Srinivasa Ramanujan: Quiz

1. What lie did the British mathematician Hardy give to the Scotland Yard once in order to save Ramanujan from an arrest?

• That he was a fellow of the Royal Society when in fact he was not at that time.

2. What famous inequation did Hardy give once regarding Ramanujan and another famous mathematician David Hilbert?

• Ramanujan>Hilbert.

3. Among other places around the world what is also there at the IISc, Bangalore; Defence Ministry, New Delhi; and Kumbakonam?

• Bronze Busts of Ramanujan.

4. Which prize’s previous winners include Manjul Bhargava and the 2006 Fields Medalist, Terence Tao?

• The SASTRA Ramanujan prize.

5. What unique thing is present in a temple devoted to Saraswati at BITS, Pilani?

• A statue of Ramanujan engraved in the temple wall.

6. Hardy gave a personal rating to various mathematicians, to himself he gave 25, to Littlewood a 35, to Archimedes an 80, but how much did he give Ramanujan?

• 100.

7. What is the significance of the ship names SS Nevasa in Ramanujan’s life?

• He sailed in that ship to England.

8. Which famous number theorist always used to carry a copy of Ramanujan’s collected papers wherever he went?

• Atle Selberg.

9. For almost 20 years he has been doing it, according to Bruce C. Berndt he does not understand all that he proves from it but it gives him satisfaction. What?

• Editing of Ramanujan’s notebooks.

10. “A disappearing Number” is a recent play related to the life of Ramanujan. Where was it staged?

• London.

11. Which book by Robert Kanigal depicting the life of Ramanujan is slated to be made into a Hollywood movie?

• The Man Who Knew Infinity-A Life of the Genius Ramanujan.

12. “An equation has no meaning for me unless it expresses a thought of God.” Who is the speaker?

• Ramanujan.

13. Pierre Deligne won the 1974 Fields Medal, the highest honour in mathematics for proving what?

• Ramanujan’s Tau Conjecture.

14. Ramanujan Gonit Sangho is an organization doing pioneering work for young students, where is it based?

• Bangladesh.

15. If Janaki Ammal is Ramanujan’s wife then who is Kommalatammal?

•  His mother.

16. Which seminal paper of Ramanujan was published in the Quarterly Journal of Mathematics, Oxford in 1914 which has paved the way for modern-day computer algorithms?

•  Modular Equations and Approximations of Pi.

17. “On Some properties of Bernoulli numbers “ is a paper by Ramanujan published in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society. What is its significance?

•  It is Ramanujan’s first published paper.

18. What unique thing related to Ramanujan is shown in a scene in the Hollywood movie High School Musical?

• A formula for a series of 1/pi of Ramanujan.

19. Which is the highest educational qualification that Ramanujan held apart from his FRS?

• BA from Cambridge University.

20. Your Hit Parade was a famous American show in the 1950s and 1960s. How is it related to Ramanujan?

•  It is also the name of a paper containing the top 10 most beautiful formulas of Ramanujan published in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society.