Part IA, 2005
Part IA, 2005
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1.I.1C
commentConvert the following expressions from suffix notation (assuming the summation convention in three dimensions) into standard notation using vectors and/or matrices, where possible, identifying the one expression that is incorrectly formed:
(i) ,
(ii) ,
(iii) ,
(iv) ,
(v) .
Write the vector triple product in suffix notation and derive an equivalent expression that utilises scalar products. Express the result both in suffix notation and in standard vector notation. Hence or otherwise determine when and are orthogonal and .
1.I.2B
commentLet be a unit vector. Consider the operation
Write this in matrix form, i.e., find a matrix such that for all , and compute the eigenvalues of . In the case when , compute and its eigenvalues and eigenvectors.
1.II.5C
commentGive the real and imaginary parts of each of the following functions of , with real, (i) , (ii) , (iii) , (iv) , (v) ,
where is the complex conjugate of .
An ant lives in the complex region given by . Food is found at such that
Drink is found at such that
Identify the places within where the ant will find the food or drink.
1.II.6B
commentLet be a real matrix. Define the rank of . Describe the space of solutions of the equation
organizing your discussion with reference to the rank of .
Write down the equation of the tangent plane at on the sphere and the equation of a general line in passing through the origin .
Express the problem of finding points on the intersection of the tangent plane and the line in the form . Find, and give geometrical interpretations of, the solutions.
1.II.7A
commentConsider two vectors and in . Show that a may be written as the sum of two vectors: one parallel (or anti-parallel) to and the other perpendicular to . By setting the former equal to , where is a unit vector along , show that
Explain why this is a sensible definition of the angle between and .
Consider the vertices of a cube of side 2 in , centered on the origin. Each vertex is joined by a straight line through the origin to another vertex: the lines are the diagonals of the cube. Show that no two diagonals can be perpendicular if is odd.
For , what is the greatest number of mutually perpendicular diagonals? List all the possible angles between the diagonals.
1.II.8A
commentGiven a non-zero vector , any symmetric matrix can be expressed as
for some numbers and , some vector and a symmetric matrix , where
and the summation convention is implicit.
Show that the above statement is true by finding and explicitly in terms of and , or otherwise. Explain why and together provide a space of the correct dimension to parameterise an arbitrary symmetric matrix .
3.I.1D
commentLet be a real symmetric matrix with eigenvalues . Consider the surface in given by
Find the minimum distance between the origin and . How many points on realize this minimum distance? Justify your answer.
3.I.2D
commentDefine what it means for a group to be cyclic. If is a prime number, show that a finite group of order must be cyclic. Find all homomorphisms , where denotes the cyclic group of order . [You may use Lagrange's theorem.]
3.II.5D
commentDefine the notion of an action of a group on a set . Assuming that is finite, state and prove the Orbit-Stabilizer Theorem.
Let be a finite group and the set of its subgroups. Show that defines an action of on . If is a subgroup of , show that the orbit of has at most elements.
Suppose is a subgroup of and . Show that there is an element of which does not belong to any subgroup of the form for .
3.II.6D
commentLet be the group of Möbius transformations of and let be the group of all complex matrices with determinant 1 .
Show that the map given by
is a surjective homomorphism. Find its kernel.
Show that every not equal to the identity is conjugate to a Möbius map where either with , or . [You may use results about matrices in , provided they are clearly stated.]
Show that if , then is the identity, or has one, or two, fixed points. Also show that if has only one fixed point then as for any
3.II.7D
commentLet be a group and let for all . Show that is a normal subgroup of
Let be the set of all real matrices of the form
with . Show that is a subgroup of the group of invertible real matrices under multiplication.
Find and show that is isomorphic to with vector addition.
3.II.8D
commentLet be a real matrix such that , and , where is the transpose of and is the identity.
Show that the set of vectors for which forms a 1-dimensional subspace.
Consider the plane through the origin which is orthogonal to . Show that maps to itself and induces a rotation of by angle , where . Show that is a reflection in if and only if has trace 1 . [You may use the fact that for any invertible matrix B.]
Prove that .
1.I.3F
commentDefine the supremum or least upper bound of a non-empty set of real numbers.
