Curvature of a plane curve Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For a twice continuously differentiable regular curve in the plane, unsigned curvature is the absolute value of its signed curvature:The nonvanishing velocity vector makes the denominator positive. For a graph of a function , this reduces to ; omitting the absolute value gives the signed curvature of a plane graph for increasing .
For the parabola , the derivatives are and . ThereforeThe curvature is greatest at the vertex , where and the radius of curvature is . At the curvature is , so the parabola bends less sharply despite its larger speed .
Its unit tangent vector and left unit normal areSince , is also its principal normal vector. At the osculating circle consequently has center and equationThe lower branch has value , derivative , and second derivative at , matching the parabola through second order. Away from the vertex the two curves separate: an osculating circle describes a local bend, not the whole curve.
Vanishing curvature at one point does not imply a straight segment. The graph of a function has signed curvature , which vanishes at its inflection point and changes sign across it. By contrast, if curvature vanishes throughout a connected regular interval, throughout that interval: the constant unit tangent vector forces the image to lie on a straight line.
Logistic differential equation Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-20
The logistic differential equation is the nonlinear ordinary differential equationAs a mathematical model of population dynamics, it treats abundance as a continuous nonnegative quantity. The constant has units of inverse time, while the carrying capacity has the same units as . The useful idea is to combine growth resembling exponential growth at low abundance with a slowing approach to a finite abundance. The three trajectories below already show an important distinction: starting above the carrying capacity gives a decreasing curve, whereas starting below it gives an increasing one.
Logistic trajectories approach the carrying capacity from below or above
. Here and per day. The initial conditions are ; dashed horizontal lines show the two equilibrium points and . Only the trajectory has a future inflection point, marked at and days. The other marked values are and for that same trajectory. Details.For , dividing the derivative by abundance gives the instantaneous per-capita rate:It decreases linearly with : it approaches at low abundance, is at , vanishes at the carrying capacity, and is negative above it. This per-capita rate differs from the total rate , which also counts how many individuals contribute. It is an instantaneous rate, rather than a fixed percentage increase over a whole day. The linear per-capita assumption and the resulting qualitative picture are developed in MIT 18.03SC's logistic-model notes.
Writing , the equilibrium points satisfy , so the constant solutions of a differential equation are and . The phase line points upward for and downward for . Also and : the criterion for fixed point stability for an autonomous differential equation makes zero an unstable equilibrium and an asymptotically stable equilibrium point. Every positive initial condition approaches as ; stays exactly zero. Instability of zero means that a small positive population grows away from it, not that a zero population spontaneously appears.
For every , the unique solution of a differential equation for all isThe denominator is positive on this domain, including when . For , this is a translated and scaled logistic function; its extension to all real times is a sigmoid function. For the coefficient of the exponential function is negative, and the future curve instead decreases toward . No nonconstant positive solution of a differential equation crosses or reaches it at finite time. A short derivation uses the dimensionless variable : the chain rule gives , so exponential decay yields . The substitution divides by , so the zero equilibrium point must be included separately.
The total growth rate is a downward-opening quadratic function of abundance. Completing the square gives its maximum without solving the differential equation:The balance is beautiful: more individuals contribute to growth, but each contributes less, and the strongest total increase occurs halfway to the carrying capacity. This is a maximum over possible abundances. A trajectory starting above never passes through that abundance in its future.
Total logistic growth is greatest at half the carrying capacity
. With and per day, the maximum is individuals per day at . The function graph crosses zero at the equilibrium points and ; beyond the rate is negative. The lower phase line has arrows toward increasing abundance below and toward decreasing abundance above , with a hollow mark for the unstable equilibrium and a filled mark for the asymptotically stable equilibrium point. Details.The chain rule connects this maximum to the shape of the time trajectory through its second derivative:For , the trajectory initially has convexity and then concavity, with its one future inflection point atFor , this point lies at the initial time, with concavity for . For , the inflection point belongs to the past extension, so the future trajectory has concavity throughout. Above , the decreasing trajectory has convexity and no inflection point. The two constant solutions of a differential equation have no change of concavity. Thus an entire logistic function has an S shape, but its observed future segment need not show both bends. See also [ref].
For the plotted example with , and , time measured in days givesThe initial total rate is individuals per day, and the initial per-capita rate is . The fastest total increase is individuals per day, reached at days. At that time the per-capita rate has already fallen to .
