Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2021/prelims/mathematics-iv-resit/2/a/solution

First find the fixed axis of rotation by solving . After removing a nonzero common factor, the linear equations are
They give . Choose the following unit vectors:
Their dot products show that they form an orthonormal basis; hence is an orthogonal matrix. Since is an orthogonal matrix fixing , it preserves the orthogonal complement of . Its restriction there has determinant , so it is a planar rotation.
The trace gives , so . To determine the sign of the sine, rather than just its magnitude, calculate
Thus a suitable angle and change of basis are
In fact direct matrix multiplication gives

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