Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 2 14G Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
For unit , put . Then and , so is an orthogonal matrix. The affine reflection in a hyperplane is . Hence preserves the Euclidean norm and distance, and whenever . Thus it is an Euclidean isometry fixing the hyperplane pointwise.
For , any reflection exchanging them must have normal parallel to , and its fixed hyperplane must contain their midpoint. These requirements determine the perpendicular bisector uniquely:Changing both signs of leaves the same reflection. It belongs to the orthogonal group exactly when its translation term vanishes, that is, . Since ,To prove the finite reflection decomposition of a Euclidean isometry, first note that a distance-preserving map fixing zero preserves inner products by the polarization identity. Its values on an orthonormal basis form an orthonormal basis, and shows . Thus is orthogonal.
Every orthogonal transformation is a product of at most linear reflections: if , reflect to using the hyperplane normal , which passes through zero. The resulting orthogonal transformation fixes , and its restriction to is handled inductively in dimension . If , no initial reflection is necessary. Reflections on the complement extend by fixing ; the induction starts in dimension zero.
For an arbitrary isometry , if , first reflect to zero across its perpendicular bisector with zero. Composing this one affine reflection with gives an orthogonal transformation. If , skip the initial reflection. ThereforeThe glide reflection cannot use fewer than three: its determinant sign is negative, excluding zero or two reflections, while absence of fixed points excludes a single reflection. Three suffice by reflecting successively in , , and .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 2 19C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The linear least-squares problem is to minimize over , allowing an overdetermined system to have a nonzero residual. For a full QR decomposition, is orthogonal and is with an upper-triangular top block. Orthogonal transformations preserve the Euclidean norm, soIf has full column rank, the top triangular block is nonsingular; setting its residual to zero gives the unique minimizer, while the remaining residual is independent of . Without full column rank, minimizers still exist but need not be unique.
For the specified matrix, one Householder reflection already produces an upper-triangular matrix. Take , the difference between the first column and , and setThe formula gives , . Direct multiplication yields the Householder QR decompositionAll subdiagonal entries in the remaining columns are already zero, so no further reflection is needed. For the supplied right-hand side, . Back substitution gives , , , henceThe residual is orthogonal to every column of , independently confirming the normal equations .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 210 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Choose a Borel measurable function version of the posterior success probability . Conditional on , predicting zero has error probability and predicting one has error probability . A Bayes classifier for zero-one loss is thereforeEither decision is optimal when . The displayed Bayes risk also equals and is unaffected by changing on a -null set.
For any measurable set , independence and the uniform distribution of giveLikewise the probability with label zero is . These sets determine the joint probability distribution, soThe same construction makes all training pairs independent and identically distributed random variables.
Fix a feature-measurable nearest-neighbour tie-breaking rule, for example increasing original index for observations at equal Euclidean norm distance from the query. This is important: the ordering may depend on the features, but not on the or labels. Let be the label attached to the th ordered feature. The classifier from the K-nearest neighbors algorithm isThe displayed rule resolves a tied vote in favour of one; any fixed vote convention would also define the method. When , this is the one-nearest-neighbour classifier .
Write for the selected original index. Conditional on all features , it is fixed, and is still uniform on . The two decisions being compared areThe latter is an oracle comparison rule: its relabeling is recomputed at each query , rather than being a fixed relabeling of the training data for all queries. For a variable with the uniform distribution on , the two threshold indicators at differ exactly when lies between them, an interval of length . This Bernoulli coupling by a shared uniform random variable proves
Take the test pair independent of the training data and its auxiliary uniforms. Let , and interpret as conditional misclassification risk given . The tower property of conditional expectation gives . Conditional on the test feature and all training features, and are independent variables with a Bernoulli distribution of parameter . Consequently, for every ,This is an exact finite-sample equality, not merely a limit.
The two error indicators can differ only if the two classifiers disagree, soThe permitted nearest-neighbour approximation theorem states that the last expected value tends to zero for the feature-based selection rule. This establishes the one-nearest-neighbour asymptotic risk
For , put . Then , and . Integrating gives the Bayes risk bound for one-nearest-neighbour classificationThus a one-nearest-neighbour classifier need not achieve the Bayes risk: for constant , its limiting misclassification risk is , while .
