Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2007/ib/paper-2/3h/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 ib Paper 2 3H Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Write for the 2-adic valuation of a nonzero integer . Then for unequal arguments. It is positive for , vanishes exactly when , and is symmetric because .
For the triangle inequality, if divides and divides , then divides their sum . ThusCoincident arguments also satisfy these inequalities immediately. Consequently is a metric, and indeed an ultrametric induced by the 2-adic absolute value.
For the sequence, , soThe same sequence diverges in the usual Euclidean metric; the convergence here depends on the 2-adic absolute value.
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