Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2015/iii/paper-22/3/b/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 22 3 b i Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Suppose . As a functor on the opposite category, a representable presheaf preserves every existing categorical limit: a colimit in is defined by the bijection between morphisms from its vertex into and compatible families of morphisms from its diagram objects into . This remains valid for a possibly large diagram in a category whenever that colimit exists and the compatible-family collection is the corresponding set.
The category of elements has a terminal object , where is the image of under the representation. For each let be its unique morphism to . These form a cocone for the forgetful functor . Any competing cocone satisfiesThe component at uniquely determines the mediating morphism. Thus the representing object is the colimit of the elements projection:
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