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GR1268 Full Solutions
GR1268 Full Solutions
Hello mathematicians!
What follows are my solutions to the questions from the 2015 GRE Mathematics Test Practice Book
(found at https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/practice_book_math.pdf). The solutions presented here generally
represent the most efficient way I could find to solve each problem, although more efficient solutions may
exist. While full justifications are presented for the tougher problems, during the test youre not expected to
go into quite so much detail; instead, its best to go into the test with plenty of facts, examples, and
counterexamples that you can draw on to eliminate incorrect choices and determine the correct answer.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact me through my website,
http://www.solidangl.es. Feedback is always more than welcome. A big thank-you goes to those who looked
over my solutions and made suggestions to improve their elegance, thoroughness, and clarity!
Good luck on the test!
- Bill Shillito
Question 1
( )
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
We can solve this by using LHpitals Rule twice (since the first two limits are of indeterminate form ):
(
)
(
)
):
)
)
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 2
What is the area of an equilateral triangle whose inscribed circle has radius ?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E) (
Note that the medians of the equilateral triangle divide it into six congruent
triangles. The
shorter leg of one such triangle is , so the larger leg is , giving each small triangle an area of
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 3
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
. /
(E)
. /
Using this substitution we solve the rest of the integral, remembering to also change the limits of
integration to be in terms of :
| |)|
| |
( *
The correct answer is D.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 4
Let and be -dimensional subspaces of a -dimensional vector space . Which of the following
CANNOT be the dimension of the subspace
?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Since is -dimensional, any basis of must contain exactly linearly independent vectors. In the case
that
, i.e. if the two spaces coincide perfectly, then
will also be -dimensional, as they can
be spanned by the same linearly independent basis vectors. The overlap between the two spaces can
also be -, -, or -dimensional, if the bases for and share , , or linearly independent vectors,
respectively. However, if
were -dimensional, then the bases of and would in their union
contain linearly independent vectors, contradicting our assumption that is -dimensional.
The correct answer is A.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 5
Sofia and Tess will each randomly choose one of the
integers from
that neither integer chosen will be the square of the other?
to
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
We can easily attack this one by brute force. There are
possible outcomes for Sofia and
Tesss choices. From here, the inadmissible outcomes wed like to throw out are as follows:
Sofia picks
Sofia picks
Sofia picks
Sofia picks
Sofia picks
Thus only
, Tess picks
, Tess picks
, Tess picks
, Tess picks
, Tess picks
out of the
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 6
Which of the following shows the numbers
, and
in increasing order?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
The quickest way to handle this question is to raise each number to the sixth power:
Since
, and
is increasing for
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 7
The figure above shows the graph of the derivative of a function , where is continuous on the
interval , - and differentiable on the interval ( ). Which of the following gives the correct ordering
of the values ( ), ( ), and ( )?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
(
(
(
(
(
)
)
)
)
)
(
(
(
(
(
)
)
)
)
)
(
(
(
(
(
)
)
)
)
).
( )
for
Since
and .
so
so
so
To determine the relative size of ( ) and ( ), we notice that the area under the curve for
is significantly larger in magnitude than the area above the curve for
. Thus ( ) cannot dip
(
),
(
)
(
)
(
).
below
and we have
The correct answer is C.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 8
Which of the following is NOT a group?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
A, C, D, and E are well-known examples of groups, as they fit the group axioms of closure, associativity,
identity, and inverses.
B does not satisfy all of the group axioms; even though the closure, associativity, and identity axioms are
all satisfied, the multiplicative inverse of a nonzero integer need not be an integer. (For example,
,
but
.)
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 9
Let be a continuous real-valued function defined on
( )
(
( )
)
if
(B)
(D)
(E)
Since
( )
Since
,
)
(C)
must be concave up at
. Eliminate choice C.
. Eliminate choice E.
Since ( )
if
, must be concave down on this entire interval. Choice A fits this
description; choice B is concave up on the majority of the interval, and choice E switches to concave up
shortly before
, appearing to have a point of inflection at roughly
.
The correct answer is A.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 10
(
In the
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
-plane, the set of points whose coordinates satisfy the equation above is
a line
a circle
an ellipse
a parabola
one branch of a hyperbola
Notice that the expression on both sides of the equation is the distance formula; the left hand side is the
) and (
), and the right hand side is the distance between (
) and ( ).
distance between (
) that are equidistant from
Therefore we can rephrase what were looking for as the set of all points (
(
) and ( ). This set of points must be a line (specifically, the perpendicular bisector of the
segment connecting the two given points).