Let denote a non-empty set of real numbers which has a supremum but no maximum. Show that for every there are infinitely many elements of contained in the open interval
Give an example of a non-empty set of real numbers which has a supremum and maximum and for which the above conclusion does not hold.
1.I.4D
commentLet be a power series in the complex plane with radius of convergence . Show that is unbounded in for any with . State clearly any results on absolute convergence that are used.
For every , show that there exists a power series with radius of convergence .
1.II.10D
commentExplain what it means for a bounded function to be Riemann integrable.
Let be a strictly decreasing continuous function. Show that for each , there exists a unique point such that
Find if .
Suppose now that is differentiable and for all . Prove that is differentiable at all and for all , stating clearly any results on the inverse of you use.
1.II.11E
commentProve that if is a continuous function on the interval with then for some .
Let be a continuous function on satisfying . By considering the function on , show that for some . Show, more generally, that for any positive integer there exists a point for which .
1.II.12E
commentState and prove Rolle's Theorem.
Prove that if the real polynomial of degree has all its roots real (though not necessarily distinct), then so does its derivative . Give an example of a cubic polynomial for which the converse fails.
1.II.9F
commentExamine each of the following series and determine whether or not they converge.
Give reasons in each case.
(iii)
commentFind all power series solutions of the form to the equation
for a real constant.
Impose the condition and determine those values of for which your power series gives polynomial solutions (i.e., for sufficiently large). Give the values of for which the corresponding polynomials have degree less than 6 , and compute these polynomials.
Hence, or otherwise, find a polynomial solution of
satisfying .
2.I.1B
commentSolve the equation
with , by use of an integrating factor or otherwise. Find .
2.I.2B
commentObtain the general solution of
by using the indicial equation.
Introduce as a new independent variable and find an equivalent second order differential equation with constant coefficients. Determine the general solution of this new equation, and show that it is equivalent to the general solution of found previously.
2.II.5B
commentFind two linearly independent solutions of the difference equation
for all values of . What happens when ? Find two linearly independent solutions in this case.
Find which satisfy the initial conditions
for and for . For every , show that as .
2.II.7B
commentThe Cartesian coordinates of a point moving in are governed by the system
Transform this system of equations to polar coordinates and hence find all periodic solutions (i.e., closed trajectories) which satisfy constant.
Discuss the large time behaviour of an arbitrary solution starting at initial point . Summarize the motion using a phase plane diagram, and comment on the nature of any critical points.
2.II.8B
commentDefine the Wronskian for two solutions of the equation
and obtain a differential equation which exhibits its dependence on . Explain the relevance of the Wronskian to the linear independence of and .
Consider the equation
and determine the dependence on of the Wronskian of two solutions and . Verify that is a solution of and use the Wronskian to obtain a second linearly independent solution.
4.I.3C
commentPlanetary Explorers Ltd. want to put a communications satellite of mass into geostationary orbit around the spherical planet Zog (i.e. with the satellite always above the same point on the surface of Zog). The mass of Zog is , the length of its day is and is the gravitational constant.
Write down the equations of motion for a general orbit of the satellite and determine the radius and speed of the geostationary orbit.
Describe briefly how the orbit is modified if the satellite is released at the correct radius and on the correct trajectory for a geostationary orbit, but with a little too much speed. Comment on how the satellite's speed varies around such an orbit.
4.I.4C
commentA car of mass travelling at speed on a smooth, horizontal road attempts an emergency stop. The car skids in a straight line with none of its wheels able to rotate.
Calculate the stopping distance and time on a dry road where the dry friction coefficient between the tyres and the road is .
At high speed on a wet road the grip of each of the four tyres changes from dry friction to a lubricated drag equal to for each tyre, where is the drag coefficient and the instantaneous speed of the car. However, the tyres regain their dry-weather grip when the speed falls below . Calculate the stopping distance and time under these conditions.
4.II.10C
commentA keen cyclist wishes to analyse her performance on training rollers. She decides that the key components are her bicycle's rear wheel and the roller on which the wheel sits. The wheel, of radius , has its mass entirely at its outer edge. The roller, which is driven by the wheel without any slippage, is a solid cylinder of radius and mass . The angular velocities of the wheel and roller are and , respectively.
