Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 ia Paper 3 3A i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
For a regular differentiable curve , its speed is , where is arc length. The oriented unit tangent vector is . The curvature of a space curve is . Equivalently, for a twice differentiable regular curve,For the helix, differentiation gives and speed . ConsequentlyIndeed has magnitude , and division by gives the result. This requires ; the excluded constant curve has no well-defined unit tangent vector. For the curve is a straight line with zero curvature of a space curve.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 ib Paper 2 12A i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
For the spherical circle, use a rotation to put the center at the north pole. Points at spherical distance have polar angle and admit the parametrizationIts speed is , so the arc length isFor small , the Taylor series gives . Thus its circumference is smaller than the Euclidean circumference for the same intrinsic radius. Their ratio is and tends to one. The leading agreement expresses local Euclidean behavior; the cubic deficit reflects the positive Gaussian curvature of the unit sphere.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 ib Paper 4 16E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
For fixed endpoints, the Euler-Lagrange equation is . Since has no explicit dependence on , differentiating givesThus , the Beltrami identity.
With , the arc length element and the prescribed speed give the travel-time functionalFor the circular road , this is .
For the integrand , the Beltrami identity simplifies toThe candidate has and the required endpoints. To prove it really minimizes the travel time, rather than merely satisfies a first integral, put . ThenThis is the Euclidean arc length integrand for the inverted curve , whose endpoints are and . Every connecting curve has length at least their Euclidean distance , by the triangle inequality. Equality is attained by the straight line segment . In polar form it gives , hence the proposed . It stays strictly positive throughout the interval. ConsequentlyThis travel-time minimization with speed proportional to squared radius is globally solved by the inversion: its minimum is strictly less than .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 iii Paper 76 6 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Write , and . On the fixed yield surface, and , where is stress-space arc length. Substituting , , into planar force balance givesThus , with .
For a spatial curve and a function , the chain rule givesHere primes refer to the spatial parameter , not the yield-curve parameter . The displayed row-matrix product being zero is therefore sufficient for to remain constant.
The eigenvectors of are and , with eigenvalues and . Along these slip lines, respectively, and . This proves the stress characteristics for an anisotropic yield curve:
For the velocity relations, the outward normal to the reduced yield curve is proportional to . The associated flow rule, using the symmetric stress work pairing , therefore gives a rate-of-strain tensor proportional toThe off-diagonal stress variation contributes , which ensures this normality calculation uses the correct factor. Direct multiplication gives : neither slip line direction extends instantaneously.
Resolve the velocity as . Since and , its longitudinal derivative along an curve is , and along a curve it is . Setting these extensions to zero gives the Geiringer velocity relations:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 ia Paper 3 3C i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 83 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use the arc length and the unit tangent of an inextensible filament. In the high-force state choose its positive longitudinal branch. The constraint givesThe extension is . The curvature of a space curve obeys . Since is second order in small fluctuations, its squared contribution is fourth order. Thus the worm-like chain energy through quadratic order isPositive force suppresses transverse orientation fluctuations, while the filament bending modulus penalizes their spatial variation.
To apply the equipartition theorem without missing either component or a mode-counting factor, expand each component in a real orthonormal basis of eigenfunctions of , , with and . The quadratic energy is . Each real quadratic degree of freedom contributes , soFor a chain long compared with the force-dependent correlation length, the interior is translation invariant and the mode sum per length becomes . Equivalently, for the Fourier transform ,The negative and positive wavenumbers here represent the real-field mode count consistently, rather than two independent complex modes. Summing both transverse components gives the high-force worm-like chain elasticitywhere the integral follows by setting and using . ThereforeHere is the three-dimensional zero-force persistence length. The result requires , negligible backbone stretching, and a long-chain bulk approximation. It does not describe the eventual bond-stretching regime. For a continuum polymer description, the force-dependent length should also exceed the microscopic cutoff.
For comparison, a three-dimensional freely jointed chain has contour length and independent link orientations. At force , a link of polar angle has Boltzmann factor with . Its angular canonical partition function isThe total canonical partition function is . Differentiating with respect to force gives the force-extension of a three-dimensional freely jointed chain:ConsequentlyThe extension deficits scale as and respectively. Inverting them gives force divergences proportional to the first and second inverse powers of the deficit. Freely jointed link rotations cost no bending energy; the worm-like chain instead has a continuum of coupled bending modes whose contributing wavelengths change with force. Setting a long-wavelength coarse-grained link length can match weak-force statistics, but does not make these high-force laws identical.