The correct answer is A.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 11
The region bounded by the curves
and
in the first quadrant of the
about the -axis. The volume of the resulting solid of revolution is
-plane is rotated
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
We can easily verify either algebraically or geometrically that the two curves intersect at the points
( ) and ( ).
Since we will be rotating around the -axis, we need both curves in terms of :
If
If
, then
, then
.
. (This is because
.)
(
(
*|
*
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 12
For which integers
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
such that
(up to isomorphism)?
To begin with, it is a well-known fact (and can be proven using Lagranges theorem) that every group of
prime order is cyclic. Therefore, any groups of order , , , and
are isomorphic to the additive
groups , , , and
, respectively. Eliminate choices A and D.
However, there are two non-isomorphic Abelian groups of order :
is not.) Eliminate choices C and E.
and
. (While
is cyclic,
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 13
If is a continuously differentiable real-valued function defined on the open interval (
( )
and ( )
for all , what is the greatest possible value of ( )?
) such that
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Since
is continuous on ,
- and differentiable on (
(
, which means ( )
) such that
( )
( )
( )
. Since
( )
, we have
We can also consider the limiting case, which is the function for which ( )
, so ( ) would be of
the form
. Since ( )
, this would mean ( )
, and so ( )
.
The correct answer is D.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 14
Suppose is a continuous real-valued function such that
( )
for each
, where
Since
( )
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 15
Let , , and be nonempty sets, and let
and
be functions such that the function
is one-to-one (injective). Which of the following must be true?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
is one-to-one.
is onto.
is one-to-one.
is onto.
is onto.
We can eliminate E quickly just because a function is one-to-one does not mean it is onto. A great
counterexample is the function
.
Suppose that is not one-to-one; this means that there exist
for which
, but ( )
( ), then ( ( ))
Now, if ( )
( ( )). However, this would contradict the fact that
one-to-one; therefore, must be one-to-one.
( ).
is
A useful counterexample that would also let us eliminate choices B, C, and D are the functions
,
( )
)( ) ( ) is one-to-one, is not onto,
and
, ( )
. Note that while (
and is neither one-to-one nor onto.
The correct answer is A.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 16
Suppose , , and are statements such that is true if exactly one of
which of the following statements must be true?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
and
is true. If
is false,
and
are as follows:
is true; by contrapositive, if
is false, then
Now we are left with case 1 or case 4. Although one of these must be true, we dont have any way of
knowing which one; all we know is that and must have the same truth value, whatever truth value
that is. If one is true, so is the other; if one is false, the other must be as well.
The correct answer is B.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 17
Which of the following equations has the greatest number of real solutions?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
We can rearrange choice A to give
. Since
is strictly increasing and onto, it will equal
exactly once (when
). Therefore choice A has one solution. (We could also sketch choice A
fairly easily and arrive at the same result.)
Rearranging choice B gives the equation
. The discriminant
of this
( )(
)
quadratic is
, so the quadratic has two real zeros. Therefore choice B has two
solutions.
Choice C has one solution, since the two linear expressions have different slopes.
A quick sketch of each side of choice D shows that
when
, after which point the slope of
no solution.
To make choice E easier to visualize, we invert both sides to yield the equation
quick sketch shows that
while
is in the range ,
when
, but everywhere else,
-. Therefore choice E has one solution.
. Again, a
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 18
Let
for all
such that
. Then
( )
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
We can differentiate the power series term-by term:
( )
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 19
( )
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E) The limit does not exist.
We can represent and in polar form as
expressions to rewrite and simplify the limit:
( )
and
(
(
)
)
Since this limit depends on the angle at which we approach the origin, it is not unique; for example,
approaching along the -axis gives us
. /
( )
gives us
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 20
be the function defined by ( )
Let
( ( ))
( )
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
First, we note that ( )
and ( )
( )
( ( )) ( )
( ( )) ( )
Since
( )
, we can plug in
and calculate:
( ( )) ( )
( ( )) ( )
( ) ( )
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 21
What is the value of
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
is an even function,
is an
.
The integral of an odd function evaluated over an interval symmetric about
)
/
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 22
What is the volume of the solid in
?
, and
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Let
, where
. We
integrate to find :
)
((
(
.
Since
)
/|
, we have
.
.
The answer is C.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 23
) be the ring of integers modulo , and let be the subset of
Let (
*
+. Which of the following statements is FALSE?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
(
(
(
(
(
represented by
A is true because adding two even integers yields an even integer, which will be part of modulo
B is true because multiplying two even integers yields an even integer, which will be part of modulo
C is true because the additive identity is , which is part of .
