Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2017/ib/paper-2/12g/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 2 12G i Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The unheaded preliminary requests are addressed before the first example. A norm is a function satisfying exactly for , , and . Its induced metric is . Translation preserves this distance, and scalar multiplication satisfies , so both are continuous; multiplication by zero is constant.
The open unit ball determines the norm uniquely through its Minkowski functional:because is equivalent to . This also works for .
Under the given radial and convexity hypotheses, set and for . The finite symmetric segment along each line gives positivity, absolute homogeneity and . If and , then , and the stated convexity condition yields . Hence ; taking and proves the triangle inequality. Thus this is a norm determined by a convex radial unit ball. The case is immediate.
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