack B. Set tj+1 = tj the number written on this card.
In either case discard the taken card and continue. The game ends when you try to draw
from an empty stack. Example: Let n = 5, k = 3, stack A = 1, 3, 2, 3, 2 and stack B = 2, 5, 1.
You can check that the game ends with the sequence 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 1 (and with one
card from stack A left unused).

(i) Prove that for every j we have n + 1 ≤ tj ≤ k.

(ii) Prove that there are at least two distinct indices i and j such that ti = tj .

(iii) Using the previous parts or otherwise, prove that there is a nonempty subset of cards
in stack A and another subset of cards in stack B such that the sum of numbers in
both the subsets is same.

11
Solution: (i) Induction. Base case is true as t0 = 0. Assume the result up to tj . Now there
are two cases. If tj ∈ [ n + 1, 0] then tj+1 = tj + a number from stack A, which is between
1 and k, so tj+1 ∈ [( n + 1) + lowest possibility 1, 0 + highest possibility k] ⊂ [ n + 1, k].
If tj ∈ [1, k] then tj+1 = tj a number from stack B, which is between 1 and n, so tj+1 ∈
[1 highest possibility n, k lowest possibility 1] ⊂ [ n + 1, k].
(ii) Suppose the game ends when we try to draw from stack B. As there are k cards in stack
B, in all we must have tried to draw k + 1 times from stack B. At each one of these attempts,
the value of tj must have been positive and by part (i) each one of these k + 1 numbers is
between 1 and k (inclusive). So there must be a repeat among these k + 1 numbers.
If the game ends when we try to draw from stack A, the argument is parallel: there must
have been n + 1 attempts to draw from stack A, each one resulting from a value of tj that
lies among the n numbers from (n 1) to 0, so there must be a repeat.
(iii) Suppose ti = tj . Then, from the set of cards drawn at steps i + 1, . . . , j the sum of the
cards from stack A must equal the sum of the cards from stack B.

12
 CHENNAI MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE
Undergraduate Entrance Examination, May 2022
Time: 3.5 hours

Unless specified otherwise, in this exam all numbers are real and “function” means a function whose
codomain as well as domain is the set of all real numbers (or an implied subset).

Part A instructions

• Part A has 10 questions, each worth 4 points, for a total of 40. Every question
has a group of four statements. (These statements are numbered 1 to 40 for technical
reasons.) For each statement, independently choose one of the three given options:
True / False / No Attempt. In particular there is no guarantee that at least one of the
four statements in a given question is true.

• Grading scheme. Each question will be graded as follows.

All 4 answers correct 4 points Note that getting even one of the four
3 correct and 1 No Attempt 2 points answers wrong will result in zero points
for that question. So if you are not sure,
2 correct and 2 No Attempt 1 point you are advised to choose No Attempt
instead of guessing.
Anything else 0 points

• Enter your answers to part A into the computer. Points for part A will be given
based only on answers entered into the computer. If you do not choose an option for
a statement, it will be treated as No Attempt.

• Part A will be used for screening. Part B is assured to be graded if you meet
any one of the following two conditions. (i) You score at least 24 in part A. (ii) You
are among the top 400 students in part A. Thus part B will be graded for at least 400
students, more if enough students score at least 24 in part A.

Part B instructions

• Part B has 6 problems worth a total of 80 points. See each question for the
break-up. You are advised to spend at least 2 hours on part B.

• Clearly explain your entire reasoning. No credit will be given without correct
reasoning. Partial solutions may get partial credit. You may solve a later part of a
problem by assuming a previous part, even if you could not do the earlier part.

• Solve each part B problem on the designated pages in the answer booklet. Use
the blank pages at the end for rough work OR if you need extra space for any problem.
Clearly label any such solution overflowing to last pages. For problems with multiple
parts, clearly label your solution to each part separately.
 CMI BSc entrance exam on May 22, 2022

Part A. Select True or False or No Attempt for each statement.

A1. Suppose a0 , a1 , a2 , a3 , . . . is an arithmetic progression with a0 and a1 positive integers.

Let g0 , g1 , g2 , g3 , . . . be the geometric progression such that g0 = a0 and g1 = a1 .

Statements

(1) We must have (a5 )2 ≥ a0 a10 .

(2) The sum a0 + a1 + − − − + a10 must be a multiple of the integer a5 .

(3) If ∞
P P∞
i=0 ai is +∞ then i=0 gi is also +∞.

(4) If ∞
P P∞
i=0 gi is finite then i=0 ai is ×∞.

A2. Any two events X and Y are called mutually exclusive when the probability P (X and Y ) =
0 and they are called exhaustive when P (X or Y ) = 1. Suppose A and B are events and the
probability of each of these two events is strictly between 0 and 1 (i.e., 0 < P (A) < 1 and
0 < P (B) < 1).

Statements

(5) A and B are mutually exclusive if and only if not A and not B are exhaustive.
(6) A and B are independent if and only if not A and not B are independent.
(7) A and B cannot be simultaneously independent and exhaustive.
(8) A and B cannot be simultaneously mutually exclusive and exhaustive.
   
1 2 3 x
A3. Let A = 10 20
 30 and v = y , where k is a constant and x, y, z are variables.
 
11 22 k z

Statements

(9) Regardless of the value of k, the matrix A is not invertible, i.e., there is no 3 ≤ 3 matrix
B such that BA = the 3 ≤ 3 identity matrix.

(10) There is a unique k such that determinant of A is 0.  

0
(11) The set of solutions (x, y, z) of the matrix equation Av = 0 is either a line or a plane

0
containing the origin.  
p
(12) If the equation Av = q  has a solution, then it must be true that q = 10p.

r
A4. Consider the following conditions on a function f whose domain is the closed interval
[0,1]. (For any condition involving a limit, at the endpoints, use the relevant one-sided limit.)
I. f is differentiable at each x ∈ [0, 1].
II. f is continuous at each x ∈ [0, 1].
III. The set {f (x) | x ∈ [0, 1]} has a maximum element and a minimum element.

Statements

(13) If I is true, then II is true.

(14) If II is true, then III is true.

(15) If III is false, then I is false.

(16) No two of the three given conditions are equivalent to each other. (Two statements
being equivalent means each implies the other.)

A5. Statements
1
(17) Let a = ln 3
. Then 3a = e.

(18) sin(0.02) < 2 sin(0.01).

(19) arctan(0.01) > 0.01.

R1
(20) 4 0 arctan(x)dx = π × ln 4 .

A6. Let !
1 1
f (x) = + cos x .
| ln x| x

Statements

(21) As x → ∞, the sign of f (x) changes infinitely many times.

(22) As x → ∞, the limit of f (x) does not exist.

(23) As x → 1, f (x) → ∞.

(24) As x → 0+ , f (x) → 1.
A7. Let f0 (x) = x. For x > 0, define functions inductively by fn+1 (x) = xfn (x) . So
x
f1 (x) = xx , f2 (x) = xx , etc. Note that f0 (1) = f00 (1) = 1.
Statements
(25) As x → 0+ , f1 (x) → 1.
(26) As x → 0+ , f2 (x) → 1.
R1
(27) 0 f3 (x)dx = 1.
(28) The derivative of f123 at x = 1 is 1.

A8. Let N = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9} and L = {a, b, c}.

Statements
(29) Suppose we arrange the 12 elements of L ∪ N in a line such that all three letters appear
consecutively (in any order). The number such arrangements is less than 10! ≤ 5.
(30) More than half of the functions from N to L have the element b in their range.
(31) The number of one-to-one functions from L to N is less than 512.
(32) The number of functions from N to L that do not map consecutive numbers to consec-
utive letters is greater than 512. (e.g., f (1) = b and f (2) = a or c is not allowed. f (1) = a
and f (2) = c is allowed. So is f (1) = f (2).)

A9. In this question z denotes a non-real complex number, i.e., a number of the form a + ib
1
(with a, b real) whose imaginary part b is nonzero. Let f (z) = z 222 + z222 .
Statements
(33) If |z| = 1, then f (z) must be real.
1
(34) If z + z
= 1, then f (z) = 2.
1
(35) If z + z
is real, then |f (z)| ≤ 2.
(36) If f (z) is a real number, then f (z) must be positive.

A10. Suppose that cards numbered 1, 2, . . . , n are placed on a line in some sequence (with
each integer i ∈ [1, n] appearing exactly once). A move consists of interchanging the card
labeled 1 with any other card. If it is possible to rearrange the cards in increasing order by
doing a series of moves, we say that the given sequence can be rectified.
Statements
(37) The sequence 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 can be rectified in 8 moves and no fewer moves.
(38) The sequence 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 can be rectified in 8 moves and no fewer moves.
(39) The sequence 1 3 4 2 9 5 6 7 8 cannot be rectified.
(40) There exists a sequence of 99 cards that cannot be rectified.
 Part B. Explain your reasoning fully.

B1. [11 points] Given 4XY Z, the following constructions are made: mark point W on
segment XZ, point P on segment XW and point Q on segment Y Z such that
WZ PW QZ
= = = k.
YX XP YQ

See the schematic figure (not to scale). Extend segments QP and Y X to meet at the point
R as shown. Prove that XR = XP .
Hint (use this or your own method): A suitable construction may help in calculations.

P W

Y Z
Q

B2. [11 points] In the XY plane, draw horizontal and vertical lines through each integer on
both axes so as to get a grid of small 1 ≤ 1 squares whose vertices have integer coordinates.

(i) Consider the line segment D joining (0,0) with (m, n). Find the number of small 1 ≤ 1
squares that D cuts through, i.e., squares whose interiors D intersects. (Interiors consist
of points for which both coordinates are non-integers.) For example, the line segment
joining (0,0) and (2,3) cuts through 4 small squares, as you can check by drawing.

(ii) Now L is allowed to be an arbitrary line in the plane. Find the maximum number
of small 1 ≤ 1 squares in an n ≤ n grid that L can cut through, i.e., we want L to
intersect the interiors of maximum possible number of small squares inside the square
with vertices (0, 0), (n, 0), (0, n) and (n, n).
B3. [14 points] For a positive integer n, let f (x) = ni=0 xi = 1 + x + x2 + − − − + xn . Find
P
the number of local maxima of f (x). Find the number of local minima of f (x). For each
maximum/minimum (c, f (c)), find the integer k such that k ≤ c < k + 1.
Hints (use these or your own method): It may be helpful to (i) look at small n, (ii) use the
definition of f as well as a closed formula, and (iii) treat x ≥ 0 and x < 0 separately.

B4. [14 points] Let R+ denote the set of positive real numbers. For a continuous function
f : R+ → R+ , define
Ar = the area bounded by the graph of f , X-axis, x = 1 and x = r
Br = the area bounded by the graph of f , X-axis, x = r and x = r2 .
Find all continuous f : R+ → R+ for which Ar = Br for every positive number r.
Hints (use these or your own method): Find an equation relating f (x) and f (x2 ). Consider
the function xf (x). Suppose a sequence xn converges to b where all xn and b are in the
1
domain of a continuous function g. Then g(xn ) must converge to g(b). E.g., g(3 n ) → g(1).

B5. [15 points] Two distinct real numbers r and s are said to form a good pair (r, s) if
r 3 + s2 = s3 + r 2 .
(i) Find a good pair (a, `) with the largest possible value of `. Find a good pair (s, b) with
the smallest possible value s. For every good pair (c, d) other than the two you found,
show that there is a third real number e such that (d, e) and (c, e) are also good pairs.
(ii) Show that there are infinitely many good pairs of rational numbers.

Hints (use these or your own method): The function f (x) = x3 × x2 may be useful. If (r, s)
is good pair, can you express s in terms of r? You may use that there are infinitely many
right triangles with integer sides such that no two of these triangles are similar to each other.

B6. [15 points] Solve the following. You may do (i) and (ii) in either order.
(i) Let p be a prime number. Show that x2 + x × 1 has at most two roots modulo p, i.e.,
the cardinality of {n | 1 ≤ n ≤ p and n2 + n × 1 is divisible by p} is ≤ 2.
Find all primes p for which this set has cardinality 1.
(ii) Find all positive integers n ≤ 121 such that n2 + n × 1 is divisible by 121.
(iii) What can you say about the number of roots of x2 + x × 1 modulo p2 for an arbitrary
prime p, i.e., the cardinality of
{n | 1 ≤ n ≤ p2 and n2 + n × 1 is divisible by p2 } ?
You do NOT need to repeat any reasoning from previous parts. You may simply refer
to any such relevant reasoning and state your conclusion with a brief explanation.
CMI BSc entrance exam on May 22, 2022
Part A, Correct answers
1. True
2. True
3. True
4. True
5. True
6. True
7. True
8. False
9. True
10. False
11. True
12. True
13. True
14. True
15. True
16. True
17. True
18. True
19. False
20. True
21. True
22. False
23. True
24. False
25. True
26. False
27. False
28. True
29. False
30. True
31. True
32. True
33. True
34. True
35. True
36. False
37. True
38. False
39. False
40. False
 CHENNAI MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE
Undergraduate Programme in Mathematics and Computer Science/Physics
Solutions of the 22nd May 2022 exam

Note: The solutions below consist only of main steps and strategies and do not contain all
the details expected in the exam.

B1. [11 points] Given △XY Z, the following constructions are made: mark point W on
segment XZ, point P on segment XW and point Q on segment Y Z such that
WZ PW QZ
= = = k.
YX XP YQ
See the schematic figure (not to scale). Extend segments QP and Y X to meet at the point
R as shown. Prove that XR = XP .
R

P W

Y Z
Q

Solution: First a construction - mark V on XZ such that QV is parallel to Y R. There are

two cases here depending on whether V is between P W or W Z, however, the arguments are
the same. We assume here that V is between P W . The aim is to show that △V P Q is isosceles
k
and then show that it is similar to △XP R. Use BPT to conclude that V Q = k+1 (XY ).
Using the given ratios find an expression for V Z and substitute it in P V = P Z − V Z to
conclude that P V = V Q.
One can also extend ZX to ZX ′ such that Y X ′ is parallel to P Q. One can then show that
△Y XX ′ is isosceles and similar to △RXP .
Another strategy is to use Menalaus theorem for △XY Z with segment QR as the transversal.
We have:
XR Y Q ZP
= −1.
RY QZ P X
This leads to the following implications leading to the equality we want:
XR · P Z = RY · P W
XY + XR PW + WZ
=
XR PW
XY WZ
=
XR PZ
PW PW
= .
XR XP

1
B2. [11 points] In the XY plane, draw horizontal and vertical lines through each integer on
both axes so as to get a grid of small 1 × 1 squares whose vertices have integer coordinates.

1. Consider the line segment D joining (0, 0) with (m, n). Find the number of small 1 × 1
squares that D cuts through, i.e., squares whose interiors D intersect. For example,
the line segment joining (0, 0) and (2, 3) cuts through 4 small squares.

2. Now let L be an arbitrary line. Find the maximum number of small 1 × 1 squares in
an n × n grid that L can cut through.

Solution: Assume gcd(m, n) = 1. The line D has to cross m−1 vertical as well as horizontal
lines. Moreover, D doesn’t pass through any grid points. Hence, together with the starting
square, we see that D cuts through m + n − 1 squares.
Let gcd(m, n) = d. The above argument is valid from (0, 0) to (m/d, n/d) and so on for d
many sections of D. Therefore the total number of squares D cuts is m + n − d.
Note that in order for L to cut through maximum number of squares it should not pass
through any internal grid point. This is possible for a line joining (0, 0) with (x, n) where
n − 1 < x < n. The required answer is 2n − 1.

2
B3. [14 points] For a positive integer n, let f (x) := 1 + x + x2 · · · + xn . Find the number
of local maxima of f (x). Find the number of local minima of f (x). For each maximum/
minimum (c, f (c)), find the integer k such that k ≤ c < k + 1.
Solution: We have f ′ (x) = 1 + 2x + · · · + nxn−1 . For x ≥ 0 the derivative is strictly positive,
hence f (x) is strictly increasing. Therefore, we should only analyze negative values of x.
Write the derivative as the following rational function

nxn+1 − (n + 1)xn + 1
f ′ (x) = .
(x − 1)2

Note that there is no problem in the expression since we are assuming x < 0. Denote by
D(x) the denominator of the derivative.
The case when n is odd. For x < 0 the polynomial D(x) is strictly positive. Hence there
can’t be any critical point.
The case when n is even. Observe that there could be only one critical point c ∈ (−1, 0).
Since D(x) < 0 for x ≤ −1 and D(0) = 1. Moreover, D′ (x) > 0 for x < 0 so f ′ (x)
is increasing on (−∞, 0) hence it vanishes exactly once. As the derivative changes sign
from −ve to +ve passing through c, so there is exactly one global minimum at c (where,
−1 < c < 0).

3
B4. [14 points] For a continuous function f : R+ → R+ , define

• Ar = the area bounded by the graph of f , X-axis, x = 1 and x = r.

• Br = the area bounded by the graph of f , X-axis, x = r and x = r2 .

Find all continuous functions f for which Ar = Br for every positive number r.
Solution: We are given
Z r Z r2
f (x)dx = f (x)dx.
1 r

Applying d/dr, fundamental theorem of calculus and the chain rule to above equality we get

f (x) = xf (x2 ) ∀x ∈ R+ .
1
Letting g(x) = xf (x) we see that g(x) = g(x2 ) for all x in the domain. Hence g(x) = g(x 2n )
1
for all x and positive integers n. However, as n goes to infinity x 2n tends to 1 we have that
g(x) converges to f (1). Hence xf (x) = f (1) for all values of x ∈ R+ .

4
B5. [14 points] Two distinct real numbers r and s are said to form a good pair (r, s) if

r 3 + s2 = s3 + r 2 .

1. Find a good pair (a, l) with the largest possible value of l. Find a good pair (s, b) with
the smallest value of s. For every good pair (c, d) other than the two you found, show
that there is a third real number e such that (d, e) and (c, e) are good pairs.

2. Show that there are infinitely many good pairs of rational numbers.

Solution: Consider the function f (x) = x3 − x2 . Therefore (r, s) is a good pair iff f (r) =
f (s).
Observe that x = 0, 32 are the only critical points of f . The local maximum occurs at x = 0.
The line y = 0 intersects the graph of f (x) at (0, 0) and (1, 0). Hence the required good pair
(a, l) with the largest l value is (0, 1).
Note that the local minimum occurs at x = 32 . The line y = f ( 23 ) = −427
intersects the graph
−1 −4 2 −4 −1 2
at ( 3 , 27 ) and ( 3 , 27 ). Hence the required good pair is ( 3 , 3 ).
For k ∈ ( −427
, 0) the line y = k intersects the graph at 3 points. Hence the last statement of
the first part follows.
For the second part we need to show that there for every rational number q ∈ ( −4 27
, 0) the
equation
x3 − x2 − q = 0
has infinitely many rational solutions. However, this is true because there are infinitely many
rationals satisfying c + d + e = 1, cd + de + ce = 0, cde = q.

5
B6. [14 points] Solve the following.

1. Let p be a prime. Show that x2 + x − 1 has at most two roots modulo p. Find all
primes p for which there is exactly one root.

2. Find all positive integers n ≤ 121 such that n2 + n − 1 is divisible by 121.

3. What can you say about the number of roots of this equation modulo p2 .

Solution: Let a, b be two distinct roots of the equation modulo p. Therefore, p divides
a2 + a − 1 − (b2 + b − 1), which is equivalent to saying that p divides either a − b or a + b + 1.
In the former case we will have a = b, which is not allowed. Since both a, b are between 1
and p we have 3 ≤ a + b + 1 ≤ 2p − 3 which implies a + b + 1 = p. Thus b = p − a − 1 is
uniquely determined.
Suppose a is the only root. Then p − a − 1 = a, i.e., p = 2a + 1. Therefore, 2a + 1 divides
4(a+ a − 1) and (2a + 1)2 . Subtracting we get that 2a + 1 divides 5.
Part 2: Since 121 divides n+ n − 1, 11 also divides it. Note that n2 + n − 1 and n2 + n − 12
are congruent modulo 11. So the roots of the equation are 7, 3 modulo 11.
Consider n = 3 + 11k. Then n2 + n − 1 is congruent to 77k + 11 modulo 121. Then k = 3
works giving us n = 36. Now consider n = 7 + 11k. In that case, n+ n − 1 is congruent to
165k + 55 modulo 121. Which gives us k = 7 and n = 84.
For part (3), let a be a root modulo p. Then n is of the form kp + a for some k between 0
and p − 1. We would like to solve for k the following equation

(kp + a)2 + (kp + a) − 1

modulo p2 . This is equivalent to finding k such that p divides k(2a + 1) + a2 + a − 1. If

2a + 1 is not a multiple of p then k = −(2a + 1)−1 (a2 + a − 1). If p divides (2a + 1) then it
is 5 and there is no such n.

6
 CHENNAI MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE
Undergraduate Entrance Examination, May 2022
Time: 3.5 hours

Unless specified otherwise, in this exam all numbers are real and “function” means a function whose
codomain as well as domain is the set of all real numbers (or an implied subset).

Part A instructions

• Part A has 10 questions, each worth 4 points, for a total of 40. Every question
has a group of four statements. (These statements are numbered 1 to 40 for technical
reasons.) For each statement, independently choose one of the three given options:
True / False / No Attempt. In particular there is no guarantee that at least one of the
four statements in a given question is true.

• Grading scheme. Each question will be graded as follows.

All 4 answers correct 4 points Note that getting even one of the four
3 correct and 1 No Attempt 2 points answers wrong will result in zero points
for that question. So if you are not sure,
2 correct and 2 No Attempt 1 point you are advised to choose No Attempt
instead of guessing.
Anything else 0 points

• Enter your answers to part A into the computer. Points for part A will be given
based only on answers entered into the computer. If you do not choose an option for
a statement, it will be treated as No Attempt.

• Part A will be used for screening. Part B is assured to be graded if you meet
any one of the following two conditions. (i) You score at least 24 in part A. (ii) You
are among the top 400 students in part A. Thus part B will be graded for at least 400
students, more if enough students score at least 24 in part A.

Part B instructions

• Part B has 6 problems worth a total of 80 points. See each question for the
break-up. You are advised to spend at least 2 hours on part B.

• Clearly explain your entire reasoning. No credit will be given without correct
reasoning. Partial solutions may get partial credit. You may solve a later part of a
problem by assuming a previous part, even if you could not do the earlier part.

• Solve each part B problem on the designated pages in the answer booklet. Use
the blank pages at the end for rough work OR if you need extra space for any problem.
Clearly label any such solution overflowing to last pages. For problems with multiple
parts, clearly label your solution to each part separately.
 CMI BSc entrance make-up exam on May 23, 2022

Part A. Select True or False or No Attempt for each statement.

A1. The three sides of triangle a < b < c are in arithmetic progression (AP) with common
di↵erence d = b a = c b. Denote the angles opposite to sides a, b, c respectively by
A, B, C.

Statements

(1) d must be less than a.

(2) d can be any positive number less than a.

(3) The numbers sin A, sin B, sin C are in AP.

(4) The numbers cos A, cos B, cos C are in AP.

A2. You are asked to take three distinct points 1, !1 and !2 in the complex plane such that
|!1 | = |!2 | = 1. Consider the triangle T formed by the complex numbers 1, !1 and !2 .

Statements

(5) There is exactly one such triangle T that is equilateral.

(6) There are exactly two such triangles T that are right angled isosceles.

(7) If !1 + !2 is real, the triangle T must be isosceles.

(8) For any nonzero complex number z, the numbers z, z!1 and z!2 form a triangle that is
similar to the triangle T.

A3. M is a 3 ⇥ 3 matrix with integer entries. For M we have

(Sum of column 2) = 4 ⇥ (sum of column 1). (Sum of column 3) = 4 ⇥ (sum of column 2).
(Sum of row 2) = 6 + (sum of row 1).
(Sum of row 3) = 6 + (sum of row 2).

Statements

(9) The sum of all the entries in M must be divisible by 21.

(10) None of the row sums is divisible by 7.

(11) One of the column sums must be divisible by 7.

(12) None of the column sums is divisible by 6.

A4. Statements

(13) As x ! 1 the function cos(ex ) tends to a finite limit.

(14) As x ! 1 the function cos(ex ) changes sign infinitely many times.

(15) As x ! 1, the function sin(ln(x)) tends to a finite limit.

(16) sin(ln(x)) changes sign only finitely many times as x goes towards 0 from 1.

A5. Statements
p p
(17) 4 4 < 5 5.

(18) log10 11 > log11 12.

p p
(19) ⇡4 < 2 2.

(20) (2022!)2 > 20222022 .

sin x 1.001
R x Let f (x) = | x |
A6. for x 6= 0 and f (0) = L such that f is continuous. Let I(x) =
0
f (t)dt.

Statements

(21) L = 1.001

(22) I(0.001) > 0.001.

(23) As x ! 1 the limit of I(x) is greater than 1001 (possibly 1).

(24) The function I(x) is NOT di↵erentiable at infinitely many points.

A7. Statements

(25) There is a unique natural number n such that n2 + 19n n! = 0.

(26) There are infinitely many pairs (x, y) of natural numbers satisfying
(1 + x!)(1 + y!) = (x + y)!.

(27) For any natural number n, consider GCD of n2 + 1 and (n + 1)2 + 1. As n ranges over
all natural numbers, the largest possible value of this GCD is 5.

(28) If n is the largest natural number for which 20! is divisible by 80n , then n 5.
A8. Let a be a point in the domain of a continuous real valued function f . One says that
f has a flex point at a if we can find a small interval (a ✏, a + ✏) in the domain of f such
that the following happens: (i) for all x in the open interval (a ✏, a) the sign of f 00 (x) is
constant and, (ii) for all x in the open interval (a, a + ✏) the sign of f 00 (x) is constant and
opposite to the sign of f 00 (x) in (a ✏, a).
Statements
(29) If f is a cubic polynomial with a local maximum at x = p and a local minimum at
x = q, then f has a unique flex point at x = p+q
2
.
(30) If f 00 (a) = 0 then f must have a flex point at a.
(31) Let f (x) = x2 for x 0 and f (x) = x2 for x < 0. Then f has no flex points.
(32) If f 0 is monotonic on an open interval I, then f cannot have a flex point in I.

A9. Suppose A, B and C are three events and P (A) = a, P (B) = b, P (C) = c are known.
Let P (A [ B [ C) = p. The statements below are about whether we can find the value of
p if we know some additional information. (Note: [ is the same as OR. Similarly \ is the
same as AND.)
Statements
(33) We can find the value of p if we know that at least one of a, b, c is 1.
(34) We can find the value of p if we know that at least one of a, b, c is 0.
(35) We can find the value of p if we know that any two of A, B and C are mutually exclusive.
(36) We can find the value of p if we know that any two of A, B and C are independent and
we know the value of P (A \ B \ C).
2 3 2 3
1 2 3 x
A10. Let A = 10 20 31 and v = y 5, where k is a constant and x, y, z are variables.
4 5 4
11 22 k z
Statements
(37) Regardless of the value of k, the matrix A is not invertible, i.e., there is no 3 ⇥ 3 matrix
B such that BA = the 3 ⇥ 3 identity matrix.
(38) There is a unique k such that determinant of A is 0. 2 3
0
(39) The set of solutions (x, y, z) of the matrix equation Av = 405 is either a line or a plane
0
containing the origin. 2 3
p
(40) If the equation Av = 4q 5 has a solution, then it must be true that q = 10p.
r
 Part B Problems for the make-up exam on Monday, May 23rd

B1. [12 points] Let N = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9} and L = {a, b, c}.

(i) Suppose we arrange the 12 elements of L [ N in a line such that no two of the three
letters occur consecutively. If the order of the letters among themselves does not matter,
find the number such arrangements.

(ii) Find the number of functions from N to L such that exactly 3 numbers are mapped to
each of a, b and c.

(iii) Find the number of onto functions from N to L.

B2. [12 points] Let f be a function from natural numbers to natural numbers that satisfies

f (n) = n 2 for n > 3000;

f (n) = f (f (n + 5)) for n  3000.

Show that f (2022) is uniquely decided and find its value.

B3. [14 points] In 4ABC, \BAC = 2 \ACB and 0 < \BAC < 120 . A point M
is chosen in the interior of 4ABC such that BA = BM and M A = M C. Prove that
\M CB = 30 . See the schematic figure below (NOT to scale).
Hint (use this or your own method): Draw a suitable segment CD of appropriate length
making an appropriate angle with CA.

A B
B4. [14 points] We want to find a nonzero polynomial p(x) with integer coefficients having
the following property.

p(x) ⇣ 1 ⌘
Letting q(x) := , q(x) = q for all x 2
/ {0, 1}.
x(1 x) 1 x

(i) Find one such polynomial with the smallest possible degree.
(ii) Find one such polynomial with the largest possible degree OR show that the degree of
such polynomials is unbounded.

B5. [14 points] Let R+ denote the set of positive real numbers. A one-to-one and onto
function f : R+ ! R+ is called golden if f 0 (x) = f 1 (x) for every x 2 R+ .
(i) Find all golden functions (if any) of the form f (x) = a xb . Find all golden functions (if
any) of the form f (x) = a bx . In both cases a and b are suitable real numbers.
(ii) Show that there is no one-to-one and onto function f : R ! R such that f 0 (x) = f 1
(x)
for every x 2 R.

B6. [14 points] Suppose an integer n > 1 is such that n + 1 is not a multiple of 4 (i.e.,
such that n is not congruent to 3 mod 4). Prove that there exist 1  i < j  n such that
the following is a perfect square.
1! 2! · · · n!
i! j!

Hint (use this or your own method): Make cases and first treat the case n = 4k.
CMI BSc entrance make-up exam on May 23, 2022
Part A, Correct answers
1. True
2. True
3. True
4. False
5. True
6. False
7. True
8. True
9. True
10. False
11. False
12. False
13. True
14. True
15. False
16. False
17. False
18. True
19. False
20. True
21. False
22. False
23. False
24. False
25. True
26. False
27. True
28. False
29. True
30. False
31. False
32. True
33. True
34. False
35. True
36. True
37. False
38. False
39. False
40. False
 CHENNAI MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE
Undergraduate Programme in Mathematics and Computer Science/Physics
Solutions of the 23rd May 2022 exam

Note: The solutions below consist only of main steps and strategies and do not contain all
the details expected in the exam.

B1. [12 points] Let N = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9} and L = {a, b, c}.

1. Suppose we arrange 12 elements of L ∪ N in a line such that no two of the three letters
occur consecutively. If the order of the letters among themselves does not matter, find
the number of such arrangements.

2. Find the number of functions from N to L such that exactly 3 numbers are mapped
to a, b, c.

3. Find the number of onto functions from N to L.

Solution:

1. Imagine that the numbers are placed with a gap between two consecutive numbers.
Moreover there is a gap before 1 and one after 9. So there are 10 gaps, where letters
can be placed. In order to find the number of such arrangement
first choose 3 gaps
from 10 and then permute the 9 numbers. The final answer is 10 3
· 9!.

2. Nine digits have to be placed in 3 groups. The answer is 93 · 63 · 33 .

3. By inclusion-exclusion principal the answer is

39 − 3 · 29 + 3 · 19 .

The first summand is the total number of functions, the second summand is the number
of function which miss 2 values and last summand is the number of functions which
miss 1 value.

1
B2. [12 points] Let f function from natural numbers to natural numbers that satisfies

f (n) = n − 2, for n > 3000;

f (n) = f (f (n + 5)) for n ≤ 3000.

Show that f (2022) is uniquely determined and find its value.

Solution: The important step is to discover the following closed form expression for the
function:
f (n) = 2999 + (n + 2)mod(3).
The equality can be derived in a number of ways, including induction. Once this is established
it is straightforward to conclude that f (2022) = 3001.

2
B3. [14 points] In △ABC, ∠BAC = 2∠ACB and 0◦ < ∠BAC < 120◦ . A point M
is chosen in the interior of △ABC such that BA = BM and M A = M C. Prove that
∠M CB = 30◦ . See the schematic figure below (not to scale).
C

A B

Solution: There are various ways to solve this problem. Let us start with a geometric
approach.
Construct a line segment CD such that it is equal to AB and ∠DCA = ∠BAC. Denote the
intersection of AD and BC by E. First step, show that △BAC ≡ △DCA. Second step,
show that △CDE ≡ △ABE. Next, show that △EM A ≡ △EM C. Now conclude that
∠CAB = 90◦ , this will lead to the solution.
Another construction is to draw a line segment BD such that it is equal to CD and is parallel
to AC. First show that ABDC is an isosceles trapezium. Use it prove that △ABM ≡
△CM D. Conclude that △BM D is equilateral. Use this along with the usual angle relations
to find the exact value.
One can also use trigonometric techniques, like sine rule, to solve this problem.

3
B4. We want to find a nonzero polynomial p(x) with integer coefficients having the following
property.  
p(x) 1
Lettingq(x) := , q(x) = q .
x(1 − x) 1−x

Solution: First derive the following relationship

 
3 1
p(1 − x) = −x p .
x

This implies that the degree of the polynomial is at most 3. An easy check shows that linear
polynomials can’t satisfy this relation. Substituting p(x) = ax2 + bx + c in the above relation
gives us that
p(x) = ax(x − 1).
Let the cubic be of the form

p(x) = ax3 + bx2 + cx + d.

Then any cubic whose coefficients satisfy the following is a candidate.

a + d = 0, c − b − 3a = 0, 3b + c + 3a = 0, b + c + d = 0.

4
B5. [14 points] Let R+ denote the set of positive real numbers. A bijection f : R+ → R+
is called golden if f ′ (x) = f −1 (x) for every x ∈ R+ .

1. Find all golden functions (if any) of the form f (x) = axb . Find all golden functions (if
any) of the form f (x) = abx .

2. Show that there is no bijection f : R → R such that f ′ (x) = f −1 (x).

Solution:

1. When f (x) = axb equate the derivative with the inverse to get b2 − b − 1 = 0. Whose
roots are the golden ration, ϕ, and its negative inverse, 1 − ϕ. The answer is
x 1−ϕ
f (x) = (x(ϕ − 1))ϕ OR f (x) = ( ) .
ϕ−1

On the other hand f (x) = abx is not a candidate for the golden function since the
derivative is an exponential and the inverse is a logarithmic function.

2. If f is a bijection defined on the entire real line then the derivative doesn’t change its
sign. However, the inverse does change sign. Hence it is impossible that the derivative
is the inverse of such a function.

5
B6. [14 points] Suppose n > 1 is a natural number which is not congruent to 3 modulo 4.
Prove that there exist 1 ≤ i < j ≤ n such that the following is a perfect square
1!2! · · · n!
.
i!j!

Solution: The important observaion needed is that k!(k −1)! = k((k −1)!)2 . Case 1: n = 4k
for some k. In that case the numerator simplifies as follows:

1!2! · · · (4k)! = 4k((4k − 1)!)2 · · · 2 · 1

= (4k)(4k − 2) · · · 2 · M 2
= 22k · 2k · (2k − 1) · · · 1 · M 2
= (2k)! · N 2 .

Here M 2 is the product of the terms of the form ((4k − 1)!)2 and N 2 includes the factor
(2k )2 . Hence one can choose i = 1 and j = 2k. The other two remaining cases of n can be
dealt in a similar fashion.

6
 CHENNAI MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE
Undergraduate Entrance Examination, 7th May 2023
Time: 3.5 hours

Unless specified otherwise, in this exam all numbers are real, the domain of each function
is the set of real numbers (or an implied subset) and the codomain is also the set of real
numbers. You may use the following information wherever you find it relevant.

• 2023 = 172 ⇥ 7.

• One can use long division to find the gcd of two positive integers a, b (defined to be a
common divisor d of a and b such that d is divisible by any other such common divisor).

• The same procedure stays valid for finding gcd of polynomials in one variable with
rational/real/complex coefficients.

• Any nonzero polynomial of degree n has n complex roots counting multiplicity.

Part A instructions

• Part A has 10 questions, each worth 4 points, for a total of 40. Points for
part A will be given based only on the answers you enter into the computer.

• 7 out of the 10 questions are objective, each with a group of four statements.
(These statements are numbered 1 to 28 for technical reasons.) For each statement,
independently choose one of the three options True / False / No Attempt. In particular
there is no guarantee that at least one of the four statements in a given question is
true. If you do not choose an option for a statement, it will be treated as No Attempt.

• Grading scheme for the 7 objective questions is as follows.

All 4 answers correct 4 points Note that getting even one of the four
3 correct and 1 No Attempt 2 points answers wrong will result in zero points
for that question. So if you are not sure,
2 correct and 2 No Attempt 1 point you are advised to choose No Attempt
instead of guessing.
Anything else 0 points

• The remaining three questions have two parts each. For each part, enter only the final
answer into the computer in the precise format specified in the question. There is no
negative marking for these three questions.

• Part A will be used for screening. Part B is assured to be graded if you meet
any one of the following two conditions. (i) You score at least 24 in part A. (ii) You
are among the top 400 students in part A. Thus part B will be graded for at least 400
students, more if enough students score at least 24 in part A.

Instrutions for part B !

 Part B instructions

• Part B has 6 problems worth a total of 80 points. See each question for the
break-up. You are advised to spend at least 2 hours on part B.

• Clearly explain your entire reasoning. No credit will be given without correct
reasoning. Partial solutions may get partial credit. You may solve a later part of a
problem by assuming a previous part, even if you could not do the earlier part.

• Solve each part B problem on the designated pages in the answer booklet. Use
the blank pages at the end for rough work OR if you need extra space for any problem.
Clearly label any such solution overflowing to last pages. For problems with multiple
parts, clearly label your solution to each part separately.
 Part A Questions for CMI BSc entrance exam on May 7, 2023

A1. Define the right derivative of a function f at x = a to be the following limit if it exists.
f (a + h) f (a)
lim+ , where h ! 0+ means h approaches 0 only through positive values.
h!0 h
Statements
(1) If f is di↵erentiable at x = a then f has a right derivative at x = a.
(2) f (x) = |x| has a right derivative at x = 0.
(3) If f has a right derivative at x = a then f is continuous at x = a.
(4) If f is continuous at x = a then f has a right derivative at x = a.

A2. Suppose a rectangle EBF D is given and a rhombus ABCD is inscribed in it so that
the point A is on side ED of the rectangle. The diagonals of ABCD intersect at point G.
See the indicative figure below.

Statements
(5) Triangles CGD and DF B must be similar.
AC EB
(6) It must be true that BD = ED .
(7) Triangle CGD cannot be similar to triangle AEB.
(8) For any given rectangle EBF D, a rhombus ABCD as described above can be con-
structed.

A3. This question is about complex numbers.

Statements
(9) The complex number (e3 )i lies in the third quadrant.
(10) If |z1 | |z2 | = |z1 + z2 | for some complex numbers z1 and z2 , then z2 must be 0.
(11) For distinct complex numbers z1 and z2 , the equation |(z z1 )2 | = |(z z2 )2 | has at
most 4 solutions.
(12) For each nonzero complex number z, there are more than 100 numbers w such that
w2023 = z.

1
A4. Statements
1
(13) lim e x = +1.
x!0

(14) The following inequality is true.

ln x ln x
lim 100
< lim 1 .
x!1 x x!1 x 100

(15) For any positive integer n,

Z n
n
x2023 cos(nx)dx < .
n 2023

(16) There is no polynomial p(x) for which there is a single line that is tangent to the graph
of p(x) at exactly 100 points.

A5. Statements
p p
(17) 4 < 5 + 5 5.
1+log2 61
(18) log2 11 < 2
.
(19) (2023)2023 < (2023!)2 .
(20) 92100 + 93100 < 94100 .
P P
n
A6. For a sequence ai of real numbers, we say that ai converges if lim ai is finite.
n!1 i=1
In this question all ai > 0.
Statements
P
(21) If ai converges, then ai ! 0 as i ! 1.
P
(22) If ai < 1i for all i, then ai converges.
P P
(23) If ai converges, then ( 1)i ai also converges.
P P
(24) If ai does not converge, then i tan(ai ) cannot converge.

A7. Statements
(25) To divide an integer b by a nonzero integer d, define a quotient q and a remainder r to
be integers such that b = qd + r and |r| < |d|. Such integers q and r always exist and are
both unique for given b and d.
(26) To divide a polynomial b(x) by a nonzero polynomial d(x), define a quotient q(x) and
a remainder r(x) to be polynomials such that b = qd + r and degree(r) < degree(d). (Here
b(x) and d(x) have real coefficients and the 0 polynomial is taken to have negative degree
by convention.) Such polynomials q(x) and r(x) always exist and are both unique for given
b(x) and d(x).

2
(27) Suppose that in the preceding question b(x) and d(x) have rational coefficients. Then
q(x) and r(x), if they exist, must also have rational coefficients.
(28) The least positive number in the set

{(a ⇥ 20232020 ) + (b ⇥ 20202023 )}

as a and b range over all integers is 3.

A8. You play the following game with three fair dice. (When each one is rolled, any one of
the outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 is equally likely.) In the first round, you roll all three dice. You
remove every die that shows 6. If any dice remain, you roll all the remaining dice again in
the second round. Again you remove all dice showing 6 and continue.
Questions
(29) Let the probability that you are able to play the second round be ab , where a and b are
integers with gcd 1. Write the numbers a and b separated by a comma. E.g., for probability
10
36
you would type 5,18 with no quotations, space, full stop or any other punctuation.
(30) Let the probability that you are able to play the second round but not the third round
be dc where c and d are integers with gcd 1. Write only the integer c as your answer.
E.g., for probability 34
36
you would type 17 with no quotations, space, full stop or any other
punctuation.

A9. Two lines `1 and `2 in 3-dimensional space are given by

`1 = {(t 9, t + 7, 6) | t 2 R} and `2 = {(7, s + 3, 3s + 4) | s 2 R}.
Questions
(31) The plane passing through the origin and not intersecting either of `1 and `2 has equation
ax + by + cz = d. Write the value of |a + b + c + d| where a, b, c, d are integers with gcd = 1.
(32) Let r be the smallest possible RADIUS of a circle that has a point on `1 as well as a
point on `2 . It is given that r2 (i.e, the SQUARE of the smallest radius) is an integer. Write
the value of r2 .

A10. Consider the part of the graph of y 2 + x3 = 15xy that is strictly to the right of the
Y-axis, i.e., take only the points on the graph with x > 0.
Questions
(33) Write the least possible value of y among considered points. If there is no such real
number, write NONE (without any spaces or quotation marks or any other punctuation).
(34) Write the largest possible value of y among considered points. If there is no such real
number, write NONE (without any spaces or quotation marks or any other punctuation).

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 Part B Problems for CMI BSc entrance exam on May 7, 2023

B1. [11 points] We want to find odd integers n > 1 for which n is a factor of 2023n 1.

(a) Find the two smallest such integers.

(b) Prove that there are infinitely many such integers.

B2. [12 points] Let Z+ denote the set of positive integers. We want to find all functions
g : Z+ ! Z+ such that the following equation holds for any m, n in Z+ .

g(n + m) = g(n) + nm(n + m) + g(m).

P
Prove that g(n) must be of the form di=0 ci ni and find the precise necessary and sufficient
condition(s) on d and on the coefficients c0 , . . . , cd for g to satisfy the required equation.

B3. [13 points] Suppose that for a given polynomial p(x) = x4 + ax3 + bx2 + cx + d, there
is exactly one real number r such that p(r) = 0.

(a) If a, b, c, d are rational, show that r must be rational.

(b) If a, b, c, d are integers, show that r must be an integer.

Possible hint: Also consider the roots of the derivative p0 (x).

B4. [14 points] There are n students in a class and no two of them have the same height.
The students stand in a line, one behind another, in no particular order of their heights.

(a) How many di↵erent orders are there in which the shortest student is not in the first
position and the tallest student is not in the last position?

(b) The badness of an ordering is the largest number k with the following property. There
is at least one student X such that there are k students taller than X standing ahead
of X. Find a formula for gk (n) = number of orderings of n students with badness k.

Example: The ordering 64 61 67 63 62 66 65 (the numbers denote heights) has badness

3 as the student with height 62 has three taller students (with heights 64, 67 and 63)
standing ahead in the line and nobody has more than 3 taller students standing ahead.

Possible hints for (b): It may be useful to first count orderings of badness 1 and/or to find
fk (n) = the number of orderings of n students with badness less than or equal to k.

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B5. [15 points] Throughout this question every mentioned function is required to be a
di↵erentiable function from R to R. The symbol denotes composition of functions.

(a) Suppose f f = f . Then for each x, one must have f 0 (x) = or f 0 (f (x)) = .
Complete the sentence and justify.

(b) For a non-constant f satisfying f f = f , it is known and you may assume that the
range of f must have one of the following forms: R, ( 1, b], [a, 1) or [a, b]. Show that
in fact the range must be all of R and deduce that there is a unique such function f .
(Possible hints: For each y in the range of f , what can you say about f (y)? If the
range has a maximum element b what can you say about the derivative of f ?)

(c) Suppose that g g g = g and that g g is a non-constant function. Show that g must
be onto, g must be strictly increasing or strictly decreasing and that there is a unique
such increasing g.

B6. [15 points] Starting with any given positive integer a > 1 the following game is played.
If a is a perfect square, take its square root.
p Otherwise take a + 3. Repeat the procedure
with the new positive integer (i.e., with a or a + 3 depending on the case). The resulting
set of numbers is called the trajectory of a. For example the set {3, 6, 9} is a trajectory: it
is the trajectory of each of its members.
Which numbers have a finite trajectory? Possible hint: Find the set

{n | n is the smallest number in some trajectory S}.

If you wish, you can get partial credit by solving the following simpler questions.
(a) Show that there is no trajectory of cardinality 1 or 2.
(b) Show that {3, 6, 9} is the only trajectory of cardinality 3.
(c) Show that for any integer k 3, there is a trajectory of cardinality k.
(d) Find an infinite trajectory.

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 2023 CMI BSc entrance exam solutions

Part A

A1. Define the right derivative of a function f at x = a to be the following limit if it exists.

f (a + h) f (a)
lim+ , where h → 0+ means
h→0 h
h approaches 0 only through positive values.

Statements
(1) If f is differentiable at x = a then f has a right derivative at x = a.
(2) f (x) = |x| has a right derivative at x = 0.
(3) If f has a right derivative at x = a then f is continuous at x = a.
(4) If f is continuous at x = a then f has a right derivative at x = a.

(1) True. Obvious from the definition of the derivative.

(2) True. Right derivative is 1.
(3) False. Consider the floor function at integer values.
(4) False. Take x sin x1 made continuous at 0.

A2. Suppose a rectangle EBF D is given and a rhombus ABCD is inscribed in it so that
the point A is on side ED of the rectangle. The diagonals of ABCD intersect at point G.
See the indicative figure below.

Statements
(5) Triangles CGD and DF B must be similar.
AC EB
(6) It must be true that BD = ED .
(7) Triangle CGD cannot be similar to triangle AEB.
(8) For any given rectangle EBF D, a rhombus ABCD
as described above can be constructed.

(5) True. Both are right angled and ∠F BD = ∠BDA = ∠GDC.

(6) True. G bisects AC and BD. Use the similarity of CGD with DEB ’ DF B.
(7) False. They are similar when ABC is equilateral, which is possible.
(8) False. ED ≥ AD = AB ≥ EB (hypotenuse), so need ED ≥ EB.
A3. This question is about complex numbers.

Statements
(9) The complex number (e3 )i lies in the third quadrant.
(10) If |z1 | |z2 | = |z1 + z2 | for some complex numbers z1 and z2 , then z2 must be 0.
(11) For distinct complex numbers z1 and z2 , the equation |(z z1 )2 | = |(z z2 )2 | has at
most 4 solutions.
(12) For each nonzero complex number z, there are more than 100 numbers w such that
w2023 = z.

(9) False. Second quadrant. The argument of e3i is 3 radian, which is just under 172◦ .
(10) False. Take z2 = rz1 with r real and 1 ≤ r < 0.
(11) False. |(z z1 )2 | = |z z1 |2 , so z is equidistant from z1 and z2 . Solutions form a line.
1 i(2πk+θ)
z
(12) True. There are 2023 such w. Letting |z|
= eiθ , w = |z| 2023 e 2023 , k = 0, 1, . . . , 2022.

A4. Statements

(13)
1
lim e x = +∞.
x→0

(14)
ln x ln x
lim < lim 1 .
x→∞ x100 x→∞ x 100

(15) For any positive integer n,

Z n
n
x2023 cos(nx)dx < .
×n 2023

(16) There is no polynomial p(x) for which there is a single line that is tangent to the graph
of p(x) at exactly 100 points.

(13) False. Limit from the left is 0.

(14) False. Both limits are 0. The numerator ln x is dominated by any positive power of x.
(15) True. The function x2023 cos(nx) is odd so by symmetry the integral is 0.
(16) False. For p(x) with exactly 100 multiple roots the X-axis is such a line. (This is
essentially the only way: if y = ax + b is such a line for a polynomial q(x), then the X-axis
is such a line for the polynomial q(x) ax b, which must have exactly 100 multiple roots.)
A5. Statements
p √
(17) 4 < 5 + 5 5.
1+log2 61
(18) log2 11 < 2
.
(19) (2023)2023 < (2023!)2 .
(20) 92100 + 93100 < 94100 .

√ √
(17) True. 16 < 5 + 5 5 as 11 < 5 5 as 121 < 125. Taking square roots preserves order.
(18) True. 22 log2 11 = 121 < 21+log2 61 = 122. Taking log2 preserves order.
(19) True. Pair numbers on the RHS symmetrically. n(2024 n) > 2023 for n = 1, . . . , 2023.
1 2
(20) True. Divide by 92100 and use binomial theorem for (1 + x)100 with x = 92
and x = 92
.

P n
P

A6. For a sequence ai of real numbers, we say that ai converges if lim ai is finite.
n→∞ i=1
In this question all ai > 0.

Statements
P
(21) If ai converges, then ai → 0 as i → ∞.
(22) If ai < 1i for all i, then
P
ai converges.
ai converges, then ( 1)i ai also converges.
P P
(23) If
P P
(24) If ai does not converge, then i tan(ai ) cannot converge.

(21) True.
1
(22) False. Take ai = 2i
n
( 1)i ai remains a Cauchy sequence.
P
(23) True. Given ai are all positive, so
i=1
(24) False. Take all ai = π.

Continued →
A7. Statements
(25) To divide an integer b by a nonzero integer d, define a quotient q and a remainder r to
be integers such that b = qd + r and |r| < |d|. Such integers q and r always exist and are
both unique for given b and d.
(26) To divide a polynomial b(x) by a nonzero polynomial d(x), define a quotient q(x) and
a remainder r(x) to be polynomials such that b = qd + r and degree(r) < degree(d). (Here
b(x) and d(x) have real coefficients and the 0 polynomial is taken to have negative degree
by convention.) Such polynomials q(x) and r(x) always exist and are both unique for given
b(x) and d(x).
(27) Suppose that in the preceding question b(x) and d(x) have rational coefficients. Then
q(x) and r(x), if they exist, must also have rational coefficients.
(28) The least positive number in the set {(a × 20232020 ) + (b × 20202023 )} as a and b range
over all integers is 3.
(25) False. For r > 0, we can increase quotient by 1 and make remainder negative.
(26) True. q1 d + r1 = q2 d + r2 gives (q1 q2 )d = r2 r1 . Compare degrees.
(27) True. Uniqueness and the long division procedure ensure this.
(28) False. It is the gcd of 20232020 and 20202023 , which is 1.

A8. You play the following game with three fair dice. (When each one is rolled, any one of
the outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 is equally likely.) In the first round, you roll all three dice. You
remove every die that shows 6. If any dice remain, you roll all the remaining dice again in
the second round. Again you remove all dice showing 6 and continue.
Questions
(29) Let the probability that you are able to play the second round be ab , where a and b are
integers with gcd 1. Write the numbers a and b separated by a comma. E.g., for probability
10
36
you would type 5,18 with no quotations, space, full stop or any other punctuation.
(30) Let the probability that you are able to play the second round but not the third round
be dc where c and d are integers with gcd 1. Write only the integer c as your answer. E.g.,
34
for probability 36 you would type 17 with no quotations, space or any other punctuation.
(29) The probability is 1 ( 61 )3 = 215
216
, so 215,216 is the answer.
1115
(30) The probability is 66
by the calculation below, so 1115 is the answer.
P(3 dice left after first round) × P(all 3 remaining dice show 6 in round 2) +
P(2 dice left after first round) × P(both remaining dice show 6 in round 2) +
P(1 die left after first round) × P(the remaining die shows 6 in round 2)
 5 3  1 3  5 2  1   1 2  5  1 2  1 
= × + 3 × + 3 × .
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
A9. Two lines `1 and `2 in 3-dimensional space are given by
`1 = {(t 9, t + 7, 6) | t ∈ R} and `2 = {(7, s + 3, 3s + 4) | s ∈ R}.

Questions
(31) The plane passing through the origin and not intersecting either of `1 and `2 has equation
ax + by + cz = d. Write the value of |a + b + c + d| where a, b, c, d are integers with gcd = 1.
(32) Let r be the smallest possible RADIUS of a circle that has a point on `1 as well as a
point on `2 . It is given that r2 (i.e, the SQUARE of the smallest radius) is an integer. Write
the value of r2 .

(31) (1, 1, 0) and (0, 1, 3) are the direction vectors of the given lines. (3, 3, 1) is a common
perpendicular to both direction vectors. So 3x + 3y z = 0 is an equation for the desired
plane. Thus the answer is |3 + 3 1 + 0| = 5.

(32) Each of the two mentioned points must be the only intersection of such a circle with
the respective line. The segment joining these points must be perpendicular to both `1 and
`2 and is a diameter of any specified circle. Taking a general point on each line, a vector
representing the segment joining the two points is (16 t, s + t 4, 3s 2). Solving

(16 t, s + t 4, 3s 2) · (1, 1, 0) = 0 and (16 t, s + t 4, 3s 2) · (0, 1, 3) = 0

gives s = 0, t = 10. So (2r)2 = (16 10)2 + (10 4)2 + ( 2)2 = 76. Thus the answer is 19.

A10. Consider the part of the graph of y 2 + x3 = 15xy that is strictly to the right of the
Y-axis, i.e., take only the points on the graph with x > 0.

Questions
(33) Write the least possible value of y among considered points. If there is no such real
number, write NONE (without any spaces or quotation marks or any other punctuation).
(34) Write the largest possible value of y among considered points. If there is no such real
number, write NONE (without any spaces or quotation marks or any other punctuation).
√
(33) Regarding the equation as a quadratic in y gives y = 12 15x ± 225x2 4x3 . So

there is a y-value for every x ≤ 225 . We also have y > 0 for x > 0 since in that case
√ 4
15x > 225x 2 3
4x . As x → 0, y also → 0, so there is no minimum y-value.

(34) On the closed interval [0, 225

4
], each sign in the formula for y gives a continuous function.
So y must have a maximum, which cannot occur at x = 0 as y > 0 for x > 0. So we inspect
y-values for the endpoint x = 225 4
and for any critical points. Differentiating implicitly,
dy 2
dx
= 0 precisely when 3x = 15y for (x, y) on the graph. This gives only the point (50, 500).
As 500 > (y-value at x = 225 4
), the answer is 500. One can also argue without considering
225
x = 4 at all. Plot the graph to see that there is no “endpoint”.
 Part B solutions

B1. [11 points] We want to find odd integers n > 1 for which n is a factor of 2023n 1.
(a) Find the two smallest such integers.
(b) Prove that there are infinitely many such integers.
Solution: (a) 2023 is 1 mod 3, so n = 3 works. Similarly using modular arithmetic one
checks that 5 and 7 do not work but 9 does. (b) If n = k works so does n = 3k by induction:
20233k 1 = (2023k 1)(20232k +2023k +1) = (multiple of k)(multiple of 3) as each summand
in the second factor is 1 mod 3. Thus all powers of 3 satisfy the required condition.

B2. [12 points] Let Z+ denote the set of positive integers. We want to find all functions
g : Z+ → Z+ such that the following equation holds for any m, n in Z+ .
g(n + m) = g(n) + nm(n + m) + g(m).
Prove that g(n) must be of the form di=0 ci ni and find the precise necessary and sufficient
P
condition(s) on d and on the coefficients c0 , . . . , cd for g to satisfy the required equation.

Solution: Setting m = 1 gives g(n + 1) Pg(n) = n(n + 1) + g(1). Apply this repeatedly
n×1 2
starting with n = 1 to get g(n) = ng(1) + i=1 i + i, which works out to ng(1) + 31 (n3 n).
Set g(1) to be an arbitrary positive integer k and verify that the resulting formula satisfies
the given condition for all m, n. Thus g(n) = 31 n3 + kn with k = (any positive integer) 31 .

B3. [13 points] Suppose that for a given polynomial p(x) = x4 + ax3 + bx2 + cx + d, there
is exactly one real number r such that p(r) = 0.
(a) If a, b, c, d are rational, show that r must be rational.
(b) If a, b, c, d are integers, show that r must be an integer.
Possible hint: Also consider the roots of the derivative p0 (x).

Solution: (a) The multiplicity of the root r must be either 2 or 4. In the latter case
p(x) = (x r)4 = x4 4rx3 + 6r2 x2 4r3 x + r4 . As 4r is a rational, so is r. If the multiplicity
is 2 then the two non-real roots are complex conjugates and r is the only repeated root
of p(x). So r is the only common root (whether real or not) of p(x) and p0 (x) AND r
is a simple root of the polynomial p0 (x). So gcd(p, p0 ) = x r by looking at complete
factorization of p(x) and p0 (x) into linear terms (including complex roots). As p(x) and p0 (x)
have rational coefficients, so does their gcd by looking at each step of the division algorithm.
(The preceding three sentences deserve careful consideration.) Therefore r must be rational.
(b) It is standard that a rational root of a monic polynomial with integer coefficients must
be an integer. (Proof: write a rational root r = mn
with gcd(m, n) = 1, substitute into the
polynomial, clear powers of n in the denominators and deduce that n cannot be divisible by
any prime because that prime would then need to divide m as well. So n = ±1.)
B4. [14 points] There are n students in a class and no two of them have the same height.
The students stand in a line, one behind another, in no particular order of their heights.

(a) How many different orders are there in which the shortest student is not in the first
position and the tallest student is not in the last position?

(b) The badness of an ordering is the largest number k with the following property. There
is at least one student X such that there are k students taller than X standing ahead
of X. Find a formula for gk (n) = number of orderings of n students with badness k.

Example: The ordering 64 61 67 63 62 66 65 (the numbers denote heights) has badness

3 as the student with height 62 has three taller students (with heights 64, 67 and 63)
standing ahead in the line and nobody has more than 3 taller students standing ahead.

Possible hints for (b): It may be useful to first count orderings of badness 1 and/or to find
fk (n) = the number of orderings of n students with badness less than or equal to k.

Solution: (a) There are (n 1)! + (n 1)! (n 2)! orderings with the shortest student
first or the tallest student last or both. So the desired number = n! 2(n 1)! + (n 2)!,
i.e., (n 2)!(n2 3n + 3). Alternatively, first order all but the shortest and the tallest
students in (n 2)! ways. The number of ways to insert the shortest and then the tallest is
(n 2)(n 1) + 1. (What is the extra 1 for?)
(b) Following both the hints, first consider badness 1 and use induction. Leave out the
shortest student and order the remaining n 1 students with badness 1. The shortest student
can now go in place 1 or 2. There is one more possibility where the n 1 students have 0
badness (i.e., are in increasing order) and the shortest student goes in place 2. Inductively
one gets the formula g1 (n) = 2n×1 1 (valid even for n = 1, giving g1 (1) = 0).
Induction to find fk (n) is easier. Leave out the shortest student and order the remaining
n 1 students with badness at most k. To maintain badness at most k, out of the n
available slots for the shortest student, the allowed ones are precisely 1, 2, . . . , min(k + 1, n).
So fk (n + 1) = fk (n) min(k + 1, n). Answer: fk (n) = n! if n ≤ k + 1 and fk (n) = k!(k + 1)n×k
if n ≥ k + 1. (The formulas agree for n = k + 1.)
Now gk (n) = fk (n) fk×1 (n). This
works out to 0 if n ≤ k (as expected) and for n ≥ k, one
gets gk (n) = k! (k + 1)n×k k n×k .

B5. [15 points] Throughout this question every mentioned function is required to be a
differentiable function from R to R. The symbol ◦ denotes composition of functions.
 (a) Suppose f ◦ f = f . Then for each x, one must have f 0 (x) = or f 0 (f (x)) = .
Complete the sentence and justify.
(b) For a non-constant f satisfying f ◦ f = f , it is known and you may assume that the
range of f must have one of the following forms: R, ( ∞, b], [a, ∞) or [a, b]. Show that
in fact the range must be all of R and deduce that there is a unique such function f .
(Possible hints: For each y in the range of f , what can you say about f (y)? If the
range has a maximum element b what can you say about the derivative of f ?)
(c) Suppose that g ◦ g ◦ g = g and that g ◦ g is a non-constant function. Show that g must
be onto, g must be strictly increasing or strictly decreasing and that there is a unique
such increasing g.
Solution: (a) f 0 (f (x))f 0 (x) = f 0 (x) for each x by chain rule, so f 0 (x) = 0 or f 0 (f (x)) = 1.
(b) (Argument taken from the answer by Dan Shved to question 365363 on stackexchange.)
For each y = f (x) in the range, f (y) = f (f (x)) = f (x) = y, so f is the identity function
on the range. Therefore it is enough to show that the range is all of R. As the range is
given to be an interval (a proof is given below), at each y in the range, f 0 (y) = 1 by direct
calculation. Note that if the range has endpoint(s), this derivative calculation is one sided
at such a point. We will show that the range does not have an endpoint on either side. If the
range interval has a left/right endpoint f (c) = c, then f has a minimum/maximum value at
c, so it must be true that f 0 (c) = 0. (Recall that the domain is all of R, so Fermat’s theorem
applies at x = c.) This contradicts the earlier calculation of a one-sided derivative at c being
1. So the range cannot be of the form ( ∞, b], [a, ∞) or [a, b] and must be all of R.
(c) By applying g to the given equation, g ◦ g ◦ g ◦ g = g ◦ g. So if g ◦ g is non-constant, it
has to be the identity by part (b), i.e., g is its own inverse. In particular, being invertible,
g is onto and one-to-one. Due to continuity, being one-to-one implies that g is monotonic.
(This is standard. If g is one-to-one and not monotonic, we have some a, b, c for which
a < b < c and WLOG g(a) < g(c) < g(b) by replacing g with its reflection in one/both axes
if necessary. By the intermediate value theorem, we have d ∈ (a, b) with g(c) = g(d), giving a
contradiction to g being one-to-one.) If g is increasing, g(x) < x implies x = g(g(x)) < g(x)
and vice versa, so the only possibility is g(x) = x.
For completeness, here is a proof of the fact that you were asked to assume in part (b), namely
that the range of f must be of the form R, ( ∞, b], [a, ∞) or [a, b]: As f is continuous, if
f (p) < r < f (q) then r is also in the range by intermediate value theorem. So the range
must be one of the intervals (m, M ) or (m, M ] or [m, M ) or [m, M ], where m is the greatest
lower bound of the range (possibly m = ∞), M is the least upper bound of the range
(possibly M = ∞), and it is understood that if m and/or M is not finite then only the open
interval makes sense on the corresponding side. It remains to show that if either of m and
M is finite, it must belong to the range. Now f (m + h) = m + h for small enough h > 0.
(Recall that the function is non-constant so m 6= M .) So lim+ f (m + h) = lim+ m + h = m.
h→0 h→0
At the same time, because f is continuous, the same limit must be f (m), so f (m) = m and
thus m is in the range of f . For M , take limit from the left lim− f (M + h), etc.
h→0
B6. [15 points] Starting with any given positive integer a > 1 the following game is played.
If a is a perfect square, take its square root.
√ Otherwise take a + 3. Repeat the procedure
with the new positive integer (i.e., with a or a + 3 depending on the case). The resulting
set of numbers is called the trajectory of a. For example the set {3, 6, 9} is a trajectory: it
is the trajectory of each of its members.
Which numbers have a finite trajectory? Possible hint: Find the set

{n | n is the smallest number in some trajectory S}.

If you wish, you can get partial credit by solving the following simpler questions.
(a) Show that there is no trajectory of cardinality 1 or 2.
(b) Show that {3, 6, 9} is the only trajectory of cardinality 3.
(c) Show that for any integer k ≥ 3, there is a trajectory of cardinality k.
(d) Find an infinite trajectory.
√
Solution: Let S = a trajectory, n = the smallest number in S. Note that 1 ∈
/ S, so n > n.
√ √
(a) |S|= 1 implies n = n, so n = 1, which is impossible. As n > n, n cannot be a perfect
square. So |S| = 2 implies S = {n, n + 3} and n + 3 = n2 , which cannot happen for n > 1.
(b) Similarly |S| = 3 implies S = {n, n + 3, n + 6} and n + 6 = n2 , which gives n = 3.
(c) To get any finite cardinality repeatedly square 6 (or 9) and add these numbers to {3, 6, 9}.
(d) (3k)2 = 9k 2 is 0 mod 3. Next, (3k + 1)2 = 9k 2 + 6k + 1 and (3k + 2)2 = 9k 2 + 12k + 4 are
1 mod 3. As all squares are 0 or 1 mod 3, any S containing a 2 mod 3 number is infinite.
Claim: For a trajectory S with smallest number n, exactly one of the following two happens.
1. No square occurs after n in the trajectory. Hence n is 2 mod 3 and S is infinite.
2. A square does occur after n and n = 3. Hence S is finite.
Proof of the claim: The smallest number in S cannot be a square, so let k 2 < n < (k + 1)2 .
Assuming a square occurs after n, we will show that n = 3. The first encountered square
after n is at most (k + 3)2 (e.g., make cases depending on what k and n are mod 3.) So
k 2 < n ≤ k + 3, but k 2 < k + 3 only for k = 1, 2. Hence n < (k + 1)2 ≤ 9. Now n cannot be
2, 5, 8 because adding 3 repeatedly to these will never give a square. And n cannot be 4, 6, 7
because in each case one gets a smaller number by playing the game (respectively 2, 3, 2). So
n = 3 is the only possibility. For the second sentence in case 1, note that repeatedly adding
3 to n will eventually give a square if and only if n is 0 or 1 mod 3.
Main answer: If a number in S is / is not divisible by 3, then the same is true for all numbers
in S (check this). If the initial number a is a multiple of 3, then so is n, and hence we must
be in case 2 of the claim. If a is not a multiple of 3, then nor is n, so n 6= 3 and we must be
in case 1. Thus multiples of 3 are precisely the numbers with finite trajectories.
Notes: (1) The above pattern was discovered earlier by Stephan Wagner. See problem 1 in
IMO 2017 for a slightly different formulation. (2) The analysis in the solution generalizes
naturally if 3 is replaced in the game by any prime p. (Why prime?) What happens for
p = 2? For p = 5? For p = 7? In general?
 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI, May 2012
Attempt all 5 problems in part A, each worth 6 points. Attempt 7 out of the 9 problems in part B, each
worth 10 points.

Part A. (5 problems × 6 points = 30 points.) Clearly explain your entire reasoning.

1. Find the number of real solutions to the equation x = 99 sin(πx).

2. A differentiable function f : R → R satisfies f (1) = 2, f (2) = 3 and f (3) = 1. Show that f 0 (x) = 0
for some x.
ln(12)
3. Show that ln(18) is irrational.

4. Show that
x100 ln(x)
lim = 0.
x→∞ ex tan−1 ( π3 + sin x)

5. (a) n identical chocolates are to be distributed among the k students in Tinku’s class. Find the
probability that Tinku gets at least one chocolate, assuming that the n chocolates are handed out one
by one in n independent steps. At each step, one chocolate is given to a randomly chosen student, with
each student having equal chance to receive it.
(b) Solve the same problem assuming instead that

all distributions are equally likely. You are given
that the number of such distributions is n+k−1
k−1 . (Here all chocolates are considered interchangeable
but students are considered different.)

Part B. (9 problems × 10 points = 90 points.) Clearly explain your entire reasoning.

Attempt at least 7 problems. You may solve only part of a problem and get partial credit. If you cannot
solve an earlier part, you may assume it and proceed to the next part. For all such partial answers,
clearly mention what you are solving and what you are assuming.
√
1. a) Find a polynomial p(x) with real coefficients such that p( 2 + i) = 0.
b)√Find a polynomial q(x) with rational coefficients and having the smallest possible degree
√ such that
q( 2 + i) = 0. Show that any other polynomial with rational coefficients and having 2 + i as a root
has q(x) as a factor.

2. a) Let E, F, G and H respectively be the midpoints of the sides AB, BC, CD and DA of a convex
quadrilateral ABCD. Show that EFGH is a parallelogram whose area is half that of ABCD.
b) Let E = (0, 0), F = (0, 1), G = (1, 1), H = (1, 0). Find all points A = (p, q) in the first quadrant
such that E, F, G and H respectively are the midpoints of the sides AB, BC, CD and DA of a convex
quadrilateral ABCD.

3. a) We want to choose subsets A1 , A2 , . . . , Ak of {1, 2, . . . , n} such that any two of the chosen subsets
have nonempty intersection. Show that the size k of any such collection of subsets is at most 2n−1 .
b) For n > 2 show that we can always find a collection of 2n−1 subsets A1 , A2 , . . . of {1, 2, . . . , n} such
that any two of the Ai intersect, but the intersection of all Ai is empty.

1
4. Define
10 9
X 1 1 X 1 1
x= √ and y= √ .
i=1
10 3 1 + ( 10i√3 )2 i=0
10 3 1 + ( 10i√3 )2
π x+y π
Show that a) x < 6 < y and b) 2 < 6 . (Hint: Relate these sums to an integral.)

√
5. Using the steps below, find the value of x2012 + x−2012 , where x + x−1 = 5+1
2 .

a) For any real r, show that |r + r−1 | ≥ 2. What does this tell you about the given x?
√
b) Show that cos( π5 ) = 5+1
4 , e.g. compare sin( 2π 3π
5 ) and sin( 5 ).

c) Combine conclusions of parts a and b to express x and therefore the desired quantity in a suitable
form.

