Part IA, {{ year }}
Part IA 2012
Paper 1, Section I, E
Part IA, 2012 commentWhat does it mean to say that a function is continuous at ?
Give an example of a continuous function which is bounded but attains neither its upper bound nor its lower bound.
The function is continuous and non-negative, and satisfies as and as . Show that is bounded above and attains its upper bound.
[Standard results about continuous functions on closed bounded intervals may be used without proof if clearly stated.]
Paper 1, Section I,
Part IA, 2012 commentLet be continuous functions with for . Show that
where .
Prove there exists such that
[Standard results about continuous functions and their integrals may be used without proof, if clearly stated.]
Paper 2, Section II, A
Part IA, 2012 commentFind the solution to the system of equations
in subject to
[Hint: powers of t.]
Paper 2, Section II, A
Part IA, 2012 commentConsider the second-order differential equation for in
(i) For , find the general solution of .
(ii) For with , find the solution of that satisfies and at .
(iii) For with , find the solution of that satisfies and at
(iv) Show that
Paper 4, Section I, B
Part IA, 2012 commentTwo particles of masses and have position vectors and respectively. Particle 2 exerts a force ) on particle 1 (where ) and there are no external forces.
Prove that the centre of mass of the two-particle system will move at constant speed along a straight line.
Explain how the two-body problem of determining the motion of the system may be reduced to that of a single particle moving under the force .
Suppose now that and that
is gravitational attraction. Let be a circle fixed in space. Is it possible (by suitable choice of initial conditions) for the two particles to be traversing at the same constant angular speed? Give a brief reason for your answer.
Paper 4, Section I, B
Part IA, 2012 commentLet and be inertial frames in 2-dimensional spacetime with coordinate systems and respectively. Suppose that moves with positive velocity relative to and the spacetime origins of and coincide. Write down the Lorentz transformation relating the coordinates of any event relative to the two frames.
Show that events which occur simultaneously in are not generally seen to be simultaneous when viewed in .
In two light sources and are at rest and placed a distance apart. They simultaneously each emit a photon in the positive direction. Show that in the photons are separated by a constant distance .
Paper 4, Section II, B
Part IA, 2012 commentLet be polar coordinates in the plane. A particle of mass moves in the plane under an attractive force of towards the origin . You may assume that the acceleration a is given by
where and are the unit vectors in the directions of increasing and respectively, and the dot denotes .
(a) Show that is a constant of the motion. Introducing show that and derive the geometric orbit equation
(b) Suppose now that
and that initially the particle is at distance from , moving with speed in a direction making angle with the radial vector pointing towards .
Show that and find as a function of . Hence or otherwise show that the particle returns to its original position after one revolution about and then flies off to infinity.
Paper 4, Section II, B
Part IA, 2012 commentFor any frame and vector , let denote the derivative of relative to . A frame of reference rotates with constant angular velocity with respect to an inertial frame and the two frames have a common origin . [You may assume that for any vector
(a) If is the position vector of a point from , show that
where is the velocity in .
Suppose now that is the position vector of a particle of mass moving under a conservative force and a force that is always orthogonal to the velocity in . Show that the quantity
is a constant of the motion. [You may assume that .]
(b) A bead slides on a frictionless circular hoop of radius which is forced to rotate with constant angular speed about a vertical diameter. Let denote the angle between the line from the centre of the hoop to the bead and the downward vertical. Using the results of (a), or otherwise, show that
Deduce that if there are two equilibrium positions off the axis of rotation, and show that these are stable equilibria.
Paper 4, Section II, B
Part IA, 2012 comment(a) State the parallel axis theorem for moments of inertia.
(b) A uniform circular disc of radius and total mass can turn frictionlessly about a fixed horizontal axis that passes through a point on its circumference and is perpendicular to its plane. Initially the disc hangs at rest (in constant gravity ) with its centre being vertically below . Suppose the disc is disturbed and executes free oscillations. Show that the period of small oscillations is .
(c) Suppose now that the disc is released from rest when the radius is vertical with directly above . Find the angular velocity and angular acceleration of about when the disc has turned through angle . Let denote the reaction force at on the disc. Find the acceleration of the centre of mass of the disc. Hence, or otherwise, show that the component of parallel to is .
Paper 4, Section II, B
Part IA, 2012 comment(a) Define the 4-momentum of a particle of rest mass and 3 -velocity , and the 4-momentum of a photon of frequency (having zero rest mass) moving in the direction of the unit vector .
