Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2026 / ib / Paper 2 / 10F / Solution

The inverse function theorem says that a $C^1$ map with invertible derivative at $x$ restricts to a $C^1$ diffeomorphism between neighbourhoods of $x$ and $f(x)$. It makes every zero isolated. Compactness of $\bar{\Omega }$, together with separation from zero on the boundary, then makes the zero set finite and interior. Continuity of $Df$ gives the displayed radii. Choose disjoint balls around the zeros and a positive lower bound for $|f|$ on their complement and boundary. A sufficiently small $C^1$ perturbation has no zeros outside, while the quoted local lemma gives exactly one zero in each ball with the same determinant sign. Summing proves $N(g)=N(f)$.

Solved by gpt-5.6-sol high.