Feature-based neighbour tie-breaking is required. The convention cannot be dropped for arbitrary . For a counterexample, take almost surely and constant , and choose among the coincident neighbours the one with the smallest . Then the predicted label is one with probability , so its misclassification risk tends to , exceeding the claimed upper bound . The corrected theorem uses ties determined independently of the uniforms and labels, as above.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 2 38A iv Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Let be the interior-grid matrix representing , with zero boundary error. It is real symmetric and has the stated sine eigenbasis. Put and ; the negative of its eigenvalue isThis increases in each variable on . With , the smallest absolute eigenvalue is at least . Hence its Euclidean norm operator norm satisfiesThe corrected scheme has an unscaled residual whose individual entries are uniformly . There are entries and , so . Subtracting the exact nodal equations from the numerical equations gives (with sign depending on the residual convention), and thereforeChoose a constant slightly larger than the resulting bound to obtain the requested strict for all sufficiently small . Uniform smoothness is needed for an -independent constant; unspecified smoothness only in the interior would not by itself guarantee it.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 4 39A a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Let . The zero Dirichlet boundary values introduce no forcing terms, so the scheme isThe common orthogonal sine eigenvectors have -eigenvalues . Thus is invertible for every , and each amplification eigenvalue isThe matrix is orthogonally diagonalizable, so its powers have Euclidean norm at most one, uniformly in the mesh and time step. Therefore Crank-Nicolson diffusion scheme is stable for every . Negative amplification factors at large can create temporal sign oscillations, which do not contradict this norm stability.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ia Paper 1 5C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The dot product and Euclidean norm are and . For every real ,Its quadratic discriminant is nonpositive, proving the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality . In the inequality asked for, equality holds exactly when is a positive scalar multiple of , and
Using the Levi-Civita symbol and its contraction identity,
Put , the scalar triple product. Cyclic symmetry gives , so each requested angle satisfies . If every pairwise angle is and , the preceding identity givesand therefore . This is when ; for a right-handed orthonormal basis and , has norm .
The three planes have equations , , and . They meet at one point exactly when , meaning their normals are linearly independent vectors. The point is
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ib Paper 2 12F b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
For , the reverse triangle inequality givesby the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality. Hence is Lipschitz continuous, and therefore continuous.
On the compact Euclidean unit sphere, is positive and continuous, so the extreme value theorem gives . Homogeneity then yieldsThus every norm on a finite-dimensional vector space is equivalent to the Euclidean norm; comparing two such bounds proves any two norms on are Lipschitz equivalent.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 331 4 a ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The relevant norm is the operator norm induced by the complex Euclidean norm, also called the matrix 2-norm:The maximum exists because the unit sphere in finite dimensions is compact. It obeys and is the norm relevant to the specified perturbation energy. Other matrix norms do not in general give this gain.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ib Paper 2 19C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
The linear least-squares problem is to choose minimizing the Euclidean norm of the residual:For a QR decomposition , orthogonality of gives . If has full column rank and is in standard form with invertible upper-triangular , the minimizer solves .
Applying the Gram-Schmidt process to the columns of the given matrix yieldsIndeed, is an orthogonal matrix and . Moreover,Back substitution in the leading triangular system givesso the unique least-squares solution isThe unused final transformed residual component is , so the minimum residual norm is .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 324 3 a i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The spectral norm is the operator norm induced by the Euclidean norm:The Pauli operators and act on different qubits, and each is a unitary operator. Their product is therefore unitary and preserves the norm of every vector. Hence
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 348 2 b ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Use the intended strong convexity bound . The original PDF omits on the right. The printed bound for every is impossible when , as shows. Equivalently, the intended bound is stated for unit vectors. The norm of is the operator norm induced by the Euclidean norm, or any matrix norm that bounds it.
SetThis function is , and its Hessian matrix satisfiesPart (i) therefore proves that is a convex function. The perturbation can use up the entire positive lower bound defining a strongly convex function; only convexity, rather than strict positivity of the Hessian matrix, is asserted.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 348 4 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Define ; the printed quotient is undefined at the origin, but this continuous extension changes no transport cost because . In polar coordinates, the two probability density functions giveBoth angular distributions are uniform, with independence of angle and radius. The proposed transport map preserves the angle and sends to . Thereforeand preservation of the angle proves . As a local check using the Jacobian determinant, its radial and tangential derivatives for are and , respectively, so and .
Now use the convex functionIt is convex because the Euclidean norm is convex and is increasing and convex on . It is differentiable, including at zero, andIts graph transport plan lies in the graph of , so the Knott–Smith optimality criterion proves quadratic optimality. Since that plan is induced by a map, part 1(b) proves optimality for the Monge optimal transport problem as well. The minimum provides a useful independent check:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 1 41E a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
For a fixed shift that is not an eigenvalue, inverse iteration is the power method applied to . Before normalization, the th vector is proportional toIf , factor out the first coefficient:Every ratio in parentheses lies strictly between zero and one. The bracket therefore tends to , and normalization in the Euclidean norm givesThis proves the stated convergence to or and exhibits the convergence of fixed-shift inverse iteration rate.