6. For n > 1, a configuration consists of 2n distinct points in a plane, n of them red, the remaining n
blue, with no three points collinear. A pairing consists of n line segments, each with one blue and one
red endpoint, such that each of the given 2n points is an endpoint of exactly one segment. Prove the
following.
a) For any configuration, there is a pairing in which no two of the n segments intersect. (Hint: consider
total length of segments.)
b) Given n red points (no three collinear), we can place n blue points such that any pairing in the
resulting configuration will have two segments that do not intersect. (Hint: First consider the case
n = 2.)

7. A sequence of integers cn starts with c0 = 0 and satisfies cn+2 = acn+1 + bcn for n ≥ 0, where a and
b are integers. For any positive integer k with gcd(k, b) = 1, show that cn is divisible by k for infinitely
many n.

8. Let f (x) be a polynomial with integer coefficients such that for each nonnegative integer n, f (n) = a
perfect power of a prime number, i.e., of the form pk , where p is prime and k a positive integer. (p and
k can vary with n.) Show that f must be a constant polynomial using the following steps or otherwise.
a) If such a polynomial f (x) exists, then there is a polynomial g(x) with integer coefficients such that
for each nonnegative integer n, g(n) = a perfect power of a fixed prime number.
b) Show that a polynomial g(x) as in part a must be constant.

9. Let N be the set of non-negative integers. Suppose f : N → N is a function such that f (f (f (n))) <
f (n + 1) for every n ∈ N . Prove that f (n) = n for all n using the following steps or otherwise.
a) If f (n) = 0, then n = 0.
b) If f (x) < n, then x < n. (Start by considering n = 1.)
c) f (n) < f (n + 1) and n < f (n + 1) for all n.
d) f (n) = n for all n.

2
 Solutions to the 2012 CMI BSc Entrance Examination
Part A: 5 problems × 6 marks. Part B: 7 out of 9 problems × 10 marks.

A1. Find the number of real solutions to the equation x = 99 sin(πx).

x
The number of solutions is the number of times the line y = 99 meets the graph of
y = sin(πx). This can occur only for x ∈ [ 99, 99] because sin(πx) has range [ 1, 1]. Also
sin(πx) is periodic with period 2. For x ≥ 0, the two graphs meet twice in each cycle
of sin(πx), both intersections occurring in the first half of the cycle. There are 50 such
half-cycles from x = 0 to x = 99, over intervals [0, 1], [2, 3], . . . , [98, 99]. So there are 100
non-negative solutions. Similarly there are 100 solutions ≤ 0 because both graphs are odd.
Since x = 0 is counted twice, the total number of solutions is 100 + 100 1 = 199.

A2. A differentiable function f : R → R satisfies f (1) = 2, f (2) = 3 and f (3) = 1. Show

that f 0 (x) = 0 for some x.

Since f is differentiable, it is continuous. By the intermediate value theorem, there is

a ∈ (2, 3) with f (a) = 2 = f (1). Now by Rolle’s theorem there is x ∈ (1, a) with f 0 (x) = 0.
–OR– The continuous function f over the closed interval [1, 2] must attain its absolute
maximum, which cannot be at either endpoint (since f (2) > f (1) and f (2) > f (3)). So
the maximum must be at an interior point x and then f 0 (x) = 0. –OR– By the mean
value theorem, f 0 (y) = 1 > 0 for some y ∈ (1, 2) and f 0 (z) = 2 < 0 for some z ∈ (2, 3).
So f 0 (x) = 0 for some x ∈ (y, z) since for a differentiable f , the function f 0 satisfies the
intermediate value property by Darboux’s theorem. (This is important to say because f 0
need not be continuous.)

ln(12)
A3. Show that ln(18) is irrational.

ln(12)
ln(18)= log18 (12). Suppose this is rational, say = ab where a, b are integers with b 6= 0.
a
Then 18 b = 12, so 18a = 12b . By factoring into primes this gives 32a 2a = 3b 22b , which
by unique factorization can happen only if 2a = b and a = 2b. But this gives a = b = 0,
ln(2)
a contradiction. (Alternatively and similarly, prove that r = ln(3) is irrational and show
ln(12) ln 3+2 ln 2 1+2r
that rationality of ln(18) = 2 ln 3+ln a = 2+r would force r to be rational as well.)

A4. Show that

x100 ln(x)
lim = 0.
x→∞ ex tan−1 ( π3 + sin x)

There is a positive constant c such that tan−1 ( π3 +sin x) > c for any x, e.g. c = tan−1 (0.04)
will work since π > 3.12, sin(x) ≥ 1 and tan−1 is an increasing function. Moreover
ln(x) < x for x > 0. So the given ratio is sandwiched between 0 and x101 /cex . Now use
L’Hospital’s rule repeatedly.

1
A5. a) n identical chocolates are to be distributed among the k students in Tinku’s class.
Find the probability that Tinku gets at least one chocolate, assuming that the n chocolates
are handed out one by one in n independent steps. At each step, one chocolate is given to
a randomly chosen student, with each student having equal chance to receive it.

P(Tinku gets at least one chocolate) = 1 – P(Tinku gets none) = 1 (1 k1 )n , because in

each of the independent steps the probability of Tinku not getting a chocolate is 1 k1 .

b) Solve the same problem assuming instead that all distributions are equally likely. You
are given that the number of such distributions is n+k−1


k−1 . (Here all chocolates are con-
sidered interchangeable but students are considered different.)

There are (n−1)+k−1

k−1 distributions in which Tinku gets at least a chocolate: give Tinku a
chocolate and then use the given formula to find number of distributions

n+k−1
of then remaining
(n−1)+k−1
n 1 chocolates among k students. So the answer is k−1 / k−1 = n+k−1 . –OR–
The number of distributions in which Tinku gets no chocolate = number of distributions
n+k−2


of n chocolates among the remaining k 1 students = k−2 . So the desired probability
n+k−2

n+k−1
n
is 1 k−2 / k−1 = n+k−1 .

√
B1. a) Find a polynomial p(x) with real coefficients such that p( 2 + i) = 0.

Non-real
√ roots of a √
polynomial with √
real coefficients occur in conjugate pairs. p(x) =
2
(x ( 2 + i))(x ( 2 i)) = x 2 2x + 3 works.

b) Find a polynomial
√ q(x) with rational coefficients and having the smallest possible degree
such that
√ q( 2 + i) = 0. Show that any other polynomial with rational coefficients and
having 2 + i as a root has q(x) as a factor.
√ √ √
2 + i satisfies x2 2 2x + 3 = 0, i.e., x2 + 3 = 2 2x and so satisfies (x2 + 3)2 =
8x2 . So q(x) = (x2 + 3)2 8x2 works. A cubic with rational coefficients will not work
because, after
√ dividing by the necessarily rational leading coefficient, √it must be of the
2
form (x 2 2x + 3)(x r). This forces the coefficients 3r and 2 2 r to be both
rational, which is impossible.
√
Let f (x) be a polynomial with rational coefficients such that f ( 2 + i) = 0. Divide f (x)
by q(x) using long division to get √quotient a(x) and√remainder b(x), both polynomials
with rational coefficients.
√ Using f ( 2 + i) = 0 and q( 2 + i) = 0 in the equation f (x) =
q(x)a(x) + b(x) gives b( 2 + i) = 0. Now if the remainder b(x)√is a nonzero polynomial,
then it would have rational coefficients, degree less than 4 and 2 + i as a root. But we
just proved that this is impossible. Hence b(x) = 0, i.e., f (x) is a multiple of q(x).

B2. a) Let E, F, G and H respectively be the midpoints of the sides AB, BC, CD and
DA of a convex quadrilateral ABCD. Show that EFGH is a parallelogram whose area is
half that of ABCD.

2
Consider the diagonals AC and BD. By the basic proportionality theorem in triangle ABC,
we get that EF and AC are parallel and AC = 2 EF. Moreover, ABC and EBF are similar.
Using triangles ADC and HDG, we similarly get that AC is parallel to HG, AC = 2 HG.
Thus EF and HG are parallel. Likewise FG and EH are parallel (both parallel to BD), so
EFGH is a parallelogram. Also by similarity, Area(ABC) = 4 Area(EBF), Area(ADC) =
4 Area(HDG), Area(BAD) = 4 Area(EAH) and Area(BCD) = 4 Area(FCG). (Note. So
far convexity of ABCD is unnecessary. But the next steps need it, draw pictures and see.)
Area(EFGH) = Area(ABCD) – [Area(EBF) + Area(FCG) + Area(GDH) + Area(HAE)]
= Area(ABCD) – 41 [Area(ABC)+ Area(BCD) + Area(CDA) + Area(DAB)]
= Area(ABCD) – 12 Area(ABCD) = 12 Area(ABCD).

b) Let E = (0, 0), F = (0, 1), G = (1, 1), H = (1, 0). Find all points A = (p, q) in the
first quadrant such that E, F, G and H respectively are the midpoints of the sides AB,
BC, CD and DA of a convex quadrilateral ABCD.

If A = (p, q) is such a point, then E = (0,0) being the midpoint of AB is equivalent to

having B = ( p, q). Similarly we get C = (p, q 2), D = (2 p, q). In particular AC =
BD = 2, AC is vertical and BD horizontal. By the reasoning in part a), these facts imply
that the quadrilateral constructed from the midpoints of the sides of ABCD is a square of
side 1. So we just need to ensure that the listed coordinates make ABCD into a convex
quadrilateral. This happens if and only if p, q are both positive (which is given) and < 1.
It is easy to see that these conditions are sufficient to make ABCD a convex quadrilateral.
For necessity see the following (pictures will help). If p > 1 then A will be to the right of
H and so D to the left of H. If q > 1, then B will be below F and so C will be above F. If
p or q = 1, then three of the points A, B, C, D become collinear. In all cases ABCD will
not be a convex quadrilateral. If both p, q > 1, ABCD will even be self-intersecting.

B3. a) We want to choose subsets A1 , A2 , . . . , Ak of {1, 2, . . . , n} such that any two of the
chosen subsets have nonempty intersection. Show that the size k of any such collection of
subsets is at most 2n−1 .

If a set A is in such a collection C, then the complement of A cannot be in C. Therefore

|C| ≤ 21 (total number of subsets of {1, 2, . . . , n}) = 21 2n = 2n−1 .

b) For n > 2 show that we can always find a collection of 2n−1 subsets A1 , A2 , . . . of
{1, 2, . . . , n} such that any two of the Ai intersect, but the intersection of all Ai is empty.

There are many ways to build such a collection, e.g., take all 2n−1 subsets of {1, 2, . . . , n}
containing 1, remove the singleton set {1} and instead include its complement. –OR–
Note that for n = 3, the four sets {1, 2}, {2, 3}, {1, 3}, {1, 2, 3} give a (unique) solution.
For n > 3 take the union of each of these 4 sets with all 2n−3 subsets of {4, . . . , n}. –OR–
For n = 2k +
1, take
all subsets of {1, 2, . . . , n} of size > k. Any two of these will intersect.
Now use ni = n−i n
. For n = 2k, take all subsets of size > k along with half the subsets
of size k, namely those containing a fixed number. (Check the details.)

3
B4. Define
10 9
X 1 1 X 1 1
x= √ and y= √ .
i=1
10 3 1 + ( 10i√3 )2 i=0
10 3 1 + ( 10i√3 )2
π x+y π
Show that a) x < 6 < y and b) 2 < 6 . (Hint: Relate these sums to an integral.)

a) Let f (t) = 1/(1 + t2 ). Then y and x are respectively the left and right hand
√ Riemann
1
sums for f over the interval [0, √3 ] using 10 equal parts, each of width 1/10 3. Since f is
a positive decreasing function, y overestimates the area under f over the given interval and
1
R 1/√3 −1
√
1/ 3 π
x underestimates it. The area under f over [0, √3 ] is 0 f (t)dt = tan (t)|0 = 6 , so
π
x < 6 < y. Note. Different normalizations are possible for f , e.g., the more simpleminded
choice f (t) = 101√3 1+( 1t√ )2 considered over the interval [0,10] will work too.
10 3

b) x+y 2 can be interpreted as the sum of areas of 10 trapezoids as follows. Dividing

[0, √13 ] into 10 equal parts, let the i-th subinterval be [ti−1 , ti ] with i = 0, 1, . . . , 10. Then
the i-th trapezoid has base [ti−1 , ti ] and it has two vertical sides, the left one of height
f (ti−1 ) and the right one of height f (ti ) (draw a picture and see). So we have to prove
that the total area of trapezoids is less than the area under f . For this we should check
concavity of f (draw pictures and see why). Check that over the interval (0, √13 ), we have
2
6t −2
f 00 (t) = (1+t2 )3 < 0, so f is concave down and hence each trapezoid lies completely below

the graph of f .

√
B5. Using the steps below, find the value of x2012 + x−2012 , where x + x−1 = 5+1
2 .

a) For any real r, show that |r + r−1 | ≥ 2. What does this tell you about the given x?

Because of the absolute value we may assume that rp> 0 by replacing r with r if √
necessary.
√ −1
Now use AM-GM inequality or the fact that ( r 1/r) ≥ 0. Since x+x = 5+1
2
2 < 2,
given x must be a non-real (complex) number.
√
b) Show that cos( π5 ) = 5+1
4 , e.g. compare sin( 2π 3π
5 ) and sin( 5 ).

Let θ = π5 . Then sin(2θ) = sin(π 2θ) = sin(3θ). Using the formulas for sin(2θ) and
sin(3θ), canceling sin θ (it is nonzero) and substituting sin2 θ = 1 cos2√θ, gives the
quadratic equation 4 cos2 θ 2 cos θ 1 = 0. Since cos θ > 0, we get cos θ = 5+1
4 .

c) Combine conclusions of parts a and b to express x and therefore the desired quantity
in a suitable form.

Let x = deiα = d(cos α + i√sin α). Then x−1 = d−1 e−iα = d−1 (cos α i sin α). Adding
iπ
and using that x + x−1 = 5+1 2 = 2 cos( π5 ), we get d = 1 and α = ±θ. So x = e± 5 and
√
x2012 + x−2012 = 2 cos( 2012π
5 ) = 2 cos(402π + 2π
5 ) = 2 cos( 2π
5 ) = 2 cos 2 π
( 5 ) 1 = 5−1
2 .

4
B6. For n > 1, a configuration consists of 2n distinct points in a plane, n of them red, the
remaining n blue, with no three points collinear. A pairing consists of n line segments, each
with one blue and one red endpoint, such that each of the given 2n points is an endpoint
of exactly one segment. Prove the following.
a) For any configuration, there is a pairing in which no two of the n segments intersect.
(Hint: consider total length of segments.)

For any configuration, there are only finitely many pairings. Choose one with least possible
total length of segments. Here no two of the n segments can interest, because if RB and
R0 B 0 intersect in point X then we get a contradiction as follows. Using triangle inequality
in triangles RXB 0 and R0 XB, we get RB 0 + R0 B < RB + R0 B 0 (draw a picture). So
replacing RB and R0 B 0 with R0 B and RB 0 would give a pairing with smaller total length.

b) Given n red points (no three collinear), we can place n blue points such that any pairing
in the resulting configuration will have two segments that do not intersect. (Hint: First
consider the case n = 2.)

For n = 2, place the two blue points on opposite sides of the line passing through the given
two red points. There are two possible pairings and the two segments in either one do not
intersect. We use a similar idea in general. Given n red points, find a triangle ABC such
that A is a red point and all other red points are inside triangle ABC. (This is always
possible. Why?) Place one blue point at B and all other blue points in the region opposite
to triangle ABC at vertex C. (More precisely, let C be between A and A0 and also between
B and B 0 . Place the remaining blue points inside triangle A0 CB 0 .) Now in any pairing, if
A and B are connected, then AB will not intersect any other segment. Otherwise the two
segments having A and B as vertices will not intersect. Draw a picture to see this.

B7. A sequence of integers cn starts with c0 = 0 and satisfies cn+2 = acn+1 + bcn for
n ≥ 0, where a and b are integers. For any positive integer k with gcd(k, b) = 1, show that
cn is divisible by k for infinitely many n.

Consider pairs of consecutive entries of the sequence modulo k, i.e., (c̄n , c̄n+1 ), where ā
denotes a modulo k. Since there are only finitely many possibilities (namely k 2 ), some pair
of consecutive residues will repeat. Suppose (c̄i , c̄i+1 ) = (c̄i+p , c̄i+p+1 ) for some i. We will
show that in fact the previous equation holds for all i, i.e., whole sequence of consecutive
pairs is periodic. This will prove in particular that (c̄0 , c̄1 ) = (c̄p , c̄p+1 ) = (c̄2p , c̄2p+1 ) = · · ·.
Since c0 = 0 is divisible by k, so is cip for all i.
The equation cn+2 = acn+1 + bcn shows that b̄c̄n = c̄n+2 āc̄n+1 . Now gcd(k, b) = 1 means
b is invertible modulo k, i.e., there is a b0 with b̄b̄0 = 1̄. Therefore c̄n = b̄0 (c̄n+2 āc̄n+1 ).
Thus knowing a pair of consecutive residues uniquely determines the previous residue
(this is why we considered pairs of residues). Therefore (c̄i , c̄i+1 ) = (c̄i+p , c̄i+p+1 ) implies
(c̄i−1 , c̄i ) = (c̄i+p−1 , c̄i+p ) and (by the given recurrence) (c̄i+1 , c̄i+2 ) = (c̄i+p+1 , c̄i+p+2 ).
Thus the whole sequence (c̄n , c̄n+1 ) becomes periodic as soon as a single such pair repeats.

5
B8. Let f (x) be a polynomial with integer coefficients such that for each nonnegative
integer n, f (n) = a perfect power of a prime number, i.e., of the form pk , where p is prime
and k a positive integer. (p and k can vary with n.) Show that f must be a constant
polynomial using the following steps or otherwise.
a) If such a polynomial f (x) exists, then there is a polynomial g(x) with integer coefficients
such that for each nonnegative integer n, g(n) = a perfect power of a fixed prime number.

Write f (x) = an xn + an−1 xn−1 + · · · + a1 x + a0 . Then a0 = f (0) = pk for some prime

p and integer k > 0. Define g(x) = f (px). Then g(x) is a polynomial such that for each
nonnegative integer n, g(n) = f (pn) = a perfect power of a prime number. This prime
number has to be p, because by evaluating we see that g(n) = f (pn) is divisible by p.

b) Show that a polynomial g(x) as in part a must be constant.

Let g(x) = bn xn + bn−1 xn−1 + · · · + b1 x + b0 . Then b0 = g(0) = pk . Consider g(mpk+1 ) =

bn (mpk+1 )n +bn−1 (mpk+1 )n−1 +· · ·+b1 (mpk+1 )+pk . Clearly for each non-negative integer
m, this expression is divisible by pk , but not by pk+1 (since it is pk modulo pk+1 ). This
forces g(mpk+1 ) = pk for all m, since it must be a perfect power of p. Thus the polynomial
g takes the value pk infinitely often, so it must be identically equal to pk . (Otherwise the
polynomial g(x) pk would have infinitely many roots.) To finish the problem, note that
since g(x) = f (px) is constant, f (x) must be constant by the same logic.

B9. Let N be the set of non-negative integers. Suppose f : N → N is a function such that
f (f (f (n))) < f (n + 1) for every n ∈ N . Prove that f (n) = n for all n using the following
steps or otherwise.
a) If f (n) = 0, then n = 0.

Let f (n) = 0. If n > 0, then n 1 is in the domain of f and f (f (f (n 1))) < f (n) = 0,
which is a contradiction, since 0 is the smallest possible value of f . (Note that this does
NOT prove that f (0) = 0, only that if f (some n) = 0, then that n = 0. In fact proving
f (0) = 0 along with part a would essentially solve the problem, see below.)

b) If f (x) < n, then x < n. (Start by considering n = 1.)

Induction on n. If n = 1, then this is just part a. Assuming the statement up to n we need

to prove that if f (x) < n + 1, then x < n + 1. If f (x) < n, then by induction x < n, so
x < n + 1. So let f (x) = n. If x = 0, we are done. Otherwise f (f (f (x 1))) < f (x) = n
and by using induction thrice we get in succession f (f (x 1)) < n, then f (x 1) < n and
then x 1 < n, i.e., x < n + 1 as desired.

c) f (n) < f (n + 1) and n < f (n + 1) for all n.

Apply part b to f (f (f (m))) < f (m + 1) (with x = f (f (m)) and n = f (m + 1)) to get

6
f (f (m)) < f (m + 1). Apply part b to this with x = f (m) and n = f (m + 1) to get
f (m) < f (m + 1). Again apply part b to get m < f (m + 1).

d) f (n) = n for all n.

By part c, f is increasing and f (n) ≥ n. If f (n) > n, then f (f (n)) > f (n) (since f
is increasing) and so f (f (n)) > n, i.e., f (f (n)) ≥ n + 1. Again, since f is increasing,
f (f (f (n))) ≥ f (n + 1), a contradiction.

Alternative solution after part a. Let us prove f (0) = 0. We know that f (n) = 0
implies n = 0, so n > 0 implies f (n) > 0. Applying this to any positive f (k), we get
f (f (k)) > 0. Denoting f (f (k)) = x, we therefore get f (f (f (x 1))) < f (x) = f (f (f (k))).
This means that for k such that f (f (f (k))) is the smallest number in {f (f (f (n)))|n ≥ 0},
we must have f (k) = 0. In particular 0 is in the range of f , so by part a f (0) = 0.
Since f (n) = 0 for no other n, we may restrict the function f by deleting 0 from the
domain and the range. The resulting function would satisfy f (f (f (n))) < f (n + 1) for
every n > 0. Repeat the reasoning substituting 1 (the new lowest element of the domain
and the range) for 0 and conclude f (1) = 1. Then restrict to n > 1 and show f (2) = 2
and so on.

7
 2013 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

Part A. (10 problems × 5 points = 50 points.) Attempt all questions in this part
before going to part B. Carefully read the details of marking scheme given
below. Note that wrong answers will get negative marks!

In each problem you have to fill in 4 blanks as directed. Points will be given based only on
the filled answer, so you need not explain your answer. Each correct answer gets 1 point
and having all 4 answers correct will get 1 extra point for a total of 5 points per problem.
But each wrong/illegible/unclear answer will get minus 1 point. Negative points from any
problem will be counted in your total score, so it is better not to guess! If you are unsure
about a part, you may leave it blank without any penalty. If you write something and then
want it not to count, cross it out and clearly write “no attempt” next to the relevant part.

1. For sets A and B, let f : A → B and g : B → A be functions such that f (g(x)) = x for
each x. For each statement below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.

a) The function f must be one-to-one.

Answer:

b) The function f must be onto.

Answer:

c) The function g must be one-to-one.

Answer:

d) The function g must be onto.

Answer:

1
2. Let f : R → R be a function, where R is the set of real numbers. For each statement
below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.

a) If |f (x) f (y)| ≤ 39|x y| for all x, y then f must be continuous everywhere.

Answer:

b) If |f (x) f (y)| ≤ 39|x y| for all x, y then f must be differentiable everywhere.

Answer:

c) If |f (x) f (y)| ≤ 39|x y|2 for all x, y then f must be differentiable everywhere.

Answer:

d) If |f (x) f (y)| ≤ 39|x y|2 for all x, y then f must be constant.

Answer:

2
3. Let S be a circle with center O. Suppose A, B are points on the circumference of S with
∠AOB = 120◦ . For triangle AOB, let C be its circumcenter and D its orthocenter (i.e.,
the point of intersection of the three lines containing the altitudes). For each statement
below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.

a) The triangle AOC is equilateral.

Answer:

b) The triangle ABD is equilateral.

Answer:

c) The point C lies on the circle S.

Answer:

d) The point D lies on the circle S.

Answer:

3
4. A polynomial f (x) with real coefficients is said to be a sum of squares if we can write
f (x) = p1 (x)2 + · · · + pk (x)2 , where p1 (x), . . . , pk (x) are polynomials with real coefficients.
For each statement below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.

a) If a polynomial f (x) is a sum of squares, then the coefficient of every odd power of x in
f (x) must be 0.

Answer:

b) If f (x) = x2 + px + q has a non-real root, then f (x) is a sum of squares.

Answer:

c) If f (x) = x3 + px2 + qx + r has a non-real root, then f (x) is a sum of squares.

Answer:

d) If a polynomial f (x) > 0 for all real values of x, then f (x) is a sum of squares.

Answer:

4
5. There are 8 boys and 7 girls in a group. For each of the tasks specified below, write an
expression for the number of ways of doing it. Do NOT try to simplify your answers.

a) Sitting in a row so that all boys sit contiguously and all girls sit contiguously, i.e., no
girl sits between any two boys and no boy sits between any two girls

Answer:

b) Sitting in a row so that between any two boys there is a girl and between any two girls
there is a boy

Answer:

c) Choosing a team of six people from the group

Answer:

d) Choosing a team of six people consisting of unequal number of boys and girls

Answer:

5
6. Calculate the following integrals whenever possible. If a given integral does not exist,
state so. Note that [x] denotes the integer part of x, i.e., the unique integer n such that
n ≤ x < n + 1.

R4
a) 1
x2 dx

Answer:

R3
b) 1
[x]2 dx

Answer:

R2
c) 1
[x2 ]dx

Answer:

R1 1
d) −1 x2
dx

Answer:

6
7. Let A, B, C be angles such that eiA , eiB , eiC form an equilateral triangle in the complex
plane. Find values of the given expressions.

a) eiA + eiB + eiC

Answer:

b) cos A + cos B + cos C

Answer:

c) cos 2A + cos 2B + cos 2C

Answer:

d) cos2 A + cos2 B + cos2 C

Answer:

7
8. Consider the quadratic equation x2 + bx + c = 0, where b and c are chosen randomly
from the interval [0,1] with the probability uniformly distributed over all pairs (b, c). Let
p(b) = the probability that the given equation has a real solution for given (fixed) value of
b. Answer the following questions by filling in the blanks.

a) The equation x2 + bx + c = 0 has a real solution if and only if b2 4c is

Answer:

b) The value of p( 12 ), i.e., the probability that x2 + x

2 + c = 0 has a real solution is

Answer:

c) As a function of b, is p(b) increasing, decreasing or constant?

Answer:

d) As b and c both vary, what is the probability that x2 + bx + c = 0 has a real solution?

Answer:

8
9. Let R = the set of real numbers. A continuous function f : R → R satisfies f (1) = 1,
f (2) = 4, f (3) = 9 and f (4) = 16. Answer the independent questions below by choosing
the correct option from the given ones.

a) Which of the following values must be in the range of f ?

Options: 5 25 both neither

Answer:

b) Suppose f is differentiable. Then which of the follwing intervals must contain an x such
that f 0 (x) = 2x ? Options: (1,2) (2,4) both neither

Answer:

c) Suppose f is twice differentiable. Which of the following intervals must contain an x

such that f 00 (x) = 2 ? Options: (1,2) (2,4) both neither

Answer:

d) Suppose f is a polynomial, then which of the following are possible values of its degree?
Options: 3 4 both neither

Answer:

9
10. Let

x4
f (x) =
(x 1)(x 2) · · · (x n)
where the denominator is a product of n factors, n being a positive integer. It is also given
that the X-axis is a horizontal asymptote for the graph of f . Answer the independent
questions below by choosing the correct option from the given ones.

a) How many vertical asymptotes does the graph of f have?

Options: n less than n more than n impossible to decide

Answer:

b) What can you deduce about the value of n ?

Options: n < 4 n=4 n>4 impossible to decide

Answer:

c) As one travels along the graph of f from left to right, at which of the following points
is the sign of f (x) guaranteed to change from positive to negative?
Options: x = 0 x=1 x=n 1 x=n

Answer:

d) How many inflection points does the graph of f have in the region x < 0 ?
Options: none 1 more than 1 impossible to decide
(Hint: Sketching is better than calculating.)

Answer:

10
Part B. (Problems 1–4 × 15 points + problems 5–6 × 20 points = 100 points.) Solve
these problems in the space provided for each problem after this page. You may solve only
part of a problem and get partial credit. Clearly explain your entire reasoning. No
credit will be given without reasoning.

1. In triangle ABC, the bisector of angle A meets side BC in point D and the bisector of
angle B meets side AC in point E. Given that DE is parallel to AB, show that AE = BD
and that the triangle ABC is isosceles.

2. A curve C has the property that the slope of the tangent at any given point (x, y) on
2
+y 2
C is x 2xy .

a) Find the general equation for such a curve. Possible hint: let z = xy .

b) Specify all possible shapes of the curves in this family. (For example, does the family
include an ellipse?)

3. A positive integer N has its first, third and fifth digits equal and its second, fourth and
sixth digits equal. In other words, when written in the usual decimal system it has the
form xyxyxy, where x and y are the digits. Show that N cannot be a perfect power, i.e.,
N cannot equal ab , where a and b are positive integers with b > 1.

4. Suppose f (x) is a function from R to R such that f (f (x)) = f (x)2013 . Show that there
are infinitely many such functions, of which exactly four are polynomials. (Here R = the
set of real numbers.)

1
5. Consider the function f (x) = ax + x+1 , where a is a positive constant. Let L = the
1
largest value of f (x) and S = the smallest value of f (x) for x ∈ [0, 1]. Show that L S > 12
for any a > 0.

6. Define fk (n) to be the sum of all possible products of k distinct integers chosen from
the set {1, 2, . . . , n}, i.e.,
X
fk (n) = i1 i2 . . . ik .
1≤i1 <i2 <...<ik ≤n

a) For k > 1, write a recursive formula for the function fk , i.e., a formula for fk (n) in
terms of f` (m), where ` < k or (` = k and m < n).
b) Show that fk (n), as a function of n, is a polynomial of degree 2k.
c) Express f2 (n) as a polynomial in variable n.

11
 Solutions for 2013 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

Part A. (10 problems × 5 points = 50 points.) Attempt all questions in this part
before going to part B. Carefully read the details of marking scheme given
below. Note that wrong answers will get negative marks!

In each problem you have to fill in 4 blanks as directed. Points will be given based only on
the filled answer, so you need not explain your answer. Each correct answer gets 1 point
and having all 4 answers correct will get 1 extra point for a total of 5 points per problem.
But each wrong/illegible/unclear answer will get minus 1 point. Negative points from any
problem will be counted in your total score, so it is better not to guess! If you are unsure
about a part, you may leave it blank without any penalty. If you write something and then
want it not to count, cross it out and clearly write “no attempt” next to the relevant part.

1. For sets A and B, let f : A → B and g : B → A be functions such that f (g(x)) = x for
each x. For each statement below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.
a) The function f must be one-to-one.
b) The function f must be onto.
c) The function g must be one-to-one.
d) The function g must be onto.
Answer: FTTF.
If g(x1 ) = g(x2 ), then x1 = f (g(x1 )) = f (g(x2 )) = x2 , so g is one-to-one. Also f is onto
because each x ∈ B is in the image of f , namely x = f (g(x)). The other two statements
are false, e.g. by constructing an example in which A is a larger finite set than B.

2. Let f : R → R be a function, where R is the set of real numbers. For each statement
below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.
a) If |f (x) f (y)| ≤ 39|x y| for all x, y then f must be continuous everywhere.
b) If |f (x) f (y)| ≤ 39|x y| for all x, y then f must be differentiable everywhere.
c) If |f (x) f (y)| ≤ 39|x y|2 for all x, y then f must be differentiable everywhere.
d) If |f (x) f (y)| ≤ 39|x y|2 for all x, y then f must be constant.
Answer: TFTT
In parts a and b, we have |f (x) f (a)| sandwiched between ±39|x a|. As x → a,
±39|x a| → 0 and hence f (x) f (a) → 0, so f is continuous. But it need not be
differentiable, e.g. f (x) = |x| satisfies f (x) f (y) = |x| |y| ≤ |x y| ≤ 39|x y|. But f
is not differentiable at 0.
In parts c and d, we have | f (x)−f
x−a
(a)
| ≤ 39|x a|, so by reasoning as for part a, we have
limx→a f (x)−f
x−a
(a) 0
= 0, i.e., f (a) = 0 for all a, so f is a constant function.

1
3. Let S be a circle with center O. Suppose A, B are points on the circumference of S with
∠AOB = 120◦ . For triangle AOB, let C be its circumcenter and D its orthocenter (i.e.,
the point of intersection of the three lines containing the altitudes). For each statement
below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.
a) The triangle AOC is equilateral.
b) The triangle ABD is equilateral.
c) The point C lies on the circle S.
d) The point D lies on the circle S.
Answer: TTTT
Draw a picture and see that the bisector of ∠AOB splits this angle into two angles of
60◦ each and meets the circle, say in point C 0 . Now the triangles OAC 0 and OBC 0 are
both equilateral, so AC 0 = OC 0 = BC 0 , making C 0 = C, the cirumcenter of triangle
AOB. Similarly, letting CD0 be a diameter of the circle S, it is easy to deduce that
∠AOD0 = ∠BOD0 = 120◦ and that triangle ABD0 is also equilateral with O as its
centroid. Hence CD0 ? AB, line BO ? AD0 and line AO ? BD0 , making D0 = D, the
orthocenter of triangle AOB.

4. A polynomial f (x) with real coefficients is said to be a sum of squares if we can write
f (x) = p1 (x)2 + · · · + pk (x)2 , where p1 (x), . . . , pk (x) are polynomials with real coefficients.
For each statement below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.
a) If a polynomial f (x) is a sum of squares, then the coefficient of every odd power of x in
f (x) must be 0.
b) If f (x) = x2 + px + q has a non-real root, then f (x) is a sum of squares.
c) If f (x) = x3 + px2 + qx + r has a non-real root, then f (x) is a sum of squares.
d) If a polynomial f (x) > 0 for all real values of x, then f (x) is a sum of squares.
Answer: FTFT
2
For part b, complete the square to get f (x) = x2 + px + q = (x + p2 )2 + ( 4q−p
4 ), which is a
sum of squares since 4q p2 > 0 due to the roots being non-real. Since p need not be 0, this
disproves part a. For part d, since all roots of f are non-real and occur in conjugate pairs,
f (x) = a product of quadratic polynomials each of which is a sum of squares by part b.
For part c, note that f (x) → ∞ as x → ∞, so in particular f (x) takes negative values
and hence can never be a sum of squares. (This applies to any odd degree polynomial.)

5. There are 8 boys and 7 girls in a group. For each of the tasks specified below, write an
expression for the number of ways of doing it. Do NOT try to simplify your answers.
a) Sitting in a row so that all boys sit contiguously and all girls sit contiguously, i.e., no
girl sits between any two boys and no boy sits between any two girls.
Answer: 2 × 8! × 7! (The factor of 2 arises because the two blocks of boys and girls can
switch positions.)

2
b) Sitting in a row so that between any two boys there is a girl and between any two girls
there is a boy
Answer: 8! × 7! (There is no factor of 2 because there must be a boy at each end.)
Answer: 15


c) Choosing a team of six people from the group 6

d) Choosing a team of six people consisting of unequal number of boys and girls
Answer: 15 8 7 8 8 7 8 7 8 7 8 7 7














6 3 3 = 6 + 5 1 + 4 2 + 2 4 + 1 5 + 6

6. Calculate the following integrals whenever possible. If a given integral does not exist,
state so. Note that [x] denotes the integer part of x, i.e., the unique integer n such that
n ≤ x < n + 1.
R4 3
a) 1 x2 dx = x3 |41 = 21 using the fundamental theorem of calculus.
R3
b) 1 [x]2 dx = 1(12 ) + 1(22 ) = 5 = area under the piecewise constant function [x]2
R2 √ √ √ √ √ √
c) 1 [x2 ]dx = 1( 2 1) + 2( 3 2) + 3(2 3) = 5 2 3 since the function [x]2
√ √ √ √
is constant on intervals [1, 2), [ 2, 3), [ 3, 2), taking values 1, 2, 3 respectively.
R1 R1
d) −1 x12 dx = 2 limt→0+ t x12 dx = 2 limt→0+ ( 1 + 1t ) = ∞. The fundamental theorem
does not apply over the interval [ 1, 1] because x12 goes to ∞ in the interval. It is also ok
to answer that the integral does not exist (as a real number).

7. Let A, B, C be angles such that eiA , eiB , eiC form an equilateral triangle in the complex
plane. Find values of the given expressions.
a) eiA + eiB + eiC = 0 by taking the vector sum of the three points on the unit circle.
b) cos A + cos B + cos C = 0 = real part of eiA + eiB + eiC , which is 0 by part a.
c) cos 2A+cos 2B+cos 2C = 0 because the points e2iA , e2iB , e2iC on the unit circle also form
an equilateral triangle in the complex plane, since taking B = A + (2π/3), C = A + (4π/3),
we get 2B = 2A + (4π/3) and 2C = 2A + (8π/3) = 2A + (2π/3) + 2π and the last term 2π
does not change the position of the point.
d) cos2 A + cos2 B + cos2 C = 32 because, using the formula for cos 2θ in part c, we get
cos2 A + cos2 B + cos2 C = sin2 A + sin2 B + sin2 C and the sum of the LHS and the RHS
in this equation is 3.

8. Consider the quadratic equation x2 + bx + c = 0, where b and c are chosen randomly

from the interval [0,1] with the probability uniformly distributed over all pairs (b, c). Let
p(b) = the probability that the given equation has a real solution for given (fixed) value of
b. Answer the following questions by filling in the blanks.

3
a) The equation x2 + bx + c = 0 has a real solution if and only if b2 4c is ≥ 0.
b) The value of p( 21 ), i.e., the probability that x2 + x
2 + c = 0 has a real solution is
1
Answer: 16 since a real solution occurs precisely when b
2
4c = 14 4c ≥ 0, i.e., 0 ≤ c ≤ 1
16 ,
1 th
which is 16 fraction of the interval [0, 1] over which c ranges.
c) As a function of b, is p(b) increasing, decreasing or constant?
b2 b2
Answer: increasing, because b2 4c ≥ 0 if and only if 0 ≤ c ≤ 4 , so p(b) = 4 , which is
increasing for 0 ≤ b ≤ 1.
d) As b and c both vary, what is the probability that x2 + bx + c = 0 has a real solution?
Answer: This is the fraction of the area of the unit square [0, 1] × [0, 1] that is occupied by
2
the region b2 4c ≥ 0, i.e., it is the area under the parabola c = b4 from b = 0 to b = 1,
R1 2 1
which is 0 b4 db = 12 .

9. Let R = the set of real numbers. A continuous function f : R → R satisfies f (1) = 1,

f (2) = 4, f (3) = 9 and f (4) = 16. Answer the independent questions below by choosing
the correct option from the given ones.
a) Which of the following values must be in the range of f ?
Options: 5 25 both neither
Answer: 5, by the intermediate value theorem, e.g., over the interval [2,3]. Also f (x) need
not take the value 25, e.g., take f (x) = x2 for x < 4 and f (x) = 16 for x ≥ 4.
b) Suppose f is differentiable. Then which of the follwing intervals must contain an x such
that f 0 (x) = 2x ? Options: (1,2) (2,4) both neither
Answer: both
c) Suppose f is twice differentiable. Which of the following intervals must contain an x
such that f 00 (x) = 2 ? Options: (1,2) (2,4) both neither
Answer: (2,4)
d) Suppose f is a polynomial, then which of the following are possible values of its degree?
Options: 3 4 both neither
Answer: 4
For parts b,c and d, let g(x) = f (x) x2 . We have g(1) = g(2) = g(3) = g(4) = 0. For
part b, applying Rolle’s theorem to g(x) gives g 0 (x) = 0 for some values of x in each of the
intervals (1, 2), (2, 3), (3, 4). For these values of x, we have f 0 (x) = g 0 (x) + 2x = 2x.
Far part c, take from part b values r ∈ (2, 3) and s ∈ (3, 4) with g 0 (r) = 0 = g 0 (s). Applying
Rolle’s theorem to g 0 (x) in the interval [r, s], we get for some x ∈ (r, s) ⊂ (2, 4) the equality
g 00 (x) = 0 and so f 00 (x) = g 00 (x) + 2 = 2. There need not be an x ∈ (1, 2) with f 00 (x) = 2,
i.e., g 00 (x) = 0. There are many ways to arrange this, for example let g(x) = sin(πx). Then

4
g 00 (x) = π 2 sin(πx), which is 0 only when x is an integer, in particular g 00 (x) 6= 0 for any
x ∈ (1, 2).
For part d, note that g(x), now being a polynomial vanishing at 1, 2, 3 and 4, must be
divisible by (x 1)(x 2)(x 3)(x 4). So g(x), if non-zero, must have degree at least 4.
Thus f (x) = x2 or a polynomial of degree at least 4.

10. Let

x4
f (x) =
(x 1)(x 2) · · · (x n)
where the denominator is a product of n factors, n being a positive integer. It is also given
that the X-axis is a horizontal asymptote for the graph of f . Answer the independent
questions below by choosing the correct option from the given ones.
a) How many vertical asymptotes does the graph of f have?
Options: n less than n more than n impossible to decide
Answer: n, at x = 1, 2, . . . , n.
b) What can you deduce about the value of n ?
Options: n < 4 n=4 n>4 impossible to decide
Answer: n > 4, because limx→±∞ f (x) = 0 and for this to happen, the degree of the
denominator of f (x) must be greater than that of the numerator.
c) As one travels along the graph of f from left to right, at which of the following points
is the sign of f (x) guaranteed to change from positive to negative?
Options: x = 0 x=1 x=n 1 x=n
Answer: x = n 1, because f (x) is positive for x > n and f (x) changes sign precisely when
it passes through x = 1, 2 . . . , n. Note that the sign of f (x) for x < 0 and for x ∈ (0, 1)
depends on the parity of n.
d) How many inflection points does the graph of f have in the region x < 0 ?
Options: none 1 more than 1 impossible to decide
(Hint: Sketching is better than calculating.)
Answer: more than 1. Note that f (x) = 0 only at x = 0, with multiplicity 4. Without loss
of generality, let n be even. (If n is odd, the reasoning is completely parallel, see note at
the end.) Now f (x) > 0 for x < 1 except at x = 0 and f has all derivatives for x < 1. Due
to the multiple root at x = 0, the graph of f must be concave up (i.e. f 00 (x) > 0) near
x = 0. Further, as x → ∞, the values of f (x) stay positive and → 0. Therefore, as one
traces the graph leftward from the origin, it must become concave down at least once and
eventually concave up again so as to approach the X-axis from above. (Note: If n is odd,
f (x) < 0 for x < 1 except at x = 0. As one traces the graph leftward from the origin, the
function is initially as well as eventually concave down and must be concave up at least
once in-between so as to approach the X-axis from below.)

5
Part B. (Problems 1–4 × 15 points + problems 5–6 × 20 points = 100 points.) Solve
these problems in the space provided for each problem after this page. You may solve only
part of a problem and get partial credit. Clearly explain your entire reasoning. No
credit will be given without reasoning.

1. In triangle ABC, the bisector of angle A meets side BC in point D and the bisector of
angle B meets side AC in point E. Given that DE is parallel to AB, show that AE = BD
and that the triangle ABC is isosceles.
Answer: ∠EAD = ∠DAB = ∠EDA, the first equality because AD bisects ∠EAB and
the second because alternate angles made by line AD intersecting parallel lines DE and
AB are equal. Thus 4EAD is isosceles with EA = ED. Similarly ED = DB using the
fact that BE bisects ∠DBA also intersects parallel lines DE and AB. Therefore EA =
ED = DB. Now by the basic proportionality theorem, CE CD
EA = DB . As the denominators
EA and DB are equal, the numerators must be equal as well, i.e., CE = CD. Finally,
CA = CE + EA = CD + DB = CB, so 4ABC is isosceles.

2. A curve C has the property that the slope of the tangent at any given point (x, y) on
2
+y 2
C is x 2xy .

a) Find the general equation for such a curve. Possible hint: let z = xy .

b) Specify all possible shapes of the curves in this family. (For example, does the family
include an ellipse?)
Answer: The defining property of the curve C is equivalent to the differential equation
dy x2 +y 2
dx = 2xy = 12 ( xy + xy ). It is convenient to let z = y/x, so the equation becomes
dy
dx = 21 ( z1 + z). To get this in terms of only x and z, differentiate z = y/x with respect to x
dy y 2
dz 1 dy
to get dx = x1 dx x2 = x ( dx z) = x1 ( 12 ( z1 + z) z) = x1 1−z
2z , where we have substituted
dy
for dx using the differential equation and then simplified. Separating the variables and
integrating, we get dx
R 2zdz
log |1 z 2 |+ a constant, i.e.,
R
x = 1−z 2 , which gives log |x| =
K
log |1 z2| = log |x| + K = log |x|−1 + K. Exponentiating, we get 1 z 2 = ± ex = c
x,
2
where c is a nonzero constant. Substituting z = y/x, we get 1 xy 2 = xc , i.e., x2 y 2 = cx.
To be precise, we have to delete the points (0, 0) and (c, 0) from this solution, because
2
dy +y 2
for the given equation dx = x 2xy to make sense, both x and y must be nonzero. If the
dy
equation were given as 2xy dx = x2 + y 2 , then this issue would not arise.
2
To see the shape of the curve, complete the square to get (x 2c )2 y 2 = c4 , which is
a hyperbola when c 6= 0. (Note: By differentiating x2 y 2 = cx, it is easy to see that
2
dy +y 2
dx =
2x−c
y = x 2xy and that this holds even when c = 0. Thus we get the two straight lines
y = ±x also as solutions. The reason the above answer missed this possibility was because
we put 1 z 2 in the denominator while separating variables, which precludes z = ±1, i.e.,
y = ±x. To be precise, even here we have to delete the origin from the two lines.)

6
3. A positive integer N has its first, third and fifth digits equal and its second, fourth and
sixth digits equal. In other words, when written in the usual decimal system it has the
form xyxyxy, where x and y are the digits. Show that N cannot be a perfect power, i.e.,
N cannot equal ab , where a and b are positive integers with b > 1.
Answer: We have N = (105 + 103 + 10)x + (104 + 102 + 1)y = 10101(10x + y) =
3 × 7 × 13 × 37 × (10x + y). Therefore for N to be a perfect power, the primes 3,7,13,37
must all occur (and in fact with equal power) as factors in the prime factorization of
10x + y. In particular 10x + y ≥ 10101. But since x and y are digits, each is between 0
and 9, so 10x + y ≤ 99. So N cannot be a perfect power.

4. Suppose f (x) is a function from R to R such that f (f (x)) = f (x)2013 . Show that there
are infinitely many such functions, of which exactly four are polynomials. (Here R = the
set of real numbers.)
Answer: If f is a polynomial, then we make two cases. (i) If f (x) = a constant c, then
the given condition is equivalent to c = c2013 , which happens precisely for three values
of c, namely c = 0, 1, 1 (since we have c(c2012 1) = 0, so c = 0 or c2012 = 1). Thus
there are three constant functions with the given property. (ii) If f (x) is a non-constant
polynomial, then consider its range set A = {f (x)|x ∈ R}. Now for all a ∈ A, we have by
the given property f (a) = a2013 . So the polynomial f (x) x2013 has all elements of A as
its roots. Since there are infinitely many values in A (e.g. applying the intermediate value
theorem because f is continuous), the polynomial f (x) x2013 has infinitely many roots
and thus must be the zero polynomial, i.e., f (x) = x2013 for all real number x.
Note: One can also deduce that the degree of f must be 0 or 2013 by equating the degrees
of f (f (x)) and f (x)2013 . Then, in the non-constant case, it is possible to argue first that
the leading coefficient is 1 and then that all other coefficients must be 0.
To find infinitely many function with the given property, define f (0) = 0, f (1) = 1 and
f ( 1) = 1. For every other real number x, arbitrarily define f (x) to be 0, 1 or 1. It is
easy to see that any such function satisfies the given property. (Other answers are possible,
e.g., more systematically, observe that f (a) = a2013 for at least one real number a (e.g.,
i
any number in the range of f ) and then this forces f (x) = x2013 for all x ∈ S = {a2013 |i =
0, 1, 2, . . .}. We use this as follows. Fix a real number a. Then define f (x) = x2013 for all
i
x ∈ S = {a2013 |i = 0, 1, 2, . . .}. For all x 6∈ S, simply define f (x) = any element of the set
S, e.g., a itself will do.)

1
5. Consider the function f (x) = ax + x+1 , where a is a positive constant. Let L = the
1
largest value of f (x) and S = the smallest value of f (x) for x ∈ [0, 1]. Show that L S > 12
for any a > 0.
1
Answer: Let f (x) = ax + x+1 . We wish to understand the minimum and maximum of
this function in the interval [0, 1]. Now f (0) = 1, f (1) = a + 21 and f 0 (x) = a (x+1)
1
2.

Over the interval [0, 1], the value of f 0 (x) increases from a 1 at x = 0 to a 14 at x = 1.

7
We should consider what happens to the sign of f 0 (x). For this we consider the following
cases.

(1) Suppose a ≤ 1/4. Because 1/(x + 1)2 ≥ 1/4 on the interval [0, 1], f 0 (x) ≤ 0, so the
maximum is at 0 and the minimum is at x = 1. So the difference is 1 (1/2 + a) =
1/2 a ≥ 1/4 ≥ 1/12.

(2) Suppose a ≥ 1. Then f 0 (x) ≥ 0 on the interval [0, 1], so maximum is at 1 and minimum
at 0. We get a + 1/2 1 = a 1/2 ≥ 1/2 ≥ 1/12.

(3) Suppose 1/4 ≤ a ≤ 1. Now f 0 (x) = 0 at x̃ = √1a 1. For this range of a, x̃ ∈ [0, 1].
In the interval [0, x̃], f 0 (x) ≤ 0 and in the interval [x̃, 1], f 0 (x) ≥ 0. Now we make two
sub-cases depending on at which endpoint the maximum occurs.

(3i) Suppose 1/4 ≤√a ≤ 1/2.√ Then √ f (0) ≥ f (1). So minimum is at x̃, maximum is
at x = 0. f (x̃) = a√ a + a √ = 2 a a. So the difference√between maximum and
2
minimum
√ 2 is 1 + a 2
√ 2 a = (1 √ a) . This is smallest when a is3 closest to 1 and so
1
(1 a) ≥ (1 1/ 2) = 3/2 2. This is bigger than 1/12 since ( 2 12 ) = 17/12 and
2 2
17 = 289 ≥ 2 × 12 .

(3ii) Suppose 1/2 ≤ a √ ≤ 1. Now√f (1) ≥ f (0).

√ Max is at √
1 and minimum is at x̃. The
difference is a + 1/2 a+a a = 2a 2 a + 1/2 = ( 2a √12 )2 . By a calculation
similar to the above it is bigger than 1/12.

6. Define fk (n) to be the sum of all possible products of k distinct integers chosen from
the set {1, 2, . . . , n}, i.e.,
X
fk (n) = i1 i2 . . . ik .
1≤i1 <i2 <...<ik ≤n

a) For k > 1, write a recursive formula for the function fk , i.e., a formula for fk (n) in
terms of f` (m), where ` < k or (` = k and m < n).
b) Show that fk (n), as a function of n, is a polynomial of degree 2k.
c) Express f2 (n) as a polynomial in variable n.
Answer: a) Break up the terms in the definition of fk (n) into two groups: the terms in
which ik = n add up to nfk−1 (n 1) and the remaining terms, i.e., the ones in which
ik ≤ n 1, add up to fk (n 1). So we get fk (n) = nfk−1 (n 1) + fk (n 1).

c) By part a we have f2 (n) f2 (n 1) = nf1 (n 1) = n × n(n−1) 2 = 12 (n3 n2 ). Similarly

f2 (n 1) f2 (n 2) = 21 ((n 1)3 (n 1)2 ) and so on up to f2 (2) f2 (1) = 12 (23 22 ).
Note that f2 (1) = 0, which we may also write as 12 (13 12 ). Adding up, we get for
Pj=n 2 2
any n ≥ 1, f2 (n) = j=1 12 (j 3 j 2 ) = 12 ( n (n+1)
4
n(n+1)(2n+1)
6 ), where we have used
standard formulas for the sum of first n cubes and of first n squares.

8
 Pn
b) We prove the statement by induction on k. First f1 (n) = i=1 i = n(n+1)
2 , a polynomial
of degree 2 as desired. For k > 1, we have by part a the equation fk (n) fk (n 1) =
nfk−1 (n 1). The right hand side is a polynomial of degree 1 + 2(k 1) = 2k 1, where
2(k 1) is the degree of fk−1 (n 1) by induction and the added 1 comes from the factor
n. Since successive differences in the values of fk are given by a polynomial of degree
2k 1, the function fk on positive integers is given by a polynomial of degree 1 more, i.e.,
of degree 2k.
Note: The previous statement is a standard fact, which can be explained as follows. (1)
If we assume that fk (n) is a polynomial, then its degree is easily found, because for any
polynomial f of degree m, its “successive difference” function f (x) f (x 1) is a polynomial
of degree m 1. (Reason: If the leading term of f (x) is axm , then the leading term in
f (x) f (x 1) is amxm−1 , as seen by expanding the power of x 1 in axm a(x 1)m .
The remaining terms in f (x) f (x 1) do not matter because by expanding powers of
x 1 in them and simplifying, we only get monomials of degree < m 1.) (2) In fact,
based on the difference equation, fk (n) must be a polynomial in the variable n. This is a
consequence of the following well-known fact.
Claim: given a polynomial h(x) of degree d, there is a polynomial g(x) of degree d + 1
such that g(x) g(x 1) = h(x). Proof: Induction on d, the degree of h. If h(x) = c,
a constant, then g(x) = cx works. Now for d > 1, it is enough to find a polynomial g(x)
such that g(x) g(x 1) = xd (because if h(x) = cxd + h̃(x), where h̃ has degree < d, by
induction we find g̃ for h̃ and then cg(x) + g̃(x) works for h(x)). To find such g(x), notice
that for g1 (x) = xd+1 , we have h1 (x) = g1 (x) g1 (x 1) = (d + 1)xd + h2 (x), where h2 (x)
is a polynomial of degree d 1. By induction h2 (x) = g2 (x) g2 (x 1) for a polynomial
1
g2 (x) of degree d. Now g(x) = d+1 (g1 (x) g2 (x)) works.

9
 CHENNAI MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE
Undergraduate Programme in Mathematics and Computer Science/Physics
Common Entrance Examination
15 May 2014

Enter your Registration Number here: CMIUG ID– OR here: UG–

Enter the name of the city where you are writing this test:

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS!

• Ensure that this booklet has all 13 printed sheets containing the following: this cover page,
12 questions in part A (pages 1-2), the answer sheet for part A (page 3), 6 questions in part B (pages
4-5) and individual answer sheets for each question in part B (pages 6-12). From page 6 to 10 one side
is intentionally left blank after each numbered page. For rough work use the blank pages at the end.

• Time allowed is 3 hours. Total points 130 = 45 points for part A + 85 points for part B.

• Part A will be used for screening. Part B will be graded only if your score a certain minimum in
part A. This minimum will be no more than 25 points out of 45. However your scores in both parts
will be used while making the final decision. Specific instructions for each part are given below.

• Advice: Attempt all questions in part A before going to part B. However, also ensure that you have
about 2 hours (or at least 90 minutes) left for part B.

For office use only

P
Points Remarks Points Remarks

Part A
B1
Part B
B2
Total

B3

B4

B5

B6

Total
 2014 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

Read the instructions on the front of the booklet carefully!

Part A. Write your final answers on page 3.

Part A is worth a total of 45 points = 3 points each for A1 to A3 + 4 points each for A4-A12.
Points will be given based only on clearly legible final answers filled in on page 3.
Questions A1 to A3: For each option given below, decide whether the statement in it is
True or False. You will get 0 points for a question unless you decide all options in that
question correctly. Write your answer as a sequence of letters T and F in the designated
place on page 3. E.g., the answer to the question: True or False? (A) 2+2 = 4 (B) 2+2 = 5
(C) 32 + 42 = 52 would be written as TFT.

A1. Let α, β and c be positive numbers less than 1, with c rational and α, β irrational.
(A) The number α + P β must be irrational.
(B) The infinite sum ∞ i 2
i=0 αc R = α + αc + αc + ∈ ∈ ∈ must be irrational.
π
(C) The value of the integral 0 (β cos x + c) dx must be irrational.
R∞ 2
A2. Consider the intergal I = 1 eax +bx+c dx, where a, b, c are constants. Some combi-
nations of values for these constants are given below and you have to decide in each case
whether the integral I converges.
(A) I converges for a = ±1 b = 10 c = 100.
(B) I converges for a = 1 b = ±10 c = ±100.
(C) I converges for a = 0 b = ±1 c = 100.
(D) I converges for a = 0 b = 0 c = ±100.
A3. Given a real number x, define g(x) = x2 ex if x ≥ 0 and g(x) = xe×x if x < 0.
(A) The function g is continuous everywhere.
(B) The function g is differentiable everywhere.
(C) The function g is one-to-one.
(D) The range of g is the set of all real numbers.
Questions A4 to A13: Unless specified otherwise, each answer is either a rational number
or, where appropriate, one of the phrases “infinite”, “does not exist”, or “not possible to
decide”. If the answer is an integer, write it in the usual decimal form. Write non-integer
rationals as ratios of two coprime integers. For questions requiring more than one answer,
write all answers on the designated line in the order in which they are asked, separated by
commas. In such questions you may get partial credit.
A4. Find the slope of a line L that satisfies both of the following properties: (i) L is tangent
to the graph of y = x3 . (ii) L passes through the point (0,200).
A5. A regular 100-sided polygon is inscribed in a circle. Suppose three of the 100 vertices
are chosen at random, all such combinations being equally likely. Find the probability that
the three chosen points form vertices of a right angled triangle.
50!
A6. What is the smallest positive integer n for which 24n
is not an integer?
A7. Let f (x) = (x ± a)(x ± b)3 (x ± c)5 (x ± d)7 , where a, b, c, d are real numbers with
a < b < c < d. Thus f (x) has 16 real roots counting multiplicities and among them 4 are
distinct from each other. Consider f 0 (x), i.e. the derivative of f (x). Find the following, if
you can: (i) the number of real roots of f 0 (x), counting multiplicities, (ii) the number of
distinct real roots of f 0 (x).
A8. Let f (x) = 7x32 + 5x22 + 3x12 + x2 . (i) Find the remainder when f (x) is divided by
x2 + 1. (ii) Find the remainder when xf (x) is divided by x2 + 1. In each case your answer
should be a polynomial of the form ax + b, where a and b are constants.
A9. Let θ1 , θ2 , . . . , θ13 be real
√ numbers and let A be the average of the complex numbers
iθ1 iθ2 iθ13
e , e . . . , e , where i = ±1. As the values of θ’s vary over all 13-tuples of real numbers,
find (i) the maximum value attained by |A|, (ii) the minimum value attained by |A|.
A10. In each of the following independent situations we want to construct a triangle ABC
satisfying the given conditions. In each case state state how many such triangles ABC exist
up to congruence.
(i) AB = 30 BC = 95 AC = 55
(ii) ∠A = 30◦ ∠B = 95◦ ∠C = 55◦
(iii) ∠A = 30◦ ∠B = 95◦ BC = 55
(iv) ∠A = 30◦ AB = 95 BC = 55
A11. Let An = the area of a regular n-sided polygon inscribed in a circle of radius 1 (i.e.,
vertices of this regular n-sided polygon lie on a circle of radius 1). (i) Find A12 . (ii) Find
bA2014 c, i.e., the greatest integer ≤ A2014 .
A12. The total length of all 12 sides of a rectangular box is 60. (i) Write the possible values
of the volume of the box. Your answer should be an interval. Now suppose in addition that
the surface area of the box is given to be 56. Find, if you can, (ii) the length of the longest
diagonal of the box (iii) the volume of the box.

Page 2
 Answers to part A
This is the only page that will be seen for grading part A, so write the answer(s) to each ques-
tion on the designated line below. Write only the final answers, do not show any intermediate
work. Illegible/unclear answers will not be considered.

A1. A2. A3.

A4.

A5.

A6.

A7.

A8.

A9.

A10.

A11.

A12.

Page 3
Part B. (10 points for problem B1 + 15 points each for problems B2 to B6 = 85 points.)
Solve these problems in the space provided for each problem from page 6. You may solve
only part of a problem and get partial credit. If you cannot solve an earlier part of a problem,
you may assume it to solve a later part. Clearly explain your entire reasoning. No
credit will be given without reasoning.

B1. Find the area of the region in the XY plane consisting of all points in the set

{(x, y)|x2 + y 2 ≤ 144 and sin(2x + 3y) ≤ 0}.

B2. Let x be a real number such that x2014 ± x2004 and x2009 ± x2004 are both integers. Show
that x is an integer. (Hint: it may be useful to first prove that x is rational.)

B3. (i) How many functions are there from the set {1, . . . , k} to the set {1, . . . , n}?
(ii) Let Pk denote the set of all subsets of {1, . . . , k}. Find a formula for the number of
functions f from Pk to {1, . . . , n} such that f (A ∪ B) = the larger of the two integers f (A)
and f (B). Your answer need not be a closed formula but it should be simple enough to use
for given values of n and k, e.g., to see that for k = 3 and n = 4 there are 100 such functions.
Example: When k = 2, the set P2 contains 4 elements: the empty set φ, {1}, {2} and
{1, 2}. The function f given by φ → 2, {1} → 3, {2} → 4, {1, 2} → 4 satisfies the given
condition. But the function g given by φ → 2, {1} → 3, {2} → 4, {1, 2} → 5 does not,
because g({1} ∪ {2}) = g({1, 2}) = 5 6= the larger of g({1}) and g({2}) = max(3, 4) = 4.

B4. (i) Let f be continuous on [±1, 1] and differentiable at 0. For x 6= 0, define a function g
by g(x) = f (x)×f
x
(0)
. Can g(0) be defined so that the extended function g is continuous at 0?
(ii) For f as in part (i), show that the following limit exists.
!
Z ×r Z 1
f (x) f (x)
lim dx + dx
r→0+ ×1 x r x
(iii) Give an example showing that without the hypothesis of f being differentiable at 0, the
conclusion in (ii) need not hold.

B5. (i) Let f (x) = an xn + ∈ ∈ ∈ + a1 x + a0 be a polynomial, where a0 , . . . , an are real numbers

with an 6= 0. Define the “discrete derivative of f ”, denoted fff , to be the function given by
fff (x) = f (x) ± f (x ± 1). Show that fff is also a polynomial and find its leading term.
(ii) For integers n ≥ 0, define polynomials pn of degree n as follows: p0 (x) = 1 and for n > 0,
let pn (x) = n!1 x(x ± 1)(x ± 2) ∈ ∈ ∈ (x ± n + 1). So we have

x(x ± 1) x(x ± 1)(x ± 2)

p0 (x) = 1 , p1 (x) = x , p2 (x) = , p3 (x) = ∈∈∈
2 3!

Page 4
Show that for anyPpolynomial f of degree n, there exist unique real numbers b0 , b1 , . . . , bn
such that f (x) = ni=0 bi pi (x).
(iii) Now suppose that f (x) is a polynomial such that for each integer m, f (m) is also an
integer. Using the above parts (or otherwise), show that for such f , the bi obtained in part
(ii) are integers.

B6. (i) See the figure below. Two circles G1 , G2 intersect at points X, Y . Choose two other
points A, B on G1 as shown in the figure. The line segment from A to X is extended to
intersect G2 at point L. The line segment from L to Y is extended to meet G1 at point C.
Likewise the line segment from B to Y is extended to meet G2 at point M and the segment
from M to X is extended to meet G1 at point D. Show that AB is parallel to CD.
A D
X
L

Y M
B
C

(ii) See the figure below. A triangle CDE is given. A point A is chosen between D and E.
A point B is chosen between C and E so that AB is parallel to CD. Let F denote the point
of intersection of segments AC and BD. Show that the line joining E and F bisects both
segments AB and segment CD. (Hint: You may use Ceva’s theorem. Alternatively, you
may additionally assume that the trapezium ABCD is a cyclic quadrilateral and proceed.)
E

A B
F

D C

(iii) Using parts (i) and (ii) describe a procedure to do the following task: given two circles
G1 and G2 intersecting at two points X and Y determine the center of each circle using
only a straightedge. Note: Recall that a straightedge is a ruler without any markings. Given
two points A, B, a straightedge allows one to construct the line segment joining A, B. Also,
given any two non-parallel segments, we can use a straightedge to find the intersection point
of the lines containing the two segments by extending them if necessary.

Page 5
B1. Find the area of the region in the XY plane consisting of all points in the set

{(x, y)|x2 + y 2 ≤ 144 and sin(2x + 3y) ≤ 0}.

Page 6
B2. Let x be a real number such that x2014 ± x2004 and x2009 ± x2004 are both integers. Show
that x is an integer. (Hint: it may be useful to first prove that x is rational.)

Page 7
B3. (i) How many functions are there from the set {1, . . . , k} to the set {1, . . . , n}?
(ii) Let Pk denote the set of all subsets of {1, . . . , k}. Find a formula for the number of
functions f from Pk to {1, . . . , n} such that f (A ∪ B) = the larger of the two integers f (A)
and f (B). Your answer need not be a closed formula but it should be simple enough to use
for given values of n and k, e.g., to see that for k = 3 and n = 4 there are 100 such functions.
Example: When k = 2, the set P2 contains 4 elements: the empty set φ, {1}, {2} and
{1, 2}. The function f given by φ → 2, {1} → 3, {2} → 4, {1, 2} → 4 satisfies the given
condition. But the function g given by φ → 2, {1} → 3, {2} → 4, {1, 2} → 5 does not,
because g({1} ∪ {2}) = g({1, 2}) = 5 6= the larger of g({1}) and g({2}) = max(3, 4) = 4.

Page 8
B4. (i) Let f be continuous on [±1, 1] and differentiable at 0. For x 6= 0, define a function g
by g(x) = f (x)×f
x
(0)
. Can g(0) be defined so that the extended function g is continuous at 0?
(ii) For f as in part (i), show that the following limit exists.
!
Z ×r Z 1
f (x) f (x)
lim+ dx + dx
r→0 ×1 x r x
(iii) Give an example showing that without the hypothesis of f being differentiable at 0, the
conclusion in (ii) need not hold.

Page 9
B5. (i) Let f (x) = an xn + ∈ ∈ ∈ + a1 x + a0 be a polynomial, where a0 , . . . , an are real numbers
with an 6= 0. Define the “discrete derivative of f ”, denoted fff , to be the function given by
fff (x) = f (x) ± f (x ± 1). Show that fff is also a polynomial and find its leading term.
(ii) For integers n ≥ 0, define polynomials pn of degree n as follows: p0 (x) = 1 and for n > 0,
let pn (x) = n!1 x(x ± 1)(x ± 2) ∈ ∈ ∈ (x ± n + 1). So we have

x(x ± 1) x(x ± 1)(x ± 2)

p0 (x) = 1 , p1 (x) = x , p2 (x) = , p3 (x) = ∈∈∈
2 3!
Show that for anyPpolynomial f of degree n, there exist unique real numbers b0 , b1 , . . . , bn
such that f (x) = ni=0 bi pi (x).
(iii) Now suppose that f (x) is a polynomial such that for each integer m, f (m) is also an
integer. Using the above parts (or otherwise), show that for such f , the bi obtained in part
(ii) are integers.

Page 10
B6. (i) See the figure below. Two circles G1 , G2 intersect at points X, Y . Choose two other
points A, B on G1 as shown in the figure. The line segment from A to X is extended to
intersect G2 at point L. The line segment from L to Y is extended to meet G1 at point C.
Likewise the line segment from B to Y is extended to meet G2 at point M and the segment
from M to X is extended to meet G1 at point D. Show that AB is parallel to CD.

A D
X

Y M

B
C

Page 11
(ii) See the figure below. A triangle CDE is given. A point A is chosen between D and E.
A point B is chosen between C and E so that AB is parallel to CD. Let F denote the point
of intersection of segments AC and BD. Show that the line joining E and F bisects both
segments AB and segment CD. (Hint: You may use Ceva’s theorem. Alternatively, you
may additionally assume that the trapezium ABCD is a cyclic quadrilateral and proceed.)
E

A B

D C

(iii) Write your answer to this part on the back side. Using parts (i) and (ii) describe
a procedure to do the following task: given two circles G1 and G2 intersecting at two points
X and Y determine the center of each circle using only a straightedge. Note: Recall that a
straightedge is a ruler without any markings. Given two points A, B, a straightedge allows
one to construct the line segment joining A, B. Also, given any two non-parallel segments, we
can use a straightedge to find the intersection point of the lines containing the two segments
by extending them if necessary.

Page 12
 Solutions to 2014 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

A1. Let α, β and c be positive numbers less than 1, with c rational and α, β irrational.
(A) The number α + P β must be irrational.
(B) The infinite sum ∞ i 2
i=0 αc R = α + αc + αc + ∈ ∈ ∈ must be irrational.
π
(C) The value of the integral 0 (β cos x + c) dx must be irrational.
Answer: FTT
R∞ 2
A2. Consider the intergal I = 1 eax +bx+c dx, where a, b, c are constants. Some combi-
nations of values for these constants are given below and you have to decide in each case
whether the integral I converges.
(A) I converges for a = ±1 b = 10 c = 100.
(B) I converges for a = 1 b = ±10 c = ±100.
(C) I converges for a = 0 b = ±1 c = 100.
(D) I converges for a = 0 b = 0 c = ±100.
Answer: TFTF

A3. Given a real number x, define g(x) = x2 ex if x ≥ 0 and g(x) = xe×x if x < 0.
(A) The function g is continuous everywhere.
(B) The function g is differentiable everywhere.
(C) The function g is one-to-one.
(D) The range of g is the set of all real numbers.
Answer: TFTT

A4. Find the slope of a line L that satisfies both of the following properties: (i) L is tangent
to the graph of y = x3 . (ii) L passes through the point (0,2000).
1
Answer: 300 (Note: if the point in (ii) is taken to be (0,200), then the answer is 30(10) 3 .)

