MTE-04

ASSIGNMENT BOOKLET

Bachelor Degree Programme

Elementary Algebra

(January, 2010-November, 2010)

School of Sciences
Indira Gandhi National Open University
Maidan Garhi,
New Delhi-110068
Dear Student,

Please read the section on assignments and evaluation in the Programme Guide for Elective courses that
we sent you after your enrolment. A weightage of 30 per cent, as you are aware, has been assigned for
continuous evaluation of this course, which would consist of one tutor-marked assignment. The
assignment is in this booklet.

Instructions for Formating Your Assignments

Before attempting the assignment please read the following instructions carefully.

1) On top of the first page of your answer sheet, please write the details exactly in the following format:

ROLL NO :……………………………………………

NAME :……………………………………………

ADDRESS :……………………………………………

……………………………………………

……………………………………………
COURSE CODE: …………………………….
COURSE TITLE : …………………………….
ASSIGNMENT NO. ………………………….…
STUDY CENTRE: ………………………..….. DATE: ……………………….………………...

PLEASE FOLLOW THE ABOVE FORMAT STRICTLY TO FACILITATE EVALUATION AND

TO AVOID DELAY.

2) Use only foolscap size writing paper (but not of very thin variety) for writing your answers.

3) Leave 4 cm margin on the left, top and bottom of your answer sheet.

4) While solving problems, clearly indicate which part of which question is being solved.

5) This assignment is to be submitted to the Programme Centre as per the schedule made by the
programme centre. Answer sheets received after the due date shall not be accepted.

We wish you good luck. Phase retain a copy of your answer sheets.

6) This assignment is valid only upto November, 2010. If you fail in this assignment or fail to submit it
by November, 2010, then you need to get the next year’s assignment and submit it as per the
instructions given in the programme guide.

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 ASSIGNMENT
(To be done after studying the course.)

Course Code : MTE-04

Assignment Code : MTE-04/TMA/2010
Total Marks : 100

1. Which of the following statements are true? Give reasons for your answers. (This means that if you
think a statement is false, give a short proof or an example that shows it is false. If it is true, give a
short proof for saying so. For instance, to show that ‘{1, padma, blue}is a set’ is true, you need to say
that this is true because it is a well-defined collection of 3 objects.)

i) If z ∈C is such that z + z = 0, then Re (z 2 ) ≤ 0 .

ii) For any two sets A and B, A ∪ B ≠ φ ⇒ A ≠ φ.
iii) The geometrical representation of {x + 2i x x ∈ R} is the x-axis.
iv) The least degree of the polynomial with real coefficients and with roots 2+i, 2i – 1 is 2.
v) If a statement has a direct proof, then it cannot be proved by contradiction.

vi) The geometric representation of [ −5, 0] × [ −5, 0] is an interval.

vii) Any system of n linear equations in n – 1 variables has a solution.

viii) The nth roots of a given complex number lie on one circle, ∀n ∈ N.

ix) The Bakhshali Manuscript was written using English alphabets.

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 n  n  2 n
x) If (x1 , … , x n ), (y1 , … , y n ) ∈ R are proportional, then  ∑ x i 2  ∑ yi 2  
n
= ∑ x j y j. (20)
 i =1  i =1   j=1

2 a) Consider the sets, A = {– 5x │ x∈ Z}, B = {x ∈ Q │ 0 ≤ x ≤ 10} and C = {factors of 30 in Z}.

Represent A ∩ B, Bc ∪ C and C \ A by the listing method, and in a single Venn diagram. (5)

b) Any subset of A × A is called a relation on the set A. A relation R on A is symmetric if

(a, b) ∈ R ⇒ (b, a) ∈ R ∀ a, b ∈ A. Give one example each, with justification, of

i) a symmetric relation on N,
ii) a relation that is not symmetric on the set {2, 3, 5, 7}. (3)

c) Prove or disprove that (A × A) \ (B × C) = (A \ B) × (A \ C), where A, B, C are three subsets of a

universal set U. (2)

n
3. a) Use the principle of induction to prove that ∑ (2i + 1) = (n + 1) 2 ∀ n ∈ N. (3)
i =0

b) Obtain the geometric and polar representations of (5 – i)–1. (3)

c) Use De Moivre’s theorem to obtain the 6th roots of i5 – 6. Also show them in an Argand diagram.
(4)

4. a) Solve the equation 9x4 – 18x3 – 31x2 + 8x + 12 = 0 by Descarte’s method. (6)

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 b) Solve the equation in (a) above, given that the sum of two of its roots is zero. (4)

5. a) Obtain the solution set of the system 3x – y + 4z = 9, 4x + 3y = z + 3, y – 2x = 5 – 10z by

elimination. (5)

b) Express the following problem using matrices, and then solve it.

Three companies A, B, C simultaneously introduce new brands of soap in the market. To start
with, their shares of the market are 0.4, 0.2 and 0.4, respectively. During the first year, A
retained 85% of its customers, losing 5% to B and 10% to C. In the same period B retained 75%
of its customers, losing 15% to A and 10% to C. Similarly, C retained 90% of its customers,
losing 5% each to A and B. If we assume that the same trend continues, what share of the market
will be held by each company at the end of two years? (5)

6. a) In an electrical network it is possible to determine the amount of current in each branch in terms
of the resistances and the voltages. In the figure below, represents a battery
(measured in volts) that drives a charge and produces a current. The current will flow out of the
terminal of the battery represented by the longer vertical line, that is, . The symbol
represents a resistor. The resistances are measured in ohms. The capital letters
represent nodes and the i’s represent the currents between the nodes. The currents are measured
in amperes. The arrows show the direction of the currents. If, however, one of the currents turns
out to be negative, this would mean that the current along that branch is in the opposite direction
of the arrow.

To determine the currents, Kirchhoff’s laws are used:

i) At every node the sum of the incoming currents equals the sum of the outgoing currents.

ii) Around every closed loop the algebraic sum of the voltage must equal the algebraic sum of
the voltage drops. [The voltage drops E for each resistor are given by Ohm’s law: E = iR,
where i represents the current in amperes and R the resistance in ohms.]

Find the currents in the network given in the figure below using Cramer’s rule. (8)

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 2 3 x
b) If x −1 0 = x, find x. (2)
−1 7 1

7 a) Let m, n, x, y, z be positive real numbers, with x + y + z = 1. Prove that

x4 y4 z4 1
+ + ≥
(mx + ny) (my + nx) (my + nz)(mz + ny) (mz + nx)(mx + nz) 3(m + n) 2

[Hint: Apply the AM ≥ GM inequality to each term in the LHS, and then apply the CS
inequality.] (9)

b) If a, b, c ∈ R + and n ≥ 0, then prove that

a n (a − b) (a − c) + b n (b − a) (b − c) + c n (c − a)(c − b) ≥ 0. (6)

8. a) In the context of your daily life, give examples of the following:

i) a one-way implication;

ii) the converse of (i) above;

iii) a two-way implication which is true;

iv) a statement involving both ∀ and ∃;

v) the contrapositive of (i) above. (10)

b) Prove that if A and B are any two sets such that A ⊆ B, then A ∪ B = B

i) by the direct method;

ii) by proving its contrapositive. (5)