For the transverse tangent correlation of a stretched worm-like chain, use a separation consistently: the source writes but integrates a separation denoted . In the translation-invariant bulk the spatial average is redundant andTo evaluate the integral without an assumed decay law, let be the inverse Fourier transform of . Then . Away from zero, decay at both infinities requires with . Integrating across zero yields , so . ThusAt this agrees with the two-component equipartition theorem calculation. The correlation length decreases with force and is distinct from the zero-force persistence length. The full tangent correlation has a nonzero aligned background; the exponentially decaying quantity here is specifically the transverse correlation.
For a finite open chain, the source's integral samples beyond and supplies no endpoint tangent conditions. An exact finite-length correlation is therefore not uniquely specified. The result above is the intended bulk form when . As one explicit finite convention, periodically extending the tangent fluctuations gives the periodic finite-length tangent correlation of a stretched worm-like chainwhere is the distance from zero around the periodic interval. Then , and the extension formula acquires this same finite-length factor. The bulk law is recovered as . This makes the endpoint assumption explicit rather than claiming an unspecified finite-chain correlation is exactly translationally invariant.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 3 4C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
In polar coordinates, the curve is the logarithmic spiral , . It starts at and winds counterclockwise outwards through one and a half turns. It crosses the horizontal axis atThe following original sketch uses representative positive values; changing rescales it and changing changes its rate of expansion.
Logarithmic spiral over one and a half counterclockwise turns
. Details. Differentiate the coordinates:Hence . Integrating the arc length element gives, for ,For a negative endpoint parameter the length between and zero uses the absolute value of the final factor.
A second differentiation givesThe numerator is positive, so the absolute value in the PDF's curvature of a plane curve formula leaves it unchanged. ConsequentlyThe speed is , and therefore . Thus the requested elapsed time isThis travel time at reciprocal-curvature speed is independent of because the growing arc length per unit angle is exactly matched by the growing speed.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 67 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Introduce a constant filament bending modulus , which sets the mechanical force scale. The filament has intrinsic curvature of an elastic filament , and its actual signed curvature in a small-slope Monge representation is . To quadratic order one may identify material arc length with in , whileAt fixed positive extension force, the mechanical potential is bending energy minus . Replacing by leaves, up to a force-dependent constant,Its first variation isThe higher-order Euler-Lagrange equation is thereforeFor a Fourier transform relation, take a periodic bulk segment, or a long-filament bulk approximation with negligible endpoint contributions; these are necessary boundary conditions because the question specifies no filament end conditions. Using , every nonzero wavenumber obeysA zero displacement mode is an arbitrary translation. In a periodic representation a constant intrinsic-curvature mode contributes a constant bending cost but no bulk slope, so it does not contribute to the following deficit. The Parseval identity givesFor clarity about finite normalization, on a periodic interval of length define , . Then the equivalent exact quadratic-order formula isThis is force-extension of an intrinsically curved filament, determined by its particular fixed shape rather than by a thermal orientation entropy.
For an ensemble with quenched intrinsic curvature, first minimize each realization and then average the last expression, replacing by its ensemble mean. For stationary bulk disorder, let be the power spectrum, normalized so that its correlation is . The measurable mean deficit per unit projected length isIf the curvature is smooth enough that the second spectral moment is finite, one can take the large-force limit under this integral, obtaining the smooth-curvature high-force extension lawFor a stationary ensemble the integral is . Equivalently, the bulk slope is ; a plot of the mean deficit against measures the mean squared intrinsic-curvature gradient, if is known. The law is a smooth-curvature bulk result, not a universal law for every random filament. For example, ideal white intrinsic-curvature disorder with has an infinite second spectral moment; retaining the full integral instead gives in that ideal continuum model.
Endpoint conditions also matter. If each end is moment-free and has no transverse applied force, the natural conditions from the variation areat each end. These can produce a free-end curvature boundary layer of width . For a constant intrinsic filament curvature , integration of the higher-order Euler-Lagrange equation with zero transverse force gives and henceThe last formula follows by integrating , and tends to , despite the vanishing bulk curvature gradient. Thus a finite free-ended measurement must include or suppress endpoint bending before interpreting a bulk fit.
For the freely jointed chain, rigid links have independent orientations, so the restoring force is entropic. Let now denote absolute temperature, and with Boltzmann constant . In the usual three-dimensional chain, a segment at polar angle has force energy . Its angular canonical partition function and the full chain partition function areDifferentiating with respect to yields the exact mean projected displacementHere is the Langevin function; this is force-extension of a three-dimensional freely jointed chain, in the fixed-force canonical ensemble. At high extension, , soThus the smooth quenched-curvature bulk deficit falls as , whereas the three-dimensional freely jointed chain deficit falls as and depends explicitly on temperature. The distinction is mechanical straightening of a fixed intrinsic shape versus orientational entropy; thermal bending fluctuations of a stiff filament have not been included in the first calculation.