A5. A regular 100-sided polygon is inscribed in a circle. Suppose three of the 100 vertices
are chosen at random, all such combinations being equally likely. Find the probability that
the three chosen points form vertices of a right angled triangle.
1
Answer: 33

50!
A6. What is the smallest positive integer n for which 24n
is not an integer?
Answer: 16
A7. Let f (x) = (x ± a)(x ± b)3 (x ± c)5 (x ± d)7 , where a, b, c, d are real numbers with
a < b < c < d. Thus f (x) has 16 real roots counting multiplicities and among them 4 are
distinct from each other. Consider f 0 (x), i.e. the derivative of f (x). Find the following, if
you can: (i) the number of real roots of f 0 (x), counting multiplicities, (ii) the number of
distinct real roots of f 0 (x).
Answers: 15, 6

A8. Let f (x) = 7x32 + 5x22 + 3x12 + x2 . (i) Find the remainder when f (x) is divided by
x2 + 1. (ii) Find the remainder when xf (x) is divided by x2 + 1. In each case your answer
should be a polynomial of the form ax + b, where a and b are constants.
Answers: 0x + 4, 4x + 0

A9. Let θ1 , θ2 , . . . , θ13 be real

√ numbers and let A be the average of the complex numbers
iθ1 iθ2 iθ13
e , e . . . , e , where i = ±1. As the values of θ’s vary over all 13-tuples of real numbers,
find (i) the maximum value attained by |A|, (ii) the minimum value attained by |A|.
Answers: 1, 0

A10. In each of the following independent situations we want to construct a triangle ABC
satisfying the given conditions. In each case state state how many such triangles ABC exist
up to congruence.
(i) AB = 30 BC = 95 AC = 55
(ii) ∠A = 30◦ ∠B = 95◦ ∠C = 55◦
(iii) ∠A = 30◦ ∠B = 95◦ BC = 55
(iv) ∠A = 30◦ AB = 95 BC = 55
Answers: 0, infinite, 1, 2

A11. Let An = the area of a regular n-sided polygon inscribed in a circle of radius 1 (i.e.,
vertices of this regular n-sided polygon lie on a circle of radius 1). (i) Find A12 . (ii) Find
bA2014 c, i.e., the greatest integer ≤ A2014 .
Answers: 3, 3

A12. The total length of all 12 sides of a rectangular box is 60. (i) Write the possible values
of the volume of the box. Your answer should be an interval. Now suppose in addition that
the surface area of the box is given to be 56. Find, if you can, (ii) the length of the longest
diagonal of the box (iii) the volume of the box.
Answers: (0, 125], 13, not possible to decide

Page 2
B1. Find the area of the region in the XY plane consisting of all points in the set
{(x, y)|x2 + y 2 ≤ 144 and sin(2x + 3y) ≤ 0}.

Answer: The area of the circular region S = {(x, y)|x2 + y 2 ≤ 144} is 144π. The condition
sin(2x + 3y) ≤ 0 is equivalent to 2x + 3y being in one of the intervals [kπ, (k + 1)π], where
k is an odd integer. The key point is that due to the symmetry of the circle S about any
diameter, in particular the diameter 2x + 3y = 0, the strip inside S lying between the lines
2x + 3y = kπ and 2x + 3y = (k + 1)π is the mirror image of strip lying between the lines
2x + 3y = ±kπ and 2x + 3y = ±(k + 1)π. For each integer k, precisely one of these two
equal strips is included in the desired area. Thus the desired area is half that of S, i.e., 72π.

B2. Let x be a real number such that x2014 ± x2004 and x2009 ± x2004 are both integers. Show
that x is an integer. (Hint: it may be useful to first prove that x is rational.)
Answer: Here is one of several possible ways. x2014 ± x2009 = x2009 (x5 ± 1) and x2004 (x5 ± 1)
are integers, which we may assume to be nonzero (else x = 0 or 1 and we are done). Dividing,
we get that x5 is rational. Now dividing the integer x2004 (x5 ± 1) by the rational number
x5 ± 1, we see that x2004 is rational. Since 2004 and 5 are coprime, x is rational as well.
(E.g., x5 is rational, so (x5 )401 = x2005 is rational. Now divide by the rational number x2004 .)
2009 2004 2009 5 2004
Let x = ab with a, b coprime integers. Consider the integer ab2009 ± ab2004 = a b×b
2009
a
. If a
5 2004
prime p divides the denominator, it must divide the numerator as well. Now p|b, so p|b a ,
so p|a2009 and finally p|a, a contradiction. Thus b = 1, i.e., x is an integer.

B3. (i) How many functions are there from the set {1, . . . , k} to the set {1, . . . , n}?
(ii) Let Pk denote the set of all subsets of {1, . . . , k}. Find a formula for the number of
functions f from Pk to {1, . . . , n} such that f (A ∪ B) = the larger of the two integers f (A)
and f (B). Your answer need not be a closed formula but it should be simple enough to use
for given values of n and k, e.g., to see that for k = 3 and n = 4 there are 100 such functions.
Example: When k = 2, the set P2 contains 4 elements: the empty set φ, {1}, {2} and
{1, 2}. The function f given by φ → 2, {1} → 3, {2} → 4, {1, 2} → 4 satisfies the given
condition. But the function g given by φ → 2, {1} → 3, {2} → 4, {1, 2} → 5 does not,
because g({1} ∪ {2}) = g({1, 2}) = 5 6= the larger of g({1}) and g({2}) = max(3, 4) = 4.
Answer: (i) As there are n choices each for the values of f (1), . . . , f (k) and as all these
choices are independent of each other, the number of functions is nk .
(ii) Note that f (A) = max {f ({j})|j ∈ A}, so the function f is completely decided by its
values on the empty set φ and on the one element subsets {1}, {2}, . . . , {k}. If f (φ) = i, then
each of f ({1}), f ({2}), . . . , f ({k}) can be chosen to be any of the numbers i, i + 1, . . . , n.
Thus there are k independent choices for each of which there are n ± i + 1 options. So the
number of desired functions for which f (φ) = i is (n ± i + 1)k . Now we sum over all values
of i = 1, 2, . . . , n to get the total number to be 1k + 2k + ∈ ∈ ∈ + nk . (When k = 3 and n = 4,
we get 13 + 23 + 33 + 43 = 100, as mentioned in the problem.)

Page 3
B4. (i) Let f be continuous on [±1, 1] and differentiable at 0. For x 6= 0, define a function g
by g(x) = f (x)×f
x
(0)
. Can g(0) be defined so that the extended function g is continuous at 0?
(ii) For f as in part (i), show that the following limit exists.
!
Z ×r Z 1
f (x) f (x)
lim+ dx + dx
r→0 ×1 x r x
(iii) Give an example showing that without the hypothesis of f being differentiable at 0, the
conclusion in (ii) need not hold.
Answer: (i) Yes. We must define g(0) = limx→0 g(x) = f 0 (0), which exists by hypothesis.
R ×r R ×r R ×r f (0) R ×r f (x)
(ii) Consider ×1 g(x) dx = ×1 f (x) dx ± dx = dx ± f (0) ln r. Similarly
R1 R 1 f (x) R 1 f (0) x R 1 f (x)×1 x ×1 x

r
g(x) dx = r x dx ± r x dx = r x dx + f (0) ln r. (Or observe that since x1 is an
Rb R ×a
odd function, for 0 < a < b, a x1 dx = ± ×b x1 dx.) Thus the expression inside the given
R ×r R1
limit is equal to ×1 g(x) dx + r g(x) dx, as →f (0) ln r cancels out.
Applying the fundamental theorem of calculus to the continuous R t function g, we get an
antiderivative G of g, where G is defined on [±1, 1] by G(t) = ×1 g(x) dx. So the given
R ×r R1
limit = limr→0+ ( ×1 g(x) dx + r g(x) dx) = limr→0+ (G(±r) ± G(±1) + G(1) ± G(r)) =
G(0) ± 0 + G(1) ± G(0) = G(1), where we have used the fundamental theorem to calculate
the integrals and the fact that G, being differentiable, is also continuous.
(iii) Define f (x) = × ln1 x for x ∈ (0, 1], f (x) = ln 1| x | for x ∈ [±1, 0), and f (0) = 0. Verify
2 2
that this works: f is continuous at 0 and so on [±1, 1]. It is not differentiable at 0 as the
relevant limit is +∞. The two integrals in the desired limit are equal (because f is an odd
function, so f (x)
x
is even) and each integral is +∞ as it amounts to limt→0+ ln | ln t|. Can you
1
see how one might think of such f ? E.g., check that choices like |x| or even x 3 do not work.
Compare the behaviour of these functions at x = 0 with that of chosen f . (Minor point: we
used x2 instead of x only to avoid trouble with dividing by ln |x| at endpoints x = →1. We
could have used ± ln1 |x| if a smaller interval of definition is allowed, e.g., x ∈ [±0.9, 0.9]).

B5. (i) Let f (x) = an xn + ∈ ∈ ∈ + a1 x + a0 be a polynomial, where a0 , . . . , an are real numbers

with an 6= 0. Define the “discrete derivative of f ”, denoted fif , to be the function given by
fif (x) = f (x) ± f (x ± 1). Show that fif is also a polynomial and find its leading term.
(ii) For integers n ≥ 0, define polynomials pn of degree n as follows: p0 (x) = 1 and for n > 0,
let pn (x) = n!1 x(x ± 1)(x ± 2) ∈ ∈ ∈ (x ± n + 1). So we have

x(x ± 1) x(x ± 1)(x ± 2)

p0 (x) = 1 , p1 (x) = x , p2 (x) = , p3 (x) = ∈∈∈
2 3!
Show that for anyPpolynomial f of degree n, there exist unique real numbers b0 , b1 , . . . , bn
such that f (x) = ni=0 bi pi (x).

Page 4
(iii) Now suppose that f (x) is a polynomial such that for each integer m, f (m) is also an
integer. Using the above parts (or otherwise), show that for such f , the bi obtained in part
(ii) are integers.
Answer: (i) It is obvious that f (x ± 1) is a polynomial in x (use binomial expansion of
powers of (x ± 1)) and therefore so is fif (x) = f (x) ± f (x ± 1), being the difference of
polynomials. The point of the question is to find the leading term of fif (x). It is easy to see
that after expanding the powers of (x ± 1), the degree n terms of f (x) and f (x ± 1) cancel
out, as does the degree n ± 1 term from f (x) with the leading term of an×1 (x ± 1)n×1 . The
only remaining term of degree n ± 1 comes from an (x ± 1)n . So fif (x) = nan xn×1 + lower
degree terms. Compare with the usual derivative.
(ii) Induction on the degree of f . If f (x) = a0 is constant, b0 = a0 works uniquely. Assuming
the result for polynomials of degree < n, let f be of degree Pnn, so an 6= 0. We are forced to take
bn = n!an by comparing leading coefficients of f (x) and i=0 bi pi (x). Now f (x)±bn pn (x) is a
Pd
polynomial of degree Pnd < n and hence by induction equals i=0 bi pi (x) for unique b0 , . . . , bd .
Therefore f (x) = Pn i=0 bi pi (x), where bd+1 , . . . , bn×1 are all 0. To see uniqueness of bi ’s, let
P n
b
i=0 i i p (x) = i=0 ci pi (x). Subtract all terms with bi = ci . If any terms are remaining,
compare the leading coefficients on each side to get a contradiction.
(iii) Substitute x = 0, 1, 2, . . . one by one in the equation f (x) = ni=0 bi pi (x) and solve for
P
b0 , b1 , b2 , . . . successively. x = 0 gives b0 = f (0). Using x
= 1 and 2 gives b1 = f (1) ± b0 ,
b2 = f (2) ± b0 ± 2b1 . In general, for all integers t, pi (t) = ti is an integer. Further, pi (t) = 0
if 0 ≤ t < i and 1 if t = i. So bt = f (t) ± t×1 t
P

i=0 b i i
, which is an integer by induction. (Note:
We can also argue from the other end as follows. By repeated use of part (i), fin f , the n-th
discrete derivative of f , is the constant n!an , which must be an integer since the integrality
assumption on f passes easily to all its discrete derivatives.
But by part (ii), bn = n!an , so
bn is an integer. Now induction along with integrality of m n
finishes the proof.)

B6. (i) See the figure below. Two circles G1 , G2 intersect at points X, Y . Choose two other
points A, B on G1 as shown in the figure. The line segment from A to X is extended to
intersect G2 at point L. The line segment from L to Y is extended to meet G1 at point C.
Likewise the line segment from B to Y is extended to meet G2 at point M and the segment
from M to X is extended to meet G1 at point D. Show that AB is parallel to CD.
A D
X
L

Y M
B
C

Page 5
(ii) See the figure below. A triangle CDE is given. A point A is chosen between D and E.
A point B is chosen between C and E so that AB is parallel to CD. Let F denote the point
of intersection of segments AC and BD. Show that the line joining E and F bisects both
segments AB and segment CD. (Hint: You may use Ceva’s theorem. Alternatively, you
may additionally assume that the trapezium ABCD is a cyclic quadrilateral and proceed.)
E

A B
F

D C

(iii) Using parts (i) and (ii) describe a procedure to do the following task: given two circles
G1 and G2 intersecting at two points X and Y determine the center of each circle using
only a straightedge. Note: Recall that a straightedge is a ruler without any markings. Given
two points A, B, a straightedge allows one to construct the line segment joining A, B. Also,
given any two non-parallel segments, we can use a straightedge to find the intersection point
of the lines containing the two segments by extending them if necessary.

Answer (i): Draw segment BD. Now ∠BDC = ∠BY C = ∠LY M = ∠LXM = ∠AXD =
∠ABD, where the second and the fourth equalities are due to opposite angles and the other
three equalities due to angles being in the same arc. Therefore AB and CD are parallel.

Answer (ii): Let line EF meet segment CD in point H and segment AB in point I. By
Ceva’s theorem in 4CDE, we have DA EB CH
AE BC HD
= 1. As AB and CD are parallel, DAAE
BC
= EB ,
AI AE BE BI
so CH = DH. Also by the basic proportionality theorem, DH = DE = CE = CH and since
CH = DH, AI = BI. (If you assume additionally that ABCD is cyclic, it is easy to see
using equality of angles in the same arc and of alternate angles made by a transversal that
the triangles DEC and DF C are isosceles and in fact line EF is the perpendicular bisector
of segments CD and AB.)

Answer (iii): Extend AD and BC to meet in E and take F = the point of intersection of
AC and BD. By parts (i) and (ii), the line EF is the bisector of two parallel chords and
hence contains a diameter of the circle G1 . Repeat the procedure with some other points A0
and B 0 on G1 to get another diameter of G1 . The intersection of the two diameters is the
center of G1 . Repeat the procedure for G2 .
Note: If lines AD and BC do not meet, they are parallel. Then ABCD must be a rectangle
(why?) and its diagonals are diameters, which intersect in the centre of G1 . Note that here
we have to assume that we can decide if two lines are parallel, which is implicit in the given
assumption that if two lines intersect, then we can actually find the point of intersection by
extending the given finite segments.

Page 6
 2015 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

Read the instructions on the front of the booklet carefully!

Part A. Write your final answers on page 3.

Part A is worth a total of 44 points = 4 points each for 11 problems. Points will be given
based only on clearly legible final answers filled in the correct place on page 3. Write all answers
for a single question on the designated line and in the order in which they are asked, separated
by commas.
Unless specified otherwise, each answer is either a rational number or, where appropriate,
one of the phrases “infinite” or “does not exist”. If the answer is an integer, write it in the
usual decimal form. Write non-integer rationals as ratios of two coprime integers.

1. Ten people sitting around a circular table decide to donate some money for charity. You
are told that the amount donated by each person was the average of the money donated
by the two persons sitting adjacent to him/her. One person donated Rs. 500. Choose the
correct option for each of the following two questions. Write your answers as a sequence
of two letters (a/b/c/d).

What is the total amount donated by the 10 people?

(a) exactly Rs. 5000 (b) less than Rs. 5000 (c) more than Rs. 5000
(d) not possible to decide among the above three options.
What is the maximum amount donated by an individual?
(a) exactly Rs. 500 (b) less than Rs. 500 (c) more than Rs. 500
(d) not possible to decide among the above three options.
2. Consider all finite letter-strings formed by using only two letters A and B. We consider
the usual dictionary order on these strings. See below for the formal rule with examples.

Formal rule: To compare two strings w1 and w2 , read them from left to right. We say
“w1 is smaller than w2 ” or “w1 < w2 ” if the first letter in which w1 and w2 differ is A in
w1 and B in w2 (for example, ABAA < ABB by looking at the third letters) or if w2 is
obtained by appending some letters at the end of w1 (e.g. AB < ABAA).

For each of the statements below, state if it is true or false. Write your answers as a
sequence of three letters (T for True and F for False) in correct order.
(a) Let w be an arbitrary string. There exists a unique string y satisfying both the
following properties: (i) w < y and (ii) there is no string x with w < x < y .
(b) It is possible to give an infinite decreasing sequence of strings, i.e. a sequence
w1 , w2 , . . . , such that wi+1 < wi for each positive integer i.
(c) Fewer than 50 strings are smaller than ABBABABB.

1
3. A positive integer n is called a magic number if it has the following property: if a and b
are two positive numbers that are not coprime to n then a + b is also not coprime to n.
For example, 2 is a magic number, because sum of any two even numbers is also even.
Which of the following are magic numbers? Write your answers as a sequence of four
letters (Y for Yes and N for No) in correct order.
(i) 129 (ii) 128 (iii) 127 (iv) 100.

4. Let A, B and C be unknown constants. Consider the function f (x) defined by

f (x) = Ax2 + Bx + C when x ≤ 0 ,

= ln(5x + 1) when x > 0 .

Write the values of the constants A, B and C such that f 00 (x), i.e., the double derivative
of f , exists for all real x. If this is not possible, write “not possible”. If some of the
constants cannot be uniquely determined, write “not unique” for each such constant.

5. Consider the polynomial p(x) = (x + a1 )(x + a2 ) · · · (x + a10 ) where ai is a real number

for each i = 1, . . . , 10. Suppose all of the eleven coefficients of p(x) are positive. For each
of the following statements, decide if it is true or false. Write your answers as a sequence
of four letters (T/F) in correct order.
(i) The polynomial p(x) must have a global minimum. (ii) Each ai must be positive.
0
(iii) All real roots of p (x) must be negative. (iv) All roots of p0 (x) must be real.

6. Fill in the blanks. Let C1 be the circle with center ( 8, 0) and radius 6. Let C2 be the
circle with center (8, 0) and radius 2. Given a point P outside both circles, let `i (P ) be
the length of a tangent segment from P to circle Ci . The locus of all points P such that
`1 (P ) = 3 `2 (P ) is a circle with radius and center at ( , ).
√ 10 √
7. (i) By the binomial theorem ( 2+1)10 = Ci ( 2)i , where Ci are appropriate constants.
P
√ i=0
Write the value of i for which Ci ( 2)i is the largest among the 11 terms in this sum.
√ √
(ii) For every natural number n, let ( 2+1)n = pn + 2 qn , where pn and qn are integers.
Calculate lim ( pqnn )10 .
n→∞

8. The format for car license plates in a small country is two digits followed by three vowels,
e.g. 04 IOU . A license plate is called “confusing” if the digit 0 (zero) and the vowel O are
both present on it. For example 04 IOU is confusing but 20 AEI is not. (i) How many
distinct number plates are possible in all? (ii) How many of these are not confusing?

9. Recall that sin×1 is the inverse function of sin, as defined in the standard fashion. (Some-
times sin×1 is called arcsin.) Let f (x) = sin×1 (sin(πx)). Write the values of the following.
(Some answers may involve the irrational number π. Write such answers in terms of π.)
R 2.5
(i) f (2.7) (ii) f 0 (2.7) (iii) 0 f (x) dx
(iv) the smallest positive x at which f 0 (x) does not exist.

2
 10. Answer the three questions below. To answer (i) and (ii), replace ? with exactly one of
the following four options: < , = , > , not enough information to compare.
(i) Suppose z1 , z2 are complex numbers. One of them is in the second quadrant and the
other is in the third quadrant. Then |z1 | |z2 | ? |z1 + z2 |.
(ii) Complex numbers z1 , z2 and 0 form an equilateral triangle. Then |z12 + z22 | ? |z1 z2 |.
(iii) Let 1, z1 , z2 , z3 , z4 , z5 , z6 , z7 be the complex 8-th roots of unity. Find the value of
Π (1 zi ), where the symbol Π denotes product.
i=1,...,7

11. There are four distinct balls labelled 1,2,3,4 and four distinct bins labelled A,B,C,D. The
balls are picked up in order and placed into one of the four bins at random. Let Ei denote
the event that the first i balls go into distinct bins. Calculate the following probabilities.
(i) P r[E4 ] (ii)P r[E4 |E3 ] (iii) P r[E4 |E2 ] (iv) P r[E3 |E4 ].
Notation: P r[X] = the probability of event X taking place. P r[X|Y ] = the probability
of event X taking place, given that event Y has taken place.

Answers to part A
This is the only place that will be seen for grading part A. So carefully and clearly write the
answers to each question on the designated line below. Write only the final answers, do not
show any intermediate work. Illegible/unclear answers will not be considered.

A1. A2. A3.

A4.

A5. A6.

A7. A8.

A9.

A10.

A11.

3
 Part B. Write complete solutions for these problems from page 6 onwards.

Part B is worth a total of 81 points = 15 points each for the first three problems + 12 points
each for the last three problems. Solve these problems in the space provided for each problem
from page 6. You may solve only part of a problem and get partial credit. Clearly explain
your entire reasoning. No credit will be given without reasoning.

1. Carefully solve the following series of questions. If you cannot solve an earlier part, you
may still assume the result in it to solve a later part.
(a) For any polynomial p(t), the limit lim p(t)
t is independent of the polynomial p. Justify
t→∞ e
this statement and find the value of the limit.
(b) Consider the function defined by
q(x) = e×1/x when x > 0 ,
= 0 when x = 0 ,
= e1/x when x < 0 .
Show that q 0 (0) exists and find its value. Why is it enough to calculate the relevant limit
from only one side?
(c) Now for any positive integer n, show that q (n) (0) exists and find its value. Here q(x)
is the function in part (b) and q (n) (0) denotes its n-th derivative at x = 0.
2. Let p, q and r be real numbers with p2 + q 2 + r2 = 1.

(a) Prove the inequality 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 ≤ 2.

(b) Also find the smallest possible value of 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 . Specify exactly

when the smallest and the largest possible value is achieved.
3. (a) Show that there are exactly 2 numbers a in {2, 3, . . . , 9999} for which a2 a is divisible
by 10000. Find these values of a.
(b) Let n be a positive integer. For how many numbers a in {2, 3, . . . , n2 1} is a2 a
divisible by n2 ? State your answer suitably in terms of n and justify.
4. Let f : R → R be a twice differentiable function, where R denotes the set of real numbers.
Suppose that for all real numbers x and y, the function f satisfies
f 0 (x) f 0 (y) ≤ 3|x y|.
Answer the following questions. No credit will be given without full justification.
(a) Show that for all x and y, we must have |f (x) f (y) f 0 (y)(x y)| ≤ 1.5(x y)2 .
(b) Find the largest and smallest possible values for f 00 (x) under the given conditions.
5. For an arbitrary integer n, let g(n) be the GCD of 2n + 9 and 6n2 + 11n 2. What is
the largest positive integer that can be obtained as the value of g(n)? If g(n) can be
arbitrarily large, state so explicitly and prove it.

4
6. You are given the following: a circle, one of its diameters AB and a point X.
(a) Using only a straight-edge, show in the given figure how to draw a line perpendicular
to AB passing through X. No credit will be given without full justification. (Recall that
a straight-edge is a ruler without any markings. Given two points, a straight-edge can
be used to draw the line passing through the given points.)

A B

(b) Do NOT draw any of your work for this part in the given figure. Reconsider your
procedure to see if it can be made to work if the point X is in some other position, e.g.,
when it is inside the circle or to the “left/right” of the circle. Clearly specify all positions
of the point X for which your procedure in part (a), or a small extension/variation of it,
can be used to obtain the perpendicular to AB through X. Justify your answer.

Write answers to part B from the next page.

5
1. Carefully solve the following series of questions. If you cannot solve an earlier part, you
may still assume the result in it to solve a later part.
(a) For any polynomial p(t), the limit lim p(t)
t is independent of the polynomial p. Justify
t→∞ e
this statement and find the value of the limit.
(b) Consider the function defined by
q(x) = e×1/x when x > 0 ,
= 0 when x = 0 ,
= e1/x when x < 0 .

Show that q 0 (0) exists and find its value. Why is it enough to calculate the relevant limit
from only one side?
(c) Now for any positive integer n, show that q (n) (0) exists and find its value. Here q(x)
is the function in part (b) and q (n) (0) denotes its n-th derivative at x = 0.
If you need extra space for this or any problem, continue on one of the later
blank pages and write a note to that effect.

6
2. Let p, q and r be real numbers with p2 + q 2 + r2 = 1.

(a) Prove the inequality 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 ≤ 2.

(b) Also find the smallest possible value of 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 . Specify exactly

when the smallest and the largest possible value is achieved.

7
3. (a) Show that there are exactly 2 numbers a in {2, 3, . . . , 9999} for which a2 a is divisible
by 10000. Find these values of a.
(b) Let n be a positive integer. For how many numbers a in {2, 3, . . . , n2 1} is a2 a
divisible by n2 ? State your answer suitably in terms of n and justify.

8
4. Let f : R → R be a twice differentiable function, where R denotes the set of real numbers.
Suppose that for all real numbers x and y, the function f satisfies

f 0 (x) f 0 (y) ≤ 3|x y|.

Answer the following questions. No credit will be given without full justification.
(a) Show that for all x and y, we must have |f (x) f (y) f 0 (y)(x y)| ≤ 1.5(x y)2 .
(b) Find the largest and smallest possible values for f 00 (x) under the given conditions.

9
5. For an arbitrary integer n, let g(n) be the GCD of 2n + 9 and 6n2 + 11n 2. What is
the largest positive integer that can be obtained as the value of g(n)? If g(n) can be
arbitrarily large, state so explicitly and prove it.

10
6. You are given the following: a circle, one of its diameters AB and a point X.
(a) Using only a straight-edge, show in the given figure how to draw a line perpendicular
to AB passing through X. No credit will be given without full justification. (Recall that
a straight-edge is a ruler without any markings. Given two points, a straight-edge can
be used to draw the line passing through the given points.)

A B

11
(b) Do NOT draw any of your work for this part in the given figure. Reconsider your
procedure to see if it can be made to work if the point X is in some other position, e.g.,
when it is inside the circle or to the “left/right” of the circle. Clearly specify all positions
of the point X for which your procedure in part (a), or a small extension/variation of it,
can be used to obtain the perpendicular to AB through X. Justify your answer.

12
 Solutions to 2015 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

Part A Solutions

1. Ten people sitting around a circular table decide to donate some money for charity. You
are told that the amount donated by each person was the average of the money donated
by the two persons sitting adjacent to him/her. One person donated Rs. 500. Choose the
correct option for each of the following two questions. Write your answers as a sequence
of two letters (a/b/c/d).

What is the total amount donated by the 10 people?

(a) exactly Rs. 5000 (b) less than Rs. 5000 (c) more than Rs. 5000
(d) not possible to decide among the above three options.
What is the maximum amount donated by an individual?
(a) exactly Rs. 500 (b) less than Rs. 500 (c) more than Rs. 500
(d) not possible to decide among the above three options.
Answer: exactly Rs. 5000, exactly Rs. 500. Consider the person who donated Rs. 500.
Suppose the neighbor to the left donates 500 + x. Then the one on the right donates
500 x. But continuing leftward, the amounts donated are 500 + 2x, 500 + 3x, . . ., forcing
x to be 0, since you come around to the neighbor to the right.

2. Consider all finite letter-strings formed by using only two letters A and B. We consider
the usual dictionary order on these strings. See below for the formal rule with examples.

Formal rule: To compare two strings w1 and w2 , read them from left to right. We say
“w1 is smaller than w2 ” or “w1 < w2 ” if the first letter in which w1 and w2 differ is A in
w1 and B in w2 (for example, ABAA < ABB by looking at the third letters) or if w2 is
obtained by appending some letters at the end of w1 (e.g. AB < ABAA).

For each of the statements below, state if it is true or false. Write your answers as a
sequence of three letters (T for True and F for False) in correct order.

(a) Let w be an arbitrary string. There exists a unique string y satisfying both the
following properties: (i) w < y and (ii) there is no string x with w < x < y .
Answer: True, append A to w.
(b) It is possible to give an infinite decreasing sequence of strings, i.e. a sequence
w1 , w2 , . . . , such that wi+1 < wi for each positive integer i.
Answer: True. B, AB, AAB, AAAB, . . .
(c) Fewer than 50 strings are smaller than ABBABABB.
Answer: False. There are infinitely many such strings e.g. A, AA, AAA, AAAA,
....

1
3. A positive integer n is called a magic number if it has the following property: if a and b
are two positive numbers that are not coprime to n then a + b is also not coprime to n.
For example, 2 is a magic number, because sum of any two even numbers is also even.
Which of the following are magic numbers? Write your answers as a sequence of four
letters (Y for Yes and N for No) in correct order.
(i) 129 (ii) 128 (iii) 127 (iv) 100.
Answer: Only 128 and 127 are magic numbers. See that n is a magic number if and
only if n is a power of a prime. (Otherwise, write n = ab with a, b coprime.)

4. Let A, B and C be unknown constants. Consider the function f (x) defined by

f (x) = Ax2 + Bx + C when x ≤ 0 ,

= ln(5x + 1) when x > 0 .

Write the values of the constants A, B and C such that f 00 (x), i.e., the double derivative
of f , exists for all real x. If this is not possible, write “not possible”. If some of the
constants cannot be uniquely determined, write “not unique” for each such constant.
Answer: The only problem is at x = 0. For continuity, ln(0 + 1) = C. For f 0 (0) to exist,
f must be continuous and the left and right derivatives of f at x = 0 (which are easily
seen to exist) must match, i.e. 5 = B. For f 00 (0) to exist, f 0 (0) must exist and left and
right derivatives of f 0 at x = 0 must match, i.e. 2A = 52 . So A = 25 2
, B = 5, C = 0.

5. Consider the polynomial p(x) = (x + a1 )(x + a2 ) · · · (x + a10 ) where ai is a real number

for each i = 1, . . . , 10. Suppose all of the eleven coefficients of p(x) are positive. For each
of the following statements, decide if it is true or false. Write your answers as a sequence
of four letters (T/F) in correct order.
(i) The polynomial p(x) must have a global minimum. (ii) Each ai must be positive.
(iii) All real roots of p0 (x) must be negative. (iv) All roots of p0 (x) must be real.
Answer: All are true. (i) The degree is even, so p(x) goes to +∞ as x → ±∞. So p(x)
must attain a global minimum somewhere by continuity. (ii) The roots of p(x) are ai .
By positivity of coefficients of p(x), no nonnegative number is a root of p(x). Thus all
ai are negative, so all ai > 0. (iii + iv) All 10 roots of p(x) are real and negative. There
is a root of p0 (x) between consecutive roots of p(x) (this is valid even in case of multiple
roots). So all 9 roots of p0 (x) are real and negative as well. For negativity, one can also
note that all coefficients of p0 (x) are positive and apply the logic in (ii) to p0 (x).

6. Fill in the blanks. Let C1 be the circle with center ( 8, 0) and radius 6. Let C2 be the
circle with center (8, 0) and radius 2. Given a point P outside both circles, let `i (P ) be
the length of a tangent segment from P to circle Ci . The locus of all points P such that
`1 (P ) = 3 `2 (P ) is a circle with radius and center at ( , ).
Answer: Center = (10,0), radius = 6. Use the distance formula and the Pythagorean
theorem to get y 2 +(x+8)2 62 = 9(y 2 +(x 8)2 4). Simplifying gives y 2 +(x 10)2 = 62 .
Another way, assuming the locus to be a circle: note that the ratio of the radii of C1 , C2
and that of the tangents is the same (namely 3). Now use similar triangles to see that

2
 the desired circle intersects the X-axis at coordinates 4 and 16, giving a diameter of the
desired circle (why?)
√ 10 √
7. (i) By the binomial theorem ( 2+1)10 = Ci ( 2)i , where Ci are appropriate constants.
P
√ i=0
Write the value of i for which Ci ( 2)i is the largest among the 11 terms in this sum.
√
Ci+1 ( 2)i+1
Answer: i = 6. One way: simplify the ratio and see that this ratio is > 1 till
√
Ci ( 2)i
i = 5 and < 1 from i = 6 onwards.
√ √
(ii) For every natural number n, let ( 2+1)n = pn + 2 qn , where pn and qn are integers.
Calculate lim ( pqnn )10 .
n→∞
√ n
√
Answer: 32. Using binomial expansion see that √ ( 2 1) = ±(p n √ 2 qn ), where the
n
sign depends
√ on the parity of n.√ As n → ∞, ( 2 1) → 0 since ( 2 1) < 1. Thus
(pn 2 qn ) → 0 and so pqnn → 2.

8. The format for car license plates in a small country is two digits followed by three vowels,
e.g. 04 IOU . A license plate is called “confusing” if the digit 0 (zero) and the vowel O are
both present on it. For example 04 IOU is confusing but 20 AEI is not. (i) How many
distinct number plates are possible in all? (ii) How many of these are not confusing?
Answer: (i) 102 × 53 = 12500. (ii) 102 × 43 plates without vowel O + 92 × (53 43 )
plates with vowel O but without 0. This gives 6400 + 4941 = 11341.

9. Recall that sin×1 is the inverse function of sin, as defined in the standard fashion. (Some-
times sin×1 is called arcsin.) Let f (x) = sin×1 (sin(πx)). Write the values of the following.
(Some answers may involve the irrational number π. Write such answers in terms of π.)
R 2.5
(i) f (2.7) (ii) f 0 (2.7) (iii) 0 f (x) dx
(iv) the smallest positive x at which f 0 (x) does not exist.
Answer: The graph of f is periodic with period 2. From x = 0.5 to x = 0.5 it is the
line y = πx of slope π passing through the origin and from x = 0.5 to x = 1.5 it is the
line with slope π, which crosses the X axis at x = 1. Using this we see that (i) f (2.7) =
sin×1 (sin(2.7π)) = Rsin×1 (sin(0.7π))R = sin×1 (sin(0.5π + 0.2π)) = 0.5π 0.2π = 0.3π. (ii)
2.5 2.5
f 0 (2.7) = π (iii) 0 f (x) dx = 2 f (x) dx = π/8 and (iv) the smallest positive x at
which f 0 (x) does not exist is x = 1/2.

10. Answer the three questions below. To answer (i) and (ii), replace ? with exactly one of
the following four options: < , = , > , not enough information to compare.
(i) Suppose z1 , z2 are complex numbers. One of them is in the second quadrant and the
other is in the third quadrant. Then |z1 | |z2 | ? |z1 + z2 |.
(ii) Complex numbers z1 , z2 and 0 form an equilateral triangle. Then |z12 + z22 | ? |z1 z2 |.
(iii) Let 1, z1 , z2 , z3 , z4 , z5 , z6 , z7 be the complex 8-th roots of unity. Find the value of
Π (1 zi ), where the symbol Π denotes product.
i=1,...,7

3
 Answer: (i) |z1 | |z2 | < |z1 + z2 |. One way: using triangle inequality for z1 + z2
and z2 we get |z1 | ≤ |z1 + z2 | + | z2 | and so |z1 | |z2 | ≤ |z1 + z2 |. Now we may
take absolute value on the LHS because switching z1 and z2 keeps RHS the same. For
equality, z1 + z2 and z2 must point in the same direction, so z1 and z2 must be along
the same line. But they are in quadrants 2 and 3, so this cannot happen.
(ii) z2 must be obtained by rotating z1 by angle π/3, say in the counterclockwise direction
πi 2πi
(otherwise interchange the two). Then z2 = z1 e 3 . Then z12 + z22 = z12 (1 + e 3 ) and
πi 2πi πi
z1 z2 = z12 e 3 . Now 1 + e 3 = e 3 (see by calculation or picture), so we have in fact
z12 + z22 = z1 z2 .
x8 ×1
(iii) We have Π (x zi ) = x×1
= 1+x+. . .+x7 . Putting x = 1 gives Π (1 zi ) = 8.
i=1,...,7 i=1,...,7

11. There are four distinct balls labelled 1,2,3,4 and four distinct bins labelled A,B,C,D. The
balls are picked up in order and placed into one of the four bins at random. Let Ei denote
the event that the first i balls go into distinct bins. Calculate the following probabilities.
Notation: P r[X] = the probability of event X taking place. P r[X|Y ] = the probability
of event X taking place, given that event Y has taken place.
Answer:
4! 3 1 2! 1
(i) P r[E4 ] = 44
= 32
(ii)P r[E4 |E3 ] = 4
(iii) P r[E4 |E2 ] = 42
= 8
(iv) P r[E3 |E4 ] = 1.

Part B Solutions

1. Carefully solve the following series of questions. If you cannot solve an earlier part, you
may still assume the result in it to solve a later part.
(a) For any polynomial p(t), the limit lim p(t)
t is independent of the polynomial p. Justify
t→∞ e
this statement and find the value of the limit.
(b) Consider the function defined by

q(x) = e×1/x when x > 0 ,

= 0 when x = 0 ,
= e1/x when x < 0 .

Show that q 0 (0) exists and find its value. Why is it enough to calculate the relevant limit
from only one side?
(c) Now for any positive integer n, show that q (n) (0) exists and find its value. Here q(x)
is the function in part (b) and q (n) (0) denotes its n-th derivative at x = 0.
Answer: (a) If p(t) is constant, then the limit = 0. Otherwise we get a form ±∞
∞
. Using
p(t) p0 (t)
L’Hospital’s rule, we get lim et = lim et = 0 by induction on the degree of t (or apply
t→∞ t→∞
L’Hospital’s rule repeatedly).

4
 −1/h
(b) The right side derivative = lim+ q(h)×q(0)
h
= lim+ e h
= lim+ e1/h
1/h = lim t
t. (Let
h→0 h→0 h→0 t→+∞ e
+
t = 1/h. As h → 0 , t → +∞.) This limit is 0, e.g. by part (a).
Now q is an even function, so letting k = h, the left side derivative = lim− q(h)×q(0)
h
=
h→0
lim+ q(×k)
×k
= lim+ q(k)
×k
. Using the earlier calculation this also equals 0 = 0.
k→0 k→0

Note: It is wrong to argue that q 0 (0) = lim q 0 (x) because to do so, we first need to know
x→0
that q 0 is continuous at 0, but we have not even shown that q 0 (0) exists! For the same
reason it is wrong to argue below that q (n) (0) = lim q (n) (x).
x→0

(c) We will show by induction on n that q (n) (0) = 0. The case n = 1 is done. (We can
even start the induction at n = 0 by interpreting q (0) (x) = q(x).) Assuming that we are
(n) (n) (0)
done up to n and to prove the statement for n+1, we need to calculate lim q (h)×q
h
=
h→0
(n)
lim q h(h) , because q (n)
(0) = 0 by induction. Therefore it is good to examine q (n) (h) for
h→0
h 6= 0. This is easy to calculate by the usual rules, but the formulas will be different for
positive and negative h. For h 6= 0, as q is even, q 0 is odd, so q 00 is even, etc. and in
general q (n) (h) = ( 1)n q (n) ( h). Therefore, just as for part (b), it suffices to show that
(n)
lim+ q h(h) = 0. By another induction, we see easily that for h > 0, q (n) (h) = p(1/h)e×1/h
h→0
for some polynomial p. Proof: q 0 (h) = ( h12 )e×1/h . Assuming the result for n, we have


q (n+1) (h) = [p(1/h)e×1/h ]0 = h12 ( p(1/h) + p0 (1/h))e×1/h , which has the desired form.
(n) (h) −1/h
So we have lim+ q h
= lim+ p(1/h)e
h
= lim tp(t)e×t = lim tp(t)
et
= 0 by part (a). Here
h→0 h→0 t→∞ t→∞
we have again substituted t = 1/h.

2. Let p, q and r be real numbers with p2 + q 2 + r2 = 1.

(a) Prove the inequality 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 ≤ 2.

(b) Also find the smallest possible value of 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 . Specify exactly

when the smallest and the largest possible value is achieved.
Answer: We have 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 = (q + r)(3p2 + 2q 2 + 2r2 2qr) =
(q +r)(3(p2 +q 2 +r2 ) (q 2 +r2 +2qr)) = (q +r)(3 (q +r)2 ) = x(3 x2 ) = 3x x3 , where
x = q + r. Let us examine possible values of x in view of the constraint p2 + q 2 + r2 = 1.
We have 2qr ≤ q 2 + r2 e.g. because (q r)2 ≥ 0. Adding q 2 + r2 , we get 2 2
à q + r + 2qrò
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2q +2r ≤ 2, because q +r ≤ p +q +r = 1. Thus (q+r) ≤ 2. So 2
√ ≤ q+r ≤ 2.
Note that equalities are achieved precisely when p = 0 and q = r = ±1/ 2.
Thus altogether
√ √ we have to find extrema of the odd function f (x) = 3x x3 over the
0
interval [ 2, 2]. The √critical points
√ are when f (x) = 3 3x2 = 0, i.e. x = ±1. Thus
we need to see only f (± 2) = ± 2 and f (±1) = ±2. Therefore 2 ≤ 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r +
2 q 3 + 2 r3 ≤ 2. Moreover, 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 = ±2 precisely when x = q + r = ±1.
In each case, this gives a line segment in the qr-plane joining (±1, 0) and (0, ±1). Note
that both these segments lie within the circle q 2 + r2 = 1, so each point on them leads
to two valid points (p, q, r) on the unit sphere.

5
3. (a) Show that there are exactly 2 numbers a in {2, 3, . . . , 9999} for which a2 a is divisible
by 10000. Find these values of a.
(b) Let n be a positive integer. For how many numbers a in {2, 3, . . . , n2 1} is a2 a
divisible by n2 ? State your answer suitably in terms of n and justify.
Answer: (a) We have 10000 = 16 × 625 as product of prime powers. Recall the notation
a|b, meaning b is divisible by a. We have 10000|a2 a if and only if (625|a(a 1) and
16|a(a 1)). Because a and a 1 cannot share a factor, in turn this is equivalent to
having both the conditions (1) 625|a or 625|a 1 AND (2) 16|a or 16|a 1. Now if
the coprime integers 16 and 625 both divide the same natural number (in our case a or
a 1), their product 10000 will also divide this number. In our case this would force
a = 0, 1, or ≥ 10000, all of which are not allowed. Thus the given requirement on a is
equivalent to having either (1) 16|a and 625|a 1 OR (2) 16|a 1 and 625|a. Each case
has a unique solution, respectively a = 9376 and a = 625 (e.g. use modular arithmetic:
in case 1, we have a = 625k + 1, which is k + 1 mod 16, forcing k = 15 because 16|a and
a ∈ {2, 3, . . . , 9999}).
(b) Let n = p1 e1 . . . pk ek be the factorization of n into powers of distinct primes. The
analysis in part (a) tells that required values of a are obtained as follows: write n2 = xy
as a product of two coprime integers and find values of a in {2, 3, . . . , n2 1} that are
simultaneously 0 mod x and 1 mod y. These are precisely the values of a that we want.
This is because each p2e i
i
must divide a or a 1, as a and a 1 are coprime.
Now the Chinese remainder theorem tells you that there is always an a that is 0 mod x
and 1 mod y. Moreover it is unique modulo xy = n2 because difference between any two
solutions would be divisible by xy.
The total number of ways to write n2 = xy as a product of coprime integers is exactly
2k as it amounts to choosing which of the k distinct primes to include in x and then
the rest go into y. (Notice that x and y are not interchangeable.) However, we have to
delete the two cases x = 1, y = n2 and y = 1, x = n2 , as these will respectively lead to
solutions a = 1 and a = 0 or n2 , which are not in {2, 3, . . . , n2 1}. Finally it is easy to
see that different choices of x lead to different values of a. This is because, of the primes
p1 , . . . , pk in the factorization of n, precisely the ones dividing x will divide a and the
remaining primes will not, because they divide a 1.
Thus the final answer is 2k 2. Note that this matches with the special case in part (a).
Finally, note that there was nothing special about taking a square: instead of n2 it could
be any positive integer m and we would proceed the same way to find requisite integers
a in {2, 3 . . . , m 1} based on prime factorization of m.

4. Let f : R → R be a twice differentiable function, where R denotes the set of real numbers.
Suppose that for all real numbers x and y, the function f satisfies

f 0 (x) f 0 (y) ≤ 3|x y|.

Answer the following questions. No credit will be given without full justification.
(a) Show that for all x and y, we must have |f (x) f (y) f 0 (y)(x y)| ≤ 1.5(x y)2 .

6
 (b) Find the largest and smallest possible values for f 00 (x) under the given conditions.
Answer: (a) Note that the given inequality stays valid if we take absolute value of the
LHS, because we may interchange x and y without affecting RHS.
Fix x, y and let t = x y. For now let x ≥ y, i.e. t ≥ 0. For h ∈ [0, t], the value of y + h
0 0
varies between y and x. We are given that R t |f 0(y + h) f 0(y)| ≤ 3|h|.
R t Integrate with
respect to h over the interval [0, t] to get 0 |f (y + h) f (y)|dh ≤ 0 3|h|dh = 1.5t2 .
The LHS should remind us of the following general fact: the absolute value of a definite
integral ≤ theR tdefinite integral of absoluteR value the same function over the same interval.
t
So we get | 0 f (y + h) f 0 (y)dh| ≤ 0 |f 0 (y + h) f 0 (y)|dh. Combining with the
0
Rt
previous inequality we have | 0 f 0 (y + h) f 0 (y)dh| ≤ 1.5t2 . Finally we calculate the
Rt Rt 0
LHS. | 0 f 0 (y + h)dh 0
f (y)dh| = |f (y + t) f (y) f 0 (y)t|, where the first integral
is calculated using the fundamental theorem of calculus and the second one is just the
integral of the constant f 0 (y). Substituting x y for t gives the desired result.
Notes: (1) If x < y, then tR< 0. We use the same strategy but all definite integrals should
0
be taken over [t, 0]. Now t 3|h|dh = 1.5t2 = LHS of the desired inequality. In the final
R0 0
calculation we get t f (y + h) f 0 (y)dh = f (y) f (y + t) + f 0 (y)t = negative of the
previous answer. So when we take absolute value of this integral, we again get the same
RHS of the desired inequality. (2) f 0 (y + h) f 0 (y) and its absolute value are integrable
functions of h because they are continuous. This is because f 0 (y + h) is just a shift of
the function f 0 and f 0 is continuous because it is differentiable by hypothesis.
0 0 0 0
(b) We have, for x 6= y, | f (x)×f
x×y
(y)
| ≤ 3, so 3 ≤ f (x)×f
x×y
(y)
≤ 3. Taking limit as y → x,
we get 3 ≤ f 00 (x) ≤ 3. It is easy to provide examples where f 00 attains the extreme
values ±3, e.g. f (x) = ±1.5x2 . These satisfy the hypothesis and have constant f 00 = ±3.
5. For an arbitrary integer n, let g(n) be the GCD of 2n + 9 and 6n2 + 11n 2. What is
the largest positive integer that can be obtained as the value of g(n)? If g(n) can be
arbitrarily large, state so explicitly and prove it.
Answer: Long division gives 6n2 + 11n 2 = (2n + 9)(3n 8) + 70. By Euclidean
algorithm, GCD(6n2 + 11n 2, 2n + 9) = GCD(2n + 9, 70). Thus g(n) divides 70. But
since g(n) divides 2n + 9, which is odd, g(n) divides 35. When n = 13, 2n + 9 = 35 and
hence g(13) = 35. Thus the maximum value of g(n) is 35. (Precisely for which n do we
have g(n) = 35 (or, if you wish, 1 or 5 or 7)? A bit more work will tell you. Try it.)
6. You are given the following: a circle, one of its diameters AB and a point X.
(a) Using only a straight-edge, show in the given figure how to draw a line perpendicular
to AB passing through X. No credit will be given without full justification. (Recall that
a straight-edge is a ruler without any markings. Given two points, a straight-edge can
be used to draw the line passing through the given points.)
Answer: Line AX cuts the circle in C. Line BX cuts the circle in D. Lines AD and BC
intersect in E. Line XE is perpendicular to line AB. Reason: Angles ADB and ACB are
right angles, being angles in a semicircle. The altitudes of triangle XAB are concurrent.
Two of them are AD and BC, so the third is contained in line XE. (Notice that we always
use lines rather than line segments - this is important for part (b).)

7
(b) Do NOT draw any of your work for this part in the given figure. Reconsider your
procedure to see if it can be made to work if the point X is in some other position, e.g.,
when it is inside the circle or to the “left/right” of the circle. Clearly specify all positions
of the point X for which your procedure in part (a), or a small extension/variation of it,
can be used to obtain the perpendicular to AB through X. Justify your answer.
Answer: Case 1: Suppose X is not on the line AB (so XAB is a triangle), nor on the
tangents to the circle at A (so line XA meets the circle in a point C different from A),
nor on the tangent at B (so line XB meets the circle in a point D different from B) nor on
the given circle (so C, D and X are all different). In this case the exact same procedure
will work so long as we understand that the altitudes and their intersection point may
lie outside triangle XAB. This is because the lines XA and XB meet the circle in two
distinct points C and D that are different from X,A and B.
Case 2: Suppose X is on one of the two tangents, say the tangent at A, but X is different
from A. In this case XA itself is the desired line! In terms of the construction, here we
have A = C = E. Of course we have to assume that we can detect whether a line meeting
a circle does so in one point or two. But this assumption is implicit in Case 1 also,
because there we need to be able to identify the second point of intersection!
Case 3: If X is on line AB, then XAB is not a triangle. If X is not on line AB but
X is on the circle, then XAB is a triangle but X = C = D = E, so we cannot draw
line XE. Thus in these cases, the above procedure fails. Nonetheless even in these
cases it is possible to draw a perpendicular through X to line AB using only
a straightedge. It is a challenge to you to find a suitable procedure!

8
 2016 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

Read the instructions on the front of the booklet carefully!

Part A. Write your final answers on page 3.

Part A is worth a total of (4 ⇥ 10 = 40) points. Points will be given based only on clearly
legible final answers filled in the correct place on page 3. Write all answers for a single question
on the designated line and in the order in which they are asked, separated by commas.
Unless specified otherwise, each answer is either a rational number or, where appropriate, one
of the phrases “infinite”/“does not exist”/“not possible to decide”. Write integer answers in
the usual decimal form. Write non-integer rationals as ratios of two coprime integers.

1. Four children K, L, M and R are about to run a race. They make some predictions as
follows.
K says: M will win. Myself will come second.
R says: M will come second. L will be third.
M says: L will be last. R will be second.
After the race, it turns out that each person has made exactly one correct and one
incorrect prediction. Write the result of the race in the order from first to the last.

2. A country’s GDP grew by 7.8% within a period. During the same period the country’s
per-capita-GDP (= ratio of GDP to the total population) increased by 10%. During this
period, the total population of the country increased/decreased by %. (Choose the
correct option and fill in the blank if possible.)

3. You are told that n = 110179 is the product of two primes p and q. The number
of positive integers less than n that are relatively prime to n (i.e. those m such that
gcd(m, n) = 1) is 109480. Write the value of p + q. Then write the values of p and q.

4. A step starting at a point P in the XY -plane consists of moving by one unit from P
in one of three directions: directly to the right or in the direction of one of the two
rays that make the angle of ±120 with positive X-axis. (An opposite move, i.e. to the
left/southeast/northeast, is not allowed.) A path consists of a number of such steps, each
new step starting where the previous step ended. Points and steps in a path may repeat.
Find the number of paths starting at (1,0) and ending at (2,0) that consist of
(i) exactly 6 steps (ii) exactly 7 steps.

5. Find the value of the following sum of 100 terms. (Possible hint: also consider the same
sum with sin2 instead of cos2 .)
⇣ ⇡ ⌘ ⇣ 2⇡ ⌘ ⇣ 3⇡ ⌘ ⇣ 99⇡ ⌘ ⇣ 100⇡ ⌘
cos2 + cos2 + cos2 + · · · + cos2 + cos2 .
101 101 101 101 101

1
 6. A function f (x) is defined by the following formulas
(
x2 + 1 when x is irrational,
f (x) =
tan(x) when x is rational.
At how many x in the interval [0, 4⇡] is f (x) continuous?

In each question below, four statements are given. For each statement, state
if it is true or false. Write your answer to each question as a sequence of four
letters (T for True and F for False) in correct order.

7. We want to construct a nonempty and proper subset S of the set of non-negative integers.
This set must have the following properties. For any m and any n,
if m 2 S and n 2 S then m + n 2 S and if m 2 S and m + n 2 S then n 2 S.
(i) 0 must be in S.
(ii) 1 cannot be in S.
(iii) There are only finitely many ways to construct such a subset S.
(iv) There is such a subset S that contains both 20152016 and 20162015 .
8. A function g satisfies the property that g(k) = 3k + 5 for each of the 15 integer values of
k in [1,15].
(i) If g(x) is a linear polynomial, then g(x) = 3x + 5.
(ii) g cannot be a polynomial of degree 10.
(iii) g cannot be a polynomial of degree 20.
(iv) If g is di↵erentiable, then g must be a polynomial.
9. Given a continuous function f , define the following subsets of the set R of real numbers.
T = set of slopes of all possible tangents to the graph of f .
S = set of slopes of all possible secants, i.e. lines joining two points on the graph of f .
(i) If f is di↵erentiable, then S ⇢ T .
(ii) If f is di↵erentiable, then T ⇢ S.
(iii) If T = S = R, then f must be di↵erentiable everywhere.
(iv) Suppose 0 and 1 are in S. Then every number between 0 and 1 must also be in S.
10. You are given a triangle ABC, a point D on segment AC, a point E on segment AB and
a point F on segment BC. Let BD and CE intersect in point P. Join P with F. Suppose
that \ EPB = \ BPF = \ FPC = \ CPD and PD = PE = PF. (See an indicative figure
on page 3. It may not be the only such figure, so measuring it may be misleading.)
(i) AP must bisect \ BAC.
(ii) 4 ABC must be isosceles.
(iii) A, P, F must be collinear.
(iv) \ BAC must be 60 .

2
 Answers to part A
This is the only place that will be seen for grading part A. So carefully and clearly write the
answers to each question on the designated line below. Write only the final answers, do not
show any intermediate work. Illegible/unclear answers will not be considered.

A1.

A2.

A3.

A4.

A5.

A6.

A7.

A8.

A9.

A10.

E D
P

B C
F
Figure for question A10

3
 Part B. Write complete solutions for these questions from page 6 onwards.

Part B is worth a total of (6 ⇥ 14 = 84) points. Solve these questions in the space provided
for each question from page 6. You may solve only part of a question and get partial credit.
Clearly explain your entire reasoning. No credit will be given without reasoning.

1. Out of the 14 students taking a test, 5 are well prepared, 6 are adequately prepared and
3 are poorly prepared. There are 10 questions on the test paper. A well prepared student
can answer 9 questions correctly, an adequately prepared student can answer 6 questions
correctly and a poorly prepared student can answer only 3 questions correctly.
For each probability below, write your final answer as a rational number in lowest form.
(a) If a randomly chosen student is asked two distinct randomly chosen questions from
the test, what is the probability that the student will answer both questions correctly?
Note: The student and the questions are chosen independently of each other. “Random”
means that each individual student/each pair of questions is equally likely to be chosen.
(b) Now suppose that a student was chosen at random and asked two randomly chosen
questions from the exam, and moreover did answer both questions correctly. Find the
probability that the chosen student was well prepared.

2. By definition the region inside the parabola y = x2 is the set of points (a, b) such that
b a2 . We are interested in those circles all of whose points are in this region. A bubble
at a point P on the graph of y = x2 is the largest such circle that contains P . (You may
assume the fact that there is a unique such circle at any given point on the parabola.)
(a) A bubble at some point on the parabola has radius 1. Find the center of this bubble.
(b) Find the radius of the smallest possible bubble at some point on the parabola. Justify.

3. Consider the function f (x) = xcos(x)+sin(x) defined for x 0.

(a) Prove that Z 1

0.4  f (x)dx  0.5.
0

(b) Suppose the graph of f (x) is being traced on a computer screen with the uniform
speed of 1 cm per second (i.e., this is how fast the length of the curve is increasing). Show
that at the moment the point corresponding to x = 1 is being drawn, the x coordinate
is increasing at the rate of

1
p cm per second.
2 + sin(2)

4
4. Let A be a non-empty finite sequence of n distinct integers a1 < a2 < · · · < an . Define

A + A = {ai + aj |1  i, j  n},

i.e., the set of all pairwise sums of numbers from A. E.g., for A = {1, 4}, A+A = {2, 5, 8}.

(a) Show that |A + A| 2n 1. Here |A + A| means the number of elements in A + A.

(b) Prove that |A+A| = 2n 1 if and only if the sequence A is an arithmetic progression.
(c) Find a sequence A of the form 0 < 1 < a3 < · · · < a10 such that |A + A| = 20.

5. Find a polynomial p(x) that simultaneously has both the following properties.
(i) When p(x) is divided by x100 the remainder is the constant polynomial 1.
(ii) When p(x) is divided by (x 2)3 the remainder is the constant polynomial 2.

6. Find all pairs (p, n) of positive integers where p is a prime number and p3 p = n7 n3 .

Write answers to part B from the next page.

5
 Solutions to 2016 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

Answers to Part A

1. If K comes second, then L was third (one correct answer for R). But then R would also
need to be second (one correct answer for M), a contradiction. So K cannot be second.
So M must have won, etc. The order is M R L K.
GDP
2. Per-capita GDP is population . Letting G and P denote the old GDP and population
1.078G
respectively, the new per-capita GDP is (1+x)P where x is the unknown percent change
in population we wish to calculate. The percent increase in per-capita GDP is 10% = 0.1.
So we have 1.078
1+x
= 1.1. Solving for x we get 1 + x = 1.078
1.1
9811
= 10011 = 0.98. So x is 0.02.
So population decreased by 2%.

3. Given n = pq = 110179. The number of integers relatively prime to n and smaller than
n is (p 1)(q 1). So we have pq p q + 1 = 109480. We get p + q = 700. Now p, q
are solutions to the quadratic
√ √ x2 700x + 110179. The discriminant of this quadratic is
490000 440716 = 49284 = 22. So we get p = 700+2222
= 461 and q = 700×222
2
= 239.

4. Let there be a steps to the right (east), b steps north-west and c steps southwest. The
total number of steps is a+b+c. The key idea is to think of the northwest step as a move
in the complex plane along ω, the complex cube root of unity, the southwest step as a
move in the complex plane along ω 2 and the step to the right as a move along ω 3 = 1.
From the hypothesis we then have a + bω + cω 2 = 1. Using 1 + ω + ω 2 = 0 we see that
a 1 = b = c. This then rules out a + b + c = 6, so the number of 6 step paths is zero.
A 7 step path is possible only

with a = 3, b = 2, c = 2. The number of such paths is the
7
multinomial coefficient 3,2,2 = 210. (Instead of complex numbers one can also think in
terms of vector addition in the plane.)

5. Let θ = 101 π
. Let A = cos2 (θ) + cos2 (2θ) + · · · + cos2 (100θ). Let B = sin2 (θ) + sin2 (2θ) +
2
· · · + sin (100θ). We have A + B = 100, and A B = cos(2θ) + cos(4θ) + · · · + cos(200θ).
π 2π 2πi
Since θ = 101 , we see that cos(2θ) = cos( 101 ) is the real part of e 101 , i being the complex
square root of 1. Interpreting the other terms in A B similarly we see that A B is
the real part of the sum of the 101th roots of unity except 1. So A B = 1. This gives
A = 99 2
, B = 1012
.

6. The given function is defined using the two functions x2 + 1 and tan(x). Both these
functions are continuous wherever they are defined. Since every irrational number z has
a non terminating, non repeating decimal expansion we see that given any  > 0 there is
a rational number p such that the distance between z and p is less than . Using these
facts one can see that the given function will be continuous precisely at those x in the
interval [0, 4π] where x2 + 1 = tan(x). Since x2 + 1 is positive, it will intersect tan(x)
exactly once in the intervals [0, π2 ], [π, 3π
2
], [2π, 5π
2
], [3π, 7π
2
], as tan(x) increases from 0 to
∞ in each of these intervals. tan(x) is negative elsewhere in the given domain. So we
have 4 points of continuity.

1
7. TTFF
Since the set S is nonempty, there is an element m ∈ S. But then m = m + 0 and
so 0 ∈ S. 1 cannot be in S, otherwise it will contain all non-negative integers. It is
not difficult to see by the division algorithm that if m, n are in S then so is their GCD.
Therefore two coprime numbers cannot be in S. Otherwise their GCD, which is 1, will be
in S, a contradiction. It follows that such sets S are precisely those of the form nZ≥0 , the
set of all non-negative multiples of a fixed non-negative integer n. So there are infinitely
many such possible sets.

8. TTFF
If g(x) is linear, it is 3x + 5 because the values at 1 and 2 are 8 and 11 respectively. If
g(x) is a polynomial then it is 3x + 5 plus a multiple of (x 1)(x 2) · · · (x 15). So g(x)
cannot be a polynomial of degree 10. But it can be a polynomial of degree 15 or more.
g being differentiable does not mean that it is a polynomial. You can fit any number of
differentiable functions to the given data.

9. TFFT

i The mean value theorem tells us S ⊂ T .

ii T ⊂ S is false, example f (x) = sin(x). Here f 0 (0) = 1 is in T but not in S.
iii T = S = R can happen at points where f is not differentiable.
iv S has mean value property, because of continuity. (Why?)

10. TFFT
BP and CP are angle bisectors meeting at P , so AP bisects ∠A since the angle bisectors
are concurrent. The angles marked with symbol ◦ at point P are all 60◦ because ∠EP D =
twice this common value. It follows that half the sum of ∠B and ∠C is 60◦ . So ∠A is
60◦ . The others are false, in fact check that any triangle with ∠A = 60◦ , angle bisectors
BD and CE, their point of intersection P and P F bisecting ∠BP C will satisfy the given
data. All four statements are true if and only if the triangle ABC is equilateral.

Solutions to Part B.

1. Out of the 14 students taking a test, 5 are well prepared, 6 are adequately prepared and
3 are poorly prepared. There are 10 questions on the test paper. A well prepared student
can answer 9 questions correctly, an adequately prepared student can answer 6 questions
correctly and a poorly prepared student can answer only 3 questions correctly.
For each probability below, write your final answer as a rational number in lowest form.
(a) If a randomly chosen student is asked two distinct randomly chosen questions from
the test, what is the probability that the student will answer both questions correctly?

2
 Note: The student and the questions are chosen independently of each other. “Random”
means that each individual student/each pair of questions is equally likely to be chosen.
(b) Now suppose that a student was chosen at random and asked two randomly chosen
questions from the exam, and moreover did answer both questions correctly. Find the
probability that the chosen student was well prepared.

Solution. (a) The probability that a randomly chosen student is well prepared is 5/14.
The probability
of
a well prepared student answering two randomly chosen questions
correctly is 92 / 10
2
. So the probability that a randomly chosen student is well prepared
5 (9)
AND answers two randomly chosen questions correctly is 14 × 102 = 27 . A student belongs
(2)
to exactly one of the three preparedness categories, so the desired probability is obtained
by adding 27 with the results of parallel calculations for the other two categories. We get

P (both answers correct) =

9 6 3




2 2 2
P (well prepared) 10

+ P (moderately prepared) 10

+ P (weakly prepared) 10 ,


2 2 2

which equals
5 36 6 15 3 3 31
× + × + × = .
14 45 14 45 14 45 70
(b) The probability that a randomly chosen student was well prepared given that he
answered both questions correctly is

P (well prepared and both correct) 2/7 20

P (well prepared|both correct) = = = .
P (both correct) 31/70 31

2. By definition the region inside the parabola y = x2 is the set of points (a, b) such that
b ≥ a2 . We are interested in those circles all of whose points are in this region. A bubble
at a point P on the graph of y = x2 is the largest such circle that contains P . (You may
assume the fact that there is a unique such circle at any given point on the parabola.)
(a) A bubble at some point on the parabola has radius 1. Find the center of this bubble.
(b) Find the radius of the smallest possible bubble at some point on the parabola. Justify.

Solution. A bubble at the point P = (a, a2 ) must be tangential to the parabola at

(a, a2 ). (Why?) It must also be symmetric with respect to Y-axis (why?) and so its
center O must be on the Y-axis. The radius OP of this bubble is perpendicular to the
common tangent to the parabola and to the bubble at P . The slope of this tangent =
2a, so the slope of radius OP = ×1 2a
(for a 6= 0). Let Q = (0, a2 ). Using triangle OP Q,
slope of OP = ×OQa
= ×1
2a
. Therefore OQ = 12 , regardless of the value of a.
(a) By Pythagoras, OP 2 = ( 21 )2 + a2 = 1. So a2 = 3
4
and P = (0, 43 + 21 ) = (0, 54 ).

3
 (b) For any nonzero a, the radius of the bubble satisfies OP 2 = ( 21 )2 + a2 , so OP > 12 .
The smallest bubble is at the origin and its radius is 12 . (One cannot just directly take
a = 0 in the above calculations. Argue by continuity or do a separate calculation at the
origin.)

3. Consider the function f (x) = xcos(x)+sin(x) defined for x ≥ 0.

(a) Prove that Z 1

0.4 ≤ f (x)dx ≤ 0.5.
0

√
Solution. It is easy to see that for 0 ≤ x ≤ 1, we have 1 ≤ cos(x) + sin(x) ≤ 2, and so
√
x1 ≥ xcos(x)+sin(x) ≥ x 2 .

As all three functions are non-negative in [0,1], we can integrate the inequalities over
that interval to get
Z 1
1 1 1
≥ f (x)dx ≥ √ > = 0.4.
2 0 2+1 1.5 + 1

(b) Suppose the graph of f (x) is being traced on a computer screen with the uniform
speed of 1 cm per second (i.e., this is how fast the length of the curve is increasing). Show
that at the moment the point corresponding to x = 1 is being drawn, the x coordinate
is increasing at the rate of

1
p cm per second.
2 + sin(2)
Rxp
Solution. Length of the curve from x = 0 to any given x is l(x) = 0 1 + f 0 (u)2 du.
dl
It is given that dt = 1 cm/second at all times. One needs to find dx
dt
when x = 1.

dl dl dx dl
p
By chain rule dt = dx dt
. By the fundamental theorem of calculus dx = 1 + f 0 (x)2 . We
calculate f 0 (1)
p = cos(1) + sin(1). (Use f√(x) = x
cos(x)+sin(x)
= eln x(cos(x)+sin(x)) , etc.) So at
dl
x = 1, dx = 1 + (cos(1) + sin(1))2 = 2 + sin 2. Chain rule gives the answer.

(Remark: We are using calculus to analyze what in reality is a discrete situation, as a

computer will draw pixel by pixel. So the whole description is an approximation. It is
also probably more realistic to assume dx
dt
to be constant.)

4. Let A be a non-empty finite sequence of n distinct integers a1 < a2 < · · · < an . Define

A + A = {ai + aj |1 ≤ i, j ≤ n},

4
 i.e., the set of all pairwise sums of numbers from A. E.g., for A = {1, 4}, A+A = {2, 5, 8}.

(a) Show that |A + A| ≥ 2n 1. Here |A + A| means the number of elements in A + A.

(b) Prove that |A+A| = 2n 1 if and only if the sequence A is an arithmetic progression.
(c) Find a sequence A of the form 0 < 1 < a3 < · · · < a10 such that |A + A| = 20.

Solution. (a) Easy induction, see answer to (b). Or explicitly, one has the 2n 1 distinct
numbers a1 + a1 < a1 + a2 < · · · < a1 + an < a2 + an < . . . < an + an in A + A. (A way
to visualize is to write ai + aj at point (i, j) in the XY-plane. Any step to the right or
up increases the number. To reach from 2a1 to 2an needs 2n 1 such steps. The given
example is the path along bottom row and then rightmost column.)
(b) Suppose the ai form an arithmetic progression. Then for a fixed k, the value of
ai + ak×i is constant for all possible i, where 2 ≤ k ≤ 2n. For the converse use induction.
There is nothing to prove for n = 1, 2. For n > 2, remove an from A to get a set B. Now
|A + A| |B + B| ≥ 2, because the two distinct numbers an×1 + an and 2an in A + A
are greater than all numbers in B + B. So for |A + A| = 2n 1 to happen, one must
have |B + B| = 2n 3, which by induction forces a1 , . . . , an×1 to be in an arithmetic
progression. Moreover an×2 + an must be in B + B and it can only be the largest number
2an×1 (because all others are smaller than an×2 + an ). This shows that an is the next
term of the same arithmetic progression.
(c) 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10. This answer is unique. (Why?)

5. Find a polynomial p(x) that simultaneously has both the following properties.
(i) When p(x) is divided by x100 the remainder is the constant polynomial 1.
(ii) When p(x) is divided by (x 2)3 the remainder is the constant polynomial 2.

Solution. Suppose a polynomial f (x) leaves a constant remainder r when divided by

the polynomial (x c)k . Then f 0 (x) is divisible by (x c)k×1 . The converse is also
true: suppose for a polynomial f (x), the derivative f 0 (x) is divisible by (x c)k×1 , say
f 0 (x) = q(x)(x c)k×1 . Then f (x) leaves a constant remainder when divided by (x c)k .
One can see this e.g. by substituting u = (x c) in q(x)(x c)k×1 and integrating.

In the given problem p0 (x) must be divisible by x99 as well as by (x 2)2 . Moreover any
polynomial whose derivative is divisible by x99 (x 2)2 will leave constant remainders
when divided by either of x100 and (x 2)3 . The simplest way to find one such p(x) is
to integrate Ax99 (x 2)2 = A(x101 4x100 + 4x99 ) to get
!
x102 4x101 4x100
p(x) = A + +B
102 101 100

and solve for constants A and B to ensure desired values

 102  of the constant remainders. We
2 42101 42100
have p(0) = B = 1 and p(2) = A 102 101
+ 100 + 1 = 2, which gives A.

5
 Theoretical approach. Working through the following reasoning will be very useful
for your understanding of basic arithmetic/algebra. It explains how to implememt the
Chinese remainder theorem using the Euclidean algorithm for finding GCD. This theorem
states the following. One can always find an integer that leaves desired remainders when
divided by two coprime integers a and b.

Suppose we are required to find an integer that leaves remainder r when divided by
a and remainder s when divided by b. A way to achieve this systematically is to use
the Euclidean algorithm, which finds GCD of two numbers by repeated division with
remainder. This algorithm also enables one to write the GCD in the form xa + yb, where
the integers x, y can be found explicitly by backward substitution in the steps used to
calculate the GCD. If a and b are coprime, i.e. if their GCD is 1, then we can write
1 = xa + yb. This tells you that xa is 1 modulo b and yb is 1 modulo a. Therefore,
sxa + ryb is r modulo a and s modulo b.