These parameters are illustrative choices, rather than an empirical fit. The equation specifies deterministic evolution under a phenomenological assumption: it summarizes how net growth depends on abundance without separately modelling every process that affects it. The carrying capacity is a parameter for a specified setting, not a universal constant for all populations. In his 1838 paper "Notice sur la loi que la population suit dans son accroissement", Correspondance mathématique et physique 10, pp. 113–121, Pierre-François Verhulst proposed , equivalent to this equation with and . He also noted that different assumed growth-retarding terms could describe the observations similarly while giving very different limiting populations. This is an early illustration of why a good-looking curve alone does not establish a unique long-term prediction.[ref]
https://www.neo-classical-physics.info/uploads/3/4/3/6/34363841/verhulst_-_law_of_population.pdf. Verhulst's 1838 paper, translated by D. H. Delphenich
The logistic differential equation describes continuous time. The logistic map instead advances in discrete steps and can exhibit a period-doubling cascade and Devaney chaos; the monotone positive trajectories here cannot. Their connection through the forward Euler method is explained under Euler discretization of logistic growth, where a large step can introduce behaviour absent from the original differential equation.
Logistic growth equation 2026-10-14
The logistic growth equation applies the logistic differential equation to population dynamics. For positive growth rate and carrying capacity , an initial condition gives , where . Its per-capita growth falls linearly with abundance, and a trajectory starting below reaches an inflection point when . The exact solutions of a differential equation and their diagrams are developed under logistic differential equation. A translated and scaled logistic function has the same form. In nonlinear regression for biological size, an analogous saturation curve need not imply that circumference itself obeys a mechanistic population law.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 54 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For a homogeneous lossless elastic solid, insert the plane wave into the equations of linear elasticity. Put , , and . The resulting eigenvalue problem isThe minor and major symmetries make this acoustic tensor a real symmetric matrix. For a stable material it is positive-definite, so its three positive eigenvalues give three real positive phase velocities and therefore three slownesses . Coincident eigenvalues are possible, so there need not be three distinct speeds. For distinct eigenvalues the displacement polarization are orthogonal; in an anisotropic solid they are generally quasi-longitudinal and quasi-transverse rather than exactly longitudinal and transverse. Stability, or at least strong ellipticity in elasticity, is required for the assertion about positive real speeds.
The elastic slowness surface is the locus of the three vectors . Its equation isFor each wavefront normal there are three radial sheets, which may meet at degeneracies. To obtain the energy flux directly, multiply the elastic equation by . Forthe symmetry of stress gives . Thus the instantaneous elastic-wave energy flux is . With a real branch polarization , harmonic averaging givesNow differentiate along a regular slowness surface sheet and contract with . The terms containing cancel by symmetry and the original eigenvalue equation, leavingEvery tangent is consequently perpendicular to : the energy flux is normal to the slowness surface. At a degenerate point this statement is made on the limiting branches, rather than assuming a unique normal.
For completeness, equality of the mean kinetic and strain energies gives . Differentiating the acoustic tensor equation in the wavevector variables similarly givesThus the group velocity is the elastic energy velocity. The homogeneous elastic dispersion relation is degree one in , so differentiating at gives .
The elastic wave surface is the unit-time locus of these group velocities. From an impulsive point source, the propagating wavefronts at time are its sheets scaled to . A particular source may fail to excite a mode in some directions, and its amplitudes require the source polarization and geometrical spreading; the wave surface determines the arrival geometry. It does not specify all near-field motion between the radiative fronts. Geometrically it is the envelope of the planes : tangent variation gives , so is the appropriately normalized normal to the slowness surface.
In a symmetry-plane cross-section write , and . The two envelope conditions giveThe numerator is the signed curvature numerator of the slowness surface cross-section. At a simple inflection point, and . Then and are linearly independent. These are precisely the local conditions for an ordinary cusp. The slowness curvature and wave-surface cusps relation explains why a smooth nonconvex slowness surface can generate a cusped wavefront and multiple ray arrivals.
