GS2025 Exam, School of Mathematics, TIFR

Notation and Conventions

‚ N denotes the set of natural numbers t0, 1, . . . u, Z the set of integers,
Q the set of rational numbers, R the set of real numbers, and C the
set of complex numbers. These sets are assumed to carry the usual
algebraic and metric structures.
‚ Rn denotes the Euclidean space of dimension n. Subsets of Rn are
viewed as metric spaces using the standard Euclidean distance on
Rn . For x P Rn , }x} denotes the standard Euclidean norm of x, i.e.,
the distance from x to 0.
‚ All rings are associative, with a multiplicative identity. Ring homo-
morphisms are assumed to respect multiplicative identities.
‚ For any ring R, Mn pRq denotes the ring of nˆn matrices with entries
in R. The identity matrix in Mn pRq will be denoted by Id or by Idn .
For a matrix A P Mn pRq, At will stand for its tranpose, tracepAq for
its trace, and detpAq for its determinant.
‚ Mn pRq will also be viewed as a real vector space, and Mn pCq as a
complex vector space. Mn pRq is given the topology such that any
2
R-linear isomorphism Mn pRq Ñ Rn is a homeomorphism. Subsets
of Mn pRq are given the subspace topology.
‚ For a ring R, Rrx1 , . . . , xn s denotes the polynomial ring in n variables
x1 , . . . , xn over R.
‚ If A is a set, #A stands for the cardinality of A, and equals 8 if A
is infinite.
‚ If B is a subset of a set A, we write AzB for the set ta P A | a R Bu.
‚ Let G be a group, and let S Ă G. The subgroup of G generated by
S is defined to be the smallest subgroup of G that contains S.

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(1) For a positive integer m, let dpmq denote the number of divisors of
m, including 1 and m. Define a sequence tan u8n“1 by
an “ #t1 ď m ď n | dpmq is oddu.
Find
an
lim .
nÑ8 n
X (a) 0
(b) 1
(c) 1{2
(d) None of the remaining three options
(2) Let S3 be the symmetric group on 3 letters. Consider the real vector
space
V “ tf : S3 Ñ R | f pgq “ f pg 3 q, @ g P S3 u.
What is the dimension of this space?
(a) 1
(b) 2
(c) 3
X (d) Greater than 3
(3) Consider the set
S “ tpx, yq P R2 | px3 ` 1q3 “ py 5 ` 1q5 u.
How many connected components does S have?
X (a) 1
(b) 3
(c) Greater than 3, but finite
(d) Infinite
(4) Define a set S of real polynomials as follows:
S “ tp P Rrxs | p is not constant, |pp0q| ă 1u.
For p in S, define
Up “ tx P R | |ppxq| ă 1u.
Which of the following statements is correct?
(a) There exists p P S such that Up is a union of infinitely many
disjoint open intervals.
(b) For each p P S, Up is a union of infinitely many disjoint open
intervals.
X (c) For each p P S, Up is a union of finitely many open intervals.
(d) There exists p P S such that Up is an unbounded set.
(5) What is the number of functions f : Rzt0, 1u Ñ Rzt0, 1u such that
|f pxq ´ f pyq| “ |x ´ y| for all x, y P Rzt0, 1u?
(a) 1
X (b) 2
(c) Greater than 2, but finite
(d) Infinite
´ ¯n 1
(6) Let xn “ 1 ´ ?1n exppn 4 q. Which of the following statements is
correct?
X (a) lim xn “ 0 and 8
ř
nÑ8 n“1 xn converges.
 3
ř8
(b) lim xn “ 0 but n“1 xn diverges.
nÑ8
(c) lim xn exists but is non-zero.
nÑ8
(d) lim xn does not exist.
nÑ8
(7) Let f : r0, 1s Ñ R be such that
#
1
n, if x “ 2pn , where p is an odd integer, and
f pxq “ 2
0, otherwise.
Which of the following statements is correct?
(a) f is continuous at x P r0, 1s if and only if x is rational.
(b) f is continuous at x P r0, 1s if and only if x is irrational.
(c) f is not continuous at x, for any x P r0, 1s.
X (d) None of the remaining three statements is true.
(8) Let tqn u8
n“1 be an enumeration of the rationals. In other words,
Q “ tqn | n P Nzt0uu, and qm ‰ qn if m ‰ n. Set
8 ˆ ˙
ď 1 1
X“ qn ´ 2 , qn ` 2 .
n“1
n n
Which of the following statements is correct?
X (a) X is dense in R, but not equal to R.
(b) X “ R.
(c) X contains an open interval of length 10.
(d) None of the remaining three statements is correct.
(9) Consider the linear map T : Rrxs Ñ Rrxs defined by T pppxqq “
d
dx pxppxqq. Which of the following statements is correct?
(a) T is injective but not surjective.
(b) T is surjective but not injective.
X (c) T is bijective.
(d) T is neither injective nor surjective.
(10) Let
´1 2 1¯
A“ 212
121
Consider the following statements:
(i) A has a positive eigenvalue.
(ii) A has a negative eigenvalue.
Which of the following statements is correct?
X (a) (i) and (ii) are true.
(b) (i) and (ii) are false.
(c) (i) is true and (ii) is false.
(d) (ii) is true and (i) is false.
(11) Let A be a nonzero n ˆ n matrix with real entries, where n ą 1.
Consider the following statements.
(i) If A2 “ 0 then rankpAq ď t n2 u.
(ii) If rankpAq ď t n2 u then A2 “ 0.
Which of the following statements is correct?
(a) (i) and (ii) are true.
(b) (i) and (ii) are false.
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X (c) (i) is true and (ii) is false.