The relevance for this problem is that the same reasoning applies for polynomials in one
variable, because in this setting too one has division with remainder. Because x100 and
(x 2)3 do not share a common factor, you know without any work that a polynomial
with given properties must exist. The same algorithm as the previous paragraph (but
now with polynomials) gives a systematic way to find it. In the given problem we could
use a different trick because the specified remainders here were rather simple (constants).
But there is a conceptual way as well by implementing the Chinese remainder theorem.

6. Find all pairs (p, n) of positive integers where p is a prime number and p3 p = n7 n3 .

Solution. The given equation is p(p 1)(p + 1) = n3 (n2 + 1)(n + 1)(n 1). As the
factor p on the LHS is a prime, it must divide one of the factors n 1, n, n + 1, n2 + 1 on
the RHS.

A key point to deduce is that p > n2 . One way to do this is as follows. The LHS
= p3 p is an increasing function of p for p ≥ 1, e.g. because the derivative 3p2 1
is positive. So for any given n ≥ 1, there is exactly one real value of p for which
LHS = RHS. Trying p = n2 gives LHS = n6 n2 < n7 n3 = RHS, e.g. because
n7 n3 (n6 n2 ) = (n6 n2 )(n 1) > 0.

As the prime p is greater than n2 , it cannot divide any of n 1, n, n + 1. So p must divide

n2 + 1 and therefore we must have p = n2 + 1, again because p > n2 . Substituting this
in the given equation, we get (n2 + 1)n2 (n2 + 2) = n3 (n2 + 1)(n + 1)(n 1). Canceling
common factors gives n2 + 2 = n3 n, i.e. 2 = n3 n2 n. This has a unique integer
solution n = 2, e.g. because the factor n on the RHS must divide 2 and now one checks
that n = 2 works. So n = 2 and the prime p = n2 + 1 = 5 give a unique solution to the
given equation.

6
 2017 Entrance Examination for the BSc Programmes at CMI

Read the instructions on the front of the booklet carefully!

Part A. Write your final answers on page 3.

Part A is worth a total of (4 − 10 = 40) points. Points will be given based only on clearly
legible final answers filled in the correct place on page 3. Write all answers for a single question
on the designated line and in the order in which they are asked, separated by commas.
Unless specified otherwise, each answer is either a number (rational/ real/ complex) or, where
appropriate, one of the phrases “infinite”/“does not exist”/“not possible to decide”. Write in-
teger answers in the usual decimal form. Write non-integer rationals as ratios of two integers.

1. Positive integers a and b, possibly equal, are chosen randomly from among the divisors
of 400. The numbers a, b are chosen independently, each divisor being equally likely to
be chosen. Find the probability that gcd(a, b) = 1 and lcm(a, b) = 400.
p
2. Find the volume of the solid obtained when the region bounded by y = x, y = x and
the line x = 9 is revolved around the x-axis. (It may be useful to draw the specified
region.)

3. 10 mangoes are to be placed in 5 distinct boxes labeled U, V, W, X, Y. A box may contain

any number of mangoes including no mangoes or all the mangoes. What is the number
of ways to distribute the mangoes so that exactly two of the boxes contain exactly two
mangoes each?

4. Find all complex solutions to the equation:

x4 + x3 + 2x2 + x + 1 = 0.

5. Let g be a function such that all its derivatives exist. We say g has an inflection point
at x0 if the second derivative g 00 changes sign at x0 i.e., if g 00 (x0 ) − g 00 (x0 + ) < 0 for
all small enough positive .

(a) If g 00 (x0 ) = 0 then g has an inflection point at x0 . True or False?

(b) If g has an inflection point at x0 then g 00 (x0 ) = 0. True or False?
(c) Find all values x0 at which x4 (x 10) has an inflection point.

6. Consider the following construction in a circle. Choose points A, B, C on the given circle
such that ∠ABC is 60◦ . Draw another circle that is tangential to the chords AB, BC
and to the original circle.
Do the above construction in the unit circle to obtain a circle S1 . Repeat the process in
S1 to obtain another circle S2 . What is the radius of S2 ?

1
 7. Write the values of the following.
Z 3
(a) j3x2 3j dx.
×3
Z t
0
(b) f (1) where f (t) = j3x2 3j dx.
0

8. Let f be a continuous function from R to R (where R is the set of all real numbers) that
satisfies the following property: For every natural number n

f (n) = the smallest prime factor of n.

For example, f (12) = 2, f (105) = 3. Calculate the following.

(a) limx→∞ f (x).

(b) The number of solutions to the equation f (x) = 2016.

9. Consider the following function:

(
x2 cos( x1 ), x 6= 0,
f (x) =
a, x = 0.

(a) Find the value of a for which f is continuous.

Use this value of a to calculate the following.
(b) f 0 (0).
(c) lim f 0 (0).
x→0

10. For this question write your answers as a series of four letters (Y for Yes and N for No)
in order. Is it possible to find a 2 − 2 matrix M for which the equation M~x = p~ has:

(a) no solutions for some but not all p~; exactly one solution for all other p~ ?
(b) exactly one solution for some but not all p~; more than one solution for all other p~ ?
(c) no solutions for some but not all p~; more than one solution for all other p~ ?
(d) no solutions for some p~, exactly one solution for some p~ and more than one solution
for some p~ ?

2
 Answers to part A
This is the only place that will be seen for grading part A. So carefully and clearly write the
answers to each question on the designated line below. Write only the final answers, do not
show any intermediate work. Illegible/unclear answers will not be considered. +

A1.

A2.

A3.

A4.

A5.

A6.

A7.

A8.

A9.

A10.

3
 Part B. Write complete solutions for these questions from page 6 onwards.

Part B is worth a total of 85 points (Question 1 is worth 10 points and the remaining questions
are worth 15 points each). Solve these questions in the space provided for each question from
page 6. You may solve only part of a question and get partial credit. Clearly explain your
entire reasoning. No credit will be given without reasoning.

1. Answer the following questions

(a) Evaluate
x
lim+ (xx xx ).
x→0
2π
(b) Let A = 9
, i.e., A = 40 degrees. Calculate the following
1 + cos A + cos 2A + cos 4A + cos 5A + cos 7A + cos 8A.
x
(c) Find the number of solutions to ex = 2017
+ 1.

2. Let L be the line of intersection of the planes x + y = 0 and y + z = 0.

(a) Write the vector equation of L, i.e., find (a, b, c) and (p, q, r) such that
L = f(a, b, c) + λ(p, q, r) j λ is a real number.g
(b) Find the equation of a plane obtained by rotating x + y = 0 about L by 45◦ .

3. Let p(x) be a polynomial of degree strictly less than 100 and such that it does not have
x3 x as a factor. If
d100
 
p(x) f (x)
100 3
=
dx x x g(x)
for some polynomials f (x) and g(x) then find the smallest possible degree of f (x). Here
d100
dx100
means taking the 100th derivative.

4. The domain of a function f is the set of natural numbers. The function is defined as
follows: p 
f (n) = n + n
where bkc denotes the nearest integer smaller than or equal to k. For example, bπc =
3, b4c = 4. Prove that for every natural number m the following sequence contains at
least one perfect square
m, f (m), f 2 (m), f 3 (m), . . .
The notation f k denotes the function obtained by composing f with itself k times, e.g.,
f2 = f ◦ f.

4
5. Each integer is colored with exactly one of three possible colors - black, red or white -
satisfying the following two rules: the negative of a black number must be colored white,
and the sum of two white numbers (not necessarily distinct) must be colored black.

(a) Show that the negative of a white number must be colored black and the sum of
two black numbers must be colored white.
(b) Determine all possible colorings of the integers that satisfy these rules.

6. You are given a regular hexagon. We say that a square is inscribed in the hexagon if it
can be drawn in the interior such that all the four vertices lie on the perimeter of the
hexagon.

(a) A line segment has its endpoints on opposite edges of the hexagon. Show that it
passes through the center of the hexagon if and only if it divides the two edges in
the same ratio.
(b) Suppose a square ABCD is inscribed in the hexagon such that A and C are on the
opposite sides of the hexagon. Prove that center of the square is same as that of
the hexagon.
(c) Suppose the side of the hexagon is of length 1. Then find the length of the side of
the inscribed square whose one pair of opposite sides is parallel to a pair of opposite
sides of the hexagon.
(d) Show that, up to rotation, there is a unique way of inscribing a square in a regular
hexagon.

Write answers to part B from the next page.

5
 Answers to part B
If you need extra space for any problem,
continue on one of the colored blank pages at the end and write a note to that effect.

1. Answer the following questions

(a) Evaluate
x
lim+ (xx xx ).
x→0

6
 2π
(b) Let A = 9
, i.e., A = 40 degrees. Calculate the following

1 + cos A + cos 2A + cos 4A + cos 5A + cos 7A + cos 8A.

x
(c) Find the number of solutions to ex = 2017
+ 1.

7
2. Let L be the line of intersection of the planes x + y = 0 and y + z = 0.

(a) Write the vector equation of L, i.e., find (a, b, c) and (p, q, r) such that

L = f(a, b, c) + λ(p, q, r) j λ is a real number.g

(b) Find the equation of a plane obtained by rotating x + y = 0 about L by 45◦ .

8
3. Let p(x) be a polynomial of degree strictly less than 100 and such that it does not have
x3 x as a factor. If
d100
 
p(x) f (x)
100 3
=
dx x x g(x)
for some polynomials f (x) and g(x) then find the smallest possible degree of f (x). Here
d100
dx100
means taking the 100th derivative.

9
4. The domain of a function f is the set of natural numbers. The function is defined as
follows: p 
f (n) = n + n
where bkc denotes the nearest integer smaller than or equal to k. For example, bπc =
3, b4c = 4. Prove that for every natural number m the following sequence contains at
least one perfect square
m, f (m), f 2 (m), f 3 (m), . . .
The notation f k denotes the function obtained by composing f with itself k times, e.g.,
f2 = f ◦ f.

10
5. Each integer is colored with exactly one of three possible colors - black, red or white -
satisfying the following two rules: the negative of a black number must be colored white,
and the sum of two white numbers (not necessarily distinct) must be colored black.

(a) Show that the negative of a white number must be colored black and the sum of
two black numbers must be colored white.
(b) Determine all possible colorings of the integers that satisfy these rules.

11
6. You are given a regular hexagon. We say that a square is inscribed in the hexagon if it
can be drawn in the interior such that all the four vertices lie on the perimeter of the
hexagon.

(a) A line segment has its endpoints on opposite edges of the hexagon. Show that it
passes through the center of the hexagon if and only if it divides the two edges in
the same ratio.
(b) Suppose a square ABCD is inscribed in the hexagon such that A and C are on the
opposite sides of the hexagon. Prove that center of the square is same as that of
the hexagon.
(c) Suppose the side of the hexagon is of length 1. Then find the length of the side of
the inscribed square whose one pair of opposite sides is parallel to a pair of opposite
sides of the hexagon.
P

D A
U Q

T R
C B

(d) Show that, up to rotation, there is a unique way of inscribing a square in a regular
hexagon.

12
 2017 Entrance Examination for the BSc Programmes at CMI
Solutions

Read the instructions on the front of the booklet carefully!

Part A. Write your final answers on page 3.

Part A is worth a total of (4 × 10 = 40) points. Points will be given based only on clearly
legible final answers filled in the correct place on page 3. Write all answers for a single question
on the designated line and in the order in which they are asked, separated by commas.
Unless specified otherwise, each answer is either a number (rational/ real/ complex) or, where
appropriate, one of the phrases “infinite”/“does not exist”/“not possible to decide”. Write in-
teger answers in the usual decimal form. Write non-integer rationals as ratios of two integers.

1. Consider the following construction in a circle. Choose points A, B, C on the given circle
such that ∠ABC is 60◦ and AB = BC. Draw another circle that is tangential to the
chords AB, BC and to the original circle.
Do the above construction in the unit circle to obtain a circle S1 . Repeat the process in
S1 to obtain another circle S2 . What is the radius of S2 ?

Solution. Consider the center O and diameter BD of the unit circle. It is easy to see
that S1 passes through D and its center E lies between O and D. Let r be the radius of
S1 , so length of ED is r. Consider the perpendicular from E to chord BA, meeting BA
in point F. Then length of EF is also r and therefore in the 30-60-90 triangle BEF, the
length of the hypotenuse BE is 2r. Thus 2 = BD = BE + ED = 3r, thus r = 32 . By
similarity, the radius of S2 is 23 × 23 = 49 .
2. 10 oranges are to be placed in 5 distinct boxes labeled U, V, W, X, Y. A box may contain
any number of oranges including no oranges or all the oranges. What is the number of
ways to distribute the oranges so that exactly two of the boxes contain exactly two
oranges each?

Solution. From the five distinct boxes, there are 10 ways to pick the two boxes that will
have 2 oranges each. We need to distribute the remaining 6 oranges in the remaining
three boxes such that none of the three boxes gets exactly 2 oranges. The possible
distributions are 6+0+0 (which can be done in 3 ways) or 5+1+0 (6 ways) or 4+1+1 (3
ways) or 3+3+0 (3 ways). Thus the required answer is 10 × (3 + 6 + 3 + 3) = 150.
√
3. Find the volume of the solid obtained when the region bounded by y = x, y = x and
the line x = 4 is revolved around the x-axis. (It may be useful to draw the specified
region.)
√
Solution. From x = 0 to x = 1 we have x ≥ | x|, so from x = 0 to x = 1 the volume
swept out by the part of the given region that lies below X-axis is included in the volume

1
 swept out by the part above X-axis. So from x =√0 and x = 1 we just have to take the
volume obtained
√ by revolving the area below y = x. Similarly, from x = 1 to x = 4 we
have | x| ≥ x, so here we just have to take the volume obtained by the revolving the
area below y = x. Thus the required volume is√obtained by adding volumes of two solids
of revolution around X-axis: area under y = x from x = 0 to x = 1 and area under
y = x from x = 1 to x = 4.

4. Positive integers a and b, possibly equal, are chosen randomly from among the divisors
of 400. The numbers a, b are chosen independently, each divisor being equally likely to
be chosen. Find the probability that gcd(a, b) = 1 and lcm(a, b) = 400.

Solution. 400 = 52 × 24 has (2 + 1) × (4 + 1) = 15 factors, so total number of pairs

(a, b) is 225. For a, b to be coprime, they should have no prime factor in common and
then their lcm is just their product, which is required to be 400. So there are only four
4
allowed pairs: (1,400), (400,1), (25,16) and (16,25). The probability is 225 .

5. Find all complex solutions to the equation:

x4 + x3 + 2x2 + x + 1 = 0.

Solution. It is easy to see that x4 + x3 + 2x2 + x + 1 = (x2 + 1)(x2 + x + 1).

6. Let g be a function such that all its derivatives exist. We say g has an inflection point
at x0 if the second derivative g 00 changes sign at x0 i.e., if g 00 (x0 ) × g 00 (x0 + ) < 0 for
all small enough positive .

(a) If g 00 (x0 ) = 0 then g has an inflection point at x0 . True or False?

(b) If g has an inflection point at x0 then g 00 (x0 ) = 0. True or False?
(c) Find all values x0 at which x4 (x 10) has an inflection point.

Solution. In (c), g 00 (x) = 20x3 120x2 = 20x2 (x 6) and this changes sign only at
x = 6. Note that for this function, g 00 (0) = 0 but g 00 does not change sign at x = 0, thus
(a) is FALSE. On the other hand (b) is TRUE: Suppose for some g, the double derivative
g 00 changes sign at x0 . Then g 00 (x0 ) = 0 as g 00 is continuous (because g 00 is given to be
differentiable).

7. Write the values of the following.

Z 3
(a) |3x2 3| dx.
×3
Z t
0
(b) f (1) where f (t) = |3x2 3| dx.
0

Solution. (a) By symmetry we can calculate the definite integral from 0 to 3 and double
the answer. Note that |3x2 3| = 3x2 3 from x = 1 to 3 and |3x2 3| = 3 3x2 from
x = 0 to 1. So break the calculation at x = 1 etc.

2
 (b) |3x2 3| is a continuous function so by the fundamental theorem of calculus, f 0 (1) =
|3 × 12 3| = 0

8. For this question write your answers as a series of four letters (Y for Yes and N for No)
in order. Is it possible to find a 2 × 2 matrix M for which the equation M~x = p~ has:

(a) no solutions for some but not all p~; exactly one solution for all other p~ ?
(b) exactly one solution for some but not all p~; more than one solution for all other p~ ?
(c) no solutions for some but not all p~; more than one solution for all other p~ ?
(d) no solutions for some p~, exactly one solution for some p~ and more than one solution
for some p~ ?

Solution. If M has nonzero determinant, then for any p~, we see that M~x = p~ has the
unique solution ~x = M ×1 p~. If determinant of M is zero then we can make two cases. (i)
If M is the zero matrix, then M~x = p~ has infinitely many solutions for p~ = ~0 and no
solutions otherwise. (ii) If M is nonzero then it is easy to see that we are solving two
equations in two variables whose left hand sides are proportional. So if the two right
hand constants that make up p~ are in the same proportion, then we will have infinitely
many solutions (because one of the variables can be arbitrary). If the constants are not
in the same proportion, then the two equations will be inconsistent and we will have no
solutions. Thus the answer is NNYN. It is also possible to think geometrically in terms of
(at most) two lines, each moving in a parallel family. If the lines have the same slope they
either coincide or don’t intersect. Otherwise they have a unique point of intersection.

Note: In general linear algebra gives the right tools to analyze matrix equations, e.g. in
this problem we can say the following. If M = 0 then the space of solutions is either
empty or two-dimensional. If M 6= 0 then either there is a unique solution (precisely
when determinant 6= 0) or, when determinant is 0, the space of solutions is either empty
or one-dimensional. For larger matrices the possibilities are more complicated, but they
can be described precisely using the language provided by linear algebra.

9. Let f be a continuous function from R to R (where R is the set of all real numbers) that
satisfies the following property: For every natural number n

f (n) = the smallest prime factor of n.

For example, f (12) = 2, f (105) = 3. Calculate the following.

(a) limx→∞ f (x).

(b) The number of solutions to the equation f (x) = 2016.

Solution. f (x) will take value 2 for all even x. At the same time, primes provide an
increasing infinite sequence of positive integers for which f (x) = x. Thus limx→∞ f (x)
does not exist. By intermediate value theorem, for each prime p > 2016 there is an x
between p and p + 1 such that f (x) = 2016.

3
10. Consider the following function:
(
x2 cos( x1 ), x 6= 0,
f (x) =
a, x = 0.

(a) Find the value of a for which f is continuous.

Use this value of a to calculate the following.
(b) f 0 (0).
(c) lim f 0 (x).
x→0

Solution. cos( x1 ) is sandwiched between 1 and 1, so limx→0 f (x) = 0 = a makes

h2 cos( 1 )×0
f continuous. Now f 0 (0) = limh→0 h
h
= limh→0 h cos( h1 ) which is similarly 0.
Finally, for nonzero x, calculate f 0 (x) = 2x cos( x1 ) + sin( x1 ), so limx→0 f 0 (x) does not exist
as limx→0 2x cos( x1 ) = 0 and limx→0 sin( x1 ) does not exist.

4
 2017 Entrance Examination for the BSc Programmes at CMI

Solutions to Part B

1. Answer the following questions

(a) Evaluate
x
lim+ (xx xx ).
x→0

First consider the limit

lim xx = lim+ (elogx x )
x→0+ x→0
log x
= lim+ (e 1/x ). (1)
x→0

Now consider the following limit

log x 1/x
lim+ = lim
x→0 1/x x→0 1/x2
=0 (2)

substituting the value 0 from (2) in equation (1) we get that the limit is 1.
Now,
x x
lim+ (xx xx ) = lim+ xx lim+ xx
x→0 x→0 x→0
limx→0+ xx
= lim+ x lim+ xx
x→0 x→0
=0 1
= 1.

1
 2π
(b) Let A = 9
, i.e., A = 40 degrees. Calculate the following

1 + cos A + cos 2A + cos 4A + cos 5A + cos 7A + cos 8A.

There are many ways to arrive at the answer 1. Here are two approaches.
Let S be the above sum. Then
S = 1 + cos A + cos 2A + cos 4A cos(2π 4A) + cos(2π 2A) + cos(2π A)
= 1 + 2(cos A + cos 2A + cos 4A)
 
3A A A
= 1 + 2 2 cos( ) cos( ) + cos(π )
2 2 2
 
π A A
= 1 + 2 2 cos( ) cos( ) cos( )
3 2 2
 
1 A A
= 1 + 2 2 × cos( ) cos( )
2 2 2
= 1.

Recall that cos nA is the real part of einA . Then

8
X 2
X
S= cos nA cos(3nA)
n=0 n=1
8 2
!
in 2π
X X
= Re einA e 3

n=0
2

n=1
= Re 0 ω ω
= 1.

Here ω is a complex cube root of unity.

x
(c) Find the number of solutions to ex = 2017 + 1.
First, note that x = 0 is clearly a solution. Let f (x) = ex 2017 x
1. Then
x0 = log 2017 is the only critical point of f (x). For all x < x0 we have
f 0 (x) < 0. Since f (x) → ∞ as x → ∞ there is only one solution in the
interval ( ∞, x0 ). For all x > x0 we have f 0 (x) > 0 (i.e., ex > 2017
1
). Hence
there is only one solution in the interval (x0 , ∞). In total there are exactly
two solutions.

2
2. Let L be the line of intersection of the planes x + y = 0 and y + z = 0.

(a) Write the vector equation of L, i.e., find (a, b, c) and (p, q, r) such that

L = {(a, b, c) + λ(p, q, r) | λ is a real number.}

(b) Find the equation of a plane obtained by rotating x + y = 0 about L by 45◦ .

Clearly the line L passes through the origin. Moreover L is in the direction
perpendicular to the normals to the both the planes. The direction vector can
be obtained by computing following cross product
(î + ĵ) × (ĵ + k̂) = î ĵ + k̂.

Hence L can be written as

L = {(0, 0, 0) + λ(1, 1, 1) | λ is a real number }

First, note that the equation of any plane that contains the line L is given by
x + (1 + λ)y + λz = 0.

Second, note that one can rotate the plane x + y = 0 in either clockwise or in
anticlockwise direction. Consequently there are two such planes. The normal of
one of the planes makes an angle of 45◦ with the normal of x + y = 0 and the
other normal makes an angle of 135◦ .
π
(î + ĵ) · (î + (1 + λ)ĵ + λk̂) = ±|î + ĵ||î + (1 + λ)ĵ + λk̂| cos( )
p 4
2 + λ = ± 1 + (1 + λ) + λ 2 2

2
λ 2λ 2 = 0
√
λ = 1 ± 3.

So the equation of the plane is

√
x + y + (1 ± 3)(y + z) = 0.

3
3. Let p(x) be a polynomial of degree strictly less than 100 and such that it does not have
x3 x as a factor. If
d100
 
p(x) f (x)
100 3
=
dx x x g(x)
for some polynomials f (x) and g(x) then find the smallest possible degree of f (x). Here
d100
dx100
means taking the 100th derivative.
Using the division algorithm we have
p(x) r(x)
3
= q(x) + 3 (3)
x x x x
As the degree of q(x) is strictly less than that of p(x) its 100th derivative is
certainly zero. As x3 x is not a factor of p(x) one may assume (without loss of
generality) that x2 1 is a divides r(x). In that case we have
d100 d100 k
   
p(x)
= 100
dx100 x3 x dx x
100! k
= 100
x
Hence the least possible degree of f (x) is 0.
If one assumes that x3 x doesn't divide p(x) then we have
r(x) A0 B0 C0
= + + .
x3 x x x 1 x+1
Consequently,
f (x) A B C
= 101 + 101
+
g(x) x (x 1) (x + 1)101
∴ f (x) = A(x2 1)101 + B(x2 + x)101 + C(x2 x)101
   
101 101
= (A + B + C)x202 + 101(B 201
C)x + ( B+ C 101A)x200 + · · · .
2 2

Choosing B = C and A+B+C = 0 we see that the coecient of x200 is (101)(102) 6=

0. Hence the least possible degree of f (x) in this case is 200.

4
4. The domain of a function f is the set of natural numbers. The function is defined as
follows: √ 
f (n) = n + n
where bkc denotes the nearest integer smaller than or equal to k. For example, bπc =
3, b4c = 4. Prove that for every natural number m the following sequence contains at
least one perfect square
m, f (m), f 2 (m), f 3 (m), . . .
The notation f k denotes the function obtained by composing f with itself k times, e.g.,
f2 = f ◦ f.
If m is itself a square then we are done. So assume that m = k2 + j for 1 ≤ j ≤ 2k.
Hence we have f (m) = k2 + j + k. Consider the following two sets
A = {m a natural number | m = k2 + j and 0 ≤ j ≤ k}.
B = {m a natural number | m = k2 + j and k + 1 ≤ j ≤ 2k}.
Suppose m is in the set B . Then
f (m) = k 2 + j + k
= (k + 1)2 + (j k 1).

Hence f (m) is either a square or is in A. Thus it is enough to assume that m ∈ A.

In that case k2 < f (m) < (k + 1)2 , so bf (m)c = k. Therefore
f 2 (m) = (k + 1)2 + (j 1).

This clearly implies that f 2j (m) = (k + j)2 .

5
5. Each integer is colored with exactly one of three possible colors - black, red or white -
satisfying the following two rules: the negative of a black number must be colored white,
and the sum of two white numbers (not necessarily distinct) must be colored black.
(a) Show that the negative of a white number must be colored black and the sum of
two black numbers must be colored white.
(b) Determine all possible colorings of the integers that satisfy these rules.
Suppose an integer n is colored white. Then (n + n) = 2n is black, so 2n is
white, so 2n + n = n is black. Thus, the negative of a white number must be
colored black. Now suppose the integers n and m are both colored black. Then
n and m are both white, so n m is black, so n + m is white. Thus, the sum
of two black numbers must be colored white.
One possible coloring has all the integers colored red, since there are no condi-
tions on red numbers.
If that is not the case, let n be the smallest positive integer that is not colored
red. Suppose the number n is colored black. Then we claim the remaining
colors are all fully determined. Namely, the numbers of the form (3k + 1)n will
be black, the numbers of the form (3k + 2)n will be white, and the numbers of
the form (3k)n will be red, for all integers k. And all remaining colors will be
red. On the other hand, if the number n is colored white to begin with, then the
remaining numbers will be determined by the same rules, but with black and
white switched. Thus we have listed all possible colorings.
In order to prove the above claim, we rst prove one more rule the colors must
obey. Namely, that (*) The sum of a black number and a white number must
be colored red. Suppose n is black and m is white, and that n + m is black.
But then (n + m) + ( m) is the sum of two black numbers, and must be colored
white, which is a contradiction. Similarly, the sum of n and m cannot be white.
Therefore it must be red.
Using this rule, it is easy to see that the numbers of the form (3k + 1)n will be
black, the numbers of the form (3k + 2)n will be white, and the numbers of the
form (3k)n will be red, for all integers k. It remains to show that all numbers
that are not multiples of n are colored red.
We can prove this by contradiction. As before n is the smallest positive integer
that is not red, and it is colored black. Suppose m is the smallest positive integer
that is neither red nor a multiple of n. Then m = qn + r, where 0 < r < n is the
remainder when m is divided by n. We know this remainder is nonzero, since m
is not a multiple of n. We also know that q > 0, since m > n. Suppose m is white.
Then, because n is white, we know m n = (q 1)n + r is black, which gives us
a smaller non-red positive integer that's not a multiple of n. On the other hand,
suppose m is colored black. Then 2n is black, so m 2n = (q 2)n + r is white.
If q > 1, this gives us a smaller positive non-red integer that's not a multiple of
n, which is a contradiction, provided q > 1. But if q = 1, and m 2n = n + r is
white, that means that n r is black, another contradiction.

6
6. You are given a regular hexagon. We say that a square is inscribed in the hexagon if it
can be drawn in the interior such that all the four vertices lie on the perimeter of the
hexagon.

(a) A line segment has its endpoints on opposite edges of the hexagon. Show that it
passes through the center of the hexagon if and only if it divides the two edges in
the same ratio.
(b) Suppose a square ABCD is inscribed in the hexagon such that A and C are on the
opposite sides of the hexagon. Prove that center of the square is same as that of
the hexagon.
(c) Suppose the side of the hexagon is of length 1. Then find the length of the side of
the inscribed square whose one pair of opposite sides is parallel to a pair of opposite
sides of the hexagon.
P

D A
U Q

T R
C B

(d) Show that, up to rotation, there is a unique way of inscribing a square in a regular
hexagon.

(a) Suppose a segment AC meets with opposite sides P Q and T S of a hexagon

and O is the midpoint of AC . We show that
PA
AQ
= TC
CS
(⇒ O is the center of the hexagon.
If O is the center of the hexagon, consider triangles OAQ and OCS . By
the SAS test these are congruent. Similarly, triangles OAP and OCT are
congruent.
Conversely, suppose AQ
PA
= TCSC = k (say), then

P Q = T S =⇒ P A+AQ = T C +CS =⇒ AQ(k+1) = CS(k+1) =⇒ AQ = CS.

So 4AQO ∼ = 4CT O, so that OQ = OT . Also, ∠AOQ = ∠COT and ∠AOP =

∠COS , so Q, O and T are collinear.
(b) Next suppose we have inscribed a square ABCD in a hexagon P QRST U ,
with A on P Q, B on QR, C on ST and D on T U . We claim that 4AQB is

7
 congruent to 4CT D. This will prove that both diagonals pass through the
center of the hexagon (using the criterion proved above).
Proof: We know that P A k ST and AC is a transversal. So ∠QAC = ∠T CA,
also ∠BAC = ∠DCA = 45◦ . So ∠QAB = ∠DCT .
Similarly, ∠QBA = ∠CDT . Also, ∠AQB = ∠CT D, since they are angles in
a regular hexagon. Moreover, AB = CD. As a result we get that 4QBA ∼ =
4T DC .
So we have QB = T D and QA = T C . This in turn implies that BR = DU
and P A = CS Thus,
QB TD PA SC
= and = .
BR DU AQ CT
Hence AC and BD pass through the center of the hexagon.
(c) Let DU = x so DP = 1 x. Observe that DC = 2x sin 30 and DA = 2(1
x) sin 60. Since DC = DA we solving the equations for x we get x = √3+1 2
.
√ √
Consequently the side DC = 3( 3 1).
(d) Finally we want to show that there is a unique way of inscribing a square
in a regular hexagon.
Proof: It will be enough to show that the ratios QB BR
and QA
AP
are equal.
Suppose on the contrary that these ratios aren't equal.
Let ∠QAB = α and ∠QBA = β . Note that then ∠OAQ = 45◦ + α and
∠OBQ = 45◦ + β . Also, α + β = 60◦ , since ∠AQB = 120◦ .
Let A0 be a point on QR such that QA . Since 4BOA0 is isosceles,
0

A0 R
= QA
AP
∠OBA equals ∠OA B , so that
0 0

180◦ = ∠OBA0 +∠OBQ = ∠OBQ+∠OA0 B = ∠OBQ+∠OAQ = 45◦ +β +45◦ +α,

so α + β = 0◦ , a contradiction since α + β = 60◦ .

8
 2018 Entrance Examination for the BSc Programmes at CMI

Read the instructions on the front of the booklet carefully!

Part A. Write your final answers on page 3.

Part A is worth a total of (4 × 10 = 40) points. Points will be given based only on clearly
legible final answers filled in the correct place on page 3. Write all answers for a single question
on the designated line and in the order in which they are asked, separated by commas.
Unless specified otherwise, each answer is either a number (rational/ real/ complex) or, where
appropriate, one of the phrases “infinite”/“does not exist”/“not possible to decide”. Write in-
teger answers in the usual decimal form. Write non-integer rationals as ratios of two integers.

1. Consider an equilateral triangle ABC with altitude 3 centimeters. A circle is inscribed

in this triangle, then another circle is drawn such that it is tangent to the inscribed
circle and the sides AB, AC. Infinitely many such circles are drawn; each tangent to the
previous circle and the sides AB, AC. The figure shows the construction after 2 steps.

B C

Find the sum of the areas of all these circles.

2. Consider the following function defined for all real numbers x

2018
f (x) = .
100 + ex
How many integers are there in the range of f ?

3. List every solution of the following equation. You need not simplify your answer(s).
√3
√3
x+4 x = 1.

4. Compute the following integral

Z π
2 dx
√ √ .
0 ( sin x + cos x)4

1
 5. List in increasing order all positive integers n ≤ 40 such that n cannot be written in the
form a2 b2 , where a and b are positive integers.

6. Consider the equation

z 2018 = 20182018 + i,
√
where i = 1.

(a) How many complex solutions does this equation have?

(b) How many solutions lie in the first quadrant?
(c) How many solutions lie in the second quadrant?

7. Let x3 + ax2 + bx + 8 = 0 be a cubic equation with integer coefficients. Suppose both r

and r are roots of this equation, where r > 0 is a real number. List all possible pairs
of values (a, b).

8. How many non-congruent triangles are there with integer lengths a ≤ b ≤ c such that
a + b + c = 20?

9. Consider a sequence of polynomials with real coefficients defined by

p0 (x) = (x2 + 1)(x2 + 2) · · · (x2 + 1009)

with subsequent polynomials defined by pk+1 (x) := pk (x + 1) pk (x) for k ≥ 0. Find the
least n such that
pn (1) = pn (2) = · · · = pn (5000).

10. Recall that arcsin(t) (also known as sin→1 (t)) is a function with domain [ 1, 1] and range
[ π2 , π2 ]. Consider the function f (x) := arcsin(sin(x)) and answer the following questions
as a series of four letters (T for True and F for False) in order.

(a) The function f (x) is well defined for all real numbers x.
(b) The function f (x) is continuous wherever it is defined.
(c) The function f (x) is differentiable wherever it is continuous.

2
 Answers to part A
This is the only place that will be seen for grading part A. So carefully and clearly write the
answers to each question on the designated line below. Write only the final answers, do not
show any intermediate work. Illegible/unclear answers will not be considered. ×

A1.

A2.

A3.

A4.

A5.

A6.

A7.

A8.

A9.

A10.

3
 Part B. Write complete solutions for these questions from page 6 onwards.

Part B is worth a total of 85 points (Question 1 is worth 10 points and the remaining questions
are worth 15 points each). Solve these questions in the space provided for each question from
page 6. You may solve only part of a question and get partial credit. Clearly explain your
entire reasoning. No credit will be given without reasoning.

1. Answer the following questions

(a) A natural number k is called stable if there exist k distinct natural numbers
a1 , . . . , ak , each ai > 1, such that
1 1
+ ··· + = 1.
a1 ak
Show that if k is stable then k + 1 is also stable. Using this or otherwise, find all
stable numbers. [5 marks]
(b) Let f be a differentiable function defined on a subset A of the real numbers. Define

f √ (y) := max {yx f (x)} ,

x2A

whenever the above maximum is finite.

For the function f (x) = ln(x), determine the set of points for which f √ is defined
and find an expression for f √ (y) involving only y and constants. [5 marks]

2. Answer the following questions

(a) Find all real solutions of the equation [6 marks]

x2 + x 6
x2 2x = 1.

Explain why your solutions are the only solutions.

(b) The following expression is a rational number. Find its value. [9 marks]
√ √
q q
3 3
6 3 + 10 6 3 10.

3. Let f be a function on nonnegative integers defined as follows

f (2n) = f (f (n)) and f (2n + 1) = f (2n) + 1.

(a) If f (0) = 0, find f (n) for every n. [2 marks]

(b) Show that f (0) cannot equal 1. [4 marks]
(c) For what nonnegative integers k (if any) can f (0) equal 2k ? [9 marks]

4
4. Let ABC be an equilateral triangle with side length 2. Point A0 is chosen on side BC
such that the length of A0 B is k < 1. Likewise points B 0 and C 0 are chosen on sides CA
and AB with CB 0 = AC 0 = k. Line segments are drawn from points A0 , B 0 , C 0 to their
corresponding opposite vertices. The intersections of these line segments form a triangle,
labeled P QR. Show that P QR is an equilateral triangle with side length pk4(1→k)
2 →2k+4 . [See

the figure on page 12.]

5. An alien script has n letters b1 , . . . , bn . For some k < n/2 assume that all words formed
by any of the k letters (written left to right) are meaningful. These words are called
k-words. A k-word is considered sacred if:
i) no letter appears twice and,
ii) if a letter bi appears in the word then the letters bi→1 and bi+1 do not appear. (Here
bn+1 = b1 and b0 = bn .)
For example, if n = 7 and k = 3 then b1 b3 b6 , b3 b1 b6 , b2 b4 b6 are sacred 3-words. On the
other hand b1 b7 b4 , b2 b2 b6 are not sacred. What is the total number of sacred k-words?
Use your formula to find the answer for n = 10 and k = 4.
6. Imagine the unit square in the plane to be a carrom board. Assume the striker is just
a point, moving with no friction (so it goes forever), and that when it hits an edge, the
angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence, as in real life. If the striker ever
hits a corner it falls into the pocket and disappears. The trajectory of the striker is
→
completely determined by its starting point (x, y) and its initial velocity (p, q).
If the striker eventually returns to its initial state (i.e. initial position and initial velocity),
we define its bounce number to be the number of edges it hits before returning to its initial
state for the first time.
→
For example, the trajectory with initial state [(.5, .5); (1, 0)] has bounce number 2 and
it returns to its initial state for the first time in 2 time units. And the trajectory with
→
initial state [(.25, .75); (1, 1)] has bounce number 4. [See the figures on page 16.]
→
(a) Suppose the striker has initial state [(.5, .5); (p, q)]. If p > q ≥ 0 then what is its
velocity after it hits an edge for the first time? What if q > p ≥ 0? [2 marks]
(b) Draw a trajectory with bounce number 5 or justify why it is impossible. [3 marks]
→
(c) Consider the trajectory with initial state [(x, y); (p, 0)] where p is a positive integer.
In how much time will the striker first return to its initial state? [2 marks]
→
(d) What is the bounce number for the initial state [(x, y); (p, q)] where p, q are relatively
prime positive integers, assuming the striker never hits a corner? [8 marks]

Write answers to part B from the next page.

5
 Answers to part B
If you need extra space for any problem,
continue on one of the colored blank pages at the end and write a note to that effect.

1. Answer the following questions

(a) A natural number k is called stable if there exist k distinct natural numbers
a1 , . . . , ak , each ai > 1, such that
1 1
+ ··· + = 1.
a1 ak
Show that if k is stable then k + 1 is also stable. Using this or otherwise, find all
stable numbers. [5 marks]

6
(b) Let f be a differentiable function defined on a subset A of the real numbers. Define

f √ (y) := max {yx f (x)} ,

x2A

whenever the above maximum is finite.

For the function f (x) = ln(x), determine the set of points for which f √ is defined
and find an expression for f √ (y) involving only y and constants. [5 marks]

7
2. Answer the following questions

(a) Find all real solutions of the equation [6 marks]

x2 + x 6
x2 2x = 1.

Explain why your solutions are the only solutions.

8
(b) The following expression is a rational number. Find its value. [9 marks]
√ √
q q
3 3
6 3 + 10 6 3 10.

9
3. Let f be a function on nonnegative integers defined as follows

f (2n) = f (f (n)) and f (2n + 1) = f (2n) + 1.

(a) If f (0) = 0, find f (n) for every n. [2 marks]

(b) Show that f (0) cannot equal 1. [4 marks]
(c) For what nonnegative integers k (if any) can f (0) equal 2k ? [9 marks]

10
11
4. Let ABC be an equilateral triangle with side length 2. Point A0 is chosen on side BC
such that the length of A0 B is k < 1. Likewise points B 0 and C 0 are chosen on sides CA
and AB with CB 0 = AC 0 = k. Line segments are drawn from points A0 , B 0 , C 0 to their
corresponding opposite vertices. The intersections of these line segments form a triangle,
labeled P QR.

B0
R

A0
P Q

A B
C0

4(1→k)
Show that P QR is an equilateral triangle with side length p
k2 →2k+4
.

12
13
5. An alien script has n letters b1 , . . . , bn . For some k < n/2 assume that all words formed
by any of the k letters (written left to right) are meaningful. These words are called
k-words. Such a k-word is considered sacred if:

i) no letter appears twice and,

ii) if a letter bi appears in the word then the letters bi→1 and bi+1 do not appear. (Here
bn+1 = b1 and b0 = bn .)

For example, if n = 7 and k = 3 then b1 b3 b6 , b3 b1 b6 , b2 b4 b6 are sacred 3-words. On the

other hand b1 b7 b4 , b2 b2 b6 are not sacred. What is the total number of sacred k-words?
Use your formula to find the answer for n = 10 and k = 4.

14
15
6. Imagine the unit square in the plane to be a carrom board. Assume the striker is just
a point, moving with no friction (so it goes forever), and that when it hits an edge, the
angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence, as in real life. If the striker ever
hits a corner it falls into the pocket and disappears. The trajectory of the striker is
→
completely determined by its starting point (x, y) and its initial velocity (p, q).
If the striker eventually returns to its initial state (i.e. initial position and initial velocity),
we define its bounce number to be the number of edges it hits before returning to its initial
state for the first time.
→
For example, the trajectory with initial state [(.5, .5); (1, 0)] has bounce number 2 and
it returns to its initial state for the first time in 2 time units. And the trajectory with
→
initial state [(.25, .75); (1, 1)] has bounce number 4.

→
(a) Suppose the striker has initial state [(.5, .5); (p, q)]. If p > q ≥ 0 then what is its
velocity after it hits an edge for the first time? What if q > p ≥ 0? [2 marks]
(b) Draw a trajectory with bounce number 5 or justify why it is impossible. [3 marks]
→
(c) Consider the trajectory with initial state [(x, y); (p, 0)] where p is a positive integer.
In how much time will the striker first return to its initial state? [2 marks]
→
(d) What is the bounce number for the initial state [(x, y); (p, q)] where p, q are relatively
prime positive integers, assuming the striker never hits a corner? [8 marks]

16
17
Solutions for the 2018 Entrance Examination for the BSc Programmes at CMI

Part A

1. Consider an equilateral triangle ABC with altitude 3 centimeters. A circle is inscribed

in this triangle, then another circle is drawn such that it is tangent to the inscribed
circle and the sides AB, AC. Infinitely many such circles are drawn; each tangent to the
previous circle and the sides AB, AC. The figure shows the construction after 2 steps.

B C

Find the sum of the areas of all these circles.

Answer: The radius of the ( rst) inscribed circle is 1. Its not hard to see that
that as you go on inscribing the circles the corresponding radii decrease by 1/3.
Let A denote the total area of these circles then
A = π(1)2 + π(1/3)2 + π(1/9)2 + · · ·
= π + π(1/3)2 [1 + (1/3)2 + (1/9)2 + · · · ]
= π + (1/9)A
= (9/8)π.

2. Consider the following function defined for all real numbers x

2018
f (x) = .
10 + ex
How many integers are there in the range of f ?
Answer: 201. Note that the for all values of x the function is strictly decreasing
and the graph lies above x axis. As x goes far left the denominator approaches
10 and the function value approaches 201.8. On the other hand, as goes far right
the denominator blows up and the function value approaches 0. Since this is a
continuous function by the intermediate value theorem all values in the interval
(0, 201.8) are assumed.
3. List every solution of the following equation. You need not simplify your answer(s).
√3
√3
x+4 x = 1.
√
Put t = 3 x, to get (t3 + 4) = (1 + t)3 . This leads to the quadratic t2 + t 1 =√0.
Solve it and then take the cube root of the solutions. The answers are 2 ± 5.
1
4. Compute the following integral
Z π
2 dx
√ √
0 ( sin x + cos x)4
√
Pull cos2 x out from the denominator and then substitute u for tan x + 1. The
answer is 31 .
5. List in increasing order all positive integers n ≤ 40 such that n cannot be written in the
form a2 b2 , where a and b are positive integers.
Answer: 1, 4 and all even numbers of the form 4k + 2
6. Consider the equation
z 2018 = 20182018 + i,
√
where i = 1.

(a) How many complex solutions does this equation have?

(b) How many solutions lie in the first quadrant?
(c) How many solutions lie in the second quadrant?

The equation has 2018 complex solutions. In the polar form the right hand side
of the equation can be expressed as reiθ , where θ is a very small positive angle.
Note that 2018 is 2 mod 4. Of the 2018 solutions of x2 018 = r, one each is on
positive and negative X -axis. The remaining 2016 are divided equally in the four
quadrants, 504 each. Now rotating these by the very tiny angle θ/2018 gives 505
each in the rst and third quadrant but still 504 in second and fourth.
7. Let x3 + ax2 + bx + 8 = 0 be a cubic equation with integer coefficients. Suppose both r
and r are roots of this equation, where r > 0 is a real number. List all possible pairs
of values (a, b).
Plugging in r and r in the equation we get r2 + b = 0 and ar2 + 8 = 0. Let the
third root be s, then expanding (x+r)(x r)(x+s) and comparing it with the given
equation tells us that ab = 8. So the possible values of a, b are 1, 2, 4, 8, i.e.,
both a, b negative such that ab = 8.
8. How many non-congruent triangles are there with integer lengths a ≤ b ≤ c such that
a + b + c = 20?
It is clear that 1 < a ≤ b ≤ c < 10. Now, c < a + b and c = 20 a b implies
10 < a + b; this also means that b ≥ a and b ≥ 11 a. Moreover, we also have
b ≤ 20 a b. One can further conclude that a ≤ 6, otherwise 7 ≤ b ≤ 6. So as a
ranges from 2 to 6 we have that b takes the following values a = 2, b = 9; a = 3, b =
8; a = 4, b ∈ {7, 8}; a = 5, b ∈ {6, 7}; a = 6, b ∈ {6, 7}. The total number of possible
triangles is 8.
9. Consider a sequence of polynomials with real coefficients defined by

p0 (x) = (x2 + 1)(x2 + 2) · · · (x2 + 1009)

2
 with subsequent polynomials defined by pk+1 (x) := pk (x + 1) pk (x) for k ≥ 0. Find the
least n such that
pn (1) = pn (2) = · · · = pn (5000).
Answer n = 2018. Note that deg p0 (x) = 2018 and deg pk (x) = 2018 k . De ne
gn (x) = pn (x) pn (1), hence gn (x) has degree 2018 n and 5000 roots.

10. Recall that arcsin(t) (also known as sin→1 (t)) is a function with domain [ 1, 1] and range
[ π2 , π2 ]. Consider the function f (x) := arcsin(sin(x)) and answer the following questions
as a series of four letters (T for True and F for False) in order.

(a) The function f (x) is well defined for all real numbers x.TRUE
(b) The function f (x) is continuous wherever it is defined. TRUE
(c) The function f (x) is differentiable wherever it is continuous. FALSE

This is a periodic function with period 2π. On [ π/2, π/2] it is identity and
on [π/2, 3π/2] it is negative identity. Hence the function is well-de ned and
continuous everywhere. However, it is not di erentiable at nonzero multiples of
π/2.

3
 Answers to part B
If you need extra space for any problem,
continue on one of the colored blank pages at the end and write a note to that effect.

1. Answer the following questions-

(a) A natural number k is called stable if there exist k distinct natural numbers
a1 , . . . , ak , each ai > 1, such that
1 1
+ ··· + = 1.
a1 ak
Show that if k is stable then k + 1 is also stable. Using this or otherwise, find all
stable numbers. [5 marks]
It is clear that 1 and 2 are not stable. However,P3 is stable. Let k ≥ 3 be
stable hence there are a1 , . . . , ak all distinct and a1i = 1. This implies that
1 1
= 1. Hence all numbers except 2 are stable.
P
2
+ 2ai
(b) Let f be a differentiable function defined on a subset A of R. Define

f √ (y) := max {yx f (x)} ,

x2A

whenever the above maximum is finite. For the function f (x) = ln(x), determine
the set of points for which f √ is defined and find an expression for f √ (y) involving
only y and constants. [5 marks]
First, note that the function f (x) is de ned only for the positive values of
x. Now if y ≥ 0 then the rst derivative of xy + ln(x) is y + x1 which is
strictly positive for x > 0. Hence xy + ln(x) is an increasing function and
consequently f √ (y) is not de ned.
Now if y < 0 then x = y1 is the only critical point of xy + ln(x). Moreover,
either of the derivative test tells us that it is in fact the maxima. Hence,
the domain of f √ (y) is y < 0 and
1
f √ (y) = ln( ) 1.
y

4
2. Answer the following questions

(a) Find all real solutions of the equation [6 marks]

x2 + x 6
x2 2x = 1.

Explain why your solutions

√ are the only solutions.
Answer x = 3, 1, 1 ± 2 are the only solutions. First, we want either
x2 + x 6 = 0 or x2 2x = 1. However, when x = 2 the base as well as the
exponent are 0 giving us an indeterminate form. Hence x = 2 will not work.
Moreover, when x = 3 the base is positive. Second, observe that when
x = 1 we get ( 1)→4 which equals 1.
(b) The following expression is a rational number. Find its value. [9 marks]
√ √
q q
3 3
6 3 + 10 6 3 10.

Answer : 2. Let the numbers be a, b respectively. Note a3 b3 = 20 and

ab = 2. Putting it in (a b)3 we get (a b)3 = 20 6(a b). This cubic has
one real solution a b = 2 and two complex solutions.

5
3. Let f be a function on the nonnegative integers defined as follows

f (2n) = f (f (n)) and f (2n + 1) = f (2n) + 1.

(a) If f (0) = 0, find f (n) for every n. [2 marks]

(b) Show that f (0) cannot equal 1. [4 marks]
(c) For what nonnegative integers k (if any) can f (0) equal 2k ? [9 marks]

Answer
(a) Suppose f (0) = 0 then f (1) = 1 and f (2) = f (f (1)) = f (1) = 1. It implies that
f (3) = 1 + 1 = 2 and f (4) = f (1) = 1. The pattern continues and we get that
if 2k + 1 ≥ 3 then f (2k + 1) = 2. On the other hand if 2k ≥ 4 then f (2k) = 1.
(b) Suppose f (0) = 1. We have f (0) = f (2 · 0) = f (f (0)) = f (1). But we also have
f (1) = f (0) + 1, a contradiction.
(c) Suppose f (0) = 2k . Then, 2k = f (2·0) = f (f (0)) = f (2k ), and f (2k +1) = f (2k )+
1 = 2k + 1. Notice that f (1) = f (0) + 1 = 2k + 1, and f (2) = f (f (1)) = 2k + 1.
In this way, we see that for any n, f (2n ) = 2k + 1. This contradicts that fact
that f (2k ) = 2k .

6
4. Let ABC be an equilateral triangle with side length 2. Point A0 is chosen on side BC
such that the length of A0 B is k < 1. Likewise points B 0 and C 0 are chosen on sides CA
and AB with AC 0 = CB 0 = k. Line segments are drawn from points A0 , B 0 , C 0 to their
corresponding opposite vertices. The intersections of these line segments form a triangle,
labeled P QR in the interior.
C

B0
R

A0
P Q

A B
C0
4(1→k)
Show that the triangle P QR is an equilateral triangle with side length p
k2 →2k+4
.
Note that triangles ABA0 , CAC 0 and BCB 0 are congruent by the SAS test. Trian-
gles BA0 Q, CB 0 R and AC 0 P are also congruent. By using the property of opposite
angles we get that all the three angles of the triangle P QR are the same. Hence
it is an equilateral triangle.
Dropping the perpendicular bisector AO on the side BC we get the following:
AA02 = AO2 + A0 A2
√
= (1 k)2 + ( 3)2
= k 2 2k + 4.
Observe that triangles ABA0 and BQA0 are similar by the AAA test: A0 QB and
A0 BA are 60 degrees and A0 BQ and A0 AB are corresponding angles. Therefore:
AB BA0 A0 A
= =
BQ QA0 A0 B
√
2 k k 2 2k + 4
= =
BQ QA0 k
2k
BQ = √
k 2 2k + 4
k2
QA0 = √ .
k 2 2k + 4
Now using AA0 = AP + P Q + QA0 we get
4(1 k)
PQ = √ .
k 2 2k + 4

7
5. An alien language has n letters b1 , . . . , bn . For some k < n/2 assume that all words
formed by any of the k letters (written left to right) are meaningful. These words are
called k-words. Such a k-word is considered sacred if:

i) no letter appears twice and,

ii) if a letter bi appears in the word then the letters bi→1 and bi+1 do not appear. (Here
bn+1 = b1 and b0 = bn .)

For example, if n = 7 and k = 3 then b1 b3 b6 , b3 b1 b6 , b2 b4 b6 are sacred 3-words. On the

other hand b1 b7 b4 , b2 b2 b6 are not sacred. What is the total number of sacred k-words?
Use your formula to find the answer for n = 10 and k = 4.
We will count the sacred words starting with b1 . Since b1 is chosen bn and b2 are
out of the picture. In order to ll the remaining k 1 positions we have to choose
non-consecutive bi 's. Note that, specifying these bi 's is equivalent to specifying
the gaps between them. For example, let n = 7, k = 3 and we would like to
choose b1 , b3 , b6 . Then the triple (1, 2, 1) speci es that leave one alphabet after
b1 , drop two after b3 and drop one after b6 . Hence, in general let x1 , x2 , . . . , xk be
these gaps. It is clear that each of this gap is at least 1 and they add up to n k.
So our counting problem is now - in how many di erent ways one can choose k
natural numbers, each of which is at least 1, that add up to n k. The answer
is n→k→1 . In fact, this is equivalent to counting the number of ways one can


k→1
choose k 1 `plus' signs from n k 1of them when n k is written as a sum of
1's (n k of them). However, note that we haven't assigned positions to these
letters yet. t This can be done in (k 1)! ways. Hence the answer is
 
n k 1
(k 1)! .
k 1

In order to count the total number of sacred words we just need to multiply the
above number by n. The nal answer is
 
n k 1 (n k 1)!
n(k 1)! = n(k 1)!
k 1 (n 2k)!(k 1)!
(n k 1)!
=n
(n 2k)!
= n (n k 1)(n k 2) · · · (n 2k + 1).

For n = 10 and k = 4 the answer is 600.

8
6. Imagine the unit square in the plane to be a carrom board. Assume the striker is just
a point, moving with no friction (so it goes forever), and that when it hits an edge, the
angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence, as in real life. When it hits another
edge it bounces again similarly and so on. If the striker ever hits a corner it falls into
the pocket and disappears. The trajectory of the striker is completely determined by its
→
starting point (x, y) and its initial velocity (p, q).
If the striker eventually returns to its initial state (i.e. initial position and initial velocity),
we define its bounce number to be the number of edges it hits before returning to its initial
state for the first time.
→
For example, the trajectory with initial state [(.5, .5); (1, 0)] has bounce number 2 and
it returns to its initial state for the first time in 2 time units. And the trajectory with
→
initial state [(.25, .75); (1, 1)] has bounce number 4.

→
(a) Suppose the striker has initial state [(.5, .5); (p, q)]. If p > q ≥ 0 then what is the
velocity after it hits an edge for the first time? What if q > p ≥ 0? [2 marks]
(b) Draw a trajectory with bounce number 5 or justify why it is impossible. [3 marks]
→
(c) Consider the trajectory with initial state [(x, y); (p, 0)] where p is a positive integer.
In how much time will the striker first return to its initial state? [2 marks]
→
(d) What is the bounce number for the initial state [(x, y); (p, q)] where p, q are relatively
prime positive integers, assuming the striker never hits a corner? [8 marks]

(a) If p > q then the striker will hit the vertical edge rst, and its new velocity
→
will be ( p, q). If p < q then the striker will hit the horizontal edge rst, and
→
its new velocity will be (p, q).
(b) No, it is not possible. If the striker has bounce number 5, then it must have
an odd number of vertical edge bounces or horizontal edge bounces. In the
former case, when the striker returns to its initial state, the x-component
of its velocity will be wrong, by the formula in part (a). In the latter case
the y component will be wrong.
(c) It will take p2 time to return to its initial state.
(d) The bounce number is 2p + 2q. At time 2, the striker will have completed p
horizontal round-trips and q vertical round trips, and will have returned to
its initial state. To see this, note that from part (c) it will take time p2 for
each horizontal round trip and time 2q for each vertical round trip. Since p
and q are relatively prime, it will only be at time 2 that an integer number
of vertical and horizontal round trips have been completed.

9
 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI, May 2012
Attempt all 5 problems in part A, each worth 6 points. Attempt 7 out of the 9 problems in part B, each
worth 10 points.

Part A. (5 problems × 6 points = 30 points.) Clearly explain your entire reasoning.

1. Find the number of real solutions to the equation x = 99 sin(πx).

2. A differentiable function f : R → R satisfies f (1) = 2, f (2) = 3 and f (3) = 1. Show that f 0 (x) = 0
for some x.
ln(12)
3. Show that ln(18) is irrational.

4. Show that
x100 ln(x)
lim = 0.
x→∞ ex tan−1 ( π3 + sin x)

5. (a) n identical chocolates are to be distributed among the k students in Tinku’s class. Find the
probability that Tinku gets at least one chocolate, assuming that the n chocolates are handed out one
by one in n independent steps. At each step, one chocolate is given to a randomly chosen student, with
each student having equal chance to receive it.
(b) Solve the same problem assuming instead that

all distributions are equally likely. You are given
that the number of such distributions is n+k−1
k−1 . (Here all chocolates are considered interchangeable
but students are considered different.)

Part B. (9 problems × 10 points = 90 points.) Clearly explain your entire reasoning.

Attempt at least 7 problems. You may solve only part of a problem and get partial credit. If you cannot
solve an earlier part, you may assume it and proceed to the next part. For all such partial answers,
clearly mention what you are solving and what you are assuming.
√
1. a) Find a polynomial p(x) with real coefficients such that p( 2 + i) = 0.
b)√Find a polynomial q(x) with rational coefficients and having the smallest possible degree
√ such that
q( 2 + i) = 0. Show that any other polynomial with rational coefficients and having 2 + i as a root
has q(x) as a factor.

2. a) Let E, F, G and H respectively be the midpoints of the sides AB, BC, CD and DA of a convex
quadrilateral ABCD. Show that EFGH is a parallelogram whose area is half that of ABCD.
b) Let E = (0, 0), F = (0, −1), G = (1, −1), H = (1, 0). Find all points A = (p, q) in the first quadrant
such that E, F, G and H respectively are the midpoints of the sides AB, BC, CD and DA of a convex
quadrilateral ABCD.

3. a) We want to choose subsets A1 , A2 , . . . , Ak of {1, 2, . . . , n} such that any two of the chosen subsets
have nonempty intersection. Show that the size k of any such collection of subsets is at most 2n−1 .
b) For n > 2 show that we can always find a collection of 2n−1 subsets A1 , A2 , . . . of {1, 2, . . . , n} such
that any two of the Ai intersect, but the intersection of all Ai is empty.

1
4. Define
10 9
X 1 1 X 1 1
x= √ and y= √ .
i=1
10 3 1 + ( 10i√3 )2 i=0
10 3 1 + ( 10i√3 )2
π x+y π
Show that a) x < 6 < y and b) 2 < 6 . (Hint: Relate these sums to an integral.)

√
5. Using the steps below, find the value of x2012 + x−2012 , where x + x−1 = 5+1
2 .

a) For any real r, show that |r + r−1 | ≥ 2. What does this tell you about the given x?
√
b) Show that cos( π5 ) = 5+1
4 , e.g. compare sin( 2π 3π
5 ) and sin( 5 ).

c) Combine conclusions of parts a and b to express x and therefore the desired quantity in a suitable
form.

6. For n > 1, a configuration consists of 2n distinct points in a plane, n of them red, the remaining n
blue, with no three points collinear. A pairing consists of n line segments, each with one blue and one
red endpoint, such that each of the given 2n points is an endpoint of exactly one segment. Prove the
following.
a) For any configuration, there is a pairing in which no two of the n segments intersect. (Hint: consider
total length of segments.)
b) Given n red points (no three collinear), we can place n blue points such that any pairing in the
resulting configuration will have two segments that do not intersect. (Hint: First consider the case
n = 2.)

7. A sequence of integers cn starts with c0 = 0 and satisfies cn+2 = acn+1 + bcn for n ≥ 0, where a and
b are integers. For any positive integer k with gcd(k, b) = 1, show that cn is divisible by k for infinitely
many n.

8. Let f (x) be a polynomial with integer coefficients such that for each nonnegative integer n, f (n) = a
perfect power of a prime number, i.e., of the form pk , where p is prime and k a positive integer. (p and
k can vary with n.) Show that f must be a constant polynomial using the following steps or otherwise.
a) If such a polynomial f (x) exists, then there is a polynomial g(x) with integer coefficients such that
for each nonnegative integer n, g(n) = a perfect power of a fixed prime number.
b) Show that a polynomial g(x) as in part a must be constant.

9. Let N be the set of non-negative integers. Suppose f : N → N is a function such that f (f (f (n))) <
f (n + 1) for every n ∈ N . Prove that f (n) = n for all n using the following steps or otherwise.
a) If f (n) = 0, then n = 0.
b) If f (x) < n, then x < n. (Start by considering n = 1.)
c) f (n) < f (n + 1) and n < f (n + 1) for all n.
d) f (n) = n for all n.

2
 Solutions to the 2012 CMI BSc Entrance Examination
Part A: 5 problems × 6 marks. Part B: 7 out of 9 problems × 10 marks.

A1. Find the number of real solutions to the equation x = 99 sin(πx).

x
The number of solutions is the number of times the line y = 99 meets the graph of
y = sin(πx). This can occur only for x ∈ [−99, 99] because sin(πx) has range [−1, 1]. Also
sin(πx) is periodic with period 2. For x ≥ 0, the two graphs meet twice in each cycle
of sin(πx), both intersections occurring in the first half of the cycle. There are 50 such
half-cycles from x = 0 to x = 99, over intervals [0, 1], [2, 3], . . . , [98, 99]. So there are 100
non-negative solutions. Similarly there are 100 solutions ≤ 0 because both graphs are odd.
Since x = 0 is counted twice, the total number of solutions is 100 + 100 − 1 = 199.

A2. A differentiable function f : R → R satisfies f (1) = 2, f (2) = 3 and f (3) = 1. Show

that f 0 (x) = 0 for some x.

Since f is differentiable, it is continuous. By the intermediate value theorem, there is

a ∈ (2, 3) with f (a) = 2 = f (1). Now by Rolle’s theorem there is x ∈ (1, a) with f 0 (x) = 0.
–OR– The continuous function f over the closed interval [1, 2] must attain its absolute
maximum, which cannot be at either endpoint (since f (2) > f (1) and f (2) > f (3)). So
the maximum must be at an interior point x and then f 0 (x) = 0. –OR– By the mean
value theorem, f 0 (y) = 1 > 0 for some y ∈ (1, 2) and f 0 (z) = −2 < 0 for some z ∈ (2, 3).
So f 0 (x) = 0 for some x ∈ (y, z) since for a differentiable f , the function f 0 satisfies the
intermediate value property by Darboux’s theorem. (This is important to say because f 0
need not be continuous.)

ln(12)
A3. Show that ln(18) is irrational.

ln(12)
ln(18)= log18 (12). Suppose this is rational, say = ab where a, b are integers with b 6= 0.
a
Then 18 b = 12, so 18a = 12b . By factoring into primes this gives 32a 2a = 3b 22b , which
by unique factorization can happen only if 2a = b and a = 2b. But this gives a = b = 0,
ln(2)
a contradiction. (Alternatively and similarly, prove that r = ln(3) is irrational and show
ln(12) ln 3+2 ln 2 1+2r
that rationality of ln(18) = 2 ln 3+ln a = 2+r would force r to be rational as well.)

A4. Show that

x100 ln(x)
lim = 0.
x→∞ ex tan−1 ( π3 + sin x)

There is a positive constant c such that tan−1 ( π3 +sin x) > c for any x, e.g. c = tan−1 (0.04)
will work since π > 3.12, sin(x) ≥ −1 and tan−1 is an increasing function. Moreover
ln(x) < x for x > 0. So the given ratio is sandwiched between 0 and x101 /cex . Now use
L’Hospital’s rule repeatedly.

1
A5. a) n identical chocolates are to be distributed among the k students in Tinku’s class.
Find the probability that Tinku gets at least one chocolate, assuming that the n chocolates
are handed out one by one in n independent steps. At each step, one chocolate is given to
a randomly chosen student, with each student having equal chance to receive it.

P(Tinku gets at least one chocolate) = 1 – P(Tinku gets none) = 1 − (1 − k1 )n , because in

each of the independent steps the probability of Tinku not getting a chocolate is 1 − k1 .

b) Solve the same problem assuming instead that all distributions are equally likely. You
are given that the number of such distributions is n+k−1


k−1 . (Here all chocolates are con-
sidered interchangeable but students are considered different.)

There are (n−1)+k−1

k−1 distributions in which Tinku gets at least a chocolate: give Tinku a
chocolate and then use the given formula to find number of distributions

n+k−1
of then remaining
(n−1)+k−1
n − 1 chocolates among k students. So the answer is k−1 / k−1 = n+k−1 . –OR–
The number of distributions in which Tinku gets no chocolate = number of distributions
n+k−2


of n chocolates among the remaining k − 1 students = k−2 . So the desired probability
is 1 − n+k−2

n+k−1
n
k−2 / k−1 = n+k−1 .

√
B1. a) Find a polynomial p(x) with real coefficients such that p( 2 + i) = 0.

Non-real
√ roots of a √polynomial with √
real coefficients occur in conjugate pairs. p(x) =
2
(x − ( 2 + i))(x − ( 2 − i)) = x − 2 2x + 3 works.

b) Find a polynomial
√ q(x) with rational coefficients and having the smallest possible degree
such that
√ q( 2 + i) = 0. Show that any other polynomial with rational coefficients and
having 2 + i as a root has q(x) as a factor.
√ √ √
2 + i satisfies x2 − 2 2x + 3 = 0, i.e., x2 + 3 = 2 2x and so satisfies (x2 + 3)2 =
8x2 . So q(x) = (x2 + 3)2 − 8x2 works. A cubic with rational coefficients will not work
because, after
√ dividing by the necessarily rational leading coefficient, √it must be of the
2
form (x − 2 2x + 3)(x − r). This forces the coefficients −3r and −2 2 − r to be both
rational, which is impossible.
√
Let f (x) be a polynomial with rational coefficients such that f ( 2 + i) = 0. Divide f (x)
by q(x) using long division to get √quotient a(x) and√remainder b(x), both polynomials
with rational coefficients.
√ Using f ( 2 + i) = 0 and q( 2 + i) = 0 in the equation f (x) =
q(x)a(x) + b(x) gives b( 2 + i) = 0. Now if the remainder b(x)√is a nonzero polynomial,
then it would have rational coefficients, degree less than 4 and 2 + i as a root. But we
just proved that this is impossible. Hence b(x) = 0, i.e., f (x) is a multiple of q(x).

B2. a) Let E, F, G and H respectively be the midpoints of the sides AB, BC, CD and
DA of a convex quadrilateral ABCD. Show that EFGH is a parallelogram whose area is
half that of ABCD.

2
Consider the diagonals AC and BD. By the basic proportionality theorem in triangle ABC,
we get that EF and AC are parallel and AC = 2 EF. Moreover, ABC and EBF are similar.
Using triangles ADC and HDG, we similarly get that AC is parallel to HG, AC = 2 HG.
Thus EF and HG are parallel. Likewise FG and EH are parallel (both parallel to BD), so
EFGH is a parallelogram. Also by similarity, Area(ABC) = 4 Area(EBF), Area(ADC) =
4 Area(HDG), Area(BAD) = 4 Area(EAH) and Area(BCD) = 4 Area(FCG). (Note. So
far convexity of ABCD is unnecessary. But the next steps need it, draw pictures and see.)
Area(EFGH) = Area(ABCD) – [Area(EBF) + Area(FCG) + Area(GDH) + Area(HAE)]
= Area(ABCD) – 41 [Area(ABC)+ Area(BCD) + Area(CDA) + Area(DAB)]
= Area(ABCD) – 12 Area(ABCD) = 12 Area(ABCD).

b) Let E = (0, 0), F = (0, −1), G = (1, −1), H = (1, 0). Find all points A = (p, q) in the
first quadrant such that E, F, G and H respectively are the midpoints of the sides AB,
BC, CD and DA of a convex quadrilateral ABCD.

If A = (p, q) is such a point, then E = (0,0) being the midpoint of AB is equivalent to

having B = (−p, −q). Similarly we get C = (p, q − 2), D = (2 − p, −q). In particular AC =
BD = 2, AC is vertical and BD horizontal. By the reasoning in part a), these facts imply
that the quadrilateral constructed from the midpoints of the sides of ABCD is a square of
side 1. So we just need to ensure that the listed coordinates make ABCD into a convex
quadrilateral. This happens if and only if p, q are both positive (which is given) and < 1.
It is easy to see that these conditions are sufficient to make ABCD a convex quadrilateral.
For necessity see the following (pictures will help). If p > 1 then A will be to the right of
H and so D to the left of H. If q > 1, then B will be below F and so C will be above F. If
p or q = 1, then three of the points A, B, C, D become collinear. In all cases ABCD will
not be a convex quadrilateral. If both p, q > 1, ABCD will even be self-intersecting.

B3. a) We want to choose subsets A1 , A2 , . . . , Ak of {1, 2, . . . , n} such that any two of the
chosen subsets have nonempty intersection. Show that the size k of any such collection of
subsets is at most 2n−1 .

If a set A is in such a collection C, then the complement of A cannot be in C. Therefore

|C| ≤ 21 (total number of subsets of {1, 2, . . . , n}) = 21 2n = 2n−1 .

b) For n > 2 show that we can always find a collection of 2n−1 subsets A1 , A2 , . . . of
{1, 2, . . . , n} such that any two of the Ai intersect, but the intersection of all Ai is empty.

There are many ways to build such a collection, e.g., take all 2n−1 subsets of {1, 2, . . . , n}
containing 1, remove the singleton set {1} and instead include its complement. –OR–
Note that for n = 3, the four sets {1, 2}, {2, 3}, {1, 3}, {1, 2, 3} give a (unique) solution.
For n > 3 take the union of each of these 4 sets with all 2n−3 subsets of {4, . . . , n}. –OR–
For n = 2k +
1, take
all subsets of {1, 2, . . . , n} of size > k. Any two of these will intersect.
Now use ni = n−i n
. For n = 2k, take all subsets of size > k along with half the subsets
of size k, namely those containing a fixed number. (Check the details.)

