Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2004/ia/paper-1/6a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 ia Paper 1 6A Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Using the Levi-Civita symbol and Einstein summation convention, the scalar triple product isInterchange the dummy indices . Antisymmetry gives , since . Over the real numbers this proves
The normal vector to the first plane and the specified positive direction give . Then and , soNext . A vector perpendicular to both and is a scalar multiple of their cross product; the required length gives the two possibilities and . The original PDF specifies approach to the x-axis. From the original squared distance to that axis is . The two candidate endpoint squared distances are and . Hence .
Adding the given yields . By the proved scalar triple product identity, , so the only vector of the specified length for is the zero vector. Finally set . The last point is , and its plane condition becomes . Thus and .
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