Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 4 1G Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Expand the finite Euler product into geometric series. By unique prime factorization, it is the sum of over positive integers whose prime factors do not exceed , and hence contains every term up to . The harmonic sum satisfiesThe last inequality uses , including when is an integer. For each prime number ,The telescoping series over all integers bounds the sum of these remainders by . Taking logarithms of the product bound therefore givesThis explicit constant suffices; no asymptotic theorem about the distribution of prime numbers is needed.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ia Paper 1 1C i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
For , the principal value of complex exponentiation is , where the principal complex logarithm is with . De Moivre's theorem states that for every integer .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 4 20G b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Write and . The field embeddings of into send to , so the field trace isFor the trace pairing , the basis therefore has dual basis
Every element of is an algebraic integer. If and , then is an algebraic integer and its trace is an integer. Thus belongs to the trace-dual lattice of , which is generated over by the displayed dual basis. Since , every such linear combination lies in . Hence
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 4 2F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
LetAssume for a contradiction that is rational. For every , both andare integers, because the are integers. Their positive differencemust therefore be a positive integer.
On the other hand, concavity of for gives . Since ,Eventually , contradicting its integrality. Hence
The integrality assumption is essential. For example, take , , andThen , but the exponential series givesThus the result does not remain true for arbitrary real .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 147 2 Solution 2026-10-03
Let and let be the balanced indicator function, extended by zero to the integers. For finitely supported functions define the linear configuration countSince has no nonconstant three-term arithmetic progression, . On the other hand, . Hence, once is sufficiently large in terms of ,for an absolute .
Use the unnormalized Fourier transform on . Telescoping writes the preceding difference asLet . The Fourier-integral formula for , followed by the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality and the Parseval identity, bounds these three terms respectively byThey are all at most , sofor an absolute . Choose with .
By the Dirichlet approximation theorem, some integer satisfies . Choose a sufficiently small absolute multiple of . Partition each residue-class progression of common difference into progressions whose lengths lie between and ; for sufficiently large , short final pieces can be joined to the preceding piece. On each , the linear phase varies by at most . Choosing small enough compared with therefore yieldsThe sums over all cells add to , so their positive parts total half their absolute values. At least one consequently satisfiesThis is the Roth density-increment step, and it giveswith and depending only on .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 324 2 b iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Let the known phase gate on the answer register bewhere the comparison uses ordinary integers, not modular arithmetic. A reversible circuit computes the predicate, applies a Pauli Z gate to its flag, then performs uncomputation.
The compute-phase-uncompute construction now givesUse modular-oracle inversion by negation to realize the last operation with one further query. Exactly two oracle queries implement , returning the answer register and comparison workspace to their initial states.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 3 1I Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
A reduced positive definite binary quadratic form satisfieswith when or . Its discriminant of a binary quadratic form is . The first displayed inequality already gives , while givesTaking the positive square root yieldsMoreover, , so . For fixed negative , the displayed bounds leave only finitely many possible integers and , and then is uniquely determined. Hence only finitely many reduced forms have discriminant .
For , the bound gives , so . The modular congruence condition makes odd. If , then and ; the boundary convention retains . If , then and ; the boundary convention retains . Thus the complete list is
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 4 2H Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Assume for contradiction that with positive integers . DefineandThe coefficient of in isConsequently every derivative is an integer: it is zero unless , and in that range the factor clears the denominator. Since , every is also an integer.
Repeated integration by parts, ending when derivatives above degree vanish, givesThus is an integer. It is strictly positive because for .
On the other hand, , soThe factorial-over-power series implies that the right-hand side tends to zero. For all sufficiently large this says that the positive integer is less than one, a contradiction. Therefore the Irrationality of pi is established:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ia Paper 4 7E b ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ia Paper 4 7E c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
LetThe tail satisfiesFor every fixed positive integer , this is smaller than for all sufficiently large .
The binary expansion has digits at factorial positions and arbitrarily long blocks of zeros, but it is neither eventually zero nor eventually periodic. Since a rational number has an eventually periodic binary expansion, is irrational. If it were an algebraic number of degree , part (b), or equivalently the Liouville approximation theorem, would give a fixed positive multiple of as a lower bound for all rational approximations. The fractions violate that bound. Thus is a transcendental number.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 123 2 Solution 2026-09-28
For each place of a number field , let be the corresponding completion, and for finite let be its valuation ring. The adele ring is the restricted productIts restricted product topology has basic open sets , where every is open and at all but finitely many finite places.
First take . The neighborhoodof zero meets the diagonal copy of only in zero: a rational number lying in every is an integer, and the only integer in the indicated real interval is zero. Thus is discrete in .
