Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2017/prelims/mathematics-iv-resit/3/a/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford 2017 Prelims Mathematics IV resit 3 a i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
At a regular point of the parametrized surface, the partial derivatives and are linearly independent tangent vectors. Their cross product gives a nonzero normal vector:Dividing by its Euclidean norm gives a unit normal; changing the sign chooses the opposite orientation. If the cross product vanishes, this parametrization is singular there and cannot determine a normal vector by this formula.
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