Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2003/ia/paper-3/9a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 ia Paper 3 9A Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Orient the triangular boundary from to to and back to . This orientation corresponds to the positive normal vector . The cyclic coordinate rotation sends the three directed edges to one another and transforms the vector field by the same rotation. Since rotations preserve dot products, the three edge contributions to the line integral are equal.
For a sufficiently smooth vector field on an oriented piecewise smooth surface , with induced boundary orientation on , the Stokes theorem statesTherefore the requested surface integral, with all normal components positive, is also .
To verify it directly, parametrize the triangle by on , , . Its two tangent vectors are and , giving the vector area elementDifferentiation of the vector field gives . On the triangle , so its dot product with is . Consequentlyconfirming both the magnitude and the orientation sign.
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