(d) (ii) is true and (i) is false.
(12) Consider the following subset of R2 :
!´ 1 ¯ˇˇ ) !´ 1¯ )
S “ x, sin ˇx ą 0 Y 0, ˘ | n ě 1 .
x n
Which of the following statements is correct?
(a) S is path connected.
X (b) S is connected, but not path connected.
(c) S is not connected, but has finitely many connected compo-
nents.
(d) S has infinitely many connected components.
(13) Consider the following statements:

(i) Any linear map R3 Ñ R3 has a one-dimensional invariant sub-

space.
(ii) Any linear map R3 Ñ R3 has a two-dimensional invariant sub-
space.
Which of the following statements is correct?
X (a) (i) and (ii) are both true.
(b) (i) and (ii) are both false.
(c) (i) is true and (ii) is false.
(d) (i) is false and (ii) is true.
(14) Consider the following statements:
(i) For any linear map T : R3 Ñ R3 with a two-dimensional kernel,
the trace of T is an eigenvalue of T .
(ii) For any linear map T : R3 Ñ R3 with a two-dimensional kernel,
X 2 divides the characteristic polynomial of T .
Which of the following statements is correct?
X (a) (i) and (ii) are both true.
(b) (i) and (ii) are both false.
(c) (i) is true and (ii) is false.
(d) (i) is false and (ii) is true.
(15) For´a ¯ positive integer n, define the function fn : R Ñ R by fn pxq “
x
sin . Consider the sequences tfn u8 1 8
n“1 and tfn un“1 of functions
n
from R to R. Which of the following statements is correct?
(a) The sequences tfn u8 1 8
n“1 and tfn un“1 both converge uniformly on
R.
(b) Neither of the sequences tfn u8 1 8
n“1 and tfn un“1 converges uni-
formly on R.
(c) The sequence tfn u8 n“1 converges uniformly on R, but the se-
1 8
quence tfn un“1 does not.
X (d) The sequence tfn1 u8 n“1 converges uniformly on R, but the se-
quence tfn u8 n“1 does not.
(16) Let n ą 1 be a positive integer. Let A “ raij s1ďi,jďn be an n ˆ n
matrix, such that ai,i`1 “ ci for i “ 1, . . . , pn ´ 1q, and an,1 “ cn ,
where c1 , . . . , cn are real numbers and all the other entries are 0.
Which of the following sentences is correct regardless of n?
X (a) detpId ´ An q “ 0 if ni“1 ci “ 1.
ś
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(b) detpId ´ An q ą 0 if śni“1 ci ą 0.

ś
(c) detpId ´ An q ă 0 if śni“1 ci ą 1.
(d) detpId ´ An q ą 0 if ni“1 ci ą 1.
(17) Let n ě 1. Consider non-zero n ˆ n real matrices A such that
tracepAXq “ 0, for every real matrix X with tracepXq “ 0. Consider
the following assertions.
(i) For every such matrix A, tracepAqn “ nn ¨ detpAq.
(ii) For every such matrix A, the rank of A is n.
Which of the following sentences is correct?
(a) (i) is correct and (ii) is incorrect.
(b) (ii) is correct and (i) is incorrect.
X (c) (i) and (ii) are correct.
(d) (i) and (ii) are incorrect.
(18) Let S be the set of functions f : p0, 1q Ñ R with the property that
there is a sequence tfn u8n“1 of functions that converges uniformly to
f , where each fn : p0, 1q Ñ R is a twice continuously differentiable
function (i.e., fn2 exists and is continuous). Which of the following
statements is correct?
X (a) Any f P S is continuous, but there exists f P S such that f is
not differentiable.
(b) Any f P S is differentiable, but there exists f P S such that f 1
is not continuous.
(c) Any f P S is continuously differentiable, but there exists f P S
such that f 2 does not exist.
(d) Any f P S is twice continuously differentiable.
(19) For a real valued function f : r0, 1s ÞÑ R, let ωf : r0, 1s ÞÑ R be the
oscillation of f defined by
ωf ptq :“ sup |f pxq ´ f pyq|.
|x´y|ďt

