Past exam of the mathematical methods II course of the University of Oxford 2014 9 a Solution 2026-10-25
Take downward displacement as positive. At equilibrium, the lower spring carries and extends by , while the upper spring supports both masses and extends by . Write for the masses' downward displacements from these equilibrium positions. The extra upper-spring extension is and the extra lower-spring extension is . Applying Newton's second law and cancelling the equilibrium forces givesThe gravitational terms disappear because the constant equilibrium spring forces already balance the weights. Gravity sets the equilibrium extensions, rather than the coefficients of the linear oscillation equations for ideal springs.
Past exam of the mathematical methods II course of the University of Oxford 2014 resit 10 b Solution 2026-10-25
For a short string element , small slope makes its tension magnitude approximately constant and its vertical component approximately . The net vertical force is . Its mass is . Newton's second law givesThis assumes uniform equilibrium tension, small slopes, negligible bending stiffness and dissipation. The symbol is linear mass density here, not volume density.
Past exam of the mathematical methods II course of the University of Oxford 2015 10 a i Solution 2026-10-25
Let be displacements from equilibrium, with positive directions chosen alike. Hooke's law and Newton's second law giveFor a normal mode , the determinant condition isSolving the quadratic for givesThe angular frequencies are the positive square roots. Positive masses and spring constants make the stiffness quadratic form positive definite, ensuring both squared frequencies are positive. Distinct spring constants do not require equal masses or any symmetry approximation.
Past exam of the mathematical methods II course of the University of Oxford 2015 11 a Solution 2026-10-25
For an equilibrium string segment of length , the mass is . Under the small-slope approximation, the transverse tension component at an endpoint is . The difference between its two endpoint contributions is .
Newton's second law in the transverse direction gives . Cancelling the segment length producesThis wave equation assumes a uniform string, small slopes, negligible gravity and negligible bending stiffness. Longitudinal changes in tension and the difference between actual and equilibrium segment length contribute only beyond the linear approximation used here.
Past exam of the mathematical methods II course of the University of Oxford 2015 resit 11 a Solution 2026-10-25
Consider a string element of equilibrium length . Its mass is , where is mass per unit length. Under the small-slope approximation, the tension is approximately uniform and its transverse component at an endpoint is . The two endpoint forces have net transverse componentNewton's second law gives . Cancelling the element length yieldsThis is the one-dimensional wave equation for transverse displacement. Its derivation neglects gravity, bending stiffness and nonlinear changes in tension and segment length; the given small slope makes those omissions consistent to first order in the displacement.
Past exam of the mathematical methods II course of the University of Oxford 2015 resit 9 a Solution 2026-10-25
The original diagram has three horizontal spans , and . In the small-slope approximation the massless string segments are straight and their transverse force components are tension times slope. The horizontal tension components cancel to first order.
For the first bead, the left segment contributes and the middle segment contributes . For the second bead, the middle contribution is and the driven right segment contributes . Newton's second law therefore givesWith and , the coupled equations of motion areThe factor two in the driving term follows from the right span having length , while the middle span has length . Treating all three spans as equal would change both the coupling and the normal mode frequencies.
Past exam of the mathematical methods II course of the University of Oxford 2016 resit 11 a Solution 2026-10-25
The three nearly horizontal segments have lengths . To first order in small transverse slopes, the upward force on the first point mass is . The force on the second is . Applying Newton's second law to masses therefore givesThe approximation treats the string as massless, retains the imposed equilibrium tension and neglects gravity, as stipulated.
Past exam of the mathematical methods II course of the University of Oxford 2017 resit 9 a Solution 2026-10-25
Past exam of the mathematical methods II course of the University of Oxford 2019 11 a Solution 2026-10-25
Let be longitudinal displacements from equilibrium, with positive direction to the right. The fixed walls have zero displacement. The first mass feels forces and ; the central mass feels and ; the last mass feels and . Hooke's law and Newton's second law therefore giveEquivalently,All four springs contribute: the wall springs supply one of the two diagonal terms in the first and third rows. This is a fixed-end chain, not a freely ended chain with a zero-frequency translation mode.
