Question 1

True or false: Srinivasa Ramanujan's strict vegetarian diet contributed to his malnutrition while living in England.

Accepted Answer

True. As an orthodox Brahmin, Ramanujan was vegetarian. In England, wartime shortages and his inability to cook proper meals led to severe nutritional deficiencies, worsening his tuberculosis.

Question 2

True or false: Srinivasa Ramanujan was awarded the Fields Medal for his mathematical work.

Accepted Answer

False. The Fields Medal was first awarded in 1936. Ramanujan died in 1920, so he never received it.

Question 3

True or false: Ramanujan's first letter to G.H. Hardy contained over 100 theorems, many of which Hardy had never seen.

Accepted Answer

True. The 1913 letter included about 120 formulas. Hardy was stunned, saying some 'seemed scarcely possible to be true.' He invited Ramanujan to Cambridge.

Question 4

True or false: Ramanujan discovered that 1729 is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways.

Accepted Answer

True. This is the famous 'taxicab number.' 1729 = 1³ + 12³ and also 9³ + 10³. Hardy noted it, and Ramanujan instantly recognized its significance.

Question 5

True or false: Ramanujan never had any formal training in mathematics before moving to England.

Accepted Answer

False. He had formal education in India, including a college scholarship for math, though he failed other subjects. He self-studied advanced topics but did have some formal exposure.

Question 6

True or false: Ramanujan was the first Indian to be elected a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.

Accepted Answer

True. Ramanujan was elected a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1918, becoming the first Indian to receive that honor. This is widely documented.

Question 7

True or false: Ramanujan believed a goddess named Namagiri wrote his mathematical formulas in his dreams.

Accepted Answer

True. Ramanujan often said the Hindu goddess Namagiri appeared in his dreams and revealed equations. He credited her for many of his breakthroughs.

Question 8

True or false: Ramanujan proved the Riemann Hypothesis before his death but the proof was lost.

Accepted Answer

False. No credible evidence exists that he proved the Riemann Hypothesis. This is a romantic myth. The hypothesis remains unsolved today.

Srinivasa Ramanujan Trivia Questions