Department of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Massachusetts
Basic Exam: Linear Algebra/Advanced Calculus
January 20, 2004
Do 7 of the following 9 problems. Indicate clearly which problems
should be graded.
Passing Standard: For Master’s level, 60% with three questions essentially
complete (including at least one from each part). For Ph. D. level, 75% with
two questions from each part essentially complete.
Part I Linear Algebra
1. Let V be a finite dimensional vector space over R, with fixed but arbi-
trary basis B = {v1 , . . . , vn }. Suppose hu, vi is an inner product on V :
symmetric, bilinear, positive definite. If c1 , . . . , cn are arbitrary scalars,
prove that there is a unique v ∈ V for which hv, vk i = ck for all k.
2. Let A be a (real) orthogonal n × n matrix: At A = I (where At denotes
the transpose matrix).
(a) Prove that det A = ±1.
(b) Prove that x and Ax have the same length, for all x ∈ Rn .
(c) Prove that the only possible real eigenvalues of A are ±1.
(d) If n = 3 and det A = 1, prove that 1 is an eigenvalue of A.
3. (a) Show that if A is a diagonalizable matrix with non-negative real
eigenvalues, then there is a matrix S such that S 2 = A.
(b) Using the general method from (a), find a matrix whose square is
1 0 8
A= 0 4 0
0 0 9
4. Let M be the n2 -dimensional space of n × n matrices over R. Let S
resp. K be the subspace consisting of symmetric matrices A (satisfying
At = A) resp. skew-symmetric matrices A (satisfying At = −A).
(a) Prove that each n × n matrix A can be written uniquely as the sum
of a symmetric matrix B and a skew-symmetric matrix C. (In other
words, M is the direct sum of S and K.)
(b) Compute the dimensions of S and K.
Part II Advanced Calculus
1. For the radial vector ~r = (x, y, z) and a suitable region R in R3 , show
that ZZZ ZZ
dV ~r →
= · dS
r2 r2
R S=∂R
for r = k~r k.
2. Let S be a smooth surface in R3 with (oriented) boundary ∂S. If f
and g are C 1 -functions, show that
Z ZZ →
f ∇g · d~s = (∇f × ∇g)· dS
∂S S
3. Define a sequence of functions fn : [0, π] → R by
(
sin(nx) if 0 ≤ x ≤ π/n
fn (x) =
0 otherwise
Determine whether {fn } converges (a) pointwise (b) uniformly.
4. Determine (using just the definitions involved) whether each function
is (a) continuous at 0, (b) differentiable at 0:
(
1 if x = 1/n for n = 1, 2, . . . ,
f (x) =
0 otherwise
(
1/n if x = 1/n for n = 1, 2, . . . ,
g(x) =
0 otherwise
5. (a) Determine the radius of convergence R and the interval of conver-
gence for the power series
∞
X 3n n
n
x
n=1
n · 4
(b) If a power series an xn has radius of convergence R > 0 and if 0 <
P
R0 < R, prove thatPthe series converges uniformly on [−R0 , R0 ]. Con-
clude that f (x) = an xn defines a continuous function on (−R, R).