If the comparison chain is also restricted to two dimensions, it is a planar freely jointed chain rather than the three-dimensional model. In this case,The last identity follows directly by differentiating the integral defining ; and are Modified Bessel functions of the first kind. At large the angular weight is proportional to , giving . Consequently : the same inverse-force exponent, with half the three-dimensional coefficient. Both versions assume inextensible links and forces below the regime where the links themselves stretch.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ii Paper 2 25H i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
For a regular simple closed plane curve of length enclosing area , the planar isoperimetric inequality is , with equality precisely for a circle.
The periodic Wirtinger inequality states that an absolutely continuous -periodic function of mean zero with square-integrable derivative satisfieswith equality only for a linear combination of and . Parametrize the curve by arc length and translate its position vector so that both coordinate means vanish. Then , since . Green's theorem and the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality giveEquality requires a first-harmonic parametrization and equality in Cauchy-Schwarz; its radius vector is a constant multiple of the rotated unit tangent. It is therefore a circle. Conversely, a circle attains equality.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 ia Paper 3 3C ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
Use the arc length coordinate oriented in the direction of increasing : , with . Also , giving and . The Lagrange identity for the cross product yieldsThe curvature of a space curve is thereforeFor the forward portion , this has ordinary nonnegative arc length . If instead nonnegative distance is measured backwards from , put for ; that branch has , . Choosing orientation avoids confusing the two points at the same unoriented distance.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 ia Paper 3 3C i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
Differentiation gives . The squared speed is , so the arc length isThe speed never vanishes, so this is a regular curve throughout its parameter range.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 8 1 vi Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
For the Hurwitz proof of the planar isoperimetric inequality, take a positively oriented regular simple closed curve of length and enclosed area . Write its complex position as , with proportional to arc length. Then . Translate the curve to make its mean position zero, and write its Fourier coefficients as , with .
Green's theorem gives the signed area, and Parseval's identity computes it:Periodic integration by parts and Parseval's identity applied to giveSince for every integer ,The sums converge absolutely: . Equality forces unless or ; after the mean translation, is a circle. Conversely a circle attains equality. Thus circles uniquely attain equality, up to translation and orientation.
The same proof applies to a rectifiable simple closed curve using its Lipschitz arc length parametrization. Its derivative exists almost everywhere and belongs to ; periodic mollification converges to the curve in the function and derivative norms. This justifies the derivative coefficient identity, Parseval's identity and area integral by approximation. Reversing orientation, if necessary, makes the enclosed area positive. The printed name “Hurewitz” is read as Hurwitz.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ia Paper 3 4A a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
For a regular curve parametrized by , put and orient arc length in the direction of increasing . Since , the unit tangent vector isRegularity is the condition that permits division by .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 52 1 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Choose local coordinates on the hypersurface , and let be the local flow of the vector field . The map follows the integral curves of a vector field starting at . At , its differential maps the direction to and the remaining directions to a basis of . Transversality makes these vectors linearly independent, so the inverse function theorem makes a local manifold chart.
Set and transport the unchanged along each integral curve of a vector field. Then the adapted coordinates satisfyThe flow-box theorem gives this construction locally. The parameter is the flow parameter, and need not be arc length; a global manifold chart would require additional hypotheses.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 3 6C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Lift the angular coordinate continuously to a real coordinate and write and for a prescribed winding number . Assume for the calculation; reversing the endpoints changes no length. The arc length functional on the circular cylinder isThe Euler-Lagrange equation says is constant. This expression is strictly increasing in , so is constant. The candidate is the helixIt is a global minimum within the chosen winding class: the integrand is strictly convex, and Jensen inequality bounds the functional below by , with equality only for constant slope. Equivalently, unrolling the cylinder makes the minimizing path a straight segment.
The signed pitch of a helix, measured for an increase of in angle, isIts geometric magnitude is . If only the physical endpoints are fixed, choose the integer minimizing ; opposite points may give two equally short helices. If the lifted endpoint angles are prescribed, use that winding class. A zero angular increment gives a straight generator, the limiting infinite-pitch case.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ia Paper 3 11B b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Let and choose an orientation of a regular curve following the vector field. Its unit tangent vector is , where is constant along a connected regular segment. Arc length differentiation along that curve is . ThereforeTaking the cross product with removes the term parallel to :Where the Frenet frame exists, . ThusThe printed sign corresponds to orientation along or against the field. Taking magnitudes gives the orientation-independent curvature of an integral curve of a vector field, . This scalar formula also applies at zero curvature, where itself may be undefined.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 1 8E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Assume the holonomic constraints have linearly independent gradients, so their common level set is locally a smooth constraint manifold parametrized by . The multiplier form of the Euler-Lagrange equations isAt fixed time . The chain rule for the reduced Lagrangian givesConversely, if these reduced equations hold, the Cartesian Euler-Lagrange residual annihilates every tangent direction. Linear independence of the constraint gradients implies that it is a linear combination of those gradients, giving the required Lagrange multipliers. This proves the local equivalence, including time-dependent constraints; singular constraints would need separate analysis.