E is true because modular addition of integers is commutative.
D is false because
(
(
(
(
(
)
)
)
)
)
) of integers modulo ; as
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 24
Consider the system of linear equations
(
(
)
)
(
(
)
)
( )
( )
( )
( )
).
) is a solution.
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
Eliminate choice D.
Since we have found a solution to the system, the system is consistent. Eliminate choice A.
Since the system is homogeneous (i.e. of the form ), any scalar multiple of one solution is also a
solution. Therefore there are infinitely many solutions. Eliminate choice B.
In addition, the sum of any two solutions is a solution. Eliminate choice C.
) is a solution, this does not mean that ALL solutions
However, while every scalar multiple of (
). (If you went to the trouble to row-reduce the matrix corresponding
are scalar multiples of (
with the system of equations, you would find that its rank is .)
The correct answer is E.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 25
The graph of the derivative is shown above, where is a real-valued function. Which of the following
open intervals contains a value for which the point ( ( ))is an inflection point of ?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
(
(
(
(
(
)
)
)
)
)
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 26
(
(
)
)
is congruent modulo
to which
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
First we multiply both sides of the first congruence by :
(
(
(
)
)
)
)
)
)
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 27
(
)
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
We can represent (
in polar form as
th
power:
(
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 28
Let be a one-to-one (injective), positive-valued function defined on . Assume that is differentiable
(
) is tangent to the graph of at
at
and that in the -plane the line
. Let
be the function defined by ( ) for
. Which of the following is FALSE?
(A)
( )
(B) (
(C) (
)( )
)( )
(D) (
)( )
(E) (
)( )
First of all,
)( )
( )
( )
. Eliminate choice B.
)( )
( )
to calculate (
( ) ( )
) ( ):
( ) ( )
Eliminate choice C.
We can calculate (
)( ) directly:
(
)( )
( )
Eliminate choice E.
We can use the Chain Rule to calculate (
(
) ( ):
)( )
( ( ))
( )
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 29
A tree is a connected graph with no cycles. How many nonisomorphic trees with
vertices exist?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Although we can always just draw with trial and error, one systematic way to tackle this is to start from
the ground up, starting with one vertex, and gradually adding on a leaves that consist of one vertex
attached to the graph by a single edge. (Every tree with edges has
edges, and every connected
graph with nodes and
edges is a tree.)
There is only
tree with
Since there is only one place to attach the next leaf, there is only tree with
.
Since both vertices of are identical, there is only one way we can attach the next leaf, so there is still
only tree with vertices the path graph .
Adding a fourth vertex, we now have two choices for where we can attach the next leaf we can attach
it to one of the edges, giving us the path graph , or we can attach it to the central vertex, giving us the
star graph .
To add a fifth vertex, we can start with either or . If we start with , we can either attach the next
leaf to the end, giving us the path graph , or we can attach it to one of the central vertices, giving us a
fork graph. If we start with , we can either attach the next leaf to one of the outer vertices, giving
us the same fork graph just mentioned, or we can attach it to the central vertex, giving us the star
graph . Thus there are three possible nonisomorphic graphs with vertices.
The correct answer is E.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 30
For what positive value of does the equation
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
We can start off with a rough sketch of
and
, both of which are
increasing for
(since we are assuming
as well).
Looking at our sketch, we can see that for our
equation to have exactly one real solution, not
only must the curves intersect, but they must be
tangent at that point that is, their derivatives
must also be equal.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 31
Of the numbers , , and , which are eigenvalues of the matrix (
+?
(A) None
(B) and only
(C) and only
(D) and only
(E) , , and
Calling our matrix , need first to compute the matrix
for each of
, and
Since each of
and
are singular (as they have repeated rows), we can conclude that
must be eigenvalues of . Eliminate choices A, B, and D.
and
From here we can see that if we were to row-reduce further, the last row would not disappear, so
matrix has rank and is therefore nonsingular. Thus cannot be an eigenvalue of .
The correct answer is C.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 32
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
We start off by applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, and then simplify and factor what we
can from there:
(
At this point, we would like to factor out the smaller power of . We do this by rewriting
, applying laws of exponents, and factoring further:
(
as
)
)
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 33
What is the
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
th
(
(
(
(
(
derivative of
)
)
)
)
)
Now we start calculating derivatives using the Product Rule and simplifying until we know the pattern:
( )
(
(
( )
)
(
( )
) (
( )
) (
))
:
(
(
(
))
)
)
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 34
Which of the following statements about the real matrix shown above is FALSE?
