Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ia Paper 3 10B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Let be any constant vector and take . The product rule for divergence gives . The divergence theorem on a bounded region with piecewise smooth boundary, oriented outward, therefore yieldsSince is arbitrary, equality of all components provesHere is continuously differentiable on a neighbourhood of the closed region.
For the side of this right circular cone, the parameter tangents are and . Their cross product in the outward order isThe sign is outward because the solid right circular cone lies at smaller cylindrical radius for fixed height. Reversing the parameter order reverses the oriented surface element.
To check the integral identity, the closed boundary must include the top Euclidean disk , radius , as well as the curved side. For , horizontal components cancel on integrating . The side contribution isOn the top Euclidean disk and , so its contribution is . The total is . Independently, the cross-section of the solid at height has area , and , givingThus the two sides agree. The curved side alone is not a closed surface and does not satisfy this volume identity. The apex has zero area; alternatively one can truncate at height and let , with the extra boundary contribution vanishing.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ia Paper 3 12B a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Work with real-valued smooth functions on the bounded region enclosed by , with the oriented surface element pointing outward. Set . It is a harmonic function in and has zero Dirichlet boundary conditions on . Applying Green's first identity to with itself givesBoth terms on the right vanish by the boundary condition and harmonicity. The integrand is nonnegative and continuous, so throughout . Consequently is constant on each connected component; every bounded component meets the prescribed boundary, where that constant is zero. ThereforeThis is the energy proof of Uniqueness of the Dirichlet problem. Connectedness of is not essential if the boundary values are prescribed on every component. Boundedness, or suitable decay and integrability at infinity, is needed for the boundary/energy argument; the finite enclosed-volume interpretation is used here.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ia Paper 3 11B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Using the Levi-Civita symbol and the epsilon-delta identity,ThereforeOne particularly simple vector potential for isDirect differentiation gives and .
Parametrize the curved cone byThe outward oriented surface element isSubstitution and integration over , give
Because , the divergence theorem predicts that the two outward fluxes sum to zero. On the top disk , and , so, with ,as predicted.
The outward orientation on induces the stated anticlockwise orientation on , whereas the outward orientation on induces the reverse orientation. Since , Stokes theorem predictsOn , put . Thenverifying both identities.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ia Paper 3 3B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
For an arbitrary constant vector , the product rule for divergence givesThe divergence theorem therefore impliesSince this holds for every ,