Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2022 / Paper 1 / 18 / b / Solution

The vector $(1,-1,0{)}^T$ is an eigenvector with eigenvalue $4$. The complementary subspace of vectors with first two components equal is preserved by $A$: a vector $(s,s,t{)}^T$ maps to $(4s+2t,4s+2t,4s+2t{)}^T$. There, the eigenvalue equations reduce to the $2\times 2$ matrix $\left(\begin{array}{cc}4& 2\\ 4& 2\end{array}\right)$, whose characteristic polynomial is $\lambda (\lambda -6)$. For $\lambda =6$, $t=s$; for $\lambda =0$, $t=-2s$.

Normalising by the Euclidean norm, a complete orthonormal basis of eigenvectors isSign changes of any of these eigenvectors are equally valid. The eigenvalues also check part (a): their sum is $10$ and the sum of their squares is $52$.