Which one of the following statements is correct for every f : r0, 1s Ñ

R?
X (a) f is continuous if and only if lim ωf ptq “ 0.
tÑ0`
(b) If f is continuous then lim ωf ptq “ 0, but not conversely.
tÑ0`
(c) If lim ωf ptq “ 0 then f is continuous, but not conversely.
tÑ0`
(d) None of the remaining three statements is correct.
(20) The number of real cubic polynomials of the form x3 ` ax ` b, each
of whose complex roots lies on the unit circle S 1 “ tz P C | z z̄ “ 1u,
equals
(a) 0
X (b) 2
(c) 8
(d) None of the remaining three options

F (1) There exists a linear polynomial ppxq P Rrxs, for which there exist
exactly two subsets S Ă R such that ppSq “ S and such that #S “ 2.
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T (2) There are exactly 10 abelian groups of order 2025, up to isomor-

phism.
T (3) If A Ă R is an uncountable subset, then there exist uncountably
many elements x P A such that x is a limit point of Aztxu.
F (4) There exists an open subset of R with uncountably many connected
components.
T (5) Let pX, dq be a nonempty complete metric space, and let T : X Ñ X
be a continuous map such that T 2 is a contraction, i.e., there exists
a ă 1 such that for all distinct x, y P X, we have dpT 2 pxq, T 2 pyqq ă
adpx, yq. Then there exists a unique element x P X such that T pxq “
x.
T (6) Let
S 2 “ tpx, y, zq P R3 | x2 ` y 2 ` z 2 “ 1u,
and let d : S 2 ˆ S 2 Ñ R be the restriction of the Euclidean metric
on R3 . If f : S 2 Ñ S 2 is a map such that dpf pxq, f pyqq “ dpx, yq for
all x, y P S 2 , then f is surjective.
F (7) Let Cpr0, 1s, Rq be the set of continuous functions from r0, 1s to R,
equipped with the metric d given by
dpf1 , f2 q “ sup |f1 pxq ´ f2 pxq|.
xPr0,1s

Let X Ă Cpr0, 1s, Rq be defined by

" ż1 *
X :“ f P Cpr0, 1s, Rq | f ptq dt ‰ 0 .
0

Then, with the induced metric, X is connected.

F (8) Let SO4 “ tA P M4 pRq | AAt “ Id, and detpAq ą 0u. Then every
matrix in SO4 has 1 or ´1 as an eigenvalue.
T (9) Let T be an endomorphism of a finite dimensional real vector space
V , and let W denote the image of T . Let T 1 denote the restriction
of T to W . Then T and T 1 have the same trace.
F (10) Every subgroup of S 1 “ tz P C | z z̄ “ 1u, viewed as a group under
multiplication, is finite.
F (11) If f : F Ñ F is a homomorphism of fields, then f is surjective.
T (12) Given any linear transformation T : R2 Ñ R2 , there exist linear
transformations T1 , T2 : R2 Ñ R2 such that p1, 0q belongs to the
kernel of T1 , p0, 1q belongs to the image of T2 , and T “ T1 ` T2 .
T (13) For any positive integer d, the set
t10a ´ 10b | a, b are distinct positive integersu
contains a multiple of d.
F (14) There exists θ P p0, π{2q such that
sin θ ` sec θ ` cot θ “ 3.
F (15) Let m be a positive integer, and Sm the symmetric group on m
letters. Let n be a positive integer such that for every group G of
order n, there exists an injective group homomorphism G ãÑ Sm .
Then m ě n.
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?
T (16) Let `1 be the line in R2 joining
?
p0, 0q and p 12 , 23 q, and `2 the line
3 1
in R2 joining p0, 0q and p 2 , 2 q. Consider the group of bijections
2 2
R Ñ R under composition, and its subgroup G generated by the
reflections about `1 and `2 . Then G has exactly 12 elements.
F (17) There are only finitely many subsets I Ă N with the property that
! ÿn ˇ )
f pxq “ ai xi P Rrxsˇn P N, ai P Q for all i P I
ˇ
i“0
is a subring of Rrxs.
T (18) There are uncountably many continuous functions Q Ñ t0, 1u.
F (19) Let f : R Ñ R be a continuously differentiable function. Suppose
there exists C P R such that f is injective on pC, 8q. Then there
exists D P R such that f 1 is injective on pD, 8q.
T (20) If f, g : r0, 1s Ñ R are continuous and f ¨ g “ 0, then one of f or g is
zero on an open subset of r0, 1s.