Determine and , the moments of inertia of the wheel and roller, respectively. Find the ratio of the angular velocities of the wheel and roller. Show that the combined total kinetic energy of the wheel and roller is , where
is the effective combined moment of inertia of the wheel and roller.
Why should be used instead of just or in the equation connecting torque with angular acceleration? The cyclist believes the torque she can produce at the back wheel is where and are dimensional constants. Determine the angular velocity of the wheel, starting from rest, as a function of time.
In an attempt to make the ride more realistic, the cyclist adds a fan (of negligible mass) to the roller. The fan imposes a frictional torque on the roller, where is a dimensional constant. Determine the new maximum speed for the wheel.
4.II.11C
commentA puck of mass located at slides without friction under the influence of gravity on a surface of height . Show that the equations of motion can be approximated by
where is the gravitational acceleration and the small slope approximation is used.
Determine the motion of the puck when .
Sketch the surface
as a function of , where . Write down the equations of motion of the puck on this surface in polar coordinates under the assumption that the small slope approximation can be used. Show that , the angular momentum per unit mass about the origin, is conserved. Show also that the initial kinetic energy per unit mass of the puck is if the puck is released at radius with negligible radial velocity. Determine and sketch as a function of for this release condition. What condition relating and must be satisfied for the orbit to be bounded?
4.II.12C
commentIn an experiment a ball of mass is released from a height above a flat, horizontal plate. Assuming the gravitational acceleration is constant and the ball falls through a vacuum, find the speed of the ball on impact.
Determine the speed at which the ball rebounds if the coefficient of restitution for the collision is . What fraction of the impact energy is dissipated during the collision? Determine also the maximum height the ball reaches after the bounce, and the time between the and bounce. What is the total distance travelled by the ball before it comes to rest if ?
If the experiment is repeated in an atmosphere then the ball experiences a drag force , where is a dimensional constant and the instantaneous velocity of the ball. Write down and solve the modified equation for before the ball first hits the plate.
4.II.9C
commentA particle of mass and charge moving in a vacuum through a magnetic field and subject to no other forces obeys
where is the location of the particle.
For with constant , and using cylindrical polar coordinates , or otherwise, determine the motion of the particle in the plane if its initial speed is with . [Hint: Choose the origin so that and at .]
Due to a leak, a small amount of gas enters the system, causing the particle to experience a drag force , where . Write down the new governing equations and show that the speed of the particle decays exponentially. Sketch the path followed by the particle. [Hint: Consider the equations for the velocity in Cartesian coordinates; you need not apply any initial conditions.]
4.I.1E
commentFind the unique positive integer with , for which
Results used should be stated but need not be proved.
Solve the system of simultaneous congruences
Explain very briefly your reasoning.
4.I.2E
commentGive a combinatorial definition of the binomial coefficient for any non-negative integers .
Prove that for .
Prove the identities
and
4.II
commentState and prove the Principle of Inclusion and Exclusion.
Use the Principle to show that the Euler totient function satisfies
Deduce that if and are coprime integers, then , and more generally, that if is any divisor of then divides .
Show that if divides then for some non-negative integers .
4.II.5E
commentWhat does it mean for a set to be countable? Show that is countable, and is not countable.
Let be any set of non-trivial discs in a plane, any two discs being disjoint. Show that is countable.
Give an example of a set of non-trivial circles in a plane, any two circles being disjoint, which is not countable.
4.II.6E
commentLet be a relation on the set . What does it mean for to be an equivalence relation on ? Show that if is an equivalence relation on , the set of equivalence classes forms a partition of .
Let be a group, and let be a subgroup of . Define a relation on by if . Show that is an equivalence relation on , and that the equivalence classes are precisely the left cosets of in . Find a bijection from to any other coset . Deduce that if is finite then the order of divides the order of .
Let be an element of the finite group . The order of is the least positive integer for which , the identity of . If , then has a subgroup of order ; deduce that for all .
Let be a natural number. Show that the set of integers in which are prime to is a group under multiplication modulo . [You may use any properties of multiplication and divisibility of integers without proof, provided you state them clearly.]
