Paper 1, Section I, B

Variational Principles | Part IB, 2018

Find, using a Lagrange multiplier, the four stationary points in R3\mathbb{R}^{3} of the function x2+y2+z2x^{2}+y^{2}+z^{2} subject to the constraint x2+2y2z2=1x^{2}+2 y^{2}-z^{2}=1. By sketching sections of the constraint surface in each of the coordinate planes, or otherwise, identify the nature of the constrained stationary points.

How would the location of the stationary points differ if, instead, the function x2+2y2z2x^{2}+2 y^{2}-z^{2} were subject to the constraint x2+y2+z2=1?x^{2}+y^{2}+z^{2}=1 ?

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