Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 9F a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
A geometric distribution with parameter on has probability mass functionIt counts the trial on which the first success occurs in independent trials with success probability . Its probability generating function is . Differentiating at givesThis support convention is important: a count of failures before the first success would start at zero.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 8A c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Put and . The polynomial becomesThere are no terms of degree one or two, so the gradient and the entire Hessian matrix vanish at . It is a critical point with singular Hessian matrix. The lowest nontrivial approximation isunderstood as the fourth-degree leading term rather than a uniform ratio asymptotic along its zero directions.
On the path the exact value is for . On the path it is for sufficiently small nonzero . Both paths approach the point, where . It is neither a local maximum nor a local minimum; it is a degenerate saddle point of a scalar function. The higher-order saddle test supplies the conclusion the singular Hessian matrix cannot supply.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 8A b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The gradient components areIf or , their simultaneous zeros give . If , solving , gives . These are all the critical points. The Hessian matrix isAt each of its determinant is , so its two eigenvalues have opposite signs. All three are saddle points of a scalar function. At ,This point is a strict local maximum, of value .
The zero level set is exactlyThese three lines form a triangle containing the maximum. Inside it ; near the maximum positive level sets are nested closed curves, with their leading shapes elliptical because the Hessian matrix is negative definite. At each vertex the zero lines cross, separating alternating signs, and nearby nonzero level sets have hyperbolic branches. For example, the leading quadratic terms are at , for at , and for at .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 8A a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
At a critical point of a twice continuously differentiable function, the linear term in the Taylor expansion vanishes:The real symmetric Hessian matrix has an orthonormal basis of eigenvectors. If all its eigenvalues are positive, its quadratic term is bounded below by a positive multiple of , giving a strict local minimum. If all are negative, it gives a strict local maximum. If positive and negative eigenvalues both occur, directions along their eigenvectors give values on both sides of , so the point is a saddle point of a scalar function. The non-singularity assumption excludes zero eigenvalues; with them the quadratic test may be inconclusive and higher-order terms are needed.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 7A c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
At the forcing vanishes and the forcing coefficient is . The initial vector decomposes asThus , , in part (b), and the requested solution isEquivalently,These expressions have the required initial values and solve all three linear ordinary differential equations.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 7A b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The forcing vector has the eigenvector decompositionThere is no component in the zero eigenvalue direction. The scalar inhomogeneous linear differential equations in this basis areFor the first, a particular solution is . For the third, multiplying by the integrating factor gives . Consequently for every real When , the resonant component vanishes and a particular solution is , of the stipulated constant-vector form. If , substituting would require . In the eigenbasis the left side has zero component, while the right side has component . This is impossible. The factor is therefore unavoidable: it is resonance in a differential equation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 7A a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Write the coefficient matrix as . Its characteristic polynomial is . Corresponding eigenvectors arewith eigenvalues respectively, as direct multiplication verifies. Distinct eigenvalues make these vectors a basis. Expanding a solution as decouples the linear ordinary differential equations into , , . Thus the general solution is
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 6A c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Multiply the equation by to obtain . The leading terms after a Frobenius method trial arethe term involving first appears at order . The indicial equation is therefore
To obtain the first correction to a regular singular solution by reduction of order, start from the assumed solution and use the Abel identity:We work initially on near zero; since is a positive integer, the resulting expansion is an ordinary power series. Also , so the reduction of order integral has integrandChoose its integration constant to be zero, eliminating an added multiple of . Integrating and multiplying by givesWith the requested normalized answer isIts nonzero Wronskian makes it independent of . The existence of the asserted also forces ; there is no need to introduce into the normalized second coefficient.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 6A b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
For two solutions , define their Wronskian byDifferentiation and substitution of the second-order linear differential equation giveThis proves the Abel identity and hence
On an interval where the known solution does not vanish,Integrating gives the reduction of order formulaChoosing the normalization makes the Wronskian nonzero, so this solution is linearly independent of . To verify it really solves the equation, write . Its equation reduces tothe integrand gives , which satisfies this equation on differentiation. Adding an integration constant only adds a multiple of . The formula is local where ; at a zero of with regular coefficients, the actual solution can be continued by initial-value existence and uniqueness, even if its integral representation has an apparent singularity.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 6A a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Substitute the power series and compare coefficients. The constant coefficient gives . For , the coefficient of givesThus , while the equation places no restriction on . For ,The power series therefore sums toRenaming the two arbitrary constants gives .
Both functions solve the equation by direct substitution. Their Wronskian, in the order , is , which is nonzero for . Hence they give the full two-dimensional solution space on either interval away from the singular point. Both are entire, and the displayed formula also gives every twice continuously differentiable solution through zero: matching and fixes the same on the two sides.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 5A b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Set . The resulting second-order linear differential equation is . A polynomial particular solution requires and , hence . The homogeneous characteristic roots of a constant-coefficient differential equation are , soIntegrating twice and renaming constants gives the general real solutionThe four independent homogeneous terms account for the four initial data of the fourth-order linear ordinary differential equation.
For the substitution , repeated use of the chain rule, with , givesThereforeFor , the map is invertible, and the transformed equation is exactly the equation just solved. Hence the general real solution on isThere is no requirement that extend as an even function through : only the branch is needed, so the sine and square-root terms must be retained.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 5A a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Let and write the constant-coefficient linear ordinary differential equation as . Since ,The exponential never vanishes, so .
For the second claim, the product rule givesfor , with the term treated separately. Summing the coefficients yieldsA root of multiplicity at least two has , proving is also a solution. This directly establishes the repeated-root contribution without assuming a solution formula. If the displayed coefficient list has leading zeros, the exponential calculation still applies to its actual polynomial degree.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 4F c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 4F b i Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 4F a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Put and . Their second moments are the finite positive variances of . The Cauchy-Schwarz inequality for square-integrable random variables givesDivide by the positive product of variances and take square roots. The correlation bound is . As usual, non-constant here means not almost surely constant, so that the denominator is nonzero.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 3F b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
For a fixed horse , independence of the race results gives probability of winning every race. The events that different horses win every race are disjoint, soThis is a homogeneous polynomial of degree . Apply part (a) to the nonnegative numbers , whose sum is one, to obtain . For the smallest probability occurs when every horse has winning probability ; for a single race regardless of these probabilities.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 3F a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
For , on , so is a convex function; for it is linear and also convex. The equally weighted random variable has expected value . Applying Jensen's inequality givesMultiplying by provesFor equality requires all , by strict convexity; for equality holds for every admissible vector.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 1A iv Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The superposition principle applies because the recurrence operator is linear. Add the particular solutions from parts (ii) and (iii), then add the general homogeneous linear recurrence relation solution from part (i). This gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 1A iii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The forcing base is a root of the characteristic equation of a linear recurrence, so a constant multiple of cannot be a particular solution. For , direct substitution givesFor the resonant case of exponential forcing in a linear recurrence, at , and . Hence is a particular solution of the inhomogeneous linear recurrence. The general solution is
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 1A ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Let . For the exponential trial sequence ,Thus gives a particular solution. The difference of any two solutions of the inhomogeneous linear recurrence satisfies the homogeneous linear recurrence relation in part (i). Therefore
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