Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2024/ii/paper-2/33a/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ii Paper 2 33A a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
A transcritical bifurcation has normal formIts equilibrium branches are and . Linearization gives derivative on the first and on the second, so the branches cross at and exchange stability: for , is stable and unstable; for the labels reverse.
A small constant perturbationhas equilibria . For the two branches avoid the crossing; for there is a parameter interval with no equilibrium, bounded by two saddle-node points. Thus arbitrarily small perturbations change the bifurcation diagram, so the crossing is not structurally stable.
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