Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 3 1E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
If generate the module , define the R-module homomorphismThis is a surjection by the definition of generation. Conversely, an R-module homomorphism that is a surjection sends the standard basis vectors of the free module to a generating family, since every vector in is their linear combination. ThusThis is the finite generation as a quotient of a finite free module criterion. The zero module causes no exception: it is generated by the empty family, or by one zero element.
For the requested example, take , with the usual integer scalar action. Reducing both coordinates modulo two gives an R-module homomorphism that is a surjection with nonzero kernel , so it is not an isomorphism. Every image of is a cyclic module, whereas every element of has additive order at most two and has four elements. Hence admits no such surjection from .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 4 10F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The dual space here is the algebraic dual space , consisting of every linear functional; no topology or boundedness is imposed. For a basis , define . These are linear functionals satisfying . Evaluating on each gives , proving linear independence. Conversely, for every ,This proves spanning and hence proves, without assuming a dimension theorem, that the dual basis is a basis and .
The canonical bidual evaluation map isIts definition makes no choice of basis and it is linear. If , one coordinate functional is nonzero on , so is injective. For any , choose . Expanding in the dual basis gives , proving surjection explicitly. Thus is an isomorphism.
If is any basis of , its dual basis in exists by the result just proved. Put . These vectors form a basis of , and . Every basis of the finite-dimensional dual is a dual basis, of a uniquely determined basis of .
For a separating subspace of an algebraic dual , choose a basis of . The linear map is injective because separates nonzero vectors. The rank-nullity theorem implies ; but implies . HenceThe zero-dimensional case also has this conclusion.
For , the monomials form an infinite basis, each polynomial using only finitely many of them. The map identifies with all real sequences, because any sequence defines . The linear subspace of finitely supported sequences is proper (it excludes ) and separating (one coefficient functional detects any nonzero polynomial). Thus
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 4 11E a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The structure theorem for finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain applies in particular to a Euclidean domain : every finitely generated module has an isomorphismwith each nonzero and a nonunit. The rank of a free module and the invariant factors of a finitely generated module are unique up to multiplication by units; empty sums are allowed. This is the classification theorem being used, without a proof of that theorem.
The rational canonical form theorem states that for a linear operator on a finite-dimensional vector space over any field , there are unique monic nonconstant polynomials such that some basis givesHere, for , the companion matrix has ones on its subdiagonal and last column . The empty matrix covers a zero-dimensional space. Two linear operators have matrix similarity exactly when they have the same invariant factors of a linear operator.
For the proof, make an -module by . It is a finitely generated module, since a vector-space basis also generates it as a module. It is a torsion module: the powers of have linear dependence in the finite-dimensional space , so some nonzero polynomial annihilates every vector. Because is a Euclidean domain, the classification theorem givesThere is no free summand, since a nonzero free module over is not a torsion module. Choose monic generators of the ideals. On , the classes of form an -basis by polynomial division. Multiplication by is exactly in that basis, proving existence. Uniqueness in the classification theorem proves uniqueness of the rational canonical form. Finally, an -module isomorphism is precisely an invertible -linear map intertwining the operators, establishing the assertion about matrix similarity. In particular the characteristic polynomial is and the minimal polynomial is for nonzero .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 4 11E b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Induct on to prove the stronger assertion that any submodule is a free module of rank of a free module at most . For this is immediate. Project onto the first coordinate by . Its image is an ideal of the principal ideal domain, so .
If , then embeds in the remaining coordinates and the induction hypothesis applies. Otherwise choose with . Put , a submodule of , which is free by induction. For every , there is with , so . If , then ; the integral domain property and give . ThereforeAppending to a basis of proves that is a free module of rank of a free module at most . This proof of the submodule theorem for free modules over a principal ideal domain does not assume in advance that is a finitely generated module.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 4 1F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
For a basis of the real vector space , the Gram-Schmidt process constructs an orthonormal basis successively:The inner product makes orthogonal to all earlier . Moreover , since otherwise would be a linear combination of its predecessors, contrary to linear independence. Induction gives . Starting with a basis of a linear subspace and extending it to a basis of gives the same construction with the first vectors spanning .
The orthogonal complement is . For every , set . Then and . If , then , so by definiteness of the inner product. Thus the direct sum isThis also covers and .
For the polynomial space, the form is immediately a symmetric bilinear form, and . A nonzero polynomial of degree of a polynomial at most two cannot have three distinct roots of a polynomial, so this form is an inner product for . For , the nonzero polynomial has . Therefore, among the stipulated positive integers,
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 114 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Use integer coefficients. The mapping-torus homology from Mayer–Vietoris works for every continuous map , without assuming that the mapping torus is a fiber bundle. Project to the time circle and choose two open arcs, one containing the seam and one away from it. The inverse image of the seam arc is a mapping cylinder neighborhood with a deformation retraction to its target copy of ; the inverse image of the other arc is a product with a deformation retraction to . Their intersection has two components, each with a deformation retraction to . Label the upper component first. With the convention that the second inclusion in the Mayer–Vietoris sequence has a minus sign, its homology map isIndeed, the upper component includes into the seam neighborhood by the identity, while retracting the lower component across the seam applies . Put and , and replace target coordinates by . The map becomes . Negating gives a direct sum of and an isomorphism. Canceling the latter summands in the long exact sequence yieldsIn particular, there is a short exact sequenceNo splitting of this short exact sequence is assumed at this stage.
For the torus, take the coordinate loops and as the basis of . Their lifts to have endpoint displacements . Applying changes those displacements to its columns, soThis also follows from the identification of the first homology group with the abelianization of the fundamental group. The Künneth theorem gives , with generator the product orientation class. If are the dual degree-one cohomology classes, then evaluates to one on this generator, andThus the degree-two homology map is multiplication by , as in homology of an integer torus endomorphism. The claim that the torus map is a homeomorphism requires to be a unimodular matrix, equivalently an integer inverse or ; nonsingularity over alone would only give a covering map of finite degree. The particular matrix here is unimodular.
For this matrix, andIts kernel is zero and its Smith normal form is , so its cokernel is . The maps on and are zero. Substituting into the short exact sequences, and splitting the degree-one extension because its quotient is free, gives