Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2026/iii/paper-205/4/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 205 4 b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Choose the given topological ordering. Since precedes , is not a descendant of ; since they are nonadjacent, it is not a parent of . The local Markov property of a directed acyclic graph says that a node is d-separated from all its nondescendants other than its parents by its parent set. Therefore and are d-separated by .
It follows that adjacency of is certified by rejecting every null hypothesisIf the vertices were nonadjacent, the theorem would supply one such separating parent set, whichever vertex comes later.
To certify that is a parent of , first rejectfor every , which forces adjacency. Then rejectfor every such . If the adjacent edge were , then would orient as a collider, and the parent-set argument would provide a separator not containing , contradicting the second collection of rejections. Hence the edge is .
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