Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2020 Paper 1 2 b i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Substitute into the axisymmetric Laplace equation and multiply by . The radial and angular terms must be separate constants:ThusWith , the angular equation becomesRequiring boundedness on the entire polar interval, and using the supplied characterization of bounded Legendre polynomial solutions, gives and for . Trying gives , hence or .
The globally angular-regular separated modes and their superposition are thereforeCoefficients and convergence are determined by the radial domain and boundary data. A domain containing the origin excludes negative radial powers for a regular solution. If the angular domain excludes a polar axis of the spherical coordinate system and singular angular behavior is allowed, additional Legendre-function branches are possible; the displayed family is the one regular over the complete sphere, as intended by the hint.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2020 Paper 1 2 a ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
For an integer , choose the series whose integer parity agrees with and set the other initial coefficient to zero. At , the numerator in the recurrence vanishes, so and every later coefficient in that integer parity vanishes. With a nonzero coefficient of , this gives a polynomial of degree exactly . Normalize it by .
For , the even branch is constant; for , the odd branch is proportional to . For , the recurrence gives , so normalization fixes . HenceThe opposite-parity branch generally does not terminate; polynomial termination does not mean that both independent solutions become polynomials.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2020 Paper 1 2 a i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Differentiate the power series term by term inside its radius of convergence, and reindex the second derivative so that every coefficient multiplies . The differential equation becomesThe uniqueness of power-series coefficients givesThe even coefficients depend only on and the odd coefficients only on . These are the two local solution branches of the Legendre differential equation around its ordinary point .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2020 Paper 1 1 a iv Solution by
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For a finite separation use the Cartesian distance, rather than substituting finite coordinate differences into the local line element. Expanding the two horizontal components givesThe vertical contribution is , independently. ThusandEquivalently, the horizontal contribution is , which also makes its nonnegativity explicit.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2020 Paper 1 1 a iii Solution by
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Differentiate the position vector, using the angular factor from the scale factors of orthogonal coordinates:The basis is an orthonormal basis, so all cross terms in its squared length vanish. The Euclidean line element is thereforeIn particular, an angular change at fixed radius traverses a physical distance .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2020 Paper 1 1 a ii Solution by
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Dividing the coordinate tangents by their scale factors of orthogonal coordinates gives an orthonormal basisEvaluate the Cartesian cross products componentwise:ConsequentlyThe ordered cylindrical basis is right-handed: its scalar triple product equals .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2020 Paper 1 1 a i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Write the position vector as . Its coordinate tangent vectors areTheir pairwise dot products vanish. Their lengths, the scale factors of orthogonal coordinates, areThus the cylindrical coordinate system is orthogonal wherever it is a nonsingular coordinate chart. At , the angular tangent vector vanishes and the azimuth is undefined; this is the usual coordinate singularity on the axis, not a failure of the Euclidean geometry.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 2 6 b iii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Let . It is an isotropic tensor and is invariant under every permutation of its four indices. Thus the three coefficients in the general rank-four isotropic form must coincide:A double tensor contraction givesHere the three contracted Kronecker delta products contribute , and . Contracting instead with the four unit vectors yieldsThis agrees with subtracting two instances of the isotropic fourth moment of a ball.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 2 6 b ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Under inversion , the spherical shell and its volume element are unchanged, while the product of three scalar products changes sign. Its integral is therefore its own negative:Equivalently, its rank-three moment tensor is completely symmetric and cannot have a nonzero multiple of the antisymmetric Levi-Civita symbol.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 2 6 b i Solution by
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Introduce the second moment tensor . The spherical shell is preserved by every rotation, so this is an isotropic tensor, . Its trace determines the constant:Contracting with the components of the two unit vectors givesThis is the second-order case of radial tensor moments in three dimensions.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 2 4 d ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Use , so and . The unit circle is traversed anticlockwise, and the integral becomesOnly the simple pole lies inside the contour. Its residue isHence the residue theorem gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 2 4 d i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Close the real segment by an anticlockwise semicircle in the upper half-plane. For , the contour integral over the arc is : its length is , whereas and . The enclosed simple poles are and , with residuesLetting in the residue theorem yields
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 9 b ii Solution by
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Place the interface at , with source and observer in the two uniform media. Let be the crossing point. The optical length isDifferentiating with respect to and setting the result to zero givesRecognizing the ratios as the sines of the angles measured from the interface normal proves Snell's law:The stationarity condition is the continuity of the tangential optical momentum across the planar interface.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 9 b i Solution by
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Choose the mirror as the line , the source as and the observer as , with positive heights. Within the plane of incidence, let the reflection point be . In a uniform medium the optical length is a constant index timesStationarity with respect to the point on the mirror givesThese two ratios are the sines of the angles to the normal, with the stationary point between the two projected endpoints. ThereforeThe angles lie in , where sine is injective. Varying a second tangential coordinate in three dimensions also enforces that the source, normal and reflected ray lie in one plane. This derives the law of reflection from Fermat principle.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 7 d ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
The complex exponential never vanishes. The zeros of occur at , , and they are simple because . The numerator is there, so no cancellation occurs. ThereforeFor example their residues are .
Infinity requires care: the poles themselves tend to infinity. Equivalently has poles at accumulating at zero. Thus , and it is not a zero. In the usual classification of isolated singularities, it cannot be called a removable singularity, pole or isolated essential singularity. The non-isolated singularity distinction is necessary even though the function is meromorphic at every finite point.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 7 d i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
The denominator factors as , with no cancellation against the numerator. Thus there areTo inspect infinity, put :Hence infinity is a removable singularity at infinity, with limiting value zero. After this natural extension to the Riemann sphere it is also a simple zero. There are no other zeros or singularities.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 3 d ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
The original PDF shows in the nonzero source branch. Inserting that source into gives, for ,For , split the integral at :Because of the homogeneous freedom established in part (i), the full answer to the stated endpoint problem isAt the interface, both branches have value and derivative , so no extra delta or delta derivative occurs there. Direct substitution gives zero source on the left and on the right; the endpoint values are zero for every . If the extra condition is imposed, it selects , but that is additional information absent from the printed question.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 1 3 d i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Choose and , satisfying the left and right conditions respectively. Their Wronskian isPart (a) therefore supplies the valid kernelIt is continuous at the source, its first derivative has jump one, and it vanishes at both endpoints. However, it is not unique: is a nonzero homogeneous solution satisfying both stated endpoint conditions. Thus has the same defining properties for any suitable .
This is a nonunique Green kernel at a singular endpoint with two vanishing modes. Choosing instead also gives a valid kernel, corresponding to the stronger selection at the left endpoint. The original problem states no such selection, so the family must be acknowledged.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2018 Paper 2 7 b ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
With the stated parameters, the mass and restoring matrices areThe generalized eigenvalue problem givesTherefore the two normal angular frequencies areThe second row of the modal equation is . It gives the mode shapesEach normal mode has arbitrary small amplitude and phase . The bob's horizontal displacement is to first order. Thus in the lower mode, bob and cart move in phase, with bob amplitude times the cart amplitude. In the higher mode they move oppositely, because ; the bob amplitude is times the cart amplitude. Its vertical displacement is quadratic in the angle and is absent at this order.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2018 Paper 2 7 b i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Choose positive so the bob is displaced to the right relative to the cart. Its Cartesian coordinates areDifferentiation gives . Thus the exact kinetic energy and potential energy areRetain quadratic terms, using in the kinetic cross term and in the potential. The Lagrangian isIts Euler-Lagrange equations giveThe kinetic cross term is essential: acceleration of the support couples the pendulum and cart. These equations define the normal modes of a spring-mounted pendulum cart.
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