Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2017/paper-1/12/a/i/solution

Assume is continuously differentiable near the point of interest on , and that the relevant denominators below are nonzero. The total differential on the surface is
Holding fixed gives , so the implicit function theorem gives
When , their product proves the reciprocity rule for constrained partial derivatives:
Similarly, holding or fixed gives and . With , multiply the three ratios:
This is the cyclic partial derivative identity. Nonzero denominators and local differentiable coordinate representations are substantive assumptions: at a singular coordinate representation, a formal cancellation of zero or infinite factors is not a valid proof.

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