Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 3 14F a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Cross-ratio conventions differ by permutations. Use the following ordering, which gives the signs requested in part (c):Values involving infinity are defined by limits. This is the cross-ratio with second point mapped to zero: the Möbius transformationsends to and sends to .
For , , the identityshows that all factors cancel in the cross-ratio. This proves Möbius invariance of the cross-ratio, with the cases involving infinity following by limits. Algebraic subtraction also givesThe latter expression is another common ordering for the cross-ratio; keeping the convention explicit prevents an incorrect reciprocal or sign.
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