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Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2023 Paper 2 9 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
LetThe product of any two distinct nonidentity elements is the third, and each squares to , so is a Klein four-group. Conjugating a double transposition simply relabels its letters, keeping it in the set. Hence is a normal subgroup of .
Choose . The cosets are distinct and cover the twelve elements. With , defineThe coset decomposition makes this well-defined. Normality givesso preserves products. It is onto , andThis is the tetrahedral quotient onto the cyclic group of order three. In terms of (a), it sends to , to , and to . The normality check above also follows abstractly because a group homomorphism kernel is normal.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2023 Paper 2 9 a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Act on the four labelled vertices. A proper rotation gives an even permutation, identifying the rotational tetrahedral symmetry group with , an alternating group. Geometrically there are one identity, three half-turns about opposite-edge midpoint axes, and two nontrivial rotations about each of four vertex-face axes. ThereforeThe tetrahedral rotation conjugacy classes areTo justify the splitting, the centralizer of a 3-cycle within is its three-element cyclic subgroup, so its conjugacy class has size . Its inverse is not conjugate to it in : the permutations that reverse that cycle while preserving its fixed vertex are odd. Conjugating by the even permutations produces the displayed , and taking inverses gives . The three half-turns are conjugate, since rotations move their axes into one another. Their centralizer has order four and their class therefore has size three.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2023 Paper 2 8 d Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Write a matrix in the set as . The zero matrix has no multiplicative inverse matrix, so is not a group. Its determinant iswhich vanishes only at that zero matrix. It is therefore the only element that needs to be removed.
For closure, direct matrix multiplication givesThe product of nonzero determinants is nonzero, so two nonzero elements never multiply to zero. The identity matrix is , associativity is inherited from matrix multiplication, andThus . It is the multiplicative group of nonzero quaternions in the complex matrix representation of quaternions.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2023 Paper 2 8 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
For a normal subgroup , the quotient group consists of its cosets with multiplicationTo check that this is well-defined, replace by with . Their product issince normality puts in . Hence the product does not depend on representatives. Associativity follows from that in , the identity element is , and . These verify the group axioms.
Lagrange's theorem counts the equal-sized cosets:Finally, if is prime, choose . Its cyclic subgroup has order greater than one dividing , hence equals . All elements are powers of , so . Thus
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2023 Paper 2 8 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
For a subgroup and , the left and right cosets are and . A normal subgroup satisfies for every . Multiplying this set equality on the right by givesConversely this equality implies , so it is an equivalent definition of normality.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2023 Paper 2 7 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
For the stated geometry and numerical masses, the inertia and stiffness matrices areA normal mode requires . Writing , its characteristic equation isAt the claimed , this determinant is . Hence the printed claim that is a normal frequency is false for the stated data, and there is no corresponding nonzero normal mode.
The complete geometry-based answer is obtained from the three positive roots :An exact closed form for the squared angular frequencies isThey are approximately , and , respectively. For any of these roots, a corresponding eigenvector can be chosen asThe last two rows of give this expression directly; the first is the characteristic equation. These three modes span all motion, with arbitrary sine and cosine amplitudes. Positivity of and of the spring potential energy ensures that all squared angular frequencies are positive.
If instead one takes the PDF's printed as a stipulated inertia, then andThe corresponding angular frequencies are approximatelyThe same formula for applies, because its derivation used only the second and third rows. Here the determinant at is , so following the printed inertia does not repair the frequency claim. The PDF therefore needs a further correction to its numerical data or asserted frequency; the intended correction cannot be inferred uniquely.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2023 Paper 2 7 b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-11-05
Measure each generalized coordinate from an unstressed configuration. The diagram has one torsional spring joining the frame to object 1, one joining objects 1 and 2, and one joining objects 2 and 3. The rotational kinetic energy and elastic potential energy areEach spring contribution follows by integrating its restoring torque: . ThusThe Euler-Lagrange equations giveThese hold for either interpretation of the square's moment of inertia; the geometry-based value from (a) is used first below.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2023 Paper 2 7 a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
For the stated square side length , the volume is and the uniform mass density is . Direct integration about its central vertical axis gives the moment of inertia of a uniform square plate:Thus the PDF's coefficient is inconsistent with its stated side length. The coefficient would apply to a square of side .
For the disc, use cylindrical coordinates and :For the sphere, use spherical coordinates and :These agree with the moment of inertia of a uniform disc and the moment of inertia of a uniform solid sphere. The square's thickness does not enter its axial moment of inertia once the mass is fixed.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2023 Paper 2 6 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Write the inverse tensor asInsert this into and equate powers of . One obtains successivelyThus the Neumann series givesEvery contraction is an ordinary ordered matrix product. No transpose or symmetry assumption is used. Multiplying the truncated series on either side by leaves , which verifies the error order. For a fixed finite matrix this expansion converges whenever in a submultiplicative matrix norm.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2023 Paper 2 5 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
The Fourier transform of a derivative gives . For ,This selects the solution decaying at both time infinities. Indeed, the inverse transform of is the one-dimensional modified Helmholtz Green function , and the convolution theorem gives . The printed equation has homogeneous solutions , so these two decay conditions matter; no causal initial-value condition was specified.
For , evaluate Fourier inversion by closing the contour in the lower half-plane, where decays. The contour is clockwise. The enclosed simple poles and residues of areThus inversion equals times the sum of the residues of , givingAs a check, applying gives . The convolution also gives for ; the two pieces have matching values and matching first derivatives at zero.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2023 Paper 2 5 a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
The signal is continuous at zero with . Its envelope is , but its angular frequency falls from on the incoming side to on the outgoing side. Its one-sided slopes are and , producing a cusp at the peak. Both tails decay to zero.
Use . Expanding each cosine into two exponentials and integrating its half-line givesEquivalently,The positive guarantees convergence of the Fourier transform integrals.
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