(A) is invertible.
(B) If
and , then
(C) The last row of
is (
(D) can be transformed into the
operations.
( )
(E)
.
).
identity matrix by a sequence of elementary row
To begin with, choice A and D are equivalent to each other, so if one is false, the other must be.
Therefore neither can be correct; eliminate them both.
Since is upper triangular, its determinant is the product of its diagonal entries, which is
Eliminate choice E.
The fact that is upper triangular also makes it easy to determine the last row of :
is guaranteed
to be upper triangular as well, and the entries along the main diagonal will be the squares of the entries
).
of . Therefore the last row must be (
If
, then
. So lets look at
(
Note that
to (
has a column of all zeros, making it singular; therefore there must be a nonzero solution
. In fact, any vector of the form (
) for some
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 35
In
-space, what are the coordinates of the point on the plane
origin?
(A) (
(B) .
(C) .
(D) .
(E) .
Let be the shortest line segment that connects the given plane to the origin. Then must be normal
). So, the point we are looking for
to that plane, and therefore must be a multiple of the vector (
) for some
must be of the form (
. At this point, answer choices A, C, D, and E can be
eliminated outright as none of them are of this form, but lets go ahead and show that the point is
.
/ anyway.
( )
/.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 36
Suppose is a nonempty subset of . Which of the following is necessarily true?
(A) For each
, there exists a continuous function mapping , - into with ( )
and
( )
.
(B) For each
, there exists an open subset of such that
and
.
+ is an open subset of .
(C) *
+ is a closed subset of
(D) *
.
(E) is the intersection of all closed subsets of that contain .
Choice A says that is path-connected. Taking to be any disconnected set (such as ,
to a counterexample. Eliminate choice A.
-) leads
Choice B says that (the complement of ) is open, meaning that is closed. Taking to be any nonclosed set (such as ( -) leads to a counterexample. Eliminate choice B.
Choice C says that the interior of is an open subset of . This is true; if we find the union of all those
open sets , we will have exactly the interior of , and the arbitrary union of open subsets of (or any
topological space, for that matter) is always open.
Choice D says that the exterior of is closed subset of . Taking to be anything other than itself
(the only clopen subset of other than the empty set) leads to a counterexample. While the exterior of
a set (i.e. the interior of the sets complement) is always open, it need not be closed. Eliminate choice D.
Choice E says that is closed. Again, taking to be any non-closed set leads to a counterexample.
Eliminate choice E.
The correct answer is C.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 37
Let be a finite-dimensional real vector space and let
. Which of the following must be true?
I.
II.
III.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
If
be a linear transformation of
such that
is invertible
is diagonalizable.
is either the identity transformation or the zero transformation.
None
I only
II only
III only
II and III
, then the zero transformation
, the transformation
is neither
the identity transformation nor the zero transformation, statement III is false. Eliminate choices D and E.
Now we determine whether is diagonalizable. Suppose that is the dimension of , and that the
column vectors of are denoted
. Since
, this implies that
for all from to
. So, the column space of ,
, is a subset of the eigenspace of eigenvalue . Then, the null space
(
)
of ,
, is the eigenspace of eigenvalue . By the Rank-Nullity theorem,
(
)
. Since the union of any basis of
and any basis of
must be a set of
linearly independent basis eigenvectors of , we can conclude that is diagonalizable.
Alternatively, we could investigate the minimal polynomial of . If
, then
, which can
)
(
) is an annihilating polynomial
be restated as (
. Therefore the polynomial ( )
of , as ( )
. The minimal polynomial of must divide ( ), and therefore can be split into
distinct linear factors; this guarantees that can be diagonalized. Thus statement II is true.
The correct answer is C.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 38
The maximum number of acute angles in a convex
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
For any convex polygon, the sum of the exterior angles must be
. If there were at least acute
angles in a polygon, then the corresponding exterior angles would be obtuse and would add up to more
than
. Therefore, the maximum number of acute angles in any convex polygon is .
The correct answer is C.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 39
Consider the following algorithm, which takes an input integer n>2 and prints one or more integers.
input(n)
set i = 1
while i < n
begin
replace i by i+1
set k = n
while k i
begin
if i = k then print(i)
replace k by k-1
end
end
If the input integer is 88, what integers will be printed?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
When we input 88 into n, the variable i is set to 1. Since 1 < 88, we enter the first while loop.