3
B4. Define
10 9
X 1 1 X 1 1
x= √ and y= √ .
i=1
10 3 1 + ( 10i√3 )2 i=0
10 3 1 + ( 10i√3 )2
π x+y π
Show that a) x < 6 < y and b) 2 < 6 . (Hint: Relate these sums to an integral.)

a) Let f (t) = 1/(1 + t2 ). Then y and x are respectively the left and right hand
√ Riemann
1
sums for f over the interval [0, √3 ] using 10 equal parts, each of width 1/10 3. Since f is
a positive decreasing function, y overestimates the area under f over the given interval and
1
R 1/√3 −1
√
1/ 3 π
x underestimates it. The area under f over [0, √3 ] is 0 f (t)dt = tan (t)|0 = 6 , so
π
x < 6 < y. Note. Different normalizations are possible for f , e.g., the more simpleminded
choice f (t) = 101√3 1+( 1t√ )2 considered over the interval [0,10] will work too.
10 3

b) x+y 2 can be interpreted as the sum of areas of 10 trapezoids as follows. Dividing

[0, √13 ] into 10 equal parts, let the i-th subinterval be [ti−1 , ti ] with i = 0, 1, . . . , 10. Then
the i-th trapezoid has base [ti−1 , ti ] and it has two vertical sides, the left one of height
f (ti−1 ) and the right one of height f (ti ) (draw a picture and see). So we have to prove
that the total area of trapezoids is less than the area under f . For this we should check
concavity of f (draw pictures and see why). Check that over the interval (0, √13 ), we have
2
6t −2
f 00 (t) = (1+t2 )3 < 0, so f is concave down and hence each trapezoid lies completely below

the graph of f .

√
B5. Using the steps below, find the value of x2012 + x−2012 , where x + x−1 = 5+1
2 .

a) For any real r, show that |r + r−1 | ≥ 2. What does this tell you about the given x?

Because of the absolute value we may assume that rp> 0 by replacing r with −r if √
necessary.
√ −1
Now use AM-GM inequality or the fact that ( r − 1/r) ≥ 0. Since x+x = 5+1
2
2 < 2,
given x must be a non-real (complex) number.
√
b) Show that cos( π5 ) = 5+1
4 , e.g. compare sin( 2π 3π
5 ) and sin( 5 ).

Let θ = π5 . Then sin(2θ) = sin(π − 2θ) = sin(3θ). Using the formulas for sin(2θ) and
sin(3θ), canceling sin θ (it is nonzero) and substituting sin2 θ = 1 − cos2√θ, gives the
quadratic equation 4 cos2 θ − 2 cos θ − 1 = 0. Since cos θ > 0, we get cos θ = 5+1
4 .

c) Combine conclusions of parts a and b to express x and therefore the desired quantity
in a suitable form.

Let x = deiα = d(cos α + i√sin α). Then x−1 = d−1 e−iα = d−1 (cos α − i sin α). Adding
iπ
and using that x + x−1 = 5+1 2 = 2 cos( π5 ), we get d = 1 and α = ±θ. So x = e± 5 and
√
x2012 + x−2012 = 2 cos( 2012π
5 ) = 2 cos(402π + 2π
5 ) = 2 cos( 2π
5 ) = 2 cos 2 π
( 5 ) − 1 = 5−1
2 .

4
B6. For n > 1, a configuration consists of 2n distinct points in a plane, n of them red, the
remaining n blue, with no three points collinear. A pairing consists of n line segments, each
with one blue and one red endpoint, such that each of the given 2n points is an endpoint
of exactly one segment. Prove the following.
a) For any configuration, there is a pairing in which no two of the n segments intersect.
(Hint: consider total length of segments.)

For any configuration, there are only finitely many pairings. Choose one with least possible
total length of segments. Here no two of the n segments can interest, because if RB and
R0 B 0 intersect in point X then we get a contradiction as follows. Using triangle inequality
in triangles RXB 0 and R0 XB, we get RB 0 + R0 B < RB + R0 B 0 (draw a picture). So
replacing RB and R0 B 0 with R0 B and RB 0 would give a pairing with smaller total length.

b) Given n red points (no three collinear), we can place n blue points such that any pairing
in the resulting configuration will have two segments that do not intersect. (Hint: First
consider the case n = 2.)

For n = 2, place the two blue points on opposite sides of the line passing through the given
two red points. There are two possible pairings and the two segments in either one do not
intersect. We use a similar idea in general. Given n red points, find a triangle ABC such
that A is a red point and all other red points are inside triangle ABC. (This is always
possible. Why?) Place one blue point at B and all other blue points in the region opposite
to triangle ABC at vertex C. (More precisely, let C be between A and A0 and also between
B and B 0 . Place the remaining blue points inside triangle A0 CB 0 .) Now in any pairing, if
A and B are connected, then AB will not intersect any other segment. Otherwise the two
segments having A and B as vertices will not intersect. Draw a picture to see this.

B7. A sequence of integers cn starts with c0 = 0 and satisfies cn+2 = acn+1 + bcn for
n ≥ 0, where a and b are integers. For any positive integer k with gcd(k, b) = 1, show that
cn is divisible by k for infinitely many n.

Consider pairs of consecutive entries of the sequence modulo k, i.e., (c̄n , c̄n+1 ), where ā
denotes a modulo k. Since there are only finitely many possibilities (namely k 2 ), some pair
of consecutive residues will repeat. Suppose (c̄i , c̄i+1 ) = (c̄i+p , c̄i+p+1 ) for some i. We will
show that in fact the previous equation holds for all i, i.e., whole sequence of consecutive
pairs is periodic. This will prove in particular that (c̄0 , c̄1 ) = (c̄p , c̄p+1 ) = (c̄2p , c̄2p+1 ) = · · ·.
Since c0 = 0 is divisible by k, so is cip for all i.
The equation cn+2 = acn+1 + bcn shows that b̄c̄n = c̄n+2 − āc̄n+1 . Now gcd(k, b) = 1 means
b is invertible modulo k, i.e., there is a b0 with b̄b̄0 = 1̄. Therefore c̄n = b̄0 (c̄n+2 − āc̄n+1 ).
Thus knowing a pair of consecutive residues uniquely determines the previous residue
(this is why we considered pairs of residues). Therefore (c̄i , c̄i+1 ) = (c̄i+p , c̄i+p+1 ) implies
(c̄i−1 , c̄i ) = (c̄i+p−1 , c̄i+p ) and (by the given recurrence) (c̄i+1 , c̄i+2 ) = (c̄i+p+1 , c̄i+p+2 ).
Thus the whole sequence (c̄n , c̄n+1 ) becomes periodic as soon as a single such pair repeats.

5
B8. Let f (x) be a polynomial with integer coefficients such that for each nonnegative
integer n, f (n) = a perfect power of a prime number, i.e., of the form pk , where p is prime
and k a positive integer. (p and k can vary with n.) Show that f must be a constant
polynomial using the following steps or otherwise.
a) If such a polynomial f (x) exists, then there is a polynomial g(x) with integer coefficients
such that for each nonnegative integer n, g(n) = a perfect power of a fixed prime number.

Write f (x) = an xn + an−1 xn−1 + · · · + a1 x + a0 . Then a0 = f (0) = pk for some prime

p and integer k > 0. Define g(x) = f (px). Then g(x) is a polynomial such that for each
nonnegative integer n, g(n) = f (pn) = a perfect power of a prime number. This prime
number has to be p, because by evaluating we see that g(n) = f (pn) is divisible by p.

b) Show that a polynomial g(x) as in part a must be constant.

Let g(x) = bn xn + bn−1 xn−1 + · · · + b1 x + b0 . Then b0 = g(0) = pk . Consider g(mpk+1 ) =

bn (mpk+1 )n +bn−1 (mpk+1 )n−1 +· · ·+b1 (mpk+1 )+pk . Clearly for each non-negative integer
m, this expression is divisible by pk , but not by pk+1 (since it is pk modulo pk+1 ). This
forces g(mpk+1 ) = pk for all m, since it must be a perfect power of p. Thus the polynomial
g takes the value pk infinitely often, so it must be identically equal to pk . (Otherwise the
polynomial g(x) − pk would have infinitely many roots.) To finish the problem, note that
since g(x) = f (px) is constant, f (x) must be constant by the same logic.

B9. Let N be the set of non-negative integers. Suppose f : N → N is a function such that
f (f (f (n))) < f (n + 1) for every n ∈ N . Prove that f (n) = n for all n using the following
steps or otherwise.
a) If f (n) = 0, then n = 0.

Let f (n) = 0. If n > 0, then n − 1 is in the domain of f and f (f (f (n − 1))) < f (n) = 0,
which is a contradiction, since 0 is the smallest possible value of f . (Note that this does
NOT prove that f (0) = 0, only that if f (some n) = 0, then that n = 0. In fact proving
f (0) = 0 along with part a would essentially solve the problem, see below.)

b) If f (x) < n, then x < n. (Start by considering n = 1.)

Induction on n. If n = 1, then this is just part a. Assuming the statement up to n we need

to prove that if f (x) < n + 1, then x < n + 1. If f (x) < n, then by induction x < n, so
x < n + 1. So let f (x) = n. If x = 0, we are done. Otherwise f (f (f (x − 1))) < f (x) = n
and by using induction thrice we get in succession f (f (x − 1)) < n, then f (x − 1) < n and
then x − 1 < n, i.e., x < n + 1 as desired.

c) f (n) < f (n + 1) and n < f (n + 1) for all n.

Apply part b to f (f (f (m))) < f (m + 1) (with x = f (f (m)) and n = f (m + 1)) to get

6
f (f (m)) < f (m + 1). Apply part b to this with x = f (m) and n = f (m + 1) to get
f (m) < f (m + 1). Again apply part b to get m < f (m + 1).

d) f (n) = n for all n.

By part c, f is increasing and f (n) ≥ n. If f (n) > n, then f (f (n)) > f (n) (since f
is increasing) and so f (f (n)) > n, i.e., f (f (n)) ≥ n + 1. Again, since f is increasing,
f (f (f (n))) ≥ f (n + 1), a contradiction.

Alternative solution after part a. Let us prove f (0) = 0. We know that f (n) = 0
implies n = 0, so n > 0 implies f (n) > 0. Applying this to any positive f (k), we get
f (f (k)) > 0. Denoting f (f (k)) = x, we therefore get f (f (f (x − 1))) < f (x) = f (f (f (k))).
This means that for k such that f (f (f (k))) is the smallest number in {f (f (f (n)))|n ≥ 0},
we must have f (k) = 0. In particular 0 is in the range of f , so by part a f (0) = 0.
Since f (n) = 0 for no other n, we may restrict the function f by deleting 0 from the
domain and the range. The resulting function would satisfy f (f (f (n))) < f (n + 1) for
every n > 0. Repeat the reasoning substituting 1 (the new lowest element of the domain
and the range) for 0 and conclude f (1) = 1. Then restrict to n > 1 and show f (2) = 2
and so on.

7
 2013 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

Part A. (10 problems × 5 points = 50 points.) Attempt all questions in this part
before going to part B. Carefully read the details of marking scheme given
below. Note that wrong answers will get negative marks!

In each problem you have to fill in 4 blanks as directed. Points will be given based only on
the filled answer, so you need not explain your answer. Each correct answer gets 1 point
and having all 4 answers correct will get 1 extra point for a total of 5 points per problem.
But each wrong/illegible/unclear answer will get minus 1 point. Negative points from any
problem will be counted in your total score, so it is better not to guess! If you are unsure
about a part, you may leave it blank without any penalty. If you write something and then
want it not to count, cross it out and clearly write “no attempt” next to the relevant part.

1. For sets A and B, let f : A → B and g : B → A be functions such that f (g(x)) = x for
each x. For each statement below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.

a) The function f must be one-to-one.

Answer:

b) The function f must be onto.

Answer:

c) The function g must be one-to-one.

Answer:

d) The function g must be onto.

Answer:

1
2. Let f : R → R be a function, where R is the set of real numbers. For each statement
below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.

a) If |f (x) − f (y)| ≤ 39|x − y| for all x, y then f must be continuous everywhere.

Answer:

b) If |f (x) − f (y)| ≤ 39|x − y| for all x, y then f must be differentiable everywhere.

Answer:

c) If |f (x) − f (y)| ≤ 39|x − y|2 for all x, y then f must be differentiable everywhere.

Answer:

d) If |f (x) − f (y)| ≤ 39|x − y|2 for all x, y then f must be constant.

Answer:

2
3. Let S be a circle with center O. Suppose A, B are points on the circumference of S with
∠AOB = 120◦ . For triangle AOB, let C be its circumcenter and D its orthocenter (i.e.,
the point of intersection of the three lines containing the altitudes). For each statement
below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.

a) The triangle AOC is equilateral.

Answer:

b) The triangle ABD is equilateral.

Answer:

c) The point C lies on the circle S.

Answer:

d) The point D lies on the circle S.

Answer:

3
4. A polynomial f (x) with real coefficients is said to be a sum of squares if we can write
f (x) = p1 (x)2 + · · · + pk (x)2 , where p1 (x), . . . , pk (x) are polynomials with real coefficients.
For each statement below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.

a) If a polynomial f (x) is a sum of squares, then the coefficient of every odd power of x in
f (x) must be 0.

Answer:

b) If f (x) = x2 + px + q has a non-real root, then f (x) is a sum of squares.

Answer:

c) If f (x) = x3 + px2 + qx + r has a non-real root, then f (x) is a sum of squares.

Answer:

d) If a polynomial f (x) > 0 for all real values of x, then f (x) is a sum of squares.

Answer:

4
5. There are 8 boys and 7 girls in a group. For each of the tasks specified below, write an
expression for the number of ways of doing it. Do NOT try to simplify your answers.

a) Sitting in a row so that all boys sit contiguously and all girls sit contiguously, i.e., no
girl sits between any two boys and no boy sits between any two girls

Answer:

b) Sitting in a row so that between any two boys there is a girl and between any two girls
there is a boy

Answer:

c) Choosing a team of six people from the group

Answer:

d) Choosing a team of six people consisting of unequal number of boys and girls

Answer:

5
6. Calculate the following integrals whenever possible. If a given integral does not exist,
state so. Note that [x] denotes the integer part of x, i.e., the unique integer n such that
n ≤ x < n + 1.

R4
a) 1
x2 dx

Answer:

R3
b) 1
[x]2 dx

Answer:

R2
c) 1
[x2 ]dx

Answer:

R1 1
d) −1 x2
dx

Answer:

6
7. Let A, B, C be angles such that eiA , eiB , eiC form an equilateral triangle in the complex
plane. Find values of the given expressions.

a) eiA + eiB + eiC

Answer:

b) cos A + cos B + cos C

Answer:

c) cos 2A + cos 2B + cos 2C

Answer:

d) cos2 A + cos2 B + cos2 C

Answer:

7
8. Consider the quadratic equation x2 + bx + c = 0, where b and c are chosen randomly
from the interval [0,1] with the probability uniformly distributed over all pairs (b, c). Let
p(b) = the probability that the given equation has a real solution for given (fixed) value of
b. Answer the following questions by filling in the blanks.

a) The equation x2 + bx + c = 0 has a real solution if and only if b2 − 4c is

Answer:

b) The value of p( 12 ), i.e., the probability that x2 + x

2 + c = 0 has a real solution is

Answer:

c) As a function of b, is p(b) increasing, decreasing or constant?

Answer:

d) As b and c both vary, what is the probability that x2 + bx + c = 0 has a real solution?

Answer:

8
9. Let R = the set of real numbers. A continuous function f : R → R satisfies f (1) = 1,
f (2) = 4, f (3) = 9 and f (4) = 16. Answer the independent questions below by choosing
the correct option from the given ones.

a) Which of the following values must be in the range of f ?

Options: 5 25 both neither

Answer:

b) Suppose f is differentiable. Then which of the follwing intervals must contain an x such
that f 0 (x) = 2x ? Options: (1,2) (2,4) both neither

Answer:

c) Suppose f is twice differentiable. Which of the following intervals must contain an x

such that f 00 (x) = 2 ? Options: (1,2) (2,4) both neither

Answer:

d) Suppose f is a polynomial, then which of the following are possible values of its degree?
Options: 3 4 both neither

Answer:

9
10. Let

x4
f (x) =
(x − 1)(x − 2) · · · (x − n)
where the denominator is a product of n factors, n being a positive integer. It is also given
that the X-axis is a horizontal asymptote for the graph of f . Answer the independent
questions below by choosing the correct option from the given ones.

a) How many vertical asymptotes does the graph of f have?

Options: n less than n more than n impossible to decide

Answer:

b) What can you deduce about the value of n ?

Options: n < 4 n=4 n>4 impossible to decide

Answer:

c) As one travels along the graph of f from left to right, at which of the following points
is the sign of f (x) guaranteed to change from positive to negative?
Options: x = 0 x=1 x=n−1 x=n

Answer:

d) How many inflection points does the graph of f have in the region x < 0 ?
Options: none 1 more than 1 impossible to decide
(Hint: Sketching is better than calculating.)

Answer:

10
Part B. (Problems 1–4 × 15 points + problems 5–6 × 20 points = 100 points.) Solve
these problems in the space provided for each problem after this page. You may solve only
part of a problem and get partial credit. Clearly explain your entire reasoning. No
credit will be given without reasoning.

1. In triangle ABC, the bisector of angle A meets side BC in point D and the bisector of
angle B meets side AC in point E. Given that DE is parallel to AB, show that AE = BD
and that the triangle ABC is isosceles.

2. A curve C has the property that the slope of the tangent at any given point (x, y) on
2
+y 2
C is x 2xy .

a) Find the general equation for such a curve. Possible hint: let z = xy .

b) Specify all possible shapes of the curves in this family. (For example, does the family
include an ellipse?)

3. A positive integer N has its first, third and fifth digits equal and its second, fourth and
sixth digits equal. In other words, when written in the usual decimal system it has the
form xyxyxy, where x and y are the digits. Show that N cannot be a perfect power, i.e.,
N cannot equal ab , where a and b are positive integers with b > 1.

4. Suppose f (x) is a function from R to R such that f (f (x)) = f (x)2013 . Show that there
are infinitely many such functions, of which exactly four are polynomials. (Here R = the
set of real numbers.)

1
5. Consider the function f (x) = ax + x+1 , where a is a positive constant. Let L = the
1
largest value of f (x) and S = the smallest value of f (x) for x ∈ [0, 1]. Show that L−S > 12
for any a > 0.

6. Define fk (n) to be the sum of all possible products of k distinct integers chosen from
the set {1, 2, . . . , n}, i.e.,
X
fk (n) = i1 i2 . . . ik .
1≤i1 <i2 <...<ik ≤n

a) For k > 1, write a recursive formula for the function fk , i.e., a formula for fk (n) in
terms of f` (m), where ` < k or (` = k and m < n).
b) Show that fk (n), as a function of n, is a polynomial of degree 2k.
c) Express f2 (n) as a polynomial in variable n.

11
 Solutions for 2013 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

Part A. (10 problems × 5 points = 50 points.) Attempt all questions in this part
before going to part B. Carefully read the details of marking scheme given
below. Note that wrong answers will get negative marks!

In each problem you have to fill in 4 blanks as directed. Points will be given based only on
the filled answer, so you need not explain your answer. Each correct answer gets 1 point
and having all 4 answers correct will get 1 extra point for a total of 5 points per problem.
But each wrong/illegible/unclear answer will get minus 1 point. Negative points from any
problem will be counted in your total score, so it is better not to guess! If you are unsure
about a part, you may leave it blank without any penalty. If you write something and then
want it not to count, cross it out and clearly write “no attempt” next to the relevant part.

1. For sets A and B, let f : A → B and g : B → A be functions such that f (g(x)) = x for
each x. For each statement below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.
a) The function f must be one-to-one.
b) The function f must be onto.
c) The function g must be one-to-one.
d) The function g must be onto.
Answer: FTTF.
If g(x1 ) = g(x2 ), then x1 = f (g(x1 )) = f (g(x2 )) = x2 , so g is one-to-one. Also f is onto
because each x ∈ B is in the image of f , namely x = f (g(x)). The other two statements
are false, e.g. by constructing an example in which A is a larger finite set than B.

2. Let f : R → R be a function, where R is the set of real numbers. For each statement
below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.
a) If |f (x) − f (y)| ≤ 39|x − y| for all x, y then f must be continuous everywhere.
b) If |f (x) − f (y)| ≤ 39|x − y| for all x, y then f must be differentiable everywhere.
c) If |f (x) − f (y)| ≤ 39|x − y|2 for all x, y then f must be differentiable everywhere.
d) If |f (x) − f (y)| ≤ 39|x − y|2 for all x, y then f must be constant.
Answer: TFTT
In parts a and b, we have |f (x) − f (a)| sandwiched between ±39|x − a|. As x → a,
±39|x − a| → 0 and hence f (x) − f (a) → 0, so f is continuous. But it need not be
differentiable, e.g. f (x) = |x| satisfies f (x) − f (y) = |x| − |y| ≤ |x − y| ≤ 39|x − y|. But f
is not differentiable at 0.
In parts c and d, we have | f (x)−f
x−a
(a)
| ≤ 39|x − a|, so by reasoning as for part a, we have
f (x)−f (a)
limx→a x−a = 0, i.e., f 0 (a) = 0 for all a, so f is a constant function.

1
3. Let S be a circle with center O. Suppose A, B are points on the circumference of S with
∠AOB = 120◦ . For triangle AOB, let C be its circumcenter and D its orthocenter (i.e.,
the point of intersection of the three lines containing the altitudes). For each statement
below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.
a) The triangle AOC is equilateral.
b) The triangle ABD is equilateral.
c) The point C lies on the circle S.
d) The point D lies on the circle S.
Answer: TTTT
Draw a picture and see that the bisector of ∠AOB splits this angle into two angles of
60◦ each and meets the circle, say in point C 0 . Now the triangles OAC 0 and OBC 0 are
both equilateral, so AC 0 = OC 0 = BC 0 , making C 0 = C, the cirumcenter of triangle
AOB. Similarly, letting CD0 be a diameter of the circle S, it is easy to deduce that
∠AOD0 = ∠BOD0 = 120◦ and that triangle ABD0 is also equilateral with O as its
centroid. Hence CD0 ⊥ AB, line BO ⊥ AD0 and line AO ⊥ BD0 , making D0 = D, the
orthocenter of triangle AOB.

4. A polynomial f (x) with real coefficients is said to be a sum of squares if we can write
f (x) = p1 (x)2 + · · · + pk (x)2 , where p1 (x), . . . , pk (x) are polynomials with real coefficients.
For each statement below, write whether it is TRUE or FALSE.
a) If a polynomial f (x) is a sum of squares, then the coefficient of every odd power of x in
f (x) must be 0.
b) If f (x) = x2 + px + q has a non-real root, then f (x) is a sum of squares.
c) If f (x) = x3 + px2 + qx + r has a non-real root, then f (x) is a sum of squares.
d) If a polynomial f (x) > 0 for all real values of x, then f (x) is a sum of squares.
Answer: FTFT
2
For part b, complete the square to get f (x) = x2 + px + q = (x + p2 )2 + ( 4q−p
4 ), which is a
sum of squares since 4q −p2 > 0 due to the roots being non-real. Since p need not be 0, this
disproves part a. For part d, since all roots of f are non-real and occur in conjugate pairs,
f (x) = a product of quadratic polynomials each of which is a sum of squares by part b.
For part c, note that f (x) → −∞ as x → −∞, so in particular f (x) takes negative values
and hence can never be a sum of squares. (This applies to any odd degree polynomial.)

5. There are 8 boys and 7 girls in a group. For each of the tasks specified below, write an
expression for the number of ways of doing it. Do NOT try to simplify your answers.
a) Sitting in a row so that all boys sit contiguously and all girls sit contiguously, i.e., no
girl sits between any two boys and no boy sits between any two girls.
Answer: 2 × 8! × 7! (The factor of 2 arises because the two blocks of boys and girls can
switch positions.)

2
b) Sitting in a row so that between any two boys there is a girl and between any two girls
there is a boy
Answer: 8! × 7! (There is no factor of 2 because there must be a boy at each end.)
Answer: 15


c) Choosing a team of six people from the group 6

d) Choosing a team of six people consisting of unequal number of boys and girls
Answer: 15 8 7 8 8 7 8 7 8 7 8 7 7














6 − 3 3 = 6 + 5 1 + 4 2 + 2 4 + 1 5 + 6

6. Calculate the following integrals whenever possible. If a given integral does not exist,
state so. Note that [x] denotes the integer part of x, i.e., the unique integer n such that
n ≤ x < n + 1.
R4 3
a) 1 x2 dx = x3 |41 = 21 using the fundamental theorem of calculus.
R3
b) 1 [x]2 dx = 1(12 ) + 1(22 ) = 5 = area under the piecewise constant function [x]2
R2 √ √ √ √ √ √
c) 1 [x2 ]dx = 1( 2 − 1) + 2( 3 − 2) + 3(2 − 3) = 5 − 2 − 3 since the function [x]2
√ √ √ √
is constant on intervals [1, 2), [ 2, 3), [ 3, 2), taking values 1, 2, 3 respectively.
R1 R1
d) −1 x12 dx = 2 limt→0+ t x12 dx = 2 limt→0+ (−1 + 1t ) = ∞. The fundamental theorem
does not apply over the interval [−1, 1] because x12 goes to ∞ in the interval. It is also ok
to answer that the integral does not exist (as a real number).

7. Let A, B, C be angles such that eiA , eiB , eiC form an equilateral triangle in the complex
plane. Find values of the given expressions.
a) eiA + eiB + eiC = 0 by taking the vector sum of the three points on the unit circle.
b) cos A + cos B + cos C = 0 = real part of eiA + eiB + eiC , which is 0 by part a.
c) cos 2A+cos 2B+cos 2C = 0 because the points e2iA , e2iB , e2iC on the unit circle also form
an equilateral triangle in the complex plane, since taking B = A + (2π/3), C = A + (4π/3),
we get 2B = 2A + (4π/3) and 2C = 2A + (8π/3) = 2A + (2π/3) + 2π and the last term 2π
does not change the position of the point.
d) cos2 A + cos2 B + cos2 C = 32 because, using the formula for cos 2θ in part c, we get
cos2 A + cos2 B + cos2 C = sin2 A + sin2 B + sin2 C and the sum of the LHS and the RHS
in this equation is 3.

8. Consider the quadratic equation x2 + bx + c = 0, where b and c are chosen randomly

from the interval [0,1] with the probability uniformly distributed over all pairs (b, c). Let
p(b) = the probability that the given equation has a real solution for given (fixed) value of
b. Answer the following questions by filling in the blanks.

3
a) The equation x2 + bx + c = 0 has a real solution if and only if b2 − 4c is ≥ 0.
b) The value of p( 21 ), i.e., the probability that x2 + x
2 + c = 0 has a real solution is
1 2 1 1
Answer: 16 since a real solution occurs precisely when b −4c = 4 −4c ≥ 0, i.e., 0 ≤ c ≤ 16 ,
1 th
which is 16 fraction of the interval [0, 1] over which c ranges.
c) As a function of b, is p(b) increasing, decreasing or constant?
b2 b2
Answer: increasing, because b2 − 4c ≥ 0 if and only if 0 ≤ c ≤ 4 , so p(b) = 4 , which is
increasing for 0 ≤ b ≤ 1.
d) As b and c both vary, what is the probability that x2 + bx + c = 0 has a real solution?
Answer: This is the fraction of the area of the unit square [0, 1] × [0, 1] that is occupied by
2
the region b2 − 4c ≥ 0, i.e., it is the area under the parabola c = b4 from b = 0 to b = 1,
R1 2 1
which is 0 b4 db = 12 .

9. Let R = the set of real numbers. A continuous function f : R → R satisfies f (1) = 1,

f (2) = 4, f (3) = 9 and f (4) = 16. Answer the independent questions below by choosing
the correct option from the given ones.
a) Which of the following values must be in the range of f ?
Options: 5 25 both neither
Answer: 5, by the intermediate value theorem, e.g., over the interval [2,3]. Also f (x) need
not take the value 25, e.g., take f (x) = x2 for x < 4 and f (x) = 16 for x ≥ 4.
b) Suppose f is differentiable. Then which of the follwing intervals must contain an x such
that f 0 (x) = 2x ? Options: (1,2) (2,4) both neither
Answer: both
c) Suppose f is twice differentiable. Which of the following intervals must contain an x
such that f 00 (x) = 2 ? Options: (1,2) (2,4) both neither
Answer: (2,4)
d) Suppose f is a polynomial, then which of the following are possible values of its degree?
Options: 3 4 both neither
Answer: 4
For parts b,c and d, let g(x) = f (x) − x2 . We have g(1) = g(2) = g(3) = g(4) = 0. For
part b, applying Rolle’s theorem to g(x) gives g 0 (x) = 0 for some values of x in each of the
intervals (1, 2), (2, 3), (3, 4). For these values of x, we have f 0 (x) = g 0 (x) + 2x = 2x.
Far part c, take from part b values r ∈ (2, 3) and s ∈ (3, 4) with g 0 (r) = 0 = g 0 (s). Applying
Rolle’s theorem to g 0 (x) in the interval [r, s], we get for some x ∈ (r, s) ⊂ (2, 4) the equality
g 00 (x) = 0 and so f 00 (x) = g 00 (x) + 2 = 2. There need not be an x ∈ (1, 2) with f 00 (x) = 2,
i.e., g 00 (x) = 0. There are many ways to arrange this, for example let g(x) = sin(πx). Then

4
g 00 (x) = −π 2 sin(πx), which is 0 only when x is an integer, in particular g 00 (x) 6= 0 for any
x ∈ (1, 2).
For part d, note that g(x), now being a polynomial vanishing at 1, 2, 3 and 4, must be
divisible by (x − 1)(x − 2)(x − 3)(x − 4). So g(x), if non-zero, must have degree at least 4.
Thus f (x) = x2 or a polynomial of degree at least 4.

10. Let

x4
f (x) =
(x − 1)(x − 2) · · · (x − n)
where the denominator is a product of n factors, n being a positive integer. It is also given
that the X-axis is a horizontal asymptote for the graph of f . Answer the independent
questions below by choosing the correct option from the given ones.
a) How many vertical asymptotes does the graph of f have?
Options: n less than n more than n impossible to decide
Answer: n, at x = 1, 2, . . . , n.
b) What can you deduce about the value of n ?
Options: n < 4 n=4 n>4 impossible to decide
Answer: n > 4, because limx→±∞ f (x) = 0 and for this to happen, the degree of the
denominator of f (x) must be greater than that of the numerator.
c) As one travels along the graph of f from left to right, at which of the following points
is the sign of f (x) guaranteed to change from positive to negative?
Options: x = 0 x=1 x=n−1 x=n
Answer: x = n−1, because f (x) is positive for x > n and f (x) changes sign precisely when
it passes through x = 1, 2 . . . , n. Note that the sign of f (x) for x < 0 and for x ∈ (0, 1)
depends on the parity of n.
d) How many inflection points does the graph of f have in the region x < 0 ?
Options: none 1 more than 1 impossible to decide
(Hint: Sketching is better than calculating.)
Answer: more than 1. Note that f (x) = 0 only at x = 0, with multiplicity 4. Without loss
of generality, let n be even. (If n is odd, the reasoning is completely parallel, see note at
the end.) Now f (x) > 0 for x < 1 except at x = 0 and f has all derivatives for x < 1. Due
to the multiple root at x = 0, the graph of f must be concave up (i.e. f 00 (x) > 0) near
x = 0. Further, as x → −∞, the values of f (x) stay positive and → 0. Therefore, as one
traces the graph leftward from the origin, it must become concave down at least once and
eventually concave up again so as to approach the X-axis from above. (Note: If n is odd,
f (x) < 0 for x < 1 except at x = 0. As one traces the graph leftward from the origin, the
function is initially as well as eventually concave down and must be concave up at least
once in-between so as to approach the X-axis from below.)

5
Part B. (Problems 1–4 × 15 points + problems 5–6 × 20 points = 100 points.) Solve
these problems in the space provided for each problem after this page. You may solve only
part of a problem and get partial credit. Clearly explain your entire reasoning. No
credit will be given without reasoning.

1. In triangle ABC, the bisector of angle A meets side BC in point D and the bisector of
angle B meets side AC in point E. Given that DE is parallel to AB, show that AE = BD
and that the triangle ABC is isosceles.
Answer: ∠EAD = ∠DAB = ∠EDA, the first equality because AD bisects ∠EAB and
the second because alternate angles made by line AD intersecting parallel lines DE and
AB are equal. Thus 4EAD is isosceles with EA = ED. Similarly ED = DB using the
fact that BE bisects ∠DBA also intersects parallel lines DE and AB. Therefore EA =
ED = DB. Now by the basic proportionality theorem, CE CD
EA = DB . As the denominators
EA and DB are equal, the numerators must be equal as well, i.e., CE = CD. Finally,
CA = CE + EA = CD + DB = CB, so 4ABC is isosceles.

2. A curve C has the property that the slope of the tangent at any given point (x, y) on
2
+y 2
C is x 2xy .

a) Find the general equation for such a curve. Possible hint: let z = xy .

b) Specify all possible shapes of the curves in this family. (For example, does the family
include an ellipse?)
Answer: The defining property of the curve C is equivalent to the differential equation
dy x2 +y 2
dx = 2xy = 12 ( xy + xy ). It is convenient to let z = y/x, so the equation becomes
dy
dx = 21 ( z1 + z). To get this in terms of only x and z, differentiate z = y/x with respect to x
dy 2
dz
to get dx = x1 dx − xy2 = x1 ( dx
dy
− z) = x1 ( 12 ( z1 + z) − z) = x1 1−z
2z , where we have substituted
dy
for dx using the differential equation and then simplified. Separating the variables and
integrating, we get dx
R R 2zdz 2
x = 1−z 2 , which gives log |x| = − log |1 − z |+ a constant, i.e.,
K
log |1 − z 2 | = − log |x| + K = log |x|−1 + K. Exponentiating, we get 1 − z 2 = ± ex = c
x,
2
where c is a nonzero constant. Substituting z = y/x, we get 1 − xy 2 = xc , i.e., x2 − y 2 = cx.
To be precise, we have to delete the points (0, 0) and (c, 0) from this solution, because
2
dy +y 2
for the given equation dx = x 2xy to make sense, both x and y must be nonzero. If the
dy
equation were given as 2xy dx = x2 + y 2 , then this issue would not arise.
2
To see the shape of the curve, complete the square to get (x − 2c )2 − y 2 = c4 , which is
a hyperbola when c 6= 0. (Note: By differentiating x2 − y 2 = cx, it is easy to see that
2
dy +y 2
dx =
2x−c
y = x 2xy and that this holds even when c = 0. Thus we get the two straight lines
y = ±x also as solutions. The reason the above answer missed this possibility was because
we put 1 − z 2 in the denominator while separating variables, which precludes z = ±1, i.e.,
y = ±x. To be precise, even here we have to delete the origin from the two lines.)

6
3. A positive integer N has its first, third and fifth digits equal and its second, fourth and
sixth digits equal. In other words, when written in the usual decimal system it has the
form xyxyxy, where x and y are the digits. Show that N cannot be a perfect power, i.e.,
N cannot equal ab , where a and b are positive integers with b > 1.
Answer: We have N = (105 + 103 + 10)x + (104 + 102 + 1)y = 10101(10x + y) =
3 × 7 × 13 × 37 × (10x + y). Therefore for N to be a perfect power, the primes 3,7,13,37
must all occur (and in fact with equal power) as factors in the prime factorization of
10x + y. In particular 10x + y ≥ 10101. But since x and y are digits, each is between 0
and 9, so 10x + y ≤ 99. So N cannot be a perfect power.

4. Suppose f (x) is a function from R to R such that f (f (x)) = f (x)2013 . Show that there
are infinitely many such functions, of which exactly four are polynomials. (Here R = the
set of real numbers.)
Answer: If f is a polynomial, then we make two cases. (i) If f (x) = a constant c, then
the given condition is equivalent to c = c2013 , which happens precisely for three values
of c, namely c = 0, 1, −1 (since we have c(c2012 − 1) = 0, so c = 0 or c2012 = 1). Thus
there are three constant functions with the given property. (ii) If f (x) is a non-constant
polynomial, then consider its range set A = {f (x)|x ∈ R}. Now for all a ∈ A, we have by
the given property f (a) = a2013 . So the polynomial f (x) − x2013 has all elements of A as
its roots. Since there are infinitely many values in A (e.g. applying the intermediate value
theorem because f is continuous), the polynomial f (x) − x2013 has infinitely many roots
and thus must be the zero polynomial, i.e., f (x) = x2013 for all real number x.
Note: One can also deduce that the degree of f must be 0 or 2013 by equating the degrees
of f (f (x)) and f (x)2013 . Then, in the non-constant case, it is possible to argue first that
the leading coefficient is 1 and then that all other coefficients must be 0.
To find infinitely many function with the given property, define f (0) = 0, f (1) = 1 and
f (−1) = −1. For every other real number x, arbitrarily define f (x) to be 0, 1 or −1. It is
easy to see that any such function satisfies the given property. (Other answers are possible,
e.g., more systematically, observe that f (a) = a2013 for at least one real number a (e.g.,
i
any number in the range of f ) and then this forces f (x) = x2013 for all x ∈ S = {a2013 |i =
0, 1, 2, . . .}. We use this as follows. Fix a real number a. Then define f (x) = x2013 for all
i
x ∈ S = {a2013 |i = 0, 1, 2, . . .}. For all x 6∈ S, simply define f (x) = any element of the set
S, e.g., a itself will do.)

1
5. Consider the function f (x) = ax + x+1 , where a is a positive constant. Let L = the
1
largest value of f (x) and S = the smallest value of f (x) for x ∈ [0, 1]. Show that L−S > 12
for any a > 0.
1
Answer: Let f (x) = ax + x+1 . We wish to understand the minimum and maximum of
this function in the interval [0, 1]. Now f (0) = 1, f (1) = a + 21 and f 0 (x) = a − (x+1) 1
2.

Over the interval [0, 1], the value of f 0 (x) increases from a − 1 at x = 0 to a − 14 at x = 1.

7
We should consider what happens to the sign of f 0 (x). For this we consider the following
cases.

(1) Suppose a ≤ 1/4. Because 1/(x + 1)2 ≥ 1/4 on the interval [0, 1], f 0 (x) ≤ 0, so the
maximum is at 0 and the minimum is at x = 1. So the difference is 1 − (1/2 + a) =
1/2 − a ≥ 1/4 ≥ 1/12.

(2) Suppose a ≥ 1. Then f 0 (x) ≥ 0 on the interval [0, 1], so maximum is at 1 and minimum
at 0. We get a + 1/2 − 1 = a − 1/2 ≥ 1/2 ≥ 1/12.

(3) Suppose 1/4 ≤ a ≤ 1. Now f 0 (x) = 0 at x̃ = √1a − 1. For this range of a, x̃ ∈ [0, 1].
In the interval [0, x̃], f 0 (x) ≤ 0 and in the interval [x̃, 1], f 0 (x) ≥ 0. Now we make two
sub-cases depending on at which endpoint the maximum occurs.

(3i) Suppose 1/4 ≤√a ≤ 1/2.√ Then √ f (0) ≥ f (1). So minimum is at x̃, maximum is
at x = 0. f (x̃) = a√− a + a √ = 2 a − a. So the difference√between maximum and
2
minimum
√ 2 is 1 + a −
√ 22 a = (1 −√ a) . This is smallest when a is3 closest to 1 and so
1
(1 − a) ≥ (1 − 1/ 2) = 3/2 − 2. This is bigger than 1/12 since ( 2 − 12 ) = 17/12 and
172 = 289 ≥ 2 × 122 .

(3ii) Suppose 1/2 ≤ a √ ≤ 1. Now√f (1) ≥ f (0).

√ Max is at √
1 and minimum is at x̃. The
difference is a + 1/2 − a + a − a = 2a − 2 a + 1/2 = ( 2a − √12 )2 . By a calculation
similar to the above it is bigger than 1/12.

6. Define fk (n) to be the sum of all possible products of k distinct integers chosen from
the set {1, 2, . . . , n}, i.e.,
X
fk (n) = i1 i2 . . . ik .
1≤i1 <i2 <...<ik ≤n

a) For k > 1, write a recursive formula for the function fk , i.e., a formula for fk (n) in
terms of f` (m), where ` < k or (` = k and m < n).
b) Show that fk (n), as a function of n, is a polynomial of degree 2k.
c) Express f2 (n) as a polynomial in variable n.
Answer: a) Break up the terms in the definition of fk (n) into two groups: the terms in
which ik = n add up to nfk−1 (n − 1) and the remaining terms, i.e., the ones in which
ik ≤ n − 1, add up to fk (n − 1). So we get fk (n) = nfk−1 (n − 1) + fk (n − 1).

c) By part a we have f2 (n) − f2 (n − 1) = nf1 (n − 1) = n × n(n−1)2 = 12 (n3 − n2 ). Similarly

f2 (n − 1) − f2 (n − 2) = 21 ((n − 1)3 − (n − 1)2 ) and so on up to f2 (2) − f2 (1) = 12 (23 − 22 ).
Note that f2 (1) = 0, which we may also write as 12 (13 − 12 ). Adding up, we get for
Pj=n 2 2
any n ≥ 1, f2 (n) = j=1 12 (j 3 − j 2 ) = 12 ( n (n+1)
4 − n(n+1)(2n+1)
6 ), where we have used
standard formulas for the sum of first n cubes and of first n squares.

8
 Pn
b) We prove the statement by induction on k. First f1 (n) = i=1 i = n(n+1)2 , a polynomial
of degree 2 as desired. For k > 1, we have by part a the equation fk (n) − fk (n − 1) =
nfk−1 (n − 1). The right hand side is a polynomial of degree 1 + 2(k − 1) = 2k − 1, where
2(k − 1) is the degree of fk−1 (n − 1) by induction and the added 1 comes from the factor
n. Since successive differences in the values of fk are given by a polynomial of degree
2k − 1, the function fk on positive integers is given by a polynomial of degree 1 more, i.e.,
of degree 2k.
Note: The previous statement is a standard fact, which can be explained as follows. (1)
If we assume that fk (n) is a polynomial, then its degree is easily found, because for any
polynomial f of degree m, its “successive difference” function f (x)−f (x−1) is a polynomial
of degree m − 1. (Reason: If the leading term of f (x) is axm , then the leading term in
f (x) − f (x − 1) is amxm−1 , as seen by expanding the power of x − 1 in axm − a(x − 1)m .
The remaining terms in f (x) − f (x − 1) do not matter because by expanding powers of
x − 1 in them and simplifying, we only get monomials of degree < m − 1.) (2) In fact,
based on the difference equation, fk (n) must be a polynomial in the variable n. This is a
consequence of the following well-known fact.
Claim: given a polynomial h(x) of degree d, there is a polynomial g(x) of degree d + 1
such that g(x) − g(x − 1) = h(x). Proof: Induction on d, the degree of h. If h(x) = c,
a constant, then g(x) = cx works. Now for d > 1, it is enough to find a polynomial g(x)
such that g(x) − g(x − 1) = xd (because if h(x) = cxd + h̃(x), where h̃ has degree < d, by
induction we find g̃ for h̃ and then cg(x) + g̃(x) works for h(x)). To find such g(x), notice
that for g1 (x) = xd+1 , we have h1 (x) = g1 (x) − g1 (x − 1) = (d + 1)xd + h2 (x), where h2 (x)
is a polynomial of degree d − 1. By induction h2 (x) = g2 (x) − g2 (x − 1) for a polynomial
1
g2 (x) of degree d. Now g(x) = d+1 (g1 (x) − g2 (x)) works.

9
 CHENNAI MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE
Undergraduate Programme in Mathematics and Computer Science/Physics
Common Entrance Examination
15 May 2014

Enter your Registration Number here: CMIUG ID– OR here: UG–

Enter the name of the city where you are writing this test:

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS!

• Ensure that this booklet has all 13 printed sheets containing the following: this cover page,
12 questions in part A (pages 1-2), the answer sheet for part A (page 3), 6 questions in part B (pages
4-5) and individual answer sheets for each question in part B (pages 6-12). From page 6 to 10 one side
is intentionally left blank after each numbered page. For rough work use the blank pages at the end.

• Time allowed is 3 hours. Total points 130 = 45 points for part A + 85 points for part B.

• Part A will be used for screening. Part B will be graded only if your score a certain minimum in
part A. This minimum will be no more than 25 points out of 45. However your scores in both parts
will be used while making the final decision. Specific instructions for each part are given below.

• Advice: Attempt all questions in part A before going to part B. However, also ensure that you have
about 2 hours (or at least 90 minutes) left for part B.

For office use only

P
Points Remarks Points Remarks

Part A
B1
Part B
B2
Total

B3

B4

B5

B6

Total
 2014 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

Read the instructions on the front of the booklet carefully!

Part A. Write your final answers on page 3.

Part A is worth a total of 45 points = 3 points each for A1 to A3 + 4 points each for A4-A12.
Points will be given based only on clearly legible final answers filled in on page 3.
Questions A1 to A3: For each option given below, decide whether the statement in it is
True or False. You will get 0 points for a question unless you decide all options in that
question correctly. Write your answer as a sequence of letters T and F in the designated
place on page 3. E.g., the answer to the question: True or False? (A) 2+2 = 4 (B) 2+2 = 5
(C) 32 + 42 = 52 would be written as TFT.

A1. Let α, β and c be positive numbers less than 1, with c rational and α, β irrational.
(A) The number α + P β must be irrational.
(B) The infinite sum ∞ i 2
i=0 αc R = α + αc + αc + · · · must be irrational.
π
(C) The value of the integral 0 (β cos x + c) dx must be irrational.
R∞ 2
A2. Consider the intergal I = 1 eax +bx+c dx, where a, b, c are constants. Some combi-
nations of values for these constants are given below and you have to decide in each case
whether the integral I converges.
(A) I converges for a = ∩1 b = 10 c = 100.
(B) I converges for a = 1 b = ∩10 c = ∩100.
(C) I converges for a = 0 b = ∩1 c = 100.
(D) I converges for a = 0 b = 0 c = ∩100.
A3. Given a real number x, define g(x) = x2 ex if x ≥ 0 and g(x) = xe−x if x < 0.
(A) The function g is continuous everywhere.
(B) The function g is differentiable everywhere.
(C) The function g is one-to-one.
(D) The range of g is the set of all real numbers.
Questions A4 to A13: Unless specified otherwise, each answer is either a rational number
or, where appropriate, one of the phrases “infinite”, “does not exist”, or “not possible to
decide”. If the answer is an integer, write it in the usual decimal form. Write non-integer
rationals as ratios of two coprime integers. For questions requiring more than one answer,
write all answers on the designated line in the order in which they are asked, separated by
commas. In such questions you may get partial credit.
A4. Find the slope of a line L that satisfies both of the following properties: (i) L is tangent
to the graph of y = x3 . (ii) L passes through the point (0,200).
A5. A regular 100-sided polygon is inscribed in a circle. Suppose three of the 100 vertices
are chosen at random, all such combinations being equally likely. Find the probability that
the three chosen points form vertices of a right angled triangle.
50!
A6. What is the smallest positive integer n for which 24n
is not an integer?
A7. Let f (x) = (x ∩ a)(x ∩ b)3 (x ∩ c)5 (x ∩ d)7 , where a, b, c, d are real numbers with
a < b < c < d. Thus f (x) has 16 real roots counting multiplicities and among them 4 are
distinct from each other. Consider f 0 (x), i.e. the derivative of f (x). Find the following, if
you can: (i) the number of real roots of f 0 (x), counting multiplicities, (ii) the number of
distinct real roots of f 0 (x).
A8. Let f (x) = 7x32 + 5x22 + 3x12 + x2 . (i) Find the remainder when f (x) is divided by
x2 + 1. (ii) Find the remainder when xf (x) is divided by x2 + 1. In each case your answer
should be a polynomial of the form ax + b, where a and b are constants.
A9. Let θ1 , θ2 , . . . , θ13 be real
√ numbers and let A be the average of the complex numbers
iθ1 iθ2 iθ13
e , e . . . , e , where i = ∩1. As the values of θ’s vary over all 13-tuples of real numbers,
find (i) the maximum value attained by |A|, (ii) the minimum value attained by |A|.
A10. In each of the following independent situations we want to construct a triangle ABC
satisfying the given conditions. In each case state state how many such triangles ABC exist
up to congruence.
(i) AB = 30 BC = 95 AC = 55
(ii) ∠A = 30◦ ∠B = 95◦ ∠C = 55◦
(iii) ∠A = 30◦ ∠B = 95◦ BC = 55
(iv) ∠A = 30◦ AB = 95 BC = 55
A11. Let An = the area of a regular n-sided polygon inscribed in a circle of radius 1 (i.e.,
vertices of this regular n-sided polygon lie on a circle of radius 1). (i) Find A12 . (ii) Find
bA2014 c, i.e., the greatest integer ≤ A2014 .
A12. The total length of all 12 sides of a rectangular box is 60. (i) Write the possible values
of the volume of the box. Your answer should be an interval. Now suppose in addition that
the surface area of the box is given to be 56. Find, if you can, (ii) the length of the longest
diagonal of the box (iii) the volume of the box.

Page 2
 Answers to part A
This is the only page that will be seen for grading part A, so write the answer(s) to each ques-
tion on the designated line below. Write only the final answers, do not show any intermediate
work. Illegible/unclear answers will not be considered.

A1. A2. A3.

A4.

A5.

A6.

A7.

A8.

A9.

A10.

A11.

A12.

Page 3
Part B. (10 points for problem B1 + 15 points each for problems B2 to B6 = 85 points.)
Solve these problems in the space provided for each problem from page 6. You may solve
only part of a problem and get partial credit. If you cannot solve an earlier part of a problem,
you may assume it to solve a later part. Clearly explain your entire reasoning. No
credit will be given without reasoning.

B1. Find the area of the region in the XY plane consisting of all points in the set

{(x, y)|x2 + y 2 ≤ 144 and sin(2x + 3y) ≤ 0}.

B2. Let x be a real number such that x2014 ∩ x2004 and x2009 ∩ x2004 are both integers. Show
that x is an integer. (Hint: it may be useful to first prove that x is rational.)

B3. (i) How many functions are there from the set {1, . . . , k} to the set {1, . . . , n}?
(ii) Let Pk denote the set of all subsets of {1, . . . , k}. Find a formula for the number of
functions f from Pk to {1, . . . , n} such that f (A ∪ B) = the larger of the two integers f (A)
and f (B). Your answer need not be a closed formula but it should be simple enough to use
for given values of n and k, e.g., to see that for k = 3 and n = 4 there are 100 such functions.
Example: When k = 2, the set P2 contains 4 elements: the empty set φ, {1}, {2} and
{1, 2}. The function f given by φ → 2, {1} → 3, {2} → 4, {1, 2} → 4 satisfies the given
condition. But the function g given by φ → 2, {1} → 3, {2} → 4, {1, 2} → 5 does not,
because g({1} ∪ {2}) = g({1, 2}) = 5 6= the larger of g({1}) and g({2}) = max(3, 4) = 4.

B4. (i) Let f be continuous on [∩1, 1] and differentiable at 0. For x 6= 0, define a function g
by g(x) = f (x)−f
x
(0)
. Can g(0) be defined so that the extended function g is continuous at 0?
(ii) For f as in part (i), show that the following limit exists.
!
Z −r Z 1
f (x) f (x)
lim dx + dx
r→0+ −1 x r x
(iii) Give an example showing that without the hypothesis of f being differentiable at 0, the
conclusion in (ii) need not hold.

B5. (i) Let f (x) = an xn + · · · + a1 x + a0 be a polynomial, where a0 , . . . , an are real numbers

with an 6= 0. Define the “discrete derivative of f ”, denoted ∆f , to be the function given by
∆f (x) = f (x) ∩ f (x ∩ 1). Show that ∆f is also a polynomial and find its leading term.
(ii) For integers n ≥ 0, define polynomials pn of degree n as follows: p0 (x) = 1 and for n > 0,
let pn (x) = n!1 x(x ∩ 1)(x ∩ 2) · · · (x ∩ n + 1). So we have

x(x ∩ 1) x(x ∩ 1)(x ∩ 2)

p0 (x) = 1 , p1 (x) = x , p2 (x) = , p3 (x) = ···
2 3!

Page 4
Show that for anyPpolynomial f of degree n, there exist unique real numbers b0 , b1 , . . . , bn
such that f (x) = ni=0 bi pi (x).
(iii) Now suppose that f (x) is a polynomial such that for each integer m, f (m) is also an
integer. Using the above parts (or otherwise), show that for such f , the bi obtained in part
(ii) are integers.

B6. (i) See the figure below. Two circles G1 , G2 intersect at points X, Y . Choose two other
points A, B on G1 as shown in the figure. The line segment from A to X is extended to
intersect G2 at point L. The line segment from L to Y is extended to meet G1 at point C.
Likewise the line segment from B to Y is extended to meet G2 at point M and the segment
from M to X is extended to meet G1 at point D. Show that AB is parallel to CD.
A D
X
L

Y M
B
C

(ii) See the figure below. A triangle CDE is given. A point A is chosen between D and E.
A point B is chosen between C and E so that AB is parallel to CD. Let F denote the point
of intersection of segments AC and BD. Show that the line joining E and F bisects both
segments AB and segment CD. (Hint: You may use Ceva’s theorem. Alternatively, you
may additionally assume that the trapezium ABCD is a cyclic quadrilateral and proceed.)
E

A B
F

D C

(iii) Using parts (i) and (ii) describe a procedure to do the following task: given two circles
G1 and G2 intersecting at two points X and Y determine the center of each circle using
only a straightedge. Note: Recall that a straightedge is a ruler without any markings. Given
two points A, B, a straightedge allows one to construct the line segment joining A, B. Also,
given any two non-parallel segments, we can use a straightedge to find the intersection point
of the lines containing the two segments by extending them if necessary.

Page 5
B1. Find the area of the region in the XY plane consisting of all points in the set

{(x, y)|x2 + y 2 ≤ 144 and sin(2x + 3y) ≤ 0}.

Page 6
B2. Let x be a real number such that x2014 ∩ x2004 and x2009 ∩ x2004 are both integers. Show
that x is an integer. (Hint: it may be useful to first prove that x is rational.)

Page 7
B3. (i) How many functions are there from the set {1, . . . , k} to the set {1, . . . , n}?
(ii) Let Pk denote the set of all subsets of {1, . . . , k}. Find a formula for the number of
functions f from Pk to {1, . . . , n} such that f (A ∪ B) = the larger of the two integers f (A)
and f (B). Your answer need not be a closed formula but it should be simple enough to use
for given values of n and k, e.g., to see that for k = 3 and n = 4 there are 100 such functions.
Example: When k = 2, the set P2 contains 4 elements: the empty set φ, {1}, {2} and
{1, 2}. The function f given by φ → 2, {1} → 3, {2} → 4, {1, 2} → 4 satisfies the given
condition. But the function g given by φ → 2, {1} → 3, {2} → 4, {1, 2} → 5 does not,
because g({1} ∪ {2}) = g({1, 2}) = 5 6= the larger of g({1}) and g({2}) = max(3, 4) = 4.

Page 8
B4. (i) Let f be continuous on [∩1, 1] and differentiable at 0. For x 6= 0, define a function g
by g(x) = f (x)−f
x
(0)
. Can g(0) be defined so that the extended function g is continuous at 0?
(ii) For f as in part (i), show that the following limit exists.
!
Z −r Z 1
f (x) f (x)
lim+ dx + dx
r→0 −1 x r x
(iii) Give an example showing that without the hypothesis of f being differentiable at 0, the
conclusion in (ii) need not hold.

Page 9
B5. (i) Let f (x) = an xn + · · · + a1 x + a0 be a polynomial, where a0 , . . . , an are real numbers
with an 6= 0. Define the “discrete derivative of f ”, denoted ∆f , to be the function given by
∆f (x) = f (x) ∩ f (x ∩ 1). Show that ∆f is also a polynomial and find its leading term.
(ii) For integers n ≥ 0, define polynomials pn of degree n as follows: p0 (x) = 1 and for n > 0,
let pn (x) = n!1 x(x ∩ 1)(x ∩ 2) · · · (x ∩ n + 1). So we have

x(x ∩ 1) x(x ∩ 1)(x ∩ 2)

p0 (x) = 1 , p1 (x) = x , p2 (x) = , p3 (x) = ···
2 3!
Show that for anyPpolynomial f of degree n, there exist unique real numbers b0 , b1 , . . . , bn
such that f (x) = ni=0 bi pi (x).
(iii) Now suppose that f (x) is a polynomial such that for each integer m, f (m) is also an
integer. Using the above parts (or otherwise), show that for such f , the bi obtained in part
(ii) are integers.

Page 10
B6. (i) See the figure below. Two circles G1 , G2 intersect at points X, Y . Choose two other
points A, B on G1 as shown in the figure. The line segment from A to X is extended to
intersect G2 at point L. The line segment from L to Y is extended to meet G1 at point C.
Likewise the line segment from B to Y is extended to meet G2 at point M and the segment
from M to X is extended to meet G1 at point D. Show that AB is parallel to CD.

A D
X

Y M

B
C

Page 11
(ii) See the figure below. A triangle CDE is given. A point A is chosen between D and E.
A point B is chosen between C and E so that AB is parallel to CD. Let F denote the point
of intersection of segments AC and BD. Show that the line joining E and F bisects both
segments AB and segment CD. (Hint: You may use Ceva’s theorem. Alternatively, you
may additionally assume that the trapezium ABCD is a cyclic quadrilateral and proceed.)
E

A B

D C

(iii) Write your answer to this part on the back side. Using parts (i) and (ii) describe
a procedure to do the following task: given two circles G1 and G2 intersecting at two points
X and Y determine the center of each circle using only a straightedge. Note: Recall that a
straightedge is a ruler without any markings. Given two points A, B, a straightedge allows
one to construct the line segment joining A, B. Also, given any two non-parallel segments, we
can use a straightedge to find the intersection point of the lines containing the two segments
by extending them if necessary.

Page 12
 Solutions to 2014 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

A1. Let α, β and c be positive numbers less than 1, with c rational and α, β irrational.
(A) The number α + P β must be irrational.
(B) The infinite sum ∞ i 2
i=0 αc R = α + αc + αc + · · · must be irrational.
π
(C) The value of the integral 0 (β cos x + c) dx must be irrational.
Answer: FTT
R∞ 2
A2. Consider the intergal I = 1 eax +bx+c dx, where a, b, c are constants. Some combi-
nations of values for these constants are given below and you have to decide in each case
whether the integral I converges.
(A) I converges for a = ∩1 b = 10 c = 100.
(B) I converges for a = 1 b = ∩10 c = ∩100.
(C) I converges for a = 0 b = ∩1 c = 100.
(D) I converges for a = 0 b = 0 c = ∩100.
Answer: TFTF

A3. Given a real number x, define g(x) = x2 ex if x ≥ 0 and g(x) = xe−x if x < 0.
(A) The function g is continuous everywhere.
(B) The function g is differentiable everywhere.
(C) The function g is one-to-one.
(D) The range of g is the set of all real numbers.
Answer: TFTT

A4. Find the slope of a line L that satisfies both of the following properties: (i) L is tangent
to the graph of y = x3 . (ii) L passes through the point (0,2000).
1
Answer: 300 (Note: if the point in (ii) is taken to be (0,200), then the answer is 30(10) 3 .)

A5. A regular 100-sided polygon is inscribed in a circle. Suppose three of the 100 vertices
are chosen at random, all such combinations being equally likely. Find the probability that
the three chosen points form vertices of a right angled triangle.
1
Answer: 33

50!
A6. What is the smallest positive integer n for which 24n
is not an integer?
Answer: 16
A7. Let f (x) = (x ∩ a)(x ∩ b)3 (x ∩ c)5 (x ∩ d)7 , where a, b, c, d are real numbers with
a < b < c < d. Thus f (x) has 16 real roots counting multiplicities and among them 4 are
distinct from each other. Consider f 0 (x), i.e. the derivative of f (x). Find the following, if
you can: (i) the number of real roots of f 0 (x), counting multiplicities, (ii) the number of
distinct real roots of f 0 (x).
Answers: 15, 6

A8. Let f (x) = 7x32 + 5x22 + 3x12 + x2 . (i) Find the remainder when f (x) is divided by
x2 + 1. (ii) Find the remainder when xf (x) is divided by x2 + 1. In each case your answer
should be a polynomial of the form ax + b, where a and b are constants.
Answers: 0x + 4, 4x + 0

A9. Let θ1 , θ2 , . . . , θ13 be real

√ numbers and let A be the average of the complex numbers
iθ1 iθ2 iθ13
e , e . . . , e , where i = ∩1. As the values of θ’s vary over all 13-tuples of real numbers,
find (i) the maximum value attained by |A|, (ii) the minimum value attained by |A|.
Answers: 1, 0

A10. In each of the following independent situations we want to construct a triangle ABC
satisfying the given conditions. In each case state state how many such triangles ABC exist
up to congruence.
(i) AB = 30 BC = 95 AC = 55
(ii) ∠A = 30◦ ∠B = 95◦ ∠C = 55◦
(iii) ∠A = 30◦ ∠B = 95◦ BC = 55
(iv) ∠A = 30◦ AB = 95 BC = 55
Answers: 0, infinite, 1, 2

A11. Let An = the area of a regular n-sided polygon inscribed in a circle of radius 1 (i.e.,
vertices of this regular n-sided polygon lie on a circle of radius 1). (i) Find A12 . (ii) Find
bA2014 c, i.e., the greatest integer ≤ A2014 .
Answers: 3, 3

A12. The total length of all 12 sides of a rectangular box is 60. (i) Write the possible values
of the volume of the box. Your answer should be an interval. Now suppose in addition that
the surface area of the box is given to be 56. Find, if you can, (ii) the length of the longest
diagonal of the box (iii) the volume of the box.
Answers: (0, 125], 13, not possible to decide

Page 2
B1. Find the area of the region in the XY plane consisting of all points in the set
{(x, y)|x2 + y 2 ≤ 144 and sin(2x + 3y) ≤ 0}.

Answer: The area of the circular region S = {(x, y)|x2 + y 2 ≤ 144} is 144π. The condition
sin(2x + 3y) ≤ 0 is equivalent to 2x + 3y being in one of the intervals [kπ, (k + 1)π], where
k is an odd integer. The key point is that due to the symmetry of the circle S about any
diameter, in particular the diameter 2x + 3y = 0, the strip inside S lying between the lines
2x + 3y = kπ and 2x + 3y = (k + 1)π is the mirror image of strip lying between the lines
2x + 3y = ∩kπ and 2x + 3y = ∩(k + 1)π. For each integer k, precisely one of these two
equal strips is included in the desired area. Thus the desired area is half that of S, i.e., 72π.

B2. Let x be a real number such that x2014 ∩ x2004 and x2009 ∩ x2004 are both integers. Show
that x is an integer. (Hint: it may be useful to first prove that x is rational.)
Answer: Here is one of several possible ways. x2014 ∩ x2009 = x2009 (x5 ∩ 1) and x2004 (x5 ∩ 1)
are integers, which we may assume to be nonzero (else x = 0 or 1 and we are done). Dividing,
we get that x5 is rational. Now dividing the integer x2004 (x5 ∩ 1) by the rational number
x5 ∩ 1, we see that x2004 is rational. Since 2004 and 5 are coprime, x is rational as well.
(E.g., x5 is rational, so (x5 )401 = x2005 is rational. Now divide by the rational number x2004 .)
2009 2004 2009 5 2004
Let x = ab with a, b coprime integers. Consider the integer ab2009 ∩ ab2004 = a b−b
2009
a
. If a
5 2004
prime p divides the denominator, it must divide the numerator as well. Now p|b, so p|b a ,
so p|a2009 and finally p|a, a contradiction. Thus b = 1, i.e., x is an integer.

B3. (i) How many functions are there from the set {1, . . . , k} to the set {1, . . . , n}?
(ii) Let Pk denote the set of all subsets of {1, . . . , k}. Find a formula for the number of
functions f from Pk to {1, . . . , n} such that f (A ∪ B) = the larger of the two integers f (A)
and f (B). Your answer need not be a closed formula but it should be simple enough to use
for given values of n and k, e.g., to see that for k = 3 and n = 4 there are 100 such functions.
Example: When k = 2, the set P2 contains 4 elements: the empty set φ, {1}, {2} and
{1, 2}. The function f given by φ → 2, {1} → 3, {2} → 4, {1, 2} → 4 satisfies the given
condition. But the function g given by φ → 2, {1} → 3, {2} → 4, {1, 2} → 5 does not,
because g({1} ∪ {2}) = g({1, 2}) = 5 6= the larger of g({1}) and g({2}) = max(3, 4) = 4.
Answer: (i) As there are n choices each for the values of f (1), . . . , f (k) and as all these
choices are independent of each other, the number of functions is nk .
(ii) Note that f (A) = max {f ({j})|j ∈ A}, so the function f is completely decided by its
values on the empty set φ and on the one element subsets {1}, {2}, . . . , {k}. If f (φ) = i, then
each of f ({1}), f ({2}), . . . , f ({k}) can be chosen to be any of the numbers i, i + 1, . . . , n.
Thus there are k independent choices for each of which there are n ∩ i + 1 options. So the
number of desired functions for which f (φ) = i is (n ∩ i + 1)k . Now we sum over all values
of i = 1, 2, . . . , n to get the total number to be 1k + 2k + · · · + nk . (When k = 3 and n = 4,
we get 13 + 23 + 33 + 43 = 100, as mentioned in the problem.)

Page 3
B4. (i) Let f be continuous on [∩1, 1] and differentiable at 0. For x 6= 0, define a function g
by g(x) = f (x)−f
x
(0)
. Can g(0) be defined so that the extended function g is continuous at 0?
(ii) For f as in part (i), show that the following limit exists.
!
Z −r Z 1
f (x) f (x)
lim+ dx + dx
r→0 −1 x r x
(iii) Give an example showing that without the hypothesis of f being differentiable at 0, the
conclusion in (ii) need not hold.
Answer: (i) Yes. We must define g(0) = limx→0 g(x) = f 0 (0), which exists by hypothesis.
R −r R −r R −r f (0) R −r f (x)
(ii) Consider −1 g(x) dx = −1 f (x) dx ∩ dx = dx ∩ f (0) ln r. Similarly
R1 R 1 f (x) R 1 f (0) x R 1 f (x)−1 x −1 x

r
g(x) dx = r x dx ∩ r x dx = r x dx + f (0) ln r. (Or observe that since x1 is an
Rb R −a
odd function, for 0 < a < b, a x1 dx = ∩ −b x1 dx.) Thus the expression inside the given
R −r R1
limit is equal to −1 g(x) dx + r g(x) dx, as ±f (0) ln r cancels out.
Applying the fundamental theorem of calculus to the continuous R t function g, we get an
antiderivative G of g, where G is defined on [∩1, 1] by G(t) = −1 g(x) dx. So the given
R −r R1
limit = limr→0+ ( −1 g(x) dx + r g(x) dx) = limr→0+ (G(∩r) ∩ G(∩1) + G(1) ∩ G(r)) =
G(0) ∩ 0 + G(1) ∩ G(0) = G(1), where we have used the fundamental theorem to calculate
the integrals and the fact that G, being differentiable, is also continuous.
(iii) Define f (x) = − ln1 x for x ∈ (0, 1], f (x) = ln 1| x | for x ∈ [∩1, 0), and f (0) = 0. Verify
2 2
that this works: f is continuous at 0 and so on [∩1, 1]. It is not differentiable at 0 as the
relevant limit is +∞. The two integrals in the desired limit are equal (because f is an odd
function, so f (x)
x
is even) and each integral is +∞ as it amounts to limt→0+ ln | ln t|. Can you
1
see how one might think of such f ? E.g., check that choices like |x| or even x 3 do not work.
Compare the behaviour of these functions at x = 0 with that of chosen f . (Minor point: we
used x2 instead of x only to avoid trouble with dividing by ln |x| at endpoints x = ±1. We
could have used ± ln1 |x| if a smaller interval of definition is allowed, e.g., x ∈ [∩0.9, 0.9]).

B5. (i) Let f (x) = an xn + · · · + a1 x + a0 be a polynomial, where a0 , . . . , an are real numbers

with an 6= 0. Define the “discrete derivative of f ”, denoted ∆f , to be the function given by
∆f (x) = f (x) ∩ f (x ∩ 1). Show that ∆f is also a polynomial and find its leading term.
(ii) For integers n ≥ 0, define polynomials pn of degree n as follows: p0 (x) = 1 and for n > 0,
let pn (x) = n!1 x(x ∩ 1)(x ∩ 2) · · · (x ∩ n + 1). So we have

x(x ∩ 1) x(x ∩ 1)(x ∩ 2)

p0 (x) = 1 , p1 (x) = x , p2 (x) = , p3 (x) = ···
2 3!
Show that for anyPpolynomial f of degree n, there exist unique real numbers b0 , b1 , . . . , bn
such that f (x) = ni=0 bi pi (x).