Deduce that if is any integer prime to then , where is the Euler totient function.
4.II.8E
commentThe Fibonacci numbers are defined by the equations and for any positive integer . Show that the highest common factor is
Let be a natural number. Prove by induction on that for all positive integers ,
Deduce that divides for all positive integers . Deduce also that if then
2.I.3F
commentSuppose and is a positive real-valued random variable with probability density
for , where is a constant.
Find the constant and show that, if and ,
[You may assume the inequality for all .]
2.I.4F
commentDescribe the Poisson distribution characterised by parameter . Calculate the mean and variance of this distribution in terms of .
Show that the sum of independent random variables, each having the Poisson distribution with , has a Poisson distribution with .
Use the central limit theorem to prove that
2.II
commentGiven a real-valued random variable , we define by
Consider a second real-valued random variable , independent of . Show that
You gamble in a fair casino that offers you unlimited credit despite your initial wealth of 0 . At every game your wealth increases or decreases by with equal probability . Let denote your wealth after the game. For a fixed real number , compute defined by
Verify that the result is real-valued.
Show that for even,
for some constant , which you should determine. What is for odd?
2.II.10F
commentAlice and Bill fight a paint-ball duel. Nobody has been hit so far and they are both left with one shot. Being exhausted, they need to take a breath before firing their last shot. This takes seconds for Alice and seconds for Bill. Assume these times are exponential random variables with means and , respectively.
Find the distribution of the (random) time that passes by before the next shot is fired. What is its standard deviation? What is the probability that Alice fires the next shot?
Assume Alice has probability of hitting whenever she fires whereas Bill never misses his target. If the next shot is a hit, what is the probability that it was fired by Alice?
2.II.11F
commentLet be uniformly distributed on and define . Show that, conditionally on
the vector is uniformly distributed on the unit disc. Let denote the point in polar coordinates and find its probability density function for . Deduce that and are independent.
Introduce the new random variables
noting that under the above conditioning, are uniformly distributed on the unit disc. The pair may be viewed as a (random) point in with polar coordinates . Express as a function of and deduce its density. Find the joint density of . Hence deduce that and are independent normal random variables with zero mean and unit variance.
2.II.12F
commentLet be a ranking of the yearly rainfalls in Cambridge over the next years: assume is a random permutation of . Year is called a record year if for all (thus the first year is always a record year). Let if year is a record year and 0 otherwise.
Find the distribution of and show that are independent and calculate the mean and variance of the number of record years in the next years.
Find the probability that the second record year occurs at year . What is the expected number of years until the second record year occurs?
3.I.3A
commentLet and be time-dependent, continuously differentiable vector fields on satisfying
Show that for any bounded region ,
where is the boundary of .
3.I.4A
commentGiven a curve in , parameterised such that and with , define the tangent , the principal normal , the curvature and the binormal .
The torsion is defined by
Sketch a circular helix showing and at a chosen point. What is the sign of the torsion for your helix? Sketch a second helix with torsion of the opposite sign.
3.II.11A
commentExplain, with justification, the significance of the eigenvalues of the Hessian in classifying the critical points of a function . In what circumstances are the eigenvalues inconclusive in establishing the character of a critical point?
Consider the function on ,
Find and classify all of its critical points, for all real . How do the locations of the critical points change as ?
3.II.12A
commentExpress the integral
in terms of the new variables , and . Hence show that
You may assume and are positive. [Hint: Remember to calculate the limits of the integral.]
3.II.9A
commentLet be a bounded region of and be its boundary. Let be the unique solution to in , with on , where is a given function. Consider any smooth function also equal to on . Show, by using Green's first theorem or otherwise, that
[Hint: Set
Consider the partial differential equation
for , with initial condition in , and boundary condition on for all . Show that
with equality holding only when .
Show that remains true with the boundary condition
on , provided .
3/II/10A Vector Calculus
Write down Stokes' theorem for a vector field on .
Consider the bounded surface defined by
Sketch the surface and calculate the surface element . For the vector field
calculate directly.
Show using Stokes' theorem that may be rewritten as a line integral and verify this yields the same result.