In this outer loop, first i is incremented to 2, and k is set equal to 88. Since 88 2, we enter the
second while loop.
In this inner loop, we first find that 2 88, so the program does not print anything. Then, k is
decremented to 87. The while k i condition is checked again, and its true, so the process
happens again, with k being repeatedly decremented. The final time the while loop is run, both i and
k are equal to 2, so the first thing the program prints is the number 2. After this, the value of k is set
to 1 and the inner while loop breaks. Eliminate choices B and E.
Now, the while i < n condition is checked again, and its true, so the whole aforementioned
process happens again; each time i is set to a higher value, k starts off at 88 and counts down until it
reaches i, at which point the program prints the value of i. The final time this outer while loop is
run, i is equal to 87; the program increments it to 88, and the inner while loop only runs once,
printing the final value 88. After this, the value of i is no longer less than 88, so the outer while
loop breaks and the program terminates.
The correct answer is D.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 40
Let be the set of all functions
. Consider the two binary operations
pointwise addition and composition of functions, as follows.
(
(
)( )
)( )
and on defined as
( )
( )
( ( ))
is commutative.
(
and satisfy the left distributive law
(
and satisfy the right distributive law
)
)
)
(
(
)
).
).
None
II only
III only
II and III only
I, II, and III
)( )
Statement I is false; for a counterexample, let ( )
and ( )
. Then (
(
)
)( )
, but (
; the two are not identical. Eliminate choice E.
Statement II is false; for a counterexample, let ( )
, ( )
))( ) (
)
) (
, but ((
( (
. Eliminate choices B, D, and E.
, and ( )
))( ) (
. Then
)
( )
)( )
)( ( ))
( ( ))
( ( ))
(
)( ) (
)( )
) (
))( )
((
The correct answer is C.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 41
Let be the line that is the intersection of planes
) and is perpendicular to is
of the plane that contains (
and
in
. An equation
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Let vectors
( + and
and
+ will be parallel to .
( )
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 42
Let
be the set of positive integers and let
(
for all
I.
II.
III.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
be the metric on
)
defined by
. Which of the following statements are true about the metric space (
)?
If
, then * + is an open subset of .
Every subset of
is closed.
Every real-valued function defined on
is continuous.
None
I only
III only
I and II only
I, II, and III
The metric described is known as the discrete metric. A useful property to know about the discrete
metric is that, under this metric, ALL sets are open. To prove this, take any for which
; then,
)
every singleton set * + is open because the set of points for which (
is merely the set * +,
which is of course a subset of itself. Now, since each singleton set is open, and nonempty any set can be
constructed from an arbitrary union of such singleton sets, we can conclude that ALL sets are open.
(Recall that the empty set is always vacuously open.) Thus statement I is true. Eliminate choices A and C.
Since every set is open under the discrete metric, it follows that every set is also closed, as its
complement must be open. Thus statement II is true. Eliminate choice B.
Finally, a function is continuous if the preimage of any open set is open. If the domain is equipped with
the discrete metric, this is of course guaranteed by default, so all functions defined on a discrete metric
space are continuous. Thus statement III is true.
The correct answer is E.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 43
A curve in the
for all
. The value of
at the point (
) is
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
First, we find the derivatives of
Then we find
and
with respect to :
Next we find
:
(
is
( )
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 44
( )
If
is a real-valued function defined on the real line and satisfying the initial value problem above, then
( )
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
There are two ways to solve this differential equation. As we have a first-order linear equation of the
form
( )
( )
Alternatively, after some manipulation this equation happens to be separable, which is a bit simpler:
At this point, we would normally plug in the initial condition; however, we dont actually need it to find
the required limit:
(
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 45
How many positive numbers
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
(
The period of
As
periods of
, which simplifies to
(
.
. Thus, the
).
(
) will cross the line
During each period, the graph of
twice. This means we should
expect roughly
intersection points between the two graphs. The only answer choice in this ballpark
is .
The correct answer is C.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 46
A ladder meters in length is leaning against a vertical wall on level ground. As the bottom end of the
ladder is moved away from the wall at a constant rate of meters per second, the top end slides
downward along the wall. How fast, in meters per second, will the top end of the ladder be sliding
downward at the moment the top end is meters above the ground?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
First, make a quick sketch of the
situation as shown to the right.
Let denote the distance from the
bottom of the ladder to the wall, and
let denote the distance from the top
of the ladder to the ground. These two
lengths, along with the length
of
the ladder, form a right triangle.