Past exam of the mathematical methods II course of the University of Oxford 2019 9 a i Solution 2026-10-25
Assume small transverse slopes, a flexible string, constant tension and uniform linear mass density . For an element of equilibrium length , the vertical force is the difference of the vertical tension components at its ends. To first order in slope,Its mass is and its transverse acceleration is . Newton's second law therefore gives , orThis is the one-dimensional wave equation for small-amplitude transverse waves. Changes in string length and horizontal acceleration are second order in slope and are neglected in this linear approximation.
Past exam of the mathematical methods II course of the University of Oxford 2021 7 i Solution 2026-10-25
Take an ideal flexible mechanical string with constant tension and uniform linear mass density . Let measure distance along its straight equilibrium position and let be its small transverse displacement. Neglect damping, bending stiffness and external distributed forces, and assume .
A segment of reference length has mass . The endpoint tension forces have transverse resultantsince for small slopes. Newton's second law, divided by and taken to the limit, givesHere is time, the subscripts denote partial derivatives, and is the wave speed. The transverse acceleration is ; describes the small-slope curvature responsible for the net transverse force.
Past exam of the mathematical methods II course of the University of Oxford 2021 8 Solution 2026-10-25
A normal mode of a stable undamped linear coupled oscillator has a single angular frequency and a fixed ratio of component displacements. All components share a sinusoidal time factor, with relative oscillation phases of zero or for real mode shapes. A general free motion is a superposition of the normal modes. For this system the symmetric stiffness matrix gives real eigenvalues and orthogonal eigenvectors; positive spring constants make the squared angular frequencies positive.
Write and . Assume ideal massless linear springs, negligible damping and positive . By Hooke's law and Newton's second law,The coupling spring extends by , giving equal and opposite coupling forces.
For a normal mode, take . Nonzero eigenvectors requireSolving this quadratic equation in givesA corresponding mode shape has ratioand the general real solution is . The arbitrary amplitudes and oscillation phases account for four independent initial data.
Weak coupling alone does not guarantee large beats. A useful representative sketch assumes nearly equal uncoupled angular frequencies. In the resonant case with , the mode shapes are and , andFor , , both normal modes have equal coefficients. With and ,These rapid oscillations have slowly varying complementary wave envelopes. The initial displacement shifts almost entirely to the other mass at , and returns after . Arbitrary initial data give a different superposition; if , the normal modes are localized mainly on individual masses, and strong exchange is suppressed.
Representative weakly coupled resonant motion: rapid displacements inside slowly exchanging envelopes
. Details. Holding one mass fixed leaves the coupling spring attached and stretched by the other mass. Therefore the two constrained angular frequencies areThese differ from the angular frequencies obtained by physically removing the coupling spring. Ordinary frequencies in hertz are each corresponding .
Finally, for and , put . ThenSince , taking positive square roots provesAt , the outer inequalities become equalities.
Past exam of the mathematical methods II course of the University of Oxford 2021 resit 10 c Solution 2026-10-25
For the reflection of a string wave from a freely moving endpoint mass, let , and use the complex time-harmonic wave conventionThe string pulls its endpoint toward negative , so its transverse force on the attached mass is . Newton's second law gives the boundary condition . Substitution yieldsHere is the characteristic impedance of a stretched string. Since the incident and reflected waves share the same string, their mean power ratio is the squared modulus of this displacement reflection coefficient:There is no remaining fraction of the mean incident energy: the freely moving mass provides no dissipation and no onward transmission channel. It exchanges kinetic energy with the string during each cycle but has zero mean absorbed power. Indeed the energy flux of a transverse string wave satisfieswhose cycle average is zero. As checks, gives , the free-end reflection of a transverse string wave, while at fixed gives , the fixed-end limit.
Past exam of the mathematical methods II course of the University of Oxford 2021 resit 11 a Solution 2026-10-25
Use signed arc length displacements in the common clockwise sense shown by both arrows in the source diagram. Near the diametrically opposite equilibrium, one spring changes length by and the other by . Their combined elastic potential energy isThe kinetic energy is . The tangential components of Newton's second law, or the derivatives , giveBoth springs contribute to each restoring force. The hoop radius drops out because the coordinates are arc lengths; angular coordinates give the same equations after cancelling the common factor in the energies.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 ia Paper 4 12A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
A coaxial shell of radius and thickness has mass . Integrating squared radius against mass, the moment of inertia of a uniform solid cylinder about its axis isOn the smooth incline, no tangential contact force produces spin, so the initially stationary cylinder simply slides with acceleration . Therefore .