Show that if and are timelike future-pointing 4-vectors then (where the dot denotes the Lorentz-invariant scalar product). Hence or otherwise show that the law of conservation of 4 -momentum forbids a photon to spontaneously decay into an electron-positron pair. [Electrons and positrons have equal rest masses .]
(b) In the laboratory frame an electron travelling with velocity u collides with a positron at rest. They annihilate, producing two photons of frequencies and that move off at angles and to , in the directions of the unit vectors and respectively. By considering 4-momenta in the laboratory frame, or otherwise, show that
where
Paper 3, Section I, E
Part IA, 2012 commentState Lagrange's Theorem. Deduce that if is a finite group of order , then the order of every element of is a divisor of .
Let be a group such that, for every . Show that is abelian. Give an example of a non-abelian group in which every element satisfies .
Paper 3, Section I, E
Part IA, 2012 commentWhat is a cycle in the symmetric group ? Show that a cycle of length and a cycle of length in are conjugate if and only if .
Suppose that is odd. Show that any two -cycles in are conjugate. Are any two 3 -cycles in conjugate? Justify your answer.
Paper 1, Section II, E
Part IA, 2012 comment(a) What does it mean to say that the sequence of real numbers converges to
Suppose that are sequences of real numbers converging to the same limit . Let be a sequence such that for every ,
Show that also converges to .
Find a collection of sequences such that for every but the sequence defined by diverges.
(b) Let be real numbers with . Sequences are defined by and
Show that and converge to the same limit.
Paper 3, Section II, E
Part IA, 2012 comment(i) State and prove the Orbit-Stabilizer Theorem.
Show that if is a finite group of order , then is isomorphic to a subgroup of the symmetric group .
(ii) Let be a group acting on a set with a single orbit, and let be the stabilizer of some element of . Show that the homomorphism given by the action is injective if and only if the intersection of all the conjugates of equals .
(iii) Let denote the quaternion group of order 8 . Show that for every is not isomorphic to a subgroup of .
Paper 3, Section II, E
Part IA, 2012 commentLet be , the groups of real matrices of determinant 1 , acting on by Möbius transformations.
For each of the points , compute its stabilizer and its orbit under the action of . Show that has exactly 3 orbits in all.
Compute the orbit of under the subgroup
Deduce that every element of may be expressed in the form where and for some ,
How many ways are there of writing in this form?
Paper 3, Section II,
Part IA, 2012 commentLet be the set of (residue classes of) integers , and let
Show that is a group under multiplication. [You may assume throughout this question that multiplication of matrices is associative.]
Let be the set of 2-dimensional column vectors with entries in . Show that the mapping given by
is a group action.
Let be an element of order . Use the orbit-stabilizer theorem to show that there exist , not both zero, with
Deduce that is conjugate in to the matrix
Paper 3, Section II, E
Part IA, 2012 commentLet be a prime number, and an integer with . Let be the Cartesian product
Show that the binary operation
where
makes into a group. Show that is abelian if and only if .
Let and be the subsets
of . Show that is a normal subgroup of , and that is a subgroup which is normal if and only if .
Find a homomorphism from to another group whose kernel is .
Paper 4, Section I, D
Part IA, 2012 comment(i) Find integers and such that .
(ii) Find an integer such that and .
Paper 4, Section I,
Part IA, 2012 commentWhat is an equivalence relation on a set ? If is an equivalence relation on , what is an equivalence class of ? Prove that the equivalence classes of form a partition of .
Let and be equivalence relations on a set . Which of the following are always equivalence relations? Give proofs or counterexamples as appropriate.
(i) The relation on given by if both and .
(ii) The relation on given by if or .
Paper 4, Section II, D
Part IA, 2012 commentLet be a set, and let and be functions from to . Which of the following are always true and which can be false? Give proofs or counterexamples as appropriate.
(i) If is the identity map then is the identity map.
(ii) If then is the identity map.
(iii) If then is the identity map.
How (if at all) do your answers change if we are given that is finite?
Determine which sets have the following property: if is a function from to such that for every there exists a positive integer with , then there exists a positive integer such that is the identity map. [Here denotes the -fold composition of with itself.]
Paper 4, Section II, D
Part IA, 2012 commentState Fermat's Theorem and Wilson's Theorem.
For which prime numbers does the equation have a solution? Justify your answer.
For a prime number , and an integer that is not a multiple of , the order of is the least positive integer such that . Show that if has order and also then must divide .
For a positive integer , let . If is a prime factor of , determine the order of . Hence show that the are pairwise coprime.
Show that if is a prime of the form then cannot be a factor of any . Give, with justification, a prime of the form such that is not a factor of any .
