Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2001/paper-1/7/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2001 Paper 1 7 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Row reduction, or the cofactor formula for a matrix inverse, givesMultiplying by the right-hand-side column gives, at ,For general , the coefficient matrix has determinant . Thus other parameter values give a unique solution. If , subtracting the first equation from the second gives , while subtracting it from the third gives , a contradiction. If , subtraction gives and , again inconsistent. Hence
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