- If , the direction approaches , but , so consecutive iterates alternate signs.
- If , the iterates approach one fixed sign of because .
- At the midpoint, the two dominant inverse eigenvalues have equal modulus and opposite signs. Generic iterates alternate between the two normalized combinations proportional to and .
Finally, if , the closest eigenvalue is and its inverse eigenvalue is negative. Thus the direction approaches the line spanned by , while normalized vectors alternate between the two signs. These cases are the sign behavior of fixed-shift inverse iteration.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 130 1 Solution 2026-09-28
Fix a number of colors. For a two-point set whose points are distance apart, take the vertices of a regular simplex with vertices and side length . The pigeonhole principle gives two vertices of one color, and they form the required congruent copy. Thus every two-point set, equivalently every line segment, is a Euclidean Ramsey set.
For an equilateral triangle of side length , take a regular simplex with vertices and side length . The pigeonhole principle gives three vertices of one color, and every three vertices of a regular simplex form an equilateral triangle. Hence every equilateral triangle is Euclidean Ramsey.
To prove the product theorem for Euclidean Ramsey sets, let be a finite Ramsey witness for under colors. There are at most possible color patterns on . Choose a finite Ramsey witness for under that many colors. Given a -coloring of , color each by the complete patternThere is a copy on which this pattern is constant. The common pattern on contains a monochromatic copy . Every point of then has the same original color, and the orthogonal product is congruent to .
A rectangle is the Cartesian product of two line segments, so it is Euclidean Ramsey. Three suitable vertices of a rectangle form a right triangle; any subset of a monochromatic set is monochromatic. Thus every right triangle is Euclidean Ramsey.
It remains to show that the collinear set behaves differently. In every , use the finite coloringA congruent copy has the form with for the Euclidean norm. The parallelogram law givesPut , , and . The errors introduced by the three floor functions show thatIf all three points had one color, the integer in the middle would be divisible by ten, which is impossible. This proves the three-term unit arithmetic progression is not Euclidean Ramsey assertion.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 339 1 b Solution 2026-09-28
The subgradient method chooses and a step size , then setsAssume, as the question's use of requires, that a minimizer exists, and write . Since every subgradient here has Euclidean norm at most , the standard best-iterate estimate isTaking a suitable constant step when the target accuracy is known, or a standard diminishing sequence, gives error at most initerations, so the requested exponent is .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 341 1 a Solution 2026-09-28
Differentiate the squared Euclidean norm and use the skew-symmetric matrix identity :Thus is constant, and continuity of the nonnegative square root gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 3 34D Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
Let the Bravais lattice have primitive vectors , and putThe reciprocal lattice has the basisThe scalar triple product and cross product identities giveConsequently every satisfies for every lattice point , and conversely these three conditions force the coefficients of in the reciprocal basis to be integers. This proves that the displayed vectors generate .
In the Born approximation, suppose that the crystal potential is the sum of translates of one atomic potential over the finite set of lattice sites. Its Fourier transform at the momentum transfer factors asThus the single-atom scattering amplitude is multiplied by the crystal lattice structure factor . Writingseparates the sum into three finite geometric series. For this givesWhen the are large, a factor has a sharp maximum when . All three factors are therefore simultaneously large precisely when . These are the reciprocal-lattice peaks of a finite crystal.
For the stated Body-centered cubic lattice basis,the reciprocal-basis formula givesEquivalently,The shortest nonzero reciprocal vectors have squared Euclidean norm , so
In elastic scattering, . If and is the angle between and , Euclidean geometry givesThe first possible diffraction peak therefore occurs atas , by the small-angle approximation. This is the elastic Bragg scattering condition for the shortest reciprocal-lattice vector.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 4 40C a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
For a nonzero real vector , the Rayleigh quotient of the matrix isThe Rayleigh quotient iteration starts from a unit vector . Given , compute the shiftsolve the linear systemand normalize in the Euclidean norm:The next eigenvalue estimate is . The process stops when the eigenpair residual is sufficiently small.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 218 4 a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
For and , a linear support vector machine predictsOne penalized formulation minimizes empirical hinge loss plus a squared Euclidean norm penalty:Conventions often leave the intercept unpenalized, replacing by ; this does not change the role of the two terms.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 223 2 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
By optimality and part a,Since the Euclidean norm is at most the norm,uniformly over all replacements of at most observations. The distance from the original finite estimate is therefore uniformly bounded, proving