Every rational adele is congruent modulo to an element ofIndeed, the finitely many negative -adic principal parts can be removed simultaneously by subtracting a rational number, using the Chinese remainder theorem; subtracting an integer then moves the real component into . This set is compact by the compactness of , the compactness of every , and the Tychonoff theorem. Its image covers the quotient, so is compact.
Now choose a -basis of the number field . The given topological isomorphismidentifies the additive pair with . A finite product of discrete subgroups is discrete, andis compact.
The idele group iswhere the distinguished subgroup at a finite place is . It carries the corresponding restricted product topology on the idele group. The inclusion is continuous: the inverse image of a basic adelic open set is locally a product of open subsets of , and outside finitely many places every idele component already belongs to .
It is not a homeomorphism onto its image. Let be the th rational prime and define the idele to equal at the place over and everywhere else. In the adele topology, : the difference is zero at every fixed place once is large, while at the single moving place. In the idele topology the sequence does not converge to , because the open neighborhoodcontains no : its -component has positive valuation and is not a unit. Hence the inverse of on its image is not continuous.
Write every element as with . The action of this element on is multiplication by . A direct check of the four possibilities for the two exponents of showsso is a crossed homomorphism and hence a one-cocycle.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 220 1 c Solution Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-03
False. Join, at one common endpoint , a line segment of length for every positive integer , and use the intrinsic path metric. This is a real tree. It is totally bounded, because outside the first finitely many arms every point lies arbitrarily close to , and it is complete; hence it is compact. Removing leaves one connected component for every arm, so has countably infinite multiplicity of a point in a real tree.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ii Paper 2 21I Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-10-03
The Snake lemma associates to a commutative diagram with exact rows an exact sequenceFor , apply it degree by degree to the short exact sequence of chain complexesThe resulting connecting maps splice the kernels modulo boundaries into the Mayer--Vietoris sequence
Now let satisfy the stated simplicial pseudomanifold conditions. In an -cycle, cancellation at a common -face determines the coefficient of either incident -simplex from the other, up to the orientation sign. Connectivity through such faces therefore determines every top-simplex coefficient from one integer. If the signs are globally compatible, their oriented sum is a cycle and generates ; if they are inconsistent, that integer must be zero and .
Let be the resulting fundamental class, represented by . Since the intersection has dimension below , split uniquely
into top chains in and . Thenand the Mayer--Vietoris boundary isIt is nonzero exactly when both and contain top-dimensional simplices; if one side contains none, the fundamental cycle already lies in the other side, while if both do, connectedness forces a nonempty interface and its oriented boundary represents a nonzero class.
into top chains in and . Thenand the Mayer--Vietoris boundary isIt is nonzero exactly when both and contain top-dimensional simplices; if one side contains none, the fundamental cycle already lies in the other side, while if both do, connectedness forces a nonempty interface and its oriented boundary represents a nonzero class.
Finally take , , and
. The preceding boundaryis a nonzero map between copies of and sends the fundamental class to the oriented boundary torus, hence is an isomorphism. Exactness then givesThe next part of the sequence isSince , it follows that
. The degree-zero sequence makes connected. Therefore
. The preceding boundaryis a nonzero map between copies of and sends the fundamental class to the oriented boundary torus, hence is an isomorphism. Exactness then givesThe next part of the sequence isSince , it follows that
. The degree-zero sequence makes connected. Therefore
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 101 1 a i Solution Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-03
False. The integers form a Noetherian ring, since every ideal is principal, but this ring is not an Artinian ring: the strictly descending chainnever stabilizes.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 133 1 a Solution 2026-09-28
PutFor every nonzero integer ,LetThese are disjoint nonempty subsets of . If , thenso . Similarly, if , thenso .
The ping-pong lemma now identifies the subgroup generated by and withBoth generators have infinite order, so this is a free group of rank two inside the special linear group .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 2 37A a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The extension of the one-dimensional freely jointed chain isAs the integer runs from to , the possible extensions are thereforeFor fixed and , choosing which of the links point in the positive direction determines the microstate. The state degeneracy is consequently the binomial coefficient
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 3 10D b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The Fermat-Euler theorem givesso the multiplicative order exists. For every integer ,Thus the modular exponential is periodic with period . If were a smaller period, then would give , contradicting the minimality of . Hence is its least positive period.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 3 1G b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Write the Chebyshev theta function asTaking natural logarithms in part a givesand henceBecause , the right-hand side is at least for every sufficiently large integer .
Now let be sufficiently large and set using the floor function. Then and , so the monotonicity of gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 3 1G c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Suppose that the positive integer is a decisive number. For every prime number , the composite number satisfies . It therefore cannot be coprime to , so .
The product of all prime numbers below consequently divides . Taking natural logarithms givesChanging the strict endpoint can remove at most one prime term. By part b, for every sufficiently large the right-hand side is at least, for example, . This is impossible for sufficiently large , sinceThus every decisive number lies below one fixed bound, and only finitely many integers can do so.