The example below uses a positive orthotropic stiffness in normalized units: , , , , and all normal off-diagonal stiffnesses zero. In the symmetry plane , its two in-plane acoustic tensor eigenvalues are , and its out-of-plane shear speed is . The in-plane shear sheet is nonconvex and produces the marked cusps; the construction uses an actual stable elastic tensor.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 79 5 a i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let and , with chosen for the temporal mode convention. In the inviscid limit, the Orr-Sommerfeld equation reduces to the Rayleigh equation for inviscid shear flow:The impermeability boundary condition is ; the extra viscous derivative condition is not an independent condition for this reduced second-order equation. For an unstable mode , the denominator has no real zero. Multiply by and apply integration by parts to obtainIts imaginary part givesFor a nontrivial mode, the weight is nonnegative and is positive except at isolated mode zeros. Thus must take both signs, unless it vanishes identically. The identically zero case also has no unstable nontrivial mode, by the positive first integral in the displayed identity. Therefore the smooth real base-flow profile must have an interior inflection point. This proves Rayleigh's inflection-point theorem; it is a necessary condition, not a sufficiency test.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 42 5 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Write . The kernel density estimator with bandwidth isSufficient conditions are that be a nonnegative symmetric probability density function with and finite nonzero second moment , and that , . Symmetry and the second-moment assumption give . The expectation is a convolution:Taylor's theorem with integral remainder givesThe zeroth-order term integrates to , and the first-order term vanishes. The second derivative is bounded and continuous, so dominated convergence, with dominating function proportional to , yieldsCombining this with the supplied leading variance gives the asymptotic mean squared errorWhen and , its derivative is . It changes sign exactly once, giving the pointwise optimal kernel bandwidthPositivity of is needed for this positive interior optimum. The printed condition alone does not ensure it. For instance, is a normalized bounded probability density function with bounded continuous square-integrable second derivative, but and . At this point the displayed leading variance vanishes and the two-term AMSE has no positive interior minimizer; finer variance terms are needed to determine an appropriate bandwidth. The formal formula there gives zero, which does not satisfy the bandwidth assumptions.
For integrated error, the same expansion holds in : translation continuity of applied to the integral remainder givesIndeed Minkowski's integral inequality bounds the norm of the difference, divided by , by the integral of ; each translated difference tends to zero and is bounded by . This proves the claimed integrated bias expansion without assuming a uniform pointwise remainder over the whole real line.
If , direct integration of the variance givesThe last term is because is bounded and integrable, hence square integrable, and convolution with a probability density function does not increase its norm. It is negligible compared with . Thus the asymptotic mean integrated squared error and its minimizer areHere : otherwise the continuous second derivative vanishes everywhere, making affine, impossible for a probability density function on the whole real line.
Now take the standard normal density . Differentiation gives . Gaussian integration givesThe kernel constants cancel from the bandwidth ratio. At ,Put . The logarithmic derivative of is . On the function increases, giving its minimum at , with value one. On it decreases up to and then increases, giving its minimum . Thus the global minimizers are , and the normal-density local-to-global bandwidth ratio isThe ratio diverges at the two inflection points , where the second-order pointwise bias approximation vanishes and needs a higher-order replacement.
Normal-density pointwise bandwidth relative to the integrated-error optimum; minima at plus and minus square root of five
. Details. Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 68 4 a ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let at an inflection point supplied by the preceding identity. Its imaginary part, divided by nonzero , gives . Its real part isAdding times the zero integral replaces by :Therefore the integrand's profile factor must be strictly negative somewhere in the open channel:This is the Fjørtoft theorem. The positive weight and the strictly negative integral establish the strict inequality, not merely a nonpositive value. It is a stronger necessary condition than Rayleigh's inflection-point theorem, and neither condition alone proves instability.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 68 4 a i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be real and twice continuously differentiable, take a nonzero real wave number, and write . Exponential instability requires , in particular , so has no zero on the channel. Divide the Rayleigh equation for inviscid shear flow by , multiply by and integrate. The wall conditions remove the boundary term, givingIts imaginary part isThe weight is nonnegative and positive wherever the nontrivial eigenfunction does not vanish. A nontrivial solution of this regular second-order equation cannot vanish on an interval. If had one strict sign without changing sign, the integral could not vanish. If were identically zero, the real identity would instead give the contradiction . Thus must take both signs, and continuity gives an interior zero. This proves Rayleigh's inflection-point theorem: an unstable profile must have an inflection point, in fact a sign change of rather than merely an isolated zero without sign change.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ib Paper 1 11E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The curve is symmetric in both coordinate axes and under interchange of and . Its shape, including its eight inflection points, is:
Writing , the surface of revolution has equationLetIts gradient isIf this vanished, then and , but at such a point , not five. Hence zero is a regular value, and the regular level set theorem shows that is a smooth embedded surface.
For a surface of revolution, the two principal curvatures are the curvature of the meridian and the normal curvature of a parallel. Along ,so the normal is vertical in the meridian plane and the parallel principal curvature vanishes. Therefore the Gaussian curvature, the product of the principal curvatures, is zero there.