We also know that
find
; we need to
We can therefore set up the Pythagorean Theorem and differentiate implicitly with respect to time:
Since
( )
Thus the top of the ladder is sliding down the wall at a rate of meters per second.
The correct answer is C.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 47
The function
is defined as follows.
( )
is discontinuous at all
is continuous only at
is continuous only at
is continuous at all
is continuous at all
.
and differentiable only at
and nondifferentiable at all
and nondifferentiable at all
and nondifferentiable at all
.
.
.
.
To begin with, both the rational and the irrational numbers are
dense in ; that is, between any two real numbers, you can find
infinitely many rational numbers and infinitely many irrational
numbers.
A function is continuous at
if for every
, there exists
|
( )|
a
for which |
implies | ( )
.
At any rational
, is not continuous, since no matter what
we pick, we can find an irrational number between
and
( )|
for which | ( )
. Similarly, at any irrational ,
is not continuous, since no matter what we pick, we can find a
rational number between
and
for which | ( )
( )|
. Eliminate choices D and E.
However, we can show that at
,
| (
, we need to pick a
| | and ( )
is continuous. We note:
( )|
is between and , | ( )
is only continuous at
is differentiable at
( )
. We
. Eliminate choice A.
, then
( )
( ). Since
must be
as well. Thus
| |. For all , ( )
( )|
( )
( )
( )
must
and
is differentiable at
. Eliminate choice C.
The correct answer is B.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 48
)
Let be the function defined by (
for all real , , and . Which of the following is
) in the direction of the
the best approximation of the directional derivative of at the point (
? (Note: , , and are the standard basis vectors in .)
vector
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
First we need to find the gradient
:
(
( +.
is between
and ,
( +
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 49
What is the largest order of an element in the group of permutations of objects?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
If is an element of a group , the order of
where is the identity element of .
We can classify the elements of
in
such that
The order of a particular cycle type is the least common multiple of the individual cycle lengths. For
), whose order is
( )
the largest order is for the cycle type ( )(
.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 50
Let be a ring and let
?
I.
II.
III.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
and
*
*
+
+
II only
III only
I and II only
I and III only
I, II, and III
First, consider
and
as elements of
.
) (
).
If we add them together, we get (
) (
), we see that it is also an element of
Rewriting this sum as (
Second, consider
and
.
(
) is an element of
Then we see that
.
(
) is an element of
Similarly,
.
Thus statement I is true. Eliminate choices A and B.
), consisting of
Consider the ring , - of polynomials in and , and the ideal (
(
)
( ). Suppose and both equal (
). Then
polynomials of the form
( )
(
))(
(
)
(
)).
is the set of all polynomials of the form (
Now, consider the elements
and ; they are both elements of
. However, their sum
,
-;
is irreducible over
therefore it certainly cannot be factored into two
polynomials that are elements of
.
Since
is not closed under addition, statement II is false. Eliminate choices C and E.
and
and
are in
, we have that
, , and are in .
, we have that
, , and are in .
by the definition of intersection.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 51
Which of the following is an orthonormal basis for the column space of the real matrix
(
+?
(A) {( + ( +}
(B) {( + ( + ( +}
(C) {( + ( ,}
(D) {(
+ (
+}
(E)
( ,
{(
, not .
to row
From this, we can see that columns and are the only pivot columns, so the rank of the matrix is .
Therefore an orthonormal basis must have exactly vectors. Eliminate choice B.
Choice A can now be eliminated; if {( + ( +} were a basis for the column space of
( +
could be represented as
( +
, any element
Were technically done, but lets show that choice E works. First, note that any vector of the form
(
+ and ( + as
two linearly independent, orthogonal vectors that span the column space of . Choice E rescales these
two vectors so that they are unit vectors, making them an orthonormal basis for the column space of .
The correct answer is E.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 52
A universitys mathematics department has
professors and will offer
different courses next
semester. Each professor will be assigned to teach exactly of the courses, and each course will have
exactly one professor assigned to teach it. If any professor can be assigned to teach any course, how
many different complete assignments of the
professors to the
courses are possible?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
We can start off by assigning the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and J to the
Then any assignment of the professors to the
of the word AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ.
professors.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 53
Let and be functions of a real variable such that ( )
( )(
for which
for all . If
must be
is three
times
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
A useful tool to have for this kind of problem, which involves differentiating with respect to an integral
containing in both the limits of integration and the integrand, is Leibnizs formula for differentiation
under the integral sign, also known as Feynmans trick:
( )
( )
( )
( )) ( )
( )
( ):
( )(
( )(
Now, we find
( )) ( )
)( )
)
( )(
)( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( ) (
))
( )
( ) and
( ):
Each step of the way, we assume continuous differentiability as necessary to make sure our answer
( ) again, we must take the derivative of
( ),
makes sense. If we try to take the derivative of
but the problem states that is only guaranteed to be three times continuously differentiable;
therefore we cannot guarantee that ( ) is continuously differentiable, and we must stop here.
