Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2005/paper-2/9/b/solution

The upper block has trace zero and determinant , so its characteristic polynomial is . The third coordinate has eigenvalue two. Angle-addition identities give the normalized eigenvectors
These formulas apply to every real , including values where an expression obtained by dividing by would fail. Geometrically the planar block is a reflection: it fixes the axis at angle and reverses its perpendicular direction.

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