Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2012/ia/paper-2/2a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 ia Paper 2 2A Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
A constant orbit is a fixed point of . Solving gives , henceFor fixed point stability for an iteration, perturb a fixed point by . Its local evolution is , where . At zero, , so perturbations contract: zero is locally asymptotically stable. For example, if , then ; this gives an invariant neighborhood and geometric convergence to zero.
At one, , so perturbations expand: one is unstable. More explicitly, putting gives , whose magnitude increases while a nonzero perturbation remains sufficiently small. The derivative test concerns local stability; it does not assert attraction from every real initial value.
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