Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2017 / ia / Paper 4 / 11A / b / i / Solution

The original PDF measures $\theta$ at the rim point $O$, from the positive $x^{\prime }$-axis to $OP$; it is not the angle at the centre of the circle. The converted TeX omits this entire subpart. In rotating Cartesian coordinate system, the centre is $(a,0)$, and the nonzero intersection of the ray $\mathbf{r}=\rho (\cos \theta ,\sin \theta )$ with $(x^{\prime }-a{)}^2+y^{\prime 2}=a^2$ has $\rho =2a\cos \theta$. ThereforeThe second form stays regular even at the rim point $O$, where the polar radius is zero. Define the outward unit normal from the centre and the increasing-angle unit tangent vector byThe first two derivatives in the rotating reference frame are ${\mathbf{v}}^{\prime }=2a\dot{\theta }\mathbf{\tau }$ and ${\mathbf{a}}^{\prime }=2a\ddot{\theta }\mathbf{\tau }-4a{\dot{\theta }}^2\mathbf{n}$. These describe a bead on a horizontal hoop rotating about its rim.