Paper 4, Section II, D
Part IA, 2012 commentProve that each of the following numbers is irrational: (i) (ii) (iii) The real root of the equation (iv) .
Paper 4, Section II, D
Part IA, 2012 commentShow that there is no injection from the power-set of to . Show also that there is an injection from to .
Let be the set of all functions from to such that for all but finitely many . Determine whether or not there exists an injection from to .
Paper 1, Section II, D
Part IA, 2012 commentLet be a sequence of reals.
(i) Show that if the sequence is convergent then so is the sequence .
(ii) Give an example to show the sequence being convergent does not imply that the sequence is convergent.
(iii) If as for each positive integer , does it follow that is convergent? Justify your answer.
(iv) If as for every function from the positive integers to the positive integers, does it follow that is convergent? Justify your answer.
Paper 2, Section I, F
Part IA, 2012 commentGiven two events and with and , define the conditional probability .
Show that
A random number of fair coins are tossed, and the total number of heads is denoted by . If for , find .
Paper 2, Section I, F
Part IA, 2012 commentDefine the probability generating function of a random variable taking values in the non-negative integers.
A coin shows heads with probability on each toss. Let be the number of tosses up to and including the first appearance of heads, and let . Find the probability generating function of .
Show that where .
Paper 2, Section II, F
Part IA, 2012 comment(i) Define the moment generating function of a random variable . If are independent and , show that the moment generating function of is .
(ii) Assume , and for . Explain the expansion
where and [You may assume the validity of interchanging expectation and differentiation.]
(iii) Let be independent, identically distributed random variables with mean 0 and variance 1 , and assume their moment generating function satisfies the condition of part (ii) with .
Suppose that and are independent. Show that , and deduce that satisfies .
Show that as , and deduce that for all .
Show that and are normally distributed.
Paper 2, Section II, F
Part IA, 2012 comment(i) Define the distribution function of a random variable , and also its density function assuming is differentiable. Show that
(ii) Let be independent random variables each with the uniform distribution on . Show that
What is the probability that the random quadratic equation has real roots?
Given that the two roots of the above quadratic are real, what is the probability that both and
Paper 2, Section II, F
Part IA, 2012 comment(i) Let be the size of the generation of a branching process with familysize probability generating function , and let . Show that the probability generating function of satisfies for .
(ii) Suppose the family-size mass function is Find , and show that
Deduce the value of .
(iii) Write down the moment generating function of . Hence or otherwise show that, for ,
[You may use the continuity theorem but, if so, should give a clear statement of it.]
Paper 2, Section II, F
Part IA, 2012 commentLet be independent random variables with distribution functions . Show that have distribution functions
Now let be independent random variables, each having the exponential distribution with parameter 1. Show that has the exponential distribution with parameter 2 , and that is independent of .
Hence or otherwise show that has the same distribution as , and deduce the mean and variance of .
[You may use without proof that has mean 1 and variance 1.]
Paper 3, Section I, C
Part IA, 2012 commentDefine what it means for a differential to be exact, and derive a necessary condition on and for this to hold. Show that one of the following two differentials is exact and the other is not:
Show that the differential which is not exact can be written in the form for functions and , to be determined.
Paper 3, Section I, C
Part IA, 2012 commentWhat does it mean for a second-rank tensor to be isotropic? Show that is isotropic. By considering rotations through about the coordinate axes, or otherwise, show that the most general isotropic second-rank tensor in has the form , for some scalar .
Paper 3, Section II, C
Part IA, 2012 commentState Stokes' Theorem for a vector field on .
Consider the surface defined by
Sketch the surface and calculate the area element in terms of suitable coordinates or parameters. For the vector field
compute and calculate .
Use Stokes' Theorem to express as an integral over and verify that this gives the same result.
Paper 3, Section II, C
Part IA, 2012 commentConsider the transformation of variables
Show that the interior of the unit square in the plane
is mapped to the interior of the unit square in the plane,
[Hint: Consider the relation between and when , for constant.]
Show that
Now let
By calculating
as a function of and , or otherwise, show that
Paper 1, Section II, D
Part IA, 2012 commentLet be a continuous function from to such that for every . We write for the -fold composition of with itself (so for example .
(i) Prove that for every we have as .
(ii) Must it be the case that for every there exists with the property that for all ? Justify your answer.
Now suppose that we remove the condition that be continuous.
(iii) Give an example to show that it need not be the case that for every we have as .
(iv) Must it be the case that for some we have as ? Justify your answer.
