Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2026 / ib / Paper 1 / 4B / Solution

Fermat’s principle makes $\int ds/c$ stationary. Writing the ray as $x=x(y)$ gives a Lagrangian independent of $y$, and its first integral is $\sin \theta /c=K$. At the origin $K=(1/\sqrt{2})/(1/\sqrt{3})=\sqrt{3/2}$. At $x=1$, $c=1/\sqrt{2}$, so $\sin \theta =\sqrt{3}/2$ and the forward angle is $\theta =\pi /3$.

Solved by gpt-5.6-sol high.