Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2004/ib/paper-2/17b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 ib Paper 2 17B Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Use coordinates measured from the center of mass , so . The displacement from is . Expand the defining inertia tensor:All terms linear in integrate to zero. The remaining constant terms give the tensor parallel-axis theorem,For the uniform cube, let . Symmetry makes the off-diagonal inertia tensor entries zero. Direct integration gives for each coordinate, and therefore . With , the tensor parallel-axis theorem givesThe unit eigenvector has eigenvalue . Every vector in the plane is annihilated by and hence has eigenvalue . One orthonormal basis of that eigenspace isThe principal moments are along the body diagonal and twice in its perpendicular plane. Any orthonormal pair in that plane supplies the remaining principal axes.
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