Paper 3, Section II, C
Part IA, 2012 comment(a) Prove the identity
(b) If is an irrotational vector field (i.e. everywhere), prove that there exists a scalar potential such that .
Show that the vector field
is irrotational, and determine the corresponding potential .
Paper 3, Section II, C
Part IA, 2012 comment(i) Let be a bounded region in with smooth boundary . Show that Poisson's equation in
has at most one solution satisfying on , where and are given functions.
Consider the alternative boundary condition on , for some given function , where is the outward pointing normal on . Derive a necessary condition in terms of and for a solution of Poisson's equation to exist. Is such a solution unique?
(ii) Find the most general spherically symmetric function satisfying
in the region for . Hence in each of the following cases find all possible solutions satisfying the given boundary condition at : (a) , (b) .
Compare these with your results in part (i).
Paper 1, Section I,
Part IA, 2012 comment(a) Let be the set of all with real part 1 . Draw a picture of and the image of under the map in the complex plane.
(b) For each of the following equations, find all complex numbers which satisfy it:
(i) ,
(ii) .
(c) Prove that there is no complex number satisfying .
Paper 1, Section I, A
Part IA, 2012 commentDefine what is meant by the terms rotation, reflection, dilation and shear. Give examples of real matrices representing each of these.
Consider the three matrices
Identify the three matrices in terms of your definitions above.
Paper 1, Section II,
Part IA, 2012 commentThe equation of a plane in is
where is a constant scalar and is a unit vector normal to . What is the distance of the plane from the origin ?
A sphere with centre and radius satisfies the equation
Show that the intersection of and contains exactly one point if .
The tetrahedron is defined by the vectors , and with . What does the condition imply about the set of vectors ? A sphere with radius lies inside the tetrahedron and intersects each of the three faces , and in exactly one point. Show that the centre of satisfies
Given that the vector is orthogonal to the plane of the face , obtain an equation for . What is the distance of from the origin?
Paper 1, Section II, A
Part IA, 2012 commentExplain why the number of solutions of the simultaneous linear equations is 0,1 or infinity, where is a real matrix and and are vectors in . State necessary and sufficient conditions on and for each of these possibilities to hold.
Let and be real matrices. Give necessary and sufficient conditions on for there to exist a unique real matrix satisfying .
Find when
Paper 1, Section II, 7B
Part IA, 2012 comment(a) Consider the matrix
Determine whether or not is diagonalisable.
(b) Prove that if and are similar matrices then and have the same eigenvalues with the same corresponding algebraic multiplicities.
Is the converse true? Give either a proof (if true) or a counterexample with a brief reason (if false).
(c) State the Cayley-Hamilton theorem for a complex matrix and prove it in the case when is a diagonalisable matrix.
Suppose that an matrix has for some (where denotes the zero matrix). Show that .
Paper 1, Section II, B
Part IA, 2012 comment(a) (i) Find the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the matrix
(ii) Show that the quadric in defined by
is an ellipsoid. Find the matrix of a linear transformation of that will map onto the unit sphere .
(b) Let be a real orthogonal matrix. Prove that:
(i) as a mapping of vectors, preserves inner products;
(ii) if is an eigenvalue of then and is also an eigenvalue of .
Now let be a real orthogonal matrix having as an eigenvalue of algebraic multiplicity 2. Give a geometrical description of the action of on , giving a reason for your answer. [You may assume that orthogonal matrices are always diagonalisable.]
Paper 1, Section II, F
Part IA, 2012 comment(a) (i) State the ratio test for the convergence of a real series with positive terms.
(ii) Define the radius of convergence of a real power series .
(iii) Prove that the real power series and have equal radii of convergence.
(iv) State the relationship between and within their interval of convergence.
(b) (i) Prove that the real series
have radius of convergence .
(ii) Show that they are differentiable on the real line , with and , and deduce that .
[You may use, without proof, general theorems about differentiating within the interval of convergence, provided that you give a clear statement of any such theorem.]
Paper 2, Section I, A
Part IA, 2012 commentFind two linearly independent solutions of
Find the solution in of
subject to at .
Paper 2, Section I, A
Part IA, 2012 commentFind the constant solutions (those with ) of the discrete equation
and determine their stability.
Paper 2, Section II, A
Part IA, 2012 commentFind the first three non-zero terms in the series solutions and for the differential equation
that satisfy
Identify these solutions in closed form.
Paper 2, Section II, A
Part IA, 2012 commentConsider the function
Find the critical (stationary) points of . Determine the type of each critical point. Sketch the contours of constant.
Now consider the coupled differential equations
Show that is a non-increasing function of . If and at , where does the solution tend to as ?