These are not the only zero-curvature points. The meridian itself has inflection points, at which its principal curvature vanishes. Setting and , their positive squared coordinates satisfyBesides interchanging and , the solution is approximatelyEach corresponding meridian inflection point sweeps out another circle on , so does not exhaust the zero set of the Gaussian curvature.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2003 Paper 1 3 a Solution Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-10-20
For , the product rule gives , so the stationary points occur at . Its sign is negative for and positive for . ConsequentlyThey are also the global extrema, since the function tends to zero at both infinities and is a monotone function on the intervals just identified. At zero the derivative does not change sign. Since , is a stationary inflection point, not an extremum.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2003 Paper 1 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-10-20
The function is odd, with a horizontal tangent line at the origin and tails approaching zero from below on the negative side and above on the positive side. It decreases to its negative minimum at , rises through the stationary inflection point at zero to its positive maximum at , then decreases toward zero.
An odd cubic Gaussian profile with two extrema and a stationary inflection
. Original function plot with the three stationary points marked. The near-zero cubic behavior explains the flat crossing without an extremum. Details. Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2004 Paper 2 4 b ii Solution Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-10-20
The fourth Chebyshev polynomial eliminates the parameter:Its derivatives are and . The interior stationary points are a local maximum at , and two minima at . At the maximum , while at either minimum .
The two inflection points areThe curvature changes sign there. The endpoint limits are , at ; they are excluded from the open curve. The central maximum and the two minima are also the attained global extremal values on that open curve.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2009 Paper 1 8 a Solution Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-10-20
The graph is nonnegative, tends to as and as , and vanishes only at . Its derivative is , negative before one and positive after one, so is the unique global minimum. The second derivative is : the graph is convex for and concave for , with an inflection point at . These features determine the sketch in the left panel.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2009 Paper 2 5 Solution Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-10-20
Factorization gives , so the zeros are and , with a double root at two. The derivatives are and . ThusThe second derivative changes sign at one, confirming the inflection point. The curve rises from , crosses at , reaches its local maximum, falls to touch the axis at two, then rises to . Neither local extremum is a global extremum on the whole real line.
Zeros, two stationary points and an inflection point of the cubic
. Details. As printed, the function is undefined at the origin. For , its gradient isThe scalar prefactor is positive, and , so this gradient never vanishes. Thus there are no stationary points on the stated domain. Its infimum is three, approached as , but that value is not attained there.
If the intended definition includes the natural extension , that extension has a unique strict global minimum at the origin, with value three. Indeed, off zero, and proves differentiability at zero with zero gradient. More strongly, subtracting three gives the radial Gaussian flat function: every derivative of that difference vanishes at the origin. The vanishing Hessian matrix does not turn this minimum into an inflection point. These are two different domain interpretations; the extension must be stated rather than silently inserted.
For , differentiate the two explicit branches:The plus branch is strictly increasing and strictly convex for . Its only zero is , also its one-sided global minimum; it has no interior extremum or inflection point.
The minus branch rises initially, then has at , changing from positive to negative. Its second derivative changes sign at . Its zeros follow from . ConsequentlyThe origin is a one-sided local minimum of both graph branches, because their domain ends there; it is not an interior critical point. The minus branch has no global minimum since it tends to as . Its maximum and inflection heights, useful for the sketch, are and , respectively.
This exponential function is positive everywhere, with , as and as . Its derivatives areIt is strictly decreasing overall, with a horizontal stationary inflection point at . A second, nonstationary inflection point occurs at , where . The only horizontal asymptote is toward positive infinity; the graph is not symmetric about the vertical axis.
The decreasing cubic exponential, its stationary inflection, and its positive horizontal asymptote
. Details. Differentiating givesThe exponential never vanishes, so all stationary points have . At , and ; at , and . ThusThese are global minima and maxima because . None of the stationary points is an inflection point.
Under the same independence assumption, inclusion-exclusion givesOn ,There is one interior inflection point, where the curvature changes from positive to negative:At the graph reaches one with zero slope and then stays constant. There is no further change from one sign of curvature to the opposite sign there.
Without independence, still holds, but only is forced by the marginals. Its inflection behaviour is then not determined. The shared- construction in (e), for example, gives before the plateau.
Rewrite the rational function as . It is undefined at , with the vertical asymptote , and tends to the horizontal asymptote as . At the pole, from the left and from the right.
Its derivative isvanishing only at . Since and near zero, this is a stationary inflection point, not an extremum. ThusThe graph increases on each side of the vertical asymptote. The left branch lies above , while the right branch lies below it and crosses the origin horizontally.