Page 4
(iii) Now suppose that f (x) is a polynomial such that for each integer m, f (m) is also an
integer. Using the above parts (or otherwise), show that for such f , the bi obtained in part
(ii) are integers.
Answer: (i) It is obvious that f (x ∩ 1) is a polynomial in x (use binomial expansion of
powers of (x ∩ 1)) and therefore so is ∆f (x) = f (x) ∩ f (x ∩ 1), being the difference of
polynomials. The point of the question is to find the leading term of ∆f (x). It is easy to see
that after expanding the powers of (x ∩ 1), the degree n terms of f (x) and f (x ∩ 1) cancel
out, as does the degree n ∩ 1 term from f (x) with the leading term of an−1 (x ∩ 1)n−1 . The
only remaining term of degree n ∩ 1 comes from an (x ∩ 1)n . So ∆f (x) = nan xn−1 + lower
degree terms. Compare with the usual derivative.
(ii) Induction on the degree of f . If f (x) = a0 is constant, b0 = a0 works uniquely. Assuming
the result for polynomials of degree < n, let f be of degree Pnn, so an 6= 0. We are forced to take
bn = n!an by comparing leading coefficients of f (x) and i=0 bi pi (x). Now f (x)∩bn pn (x) is a
Pd
polynomial of degree Pnd < n and hence by induction equals i=0 bi pi (x) for unique b0 , . . . , bd .
Therefore f (x) = Pn i=0 bi pi (x), where bd+1 , . . . , bn−1 are all 0. To see uniqueness of bi ’s, let
P n
b
i=0 i i p (x) = i=0 ci pi (x). Subtract all terms with bi = ci . If any terms are remaining,
compare the leading coefficients on each side to get a contradiction.
(iii) Substitute x = 0, 1, 2, . . . one by one in the equation f (x) = ni=0 bi pi (x) and solve for
P
b0 , b1 , b2 , . . . successively. x = 0 gives b0 = f (0). Using x
= 1 and 2 gives b1 = f (1) ∩ b0 ,
b2 = f (2) ∩ b0 ∩ 2b1 . In general, for all integers t, pi (t) = ti is an integer. Further, pi (t) = 0
if 0 ≤ t < i and 1 if t = i. So bt = f (t) ∩ t−1 t
P

i=0 b i i
, which is an integer by induction. (Note:
We can also argue from the other end as follows. By repeated use of part (i), ∆n f , the n-th
discrete derivative of f , is the constant n!an , which must be an integer since the integrality
assumption on f passes easily to all its discrete derivatives.
But by part (ii), bn = n!an , so
bn is an integer. Now induction along with integrality of m n
finishes the proof.)

B6. (i) See the figure below. Two circles G1 , G2 intersect at points X, Y . Choose two other
points A, B on G1 as shown in the figure. The line segment from A to X is extended to
intersect G2 at point L. The line segment from L to Y is extended to meet G1 at point C.
Likewise the line segment from B to Y is extended to meet G2 at point M and the segment
from M to X is extended to meet G1 at point D. Show that AB is parallel to CD.
A D
X
L

Y M
B
C

Page 5
(ii) See the figure below. A triangle CDE is given. A point A is chosen between D and E.
A point B is chosen between C and E so that AB is parallel to CD. Let F denote the point
of intersection of segments AC and BD. Show that the line joining E and F bisects both
segments AB and segment CD. (Hint: You may use Ceva’s theorem. Alternatively, you
may additionally assume that the trapezium ABCD is a cyclic quadrilateral and proceed.)
E

A B
F

D C

(iii) Using parts (i) and (ii) describe a procedure to do the following task: given two circles
G1 and G2 intersecting at two points X and Y determine the center of each circle using
only a straightedge. Note: Recall that a straightedge is a ruler without any markings. Given
two points A, B, a straightedge allows one to construct the line segment joining A, B. Also,
given any two non-parallel segments, we can use a straightedge to find the intersection point
of the lines containing the two segments by extending them if necessary.

Answer (i): Draw segment BD. Now ∠BDC = ∠BY C = ∠LY M = ∠LXM = ∠AXD =
∠ABD, where the second and the fourth equalities are due to opposite angles and the other
three equalities due to angles being in the same arc. Therefore AB and CD are parallel.

Answer (ii): Let line EF meet segment CD in point H and segment AB in point I. By
Ceva’s theorem in 4CDE, we have DA EB CH
AE BC HD
= 1. As AB and CD are parallel, DAAE
BC
= EB ,
AI AE BE BI
so CH = DH. Also by the basic proportionality theorem, DH = DE = CE = CH and since
CH = DH, AI = BI. (If you assume additionally that ABCD is cyclic, it is easy to see
using equality of angles in the same arc and of alternate angles made by a transversal that
the triangles DEC and DF C are isosceles and in fact line EF is the perpendicular bisector
of segments CD and AB.)

Answer (iii): Extend AD and BC to meet in E and take F = the point of intersection of
AC and BD. By parts (i) and (ii), the line EF is the bisector of two parallel chords and
hence contains a diameter of the circle G1 . Repeat the procedure with some other points A0
and B 0 on G1 to get another diameter of G1 . The intersection of the two diameters is the
center of G1 . Repeat the procedure for G2 .
Note: If lines AD and BC do not meet, they are parallel. Then ABCD must be a rectangle
(why?) and its diagonals are diameters, which intersect in the centre of G1 . Note that here
we have to assume that we can decide if two lines are parallel, which is implicit in the given
assumption that if two lines intersect, then we can actually find the point of intersection by
extending the given finite segments.

Page 6
 2015 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

Read the instructions on the front of the booklet carefully!

Part A. Write your final answers on page 3.

Part A is worth a total of 44 points = 4 points each for 11 problems. Points will be given
based only on clearly legible final answers filled in the correct place on page 3. Write all answers
for a single question on the designated line and in the order in which they are asked, separated
by commas.
Unless specified otherwise, each answer is either a rational number or, where appropriate,
one of the phrases “infinite” or “does not exist”. If the answer is an integer, write it in the
usual decimal form. Write non-integer rationals as ratios of two coprime integers.

1. Ten people sitting around a circular table decide to donate some money for charity. You
are told that the amount donated by each person was the average of the money donated
by the two persons sitting adjacent to him/her. One person donated Rs. 500. Choose the
correct option for each of the following two questions. Write your answers as a sequence
of two letters (a/b/c/d).

What is the total amount donated by the 10 people?

(a) exactly Rs. 5000 (b) less than Rs. 5000 (c) more than Rs. 5000
(d) not possible to decide among the above three options.
What is the maximum amount donated by an individual?
(a) exactly Rs. 500 (b) less than Rs. 500 (c) more than Rs. 500
(d) not possible to decide among the above three options.
2. Consider all finite letter-strings formed by using only two letters A and B. We consider
the usual dictionary order on these strings. See below for the formal rule with examples.

Formal rule: To compare two strings w1 and w2 , read them from left to right. We say
“w1 is smaller than w2 ” or “w1 < w2 ” if the first letter in which w1 and w2 differ is A in
w1 and B in w2 (for example, ABAA < ABB by looking at the third letters) or if w2 is
obtained by appending some letters at the end of w1 (e.g. AB < ABAA).

For each of the statements below, state if it is true or false. Write your answers as a
sequence of three letters (T for True and F for False) in correct order.
(a) Let w be an arbitrary string. There exists a unique string y satisfying both the
following properties: (i) w < y and (ii) there is no string x with w < x < y .
(b) It is possible to give an infinite decreasing sequence of strings, i.e. a sequence
w1 , w2 , . . . , such that wi+1 < wi for each positive integer i.
(c) Fewer than 50 strings are smaller than ABBABABB.

1
3. A positive integer n is called a magic number if it has the following property: if a and b
are two positive numbers that are not coprime to n then a + b is also not coprime to n.
For example, 2 is a magic number, because sum of any two even numbers is also even.
Which of the following are magic numbers? Write your answers as a sequence of four
letters (Y for Yes and N for No) in correct order.
(i) 129 (ii) 128 (iii) 127 (iv) 100.

4. Let A, B and C be unknown constants. Consider the function f (x) defined by

f (x) = Ax2 + Bx + C when x ≤ 0 ,

= ln(5x + 1) when x > 0 .

Write the values of the constants A, B and C such that f 00 (x), i.e., the double derivative
of f , exists for all real x. If this is not possible, write “not possible”. If some of the
constants cannot be uniquely determined, write “not unique” for each such constant.

5. Consider the polynomial p(x) = (x + a1 )(x + a2 ) · · · (x + a10 ) where ai is a real number

for each i = 1, . . . , 10. Suppose all of the eleven coefficients of p(x) are positive. For each
of the following statements, decide if it is true or false. Write your answers as a sequence
of four letters (T/F) in correct order.
(i) The polynomial p(x) must have a global minimum. (ii) Each ai must be positive.
0
(iii) All real roots of p (x) must be negative. (iv) All roots of p0 (x) must be real.

6. Fill in the blanks. Let C1 be the circle with center (−8, 0) and radius 6. Let C2 be the
circle with center (8, 0) and radius 2. Given a point P outside both circles, let `i (P ) be
the length of a tangent segment from P to circle Ci . The locus of all points P such that
`1 (P ) = 3 `2 (P ) is a circle with radius and center at ( , ).
√ 10 √
7. (i) By the binomial theorem ( 2+1)10 = Ci ( 2)i , where Ci are appropriate constants.
P
√ i=0
Write the value of i for which Ci ( 2)i is the largest among the 11 terms in this sum.
√ √
(ii) For every natural number n, let ( 2+1)n = pn + 2 qn , where pn and qn are integers.
Calculate lim ( pqnn )10 .
n→∞

8. The format for car license plates in a small country is two digits followed by three vowels,
e.g. 04 IOU . A license plate is called “confusing” if the digit 0 (zero) and the vowel O are
both present on it. For example 04 IOU is confusing but 20 AEI is not. (i) How many
distinct number plates are possible in all? (ii) How many of these are not confusing?

9. Recall that sin−1 is the inverse function of sin, as defined in the standard fashion. (Some-
times sin−1 is called arcsin.) Let f (x) = sin−1 (sin(πx)). Write the values of the following.
(Some answers may involve the irrational number π. Write such answers in terms of π.)
R 2.5
(i) f (2.7) (ii) f 0 (2.7) (iii) 0 f (x) dx
(iv) the smallest positive x at which f 0 (x) does not exist.

2
 10. Answer the three questions below. To answer (i) and (ii), replace ? with exactly one of
the following four options: < , = , > , not enough information to compare.
(i) Suppose z1 , z2 are complex numbers. One of them is in the second quadrant and the
other is in the third quadrant. Then |z1 | − |z2 | ? |z1 + z2 |.
(ii) Complex numbers z1 , z2 and 0 form an equilateral triangle. Then |z12 + z22 | ? |z1 z2 |.
(iii) Let 1, z1 , z2 , z3 , z4 , z5 , z6 , z7 be the complex 8-th roots of unity. Find the value of
Π (1 − zi ), where the symbol Π denotes product.
i=1,...,7

11. There are four distinct balls labelled 1,2,3,4 and four distinct bins labelled A,B,C,D. The
balls are picked up in order and placed into one of the four bins at random. Let Ei denote
the event that the first i balls go into distinct bins. Calculate the following probabilities.
(i) P r[E4 ] (ii)P r[E4 |E3 ] (iii) P r[E4 |E2 ] (iv) P r[E3 |E4 ].
Notation: P r[X] = the probability of event X taking place. P r[X|Y ] = the probability
of event X taking place, given that event Y has taken place.

Answers to part A
This is the only place that will be seen for grading part A. So carefully and clearly write the
answers to each question on the designated line below. Write only the final answers, do not
show any intermediate work. Illegible/unclear answers will not be considered.

A1. A2. A3.

A4.

A5. A6.

A7. A8.

A9.

A10.

A11.

3
 Part B. Write complete solutions for these problems from page 6 onwards.

Part B is worth a total of 81 points = 15 points each for the first three problems + 12 points
each for the last three problems. Solve these problems in the space provided for each problem
from page 6. You may solve only part of a problem and get partial credit. Clearly explain
your entire reasoning. No credit will be given without reasoning.

1. Carefully solve the following series of questions. If you cannot solve an earlier part, you
may still assume the result in it to solve a later part.
(a) For any polynomial p(t), the limit lim p(t)
t is independent of the polynomial p. Justify
t→∞ e
this statement and find the value of the limit.
(b) Consider the function defined by
q(x) = e−1/x when x > 0 ,
= 0 when x = 0 ,
= e1/x when x < 0 .
Show that q 0 (0) exists and find its value. Why is it enough to calculate the relevant limit
from only one side?
(c) Now for any positive integer n, show that q (n) (0) exists and find its value. Here q(x)
is the function in part (b) and q (n) (0) denotes its n-th derivative at x = 0.
2. Let p, q and r be real numbers with p2 + q 2 + r2 = 1.

(a) Prove the inequality 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 ≤ 2.

(b) Also find the smallest possible value of 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 . Specify exactly

when the smallest and the largest possible value is achieved.
3. (a) Show that there are exactly 2 numbers a in {2, 3, . . . , 9999} for which a2 −a is divisible
by 10000. Find these values of a.
(b) Let n be a positive integer. For how many numbers a in {2, 3, . . . , n2 − 1} is a2 − a
divisible by n2 ? State your answer suitably in terms of n and justify.
4. Let f : R → R be a twice differentiable function, where R denotes the set of real numbers.
Suppose that for all real numbers x and y, the function f satisfies
f 0 (x) − f 0 (y) ≤ 3|x − y|.
Answer the following questions. No credit will be given without full justification.
(a) Show that for all x and y, we must have |f (x) − f (y) − f 0 (y)(x − y)| ≤ 1.5(x − y)2 .
(b) Find the largest and smallest possible values for f 00 (x) under the given conditions.
5. For an arbitrary integer n, let g(n) be the GCD of 2n + 9 and 6n2 + 11n − 2. What is
the largest positive integer that can be obtained as the value of g(n)? If g(n) can be
arbitrarily large, state so explicitly and prove it.

4
6. You are given the following: a circle, one of its diameters AB and a point X.
(a) Using only a straight-edge, show in the given figure how to draw a line perpendicular
to AB passing through X. No credit will be given without full justification. (Recall that
a straight-edge is a ruler without any markings. Given two points, a straight-edge can
be used to draw the line passing through the given points.)

A B

(b) Do NOT draw any of your work for this part in the given figure. Reconsider your
procedure to see if it can be made to work if the point X is in some other position, e.g.,
when it is inside the circle or to the “left/right” of the circle. Clearly specify all positions
of the point X for which your procedure in part (a), or a small extension/variation of it,
can be used to obtain the perpendicular to AB through X. Justify your answer.

Write answers to part B from the next page.

5
1. Carefully solve the following series of questions. If you cannot solve an earlier part, you
may still assume the result in it to solve a later part.
(a) For any polynomial p(t), the limit lim p(t)
t is independent of the polynomial p. Justify
t→∞ e
this statement and find the value of the limit.
(b) Consider the function defined by
q(x) = e−1/x when x > 0 ,
= 0 when x = 0 ,
= e1/x when x < 0 .

Show that q 0 (0) exists and find its value. Why is it enough to calculate the relevant limit
from only one side?
(c) Now for any positive integer n, show that q (n) (0) exists and find its value. Here q(x)
is the function in part (b) and q (n) (0) denotes its n-th derivative at x = 0.
If you need extra space for this or any problem, continue on one of the later
blank pages and write a note to that effect.

6
2. Let p, q and r be real numbers with p2 + q 2 + r2 = 1.

(a) Prove the inequality 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 ≤ 2.

(b) Also find the smallest possible value of 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 . Specify exactly

when the smallest and the largest possible value is achieved.

7
3. (a) Show that there are exactly 2 numbers a in {2, 3, . . . , 9999} for which a2 −a is divisible
by 10000. Find these values of a.
(b) Let n be a positive integer. For how many numbers a in {2, 3, . . . , n2 − 1} is a2 − a
divisible by n2 ? State your answer suitably in terms of n and justify.

8
4. Let f : R → R be a twice differentiable function, where R denotes the set of real numbers.
Suppose that for all real numbers x and y, the function f satisfies

f 0 (x) − f 0 (y) ≤ 3|x − y|.

Answer the following questions. No credit will be given without full justification.
(a) Show that for all x and y, we must have |f (x) − f (y) − f 0 (y)(x − y)| ≤ 1.5(x − y)2 .
(b) Find the largest and smallest possible values for f 00 (x) under the given conditions.

9
5. For an arbitrary integer n, let g(n) be the GCD of 2n + 9 and 6n2 + 11n − 2. What is
the largest positive integer that can be obtained as the value of g(n)? If g(n) can be
arbitrarily large, state so explicitly and prove it.

10
6. You are given the following: a circle, one of its diameters AB and a point X.
(a) Using only a straight-edge, show in the given figure how to draw a line perpendicular
to AB passing through X. No credit will be given without full justification. (Recall that
a straight-edge is a ruler without any markings. Given two points, a straight-edge can
be used to draw the line passing through the given points.)

A B

11
(b) Do NOT draw any of your work for this part in the given figure. Reconsider your
procedure to see if it can be made to work if the point X is in some other position, e.g.,
when it is inside the circle or to the “left/right” of the circle. Clearly specify all positions
of the point X for which your procedure in part (a), or a small extension/variation of it,
can be used to obtain the perpendicular to AB through X. Justify your answer.

12
 Solutions to 2015 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

Part A Solutions

1. Ten people sitting around a circular table decide to donate some money for charity. You
are told that the amount donated by each person was the average of the money donated
by the two persons sitting adjacent to him/her. One person donated Rs. 500. Choose the
correct option for each of the following two questions. Write your answers as a sequence
of two letters (a/b/c/d).

What is the total amount donated by the 10 people?

(a) exactly Rs. 5000 (b) less than Rs. 5000 (c) more than Rs. 5000
(d) not possible to decide among the above three options.
What is the maximum amount donated by an individual?
(a) exactly Rs. 500 (b) less than Rs. 500 (c) more than Rs. 500
(d) not possible to decide among the above three options.
Answer: exactly Rs. 5000, exactly Rs. 500. Consider the person who donated Rs. 500.
Suppose the neighbor to the left donates 500 + x. Then the one on the right donates
500 − x. But continuing leftward, the amounts donated are 500 + 2x, 500 + 3x, . . ., forcing
x to be 0, since you come around to the neighbor to the right.

2. Consider all finite letter-strings formed by using only two letters A and B. We consider
the usual dictionary order on these strings. See below for the formal rule with examples.

Formal rule: To compare two strings w1 and w2 , read them from left to right. We say
“w1 is smaller than w2 ” or “w1 < w2 ” if the first letter in which w1 and w2 differ is A in
w1 and B in w2 (for example, ABAA < ABB by looking at the third letters) or if w2 is
obtained by appending some letters at the end of w1 (e.g. AB < ABAA).

For each of the statements below, state if it is true or false. Write your answers as a
sequence of three letters (T for True and F for False) in correct order.

(a) Let w be an arbitrary string. There exists a unique string y satisfying both the
following properties: (i) w < y and (ii) there is no string x with w < x < y .
Answer: True, append A to w.
(b) It is possible to give an infinite decreasing sequence of strings, i.e. a sequence
w1 , w2 , . . . , such that wi+1 < wi for each positive integer i.
Answer: True. B, AB, AAB, AAAB, . . .
(c) Fewer than 50 strings are smaller than ABBABABB.
Answer: False. There are infinitely many such strings e.g. A, AA, AAA, AAAA,
....

1
3. A positive integer n is called a magic number if it has the following property: if a and b
are two positive numbers that are not coprime to n then a + b is also not coprime to n.
For example, 2 is a magic number, because sum of any two even numbers is also even.
Which of the following are magic numbers? Write your answers as a sequence of four
letters (Y for Yes and N for No) in correct order.
(i) 129 (ii) 128 (iii) 127 (iv) 100.
Answer: Only 128 and 127 are magic numbers. See that n is a magic number if and
only if n is a power of a prime. (Otherwise, write n = ab with a, b coprime.)

4. Let A, B and C be unknown constants. Consider the function f (x) defined by

f (x) = Ax2 + Bx + C when x ≤ 0 ,

= ln(5x + 1) when x > 0 .

Write the values of the constants A, B and C such that f 00 (x), i.e., the double derivative
of f , exists for all real x. If this is not possible, write “not possible”. If some of the
constants cannot be uniquely determined, write “not unique” for each such constant.
Answer: The only problem is at x = 0. For continuity, ln(0 + 1) = C. For f 0 (0) to exist,
f must be continuous and the left and right derivatives of f at x = 0 (which are easily
seen to exist) must match, i.e. 5 = B. For f 00 (0) to exist, f 0 (0) must exist and left and
right derivatives of f 0 at x = 0 must match, i.e. 2A = −52 . So A = − 25 2
, B = 5, C = 0.

5. Consider the polynomial p(x) = (x + a1 )(x + a2 ) · · · (x + a10 ) where ai is a real number

for each i = 1, . . . , 10. Suppose all of the eleven coefficients of p(x) are positive. For each
of the following statements, decide if it is true or false. Write your answers as a sequence
of four letters (T/F) in correct order.
(i) The polynomial p(x) must have a global minimum. (ii) Each ai must be positive.
(iii) All real roots of p0 (x) must be negative. (iv) All roots of p0 (x) must be real.
Answer: All are true. (i) The degree is even, so p(x) goes to +∞ as x → ±∞. So p(x)
must attain a global minimum somewhere by continuity. (ii) The roots of p(x) are −ai .
By positivity of coefficients of p(x), no nonnegative number is a root of p(x). Thus all
−ai are negative, so all ai > 0. (iii + iv) All 10 roots of p(x) are real and negative. There
is a root of p0 (x) between consecutive roots of p(x) (this is valid even in case of multiple
roots). So all 9 roots of p0 (x) are real and negative as well. For negativity, one can also
note that all coefficients of p0 (x) are positive and apply the logic in (ii) to p0 (x).

6. Fill in the blanks. Let C1 be the circle with center (−8, 0) and radius 6. Let C2 be the
circle with center (8, 0) and radius 2. Given a point P outside both circles, let `i (P ) be
the length of a tangent segment from P to circle Ci . The locus of all points P such that
`1 (P ) = 3 `2 (P ) is a circle with radius and center at ( , ).
Answer: Center = (10,0), radius = 6. Use the distance formula and the Pythagorean
theorem to get y 2 +(x+8)2 −62 = 9(y 2 +(x−8)2 −4). Simplifying gives y 2 +(x−10)2 = 62 .
Another way, assuming the locus to be a circle: note that the ratio of the radii of C1 , C2
and that of the tangents is the same (namely 3). Now use similar triangles to see that

2
 the desired circle intersects the X-axis at coordinates 4 and 16, giving a diameter of the
desired circle (why?)
√ 10 √
7. (i) By the binomial theorem ( 2+1)10 = Ci ( 2)i , where Ci are appropriate constants.
P
√ i=0
Write the value of i for which Ci ( 2)i is the largest among the 11 terms in this sum.
√
Ci+1 ( 2)i+1
Answer: i = 6. One way: simplify the ratio and see that this ratio is > 1 till
√
Ci ( 2)i
i = 5 and < 1 from i = 6 onwards.
√ √
(ii) For every natural number n, let ( 2+1)n = pn + 2 qn , where pn and qn are integers.
Calculate lim ( pqnn )10 .
n→∞
√ n
√
Answer: 32. Using binomial expansion see that √ ( 2 − 1) = ±(p n −
√ 2 qn ), where the
n
sign depends
√ on the parity of n.√ As n → ∞, ( 2 − 1) → 0 since ( 2 − 1) < 1. Thus
(pn − 2 qn ) → 0 and so pqnn → 2.

8. The format for car license plates in a small country is two digits followed by three vowels,
e.g. 04 IOU . A license plate is called “confusing” if the digit 0 (zero) and the vowel O are
both present on it. For example 04 IOU is confusing but 20 AEI is not. (i) How many
distinct number plates are possible in all? (ii) How many of these are not confusing?
Answer: (i) 102 × 53 = 12500. (ii) 102 × 43 plates without vowel O + 92 × (53 − 43 )
plates with vowel O but without 0. This gives 6400 + 4941 = 11341.

9. Recall that sin−1 is the inverse function of sin, as defined in the standard fashion. (Some-
times sin−1 is called arcsin.) Let f (x) = sin−1 (sin(πx)). Write the values of the following.
(Some answers may involve the irrational number π. Write such answers in terms of π.)
R 2.5
(i) f (2.7) (ii) f 0 (2.7) (iii) 0 f (x) dx
(iv) the smallest positive x at which f 0 (x) does not exist.
Answer: The graph of f is periodic with period 2. From x = −0.5 to x = 0.5 it is the
line y = πx of slope π passing through the origin and from x = 0.5 to x = 1.5 it is the
line with slope −π, which crosses the X axis at x = 1. Using this we see that (i) f (2.7) =
sin−1 (sin(2.7π)) = Rsin−1 (sin(0.7π))R = sin−1 (sin(0.5π + 0.2π)) = 0.5π − 0.2π = 0.3π. (ii)
2.5 2.5
f 0 (2.7) = −π (iii) 0 f (x) dx = 2 f (x) dx = π/8 and (iv) the smallest positive x at
which f 0 (x) does not exist is x = 1/2.

10. Answer the three questions below. To answer (i) and (ii), replace ? with exactly one of
the following four options: < , = , > , not enough information to compare.
(i) Suppose z1 , z2 are complex numbers. One of them is in the second quadrant and the
other is in the third quadrant. Then |z1 | − |z2 | ? |z1 + z2 |.
(ii) Complex numbers z1 , z2 and 0 form an equilateral triangle. Then |z12 + z22 | ? |z1 z2 |.
(iii) Let 1, z1 , z2 , z3 , z4 , z5 , z6 , z7 be the complex 8-th roots of unity. Find the value of
Π (1 − zi ), where the symbol Π denotes product.
i=1,...,7

3
 Answer: (i) |z1 | − |z2 | < |z1 + z2 |. One way: using triangle inequality for z1 + z2
and −z2 we get |z1 | ≤ |z1 + z2 | + | − z2 | and so |z1 | − |z2 | ≤ |z1 + z2 |. Now we may
take absolute value on the LHS because switching z1 and z2 keeps RHS the same. For
equality, z1 + z2 and −z2 must point in the same direction, so z1 and z2 must be along
the same line. But they are in quadrants 2 and 3, so this cannot happen.
(ii) z2 must be obtained by rotating z1 by angle π/3, say in the counterclockwise direction
πi 2πi
(otherwise interchange the two). Then z2 = z1 e 3 . Then z12 + z22 = z12 (1 + e 3 ) and
πi 2πi πi
z1 z2 = z12 e 3 . Now 1 + e 3 = e 3 (see by calculation or picture), so we have in fact
z12 + z22 = z1 z2 .
x8 −1
(iii) We have Π (x−zi ) = x−1
= 1+x+. . .+x7 . Putting x = 1 gives Π (1−zi ) = 8.
i=1,...,7 i=1,...,7

11. There are four distinct balls labelled 1,2,3,4 and four distinct bins labelled A,B,C,D. The
balls are picked up in order and placed into one of the four bins at random. Let Ei denote
the event that the first i balls go into distinct bins. Calculate the following probabilities.
Notation: P r[X] = the probability of event X taking place. P r[X|Y ] = the probability
of event X taking place, given that event Y has taken place.
Answer:
4! 3 1 2! 1
(i) P r[E4 ] = 44
= 32
(ii)P r[E4 |E3 ] = 4
(iii) P r[E4 |E2 ] = 42
= 8
(iv) P r[E3 |E4 ] = 1.

Part B Solutions

1. Carefully solve the following series of questions. If you cannot solve an earlier part, you
may still assume the result in it to solve a later part.
(a) For any polynomial p(t), the limit lim p(t)
t is independent of the polynomial p. Justify
t→∞ e
this statement and find the value of the limit.
(b) Consider the function defined by

q(x) = e−1/x when x > 0 ,

= 0 when x = 0 ,
= e1/x when x < 0 .

Show that q 0 (0) exists and find its value. Why is it enough to calculate the relevant limit
from only one side?
(c) Now for any positive integer n, show that q (n) (0) exists and find its value. Here q(x)
is the function in part (b) and q (n) (0) denotes its n-th derivative at x = 0.
Answer: (a) If p(t) is constant, then the limit = 0. Otherwise we get a form ±∞
∞
. Using
p(t) p0 (t)
L’Hospital’s rule, we get lim et = lim et = 0 by induction on the degree of t (or apply
t→∞ t→∞
L’Hospital’s rule repeatedly).

4
 −1/h
(b) The right side derivative = lim+ q(h)−q(0)
h
= lim+ e h
= lim+ e1/h
1/h = lim t
t. (Let
h→0 h→0 h→0 t→+∞ e
+
t = 1/h. As h → 0 , t → +∞.) This limit is 0, e.g. by part (a).
Now q is an even function, so letting k = −h, the left side derivative = lim− q(h)−q(0)
h
=
h→0
lim+ q(−k)
−k
= lim+ q(k)
−k
. Using the earlier calculation this also equals −0 = 0.
k→0 k→0

Note: It is wrong to argue that q 0 (0) = lim q 0 (x) because to do so, we first need to know
x→0
that q 0 is continuous at 0, but we have not even shown that q 0 (0) exists! For the same
reason it is wrong to argue below that q (n) (0) = lim q (n) (x).
x→0

(c) We will show by induction on n that q (n) (0) = 0. The case n = 1 is done. (We can
even start the induction at n = 0 by interpreting q (0) (x) = q(x).) Assuming that we are
(n) (n) (0)
done up to n and to prove the statement for n+1, we need to calculate lim q (h)−q
h
=
h→0
(n)
lim q h(h) , because q (n)
(0) = 0 by induction. Therefore it is good to examine q (n) (h) for
h→0
h 6= 0. This is easy to calculate by the usual rules, but the formulas will be different for
positive and negative h. For h 6= 0, as q is even, q 0 is odd, so q 00 is even, etc. and in
general q (n) (h) = (−1)n q (n) (−h). Therefore, just as for part (b), it suffices to show that
(n)
lim+ q h(h) = 0. By another induction, we see easily that for h > 0, q (n) (h) = p(1/h)e−1/h
h→0
for some polynomial p. Proof: q 0 (h) = ( h12 )e−1/h . Assuming the result for n, we have


q (n+1) (h) = [p(1/h)e−1/h ]0 = − h12 (−p(1/h) + p0 (1/h))e−1/h , which has the desired form.
(n) (h) −1/h
So we have lim+ q h
= lim+ p(1/h)e
h
= lim tp(t)e−t = lim tp(t)
et
= 0 by part (a). Here
h→0 h→0 t→∞ t→∞
we have again substituted t = 1/h.

2. Let p, q and r be real numbers with p2 + q 2 + r2 = 1.

(a) Prove the inequality 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 ≤ 2.

(b) Also find the smallest possible value of 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 . Specify exactly

when the smallest and the largest possible value is achieved.
Answer: We have 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 = (q + r)(3p2 + 2q 2 + 2r2 − 2qr) =
(q +r)(3(p2 +q 2 +r2 )−(q 2 +r2 +2qr)) = (q +r)(3−(q +r)2 ) = x(3−x2 ) = 3x−x3 , where
x = q + r. Let us examine possible values of x in view of the constraint p2 + q 2 + r2 = 1.
We have 2qr ≤ q 2 + r2 e.g. because (q − r)2 ≥ 0. Adding q 2 + r2 , we get 2 2
ò
√ q + r + 2qr
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2q +2r ≤ 2, because q +r ≤ p +q +r = 1. Thus (q+r) ≤ 2. So − √ 2 ≤ q+r ≤ 2.
Note that equalities are achieved precisely when p = 0 and q = r = ±1/ 2.
Thus altogether
√ √ we have to find extrema of the odd function f (x) = 3x − x3 over the
0
interval [− 2, 2]. The √ critical points
√ are when f (x) = 3 − 3x2 = 0, i.e. x = ±1. Thus
we need to see only f (± 2) = ± 2 and f (±1) = ±2. Therefore −2 ≤ 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r +
2 q 3 + 2 r3 ≤ 2. Moreover, 3 p2 q + 3 p2 r + 2 q 3 + 2 r3 = ±2 precisely when x = q + r = ±1.
In each case, this gives a line segment in the qr-plane joining (±1, 0) and (0, ±1). Note
that both these segments lie within the circle q 2 + r2 = 1, so each point on them leads
to two valid points (p, q, r) on the unit sphere.

5
3. (a) Show that there are exactly 2 numbers a in {2, 3, . . . , 9999} for which a2 −a is divisible
by 10000. Find these values of a.
(b) Let n be a positive integer. For how many numbers a in {2, 3, . . . , n2 − 1} is a2 − a
divisible by n2 ? State your answer suitably in terms of n and justify.
Answer: (a) We have 10000 = 16 × 625 as product of prime powers. Recall the notation
a|b, meaning b is divisible by a. We have 10000|a2 − a if and only if (625|a(a − 1) and
16|a(a − 1)). Because a and a − 1 cannot share a factor, in turn this is equivalent to
having both the conditions (1) 625|a or 625|a − 1 AND (2) 16|a or 16|a − 1. Now if
the coprime integers 16 and 625 both divide the same natural number (in our case a or
a − 1), their product 10000 will also divide this number. In our case this would force
a = 0, 1, or ≥ 10000, all of which are not allowed. Thus the given requirement on a is
equivalent to having either (1) 16|a and 625|a − 1 OR (2) 16|a − 1 and 625|a. Each case
has a unique solution, respectively a = 9376 and a = 625 (e.g. use modular arithmetic:
in case 1, we have a = 625k + 1, which is k + 1 mod 16, forcing k = 15 because 16|a and
a ∈ {2, 3, . . . , 9999}).
(b) Let n = p1 e1 . . . pk ek be the factorization of n into powers of distinct primes. The
analysis in part (a) tells that required values of a are obtained as follows: write n2 = xy
as a product of two coprime integers and find values of a in {2, 3, . . . , n2 − 1} that are
simultaneously 0 mod x and 1 mod y. These are precisely the values of a that we want.
This is because each p2e i
i
must divide a or a − 1, as a and a − 1 are coprime.
Now the Chinese remainder theorem tells you that there is always an a that is 0 mod x
and 1 mod y. Moreover it is unique modulo xy = n2 because difference between any two
solutions would be divisible by xy.
The total number of ways to write n2 = xy as a product of coprime integers is exactly
2k as it amounts to choosing which of the k distinct primes to include in x and then
the rest go into y. (Notice that x and y are not interchangeable.) However, we have to
delete the two cases x = 1, y = n2 and y = 1, x = n2 , as these will respectively lead to
solutions a = 1 and a = 0 or n2 , which are not in {2, 3, . . . , n2 − 1}. Finally it is easy to
see that different choices of x lead to different values of a. This is because, of the primes
p1 , . . . , pk in the factorization of n, precisely the ones dividing x will divide a and the
remaining primes will not, because they divide a − 1.
Thus the final answer is 2k − 2. Note that this matches with the special case in part (a).
Finally, note that there was nothing special about taking a square: instead of n2 it could
be any positive integer m and we would proceed the same way to find requisite integers
a in {2, 3 . . . , m − 1} based on prime factorization of m.

4. Let f : R → R be a twice differentiable function, where R denotes the set of real numbers.
Suppose that for all real numbers x and y, the function f satisfies

f 0 (x) − f 0 (y) ≤ 3|x − y|.

Answer the following questions. No credit will be given without full justification.
(a) Show that for all x and y, we must have |f (x) − f (y) − f 0 (y)(x − y)| ≤ 1.5(x − y)2 .

6
 (b) Find the largest and smallest possible values for f 00 (x) under the given conditions.
Answer: (a) Note that the given inequality stays valid if we take absolute value of the
LHS, because we may interchange x and y without affecting RHS.
Fix x, y and let t = x − y. For now let x ≥ y, i.e. t ≥ 0. For h ∈ [0, t], the value of y + h
0 0
varies between y and x. We are given that R t |f 0(y + h) − f 0(y)| ≤ 3|h|.
R t Integrate with
respect to h over the interval [0, t] to get 0 |f (y + h) − f (y)|dh ≤ 0 3|h|dh = 1.5t2 .
The LHS should remind us of the following general fact: the absolute value of a definite
integral ≤ theR tdefinite integral of absoluteR value the same function over the same interval.
t
So we get | 0 f (y + h) − f 0 (y)dh| ≤ 0 |f 0 (y + h) − f 0 (y)|dh. Combining with the
0
Rt
previous inequality we have | 0 f 0 (y + h) − f 0 (y)dh| ≤ 1.5t2 . Finally we calculate the
Rt Rt
LHS. | 0 f 0 (y + h)dh − 0 f 0 (y)dh| = |f (y + t) − f (y) − f 0 (y)t|, where the first integral
is calculated using the fundamental theorem of calculus and the second one is just the
integral of the constant f 0 (y). Substituting x − y for t gives the desired result.
Notes: (1) If x < y, then tR< 0. We use the same strategy but all definite integrals should
0
be taken over [t, 0]. Now t 3|h|dh = 1.5t2 = LHS of the desired inequality. In the final
R0 0
calculation we get t f (y + h) − f 0 (y)dh = f (y) − f (y + t) + f 0 (y)t = negative of the
previous answer. So when we take absolute value of this integral, we again get the same
RHS of the desired inequality. (2) f 0 (y + h) − f 0 (y) and its absolute value are integrable
functions of h because they are continuous. This is because f 0 (y + h) is just a shift of
the function f 0 and f 0 is continuous because it is differentiable by hypothesis.
0 0 0 0
(b) We have, for x 6= y, | f (x)−f
x−y
(y)
| ≤ 3, so −3 ≤ f (x)−f
x−y
(y)
≤ 3. Taking limit as y → x,
we get −3 ≤ f 00 (x) ≤ 3. It is easy to provide examples where f 00 attains the extreme
values ±3, e.g. f (x) = ±1.5x2 . These satisfy the hypothesis and have constant f 00 = ±3.
5. For an arbitrary integer n, let g(n) be the GCD of 2n + 9 and 6n2 + 11n − 2. What is
the largest positive integer that can be obtained as the value of g(n)? If g(n) can be
arbitrarily large, state so explicitly and prove it.
Answer: Long division gives 6n2 + 11n − 2 = (2n + 9)(3n − 8) + 70. By Euclidean
algorithm, GCD(6n2 + 11n − 2, 2n + 9) = GCD(2n + 9, 70). Thus g(n) divides 70. But
since g(n) divides 2n + 9, which is odd, g(n) divides 35. When n = 13, 2n + 9 = 35 and
hence g(13) = 35. Thus the maximum value of g(n) is 35. (Precisely for which n do we
have g(n) = 35 (or, if you wish, 1 or 5 or 7)? A bit more work will tell you. Try it.)
6. You are given the following: a circle, one of its diameters AB and a point X.
(a) Using only a straight-edge, show in the given figure how to draw a line perpendicular
to AB passing through X. No credit will be given without full justification. (Recall that
a straight-edge is a ruler without any markings. Given two points, a straight-edge can
be used to draw the line passing through the given points.)
Answer: Line AX cuts the circle in C. Line BX cuts the circle in D. Lines AD and BC
intersect in E. Line XE is perpendicular to line AB. Reason: Angles ADB and ACB are
right angles, being angles in a semicircle. The altitudes of triangle XAB are concurrent.
Two of them are AD and BC, so the third is contained in line XE. (Notice that we always
use lines rather than line segments - this is important for part (b).)

7
(b) Do NOT draw any of your work for this part in the given figure. Reconsider your
procedure to see if it can be made to work if the point X is in some other position, e.g.,
when it is inside the circle or to the “left/right” of the circle. Clearly specify all positions
of the point X for which your procedure in part (a), or a small extension/variation of it,
can be used to obtain the perpendicular to AB through X. Justify your answer.
Answer: Case 1: Suppose X is not on the line AB (so XAB is a triangle), nor on the
tangents to the circle at A (so line XA meets the circle in a point C different from A),
nor on the tangent at B (so line XB meets the circle in a point D different from B) nor on
the given circle (so C, D and X are all different). In this case the exact same procedure
will work so long as we understand that the altitudes and their intersection point may
lie outside triangle XAB. This is because the lines XA and XB meet the circle in two
distinct points C and D that are different from X,A and B.
Case 2: Suppose X is on one of the two tangents, say the tangent at A, but X is different
from A. In this case XA itself is the desired line! In terms of the construction, here we
have A = C = E. Of course we have to assume that we can detect whether a line meeting
a circle does so in one point or two. But this assumption is implicit in Case 1 also,
because there we need to be able to identify the second point of intersection!
Case 3: If X is on line AB, then XAB is not a triangle. If X is not on line AB but
X is on the circle, then XAB is a triangle but X = C = D = E, so we cannot draw
line XE. Thus in these cases, the above procedure fails. Nonetheless even in these
cases it is possible to draw a perpendicular through X to line AB using only
a straightedge. It is a challenge to you to find a suitable procedure!

8
 2016 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

Read the instructions on the front of the booklet carefully!

Part A. Write your final answers on page 3.

Part A is worth a total of (4 ⇥ 10 = 40) points. Points will be given based only on clearly
legible final answers filled in the correct place on page 3. Write all answers for a single question
on the designated line and in the order in which they are asked, separated by commas.
Unless specified otherwise, each answer is either a rational number or, where appropriate, one
of the phrases “infinite”/“does not exist”/“not possible to decide”. Write integer answers in
the usual decimal form. Write non-integer rationals as ratios of two coprime integers.

1. Four children K, L, M and R are about to run a race. They make some predictions as
follows.
K says: M will win. Myself will come second.
R says: M will come second. L will be third.
M says: L will be last. R will be second.
After the race, it turns out that each person has made exactly one correct and one
incorrect prediction. Write the result of the race in the order from first to the last.

2. A country’s GDP grew by 7.8% within a period. During the same period the country’s
per-capita-GDP (= ratio of GDP to the total population) increased by 10%. During this
period, the total population of the country increased/decreased by %. (Choose the
correct option and fill in the blank if possible.)

3. You are told that n = 110179 is the product of two primes p and q. The number
of positive integers less than n that are relatively prime to n (i.e. those m such that
gcd(m, n) = 1) is 109480. Write the value of p + q. Then write the values of p and q.

4. A step starting at a point P in the XY -plane consists of moving by one unit from P
in one of three directions: directly to the right or in the direction of one of the two
rays that make the angle of ±120 with positive X-axis. (An opposite move, i.e. to the
left/southeast/northeast, is not allowed.) A path consists of a number of such steps, each
new step starting where the previous step ended. Points and steps in a path may repeat.
Find the number of paths starting at (1,0) and ending at (2,0) that consist of
(i) exactly 6 steps (ii) exactly 7 steps.

5. Find the value of the following sum of 100 terms. (Possible hint: also consider the same
sum with sin2 instead of cos2 .)
⇣ ⇡ ⌘ ⇣ 2⇡ ⌘ ⇣ 3⇡ ⌘ ⇣ 99⇡ ⌘ ⇣ 100⇡ ⌘
cos2 + cos2 + cos2 + · · · + cos2 + cos2 .
101 101 101 101 101

1
 6. A function f (x) is defined by the following formulas
(
x2 + 1 when x is irrational,
f (x) =
tan(x) when x is rational.
At how many x in the interval [0, 4⇡] is f (x) continuous?

In each question below, four statements are given. For each statement, state
if it is true or false. Write your answer to each question as a sequence of four
letters (T for True and F for False) in correct order.

7. We want to construct a nonempty and proper subset S of the set of non-negative integers.
This set must have the following properties. For any m and any n,
if m 2 S and n 2 S then m + n 2 S and if m 2 S and m + n 2 S then n 2 S.
(i) 0 must be in S.
(ii) 1 cannot be in S.
(iii) There are only finitely many ways to construct such a subset S.
(iv) There is such a subset S that contains both 20152016 and 20162015 .
8. A function g satisfies the property that g(k) = 3k + 5 for each of the 15 integer values of
k in [1,15].
(i) If g(x) is a linear polynomial, then g(x) = 3x + 5.
(ii) g cannot be a polynomial of degree 10.
(iii) g cannot be a polynomial of degree 20.
(iv) If g is di↵erentiable, then g must be a polynomial.
9. Given a continuous function f , define the following subsets of the set R of real numbers.
T = set of slopes of all possible tangents to the graph of f .
S = set of slopes of all possible secants, i.e. lines joining two points on the graph of f .
(i) If f is di↵erentiable, then S ⇢ T .
(ii) If f is di↵erentiable, then T ⇢ S.
(iii) If T = S = R, then f must be di↵erentiable everywhere.
(iv) Suppose 0 and 1 are in S. Then every number between 0 and 1 must also be in S.
10. You are given a triangle ABC, a point D on segment AC, a point E on segment AB and
a point F on segment BC. Let BD and CE intersect in point P. Join P with F. Suppose
that \ EPB = \ BPF = \ FPC = \ CPD and PD = PE = PF. (See an indicative figure
on page 3. It may not be the only such figure, so measuring it may be misleading.)
(i) AP must bisect \ BAC.
(ii) 4 ABC must be isosceles.
(iii) A, P, F must be collinear.
(iv) \ BAC must be 60 .

2
 Answers to part A
This is the only place that will be seen for grading part A. So carefully and clearly write the
answers to each question on the designated line below. Write only the final answers, do not
show any intermediate work. Illegible/unclear answers will not be considered.

A1.

A2.

A3.

A4.

A5.

A6.

A7.

A8.

A9.

A10.

E D
P

B C
F
Figure for question A10

3
 Part B. Write complete solutions for these questions from page 6 onwards.

Part B is worth a total of (6 ⇥ 14 = 84) points. Solve these questions in the space provided
for each question from page 6. You may solve only part of a question and get partial credit.
Clearly explain your entire reasoning. No credit will be given without reasoning.

1. Out of the 14 students taking a test, 5 are well prepared, 6 are adequately prepared and
3 are poorly prepared. There are 10 questions on the test paper. A well prepared student
can answer 9 questions correctly, an adequately prepared student can answer 6 questions
correctly and a poorly prepared student can answer only 3 questions correctly.
For each probability below, write your final answer as a rational number in lowest form.
(a) If a randomly chosen student is asked two distinct randomly chosen questions from
the test, what is the probability that the student will answer both questions correctly?
Note: The student and the questions are chosen independently of each other. “Random”
means that each individual student/each pair of questions is equally likely to be chosen.
(b) Now suppose that a student was chosen at random and asked two randomly chosen
questions from the exam, and moreover did answer both questions correctly. Find the
probability that the chosen student was well prepared.

2. By definition the region inside the parabola y = x2 is the set of points (a, b) such that
b a2 . We are interested in those circles all of whose points are in this region. A bubble
at a point P on the graph of y = x2 is the largest such circle that contains P . (You may
assume the fact that there is a unique such circle at any given point on the parabola.)
(a) A bubble at some point on the parabola has radius 1. Find the center of this bubble.
(b) Find the radius of the smallest possible bubble at some point on the parabola. Justify.

3. Consider the function f (x) = xcos(x)+sin(x) defined for x 0.

(a) Prove that Z 1

0.4  f (x)dx  0.5.
0

(b) Suppose the graph of f (x) is being traced on a computer screen with the uniform
speed of 1 cm per second (i.e., this is how fast the length of the curve is increasing). Show
that at the moment the point corresponding to x = 1 is being drawn, the x coordinate
is increasing at the rate of

1
p cm per second.
2 + sin(2)

4
4. Let A be a non-empty finite sequence of n distinct integers a1 < a2 < · · · < an . Define

A + A = {ai + aj |1  i, j  n},

i.e., the set of all pairwise sums of numbers from A. E.g., for A = {1, 4}, A+A = {2, 5, 8}.

(a) Show that |A + A| 2n 1. Here |A + A| means the number of elements in A + A.

(b) Prove that |A+A| = 2n 1 if and only if the sequence A is an arithmetic progression.
(c) Find a sequence A of the form 0 < 1 < a3 < · · · < a10 such that |A + A| = 20.

5. Find a polynomial p(x) that simultaneously has both the following properties.
(i) When p(x) is divided by x100 the remainder is the constant polynomial 1.
(ii) When p(x) is divided by (x 2)3 the remainder is the constant polynomial 2.

6. Find all pairs (p, n) of positive integers where p is a prime number and p3 p = n7 n3 .

Write answers to part B from the next page.

5
 Solutions to 2016 Entrance Examination for BSc Programmes at CMI

Answers to Part A

1. If K comes second, then L was third (one correct answer for R). But then R would also
need to be second (one correct answer for M), a contradiction. So K cannot be second.
So M must have won, etc. The order is M R L K.
GDP
2. Per-capita GDP is population . Letting G and P denote the old GDP and population
1.078G
respectively, the new per-capita GDP is (1+x)P where x is the unknown percent change
in population we wish to calculate. The percent increase in per-capita GDP is 10% = 0.1.
So we have 1.078
1+x
= 1.1. Solving for x we get 1 + x = 1.078
1.1
98×11
= 100×11 = 0.98. So x is −0.02.
So population decreased by 2%.

3. Given n = pq = 110179. The number of integers relatively prime to n and smaller than
n is (p − 1)(q − 1). So we have pq − p − q + 1 = 109480. We get p + q = 700. Now p, q
are solutions to the quadratic
√ √ x2 − 700x + 110179. The discriminant of this quadratic is
490000 − 440716 = 49284 = 22. So we get p = 700+2222
= 461 and q = 700−222
2
= 239.

4. Let there be a steps to the right (east), b steps north-west and c steps southwest. The
total number of steps is a+b+c. The key idea is to think of the northwest step as a move
in the complex plane along ω, the complex cube root of unity, the southwest step as a
move in the complex plane along ω 2 and the step to the right as a move along ω 3 = 1.
From the hypothesis we then have a + bω + cω 2 = 1. Using 1 + ω + ω 2 = 0 we see that
a − 1 = b = c. This then rules out a + b + c = 6, so the number of 6 step paths is zero.
A 7 step path is possible only

with a = 3, b = 2, c = 2. The number of such paths is the
7
multinomial coefficient 3,2,2 = 210. (Instead of complex numbers one can also think in
terms of vector addition in the plane.)

5. Let θ = 101 π
. Let A = cos2 (θ) + cos2 (2θ) + · · · + cos2 (100θ). Let B = sin2 (θ) + sin2 (2θ) +
2
· · · + sin (100θ). We have A + B = 100, and A − B = cos(2θ) + cos(4θ) + · · · + cos(200θ).
π 2π 2πi
Since θ = 101 , we see that cos(2θ) = cos( 101 ) is the real part of e 101 , i being the complex
square root of −1. Interpreting the other terms in A − B similarly we see that A − B is
the real part of the sum of the 101th roots of unity except 1. So A − B = −1. This gives
A = 99 2
, B = 1012
.

6. The given function is defined using the two functions x2 + 1 and tan(x). Both these
functions are continuous wherever they are defined. Since every irrational number z has
a non terminating, non repeating decimal expansion we see that given any  > 0 there is
a rational number p such that the distance between z and p is less than . Using these
facts one can see that the given function will be continuous precisely at those x in the
interval [0, 4π] where x2 + 1 = tan(x). Since x2 + 1 is positive, it will intersect tan(x)
exactly once in the intervals [0, π2 ], [π, 3π
2
], [2π, 5π
2
], [3π, 7π
2
], as tan(x) increases from 0 to
∞ in each of these intervals. tan(x) is negative elsewhere in the given domain. So we
have 4 points of continuity.

1
7. TTFF
Since the set S is nonempty, there is an element m ∈ S. But then m = m + 0 and
so 0 ∈ S. 1 cannot be in S, otherwise it will contain all non-negative integers. It is
not difficult to see by the division algorithm that if m, n are in S then so is their GCD.
Therefore two coprime numbers cannot be in S. Otherwise their GCD, which is 1, will be
in S, a contradiction. It follows that such sets S are precisely those of the form nZ≥0 , the
set of all non-negative multiples of a fixed non-negative integer n. So there are infinitely
many such possible sets.

8. TTFF
If g(x) is linear, it is 3x + 5 because the values at 1 and 2 are 8 and 11 respectively. If
g(x) is a polynomial then it is 3x + 5 plus a multiple of (x − 1)(x − 2) · · · (x − 15). So g(x)
cannot be a polynomial of degree 10. But it can be a polynomial of degree 15 or more.
g being differentiable does not mean that it is a polynomial. You can fit any number of
differentiable functions to the given data.

9. TFFT

i The mean value theorem tells us S ⊂ T .

ii T ⊂ S is false, example f (x) = sin(x). Here f 0 (0) = 1 is in T but not in S.
iii T = S = R can happen at points where f is not differentiable.
iv S has mean value property, because of continuity. (Why?)

10. TFFT
BP and CP are angle bisectors meeting at P , so AP bisects ∠A since the angle bisectors
are concurrent. The angles marked with symbol ◦ at point P are all 60◦ because ∠EP D =
twice this common value. It follows that half the sum of ∠B and ∠C is 60◦ . So ∠A is
60◦ . The others are false, in fact check that any triangle with ∠A = 60◦ , angle bisectors
BD and CE, their point of intersection P and P F bisecting ∠BP C will satisfy the given
data. All four statements are true if and only if the triangle ABC is equilateral.

Solutions to Part B.

1. Out of the 14 students taking a test, 5 are well prepared, 6 are adequately prepared and
3 are poorly prepared. There are 10 questions on the test paper. A well prepared student
can answer 9 questions correctly, an adequately prepared student can answer 6 questions
correctly and a poorly prepared student can answer only 3 questions correctly.
For each probability below, write your final answer as a rational number in lowest form.
(a) If a randomly chosen student is asked two distinct randomly chosen questions from
the test, what is the probability that the student will answer both questions correctly?

2
 Note: The student and the questions are chosen independently of each other. \Random"
means that each individual student/each pair of questions is equally likely to be chosen.
(b) Now suppose that a student was chosen at random and asked two randomly chosen
questions from the exam, and moreover did answer both questions correctly. Find the
probability that the chosen student was well prepared.

Solution. (a) The probability that a randomly chosen student is well prepared is 5/14.
The probability
of
a well prepared student answering two randomly chosen questions
correctly is 92 / 10
2
. So the probability that a randomly chosen student is well prepared
5 (9)
AND answers two randomly chosen questions correctly is 14 × 102 = 27 . A student belongs
(2)
to exactly one of the three preparedness categories, so the desired probability is obtained
by adding 27 with the results of parallel calculations for the other two categories. We get

P (both answers correct) =

9 6 3




2 2 2
P (well prepared) 10

+ P (moderately prepared) 10

+ P (weakly prepared) 10 ,


2 2 2

which equals
5 36 6 15 3 3 31
× + × + × = .
14 45 14 45 14 45 70
(b) The probability that a randomly chosen student was well prepared given that he
answered both questions correctly is

P (well prepared and both correct) 2/7 20

P (well prepared|both correct) = = = .
P (both correct) 31/70 31

2. By definition the region inside the parabola y = x2 is the set of points (a, b) such that
b ≥ a2 . We are interested in those circles all of whose points are in this region. A bubble
at a point P on the graph of y = x2 is the largest such circle that contains P . (You may
assume the fact that there is a unique such circle at any given point on the parabola.)
(a) A bubble at some point on the parabola has radius 1. Find the center of this bubble.
(b) Find the radius of the smallest possible bubble at some point on the parabola. Justify.

Solution. A bubble at the point P = (a, a2 ) must be tangential to the parabola at

(a, a2 ). (Why?) It must also be symmetric with respect to Y-axis (why?) and so its
center O must be on the Y-axis. The radius OP of this bubble is perpendicular to the
common tangent to the parabola and to the bubble at P . The slope of this tangent =
2a, so the slope of radius OP = −1 2a
(for a 6= 0). Let Q = (0, a2 ). Using triangle OP Q,
slope of OP = −OQa
= −1
2a
. Therefore OQ = 12 , regardless of the value of a.
(a) By Pythagoras, OP 2 = ( 21 )2 + a2 = 1. So a2 = 3
4
and P = (0, 43 + 21 ) = (0, 54 ).

3
 (b) For any nonzero a, the radius of the bubble satisfies OP 2 = ( 21 )2 + a2 , so OP > 12 .
The smallest bubble is at the origin and its radius is 12 . (One cannot just directly take
a = 0 in the above calculations. Argue by continuity or do a separate calculation at the
origin.)

3. Consider the function f (x) = xcos(x)+sin(x) defined for x ≥ 0.

(a) Prove that Z 1

0.4 ≤ f (x)dx ≤ 0.5.
0

√
Solution. It is easy to see that for 0 ≤ x ≤ 1, we have 1 ≤ cos(x) + sin(x) ≤ 2, and so
√
x1 ≥ xcos(x)+sin(x) ≥ x 2 .

As all three functions are non-negative in [0,1], we can integrate the inequalities over
that interval to get
Z 1
1 1 1
≥ f (x)dx ≥ √ > = 0.4.
2 0 2+1 1.5 + 1

(b) Suppose the graph of f (x) is being traced on a computer screen with the uniform
speed of 1 cm per second (i.e., this is how fast the length of the curve is increasing). Show
that at the moment the point corresponding to x = 1 is being drawn, the x coordinate
is increasing at the rate of

1
p cm per second.
2 + sin(2)
Rxp
Solution. Length of the curve from x = 0 to any given x is l(x) = 0 1 + f 0 (u)2 du.
dl
It is given that dt = 1 cm/second at all times. One needs to find dx
dt
when x = 1.

dl dl dx dl
p
By chain rule dt = dx dt
. By the fundamental theorem of calculus dx = 1 + f 0 (x)2 . We
calculate f 0 (1)
p = cos(1) + sin(1). (Use f√(x) = x
cos(x)+sin(x)
= eln x(cos(x)+sin(x)) , etc.) So at
dl
x = 1, dx = 1 + (cos(1) + sin(1))2 = 2 + sin 2. Chain rule gives the answer.

(Remark: We are using calculus to analyze what in reality is a discrete situation, as a

computer will draw pixel by pixel. So the whole description is an approximation. It is
also probably more realistic to assume dx
dt
to be constant.)

4. Let A be a non-empty finite sequence of n distinct integers a1 < a2 < · · · < an . Define

A + A = {ai + aj |1 ≤ i, j ≤ n},

4
 i.e., the set of all pairwise sums of numbers from A. E.g., for A = {1, 4}, A+A = {2, 5, 8}.

(a) Show that |A + A| ≥ 2n − 1. Here |A + A| means the number of elements in A + A.

(b) Prove that |A+A| = 2n−1 if and only if the sequence A is an arithmetic progression.
(c) Find a sequence A of the form 0 < 1 < a3 < · · · < a10 such that |A + A| = 20.

Solution. (a) Easy induction, see answer to (b). Or explicitly, one has the 2n−1 distinct
numbers a1 + a1 < a1 + a2 < · · · < a1 + an < a2 + an < . . . < an + an in A + A. (A way
to visualize is to write ai + aj at point (i, j) in the XY-plane. Any step to the right or
up increases the number. To reach from 2a1 to 2an needs 2n − 1 such steps. The given
example is the path along bottom row and then rightmost column.)
(b) Suppose the ai form an arithmetic progression. Then for a fixed k, the value of
ai + ak−i is constant for all possible i, where 2 ≤ k ≤ 2n. For the converse use induction.
There is nothing to prove for n = 1, 2. For n > 2, remove an from A to get a set B. Now
|A + A| − |B + B| ≥ 2, because the two distinct numbers an−1 + an and 2an in A + A
are greater than all numbers in B + B. So for |A + A| = 2n − 1 to happen, one must
have |B + B| = 2n − 3, which by induction forces a1 , . . . , an−1 to be in an arithmetic
progression. Moreover an−2 + an must be in B + B and it can only be the largest number
2an−1 (because all others are smaller than an−2 + an ). This shows that an is the next
term of the same arithmetic progression.
(c) 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10. This answer is unique. (Why?)

5. Find a polynomial p(x) that simultaneously has both the following properties.
(i) When p(x) is divided by x100 the remainder is the constant polynomial 1.
(ii) When p(x) is divided by (x − 2)3 the remainder is the constant polynomial 2.

Solution. Suppose a polynomial f (x) leaves a constant remainder r when divided by

the polynomial (x − c)k . Then f 0 (x) is divisible by (x − c)k−1 . The converse is also
true: suppose for a polynomial f (x), the derivative f 0 (x) is divisible by (x − c)k−1 , say
f 0 (x) = q(x)(x − c)k−1 . Then f (x) leaves a constant remainder when divided by (x − c)k .
One can see this e.g. by substituting u = (x − c) in q(x)(x − c)k−1 and integrating.

In the given problem p0 (x) must be divisible by x99 as well as by (x − 2)2 . Moreover any
polynomial whose derivative is divisible by x99 (x − 2)2 will leave constant remainders
when divided by either of x100 and (x − 2)3 . The simplest way to find one such p(x) is
to integrate Ax99 (x − 2)2 = A(x101 − 4x100 + 4x99 ) to get
!
x102 4x101 4x100
p(x) = A − + +B
102 101 100

and solve for constants A and B to ensure desired values

 102  of the constant remainders. We
2 4×2101 4×2100
have p(0) = B = 1 and p(2) = A 102 − 101 + 100 + 1 = 2, which gives A.

5
 Theoretical approach. Working through the following reasoning will be very useful
for your understanding of basic arithmetic/algebra. It explains how to implememt the
Chinese remainder theorem using the Euclidean algorithm for finding GCD. This theorem
states the following. One can always find an integer that leaves desired remainders when
divided by two coprime integers a and b.

Suppose we are required to find an integer that leaves remainder r when divided by
a and remainder s when divided by b. A way to achieve this systematically is to use
the Euclidean algorithm, which finds GCD of two numbers by repeated division with
remainder. This algorithm also enables one to write the GCD in the form xa + yb, where
the integers x, y can be found explicitly by backward substitution in the steps used to
calculate the GCD. If a and b are coprime, i.e. if their GCD is 1, then we can write
1 = xa + yb. This tells you that xa is 1 modulo b and yb is 1 modulo a. Therefore,
sxa + ryb is r modulo a and s modulo b.

The relevance for this problem is that the same reasoning applies for polynomials in one
variable, because in this setting too one has division with remainder. Because x100 and
(x − 2)3 do not share a common factor, you know without any work that a polynomial
with given properties must exist. The same algorithm as the previous paragraph (but
now with polynomials) gives a systematic way to find it. In the given problem we could
use a different trick because the specified remainders here were rather simple (constants).
But there is a conceptual way as well by implementing the Chinese remainder theorem.

6. Find all pairs (p, n) of positive integers where p is a prime number and p3 − p = n7 − n3 .

Solution. The given equation is p(p − 1)(p + 1) = n3 (n2 + 1)(n + 1)(n − 1). As the
factor p on the LHS is a prime, it must divide one of the factors n − 1, n, n + 1, n2 + 1 on
the RHS.

A key point to deduce is that p > n2 . One way to do this is as follows. The LHS
= p3 − p is an increasing function of p for p ≥ 1, e.g. because the derivative 3p2 − 1
is positive. So for any given n ≥ 1, there is exactly one real value of p for which
LHS = RHS. Trying p = n2 gives LHS = n6 − n2 < n7 − n3 = RHS, e.g. because
n7 − n3 − (n6 − n2 ) = (n6 − n2 )(n − 1) > 0.

As the prime p is greater than n2 , it cannot divide any of n − 1, n, n + 1. So p must divide

n2 + 1 and therefore we must have p = n2 + 1, again because p > n2 . Substituting this
in the given equation, we get (n2 + 1)n2 (n2 + 2) = n3 (n2 + 1)(n + 1)(n − 1). Canceling
common factors gives n2 + 2 = n3 − n, i.e. 2 = n3 − n2 − n. This has a unique integer
solution n = 2, e.g. because the factor n on the RHS must divide 2 and now one checks
that n = 2 works. So n = 2 and the prime p = n2 + 1 = 5 give a unique solution to the
given equation.

6
 2017 Entrance Examination for the BSc Programmes at CMI

Read the instructions on the front of the booklet carefully!

Part A. Write your final answers on page 3.

Part A is worth a total of (4 × 10 = 40) points. Points will be given based only on clearly
legible final answers filled in the correct place on page 3. Write all answers for a single question
on the designated line and in the order in which they are asked, separated by commas.
Unless specified otherwise, each answer is either a number (rational/ real/ complex) or, where
appropriate, one of the phrases “infinite”/“does not exist”/“not possible to decide”. Write in-
teger answers in the usual decimal form. Write non-integer rationals as ratios of two integers.

1. Positive integers a and b, possibly equal, are chosen randomly from among the divisors
of 400. The numbers a, b are chosen independently, each divisor being equally likely to
be chosen. Find the probability that gcd(a, b) = 1 and lcm(a, b) = 400.
√
2. Find the volume of the solid obtained when the region bounded by y = x, y = −x and
the line x = 9 is revolved around the x-axis. (It may be useful to draw the specified
region.)

3. 10 mangoes are to be placed in 5 distinct boxes labeled U, V, W, X, Y. A box may contain

any number of mangoes including no mangoes or all the mangoes. What is the number
of ways to distribute the mangoes so that exactly two of the boxes contain exactly two
mangoes each?

4. Find all complex solutions to the equation:

x4 + x3 + 2x2 + x + 1 = 0.

5. Let g be a function such that all its derivatives exist. We say g has an inflection point
at x0 if the second derivative g 00 changes sign at x0 i.e., if g 00 (x0 − ) × g 00 (x0 + ) < 0 for
all small enough positive .

(a) If g 00 (x0 ) = 0 then g has an inflection point at x0 . True or False?

(b) If g has an inflection point at x0 then g 00 (x0 ) = 0. True or False?
(c) Find all values x0 at which x4 (x − 10) has an inflection point.

6. Consider the following construction in a circle. Choose points A, B, C on the given circle
such that ∠ABC is 60◦ . Draw another circle that is tangential to the chords AB, BC
and to the original circle.
Do the above construction in the unit circle to obtain a circle S1 . Repeat the process in
S1 to obtain another circle S2 . What is the radius of S2 ?

1
 7. Write the values of the following.
Z 3
(a) |3x2 − 3| dx.
−3
Z t
0
(b) f (1) where f (t) = |3x2 − 3| dx.
0

8. Let f be a continuous function from R to R (where R is the set of all real numbers) that
satisfies the following property: For every natural number n

f (n) = the smallest prime factor of n.

For example, f (12) = 2, f (105) = 3. Calculate the following.

(a) limx→∞ f (x).

(b) The number of solutions to the equation f (x) = 2016.

9. Consider the following function:

(
x2 cos( x1 ), x 6= 0,
f (x) =
a, x = 0.

(a) Find the value of a for which f is continuous.

Use this value of a to calculate the following.
(b) f 0 (0).
(c) lim f 0 (0).
x→0

10. For this question write your answers as a series of four letters (Y for Yes and N for No)
in order. Is it possible to find a 2 × 2 matrix M for which the equation M~x = p~ has:

(a) no solutions for some but not all p~; exactly one solution for all other p~ ?
(b) exactly one solution for some but not all p~; more than one solution for all other p~ ?
(c) no solutions for some but not all p~; more than one solution for all other p~ ?
(d) no solutions for some p~, exactly one solution for some p~ and more than one solution
for some p~ ?

2
 Answers to part A
This is the only place that will be seen for grading part A. So carefully and clearly write the
answers to each question on the designated line below. Write only the final answers, do not
show any intermediate work. Illegible/unclear answers will not be considered. +

A1.

A2.

A3.

A4.

A5.

A6.

A7.

A8.

A9.

A10.

3
 Part B. Write complete solutions for these questions from page 6 onwards.

Part B is worth a total of 85 points (Question 1 is worth 10 points and the remaining questions
are worth 15 points each). Solve these questions in the space provided for each question from
page 6. You may solve only part of a question and get partial credit. Clearly explain your
entire reasoning. No credit will be given without reasoning.

1. Answer the following questions

(a) Evaluate
x
lim+ (xx − xx ).
x→0
2π
(b) Let A = 9
, i.e., A = 40 degrees. Calculate the following
1 + cos A + cos 2A + cos 4A + cos 5A + cos 7A + cos 8A.
x
(c) Find the number of solutions to ex = 2017
+ 1.

2. Let L be the line of intersection of the planes x + y = 0 and y + z = 0.

(a) Write the vector equation of L, i.e., find (a, b, c) and (p, q, r) such that
L = {(a, b, c) + λ(p, q, r) | λ is a real number.}
(b) Find the equation of a plane obtained by rotating x + y = 0 about L by 45◦ .

3. Let p(x) be a polynomial of degree strictly less than 100 and such that it does not have
x3 − x as a factor. If
d100
 
p(x) f (x)
100 3
=
dx x −x g(x)
for some polynomials f (x) and g(x) then find the smallest possible degree of f (x). Here
d100
dx100
means taking the 100th derivative.

4. The domain of a function f is the set of natural numbers. The function is defined as
follows: √ 
f (n) = n + n
where bkc denotes the nearest integer smaller than or equal to k. For example, bπc =
3, b4c = 4. Prove that for every natural number m the following sequence contains at
least one perfect square
m, f (m), f 2 (m), f 3 (m), . . .
The notation f k denotes the function obtained by composing f with itself k times, e.g.,
f2 = f ◦ f.

4
5. Each integer is colored with exactly one of three possible colors - black, red or white -
satisfying the following two rules: the negative of a black number must be colored white,
and the sum of two white numbers (not necessarily distinct) must be colored black.

(a) Show that the negative of a white number must be colored black and the sum of
two black numbers must be colored white.
(b) Determine all possible colorings of the integers that satisfy these rules.

6. You are given a regular hexagon. We say that a square is inscribed in the hexagon if it
can be drawn in the interior such that all the four vertices lie on the perimeter of the
hexagon.

(a) A line segment has its endpoints on opposite edges of the hexagon. Show that it
passes through the center of the hexagon if and only if it divides the two edges in
the same ratio.
(b) Suppose a square ABCD is inscribed in the hexagon such that A and C are on the
opposite sides of the hexagon. Prove that center of the square is same as that of
the hexagon.
(c) Suppose the side of the hexagon is of length 1. Then find the length of the side of
the inscribed square whose one pair of opposite sides is parallel to a pair of opposite
sides of the hexagon.
(d) Show that, up to rotation, there is a unique way of inscribing a square in a regular
hexagon.

Write answers to part B from the next page.

5
 Answers to part B
If you need extra space for any problem,
continue on one of the colored blank pages at the end and write a note to that effect.

1. Answer the following questions

(a) Evaluate
x
lim+ (xx − xx ).
x→0

6
 2π
(b) Let A = 9
, i.e., A = 40 degrees. Calculate the following

1 + cos A + cos 2A + cos 4A + cos 5A + cos 7A + cos 8A.

x
(c) Find the number of solutions to ex = 2017
+ 1.

7
2. Let L be the line of intersection of the planes x + y = 0 and y + z = 0.

(a) Write the vector equation of L, i.e., find (a, b, c) and (p, q, r) such that

L = {(a, b, c) + λ(p, q, r) | λ is a real number.}

(b) Find the equation of a plane obtained by rotating x + y = 0 about L by 45◦ .

8
3. Let p(x) be a polynomial of degree strictly less than 100 and such that it does not have
x3 − x as a factor. If
d100
 
p(x) f (x)
100 3
=
dx x −x g(x)
for some polynomials f (x) and g(x) then find the smallest possible degree of f (x). Here
d100
dx100
means taking the 100th derivative.

