Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 ia Paper 1 7B a Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 ia Paper 1 6A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
The system of linear equations is consistent precisely when belongs to the column space of . If is one solution, all solutions form the affine subspacebecause subtracting two solutions produces a vector in the kernel, and adding any kernel vector preserves the equation. Therefore the necessary and sufficient cases are:
- No solution: , equivalently is outside the column space.
- Exactly one solution: , equivalently ; then for every .
- Infinitely many solutions: . The rank-nullity theorem gives a nonzero kernel vector , and gives distinct solutions for all real .
For the matrix equation, each column of solves the same system of linear equations with the corresponding column of . Thus a unique exists if and only if is invertible, and then . Necessity does not depend on : if is singular and one exists, put any nonzero kernel vector in one column of a matrix and zeros in its other columns. Then and every is another solution.
For the specified data, . If denotes row of and row of , row elimination yields , , and . HenceMultiplying gives the prescribed , which both checks the arithmetic and confirms the unique answer.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 ia Paper 1 5C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
For a point on the plane, the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality gives , because is a unit vector. Equality is achieved at . Thus the distance from the origin is .
Let and let be the perpendicular projection of the sphere's center onto the plane. Every point of the plane has form with . The Pythagorean theorem givesIf , the sphere equation therefore forces . There is exactly one contact point, ; it lies on both surfaces.
Write . The nonzero scalar triple product proves that are linearly independent, so they form a positively oriented basis of and define a nondegenerate tetrahedron.
For the three faces through the origin, choose the inward unit vectorsTheir signs are correct because each has positive inner product with the opposite vertex vector. Write the center as . It lies on the interior side of every face. Tangency of the interior sphere therefore means signed distance , not , from each of those three planes. Taking inner products givesSolving proves the center formulaThis is the sphere center from three tetrahedron face distances; the interior hypothesis selects these signs rather than an exterior center.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 ia Paper 1 4F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
The extreme value theorem ensures that is finite. Since and , multiplication preserves the inequality. Monotonicity of the Riemann integral gives the required boundTo prove the weighted mean value theorem for integrals, put and . If , then , so any works. This includes .
If , the extreme value theorem gives and . Integrating gives . A continuous function on an interval takes every value between its minimum and maximum by the intermediate value theorem. Choose with . Consequently
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 ia Paper 1 3E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
A continuous function at satisfies the following quantified condition:The choice of may depend on and .
For the bounded example, takeThis is a continuous function on its domain and . Along its values tend to , while along its values tend to . Hence the supremum is and the infimum is , and neither is attained. “Upper and lower bound” here means the least upper and greatest lower bounds.
For the nonnegative function on the whole real line, if the conclusion is immediate. Otherwise choose with . The limits at both infinities give such that whenever . By the extreme value theorem, a continuous function on the compact interval has a maximum there. Since , it also exceeds every value outside this interval. Thus is bounded above and attains its global maximum. Nonnegativity ensures that either the function is zero or such a positive comparison value exists; without it, a function such as would have an unattained supremum of zero.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 ia Paper 1 2A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
All the transformations below fix the origin. A planar rotation preserves lengths and angles and turns every vector through one common oriented angle. Its rotation matrix isAn orthogonal reflection in a line fixes that line and reverses its perpendicular direction; reflection in the horizontal axis has reflection matrix . A uniform dilation multiplies every vector by the same positive scale , represented by ; for example doubles lengths. A shear mapping fixes one line pointwise and shifts vectors parallel to that line by an amount proportional to their transverse coordinate. A horizontal shear mapping has matrixwith a nontrivial example.
The first given matrix is the clockwise planar rotation through , namely . Direct multiplication givesThus is a horizontal shear mapping of strength . Because ,So is the composition of that shear mapping followed by an anticlockwise planar rotation through ; order matters. It is not individually one of the four elementary types under these definitions. In particular, its determinant is , but it is not an orthogonal matrix, excluding both a planar rotation and an orthogonal reflection. It is not a scalar matrix, excluding a uniform dilation; its eigenvalues and exclude a pure shear mapping, whose eigenvalues are both . As a symmetric positive-definite matrix, can also be described as stretching two perpendicular principal directions by these reciprocal factors, preserving area.
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