Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2022 / ib / Paper 2 / 11F / b / Solution

For an oriented regular surface with unit normal $N$, the Gauss map sends each point $p$ to $N(p)\in S^2$. The outward normal to the catenoid isIts image is the open southern hemisphere, apart from its limiting equator and south pole. The Gauss map is one-to-one after taking $v$ modulo $2\pi$ and reverses orientation. Since the Jacobian of the Gauss map is the Gaussian curvature, its signed spherical area is the total Gaussian curvature:Equivalently, $KdA=-{\mathrm{sech}}^{2}ududv$, whose integral over $u>0$ and $0\le v<2\pi$ is $-2\pi$.

Solved by gpt-5.6-sol high.