➗ Mathematics गणित
20 exam-ready facts · 20 MCQs
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1
The Greek mathematician Euclid is called the 'Father of Geometry'; his book 'Elements' is a famous treatise on geometry.
Practice (1)
Q1Who is called the 'Father of Geometry'?
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Correct answer: C — Euclid
Euclid's 'Elements' has been the foundational book of geometry. -
2
National Mathematics Day is observed every year on 22 December, the birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan; it was announced by PM Manmohan Singh on 26 December 2011, and 2012 was celebrated as National Mathematics Year.
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Q2When is National Mathematics Day observed in India?
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Correct answer: B — 22 December
22 December is Ramanujan's birth anniversary. 14 March is Pi Day and 29 June is National Statistics Day. -
3
1729 is called the Hardy–Ramanujan number; it is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways: 1³ + 12³ = 9³ + 10³.
Practice (1)
Q3Which number is known as the 'Hardy–Ramanujan number'?
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Correct answer: D — 1729
1729 = 1³ + 12³ = 9³ + 10³. 6174 is Kaprekar's constant and 2520 is the LCM of 1 to 10. -
4
Scottish mathematician John Napier published logarithms in 1614.
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Q4Who invented logarithms?
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Correct answer: A — John Napier
Napier introduced logarithms in 1614; Descartes is linked with coordinate geometry. -
5
Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887–1920) was born in Erode (Tamil Nadu); he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1918 and worked with G. H. Hardy at Cambridge.
Practice (1)
Q5With which mathematician did Srinivasa Ramanujan work at Cambridge?
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Correct answer: A — G. H. Hardy
Hardy invited Ramanujan to Cambridge; that is why 1729 is called the Hardy–Ramanujan number. -
6
The Fields Medal is regarded as the most prestigious prize in mathematics; it is awarded every 4 years at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) to mathematicians under 40.
Practice (1)
Q6At what interval is the Fields Medal awarded?
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Correct answer: A — Every 4 years
The Fields Medal comes with the ICM every 4 years; the Abel Prize is given every year. -
7
Manjul Bhargava, a mathematician of Indian origin, received the Fields Medal in 2014.
Practice (1)
Q7Which mathematician of Indian origin received the Fields Medal in 2014?
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Correct answer: C — Manjul Bhargava
Akshay Venkatesh won the Fields Medal in 2018; Varadhan won the Abel Prize in 2007. -
8
French philosopher-mathematician René Descartes is regarded as the father of coordinate (Cartesian) geometry.
Practice (1)
Q8Who is regarded as the father of coordinate (Cartesian) geometry?
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Correct answer: B — René Descartes
'Cartesian' comes from Descartes (Cartesius); Euclid is the father of Euclidean geometry. -
9
Brahmagupta wrote the 'Brahmasphutasiddhanta' in 628 CE, which gave rules for computing with zero, treating it as a number.
Practice (1)
Q9Who wrote the 'Brahmasphutasiddhanta'?
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Correct answer: C — Brahmagupta
Aryabhata wrote the 'Aryabhatiya', Bhaskaracharya the 'Siddhanta Shiromani' and Varahamihira the 'Pancha-siddhantika'. -
10
Calculus was developed independently by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in the 17th century.
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Q10Who developed calculus independently of Newton?
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Correct answer: D — Leibniz
Both Newton and Leibniz are credited with founding calculus; the dy/dx notation used today is Leibniz's. -
11
Bhaskara II (Bhaskaracharya, born 1114) wrote the 'Siddhanta Shiromani'; its first part, 'Lilavati', deals with arithmetic.
Practice (1)
Q11The mathematical text 'Lilavati' was written by:
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Correct answer: C — Bhaskaracharya
Lilavati is the first part of Bhaskaracharya's 'Siddhanta Shiromani'. Brahmagupta wrote the 'Brahmasphutasiddhanta'. -
12
Akshay Venkatesh, a mathematician born in New Delhi, received the Fields Medal in 2018.
Practice (1)
Q12In which year did Akshay Venkatesh receive the Fields Medal?
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Correct answer: A — 2018
2018 – Akshay Venkatesh; 2014 – Manjul Bhargava. -
13
Fermat's Last Theorem (no positive integer solutions of xⁿ + yⁿ = zⁿ for n > 2) was proved by Andrew Wiles; the proof was completed in 1994 and published in 1995.
Practice (1)
Q13Who proved Fermat's Last Theorem?
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Correct answer: C — Andrew Wiles
Wiles completed the proof in 1994; Perelman proved the Poincaré conjecture. -
14
Aryabhata gave the value of π as approximately 3.1416 (62832/20000).
Practice (1)
Q14Which approximate value of π did Aryabhata give?
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Correct answer: A — 3.1416
Aryabhata: 62832/20000 = 3.1416. 22/7 ≈ 3.1428 and √10 ≈ 3.1623. -
15
Indian-American mathematician S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan received the Abel Prize in 2007 for his contributions to probability theory (large deviations).
Practice (1)
Q15Which award did S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan receive in 2007?
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Correct answer: D — Abel Prize
The Abel Prize is given in mathematics by Norway; the Turing Award is for computer science. -
16
Madhava of Sangamagrama (c. 1340–1425) is regarded as the founder of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics; he gave infinite series for π and trigonometric functions.
Practice (1)
Q16Who is regarded as the founder of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics?
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Correct answer: D — Madhava of Sangamagrama
Madhava gave an infinite series for π about two centuries before it appeared in Europe. -
17
Pi Day is celebrated every year on 14 March (3/14), because π ≈ 3.14.
Practice (1)
Q17When is Pi Day celebrated?
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Correct answer: B — 14 March
3/14 matches π's first digits 3.14. 22 December is India's National Mathematics Day. -
18
The decimal place-value system with zero developed in India and reached Europe through Arab mathematicians, which is why it is called the Hindu–Arabic numeral system.
Practice (1)
Q18What is the 0–9 numeral system used today called?
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Correct answer: B — Hindu–Arabic numeral system
It originated in India and reached Europe via the Arabs. Roman numerals have no zero. -
19
P. C. Mahalanobis founded the Indian Statistical Institute (Kolkata) and gave the 'Mahalanobis distance'; his birth anniversary, 29 June, is observed in India as National Statistics Day.
Practice (1)
Q19National Statistics Day in India marks the birth anniversary of:
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Correct answer: D — P. C. Mahalanobis
29 June is Mahalanobis's birth anniversary; 22 December (Ramanujan) is National Mathematics Day. -
20
Shakuntala Devi is known as the 'Human Computer'; on 18 June 1980 at Imperial College, London, she gave the product of two 13-digit numbers in 28 seconds, a feat recorded in the 1982 Guinness Book of World Records.
Practice (1)
Q20Who is popularly known as the 'Human Computer'?
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Correct answer: B — Shakuntala Devi
Shakuntala Devi was famous for mental calculation; Anandibai Joshi was one of the first Indian women doctors.