9
4. The domain of a function f is the set of natural numbers. The function is defined as
follows: √ 
f (n) = n + n
where bkc denotes the nearest integer smaller than or equal to k. For example, bπc =
3, b4c = 4. Prove that for every natural number m the following sequence contains at
least one perfect square
m, f (m), f 2 (m), f 3 (m), . . .
The notation f k denotes the function obtained by composing f with itself k times, e.g.,
f2 = f ◦ f.

10
5. Each integer is colored with exactly one of three possible colors - black, red or white -
satisfying the following two rules: the negative of a black number must be colored white,
and the sum of two white numbers (not necessarily distinct) must be colored black.

(a) Show that the negative of a white number must be colored black and the sum of
two black numbers must be colored white.
(b) Determine all possible colorings of the integers that satisfy these rules.

11
6. You are given a regular hexagon. We say that a square is inscribed in the hexagon if it
can be drawn in the interior such that all the four vertices lie on the perimeter of the
hexagon.

(a) A line segment has its endpoints on opposite edges of the hexagon. Show that it
passes through the center of the hexagon if and only if it divides the two edges in
the same ratio.
(b) Suppose a square ABCD is inscribed in the hexagon such that A and C are on the
opposite sides of the hexagon. Prove that center of the square is same as that of
the hexagon.
(c) Suppose the side of the hexagon is of length 1. Then find the length of the side of
the inscribed square whose one pair of opposite sides is parallel to a pair of opposite
sides of the hexagon.
P

D A
U Q

T R
C B

(d) Show that, up to rotation, there is a unique way of inscribing a square in a regular
hexagon.

12
 2017 Entrance Examination for the BSc Programmes at CMI
Solutions

Read the instructions on the front of the booklet carefully!

Part A. Write your final answers on page 3.

Part A is worth a total of (4 × 10 = 40) points. Points will be given based only on clearly
legible final answers filled in the correct place on page 3. Write all answers for a single question
on the designated line and in the order in which they are asked, separated by commas.
Unless specified otherwise, each answer is either a number (rational/ real/ complex) or, where
appropriate, one of the phrases “infinite”/“does not exist”/“not possible to decide”. Write in-
teger answers in the usual decimal form. Write non-integer rationals as ratios of two integers.

1. Consider the following construction in a circle. Choose points A, B, C on the given circle
such that ∠ABC is 60◦ and AB = BC. Draw another circle that is tangential to the
chords AB, BC and to the original circle.
Do the above construction in the unit circle to obtain a circle S1 . Repeat the process in
S1 to obtain another circle S2 . What is the radius of S2 ?

Solution. Consider the center O and diameter BD of the unit circle. It is easy to see
that S1 passes through D and its center E lies between O and D. Let r be the radius of
S1 , so length of ED is r. Consider the perpendicular from E to chord BA, meeting BA
in point F. Then length of EF is also r and therefore in the 30-60-90 triangle BEF, the
length of the hypotenuse BE is 2r. Thus 2 = BD = BE + ED = 3r, thus r = 32 . By
similarity, the radius of S2 is 23 × 23 = 49 .
2. 10 oranges are to be placed in 5 distinct boxes labeled U, V, W, X, Y. A box may contain
any number of oranges including no oranges or all the oranges. What is the number of
ways to distribute the oranges so that exactly two of the boxes contain exactly two
oranges each?

Solution. From the five distinct boxes, there are 10 ways to pick the two boxes that will
have 2 oranges each. We need to distribute the remaining 6 oranges in the remaining
three boxes such that none of the three boxes gets exactly 2 oranges. The possible
distributions are 6+0+0 (which can be done in 3 ways) or 5+1+0 (6 ways) or 4+1+1 (3
ways) or 3+3+0 (3 ways). Thus the required answer is 10 × (3 + 6 + 3 + 3) = 150.
√
3. Find the volume of the solid obtained when the region bounded by y = x, y = −x and
the line x = 4 is revolved around the x-axis. (It may be useful to draw the specified
region.)
√
Solution. From x = 0 to x = 1 we have x ≥ | − x|, so from x = 0 to x = 1 the volume
swept out by the part of the given region that lies below X-axis is included in the volume

1
 swept out by the part above X-axis. So from x =√0 and x = 1 we just have to take the
volume obtained
√ by revolving the area below y = x. Similarly, from x = 1 to x = 4 we
have | − x| ≥ x, so here we just have to take the volume obtained by the revolving the
area below y = x. Thus the required volume is√obtained by adding volumes of two solids
of revolution around X-axis: area under y = x from x = 0 to x = 1 and area under
y = x from x = 1 to x = 4.

4. Positive integers a and b, possibly equal, are chosen randomly from among the divisors
of 400. The numbers a, b are chosen independently, each divisor being equally likely to
be chosen. Find the probability that gcd(a, b) = 1 and lcm(a, b) = 400.

Solution. 400 = 52 × 24 has (2 + 1) × (4 + 1) = 15 factors, so total number of pairs

(a, b) is 225. For a, b to be coprime, they should have no prime factor in common and
then their lcm is just their product, which is required to be 400. So there are only four
4
allowed pairs: (1,400), (400,1), (25,16) and (16,25). The probability is 225 .

5. Find all complex solutions to the equation:

x4 + x3 + 2x2 + x + 1 = 0.

Solution. It is easy to see that x4 + x3 + 2x2 + x + 1 = (x2 + 1)(x2 + x + 1).

6. Let g be a function such that all its derivatives exist. We say g has an inflection point
at x0 if the second derivative g 00 changes sign at x0 i.e., if g 00 (x0 − ) × g 00 (x0 + ) < 0 for
all small enough positive .

(a) If g 00 (x0 ) = 0 then g has an inflection point at x0 . True or False?

(b) If g has an inflection point at x0 then g 00 (x0 ) = 0. True or False?
(c) Find all values x0 at which x4 (x − 10) has an inflection point.

Solution. In (c), g 00 (x) = 20x3 − 120x2 = 20x2 (x − 6) and this changes sign only at
x = 6. Note that for this function, g 00 (0) = 0 but g 00 does not change sign at x = 0, thus
(a) is FALSE. On the other hand (b) is TRUE: Suppose for some g, the double derivative
g 00 changes sign at x0 . Then g 00 (x0 ) = 0 as g 00 is continuous (because g 00 is given to be
differentiable).

7. Write the values of the following.

Z 3
(a) |3x2 − 3| dx.
−3
Z t
0
(b) f (1) where f (t) = |3x2 − 3| dx.
0

Solution. (a) By symmetry we can calculate the definite integral from 0 to 3 and double
the answer. Note that |3x2 − 3| = 3x2 − 3 from x = 1 to 3 and |3x2 − 3| = 3 − 3x2 from
x = 0 to 1. So break the calculation at x = 1 etc.

2
 (b) |3x2 − 3| is a continuous function so by the fundamental theorem of calculus, f 0 (1) =
|3 × 12 − 3| = 0

8. For this question write your answers as a series of four letters (Y for Yes and N for No)
in order. Is it possible to find a 2 × 2 matrix M for which the equation M~x = p~ has:

(a) no solutions for some but not all p~; exactly one solution for all other p~ ?
(b) exactly one solution for some but not all p~; more than one solution for all other p~ ?
(c) no solutions for some but not all p~; more than one solution for all other p~ ?
(d) no solutions for some p~, exactly one solution for some p~ and more than one solution
for some p~ ?

Solution. If M has nonzero determinant, then for any p~, we see that M~x = p~ has the
unique solution ~x = M −1 p~. If determinant of M is zero then we can make two cases. (i)
If M is the zero matrix, then M~x = p~ has infinitely many solutions for p~ = ~0 and no
solutions otherwise. (ii) If M is nonzero then it is easy to see that we are solving two
equations in two variables whose left hand sides are proportional. So if the two right
hand constants that make up p~ are in the same proportion, then we will have infinitely
many solutions (because one of the variables can be arbitrary). If the constants are not
in the same proportion, then the two equations will be inconsistent and we will have no
solutions. Thus the answer is NNYN. It is also possible to think geometrically in terms of
(at most) two lines, each moving in a parallel family. If the lines have the same slope they
either coincide or don’t intersect. Otherwise they have a unique point of intersection.

Note: In general linear algebra gives the right tools to analyze matrix equations, e.g. in
this problem we can say the following. If M = 0 then the space of solutions is either
empty or two-dimensional. If M 6= 0 then either there is a unique solution (precisely
when determinant 6= 0) or, when determinant is 0, the space of solutions is either empty
or one-dimensional. For larger matrices the possibilities are more complicated, but they
can be described precisely using the language provided by linear algebra.

9. Let f be a continuous function from R to R (where R is the set of all real numbers) that
satisfies the following property: For every natural number n

f (n) = the smallest prime factor of n.

For example, f (12) = 2, f (105) = 3. Calculate the following.

(a) limx→∞ f (x).

(b) The number of solutions to the equation f (x) = 2016.

Solution. f (x) will take value 2 for all even x. At the same time, primes provide an
increasing infinite sequence of positive integers for which f (x) = x. Thus limx→∞ f (x)
does not exist. By intermediate value theorem, for each prime p > 2016 there is an x
between p and p + 1 such that f (x) = 2016.

3
10. Consider the following function:
(
x2 cos( x1 ), x 6= 0,
f (x) =
a, x = 0.

(a) Find the value of a for which f is continuous.

Use this value of a to calculate the following.
(b) f 0 (0).
(c) lim f 0 (x).
x→0

Solution. cos( x1 ) is sandwiched between −1 and 1, so limx→0 f (x) = 0 = a makes

h2 cos( 1 )−0
f continuous. Now f 0 (0) = limh→0 h
h
= limh→0 h cos( h1 ) which is similarly 0.
Finally, for nonzero x, calculate f 0 (x) = 2x cos( x1 ) + sin( x1 ), so limx→0 f 0 (x) does not exist
as limx→0 2x cos( x1 ) = 0 and limx→0 sin( x1 ) does not exist.

4
 2017 Entrance Examination for the BSc Programmes at CMI

Solutions to Part B

1. Answer the following questions

(a) Evaluate
x
lim+ (xx − xx ).
x→0

First consider the limit

lim xx = lim+ (elogx x )
x→0+ x→0
log x
= lim+ (e 1/x ). (1)
x→0

Now consider the following limit

log x 1/x
lim+ = lim
x→0 1/x x→0 −1/x2

=0 (2)

substituting the value 0 from (2) in equation (1) we get that the limit is 1.
Now,
x x
lim+ (xx − xx ) = lim+ xx − lim+ xx
x→0 x→0 x→0
limx→0+ xx
= lim+ x − lim+ xx
x→0 x→0
=0−1
= −1.

1
 2π
(b) Let A = 9
, i.e., A = 40 degrees. Calculate the following

1 + cos A + cos 2A + cos 4A + cos 5A + cos 7A + cos 8A.

There are many ways to arrive at the answer 1. Here are two approaches.
Let S be the above sum. Then
S = 1 + cos A + cos 2A + cos 4A cos(2π − 4A) + cos(2π − 2A) + cos(2π − A)
= 1 + 2(cos A + cos 2A + cos 4A)
 
3A A A
= 1 + 2 2 cos( ) cos( ) + cos(π − )
2 2 2
 
π A A
= 1 + 2 2 cos( ) cos( ) − cos( )
3 2 2
 
1 A A
= 1 + 2 2 × cos( ) − cos( )
2 2 2
= 1.

Recall that cos nA is the real part of einA . Then

8
X 2
X
S= cos nA − cos(3nA)
n=0 n=1
8 2
!
in 2π
X X
= Re einA − e 3

n=0
2

n=1
= Re 0 − ω − ω
= 1.

Here ω is a complex cube root of unity.

x
(c) Find the number of solutions to ex = 2017 + 1.
First, note that x = 0 is clearly a solution. Let f (x) = ex − 2017
x
− 1. Then
x0 = − log 2017 is the only critical point of f (x). For all x < x0 we have
f 0 (x) < 0. Since f (x) → ∞ as x → −∞ there is only one solution in the
interval (−∞, x0 ). For all x > x0 we have f 0 (x) > 0 (i.e., ex > 2017
1
). Hence
there is only one solution in the interval (x0 , ∞). In total there are exactly
two solutions.

2
2. Let L be the line of intersection of the planes x + y = 0 and y + z = 0.

(a) Write the vector equation of L, i.e., find (a, b, c) and (p, q, r) such that

L = {(a, b, c) + λ(p, q, r) | λ is a real number.}

(b) Find the equation of a plane obtained by rotating x + y = 0 about L by 45◦ .

Clearly the line L passes through the origin. Moreover L is in the direction
perpendicular to the normals to the both the planes. The direction vector can
be obtained by computing following cross product
(î + ĵ) × (ĵ + k̂) = î − ĵ + k̂.

Hence L can be written as

L = {(0, 0, 0) + λ(1, −1, 1) | λ is a real number }

First, note that the equation of any plane that contains the line L is given by
x + (1 + λ)y + λz = 0.

Second, note that one can rotate the plane x + y = 0 in either clockwise or in
anticlockwise direction. Consequently there are two such planes. The normal of
one of the planes makes an angle of 45◦ with the normal of x + y = 0 and the
other normal makes an angle of 135◦ .
π
(î + ĵ) · (î + (1 + λ)ĵ + λk̂) = ±|î + ĵ||î + (1 + λ)ĵ + λk̂| cos( )
p 4
2 + λ = ± 1 + (1 + λ) + λ 2 2

2
λ − 2λ − 2 = 0
√
λ = 1 ± 3.

So the equation of the plane is

√
x + y + (1 ± 3)(y + z) = 0.

3
3. Let p(x) be a polynomial of degree strictly less than 100 and such that it does not have
x3 − x as a factor. If
d100
 
p(x) f (x)
100 3
=
dx x −x g(x)
for some polynomials f (x) and g(x) then find the smallest possible degree of f (x). Here
d100
dx100
means taking the 100th derivative.
Using the division algorithm we have
p(x) r(x)
3
= q(x) + 3 (3)
x −x x −x
As the degree of q(x) is strictly less than that of p(x) its 100th derivative is
certainly zero. As x3 − x is not a factor of p(x) one may assume (without loss of
generality) that x2 − 1 is a divides r(x). In that case we have
d100 d100 k
   
p(x)
= 100
dx100 x3 − x dx x
100! k
= 100
x
Hence the least possible degree of f (x) is 0.
If one assumes that x3 − x doesn't divide p(x) then we have
r(x) A0 B0 C0
= + + .
x3 − x x x−1 x+1
Consequently,
f (x) A B C
= 101 + 101
+
g(x) x (x − 1) (x + 1)101
∴ f (x) = A(x2 − 1)101 + B(x2 + x)101 + C(x2 − x)101
   
202 201 101 101
= (A + B + C)x + 101(B − C)x + ( B+ C − 101A)x200 + · · · .
2 2

Choosing B = C and A+B+C = 0 we see that the coecient of x200 is (101)(102) 6=

0. Hence the least possible degree of f (x) in this case is 200.

4
4. The domain of a function f is the set of natural numbers. The function is defined as
follows: √ 
f (n) = n + n
where bkc denotes the nearest integer smaller than or equal to k. For example, bπc =
3, b4c = 4. Prove that for every natural number m the following sequence contains at
least one perfect square
m, f (m), f 2 (m), f 3 (m), . . .
The notation f k denotes the function obtained by composing f with itself k times, e.g.,
f2 = f ◦ f.
If m is itself a square then we are done. So assume that m = k2 + j for 1 ≤ j ≤ 2k.
Hence we have f (m) = k2 + j + k. Consider the following two sets
A = {m a natural number | m = k2 + j and 0 ≤ j ≤ k}.
B = {m a natural number | m = k2 + j and k + 1 ≤ j ≤ 2k}.
Suppose m is in the set B . Then
f (m) = k 2 + j + k
= (k + 1)2 + (j − k − 1).

Hence f (m) is either a square or is in A. Thus it is enough to assume that m ∈ A.

In that case k2 < f (m) < (k + 1)2 , so bf (m)c = k. Therefore
f 2 (m) = (k + 1)2 + (j − 1).

This clearly implies that f 2j (m) = (k + j)2 .

5
5. Each integer is colored with exactly one of three possible colors - black, red or white -
satisfying the following two rules: the negative of a black number must be colored white,
and the sum of two white numbers (not necessarily distinct) must be colored black.
(a) Show that the negative of a white number must be colored black and the sum of
two black numbers must be colored white.
(b) Determine all possible colorings of the integers that satisfy these rules.
Suppose an integer n is colored white. Then (n + n) = 2n is black, so −2n is
white, so −2n + n = −n is black. Thus, the negative of a white number must be
colored black. Now suppose the integers n and m are both colored black. Then
−n and −m are both white, so −n − m is black, so n + m is white. Thus, the sum
of two black numbers must be colored white.
One possible coloring has all the integers colored red, since there are no condi-
tions on red numbers.
If that is not the case, let n be the smallest positive integer that is not colored
red. Suppose the number n is colored black. Then we claim the remaining
colors are all fully determined. Namely, the numbers of the form (3k + 1)n will
be black, the numbers of the form (3k + 2)n will be white, and the numbers of
the form (3k)n will be red, for all integers k. And all remaining colors will be
red. On the other hand, if the number n is colored white to begin with, then the
remaining numbers will be determined by the same rules, but with black and
white switched. Thus we have listed all possible colorings.
In order to prove the above claim, we rst prove one more rule the colors must
obey. Namely, that (*) The sum of a black number and a white number must
be colored red. Suppose n is black and m is white, and that n + m is black.
But then (n + m) + (−m) is the sum of two black numbers, and must be colored
white, which is a contradiction. Similarly, the sum of n and m cannot be white.
Therefore it must be red.
Using this rule, it is easy to see that the numbers of the form (3k + 1)n will be
black, the numbers of the form (3k + 2)n will be white, and the numbers of the
form (3k)n will be red, for all integers k. It remains to show that all numbers
that are not multiples of n are colored red.
We can prove this by contradiction. As before n is the smallest positive integer
that is not red, and it is colored black. Suppose m is the smallest positive integer
that is neither red nor a multiple of n. Then m = qn + r, where 0 < r < n is the
remainder when m is divided by n. We know this remainder is nonzero, since m
is not a multiple of n. We also know that q > 0, since m > n. Suppose m is white.
Then, because −n is white, we know m − n = (q − 1)n + r is black, which gives us
a smaller non-red positive integer that's not a multiple of n. On the other hand,
suppose m is colored black. Then −2n is black, so m − 2n = (q − 2)n + r is white.
If q > 1, this gives us a smaller positive non-red integer that's not a multiple of
n, which is a contradiction, provided q > 1. But if q = 1, and m − 2n = −n + r is
white, that means that n − r is black, another contradiction.

6
6. You are given a regular hexagon. We say that a square is inscribed in the hexagon if it
can be drawn in the interior such that all the four vertices lie on the perimeter of the
hexagon.

(a) A line segment has its endpoints on opposite edges of the hexagon. Show that it
passes through the center of the hexagon if and only if it divides the two edges in
the same ratio.
(b) Suppose a square ABCD is inscribed in the hexagon such that A and C are on the
opposite sides of the hexagon. Prove that center of the square is same as that of
the hexagon.
(c) Suppose the side of the hexagon is of length 1. Then find the length of the side of
the inscribed square whose one pair of opposite sides is parallel to a pair of opposite
sides of the hexagon.
P

D A
U Q

T R
C B

(d) Show that, up to rotation, there is a unique way of inscribing a square in a regular
hexagon.

(a) Suppose a segment AC meets with opposite sides P Q and T S of a hexagon

and O is the midpoint of AC . We show that
PA
AQ
= TC
CS
⇐⇒ O is the center of the hexagon.
If O is the center of the hexagon, consider triangles OAQ and OCS . By
the SAS test these are congruent. Similarly, triangles OAP and OCT are
congruent.
Conversely, suppose AQ
PA
= TCSC = k (say), then

P Q = T S =⇒ P A+AQ = T C +CS =⇒ AQ(k+1) = CS(k+1) =⇒ AQ = CS.

So 4AQO ∼ = 4CT O, so that OQ = OT . Also, ∠AOQ = ∠COT and ∠AOP =

∠COS , so Q, O and T are collinear.
(b) Next suppose we have inscribed a square ABCD in a hexagon P QRST U ,
with A on P Q, B on QR, C on ST and D on T U . We claim that 4AQB is

7
 congruent to 4CT D. This will prove that both diagonals pass through the
center of the hexagon (using the criterion proved above).
Proof: We know that P A k ST and AC is a transversal. So ∠QAC = ∠T CA,
also ∠BAC = ∠DCA = 45◦ . So ∠QAB = ∠DCT .
Similarly, ∠QBA = ∠CDT . Also, ∠AQB = ∠CT D, since they are angles in
a regular hexagon. Moreover, AB = CD. As a result we get that 4QBA ∼ =
4T DC .
So we have QB = T D and QA = T C . This in turn implies that BR = DU
and P A = CS Thus,
QB TD PA SC
= and = .
BR DU AQ CT
Hence AC and BD pass through the center of the hexagon.
(c) Let DU = x so DP = 1 − x. Observe that DC = 2x sin 30 and DA = 2(1 −
x) sin 60. Since DC = DA we solving the equations for x we get x = √3+1 2
.
√ √
Consequently the side DC = 3( 3 − 1).
(d) Finally we want to show that there is a unique way of inscribing a square
in a regular hexagon.
Proof: It will be enough to show that the ratios QB BR
and QA
AP
are equal.
Suppose on the contrary that these ratios aren't equal.
Let ∠QAB = α and ∠QBA = β . Note that then ∠OAQ = 45◦ + α and
∠OBQ = 45◦ + β . Also, α + β = 60◦ , since ∠AQB = 120◦ .
Let A0 be a point on QR such that QA . Since 4BOA0 is isosceles,
0

A0 R
= QA
AP
∠OBA equals ∠OA B , so that
0 0

180◦ = ∠OBA0 +∠OBQ = ∠OBQ+∠OA0 B = ∠OBQ+∠OAQ = 45◦ +β +45◦ +α,

so α + β = 0◦ , a contradiction since α + β = 60◦ .

8
 CHENNAI MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE
Undergraduate Programme in Mathematics and Computer Science/Physics
Common Entrance Examination
15th May 2019

U − −
Enter your Admit Card Number :

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS!

• Ensure that this booklet has all 18 printed sides: this cover page and 17 numbered pages.
Pages numbered 1 to 3 contain ten questions in part A plus the space to answer part A on page
3. Page numbered 4 contains six questions in part B. Pages 6 to 17 contain answer sheets for each
question in part B. For rough work use the colored blank pages at the end.

• Time allowed is 3 hours. Total points: 100 = 40 for part A + 60 for part B.

• Part A will be used for screening. Part B will be graded only if you score a certain minimum
in part A. However your scores in both parts will be used while making the final decision. Specific
instructions for each part are given below.

• Advice: Please ensure that you have about 2 hours left for part B.

For office use only

× Points Remarks Points Remarks

Part A B1

Part B B2

Total B3

B4

B5

B6

Total
 2019 Entrance Examination for the BSc Programmes at CMI

Read the instructions on the front of the booklet carefully!

Part A. Write your final answers on page 3.

Part A is worth a total of (4 × 10 = 40) points. Points will be given based only on clearly
legible final answers filled in the correct place on page 3. Write all answers for a single question
on the designated line and in the order in which they are asked, separated by commas.
Unless specified otherwise, each answer is either a number (rational/ real/ complex) or, where
appropriate, one of the phrases “infinite”/“does not exist”/“not possible to decide”. Write in-
teger answers in the usual decimal form. Write non-integer rationals as ratios of two integers.

1. For a natural number m, define Φ1 (m) to be the number of divisors of m and for k ≥ 2
define Φk (m) := Φ1 (Φk−1 (m)). For example, Φ2 (12) = Φ1 (6) = 4. Find the minimum k
such that
Φk (20192019 ) = 2.
2. Let f be a real valued continuous function defined on R satisfying
f 0 (tan2 θ) = cos 2θ + tan θ sin 2θ, for all real numbers θ.
If f 0 (0) = − cos 12
π
then find f (1).
3. You have a piece of land close to a river, running straight. You are required to cut off a
rectangular portion of the land, with the river forming one of the sides of the rectangle
so, your fence will have three sides to it. You only have 60 meters of fencing. The
maximum area that you can enclose is . . . . . . .
4. The sum
S = 1 + 111 + 11111 + · · · + 11 · · · 1}
| {z
2k + 1
is equal to . . . . . . .
5. You are given an 8×8 chessboard. If two distinct squares are chosen uniformly at random
find the probability that two rooks placed on these squares attack each other. Recall
that a rook can move either horizontally or vertically, in a straight line.
6. For how many natural numbers n is n6 + n4 + 1 a square of a natural number?
7. A broken calculator has all its 10 digit keys and two operation keys intact. Let us
call these operation keys A and B. When the calculator displays a number n pressing
A changes the display to n + 1. When the calculator displays a number n pressing B
changes the display to 2n. For example, if the number 3 is displayed then the key strokes
ABBA changes the display in the following steps 3 → 4 → 8 → 16 → 17.
If 1 is on the display what is the least number of key strokes needed to get 260 on the
display?

1
 8. Let π = π1 π2 . . . . . . πn be a permutation of the numbers 1, 2, 3, . . . , n. We say π has its
first ascent at position k < n if π1 > π2 . . . > πk and πk < πk+1 . If π1 > π2 > . . . >
πn−1 > πn we say π has its first ascent in position n. For example when n = 4 the
permutation 2134 of has its first ascent at position 2.
The number of permutations which have their first ascent at position k is . . . . . . .
For questions 9 and 10 below, some statements are given. For each statement,
state if it is true or false. Write your answer to each question as a sequence
of three/ four letters (T for True and F for False) in correct order.

9. Consider f : R × R → R defined as follows:

1
f (a, b) := lim loge [ena + enb ].
n→∞ n

(a) f is not onto i.e. the range of f is not all of R.

(b) For every a the function x 7→ f (a, x) is continuous everywhere.
(c) For every b the function x 7→ f (x, b) is differentiable everywhere.
(d) We have f (0, x) = x for all x ≥ 0.

10. Let f : R → R.
R1
(a) There is no continuous function f for which f (x)(1 − f (x))dx < 41 .
0
R1
(b) There is only one continuous function f for which 0 f (x)(1 − f (x))dx = 41 .
R1
(c) There are infinitely many continuous functions f for which 0 f (x)(1−f (x))dx = 41 .

2
 Answers to part A
This is the only place that will be seen for grading part A. So carefully and clearly write the
answers to each question on the designated line below. Write only the final answers, do not
show any intermediate work. Illegible/unclear answers will not be considered. ×

A1.

A2.

A3.

A4.

A5.

A6.

A7.

A8.

A9.

A10.

3
 Part B. Write complete solutions for these questions from page 6 onwards.

Part B is worth a total of 60 marks. Solve these questions in the space provided for each
question from page 6. You may solve only part of a question and get partial credit. Clearly
explain your entire reasoning. No credit will be given without reasoning.

1. For a natural number n denote by Map(n) the set of all functions f : {1, 2, . . . , n} →
{1, 2, . . . , n}. For f, g ∈ Map(n), f ◦ g denotes the function in Map(n) that sends x to
f (g(x)). [10 marks]

(a) Let f ∈ Map(n). If for all x ∈ {1, . . . , n} f (x) 6= x, show that f ◦ f 6= f .

(b) Count the number of functions f ∈ Map(n) such that f ◦ f = f .
2019
2. (a) Count the number of roots
p w√of the equation z − 1 = 0 over complex numbers
that satisfy |w + 1| ≥ 2 + 2. [5 marks]
(b) Find all real numbers x that satisfy following equation: [5 marks]
8x + 27x 7
x x
= .
12 + 18 6
R∞
3. Evaluate 0
(1 + x2 )−(m+1) dx, where m is a natural number. [10 marks]

4. Let ABCD be a parallelogram. Let O be a point in its interior such that ∠AOB +
∠DOC = 180◦ . Show that ∠ODC = ∠OBC. [10 marks]

5. Three positive real numbers x, y, z satisfy

x2 + y 2 = 32
y 2 + yz + z 2 = 42
√
x2 + 3xz + z 2 = 52 .
√
Find the value of 2xy + xz + 3yz. [10 marks]
Z e x 
d 4
6. (a) Compute log(t) cos (t) dt . [4 marks]
dx 0
Rx
(b) For x > 0 define F (x) = 1 t log(t)dt. [6 marks]
i. Determine the open interval(s) (if any) where F (x) is decreasing and the open
interval(s) (if any) where F (x) is increasing.
ii. Determine all the local minima of F (x) (if any) and the local maxima of F (x)
(if any) .

4
 Write answers to part B from the next page.
If you need extra space for any problem, continue on one of the colored blank
pages at the end and write a note to that effect.

5
 Answers to part B

1. For a natural number n denote by Map(n) the set of all functions f : {1, 2, . . . , n} →
{1, 2, . . . , n}. For f, g ∈ Map(n), f ◦ g denotes the function in Map(n) that sends x to
f (g(x)). [10 marks]

(a) Let f ∈ Map(n). If for all x ∈ {1, . . . , n} f (x) 6= x, show that f ◦ f 6= f .

(b) Count the number of functions f ∈ Map(n) such that f ◦ f = f .

6
7
 2019
2. (a) Count the number of roots
p w√of the equation z − 1 = 0 over complex numbers
that satisfy |w + 1| ≥ 2 + 2. [5 marks]

8
(b) Find all real numbers x that satisfy following equation: [5 marks]
8x + 27x 7
x x
= .
12 + 18 6

9
 R∞
3. Evaluate 0
(1 + x2 )−(m+1) dx, where m is a natural number. [10 marks]

10
11
4. Let ABCD be a parallelogram. Let O be a point in its interior such that

∠AOB + ∠DOC = 180◦ .

Show that ∠ODC = ∠OBC. [10 marks]

12
13
5. Three positive real numbers x, y, z satisfy

x2 + y 2 = 32
y 2 + yz + z 2 = 42
√
x2 + 3xz + z 2 = 52 .
√
Find the value of 2xy + xz + 3yz. [10 marks]

14
15
 Z ex 
d 4
6. (a) Compute log(t) cos (t) dt . [4 marks]
dx 0

16
 Rx
(b) For x > 0 define F (x) = 1
t log(t)dt. [6 marks]
i. Determine the open interval(s) (if any) where F (x) is decreasing and the open
interval(s) (if any) where F (x) is increasing.
ii. Determine all the local minima of F (x) (if any) and the local maxima of F (x)
(if any) .

17
2019 Entrance Examination for the national undergraduate programmes at CMI

Solutions to Part A

1. For a natural number m, define Φ1 (m) to be the number of divisors of m and for k ≥ 2
define Φk (m) := Φ1 (Φk−1 (m)). For example, Φ2 (12) = Φ1 (6) = 4. Find the minimum k
such that
Φk (20192019 ) = 2.
Answer: 6
2. Let f be a real valued continuous function defined on R satisfying

f 0 (tan2 θ) = cos 2θ + tan θ sin 2θ, for all real numbers θ.

π
If f ( 0) = − cos 12 then find f (1).
Note there was a typo in the exam; it was printed f 0 (0) instead of f (0). An-
swer: Put y = tan2 θ. Then we have

f 0 (y) = 1

Hence the answer is 1 − cos 12π .

3. You have a piece of land close to a river, running straight. You are required to cut off a
rectangular portion of the land, with the river forming one of the sides of the rectangle so,
your fence will have three sides to it. You only have 60 meters of fencing. The maximum
area that you can enclose is . . . . . . .
Answer: 450 square meters.

4. The sum
S = 1 + 111 + 11111 + · · · + 11 · · · 1}
| {z
2k + 1

is equal to . . . . . . .
102k+3 − 99k − 109
Answer: .
99 × 9
5. You are given an 8×8 chessboard. If two distinct squares are chosen uniformly at random
find the probability that two rooks placed on these squares attack each other. Recall that
a rook can move either horizontally or vertically, in a straight line.
2
Answer: .
9
6. For how many natural numbers n is n6 + n4 + 1 a square of a natural number?
Answer: 1 (n = 2 is the only solution.

1
 7. A broken calculator has all its 10 digit keys and two operation keys intact. Let us
call these operation keys A and B. When the calculator displays a number n pressing
A changes the display to n + 1. When the calculator displays a number n pressing B
changes the display to 2n. For example, if the number 3 is displayed then the key strokes
ABBA changes the display in the following steps 3 → 4 → 8 → 16 → 17.
If 1 is on the display what is the least number of key strokes needed to get 260 on the
display?
Answer: 9, there are exactly two sequences, for example, BBBBBBABB .

8. Let π = π1 π2 . . . . . . πn be a permutation of the numbers 1, 2, 3, . . . , n. We say π has its

first ascent at position k < n if π1 > π2 . . . > πk and πk < πk+1 . If π1 > π2 > . . . >
πn−1 > πn we say π has its first ascent in position n. For example when n = 4 the
permutation 2134 of has its first ascent at position 2.
The number
of permutations
which have their first ascent at position k is . . . . . . .
Answer: nk (n − k)! − k+1
n
(n − k − 1)!.
For questions 9 and 10 below, some statements are given. For each statement,
state if it is true or false. Write your answer to each question as a sequence
of three/ four letters (T for True and F for False) in correct order.

9. Consider f : R × R → R defined as follows:

1
f (a, b) := lim loge [ena + enb ].
n→∞ n
(a) f is not onto i.e. the range of f is not all of R.
(b) For every a the function x 7→ f (a, x) is continuous everywhere.
(c) For every b the function x 7→ f (x, b) is differentiable everywhere.
(d) We have f (0, x) = x for all x ≥ 0.

Answer: FTFT

10. Let f : R → R.
R1
(a) There is no continuous function f for which f (x)(1 − f (x))dx < 41 .
0
R1
(b) There is only one continuous function f for which 0 f (x)(1 − f (x))dx = 14 .
R1
(c) There are infinitely many continuous functions f for which 0 f (x)(1−f (x))dx = 41 .

Answer: FFT

Solutions to Part B

1. For a natural number n denote by Map(n) the set of all functions f : {1, 2, . . . , n} →
{1, 2, . . . , n}. For f, g ∈ Map(n), f ◦ g denotes the function in Map(n) that sends x to
f (g(x)). [10 marks]

2
 (a) Let f ∈ Map(n). If for all x ∈ {1, . . . , n} f (x) 6= x, show that f ◦ f 6= f .
Answer: Suppose f (f (x)) = f (x). Set y = f (x). Then we have f (y) = y , a
contraction.
(b) Count the number of functions f ∈ Map(n) such that f ◦ f = f .
Answer: Note that from the above part it follows that each x has to map
to a xed point of f (i.e., a y such that f (y) = y. So in order to count the
number of such functions we rst need to decide the number
of xed points.
The number functions that have exactly k xed points is nk kn−k . In order
to get the total number sum the previous quantity over 1 ≤ k ≤ n.
2019
p w√of the equation z
2. (a) Count the number of roots − 1 = 0 over complex numbers
that satisfy |w + 1| ≥ 2 + 2. [5 marks]
Answer: Such roots can be expressed as follows
cos(2πk) sin(2πk)
w= +i for k = 0, ±1, . . . , ±1009.
2019 2019
Therefore,
cos(2πk)
|w + 1|2 = 2 + 2 .
2019
Hence we want to identify k such that
cos(2πk) 1
≥√ .
2019 2
Which is equivalent to
2πk π
| |≤
2019 4
i.e., |k| ≤ 252.
So there are 505 solutions satisfying the given inequality.
(b) Find all real numbers x that satisfy following equation: [5 marks]
8x + 27x 7
x x
= .
12 + 18 6
Answer: Put a = 2x and b = 3x . This reduces the given equation to the
following quadratic -
6a2 − 13ab + 6b2 = 0.
Solving the above equation and re-substituting we get x = ±1.
R∞
3. Evaluate 0 (1 + x2 )−(m+1) dx, where m is a natural number. [10 marks]
Answer: There are various ways to solve this. One can start with the subsitution
x = tan u, that changes the integral to

1 2π
Z
I= (cos(u))2m du.
4 0

3
 Using integration by reduction technique the nal answer is
2π (2m)!
· 2m .
4 2 (m!)2

4. Let ABCD be a parallelogram. Let O be a point in its interior such that ∠AOB +
∠DOC = 180◦ . Show that ∠ODC = ∠OBC. [10 marks]
Answer: Note that there exists an external point P such that AP is parallel to
DO, BP is parallel to CO and OP is parallel to BC . Now AOBP is a cyclic
quadrilateral. Rest is a straightforward calculation involving angles.
5. Three positive real numbers x, y, z satisfy

x2 + y 2 = 32
y 2 + yz + z 2 = 42
√
x2 + 3xz + z 2 = 52 .
√
Find the value of 2xy + xz + 3yz. [10 marks]
Answer: Consider the right angled triangle ABC with sides 3, 4, 5 and an interior
point O such that AO = x, ∠AOB = 90 and CO = z, ∠COA = 150 and BO =
y, ∠BOC = 120. Then the three given equations are in fact cosine rule for each
of the triangle prescribed above. For example, in ∆BOC we have
42 = y 2 + z 2 − 2yz cos(120)
= y 2 + z 2 + yz.

The area of δABC (which is 6) calculated using the sine formula (for each of the
smaller triangle) gives us
1 1 1
6 = xy + yz sin 60 + sin 30
2 2 2
So the answer is 24.
Z ex 
d 4
6. (a) Compute log(t) cos (t) dt . [4 marks]
dx 0
Rx
(b) For x > 0 define F (x) = 1 t log(t)dt. [6 marks]
Answer: This is fairly straightforward: substitute ey for t and use the Leibniz
rule for the di erntial under an integral sign to get the answer
(ex )(log(ex )) cos4 (ex ).

i. Determine the open interval(s) (if any) where F (x) is decreasing and the open
interval(s) (if any) where F (x) is increasing.
ii. Determine all the local minima of F (x) (if any) and the local maxima of F (x)
(if any) .

4
Answer:
Z x
0 d
F (x) = t log t dt
dx 1
= x log x.

Therefore F 0 (1) = 0. Moreover, F 00 (x) = 1 + log x. Hence one concludes that

F is decreasing on (0, 1), increasing on (1, ∞) and has a local minima at
x = 1.

5
 CHENNAI MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE
Undergraduate Programme in Mathematics and Computer Science/Physics
Common Entrance Examination
1st August 2021

Enter your Admit Card Number : U

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS
• Points: 40 for part A and 60 for part B. Carefully read the specific instructions given
for each part in the question paper.
• Part A will be used for screening. Part B will be graded only if you score a certain
minimum in part A. However your individual scores in both parts will be used while making
the final decision.
• Enter your answers to part A into the computer as instructed. Each part A question
has four statements, of which at least one is true. You have to select exactly the true
option(s) for each question. Deciding the truth/falsity of all four options correctly is worth
4 points. Getting three out of four correct is worth 1 point. There is no negative marking.
• This booklet is ONLY for part B answers and rough work. For each part B problem,
write your solution on the pages designated for that problem in pages numbered 2 to 13. For
extra space and rough work, use the blank pages numbered 14 to 26 at the end.
• Time allowed: 3 hours. You are advised to leave about 2 hours for part B.

For office use only

Points Remarks Points Remarks

Part A B1

Part B B2

Total B3

B4

B5

B6

Total

1
 Part A

In each question four statements are given, of which at least one is true. Select exactly the
true option(s) for each question. Deciding the truth/falsity of all four options correctly is
worth 4 points. Getting three out of four correct is worth 1 point. There is no negative
marking. Points will be given based only on answers entered into the computer.

1. Consider the two equations numbered [1] and [2]:

log2021 a = 2022 a [1]

b
2021 = 2022 b [2]

(a) Equation [1] has a unique solution.

(b) Equation [2] has a unique solution.
(c) There exists a solution a for [1] and a solution b for [2] such that a = b.
(d) There exists a solution a for [1] and a solution b for [2] such that a+b is an integer.

2. A prime p is an integer 2 whose only positive integer factors are 1 and p.

(a) For any prime p the number p2 p is always divisible by 3.

(b) For any prime p > 3 exactly one of the numbers p 1 and p + 1 is divisible by 6.
(c) For any prime p > 3 the number p2 1 is divisible by 24.
(d) For any prime p > 3 one of the three numbers p + 1, p + 3 and p + 5 is divisible
by 8.

3. We want to construct a triangle ABC such that angle A is 20.21 , side AB has length
1 and side BC has length x where x is a positive real number. Let N (x) = the number
of pairwise noncongruent triangles with the required properties.

(a) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 0.

(b) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 1.
(c) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 2.
(d) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 3.

1
4. Consider polynomials of the form f (x) = x3 + ax2 + bx + c where a, b, c are integers.
Name the three (possibly non-real) roots of f (x) to be p, q, r.

(a) If f (1) = 2021, then f (x) = (x 1)(x2 + sx + t) + 2021 where s, t must be integers.
(b) There is such a polynomial f (x) with c = 2021 and p = 2.
(c) There is such a polynomial f (x) with r = 12 .
(d) The value of p2 + q 2 + r2 does not depend on the value of c.

5. For any complex number z define P (z) = the cardinality of {z k |k is a positive integer},
i.e., the number of distinct positive integer powers of z. It may be useful to remember
that ⇡ is an irrational number.

(a) For each positive integer n there is a complex number z such that P (z) = n.
(b) There is a unique complex number z such that P (z) = 3.
(c) If |z| =
6 1, then P (z) is infinite.
(d) P (ei ) is infinite.

6. A stationary point of a function f is a real number r such that f 0 (r) = 0. A polynomial

need not have a stationary point (e.g. x3 + x has none). Consider a polynomial p(x).

(a) If p(x) is of degree 2022, then p(x) must have at least one stationary point.
(b) If the number of distinct real roots of p(x) is 2021, then p(x) must have at least
2020 stationary points.
(c) If the number of distinct real roots of p(x) is 2021, then p(x) can have at most
2020 stationary points.
(d) If r is a stationary point of p(x) AND p00 (r) = 0, then the point (r, p(r)) is neither
a local maximum nor a local minimum point on the graph of p(x).

7. Given three distinct positive constants a, b, c we want to solve the simultaneous equa-
tions
p
ax + by = 2
p
bx + cy = 3

(a) There exists a combination of values for a, b, c such that the above system has
infinitely many solutions (x, y).
(b) There exists a combination of values for a, b, c such that the above system has
exactly one solution (x, y).
(c) Suppose that for a combination of values for a, b, c, the above system has NO
solution. Then 2b < a + c.
(d) Suppose 2b < a + c. Then the above system has NO solution.

2
 8. Given two distinct nonzero vectors v1 and v2 in 3 dimensions, define a sequence of
vectors by

vn+2 = vn ⇥ vn+1 (so v3 = v1 ⇥ v2 , v4 = v2 ⇥ v3 and so on).

Let S = {vn |n = 1, 2, . . .} and U = { |vvnn | |n = 1, 2, . . .}. (Note: Here ⇥ denotes the

cross product of vectors and |v| denotes the magnitude of the vector v. The vector 0
with 0 magnitude, if it occurs in S, is counted. But in that case of course the 0 vector
is not considered while listing elements of U .)

(a) There exist vectors v1 and v2 for which the cardinality of S is 2.

(b) There exist vectors v1 and v2 for which the cardinality of S is 3.
(c) There exist vectors v1 and v2 for which the cardinality of S is 4.
(d) Suppose that for some v1 and v2 , the set S is infinite. Then the set U is also
infinite.

9.
x x4 + x6
f (x) = and g(x) = .
x + sin x e x 1 x2
(a) Limit as x ! 0 of f (x) is 12 .
(b) Limit as x ! 1 of f (x) does not exist.
(c) Limit as x ! 1 of g(x) is finite.
(d) Limit as x ! 0 of g(x) is 720.

10. Let f (u) = tan 1 (u), a function

R v whose domain in the set of all real numbers and whose
⇡ ⇡
range is ( 2 , 2 ). Let g(v) = 0 f (t)dt.

(a) f (1) = ⇡4 .
(b) f (1) + f (2) + f (3) = ⇡.
(c) g is an increasing function on the entire real line.
(d) g is an odd function, i.e., g( x) = g(x) for all real x.

3
 Part B

Each problem is worth 10 points. Clearly explain your entire reasoning unless in-
structed otherwise. No credit will be given without correct reasoning. Partial solutions may
get partial credit. You may solve a later part of a problem by assuming a previous part,
even if you could not do the earlier part.

B1. Solve the following two independent problems on pages 2–3 of the answer booklet.
(i) Let f be a function from domain S to codomain T . Let g be another function from
domain T to codomain U . For each of the blanks below choose a single letter corre-
sponding to one of the four options listed underneath. (It is not necessary that each
choice is used exactly once.) Write your answers on page 2 as a sequence of four letters
in correct order. Do NOT explain your answers.

If g f is one-to-one then f and g .

If g f is onto then f and g .

Option A: must be one-to-one and must be onto.

Option B: must be one-to-one but need not be onto.
Option C: need not be one-to-one but must be onto.
Option D: need not be one-to-one and need not be onto.

Recall: g f is the function defined by g f (a) = g(f (a)). The function f is said
to be one-to-one if, for any a1 and any a2 in S, f (a1 ) = f (a2 ) implies a1 = a2 . The
function f is said to be onto if, for any b in T , there is an a in S such that f (a) = b.

(ii) In the given figure ABCD is a square. Points X and Y , respectively on sides BC and
CD, are such that X lies on the circle with diameter AY . What is the area of the
square ABCD if AX = 4 and AY = 5? (Figure is schematic and not to scale.)
B X C

A D

4
B2. Solve the following two independent problems on pages 4–5 of the answer booklet.

(i) A mother and her two daughters participate in a game show. At first, the mother
tosses a fair coin.

Case 1: If the result is heads, then all three win individual prizes and the game ends.

Case 2: If the result is tails, then each daughter separately throws a fair die and wins
a prize if the result of her die is 5 or 6. (Note that in case 2 there are two independent
throws involved and whether each daughter gets a prize or not is una↵ected by the
other daughter’s throw.)

(a) Suppose the first daughter did not win a prize. What is the probability that the
second daughter also did not win a prize?
(b) Suppose the first daughter won a prize. What is the probability that the second
daughter also won a prize?

(ii) Prove or disprove each of the following statements.

(a) 240 > 20!

1
(b) 1 x
 ln x  x 1 for all x > 0.

B3. You are supposed to create a 7-character long password for your mobile device.

(i) How many 7-character passwords can be formed from the 10 digits and 26 letters?
(Only lowercase letters are taken throughout the problem.) Repeats are allowed, e.g.,
0001a1a is a valid password.

(ii) How many of the passwords contain at least one of the 26 letters and at least one of
the 10 digits? Write your answer in the form: (Answer to part i) (something).

(iii) How many of the passwords contain at least one of the 5 vowels, at least one of the 21
consonants and at least one of the 10 digits? Extend your method for part ii to write
a formula and explain your reasoning.

(iv) Now suppose that in addition to the lowercase letters and digits, you can also use 12
special characters. How many 7-character passwords are there that contain at least
one of the 5 vowels, at least one of the 21 consonants, at least one of the 10 digits and
at least one of the 12 special characters? Write only the final formula analogous to
your answer to part iii. Do NOT explain.

5
B4. Show that there is no polynomial p(x) for which cos(✓) = p(sin ✓) for all angles ✓ in
some nonempty interval.
Hint: Note that x and |x| are di↵erent functions but their values are equal on an interval
(as x = |x| for all x 0). You may want to show as a first step that this cannot happen for
two polynomials, i.e., if polynomials f and g satisfy f (x) = g(x) for all x in some interval,
then f and g must be equal as polynomials, i.e., in each degree they must have the same
coefficient.

B5. Define a function f as follows: f (0) = 0 and, for any x > 0,

Z L ⇣ Z 1 ⌘
1 1
f (x) = lim cos(t)dt or, in simpler notation, the improper integral cos(t)dt .
L!1 1 t2 1 t2
x x

(i) Show that the definition makes sense for any x > 0 by justifying why the limit in the
definition exists, i.e., why the improper integral converges.
(ii) Find f 0 ( ⇡1 ) if it exists. Clearly indicate the basic result(s) you are using.
(iii) Using the hint or otherwise, find limh!0+ f (h) h f (0) , i.e., the right hand derivative of f
at x = 0. We can take the limit only from the right hand side because f (x) is undefined for
negative values of x.
Hint: Break f (h) into two terms by using a standard technique with an appropriate choice.
Then separately analyze the resulting two terms in the derivative.

B6. n and k are positive integers, not necessarily distinct. You are given two stacks of cards
with a number written on each card, as follows.
Stack A has n cards. On each card a number in the set {1, . . . , k} is written.
Stack B has k cards. On each card a number in the set {1, . . . , n} is written.
Numbers may repeat in either stack. From this, you play a game by constructing a sequence
t0 , t1 , t2 , . . . of integers as follows. Set t0 = 0. For j > 0, there are two cases:
If tj  0, draw the top card of stack A. Set tj+1 = tj + the number written on this card.
If tj > 0, draw the top card of stack B. Set tj+1 = tj the number written on this card.
In either case discard the taken card and continue. The game ends when you try to draw
from an empty stack. Example: Let n = 5, k = 3, stack A = 1, 3, 2, 3, 2 and stack B = 2, 5, 1.
You can check that the game ends with the sequence 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 1 (and with one
card from stack A left unused).
(i) Prove that for every j we have n + 1  tj  k.
(ii) Prove that there are at least two distinct indices i and j such that ti = tj .
(iii) Using the previous parts or otherwise, prove that there is a nonempty subset of cards
in stack A and another subset of cards in stack B such that the sum of numbers in
both the subsets is same.

6
 2021 CMI BSc entrance examination

Part A Answers with explanation

1. Consider the two equations numbered [1] and [2]:

log2021 a = 2022 − a [1]

2021b = 2022 − b [2]

(a) Equation [1] has a unique solution.

(b) Equation [2] has a unique solution.
(c) There exists a solution a for [1] and a solution b for [2] such that a = b.
(d) There exists a solution a for [1] and a solution b for [2] such that a+b is an integer.

Correct options: a,b,d Wrong: c

a = 2021, b = 1 is the unique solution. (This can also be solved qualitatively, e.g., the
graph of y = 2022 − x is decreasing, with range the set of real numbers. It is easy
to see that it must intersect each of the graphs y = 2021x and y = log2021 x (both
of which are increasing) exactly once. Substituting c = 2022 − a, the first equation
is equivalent to 2021c = 2022 − c, which is the same as the second equation, so the
(unique) solutions c and b are equal, i.e., b = c = 2022 − a, so a + b = 2022. If a = b,
both would need to be 1011, which is manifestly not a solution to either equation.)

2. A prime p is an integer ≥ 2 whose only positive integer factors are 1 and p.

(a) For any prime p the number p2 − p is always divisible by 3.

(b) For any prime p > 3 exactly one of the numbers p − 1 and p + 1 is divisible by 6.
(c) For any prime p > 3 the number p2 − 1 is divisible by 24.
(d) For any prime p > 3 one of the three numbers p + 1, p + 3 and p + 5 is divisible
by 8.

Correct options: b,c Wrong: a,d

(a) is false for any number that is 2 modulo 3, in particular for 2. To see that (b) and
(c) are true, note that any prime p greater than 3 is not divisible by 3, so p is either
1 mod 3 (which makes p − 1 divisible by 3) or 2 mod 3 (which makes p + 1 divisible
by 3). Note also that both p − 1 and p + 1 are even, which gives (b). In fact they
are consecutive even numbers, so one of them is a multiple of 4, making their product
p2 −1 a multiple of 8, giving (c). Finally, note that any prime p that is 1 mod 8 violates
(d), e.g., p = 17.

1
3. We want to construct a triangle ABC such that angle A is 20.21◦ , side AB has length
1 and side BC has length x where x is a positive real number. Let N (x) = the number
of pairwise noncongruent triangles with the required properties.

(a) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 0.

(b) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 1.
(c) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 2.
(d) There exists a value of x such that N (x) = 3.

Correct options: a,b,c Wrong: d

Draw a ray with endpoint A. The point C will be chosen on this ray later on. Draw a
segment AB of length 1 making an angle 20.21◦ with this ray. Now, to fulfil the required
properties, a necessary and sufficient condition for C is that it is on the original ray as
well as on the circle with center B and radius x. As x increases from 0, the number
of intersections of the expanding circle with the ray goes from 0 to 1 (when ABC is a
right angled triangle, i.e., when x = sin 20.21◦ ) to 2 and finally back to 1.

4. Consider polynomials of the form f (x) = x3 + ax2 + bx + c where a, b, c are integers.

Name the three (possibly non-real) roots of f (x) to be p, q, r.

(a) If f (1) = 2021, then f (x) = (x − 1)(x2 + sx + t) + 2021 where s, t must be integers.
(b) There is such a polynomial f (x) with c = 2021 and p = 2.
(c) There is such a polynomial f (x) with r = 21 .
(d) The value of p2 + q 2 + r2 does not depend on the value of c.

Correct options: a,d Wrong: b,c

(a) is true by the remainder theorem. Long division automatically gives integers s, t.
Uniqueness of quotient and remainder for polynomial long division means those are the
only values of s, t that work. (b) is false by substituting x = 2 into f (x) and noting that
c = 2021 forces f (2) to be odd, in particular nonzero. To see that (c) is false, substitute
x = 21 into f (x), multiply by 8 to clear denominators and see that the leading term
makes the integer 8f ( 12 ) odd. So f ( 21 ) is nonzero. (General version of (b) and (c) that
one gets by the similar reasoning: suppose a polynomial p(x) with integer coefficients
has a rational root rs written in lowest form. Then the leading coefficient of p(x) is
divisible by s and the constant term of p(x) is divisible by r. Often used special case: for
a polynomial p(x) = xn + lower terms with integer coefficients, any rational root must
be an integer.) For (d) note that p2 +q 2 +r2 = (p+q +r)2 −2(pq +pr +qr) = (−a)2 −2b
does not depend on c.

2
5. For any complex number z define P (z) = the cardinality of {z k |k is a positive integer},
i.e., the number of distinct positive integer powers of z. It may be useful to remember
that π is an irrational number.

(a) For each positive integer n there is a complex number z such that P (z) = n.
(b) There is a unique complex number z such that P (z) = 3.
(c) If |z| =
6 1, then P (z) is infinite.
(d) P (ei ) is infinite.

Correct options: a,c,d Wrong: b

2πi
(a) is true by z = e n or any primitive nth root of unity. (b) is false: there are 2
2πi
primitive third roots of 1, namely ω = e 3 and ω 2 . (c) is true because then each |z i |
is a distinct positive real number. (d) is true because P (z) is finite only if powers of
z cycle back to 1, which happens for z = reiθ only if (r = 1 and) the argument θ is a
rational multiple of π. But for z = ei , we have θ = 1.

6. A stationary point of a function f is a real number r such that f 0 (r) = 0. A polynomial

need not have a stationary point (e.g. x3 + x has none). Consider a polynomial p(x).

(a) If p(x) is of degree 2022, then p(x) must have at least one stationary point.
(b) If the number of distinct real roots of p(x) is 2021, then p(x) must have at least
2020 stationary points.
(c) If the number of distinct real roots of p(x) is 2021, then p(x) can have at most
2020 stationary points.
(d) If r is a stationary point of p(x) AND p00 (r) = 0, then the point (r, p(r)) is neither
a local maximum nor a local minimum point on the graph of p(x).

Correct options: a,b Wrong: c,d

(a) p0 (x) is a polynomial of degree 2021, which is odd, so it has a root by intermediate
value theorem by looking at behaviour as x → ±∞. (b) The graph of p(x) has to turn
between any two consecutive zeros, giving a stationary point, in fact a local max/min
(c) The graph of p(x) can turn more than once between zeros, or turn outside extreme
zeros or have stationary points that are not maxima or minima. (d) is false, e.g.,
p(x) = x4 .

3
7. Given three distinct positive constants a, b, c we want to solve the simultaneous equa-
tions
√
ax + by = 2
√
bx + cy = 3

(a) There exists a combination of values for a, b, c such that the above system has
infinitely many solutions (x, y).
(b) There exists a combination of values for a, b, c such that the above system has
exactly one solution (x, y).
(c) Suppose that for a combination of values for a, b, c, the above system has NO
solution. Then 2b < a + c.
(d) Suppose 2b < a + c. Then the above system has NO solution.

Correct options: a,b,c Wrong: d

Each of the given equations defines a line in the XY plane. (a) One can arrange
both lines to√ be identical by having each equation a scalar multiple of the other, e.g.,
a = 1, b = √32 , c = 32 . (b) There is a unique solution when the two lines are distinct
and not parallel. (c) The two lines are given to be parallel. So slopes are equal, i.e.,
b2 = ac. Thus b is the geometric mean of a and c, so b < the arithmetic mean a+c 2
.
2
(Recall that a, b, c are distinct and positive.) (d) is absurd. Just ensure b 6= ac.

8. Given two distinct nonzero vectors v1 and v2 in 3 dimensions, define a sequence of

vectors by

vn+2 = vn × vn+1 (so v3 = v1 × v2 , v4 = v2 × v3 and so on).

Let S = {vn |n = 1, 2, . . .} and U = { |vvnn | |n = 1, 2, . . .}. (Note: Here × denotes the

cross product of vectors and |v| denotes the magnitude of the vector v. The vector 0
with 0 magnitude, if it occurs in S, is counted. But in that case of course the 0 vector
is not considered while listing elements of U .)

(a) There exist vectors v1 and v2 for which the cardinality of S is 2.

(b) There exist vectors v1 and v2 for which the cardinality of S is 3.
(c) There exist vectors v1 and v2 for which the cardinality of S is 4.
(d) Suppose that for some v1 and v2 , the set S is infinite. Then the set U is also
infinite.

Correct options: b,c Wrong: a,d

4
 It is easiest to do this geometrically, remembering that the cross product p×q of vectors
p and q is perpendicular to both of them and |p × q| = |p| |q| sin(angle between p
and q) = |p| |q| if p and q are perpendicular. The cross product of nonzero vectors is
zero if and only if the vectors are collinear. It is easy to see that the only way the zero
vector is in S is if v3 is zero, which will happen only when the nonzero vectors v1 and
v2 are collinear, and in that case the sequence is zero all the way from v3 onwards.

As the starting vectors v1 and v2 are distinct and nonzero, the third vector v3 = v1 ×v2 ,
being perpendicular to both v1 and v2 , is distinct from them. This is true even if v3
is 0 due to v1 and v2 being collinear. So (a) is false.

Basic calculation. Taking v1 = i and v2 = j, the sequence cycles: i, j, k, i, j, k, . . ., so

(b) is true. (c) is also true because we can arrange the sequence to be the following:
a vector not in {i, j, k}, j, k, i, j, k, . . . (e.g., take v1 = i + j and v2 = j. The basic
calculation repeats after v3 .) Note that any vector in the sequence depends only on
the previous two vectors.

(d) is false. The set S can easily be infinite (e.g., if you start with i and 2j, the mag-
nitudes of subsequent vectors will keep increasing), but U is always finite. First note
that the cycle of three vectors occurs whenever one starts with any two perpendicular
vectors of unit length. Now U consists of unit vectors in the direction of each nonzero
vector in S. So depending on the angle θ between v1 and v2 , the cardinality of U is
either 1 (when θ = 0), 2 (when θ = π), 3 (when θ = π/2) or 4 (in all other cases,
because v2 and v3 are still perpendicular).

9.
x x 4 + x6
f (x) = and g(x) = .
x + sin x e x − 1 − x2
(a) Limit as x → 0 of f (x) is 21 .
(b) Limit as x → ∞ of f (x) does not exist.
(c) Limit as x → ∞ of g(x) is finite.
(d) Limit as x → 0 of g(x) is 720.

Correct options: a,c Wrong: b,d

Calculate (a) and (c) using L’H^opital’s rule. (Or in (a) use that sin x behaves like x
near 0 and in (c) the limit is 0 because ex dominates any polynomial for large x.) In
x
(b) the limit is 1 as f (x) is sandwiched between x±1 , both of which → 1. L’H^opital’s
rule is not applicable as the expression one gets after attempting it does not have a
limit as x → ∞, so L’H^opital’s rule does not tell us anything. In (d) the limit is 0 by
L’H^opital’s rule used correctly. Only one application is enough.

5
 10. Let f (u) = tan−1 (u), a function
R v whose domain in the set of all real numbers and whose
π π
range is (− 2 , 2 ). Let g(v) = 0 f (t)dt.

(a) f (1) = π4 .
(b) f (1) + f (2) + f (3) = π.
(c) g is an increasing function on the entire real line.
(d) g is an odd function, i.e., g(−x) = −g(x) for all real x.

Correct options: a,b Wrong: c,d

(a) is direct and (b) is a straightforward calculation using the formula for tan(A + B)
keeping in mind the range of tan−1 . By the fundamental theorem of calculus, g 0 (x) =
f (x), so g is increasing when f is positive, which is true only in (0, ∞). g is an
even
R q function Rasp its derivative f is odd. Note that g(x) is defined for all real x as
p
f (t)dt = − q f (t)dt.

Part B Solutions

B1. Solve the following two independent problems on pages 2{3 of the answer booklet.

(i) Let f be a function from domain S to codomain T . Let g be another function from
domain T to codomain U . For each of the blanks below choose a single letter corre-
sponding to one of the four options listed underneath. (It is not necessary that each
choice is used exactly once.) Write your answers on page 2 as a sequence of four letters
in correct order. Do NOT explain your answers.

If g ◦ f is one-to-one then f B and g D .

If g ◦ f is onto then f D and g C .

Option A: must be one-to-one and must be onto.

Option B: must be one-to-one but need not be onto.
Option C: need not be one-to-one but must be onto.
Option D: need not be one-to-one and need not be onto.

Recall: g ◦ f is the function defined by g ◦ f (a) = g(f (a)). The function f is said
to be one-to-one if, for any a1 and any a2 in S, f (a1 ) = f (a2 ) implies a1 = a2 . The
function f is said to be onto if, for any b in T , there is an a in S such that f (a) = b.

6
 (ii) In the given figure ABCD is a square. Points X and Y , respectively on sides BC and
CD, are such that X lies on the circle with diameter AY . What is the area of the
square ABCD if AX = 4 and AY = 5? (Figure is schematic and not to scale.)

B X C

A D

Solution: AXY is a right angle, being an angle in a semicircle. Therefore by Pythagoras,

XY = 3. Triangles ABX and XCY are similar, because both are right angled triangles and
at the point X the three angles add to 180◦ , with the middle angle AXY being a right angle.
We have the following three equations in three unknowns.
AB 4
= by similarity BX + CX = AB AB 2 + BX 2 = 16.
CX 3
Solving these gives the answer, e.g., CX = 43 AB by the first equation, so BX = 14 AB by
1 2
the second equation, so AB 2 + 16 AB 2 = 16 by the third equation, so area = AB 2 = 16
17
.

B2. Solve the following two independent problems on pages 4{5 of the answer booklet.

(i) A mother and her two daughters participate in a game show. At first, the mother
tosses a fair coin.

Case 1: If the result is heads, then all three win individual prizes and the game ends.

Case 2: If the result is tails, then each daughter separately throws a fair die and wins
a prize if the result of her die is 5 or 6. (Note that in case 2 there are two independent
throws involved and whether each daughter gets a prize or not is unaffected by the
other daughter’s throw.)

(a) Suppose the first daughter did not win a prize. What is the probability that the
second daughter also did not win a prize?
Solution: Since the first daughter did not win a prize, the coin toss must have
shown tails. Now the second daughter does not win precisely when she throws 1,
2, 3 or 4. The probability of this is unaffected by the first daughter’s throw. So
the desired probability is 46 = 23 . One can also do this more pedantically in a way
similar to part (b), see below.

7
 (b) Suppose the first daughter won a prize. What is the probability that the second
daughter also won a prize?
Solution: Let T = the event that the coin toss gives tails. Similarly H = heads,
F = first daughter wins, S = second daughter wins. We want P(S | F). Note that
the outcome of the throw of each die is independent of that of the other die and
is unaffected by the coin toss that preceded it.
P(S | F) = P(S & F)/P(F) = ( 59 )/( 23 ) = 5
6
because
1
P(F) = P(H) + P(T) P(first die = 5 or 6 | T) = 2
+ 21 26 = 23 , and
1
P(S & F) = P(H) + P(T) P(each die = 5 or 6 | T) = 2
+ 12 ( 26 )2 = 59 .
We can also solve part (a) similarly to find the desired P(not S | not F).
P(not S | not F) = P((not S) & (not F))/ P(not F) = 64 because
P(not F) = P(T) P(1 ≤ first die ≤ 4 | T) = 21 46 , and
P((not S) & (not F)) = P(T) P(1 ≤ both dice ≤ 4 | T) = 12 ( 64 )2 .

(ii) Prove or disprove each of the following statements.

(a) 240 > 20!
Solution: False. In fact 262 > 20! > 261 , so even crude estimation is enough
to solve this. For example LHS = 240 = 420 = 4 × 4 × · · · × 4 (20 times).
RHS = 1 × 2 × · · · × 20. Consider the ratio RHS/LHS and pair the 20 numbers
in each product. The initial three fractions less than 1, namely 41 , 24 , 34 are easily
overpowered by the remaining ones, e.g., they are individually matched by 16 , 8, 6.
4 4 4
(OR, using 2 × 3 > 22 , 4 × · · · × 7 > 44 = 28 , 8 × · · · × 15 > 88 = 224 and
16 × · · · × 20 > 165 = 220 , one gets 20! > 254 .)
1
(b) 1 − x
≤ ln x ≤ x − 1 for all x > 0.
Solution: True. Let f (x) = x − 1 − ln x. By analyzing the sign of f 0 (x) = 1 − x1
(or by looking at the sign of f 00 (x)), see that f (x) has a global minimum at x = 1
and that this minimum value is 0, giving ln x ≤ x − 1. For the other inequality,
substitute x = 1t in ln x ≤ x − 1 to get ln 1t = − ln t ≤ 1t − 1, i.e., 1 − 1t ≤ ln t
for all t such that 1t > 0, which is equivalent to having the same inequality for all
t > 0. So we may replace t by x, giving the desired result. (Of course, it is also
possible to repeat the earlier logic by analyzing ln x − 1 + x1 .)

B3. You are supposed to create a 7-character long password for your mobile device.
(i) How many 7-character passwords can be formed from the 10 digits and 26 letters?
(Only lowercase letters are taken throughout the problem.) Repeats are allowed, e.g.,
0001a1a is a valid password.
Solution: For each character there are 36 choices. So number of passwords = 367 .

8
 (ii) How many of the passwords contain at least one of the 26 letters and at least one of
the 10 digits? Write your answer in the form: (Answer to part i) − (something).

Solution: From 367 remove 267 passwords containing only letters and 107 passwords
containing only digits. Required number = 367 − (267 + 107 ).

(iii) How many of the passwords contain at least one of the 5 vowels, at least one of the 21
consonants and at least one of the 10 digits? Extend your method for part ii to write
a formula and explain your reasoning.

Solution: Apply the inclusion exclusion principle or use a Venn diagram. Out of 367
passwords, 317 contain no vowels (V), 157 contain no consonants (C) and 267 contain no
digits (D). As first step we take 367 −(317 missing V + 157 missing C + 267 missing D).
But this removes the passwords without two types of characters (i.e., those containing
only one type of character) twice. So we need to add these back so as to effectively
remove them only once. So we need to add (107 missing VC + 217 missing VD + 57
missing CD). So the final answer is

367 − (317 + 157 + 267 ) + (107 + 217 + 57 ).

(iv) Now suppose that in addition to the lowercase letters and digits, you can also use 12
special characters. How many 7-character passwords are there that contain at least
one of the 5 vowels, at least one of the 21 consonants, at least one of the 10 digits and
at least one of the 12 special characters? Write only the final formula analogous to
your answer to part iii. Do NOT explain.

Solution: The answer is

487 − (437 + 277 + 387 + 367 ) + (227 + 337 + 177 + 317 + 157 + 267 ) + (57 + 217 + 107 + 127 ).

A password missing one type of character is subtracted only in the second term. A
password missing two types of character is subtracted twice in the second term, so
added once in the third term. A password
missing three types of character is subtracted
thrice in the second term, added back 32 = 3 times in the third term and subtracted
once in the last term. (This is easier to understand as an application of the inclusion
exclusion principle. Venn diagram gets harder to keep track of as there are more
possibilities for overlaps.)

B4. Show that there is no polynomial p(x) for which cos(θ) = p(sin θ) for all angles θ in
some nonempty interval.
Hint: Note that x and |x| are different functions but their values are equal on an interval
(as x = |x| for all x ≥ 0). You may want to show as a first step that this cannot happen for
two polynomials, i.e., if polynomials f and g satisfy f (x) = g(x) for all x in some interval,

9
then f and g must be equal as polynomials, i.e., in each degree they must have the same
coefficient.
Solution: To prove the assertion in the hint, note that the polynomial f − g would have
infinitely many roots and hence must be the zero polynomial.
Suppose a polynomial p satisfies cos(θ) = p(sin θ) for θ in an interval. Let t = sin θ. Then
the following equality is true for the (infinitely many) values of t in some nonempty interval:

p(t)2 = cos2 (θ) = 1 − sin2 (θ) = 1 − t2 .

By the hint, this forces the polynomial 1 − x2 to be the square of the polynomial p(x). But
1 − x2 is not a square because, e.g., the square of the leading coefficient would need to be
−1, which cannot happen. (Or p would need to be a linear polynomial ax + b, etc.)
Note: The italicized part “in some nonempty interval” at the end of the problem statement
was missing in the actual exam due to oversight. As sin of two angles can be equal without
their cos being equal, a very easy solution now becomes possible, e.g., just plug in θ = 0 and
θ = π to get p(0) = 1 as well as p(0) = −1. So in fact there cannot be any function (not
just polynomial) p such that cos(θ) = p(sin θ) for ALL angles θ. In the exam, everyone who
gave any correct solution to the problem as stated there was given full credit.