The correct answer is A.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 54
If a real number is chosen at random in the interval ,
the interval , -, what is the probability that
?
is chosen at random in
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
We can start by sketching the region ,
the inequality
.
- and
- is
in this rectangle is
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 55
If
)(
(E)
We can start by manipulating the integrand, separating it into a difference of two simpler integrals:
)(
)
(
)(
. This means
, which can be
/|
( )
( *
))|
.
.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 56
Which of the following statements are true?
I.
II.
III.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
.
for all
for all integers
|
| | for all real .
such that
such that
such that |
If
If we differentiate
for all
, then will be larger than
. Choosing any
will do the job. (Note:
With the right system of equations, you can show that the true minimum is
.)
Thus statement I is true. Eliminate choices A and C.
, then
. At
, we have
, we get
The sum
If
)(
, then dividing by
, because
, we get
when
We can consider only nonnegative values of , since both functions are even. Thus we must
show that
. At
, both functions equal .
If we differentiate both functions, we get
and
. Both are also at
, so their
tangent lines are horizontal.
If we differentiate again, we get
and
. If we can ensure that the concavity of
exceeds that of
, then
will never be able to catch up. Based on the Maclaurin
series of
, choosing any
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 57
be a real number in the open interval .
is a Cauchy
(
Let
Since
, by the Squeeze Theorem,
Thus statement I is true. Eliminate choice D.
and
.
as well.
) and oscillates
)+
is not a
Since is a convergent sequence (as shown for statement I), it is also a Cauchy sequence. This
means that for any
, there exists a positive integer such that for all
, we have
|
|
.
|
Since is uniformly continuous, for any
, there exists a
such that |
( )|
implies | ( )
for all values of
and . Thus we can choose an such that
( )|
for all
, we have | ( )
, and therefore ( ) is a Cauchy sequence.
Since is a real-valued function, and is complete, the fact that ( ) is Cauchy also implies
( ) exists.
that it is convergent, and therefore
Thus statement III is true.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 58
A circular helix in
( )
( )
( )
Let ( ) be the arc length of the helix from the point ( ) ( ( ) ( ) ( )) to the point (
and let ( ) be the distance between ( ) and the origin. If ( )
, then ( )
),
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
( )
( )
( )
If ( )
, then
( )
( )
( )
Since
, we find that ( )
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 59
Let be a real
(A)
is invertible.
(B) There exists a positive integer such that
.
( )
)
(C) There exists a positive integer such that (
, where is the
(D) The set of all vectors of the form , where
, is .
(E) There exist linearly independent vectors
such that
is invertible?
identity matrix.
for each .
The matrix
can be written as
; since
is invertible, its determinant is nonzero. But then,
( )
( )
( ). Since , being
( ) must also be
, has a determinant of
,
nonzero. Thus if
is invertible, so is . Eliminate choice A.
Next, since
( )
Eliminate choice B.
) , if
, then (
and therefore
)
)
Now, suppose (
. If is an eigenvalue of
, then (
( )
A useful property of eigenvalues to know at this point is that if a constant multiple of the identity matrix
is added to a matrix , then the eigenvalues will have added to them as well. (This is because if
)
) .) So, if we add
, then (
(
to
, we find
(
)
(
)
that only eigenvalue of
is
. Thus implies that
is invertible, and as we just
saw, this means is invertible as well. Eliminate choice C.
Next, if the column space of
choice D.
is all of
is , and thus
is invertible. Eliminate
( +
( +
( +.
is not invertible.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 60
A real-valued function
defined on
such that
is continuous at
is discontinuous at
is unbounded.
| ( )|
| |
.
.
(E) | ( )|
Intuitively, the given property (which well call ) says that as gets further from , ( ) should get and
remain further from ( ). We can eliminate a number of choices with counterexamples.
is continuous at
( )|
but
( )|
does not satisfy . No matter what, | ( )
.
Although any function that satisfies must be unbounded, the converse is not true. For a
counterexample, consider the function ( )
unbounded, but no matter how far away from
( )|
which | ( )
. Eliminate choice C.
