Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2012 / Paper 1 / 14 / e / Solution

With $b\cdot c=0$, substitute $a=\alpha b+\beta c$ into the plane constraints. They become $\alpha |b{|}^2=\lambda$ and $\beta |c{|}^2=\mu$, givingThe Pythagorean theorem for the two orthogonal terms in $a$ then gives the closest distanceZero values of either scalar are allowed, including zero distance if both planes contain the origin.