B5. Define a function f as follows: f (0) = 0 and, for any x > 0,

Z L Z ∞
1  1 
f (x) = lim cos(t)dt or, in simpler notation, the improper integral cos(t)dt .
L→∞ 1 t2 1 t2
x x

(i) Show that the definition makes sense for any x > 0 by justifying why the limit in the
definition exists, i.e., why the improper integral converges.
Solution: As | cos(t)| ≤ 1, the integral defining f (x) is in fact absolutely convergent.
Z ∞ Z ∞
1 1 1 ∞
2
cos(t) dt ≤ 2
dt = − = x.
1
x
t 1
x
t t 1
x

(ii) Find f 0 ( π1 ) if it exists. Clearly indicate the basic result(s) you are using.
df
Solution: For x 6= 0, let u = x1 . By the fundamental theorem of calculus1 , du = − u12 cos(u) =
df
−x2 cos( x1 ). Since du
dx
= − x12 , by chain rule dx = cos( x1 ), so f 0 ( π1 ) = cos(π) = −1.
(iii) Using the hint or otherwise, find limh→0+ f (h)−f
h
(0)
, i.e., the right hand derivative of f
at x = 0. We can take the limit only from the right hand side because f (x) is undefined for
negative values of x.
Hint: Break f (h) into two terms by using a standard technique with an appropriate choice.
Then separately analyze the resulting two terms in the derivative.
1
To use the standard version of the fundamental theorem where the lower endpoint is a fixed finite
R1
number, take some positive constant K. Then f (x) = − Kx t12 cos(t)dt + a constant (by part i).

10
Solution: Integrate by parts using u = t12 and dv = cos(t)dt. Then du = − t23 dt and
v = sin(t). (The method below does not work with u = cos(t) and dv = t12 dt.) So

f (h) − f (0) 1 ∞ 1 1 sin(t) ∞ 1 ∞ 2 sin(t)

Z Z
= cos(t)dt = + dt.
h h h1 t2 h t2 h1 h h1 t3
∞
1 sin(t)
The first term in the sum = h t2 1
= −h sin( h1 ) → 0 as h → 0+ , where we have twice used
h
that | sin(t)| ≤ 1 for all t. For the the second term, by logic similar to part (i) we get

1 ∞ 2 sin(t) 1 ∞ 2
Z Z
1 −2 ∞
dt ≤ dt = − t 1 = h → 0 as h → 0+ .
h h1 t3 h h1 t3 h h

So the desired limit is 0.

Rx
Note: Substituting s = 1t gives f (x) = the simpler looking improper integral 0 cos( 1s )ds.
This makesR x parts (i) and (ii) more transparent. Now x < 0 is also ok in the improper
1
integral 0 cos( s )ds. For the function g(x) defined by this new integral, the above analysis
gives one way to show that g 0 (0) exists (see math.stackexchange.com/questions/2127903). g
is differentiable everywhere (the only case requiring work being x = 0) but the derivative is
not continuous at x = 0, as g 0 does not have a limit at x = 0.

B6. n and k are positive integers, not necessarily distinct. You are given two stacks of cards
with a number written on each card, as follows.
Stack A has n cards. On each card a number in the set {1, . . . , k} is written.
Stack B has k cards. On each card a number in the set {1, . . . , n} is written.
Numbers may repeat in either stack. From this, you play a game by constructing a sequence
t0 , t1 , t2 , . . . of integers as follows. Set t0 = 0. For j > 0, there are two cases:
If tj ≤ 0, draw the top card of stack A. Set tj+1 = tj + the number written on this card.
If tj > 0, draw the top card of stack B. Set tj+1 = tj − the number written on this card.
In either case discard the taken card and continue. The game ends when you try to draw
from an empty stack. Example: Let n = 5, k = 3, stack A = 1, 3, 2, 3, 2 and stack B = 2, 5, 1.
You can check that the game ends with the sequence 0, 1, −1, 2, −3, −1, 2, 1 (and with one
card from stack A left unused).

(i) Prove that for every j we have −n + 1 ≤ tj ≤ k.

(ii) Prove that there are at least two distinct indices i and j such that ti = tj .

(iii) Using the previous parts or otherwise, prove that there is a nonempty subset of cards
in stack A and another subset of cards in stack B such that the sum of numbers in
both the subsets is same.

11
Solution: (i) Induction. Base case is true as t0 = 0. Assume the result up to tj . Now there
are two cases. If tj ∈ [−n + 1, 0] then tj+1 = tj + a number from stack A, which is between
1 and k, so tj+1 ∈ [(−n + 1) + lowest possibility 1, 0 + highest possibility k] ⊂ [−n + 1, k].
If tj ∈ [1, k] then tj+1 = tj − a number from stack B, which is between 1 and n, so tj+1 ∈
[1 − highest possibility n, k − lowest possibility 1] ⊂ [−n + 1, k].
(ii) Suppose the game ends when we try to draw from stack B. As there are k cards in stack
B, in all we must have tried to draw k + 1 times from stack B. At each one of these attempts,
the value of tj must have been positive and by part (i) each one of these k + 1 numbers is
between 1 and k (inclusive). So there must be a repeat among these k + 1 numbers.
If the game ends when we try to draw from stack A, the argument is parallel: there must
have been n + 1 attempts to draw from stack A, each one resulting from a value of tj that
lies among the n numbers from −(n − 1) to 0, so there must be a repeat.
(iii) Suppose ti = tj . Then, from the set of cards drawn at steps i + 1, . . . , j the sum of the
cards from stack A must equal the sum of the cards from stack B.

12
 CHENNAI MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE
Undergraduate Entrance Examination, May 2022
Time: 3.5 hours

Unless specified otherwise, in this exam all numbers are real and “function” means a function whose
codomain as well as domain is the set of all real numbers (or an implied subset).

Part A instructions

• Part A has 10 questions, each worth 4 points, for a total of 40. Every question
has a group of four statements. (These statements are numbered 1 to 40 for technical
reasons.) For each statement, independently choose one of the three given options:
True / False / No Attempt. In particular there is no guarantee that at least one of the
four statements in a given question is true.

• Grading scheme. Each question will be graded as follows.

All 4 answers correct 4 points Note that getting even one of the four
3 correct and 1 No Attempt 2 points answers wrong will result in zero points
for that question. So if you are not sure,
2 correct and 2 No Attempt 1 point you are advised to choose No Attempt
instead of guessing.
Anything else 0 points

• Enter your answers to part A into the computer. Points for part A will be given
based only on answers entered into the computer. If you do not choose an option for
a statement, it will be treated as No Attempt.

• Part A will be used for screening. Part B is assured to be graded if you meet
any one of the following two conditions. (i) You score at least 24 in part A. (ii) You
are among the top 400 students in part A. Thus part B will be graded for at least 400
students, more if enough students score at least 24 in part A.

Part B instructions

• Part B has 6 problems worth a total of 80 points. See each question for the
break-up. You are advised to spend at least 2 hours on part B.

• Clearly explain your entire reasoning. No credit will be given without correct
reasoning. Partial solutions may get partial credit. You may solve a later part of a
problem by assuming a previous part, even if you could not do the earlier part.

• Solve each part B problem on the designated pages in the answer booklet. Use
the blank pages at the end for rough work OR if you need extra space for any problem.
Clearly label any such solution overflowing to last pages. For problems with multiple
parts, clearly label your solution to each part separately.
 CMI BSc entrance exam on May 22, 2022

Part A. Select True or False or No Attempt for each statement.

A1. Suppose a0 , a1 , a2 , a3 , . . . is an arithmetic progression with a0 and a1 positive integers.

Let g0 , g1 , g2 , g3 , . . . be the geometric progression such that g0 = a0 and g1 = a1 .

Statements

(1) We must have (a5 )2 ≥ a0 a10 .

(2) The sum a0 + a1 + · · · + a10 must be a multiple of the integer a5 .

(3) If ∞
P P∞
i=0 ai is +∞ then i=0 gi is also +∞.

(4) If ∞
P P∞
i=0 gi is finite then i=0 ai is ∩∞.

A2. Any two events X and Y are called mutually exclusive when the probability P (X and Y ) =
0 and they are called exhaustive when P (X or Y ) = 1. Suppose A and B are events and the
probability of each of these two events is strictly between 0 and 1 (i.e., 0 < P (A) < 1 and
0 < P (B) < 1).

Statements

(5) A and B are mutually exclusive if and only if not A and not B are exhaustive.
(6) A and B are independent if and only if not A and not B are independent.
(7) A and B cannot be simultaneously independent and exhaustive.
(8) A and B cannot be simultaneously mutually exclusive and exhaustive.
2 3 2 3
1 2 3 x
A3. Let A = 10 20
4 30 and v = y 5, where k is a constant and x, y, z are variables.
5 4
11 22 k z

Statements

(9) Regardless of the value of k, the matrix A is not invertible, i.e., there is no 3 × 3 matrix
B such that BA = the 3 × 3 identity matrix.

(10) There is a unique k such that determinant of A is 0. 2 3

0
(11) The set of solutions (x, y, z) of the matrix equation Av = 05 is either a line or a plane
4
0
containing the origin. 2 3
p
(12) If the equation Av = q 5 has a solution, then it must be true that q = 10p.
4
r
A4. Consider the following conditions on a function f whose domain is the closed interval
[0,1]. (For any condition involving a limit, at the endpoints, use the relevant one-sided limit.)
I. f is differentiable at each x ∈ [0, 1].
II. f is continuous at each x ∈ [0, 1].
III. The set {f (x) | x ∈ [0, 1]} has a maximum element and a minimum element.

Statements

(13) If I is true, then II is true.

(14) If II is true, then III is true.

(15) If III is false, then I is false.

(16) No two of the three given conditions are equivalent to each other. (Two statements
being equivalent means each implies the other.)

A5. Statements
1
(17) Let a = ln 3
. Then 3a = e.

(18) sin(0.02) < 2 sin(0.01).

(19) arctan(0.01) > 0.01.

R1
(20) 4 0 arctan(x)dx = π ∩ ln 4 .

A6. Let !
1 1
f (x) = + cos x .
| ln x| x

Statements

(21) As x → ∞, the sign of f (x) changes infinitely many times.

(22) As x → ∞, the limit of f (x) does not exist.

(23) As x → 1, f (x) → ∞.

(24) As x → 0+ , f (x) → 1.
A7. Let f0 (x) = x. For x > 0, define functions inductively by fn+1 (x) = xfn (x) . So
x
f1 (x) = xx , f2 (x) = xx , etc. Note that f0 (1) = f00 (1) = 1.
Statements
(25) As x → 0+ , f1 (x) → 1.
(26) As x → 0+ , f2 (x) → 1.
R1
(27) 0 f3 (x)dx = 1.
(28) The derivative of f123 at x = 1 is 1.

A8. Let N = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9} and L = {a, b, c}.

Statements
(29) Suppose we arrange the 12 elements of L ∪ N in a line such that all three letters appear
consecutively (in any order). The number such arrangements is less than 10! × 5.
(30) More than half of the functions from N to L have the element b in their range.
(31) The number of one-to-one functions from L to N is less than 512.
(32) The number of functions from N to L that do not map consecutive numbers to consec-
utive letters is greater than 512. (e.g., f (1) = b and f (2) = a or c is not allowed. f (1) = a
and f (2) = c is allowed. So is f (1) = f (2).)

A9. In this question z denotes a non-real complex number, i.e., a number of the form a + ib
1
(with a, b real) whose imaginary part b is nonzero. Let f (z) = z 222 + z222 .
Statements
(33) If |z| = 1, then f (z) must be real.
1
(34) If z + z
= 1, then f (z) = 2.
1
(35) If z + z
is real, then |f (z)| ≤ 2.
(36) If f (z) is a real number, then f (z) must be positive.

A10. Suppose that cards numbered 1, 2, . . . , n are placed on a line in some sequence (with
each integer i ∈ [1, n] appearing exactly once). A move consists of interchanging the card
labeled 1 with any other card. If it is possible to rearrange the cards in increasing order by
doing a series of moves, we say that the given sequence can be rectified.
Statements
(37) The sequence 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 can be rectified in 8 moves and no fewer moves.
(38) The sequence 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 can be rectified in 8 moves and no fewer moves.
(39) The sequence 1 3 4 2 9 5 6 7 8 cannot be rectified.
(40) There exists a sequence of 99 cards that cannot be rectified.
 Part B. Explain your reasoning fully.

B1. [11 points] Given 4XY Z, the following constructions are made: mark point W on
segment XZ, point P on segment XW and point Q on segment Y Z such that
WZ PW QZ
= = = k.
YX XP YQ

See the schematic figure (not to scale). Extend segments QP and Y X to meet at the point
R as shown. Prove that XR = XP .
Hint (use this or your own method): A suitable construction may help in calculations.

P W

Y Z
Q

B2. [11 points] In the XY plane, draw horizontal and vertical lines through each integer on
both axes so as to get a grid of small 1 × 1 squares whose vertices have integer coordinates.

(i) Consider the line segment D joining (0,0) with (m, n). Find the number of small 1 × 1
squares that D cuts through, i.e., squares whose interiors D intersects. (Interiors consist
of points for which both coordinates are non-integers.) For example, the line segment
joining (0,0) and (2,3) cuts through 4 small squares, as you can check by drawing.

(ii) Now L is allowed to be an arbitrary line in the plane. Find the maximum number
of small 1 × 1 squares in an n × n grid that L can cut through, i.e., we want L to
intersect the interiors of maximum possible number of small squares inside the square
with vertices (0, 0), (n, 0), (0, n) and (n, n).
B3. [14 points] For a positive integer n, let f (x) = ni=0 xi = 1 + x + x2 + · · · + xn . Find
P
the number of local maxima of f (x). Find the number of local minima of f (x). For each
maximum/minimum (c, f (c)), find the integer k such that k ≤ c < k + 1.
Hints (use these or your own method): It may be helpful to (i) look at small n, (ii) use the
definition of f as well as a closed formula, and (iii) treat x ≥ 0 and x < 0 separately.

B4. [14 points] Let R+ denote the set of positive real numbers. For a continuous function
f : R+ → R+ , define
Ar = the area bounded by the graph of f , X-axis, x = 1 and x = r
Br = the area bounded by the graph of f , X-axis, x = r and x = r2 .
Find all continuous f : R+ → R+ for which Ar = Br for every positive number r.
Hints (use these or your own method): Find an equation relating f (x) and f (x2 ). Consider
the function xf (x). Suppose a sequence xn converges to b where all xn and b are in the
1
domain of a continuous function g. Then g(xn ) must converge to g(b). E.g., g(3 n ) → g(1).

B5. [15 points] Two distinct real numbers r and s are said to form a good pair (r, s) if
r 3 + s2 = s3 + r 2 .
(i) Find a good pair (a, `) with the largest possible value of `. Find a good pair (s, b) with
the smallest possible value s. For every good pair (c, d) other than the two you found,
show that there is a third real number e such that (d, e) and (c, e) are also good pairs.
(ii) Show that there are infinitely many good pairs of rational numbers.

Hints (use these or your own method): The function f (x) = x3 ∩ x2 may be useful. If (r, s)
is good pair, can you express s in terms of r? You may use that there are infinitely many
right triangles with integer sides such that no two of these triangles are similar to each other.

B6. [15 points] Solve the following. You may do (i) and (ii) in either order.
(i) Let p be a prime number. Show that x2 + x ∩ 1 has at most two roots modulo p, i.e.,
the cardinality of {n | 1 ≤ n ≤ p and n2 + n ∩ 1 is divisible by p} is ≤ 2.
Find all primes p for which this set has cardinality 1.
(ii) Find all positive integers n ≤ 121 such that n2 + n ∩ 1 is divisible by 121.
(iii) What can you say about the number of roots of x2 + x ∩ 1 modulo p2 for an arbitrary
prime p, i.e., the cardinality of
{n | 1 ≤ n ≤ p2 and n2 + n ∩ 1 is divisible by p2 } ?
You do NOT need to repeat any reasoning from previous parts. You may simply refer
to any such relevant reasoning and state your conclusion with a brief explanation.
CMI BSc entrance exam on May 22, 2022
Part A, Correct answers
1. True
2. True
3. True
4. True
5. True
6. True
7. True
8. False
9. True
10. False
11. True
12. True
13. True
14. True
15. True
16. True
17. True
18. True
19. False
20. True
21. True
22. False
23. True
24. False
25. True
26. False
27. False
28. True
29. False
30. True
31. True
32. True
33. True
34. True
35. True
36. False
37. True
38. False
39. False
40. False
 CHENNAI MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE
Undergraduate Programme in Mathematics and Computer Science/Physics
Solutions of the 22nd May 2022 exam

Note: The solutions below consist only of main steps and strategies and do not contain all
the details expected in the exam.

B1. [11 points] Given △XY Z, the following constructions are made: mark point W on
segment XZ, point P on segment XW and point Q on segment Y Z such that
WZ PW QZ
= = = k.
YX XP YQ
See the schematic figure (not to scale). Extend segments QP and Y X to meet at the point
R as shown. Prove that XR = XP .
R

P W

Y Z
Q

Solution: First a construction - mark V on XZ such that QV is parallel to Y R. There are

two cases here depending on whether V is between P W or W Z, however, the arguments are
the same. We assume here that V is between P W . The aim is to show that △V P Q is isosceles
k
and then show that it is similar to △XP R. Use BPT to conclude that V Q = k+1 (XY ).
Using the given ratios find an expression for V Z and substitute it in P V = P Z − V Z to
conclude that P V = V Q.
One can also extend ZX to ZX ′ such that Y X ′ is parallel to P Q. One can then show that
△Y XX ′ is isosceles and similar to △RXP .
Another strategy is to use Menalaus theorem for △XY Z with segment QR as the transversal.
We have:
XR Y Q ZP
= −1.
RY QZ P X
This leads to the following implications leading to the equality we want:
XR · P Z = RY · P W
XY + XR PW + WZ
=
XR PW
XY WZ
=
XR PZ
PW PW
= .
XR XP

1
B2. [11 points] In the XY plane, draw horizontal and vertical lines through each integer on
both axes so as to get a grid of small 1 × 1 squares whose vertices have integer coordinates.

1. Consider the line segment D joining (0, 0) with (m, n). Find the number of small 1 × 1
squares that D cuts through, i.e., squares whose interiors D intersect. For example,
the line segment joining (0, 0) and (2, 3) cuts through 4 small squares.

2. Now let L be an arbitrary line. Find the maximum number of small 1 × 1 squares in
an n × n grid that L can cut through.

Solution: Assume gcd(m, n) = 1. The line D has to cross m−1 vertical as well as horizontal
lines. Moreover, D doesn’t pass through any grid points. Hence, together with the starting
square, we see that D cuts through m + n − 1 squares.
Let gcd(m, n) = d. The above argument is valid from (0, 0) to (m/d, n/d) and so on for d
many sections of D. Therefore the total number of squares D cuts is m + n − d.
Note that in order for L to cut through maximum number of squares it should not pass
through any internal grid point. This is possible for a line joining (0, 0) with (x, n) where
n − 1 < x < n. The required answer is 2n − 1.

2
B3. [14 points] For a positive integer n, let f (x) := 1 + x + x2 · · · + xn . Find the number
of local maxima of f (x). Find the number of local minima of f (x). For each maximum/
minimum (c, f (c)), find the integer k such that k ≤ c < k + 1.
Solution: We have f ′ (x) = 1 + 2x + · · · + nxn−1 . For x ≥ 0 the derivative is strictly positive,
hence f (x) is strictly increasing. Therefore, we should only analyze negative values of x.
Write the derivative as the following rational function

nxn+1 − (n + 1)xn + 1
f ′ (x) = .
(x − 1)2

Note that there is no problem in the expression since we are assuming x < 0. Denote by
D(x) the denominator of the derivative.
The case when n is odd. For x < 0 the polynomial D(x) is strictly positive. Hence there
can’t be any critical point.
The case when n is even. Observe that there could be only one critical point c ∈ (−1, 0).
Since D(x) < 0 for x ≤ −1 and D(0) = 1. Moreover, D′ (x) > 0 for x < 0 so f ′ (x)
is increasing on (−∞, 0) hence it vanishes exactly once. As the derivative changes sign
from −ve to +ve passing through c, so there is exactly one global minimum at c (where,
−1 < c < 0).

3
B4. [14 points] For a continuous function f : R+ → R+ , define

• Ar = the area bounded by the graph of f , X-axis, x = 1 and x = r.

• Br = the area bounded by the graph of f , X-axis, x = r and x = r2 .

Find all continuous functions f for which Ar = Br for every positive number r.
Solution: We are given
Z r Z r2
f (x)dx = f (x)dx.
1 r

Applying d/dr, fundamental theorem of calculus and the chain rule to above equality we get

f (x) = xf (x2 ) ∀x ∈ R+ .
1
Letting g(x) = xf (x) we see that g(x) = g(x2 ) for all x in the domain. Hence g(x) = g(x 2n )
1
for all x and positive integers n. However, as n goes to infinity x 2n tends to 1 we have that
g(x) converges to f (1). Hence xf (x) = f (1) for all values of x ∈ R+ .

4
B5. [14 points] Two distinct real numbers r and s are said to form a good pair (r, s) if

r 3 + s2 = s3 + r 2 .

1. Find a good pair (a, l) with the largest possible value of l. Find a good pair (s, b) with
the smallest value of s. For every good pair (c, d) other than the two you found, show
that there is a third real number e such that (d, e) and (c, e) are good pairs.

2. Show that there are infinitely many good pairs of rational numbers.

Solution: Consider the function f (x) = x3 − x2 . Therefore (r, s) is a good pair iff f (r) =
f (s).
Observe that x = 0, 32 are the only critical points of f . The local maximum occurs at x = 0.
The line y = 0 intersects the graph of f (x) at (0, 0) and (1, 0). Hence the required good pair
(a, l) with the largest l value is (0, 1).
Note that the local minimum occurs at x = 32 . The line y = f ( 23 ) = −427
intersects the graph
−1 −4 2 −4 −1 2
at ( 3 , 27 ) and ( 3 , 27 ). Hence the required good pair is ( 3 , 3 ).
For k ∈ ( −427
, 0) the line y = k intersects the graph at 3 points. Hence the last statement of
the first part follows.
For the second part we need to show that there for every rational number q ∈ ( −4 27
, 0) the
equation
x3 − x2 − q = 0
has infinitely many rational solutions. However, this is true because there are infinitely many
rationals satisfying c + d + e = 1, cd + de + ce = 0, cde = q.

5
B6. [14 points] Solve the following.

1. Let p be a prime. Show that x2 + x − 1 has at most two roots modulo p. Find all
primes p for which there is exactly one root.

2. Find all positive integers n ≤ 121 such that n2 + n − 1 is divisible by 121.

3. What can you say about the number of roots of this equation modulo p2 .

Solution: Let a, b be two distinct roots of the equation modulo p. Therefore, p divides
a2 + a − 1 − (b2 + b − 1), which is equivalent to saying that p divides either a − b or a + b + 1.
In the former case we will have a = b, which is not allowed. Since both a, b are between 1
and p we have 3 ≤ a + b + 1 ≤ 2p − 3 which implies a + b + 1 = p. Thus b = p − a − 1 is
uniquely determined.
Suppose a is the only root. Then p − a − 1 = a, i.e., p = 2a + 1. Therefore, 2a + 1 divides
4(a+ a − 1) and (2a + 1)2 . Subtracting we get that 2a + 1 divides 5.
Part 2: Since 121 divides n+ n − 1, 11 also divides it. Note that n2 + n − 1 and n2 + n − 12
are congruent modulo 11. So the roots of the equation are 7, 3 modulo 11.
Consider n = 3 + 11k. Then n2 + n − 1 is congruent to 77k + 11 modulo 121. Then k = 3
works giving us n = 36. Now consider n = 7 + 11k. In that case, n+ n − 1 is congruent to
165k + 55 modulo 121. Which gives us k = 7 and n = 84.
For part (3), let a be a root modulo p. Then n is of the form kp + a for some k between 0
and p − 1. We would like to solve for k the following equation

(kp + a)2 + (kp + a) − 1

modulo p2 . This is equivalent to finding k such that p divides k(2a + 1) + a2 + a − 1. If

2a + 1 is not a multiple of p then k = −(2a + 1)−1 (a2 + a − 1). If p divides (2a + 1) then it
is 5 and there is no such n.

6
 CHENNAI MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE
Undergraduate Entrance Examination, May 2022
Time: 3.5 hours

Unless specified otherwise, in this exam all numbers are real and “function” means a function whose
codomain as well as domain is the set of all real numbers (or an implied subset).

Part A instructions

• Part A has 10 questions, each worth 4 points, for a total of 40. Every question
has a group of four statements. (These statements are numbered 1 to 40 for technical
reasons.) For each statement, independently choose one of the three given options:
True / False / No Attempt. In particular there is no guarantee that at least one of the
four statements in a given question is true.

• Grading scheme. Each question will be graded as follows.

All 4 answers correct 4 points Note that getting even one of the four
3 correct and 1 No Attempt 2 points answers wrong will result in zero points
for that question. So if you are not sure,
2 correct and 2 No Attempt 1 point you are advised to choose No Attempt
instead of guessing.
Anything else 0 points

• Enter your answers to part A into the computer. Points for part A will be given
based only on answers entered into the computer. If you do not choose an option for
a statement, it will be treated as No Attempt.

• Part A will be used for screening. Part B is assured to be graded if you meet
any one of the following two conditions. (i) You score at least 24 in part A. (ii) You
are among the top 400 students in part A. Thus part B will be graded for at least 400
students, more if enough students score at least 24 in part A.

Part B instructions

• Part B has 6 problems worth a total of 80 points. See each question for the
break-up. You are advised to spend at least 2 hours on part B.

• Clearly explain your entire reasoning. No credit will be given without correct
reasoning. Partial solutions may get partial credit. You may solve a later part of a
problem by assuming a previous part, even if you could not do the earlier part.

• Solve each part B problem on the designated pages in the answer booklet. Use
the blank pages at the end for rough work OR if you need extra space for any problem.
Clearly label any such solution overflowing to last pages. For problems with multiple
parts, clearly label your solution to each part separately.
 CMI BSc entrance make-up exam on May 23, 2022

Part A. Select True or False or No Attempt for each statement.

A1. The three sides of triangle a < b < c are in arithmetic progression (AP) with common
di↵erence d = b a = c b. Denote the angles opposite to sides a, b, c respectively by
A, B, C.

Statements

(1) d must be less than a.

(2) d can be any positive number less than a.

(3) The numbers sin A, sin B, sin C are in AP.

(4) The numbers cos A, cos B, cos C are in AP.

A2. You are asked to take three distinct points 1, !1 and !2 in the complex plane such that
|!1 | = |!2 | = 1. Consider the triangle T formed by the complex numbers 1, !1 and !2 .

Statements

(5) There is exactly one such triangle T that is equilateral.

(6) There are exactly two such triangles T that are right angled isosceles.

(7) If !1 + !2 is real, the triangle T must be isosceles.

(8) For any nonzero complex number z, the numbers z, z!1 and z!2 form a triangle that is
similar to the triangle T.

A3. M is a 3 ⇥ 3 matrix with integer entries. For M we have

(Sum of column 2) = 4 ⇥ (sum of column 1). (Sum of column 3) = 4 ⇥ (sum of column 2).
(Sum of row 2) = 6 + (sum of row 1).
(Sum of row 3) = 6 + (sum of row 2).

Statements

(9) The sum of all the entries in M must be divisible by 21.

(10) None of the row sums is divisible by 7.

(11) One of the column sums must be divisible by 7.

(12) None of the column sums is divisible by 6.

A4. Statements

(13) As x ! 1 the function cos(ex ) tends to a finite limit.

(14) As x ! 1 the function cos(ex ) changes sign infinitely many times.

(15) As x ! 1, the function sin(ln(x)) tends to a finite limit.

(16) sin(ln(x)) changes sign only finitely many times as x goes towards 0 from 1.

A5. Statements
p p
(17) 4 4 < 5 5.

(18) log10 11 > log11 12.

p p
(19) ⇡4 < 2 2.

(20) (2022!)2 > 20222022 .

sin x 1.001
R x Let f (x) = | x |
A6. for x 6= 0 and f (0) = L such that f is continuous. Let I(x) =
0
f (t)dt.

Statements

(21) L = 1.001

(22) I(0.001) > 0.001.

(23) As x ! 1 the limit of I(x) is greater than 1001 (possibly 1).

(24) The function I(x) is NOT di↵erentiable at infinitely many points.

A7. Statements

(25) There is a unique natural number n such that n2 + 19n n! = 0.

(26) There are infinitely many pairs (x, y) of natural numbers satisfying
(1 + x!)(1 + y!) = (x + y)!.

(27) For any natural number n, consider GCD of n2 + 1 and (n + 1)2 + 1. As n ranges over
all natural numbers, the largest possible value of this GCD is 5.

(28) If n is the largest natural number for which 20! is divisible by 80n , then n 5.
A8. Let a be a point in the domain of a continuous real valued function f . One says that
f has a flex point at a if we can find a small interval (a ✏, a + ✏) in the domain of f such
that the following happens: (i) for all x in the open interval (a ✏, a) the sign of f 00 (x) is
constant and, (ii) for all x in the open interval (a, a + ✏) the sign of f 00 (x) is constant and
opposite to the sign of f 00 (x) in (a ✏, a).
Statements
(29) If f is a cubic polynomial with a local maximum at x = p and a local minimum at
x = q, then f has a unique flex point at x = p+q
2
.
(30) If f 00 (a) = 0 then f must have a flex point at a.
(31) Let f (x) = x2 for x 0 and f (x) = x2 for x < 0. Then f has no flex points.
(32) If f 0 is monotonic on an open interval I, then f cannot have a flex point in I.

A9. Suppose A, B and C are three events and P (A) = a, P (B) = b, P (C) = c are known.
Let P (A [ B [ C) = p. The statements below are about whether we can find the value of
p if we know some additional information. (Note: [ is the same as OR. Similarly \ is the
same as AND.)
Statements
(33) We can find the value of p if we know that at least one of a, b, c is 1.
(34) We can find the value of p if we know that at least one of a, b, c is 0.
(35) We can find the value of p if we know that any two of A, B and C are mutually exclusive.
(36) We can find the value of p if we know that any two of A, B and C are independent and
we know the value of P (A \ B \ C).
2 3 2 3
1 2 3 x
A10. Let A = 10 20 31 and v = y 5, where k is a constant and x, y, z are variables.
4 5 4
11 22 k z
Statements
(37) Regardless of the value of k, the matrix A is not invertible, i.e., there is no 3 ⇥ 3 matrix
B such that BA = the 3 ⇥ 3 identity matrix.
(38) There is a unique k such that determinant of A is 0. 2 3
0
(39) The set of solutions (x, y, z) of the matrix equation Av = 405 is either a line or a plane
0
containing the origin. 2 3
p
(40) If the equation Av = 4q 5 has a solution, then it must be true that q = 10p.
r
 Part B Problems for the make-up exam on Monday, May 23rd

B1. [12 points] Let N = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9} and L = {a, b, c}.

(i) Suppose we arrange the 12 elements of L [ N in a line such that no two of the three
letters occur consecutively. If the order of the letters among themselves does not matter,
find the number such arrangements.

(ii) Find the number of functions from N to L such that exactly 3 numbers are mapped to
each of a, b and c.

(iii) Find the number of onto functions from N to L.

B2. [12 points] Let f be a function from natural numbers to natural numbers that satisfies

f (n) = n 2 for n > 3000;

f (n) = f (f (n + 5)) for n  3000.

Show that f (2022) is uniquely decided and find its value.

B3. [14 points] In 4ABC, \BAC = 2 \ACB and 0 < \BAC < 120 . A point M
is chosen in the interior of 4ABC such that BA = BM and M A = M C. Prove that
\M CB = 30 . See the schematic figure below (NOT to scale).
Hint (use this or your own method): Draw a suitable segment CD of appropriate length
making an appropriate angle with CA.

A B
B4. [14 points] We want to find a nonzero polynomial p(x) with integer coefficients having
the following property.

p(x) ⇣ 1 ⌘
Letting q(x) := , q(x) = q for all x 2
/ {0, 1}.
x(1 x) 1 x

(i) Find one such polynomial with the smallest possible degree.
(ii) Find one such polynomial with the largest possible degree OR show that the degree of
such polynomials is unbounded.

B5. [14 points] Let R+ denote the set of positive real numbers. A one-to-one and onto
function f : R+ ! R+ is called golden if f 0 (x) = f 1 (x) for every x 2 R+ .
(i) Find all golden functions (if any) of the form f (x) = a xb . Find all golden functions (if
any) of the form f (x) = a bx . In both cases a and b are suitable real numbers.
(ii) Show that there is no one-to-one and onto function f : R ! R such that f 0 (x) = f 1
(x)
for every x 2 R.

B6. [14 points] Suppose an integer n > 1 is such that n + 1 is not a multiple of 4 (i.e.,
such that n is not congruent to 3 mod 4). Prove that there exist 1  i < j  n such that
the following is a perfect square.
1! 2! · · · n!
i! j!

Hint (use this or your own method): Make cases and first treat the case n = 4k.
CMI BSc entrance make-up exam on May 23, 2022
Part A, Correct answers
1. True
2. True
3. True
4. False
5. True
6. False
7. True
8. True
9. True
10. False
11. False
12. False
13. True
14. True
15. False
16. False
17. False
18. True
19. False
20. True
21. False
22. False
23. False
24. False
25. True
26. False
27. True
28. False
29. True
30. False
31. False
32. True
33. True
34. False
35. True
36. True
37. False
38. False
39. False
40. False
 CHENNAI MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE
Undergraduate Programme in Mathematics and Computer Science/Physics
Solutions of the 23rd May 2022 exam

Note: The solutions below consist only of main steps and strategies and do not contain all
the details expected in the exam.

B1. [12 points] Let N = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9} and L = {a, b, c}.

1. Suppose we arrange 12 elements of L ∪ N in a line such that no two of the three letters
occur consecutively. If the order of the letters among themselves does not matter, find
the number of such arrangements.

2. Find the number of functions from N to L such that exactly 3 numbers are mapped
to a, b, c.

3. Find the number of onto functions from N to L.

Solution:

1. Imagine that the numbers are placed with a gap between two consecutive numbers.
Moreover there is a gap before 1 and one after 9. So there are 10 gaps, where letters
can be placed. In order to find the number of such arrangement
first choose 3 gaps
from 10 and then permute the 9 numbers. The final answer is 10 3
· 9!.

2. Nine digits have to be placed in 3 groups. The answer is 93 · 63 · 33 .

3. By inclusion-exclusion principal the answer is

39 − 3 · 29 + 3 · 19 .

The first summand is the total number of functions, the second summand is the number
of function which miss 2 values and last summand is the number of functions which
miss 1 value.

1
B2. [12 points] Let f function from natural numbers to natural numbers that satisfies

f (n) = n − 2, for n > 3000;

f (n) = f (f (n + 5)) for n ≤ 3000.

Show that f (2022) is uniquely determined and find its value.

Solution: The important step is to discover the following closed form expression for the
function:
f (n) = 2999 + (n + 2)mod(3).
The equality can be derived in a number of ways, including induction. Once this is established
it is straightforward to conclude that f (2022) = 3001.

2
B3. [14 points] In △ABC, ∠BAC = 2∠ACB and 0◦ < ∠BAC < 120◦ . A point M
is chosen in the interior of △ABC such that BA = BM and M A = M C. Prove that
∠M CB = 30◦ . See the schematic figure below (not to scale).
C

A B

Solution: There are various ways to solve this problem. Let us start with a geometric
approach.
Construct a line segment CD such that it is equal to AB and ∠DCA = ∠BAC. Denote the
intersection of AD and BC by E. First step, show that △BAC ≡ △DCA. Second step,
show that △CDE ≡ △ABE. Next, show that △EM A ≡ △EM C. Now conclude that
∠CAB = 90◦ , this will lead to the solution.
Another construction is to draw a line segment BD such that it is equal to CD and is parallel
to AC. First show that ABDC is an isosceles trapezium. Use it prove that △ABM ≡
△CM D. Conclude that △BM D is equilateral. Use this along with the usual angle relations
to find the exact value.
One can also use trigonometric techniques, like sine rule, to solve this problem.

3
B4. We want to find a nonzero polynomial p(x) with integer coefficients having the following
property.  
p(x) 1
Lettingq(x) := , q(x) = q .
x(1 − x) 1−x

Solution: First derive the following relationship

 
3 1
p(1 − x) = −x p .
x

This implies that the degree of the polynomial is at most 3. An easy check shows that linear
polynomials can’t satisfy this relation. Substituting p(x) = ax2 + bx + c in the above relation
gives us that
p(x) = ax(x − 1).
Let the cubic be of the form

p(x) = ax3 + bx2 + cx + d.

Then any cubic whose coefficients satisfy the following is a candidate.

a + d = 0, c − b − 3a = 0, 3b + c + 3a = 0, b + c + d = 0.

4
B5. [14 points] Let R+ denote the set of positive real numbers. A bijection f : R+ → R+
is called golden if f ′ (x) = f −1 (x) for every x ∈ R+ .

1. Find all golden functions (if any) of the form f (x) = axb . Find all golden functions (if
any) of the form f (x) = abx .

2. Show that there is no bijection f : R → R such that f ′ (x) = f −1 (x).

Solution:

1. When f (x) = axb equate the derivative with the inverse to get b2 − b − 1 = 0. Whose
roots are the golden ration, ϕ, and its negative inverse, 1 − ϕ. The answer is
x 1−ϕ
f (x) = (x(ϕ − 1))ϕ OR f (x) = ( ) .
ϕ−1

On the other hand f (x) = abx is not a candidate for the golden function since the
derivative is an exponential and the inverse is a logarithmic function.

2. If f is a bijection defined on the entire real line then the derivative doesn’t change its
sign. However, the inverse does change sign. Hence it is impossible that the derivative
is the inverse of such a function.

5
B6. [14 points] Suppose n > 1 is a natural number which is not congruent to 3 modulo 4.
Prove that there exist 1 ≤ i < j ≤ n such that the following is a perfect square
1!2! · · · n!
.
i!j!

Solution: The important observaion needed is that k!(k −1)! = k((k −1)!)2 . Case 1: n = 4k
for some k. In that case the numerator simplifies as follows:

1!2! · · · (4k)! = 4k((4k − 1)!)2 · · · 2 · 1

= (4k)(4k − 2) · · · 2 · M 2
= 22k · 2k · (2k − 1) · · · 1 · M 2
= (2k)! · N 2 .

Here M 2 is the product of the terms of the form ((4k − 1)!)2 and N 2 includes the factor
(2k )2 . Hence one can choose i = 1 and j = 2k. The other two remaining cases of n can be
dealt in a similar fashion.

6
 CHENNAI MATHEMATICAL INSTITUTE
Undergraduate Entrance Examination, 7th May 2023
Time: 3.5 hours

Unless specified otherwise, in this exam all numbers are real, the domain of each function
is the set of real numbers (or an implied subset) and the codomain is also the set of real
numbers. You may use the following information wherever you find it relevant.

• 2023 = 172 ⇥ 7.

• One can use long division to find the gcd of two positive integers a, b (defined to be a
common divisor d of a and b such that d is divisible by any other such common divisor).

• The same procedure stays valid for finding gcd of polynomials in one variable with
rational/real/complex coefficients.

• Any nonzero polynomial of degree n has n complex roots counting multiplicity.

Part A instructions

• Part A has 10 questions, each worth 4 points, for a total of 40. Points for
part A will be given based only on the answers you enter into the computer.

• 7 out of the 10 questions are objective, each with a group of four statements.
(These statements are numbered 1 to 28 for technical reasons.) For each statement,
independently choose one of the three options True / False / No Attempt. In particular
there is no guarantee that at least one of the four statements in a given question is
true. If you do not choose an option for a statement, it will be treated as No Attempt.

• Grading scheme for the 7 objective questions is as follows.

All 4 answers correct 4 points Note that getting even one of the four
3 correct and 1 No Attempt 2 points answers wrong will result in zero points
for that question. So if you are not sure,
2 correct and 2 No Attempt 1 point you are advised to choose No Attempt
instead of guessing.
Anything else 0 points

• The remaining three questions have two parts each. For each part, enter only the final
answer into the computer in the precise format specified in the question. There is no
negative marking for these three questions.

• Part A will be used for screening. Part B is assured to be graded if you meet
any one of the following two conditions. (i) You score at least 24 in part A. (ii) You
are among the top 400 students in part A. Thus part B will be graded for at least 400
students, more if enough students score at least 24 in part A.

Instrutions for part B !

 Part B instructions

• Part B has 6 problems worth a total of 80 points. See each question for the
break-up. You are advised to spend at least 2 hours on part B.

• Clearly explain your entire reasoning. No credit will be given without correct
reasoning. Partial solutions may get partial credit. You may solve a later part of a
problem by assuming a previous part, even if you could not do the earlier part.

• Solve each part B problem on the designated pages in the answer booklet. Use
the blank pages at the end for rough work OR if you need extra space for any problem.
Clearly label any such solution overflowing to last pages. For problems with multiple
parts, clearly label your solution to each part separately.
 Part A Questions for CMI BSc entrance exam on May 7, 2023

A1. Define the right derivative of a function f at x = a to be the following limit if it exists.
f (a + h) f (a)
lim+ , where h ! 0+ means h approaches 0 only through positive values.
h!0 h
Statements
(1) If f is di↵erentiable at x = a then f has a right derivative at x = a.
(2) f (x) = |x| has a right derivative at x = 0.
(3) If f has a right derivative at x = a then f is continuous at x = a.
(4) If f is continuous at x = a then f has a right derivative at x = a.

A2. Suppose a rectangle EBF D is given and a rhombus ABCD is inscribed in it so that
the point A is on side ED of the rectangle. The diagonals of ABCD intersect at point G.
See the indicative figure below.

Statements
(5) Triangles CGD and DF B must be similar.
AC EB
(6) It must be true that BD = ED .
(7) Triangle CGD cannot be similar to triangle AEB.
(8) For any given rectangle EBF D, a rhombus ABCD as described above can be con-
structed.

A3. This question is about complex numbers.

Statements
(9) The complex number (e3 )i lies in the third quadrant.
(10) If |z1 | |z2 | = |z1 + z2 | for some complex numbers z1 and z2 , then z2 must be 0.
(11) For distinct complex numbers z1 and z2 , the equation |(z z1 )2 | = |(z z2 )2 | has at
most 4 solutions.
(12) For each nonzero complex number z, there are more than 100 numbers w such that
w2023 = z.

1
A4. Statements
1
(13) lim e x = +1.
x!0

(14) The following inequality is true.

ln x ln x
lim 100
< lim 1 .
x!1 x x!1 x 100

(15) For any positive integer n,

Z n
n
x2023 cos(nx)dx < .
n 2023

(16) There is no polynomial p(x) for which there is a single line that is tangent to the graph
of p(x) at exactly 100 points.

A5. Statements
p p
(17) 4 < 5 + 5 5.
1+log2 61
(18) log2 11 < 2
.
(19) (2023)2023 < (2023!)2 .
(20) 92100 + 93100 < 94100 .
P P
n
A6. For a sequence ai of real numbers, we say that ai converges if lim ai is finite.
n!1 i=1
In this question all ai > 0.
Statements
P
(21) If ai converges, then ai ! 0 as i ! 1.
P
(22) If ai < 1i for all i, then ai converges.
P P
(23) If ai converges, then ( 1)i ai also converges.
P P
(24) If ai does not converge, then i tan(ai ) cannot converge.

A7. Statements
(25) To divide an integer b by a nonzero integer d, define a quotient q and a remainder r to
be integers such that b = qd + r and |r| < |d|. Such integers q and r always exist and are
both unique for given b and d.
(26) To divide a polynomial b(x) by a nonzero polynomial d(x), define a quotient q(x) and
a remainder r(x) to be polynomials such that b = qd + r and degree(r) < degree(d). (Here
b(x) and d(x) have real coefficients and the 0 polynomial is taken to have negative degree
by convention.) Such polynomials q(x) and r(x) always exist and are both unique for given
b(x) and d(x).

2
(27) Suppose that in the preceding question b(x) and d(x) have rational coefficients. Then
q(x) and r(x), if they exist, must also have rational coefficients.
(28) The least positive number in the set

{(a ⇥ 20232020 ) + (b ⇥ 20202023 )}

as a and b range over all integers is 3.

A8. You play the following game with three fair dice. (When each one is rolled, any one of
the outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 is equally likely.) In the first round, you roll all three dice. You
remove every die that shows 6. If any dice remain, you roll all the remaining dice again in
the second round. Again you remove all dice showing 6 and continue.
Questions
(29) Let the probability that you are able to play the second round be ab , where a and b are
integers with gcd 1. Write the numbers a and b separated by a comma. E.g., for probability
10
36
you would type 5,18 with no quotations, space, full stop or any other punctuation.
(30) Let the probability that you are able to play the second round but not the third round
be dc where c and d are integers with gcd 1. Write only the integer c as your answer.
E.g., for probability 34
36
you would type 17 with no quotations, space, full stop or any other
punctuation.

A9. Two lines `1 and `2 in 3-dimensional space are given by

`1 = {(t 9, t + 7, 6) | t 2 R} and `2 = {(7, s + 3, 3s + 4) | s 2 R}.
Questions
(31) The plane passing through the origin and not intersecting either of `1 and `2 has equation
ax + by + cz = d. Write the value of |a + b + c + d| where a, b, c, d are integers with gcd = 1.
(32) Let r be the smallest possible RADIUS of a circle that has a point on `1 as well as a
point on `2 . It is given that r2 (i.e, the SQUARE of the smallest radius) is an integer. Write
the value of r2 .

A10. Consider the part of the graph of y 2 + x3 = 15xy that is strictly to the right of the
Y-axis, i.e., take only the points on the graph with x > 0.
Questions
(33) Write the least possible value of y among considered points. If there is no such real
number, write NONE (without any spaces or quotation marks or any other punctuation).
(34) Write the largest possible value of y among considered points. If there is no such real
number, write NONE (without any spaces or quotation marks or any other punctuation).

3
 Part B Problems for CMI BSc entrance exam on May 7, 2023

B1. [11 points] We want to find odd integers n > 1 for which n is a factor of 2023n 1.

(a) Find the two smallest such integers.

(b) Prove that there are infinitely many such integers.

B2. [12 points] Let Z+ denote the set of positive integers. We want to find all functions
g : Z+ ! Z+ such that the following equation holds for any m, n in Z+ .

g(n + m) = g(n) + nm(n + m) + g(m).

P
Prove that g(n) must be of the form di=0 ci ni and find the precise necessary and sufficient
condition(s) on d and on the coefficients c0 , . . . , cd for g to satisfy the required equation.

B3. [13 points] Suppose that for a given polynomial p(x) = x4 + ax3 + bx2 + cx + d, there
is exactly one real number r such that p(r) = 0.

(a) If a, b, c, d are rational, show that r must be rational.

(b) If a, b, c, d are integers, show that r must be an integer.

Possible hint: Also consider the roots of the derivative p0 (x).

B4. [14 points] There are n students in a class and no two of them have the same height.
The students stand in a line, one behind another, in no particular order of their heights.

(a) How many di↵erent orders are there in which the shortest student is not in the first
position and the tallest student is not in the last position?

(b) The badness of an ordering is the largest number k with the following property. There
is at least one student X such that there are k students taller than X standing ahead
of X. Find a formula for gk (n) = number of orderings of n students with badness k.

Example: The ordering 64 61 67 63 62 66 65 (the numbers denote heights) has badness

3 as the student with height 62 has three taller students (with heights 64, 67 and 63)
standing ahead in the line and nobody has more than 3 taller students standing ahead.

Possible hints for (b): It may be useful to first count orderings of badness 1 and/or to find
fk (n) = the number of orderings of n students with badness less than or equal to k.

4
B5. [15 points] Throughout this question every mentioned function is required to be a
di↵erentiable function from R to R. The symbol denotes composition of functions.

(a) Suppose f f = f . Then for each x, one must have f 0 (x) = or f 0 (f (x)) = .
Complete the sentence and justify.

(b) For a non-constant f satisfying f f = f , it is known and you may assume that the
range of f must have one of the following forms: R, ( 1, b], [a, 1) or [a, b]. Show that
in fact the range must be all of R and deduce that there is a unique such function f .
(Possible hints: For each y in the range of f , what can you say about f (y)? If the
range has a maximum element b what can you say about the derivative of f ?)

(c) Suppose that g g g = g and that g g is a non-constant function. Show that g must
be onto, g must be strictly increasing or strictly decreasing and that there is a unique
such increasing g.

B6. [15 points] Starting with any given positive integer a > 1 the following game is played.
If a is a perfect square, take its square root.
p Otherwise take a + 3. Repeat the procedure
with the new positive integer (i.e., with a or a + 3 depending on the case). The resulting
set of numbers is called the trajectory of a. For example the set {3, 6, 9} is a trajectory: it
is the trajectory of each of its members.
Which numbers have a finite trajectory? Possible hint: Find the set

{n | n is the smallest number in some trajectory S}.

If you wish, you can get partial credit by solving the following simpler questions.
(a) Show that there is no trajectory of cardinality 1 or 2.
(b) Show that {3, 6, 9} is the only trajectory of cardinality 3.
(c) Show that for any integer k 3, there is a trajectory of cardinality k.
(d) Find an infinite trajectory.

5
 2023 CMI BSc entrance exam solutions

Part A

A1. Define the right derivative of a function f at x = a to be the following limit if it exists.

f (a + h) − f (a)
lim+ , where h → 0+ means
h→0 h
h approaches 0 only through positive values.

Statements
(1) If f is differentiable at x = a then f has a right derivative at x = a.
(2) f (x) = |x| has a right derivative at x = 0.
(3) If f has a right derivative at x = a then f is continuous at x = a.
(4) If f is continuous at x = a then f has a right derivative at x = a.

(1) True. Obvious from the definition of the derivative.

(2) True. Right derivative is 1.
(3) False. Consider the floor function at integer values.
(4) False. Take x sin x1 made continuous at 0.

A2. Suppose a rectangle EBF D is given and a rhombus ABCD is inscribed in it so that
the point A is on side ED of the rectangle. The diagonals of ABCD intersect at point G.
See the indicative figure below.

Statements
(5) Triangles CGD and DF B must be similar.
AC EB
(6) It must be true that BD = ED .
(7) Triangle CGD cannot be similar to triangle AEB.
(8) For any given rectangle EBF D, a rhombus ABCD
as described above can be constructed.

(5) True. Both are right angled and ∠F BD = ∠BDA = ∠GDC.

(6) True. G bisects AC and BD. Use the similarity of CGD with DEB ' DF B.
(7) False. They are similar when ABC is equilateral, which is possible.
(8) False. ED ≥ AD = AB ≥ EB (hypotenuse), so need ED ≥ EB.
A3. This question is about complex numbers.

Statements
(9) The complex number (e3 )i lies in the third quadrant.
(10) If |z1 | − |z2 | = |z1 + z2 | for some complex numbers z1 and z2 , then z2 must be 0.
(11) For distinct complex numbers z1 and z2 , the equation |(z − z1 )2 | = |(z − z2 )2 | has at
most 4 solutions.
(12) For each nonzero complex number z, there are more than 100 numbers w such that
w2023 = z.

(9) False. Second quadrant. The argument of e3i is 3 radian, which is just under 172◦ .
(10) False. Take z2 = rz1 with r real and −1 ≤ r < 0.
(11) False. |(z − z1 )2 | = |z − z1 |2 , so z is equidistant from z1 and z2 . Solutions form a line.
1 i(2πk+θ)
z
(12) True. There are 2023 such w. Letting |z|
= eiθ , w = |z| 2023 e 2023 , k = 0, 1, . . . , 2022.

A4. Statements

(13)
1
lim e x = +∞.
x→0

(14)
ln x ln x
lim < lim 1 .
x→∞ x100 x→∞ x 100

(15) For any positive integer n,

Z n
n
x2023 cos(nx)dx < .
−n 2023

(16) There is no polynomial p(x) for which there is a single line that is tangent to the graph
of p(x) at exactly 100 points.

(13) False. Limit from the left is 0.

(14) False. Both limits are 0. The numerator ln x is dominated by any positive power of x.
(15) True. The function x2023 cos(nx) is odd so by symmetry the integral is 0.
(16) False. For p(x) with exactly 100 multiple roots the X-axis is such a line. (This is
essentially the only way: if y = ax + b is such a line for a polynomial q(x), then the X-axis
is such a line for the polynomial q(x) − ax − b, which must have exactly 100 multiple roots.)
A5. Statements
p √
(17) 4 < 5 + 5 5.
1+log2 61
(18) log2 11 < 2
.
(19) (2023)2023 < (2023!)2 .
(20) 92100 + 93100 < 94100 .

√ √
(17) True. 16 < 5 + 5 5 as 11 < 5 5 as 121 < 125. Taking square roots preserves order.
(18) True. 22 log2 11 = 121 < 21+log2 61 = 122. Taking log2 preserves order.
(19) True. Pair numbers on the RHS symmetrically. n(2024 − n) > 2023 for n = 1, . . . , 2023.
1 2
(20) True. Divide by 92100 and use binomial theorem for (1 + x)100 with x = 92
and x = 92
.

P n
P

A6. For a sequence ai of real numbers, we say that ai converges if lim ai is finite.
n→∞ i=1
In this question all ai > 0.

Statements
P
(21) If ai converges, then ai → 0 as i → ∞.
(22) If ai < 1i for all i, then
P
ai converges.
ai converges, then (−1)i ai also converges.
P P
(23) If
P P
(24) If ai does not converge, then i tan(ai ) cannot converge.

(21) True.
1
(22) False. Take ai = 2i
n
(−1)i ai remains a Cauchy sequence.
P
(23) True. Given ai are all positive, so
i=1
(24) False. Take all ai = π.

Continued −→
A7. Statements
(25) To divide an integer b by a nonzero integer d, define a quotient q and a remainder r to
be integers such that b = qd + r and |r| < |d|. Such integers q and r always exist and are
both unique for given b and d.
(26) To divide a polynomial b(x) by a nonzero polynomial d(x), define a quotient q(x) and
a remainder r(x) to be polynomials such that b = qd + r and degree(r) < degree(d). (Here
b(x) and d(x) have real coefficients and the 0 polynomial is taken to have negative degree
by convention.) Such polynomials q(x) and r(x) always exist and are both unique for given
b(x) and d(x).
(27) Suppose that in the preceding question b(x) and d(x) have rational coefficients. Then
q(x) and r(x), if they exist, must also have rational coefficients.
(28) The least positive number in the set {(a × 20232020 ) + (b × 20202023 )} as a and b range
over all integers is 3.
(25) False. For r > 0, we can increase quotient by 1 and make remainder negative.
(26) True. q1 d + r1 = q2 d + r2 gives (q1 − q2 )d = r2 − r1 . Compare degrees.
(27) True. Uniqueness and the long division procedure ensure this.
(28) False. It is the gcd of 20232020 and 20202023 , which is 1.

A8. You play the following game with three fair dice. (When each one is rolled, any one of
the outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 is equally likely.) In the first round, you roll all three dice. You
remove every die that shows 6. If any dice remain, you roll all the remaining dice again in
the second round. Again you remove all dice showing 6 and continue.
Questions
(29) Let the probability that you are able to play the second round be ab , where a and b are
integers with gcd 1. Write the numbers a and b separated by a comma. E.g., for probability
10
36
you would type 5,18 with no quotations, space, full stop or any other punctuation.
(30) Let the probability that you are able to play the second round but not the third round
be dc where c and d are integers with gcd 1. Write only the integer c as your answer. E.g.,
34
for probability 36 you would type 17 with no quotations, space or any other punctuation.
(29) The probability is 1 − ( 61 )3 = 215
216
, so 215,216 is the answer.
1115
(30) The probability is 66
by the calculation below, so 1115 is the answer.
P(3 dice left after first round) × P(all 3 remaining dice show 6 in round 2) +
P(2 dice left after first round) × P(both remaining dice show 6 in round 2) +
P(1 die left after first round) × P(the remaining die shows 6 in round 2)
 5 3  1 3  5 2  1   1 2  5  1 2  1 
= × + 3 × + 3 × .
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
A9. Two lines `1 and `2 in 3-dimensional space are given by
`1 = {(t − 9, −t + 7, 6) | t ∈ R} and `2 = {(7, s + 3, 3s + 4) | s ∈ R}.

Questions
(31) The plane passing through the origin and not intersecting either of `1 and `2 has equation
ax + by + cz = d. Write the value of |a + b + c + d| where a, b, c, d are integers with gcd = 1.
(32) Let r be the smallest possible RADIUS of a circle that has a point on `1 as well as a
point on `2 . It is given that r2 (i.e, the SQUARE of the smallest radius) is an integer. Write
the value of r2 .

(31) (1, −1, 0) and (0, 1, 3) are the direction vectors of the given lines. (3, 3, −1) is a common
perpendicular to both direction vectors. So 3x + 3y − z = 0 is an equation for the desired
plane. Thus the answer is |3 + 3 − 1 + 0| = 5.

(32) Each of the two mentioned points must be the only intersection of such a circle with
the respective line. The segment joining these points must be perpendicular to both `1 and
`2 and is a diameter of any specified circle. Taking a general point on each line, a vector
representing the segment joining the two points is (16 − t, s + t − 4, 3s − 2). Solving

(16 − t, s + t − 4, 3s − 2) · (1, −1, 0) = 0 and (16 − t, s + t − 4, 3s − 2) · (0, 1, 3) = 0

gives s = 0, t = 10. So (2r)2 = (16 − 10)2 + (10 − 4)2 + (−2)2 = 76. Thus the answer is 19.

A10. Consider the part of the graph of y 2 + x3 = 15xy that is strictly to the right of the
Y-axis, i.e., take only the points on the graph with x > 0.

Questions
(33) Write the least possible value of y among considered points. If there is no such real
number, write NONE (without any spaces or quotation marks or any other punctuation).
(34) Write the largest possible value of y among considered points. If there is no such real
number, write NONE (without any spaces or quotation marks or any other punctuation).
√
(33) Regarding the equation as a quadratic in y gives y = 12 15x ± 225x2 − 4x3 . So

there is a y-value for every x ≤ 225 . We also have y > 0 for x > 0 since in that case
√ 4
2 3
15x > 225x − 4x . As x → 0, y also → 0, so there is no minimum y-value.

(34) On the closed interval [0, 225

4
], each sign in the formula for y gives a continuous function.
So y must have a maximum, which cannot occur at x = 0 as y > 0 for x > 0. So we inspect
y-values for the endpoint x = 225 4
and for any critical points. Differentiating implicitly,
dy 2
dx
= 0 precisely when 3x = 15y for (x, y) on the graph. This gives only the point (50, 500).
As 500 > (y-value at x = 225 4
), the answer is 500. One can also argue without considering
225
x = 4 at all. Plot the graph to see that there is no “endpoint”.
 Part B solutions

B1. [11 points] We want to find odd integers n > 1 for which n is a factor of 2023n − 1.
(a) Find the two smallest such integers.
(b) Prove that there are infinitely many such integers.
Solution: (a) 2023 is 1 mod 3, so n = 3 works. Similarly using modular arithmetic one
checks that 5 and 7 do not work but 9 does. (b) If n = k works so does n = 3k by induction:
20233k −1 = (2023k −1)(20232k +2023k +1) = (multiple of k)(multiple of 3) as each summand
in the second factor is 1 mod 3. Thus all powers of 3 satisfy the required condition.

B2. [12 points] Let Z+ denote the set of positive integers. We want to find all functions
g : Z+ → Z+ such that the following equation holds for any m, n in Z+ .
g(n + m) = g(n) + nm(n + m) + g(m).
Prove that g(n) must be of the form di=0 ci ni and find the precise necessary and sufficient
P
condition(s) on d and on the coefficients c0 , . . . , cd for g to satisfy the required equation.

Solution: Setting m = 1 gives g(n + 1) − Pg(n) = n(n + 1) + g(1). Apply this repeatedly
n−1 2
starting with n = 1 to get g(n) = ng(1) + i=1 i + i, which works out to ng(1) + 31 (n3 − n).
Set g(1) to be an arbitrary positive integer k and verify that the resulting formula satisfies
the given condition for all m, n. Thus g(n) = 31 n3 + kn with k = (any positive integer)− 31 .

B3. [13 points] Suppose that for a given polynomial p(x) = x4 + ax3 + bx2 + cx + d, there
is exactly one real number r such that p(r) = 0.
(a) If a, b, c, d are rational, show that r must be rational.
(b) If a, b, c, d are integers, show that r must be an integer.
Possible hint: Also consider the roots of the derivative p0 (x).

Solution: (a) The multiplicity of the root r must be either 2 or 4. In the latter case
p(x) = (x − r)4 = x4 − 4rx3 + 6r2 x2 − 4r3 x + r4 . As 4r is a rational, so is r. If the multiplicity
is 2 then the two non-real roots are complex conjugates and r is the only repeated root
of p(x). So r is the only common root (whether real or not) of p(x) and p0 (x) AND r
is a simple root of the polynomial p0 (x). So gcd(p, p0 ) = x − r by looking at complete
factorization of p(x) and p0 (x) into linear terms (including complex roots). As p(x) and p0 (x)
have rational coefficients, so does their gcd by looking at each step of the division algorithm.
(The preceding three sentences deserve careful consideration.) Therefore r must be rational.
(b) It is standard that a rational root of a monic polynomial with integer coefficients must
be an integer. (Proof: write a rational root r = mn
with gcd(m, n) = 1, substitute into the
polynomial, clear powers of n in the denominators and deduce that n cannot be divisible by
any prime because that prime would then need to divide m as well. So n = ±1.)
B4. [14 points] There are n students in a class and no two of them have the same height.
The students stand in a line, one behind another, in no particular order of their heights.

(a) How many different orders are there in which the shortest student is not in the first
position and the tallest student is not in the last position?

(b) The badness of an ordering is the largest number k with the following property. There
is at least one student X such that there are k students taller than X standing ahead
of X. Find a formula for gk (n) = number of orderings of n students with badness k.

Example: The ordering 64 61 67 63 62 66 65 (the numbers denote heights) has badness

3 as the student with height 62 has three taller students (with heights 64, 67 and 63)
standing ahead in the line and nobody has more than 3 taller students standing ahead.

Possible hints for (b): It may be useful to first count orderings of badness 1 and/or to find
fk (n) = the number of orderings of n students with badness less than or equal to k.

Solution: (a) There are (n − 1)! + (n − 1)! − (n − 2)! orderings with the shortest student
first or the tallest student last or both. So the desired number = n! − 2(n − 1)! + (n − 2)!,
i.e., (n − 2)!(n2 − 3n + 3). Alternatively, first order all but the shortest and the tallest
students in (n − 2)! ways. The number of ways to insert the shortest and then the tallest is
(n − 2)(n − 1) + 1. (What is the extra 1 for?)
(b) Following both the hints, first consider badness 1 and use induction. Leave out the
shortest student and order the remaining n−1 students with badness 1. The shortest student
can now go in place 1 or 2. There is one more possibility where the n − 1 students have 0
badness (i.e., are in increasing order) and the shortest student goes in place 2. Inductively
one gets the formula g1 (n) = 2n−1 − 1 (valid even for n = 1, giving g1 (1) = 0).
Induction to find fk (n) is easier. Leave out the shortest student and order the remaining
n − 1 students with badness at most k. To maintain badness at most k, out of the n
available slots for the shortest student, the allowed ones are precisely 1, 2, . . . , min(k + 1, n).
So fk (n + 1) = fk (n) min(k + 1, n). Answer: fk (n) = n! if n ≤ k + 1 and fk (n) = k!(k + 1)n−k
if n ≥ k + 1. (The formulas agree for n = k + 1.)
Now gk (n) = fk (n) − fk−1 (n). This
works out to 0 if n ≤ k (as expected) and for n ≥ k, one
gets gk (n) = k! (k + 1)n−k − k n−k .

B5. [15 points] Throughout this question every mentioned function is required to be a
differentiable function from R to R. The symbol ◦ denotes composition of functions.
 (a) Suppose f ◦ f = f . Then for each x, one must have f 0 (x) = or f 0 (f (x)) = .
Complete the sentence and justify.
(b) For a non-constant f satisfying f ◦ f = f , it is known and you may assume that the
range of f must have one of the following forms: R, (−∞, b], [a, ∞) or [a, b]. Show that
in fact the range must be all of R and deduce that there is a unique such function f .
(Possible hints: For each y in the range of f , what can you say about f (y)? If the
range has a maximum element b what can you say about the derivative of f ?)
(c) Suppose that g ◦ g ◦ g = g and that g ◦ g is a non-constant function. Show that g must
be onto, g must be strictly increasing or strictly decreasing and that there is a unique
such increasing g.
Solution: (a) f 0 (f (x))f 0 (x) = f 0 (x) for each x by chain rule, so f 0 (x) = 0 or f 0 (f (x)) = 1.
(b) (Argument taken from the answer by Dan Shved to question 365363 on stackexchange.)
For each y = f (x) in the range, f (y) = f (f (x)) = f (x) = y, so f is the identity function
on the range. Therefore it is enough to show that the range is all of R. As the range is
given to be an interval (a proof is given below), at each y in the range, f 0 (y) = 1 by direct
calculation. Note that if the range has endpoint(s), this derivative calculation is one sided
at such a point. We will show that the range does not have an endpoint on either side. If the
range interval has a left/right endpoint f (c) = c, then f has a minimum/maximum value at
c, so it must be true that f 0 (c) = 0. (Recall that the domain is all of R, so Fermat’s theorem
applies at x = c.) This contradicts the earlier calculation of a one-sided derivative at c being
1. So the range cannot be of the form (−∞, b], [a, ∞) or [a, b] and must be all of R.
(c) By applying g to the given equation, g ◦ g ◦ g ◦ g = g ◦ g. So if g ◦ g is non-constant, it
has to be the identity by part (b), i.e., g is its own inverse. In particular, being invertible,
g is onto and one-to-one. Due to continuity, being one-to-one implies that g is monotonic.
(This is standard. If g is one-to-one and not monotonic, we have some a, b, c for which
a < b < c and WLOG g(a) < g(c) < g(b) by replacing g with its reflection in one/both axes
if necessary. By the intermediate value theorem, we have d ∈ (a, b) with g(c) = g(d), giving a
contradiction to g being one-to-one.) If g is increasing, g(x) < x implies x = g(g(x)) < g(x)
and vice versa, so the only possibility is g(x) = x.
For completeness, here is a proof of the fact that you were asked to assume in part (b), namely
that the range of f must be of the form R, (−∞, b], [a, ∞) or [a, b]: As f is continuous, if
f (p) < r < f (q) then r is also in the range by intermediate value theorem. So the range
must be one of the intervals (m, M ) or (m, M ] or [m, M ) or [m, M ], where m is the greatest
lower bound of the range (possibly m = −∞), M is the least upper bound of the range
(possibly M = ∞), and it is understood that if m and/or M is not finite then only the open
interval makes sense on the corresponding side. It remains to show that if either of m and
M is finite, it must belong to the range. Now f (m + h) = m + h for small enough h > 0.
(Recall that the function is non-constant so m 6= M .) So lim+ f (m + h) = lim+ m + h = m.
h→0 h→0
At the same time, because f is continuous, the same limit must be f (m), so f (m) = m and
thus m is in the range of f . For M , take limit from the left lim− f (M + h), etc.
h→0
B6. [15 points] Starting with any given positive integer a > 1 the following game is played.
If a is a perfect square, take its square root.
√ Otherwise take a + 3. Repeat the procedure
with the new positive integer (i.e., with a or a + 3 depending on the case). The resulting
set of numbers is called the trajectory of a. For example the set {3, 6, 9} is a trajectory: it
is the trajectory of each of its members.
Which numbers have a finite trajectory? Possible hint: Find the set

{n | n is the smallest number in some trajectory S}.

If you wish, you can get partial credit by solving the following simpler questions.
(a) Show that there is no trajectory of cardinality 1 or 2.
(b) Show that {3, 6, 9} is the only trajectory of cardinality 3.
(c) Show that for any integer k ≥ 3, there is a trajectory of cardinality k.
(d) Find an infinite trajectory.
√
Solution: Let S = a trajectory, n = the smallest number in S. Note that 1 ∈
/ S, so n > n.
√ √
(a) |S|= 1 implies n = n, so n = 1, which is impossible. As n > n, n cannot be a perfect
square. So |S| = 2 implies S = {n, n + 3} and n + 3 = n2 , which cannot happen for n > 1.
(b) Similarly |S| = 3 implies S = {n, n + 3, n + 6} and n + 6 = n2 , which gives n = 3.
(c) To get any finite cardinality repeatedly square 6 (or 9) and add these numbers to {3, 6, 9}.
(d) (3k)2 = 9k 2 is 0 mod 3. Next, (3k + 1)2 = 9k 2 + 6k + 1 and (3k + 2)2 = 9k 2 + 12k + 4 are
1 mod 3. As all squares are 0 or 1 mod 3, any S containing a 2 mod 3 number is infinite.
Claim: For a trajectory S with smallest number n, exactly one of the following two happens.
1. No square occurs after n in the trajectory. Hence n is 2 mod 3 and S is infinite.
2. A square does occur after n and n = 3. Hence S is finite.
Proof of the claim: The smallest number in S cannot be a square, so let k 2 < n < (k + 1)2 .
Assuming a square occurs after n, we will show that n = 3. The first encountered square
after n is at most (k + 3)2 (e.g., make cases depending on what k and n are mod 3.) So
k 2 < n ≤ k + 3, but k 2 < k + 3 only for k = 1, 2. Hence n < (k + 1)2 ≤ 9. Now n cannot be
2, 5, 8 because adding 3 repeatedly to these will never give a square. And n cannot be 4, 6, 7
because in each case one gets a smaller number by playing the game (respectively 2, 3, 2). So
n = 3 is the only possibility. For the second sentence in case 1, note that repeatedly adding
3 to n will eventually give a square if and only if n is 0 or 1 mod 3.
Main answer: If a number in S is / is not divisible by 3, then the same is true for all numbers
in S (check this). If the initial number a is a multiple of 3, then so is n, and hence we must
be in case 2 of the claim. If a is not a multiple of 3, then nor is n, so n 6= 3 and we must be
in case 1. Thus multiples of 3 are precisely the numbers with finite trajectories.
Notes: (1) The above pattern was discovered earlier by Stephan Wagner. See problem 1 in
IMO 2017 for a slightly different formulation. (2) The analysis in the solution generalizes
naturally if 3 is replaced in the game by any prime p. (Why prime?) What happens for
p = 2? For p = 5? For p = 7? In general?