For rolling without slipping, let be uphill static friction and the downward translational acceleration. Newton's second law, the rotational torque equation, and the contact constraint giveWith , these give and . The rolling-time factor on a straight incline is consequentlyThe required friction is ; the stated no-slip motion presupposes sufficient static friction. At an instantaneously stationary contact point it does no work. Gravitational potential energy is shared between translational and rotational kinetic energy, explaining why rolling accelerates more slowly than the smooth slide.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 ia Paper 4 3A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
For an attractive central force, the transverse acceleration vanishes. In polar coordinates,Thus the specific angular momentum is constant. Assume , so angle can parameterize the orbit, and put . Primes denote angle derivatives. The chain rule givesThe outward radial component of the attractive force is . Its Newton's second law equation is therefore , giving the Binet equationThe sign reflects being the positive inward force magnitude. Zero angular momentum produces radial motion and is outside this angular parametrization.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 ia Paper 4 4A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Put , define the center of mass , and let be relative position. Adding the two Newton's second law equations givesThe center of mass has constant velocity, by conservation of total momentum.
Subtracting the particle accelerations instead givesThus relative motion is a one-particle problem with the reduced mass , while center-of-mass motion is uniform. The same reduced mass appears in the kinetic energy decomposition .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 ia Paper 4 4E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Apply the rotating-vector derivative rule first to the position vector and then to its velocity. Since is constant,For example, the derivative of contributes , while that of contributes the other two terms. This is the equation of motion in a rotating frame. The mutual central forces are unchanged in form because rotations preserve lengths and differences of position vectors. Newton's second law for particle becomesSet . The velocity-dependent Lorentz force is , and it cancels the Coriolis force . The remaining terms combine to and are quadratic in the magnetic field. Neglecting them givesidentical to the zero-field equations to first order. The Larmor theorem requires the common charge-to-mass ratio; a mixture with different ratios cannot use one rotating frame to cancel every magnetic term.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 62 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For an isolated smooth mass distribution with spherical symmetry, assemble each shell at radius against the Newtonian gravitational potential of its interior mass. The spherical shell theorem givesAssume finite total mass, finite binding energy and no central point-mass self-energy, so vanishes at both endpoints. Integration by parts then givesFor example, near a regular center guarantees the central boundary condition, while finite total mass guarantees the one at infinity. A divergent central binding energy would fall outside this formula's finite-energy hypotheses.
For the discrete system use the centre of mass frame, let be the particle number, and write . The printed in the particle-count factor and the subsequent must be understood consistently as . DefineBy Newton's second law, differentiation givesEach pair contributesTherefore the exact dynamical virial theorem is . In a stationary statistical state, or on a bounded-motion time average for which the mean vanishes, it becomesThere is no external pressure, tidal field or boundary work in this isolated point-particle derivation. For a time-averaged system, the following and gravitational radius refer to that same averaged binding energy.
Using and , virial equilibrium givesThis is the three-dimensional mean squared speed about the centre of mass. For an isotropic system each one-dimensional velocity dispersion squared is one third of it.
Set the Newtonian gravitational potential to zero at infinity and exclude each particle's own field. The local escape velocity in the instantaneous frozen potential obeys , where . Since every pair occurs twice, . Averaging over the identical particles proves the gravitational rms escape and collapse speeds relationAn actual encounter in a changing potential can exchange energy, so this is the usual local escape-speed definition, not a claim about every many-body trajectory.
Finally, dissipation-free collapse from rest at infinite separation has total energy zero. Conservation of energy at the specified binding energy therefore gives , twice the equilibrium kinetic energy at the same . HenceThis mean squared speed includes coherent infall; a local random velocity dispersion after subtracting the infall velocity need not obey that ratio.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 ia Paper 4 4A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Let measure height above the release point, and use for the bubble volume to avoid confusing it with a speed. For constant radius, Newton's second law, the specified buoyancy and the given Stokes law giveWith positive , defineThe differential equation becomes . Its solution with is . Integration using yieldsAn arbitrary initial height is added to this expression. The effective inertia changes the relaxation time , but not the terminal velocity obtained by balancing buoyancy and drag.
For the dissolving bubble assume and use the specified instantaneous terminal velocity, rather than the constant-radius transient formula. The bubble disappears at , andIts total rise is therefore . This second model neglects the initial acceleration and uses exactly the terminal-speed approximation stipulated for the shrinking bubble.