For the bead, , soThe autonomous conservation of energy gives . If , the motion has a fixed sign andThe integral is the signed arc length divided by the constant speed, and is locally invertible. The special solution is a stationary bead, for which writing time as a function of its unchanging position is not meaningful.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 2 23I Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
For a regular parameter , the curvature and torsion of a space curve areThe torsion of a space curve requires . Reparameterize by arc length and set , , . Differentiating the pairwise inner products of this orthonormal Frenet frame shows that its derivative matrix is skew symmetric. Since , defining gives the Frenet-Serret formulasThe fundamental theorem of regular space curves says that prescribed smooth and smooth on an interval determine a unit-speed curve uniquely up to an orientation-preserving Euclidean rigid motion. Solve this frame's linear differential equation with an initial oriented orthonormal frame, then integrate ; uniqueness proves the assertion.
Under the intended convention that the shared parameter is arc length, equality on an open interval gives equal position and equal Frenet frames at one point. Equal give identical differential equations, so uniqueness gives . The printed “regular smooth” hypothesis alone does not establish this convention. Without common arc length, an orientation-preserving smooth change of speed that is the identity on but not elsewhere reparameterizes a circle into a counterexample: both curves have , and agree on , but differ elsewhere as parameterized curves.
For an oriented surface with unit normal , define normal curvature and geodesic curvature . ThusA unit-speed curve is a geodesic exactly when . If also , then , so it is a straight line. A vertical ruling of a circular cylinder is such a geodesic, although the cylinder contains no open piece of a plane. A nonconstant regular straight line cannot be a simple closed curve. Hence no planar patch is required, and such a geodesic cannot be simple and closed.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 3 23I Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The length of a curve is . Its arc length parameter is . Regularity gives , so the inverse function theorem gives a smooth inverse and has .
Reparametrize a length minimizer to constant speed on and use the energy functional . By Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, every competitor has , with equality for constant speed, so this parametrization also minimizes . For a fixed-endpoint variation with tangential vector field , differentiation and integration by parts giveThe boundary term is zero. Arbitrary smooth tangential of compact interior support are realizable by the stated variation fact. Taking to be a nonnegative cutoff times proves . Hence a length minimizer is a geodesic after constant-speed reparametrization. The original parameter need not be affine: arbitrary varying-speed parametrizations preserve length but have nonzero covariant acceleration. This qualification is necessary for the literal wording.
For distinct nonantipodal on the punctured unit sphere, there is a unique shorter great circle arc, of length . A minimizing curve exists exactly when that shorter arc avoids the removed north pole. If it avoids the pole it attains the spherical lower bound. If it passes through the pole, arbitrarily small smooth detours have lengths tending to , but equality would force the unique shorter arc, which is unavailable. Thus the infimum is not attained; the longer great circle arc is not a substitute minimizer.
For antipodal in the punctured sphere, one can choose a great circle semicircle avoiding the north pole; it attains length . Thus every admissible antipodal pair has a minimizer. If identical endpoints are included despite the earlier distinctness stipulation, the infimum is zero, but no smooth regular curve attains it; only a nonregular constant curve does.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 345 3 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
It is important to fix the mass flux convention. With literal mass units and the corresponding density-weighted buoyancy flux, the Boussinesq approximation and circular top-hat plume model giveReplacing by in inertial fluxes is the Boussinesq approximation; the density difference is retained in the buoyancy flux. Define the kinematic plume fluxesIf the symbols instead denote the customary kinematic fluxes, simply omit the factors in all conversions below. Keeping the two conventions consistent is essential for the jet length and dimensional prefactors.
The Batchelor entrainment hypothesis prescribes inward edge velocityThe constant entrainment coefficient relates ambient inflow to the local axial velocity. A centreline segment of arc length entrains volume . Hence, setting ,The buoyancy flux is conserved because the homogeneous entrained ambient has zero density deficit, and mixing has no buoyancy source or sink. The imposed zero source mass flux with nonzero source momentum flux is a singular point-source idealization, not a finite-radius nozzle with zero emitted fluid. Indeed and the plume reduced gravity diverge as with nonzero source fluxes. The Boussinesq approximation cannot remain valid arbitrarily close to that point. The top-hat plume model is applied outside the unresolved source region.
