Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2023/paper-1/14/b/solution

The stated total differential is that of , so . The zero-volume condition gives . For positive , divide the total differential by this volume to obtain
For the specified small changes, , so the volume increases by approximately . The fractional expression requires ; at a degenerate zero-volume state it is undefined. For finite changes, the exact multiplier is , whose difference from is ; the total differential gives its first-order approximation.

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