. Although | |
, ( )
. It is true that ( ) is
you get, there will always be points for
Although were technically done, lets prove that choice D is correct anyway.
| ( )|
To prove that implies
, we need to prove that for any
there exists
| |
( )|
a
for which | |
implies | ( )|
. By the Triangle Inequality, | ( )
| ( )| | ( )|, so | ( )| | ( )
( )| | ( )|. If we want | ( )|
, we need
| ( )
( )| | ( )|
( )|
| ( )|. According to , there is some
, so | ( )
| ( )|. Again, by the Triangle Inequality, if
|
| | |
that will give us
,
| ( )|,
then| |
. So if we choose
, where is chosen such that
then | ( )|
.
| ( )|
To prove that
implies , we can use a similar proof as above, using the
| |
same results of the Triangle Inequality. This time, if we choose
, where is chosen
| ( )|, then we will have | ( )
( )|
such that
.
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 61
A tank initially contains a salt solution of grams of salt dissolved in
liters of water. A salt solution
containing
grams of salt per liter of water is sprayed into the tank at a rate of liters per minute.
The sprayed solution is continually mixed with the salt solution in the tank, and the mixture flows out of
the tank at a rate of liters per minute. If the mixing is instantaneous, how many grams of salt are in
the tank after
minutes have elapsed?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Let
denote the current number of grams of salt in the tank. Since the concentration of salt at any
given time is
The rate of change of the amount of salt in the tank is equal to the rate at which salt enters minus the
rate at which salt leaves. So, the differential equation that describes the situation is:
This is a first-order linear differential question, so there are a number of ways to solve it separation of
variables, integrating factors, etc. Well use separation of variables:
(
|
|
At
, we find that
|
|
( )
, we get
, so
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 62
) in the unit square ,
Let be the subset of
consisting of all points (
or both, are irrational. With respect to the standard topology on , is
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
- for which
or ,
closed
open
connected
totally disconnected
compact
/ in
since the irrationals are dense in , any open ball around this point will contain points not in
points in with at least one irrational coordinate. Eliminate choice A.
, then
, i.e.
Choice E can now be eliminated. Recall that according to the Heine-Borel theorem, a subset of
is
compact if and only if it is closed and bounded. Since , although bounded, is not closed, it cannot be
compact.
If is totally disconnected, it has no non-trivial connected subsets. However, there are plenty of
connected subsets, such as the segment connecting .
/ to .
/. Eliminate choice D.
We can actually show a stronger condition than being connected: it is in fact path-connected. Keep in
mind that contains (an uncountable number of) horizontal and vertical copies of , -. Therefore we
can move freely along one of these segments as long as one coordinate remains irrational.
Suppose we want a path from (
) to (
).
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 63
For any nonempty sets
and
*
If
and
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
( ) ( )+
( ) ( )+
( )
( )
( )
( )+
( )
( )
( ),
( ),
( )
( )
( ), then
( ), and
( )
( ).
Lets compare these products for a few cases to whittle down the answer choices.
If
and both have only positive elements, then the largest of the four products is
( )
( ). Eliminate choice B.
If and both have only negative elements, then the largest of the four products is
( ) ( ). Eliminate choices A and D.
( )
( )
( )
If has only positive elements and has only negative elements, then
will have only
negative elements; therefore, the supremum of
will be whichever of the four products will
( ).
have the smallest absolute value, which will be ( )
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 64
What is the value of the flux of the vector field , defined on
by (
, through
the surface
oriented with upward-pointing normal vector field? (Note: , , and
This is just the surface area of . Since the radius of our half-sphere is , the surface area is (
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 65
Let be a differentiable function of two real variables, and let
defined by
( )
)
)
)
)
( ).
). Integrating
( ). By the
, so
( )
and ( )
(
(
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GRE1268 Solutions
Question 66
Let
be the ring of integers modulo , and let
Which of the following are generators of
?
I.
II.
III.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
under multiplication.
None
I only
II only
III only
I, II, and III
Recall that the order of an element of a group is the smallest positive power to which we have to
raise so that we get the identity element. If that power happens to be the order of itself, then is a
generator of . In our case, since
is a field, every nonzero element of
is a unit, and thus the
order of
is . Therefore the order of any generator of
must also be .
(
),
(
Since
of
. Eliminate choices D and E.
in
is . Thus
is not a generator
To test whether is a generator, we note that the order of any element must divide the order of
therefore, we only need to look at elements of the form
is a generator.
)
(
( )
( )
to determine whether
(
(
)
)
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