Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ia Paper 1 2C a ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ia Paper 1 2C b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The th column of isThus the image is contained in . Since , is not constant; since and , two columns have a nonzero constant difference. The two spanning vectors therefore both lie in the image, so . By rank-nullity theorem,
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ia Paper 1 5A b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
PutSince are unit vectors,The feasible inner products with two unit vectors satisfyThe desired pair is feasible exactly when . In that case every maximizer has these inner products. If , symmetry and strict convexity force , and the nearest feasible diagonal point isUsing the vector triple product,Hence
Rotations preserve dot products and cross-product lengths, while . ThusLetThe target pair is feasible precisely whenorOn this interval,
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ia Paper 1 6C a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ia Paper 1 7B b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The characteristic polynomial of isA scalar is an eigenvalue when there is a nonzero vector such thatSuch a is an eigenvector belonging to . Equivalently, is a root of and the corresponding eigenvectors are the nonzero elements of .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ia Paper 1 7B e Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Eigenvectors belonging to distinct eigenvalues are linearly independent. Indeed, supposeis a shortest nontrivial relation, where and the are distinct. Applying givesa shorter nontrivial relation, a contradiction.
Thus distinct eigenvalues provide a basis of eigenvectors, proving that is diagonalizable over . If is real and all its eigenvalues are real, each real singular matrix has a nonzero real null vector. Choosing one for each eigenvalue gives a real eigenbasis. Hence the real matrix is diagonalizable over . This is the distinct eigenvalues imply diagonalizability criterion.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ia Paper 1 8B c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
First note that if is normal, thenfor every . Hence an eigenvector with also satisfiesNormalize and extend it to an orthonormal basis. Let have these basis vectors as columns. The first column of is . For every ,so the first row also has no off-diagonal entries. ThereforeComparing the two block products in the normality identity shows that , so is normal.
The result is trivial in dimension one. Applying the induction hypothesis to and adjoining the eigenvector gives an orthonormal eigenbasis for . This proves the unitary diagonalization of a normal matrix.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ia Paper 2 4F c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ia Paper 3 12B i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
A tensor of rank is a multilinear map of vector or covector arguments, equivalently an element of an -fold tensor product. In components it obeys one change-of-basis factor for each of its indices.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ia Paper 3 2D i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The special orthogonal group isIfits first column is a unit vector, say . The second column is the unique unit vector perpendicular to it that gives positive determinant, namely . Thusso is rotation through about the origin.
For , its real characteristic polynomial of odd degree has a real eigenvalue. Every eigenvalue of an orthogonal matrix has modulus one, so every real eigenvalue is . Nonreal eigenvalues occur in conjugate pairs whose product is one, while ; if all eigenvalues are real, their product likewise forces at least one to be . Hence fixes a nonzero vector . The plane is -invariant, and the restriction to it is an orientation-preserving orthogonal map. By the result it is a planar rotation. Therefore is a rotation about the axis .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ia Paper 3 3B ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Use the Levi-Civita symbol and the product rule. First,For the second identity, the contractiongivesIn vector notation this isThese are the divergence and curl of a cross product identities.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ia Paper 4 11C b ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 1 1G Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
For a linear map , its rank is and its nullity is . The rank-nullity theorem states that, when is finite-dimensional,To prove it, take a basis of and extend it to a basisof . The vectors span . They are also linearly independent: if , then , and independence of the chosen basis forces every to vanish. Thus the rank is and the nullity is .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 2 16C Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
A gauge transformation isBecause partial derivatives commute, the added contribution to isso the electromagnetic field tensor is gauge invariant.
The identityfollows directly from . Its spatial and mixed components areFor the other two equations define the four-currentThen givesand givesThis is the Covariant Maxwell equation with the minus-plus-plus-plus metric.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 2 8G a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The characteristic polynomial isTo prove triangularizability, use induction on . The result is immediate for . Over , has a root , so has an eigenvector . Extend it to a basis. In this basis,By induction, a change among the remaining basis vectors makes upper triangular. Thus the triangularization over an algebraically closed field gives
The minimal polynomial is the monic polynomial of least degree satisfying . To establish existence without quoting the Cayley-Hamilton theorem, let be an upper-triangular matrix similar to , with diagonal entries , and putThenThe factors commute, so applying all of them successively lowers the invariant flag to zero:Similarity gives the same polynomial identity for . Hence a nonzero monic annihilating polynomial of degree exists, and a least-degree one exists.
If and were two monic annihilating polynomials of the same least degree, then would be an annihilating polynomial of smaller degree unless it were zero. Thus the minimal polynomial is unique, and the minimal polynomial bound from a triangular invariant flag gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 3 1E ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 3 9G d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Proceed by induction on . Over , has an eigenvector , say . The normal operator satisfies the norm equality from part (c), soThus . Part (a) now shows that is invariant under both and . The restriction of to is normal. By induction it has an orthonormal eigenbasis, and adjoining the normalized vector proves the finite-dimensional spectral theorem for normal operators.
Hence
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 3 9G Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
Fix . The map is a linear functional, so the finite-dimensional Riesz representation theorem gives a unique vector such thatFor scalars ,Uniqueness givesso is linear.
For , apply this result toIt produces a unique linear map satisfyingwhich proves existence and uniqueness of the adjoint.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 4 8G b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
For , the independent vectors lie in the coordinate subspace supported onwhich has dimension . Hence , and the stated form of Hall marriage theorem gives an injection with .
Let be the matrix whose th column is . Its column rank is . By equality of row and column rank, it has linearly independent rows. Let be their indices. The submatrix is invertible, so its columns are independent. Those columns are exactly the nonzero coordinates of , and therefore these truncated vectors are linearly independent.
Expanding gives a permutation for whichThus . Finally, order the coordinates with first. The matrix whose columns are the together with the for is block triangular, with diagonal blocks and an identity matrix. Its determinant is nonzero. Consequentlyis a basis of . This is the simultaneous basis exchange from a nonzero minor.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 4 9E b i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03