Solutions for Assignment 6

prepared by Jordi
Exercise 1 (2.5.3). Compute the first fundamental form of the stereographic
parametrisation of the sphere.
Refer to exercise 2.2.16 that gives the parametrisation as (u, v) = (x, y, z)
where
4u
+ v2 + 4
4v
y= 2
u + v2 + 4
2(u2 + v 2 )
z= 2
u + v2 + 4

x=

u2

and per usual compute



8uv
16u
4(4 u2 + v 2 )
,
,
u (u, v) =
(4 + u2 + v 2 )2 (4 + u2 + v 2 )2 (4 + u2 + v 2 )2


4(4 v 2 + u2 )
16v
8uv
v (u, v) =
,
,
(4 + u2 + v 2 )2 (4 + u2 + v 2 )2 (4 + u2 + v 2 )2
so that
16
(4 + u2 + v 2 )2
F (u, v) =0
16
G(u, v) =
(4 + u2 + v 2 )2

E(u, v) =

Exercise 2 (2.5.5). Show that the area of a bounded region R of the surface
z = f (x, y) is
Z Z q
A=
(1 + fx2 + fy2 )dx dy
Q

where Q is the projection of R onto the x-y plane.

Parametrise R by its graph, (x, y) = (x, y, f (x, y)) so that x = (1, 0, fx )
and y = (0, 1, fy ). The area required, according to one of several equivalent
definitions, is the integral of the norm of the wedge product x y , which is
x y = (1, fx , fy ).
Its norm is

1 + fx2 + fy2 , from which we arrive at the desired result.

Exercise 3 (2.5.12). Show that the area of a tubular surface S of radius r

around a curve is 2r times the length of .
1

We know from previous work (Exercise 2.4.10) that for the standard x(s, v)
parametrisation of a tubular surface, |xs xv | = r(1 r(s) cos v), where s is
the arclength parameter for . Suppose that [a, b] is the parameter domain of
s, and we also have that [0, 2] is the corresponding domain for v. Integrate the
length of the normal vector over the product of the paremeter domains of s and
v. That is,
Z

r(1 r(s) cos v)dv ds

Area(S) =
a

Z
=

0
b

2rdv

since only depends on s

=2r(b a),
which is what we set out to prove.
Exercise 4 (2.6.5). Let f : S1 S2 be a diffeomorphism. Show that S1 is
orientable exactly when S2 is orientable. Furthermore, suppose an orientation
has been chosen for both of the orientable ysurfaces S1 and S2 . Show that
induces an orientation on S2 , but that this orientation may be distinct from the
initial one.
Let us suppose that S1 is orientable and oriented. More, precisely, suppose
that S1 admits a collection of open neighborhoods {Ui R2 } together with
parametrisations {i : Ui S1 } such that the collection{i (Ui ) S1 } covers S1
and the Jacobian determinants of the change-of-basis maps 1
j i are positive,
wherever defined. To put it another way, A1 = {(Ui , i )} is an orientation.
The diffeomorphism f applied to A1 induces an orientation on S2 . Consider
A2 := {(Ui , f i )}. We will show that A2 is indeed an orientation. Since f
is of class C , the parametrisations f i are too; also, f and i are homeomorphisms, thus so is their composition. Because f is surjective, the open sets
f i (Ui ) cover S2 . The last bit that remains to be proven is that the Jacobian change-of-basis determinants are positive wherever defined. This is simple,
because we are considering the Jacobians of the maps
1
(f j )1 (f i ) =(1
) (f i )
j f

=1
j j ,
which we know to be positive.
Exercise 5 (2.6.7). Show that if a regular surface contains an open set diffeomorphic to a M
obius strip, then this surface cannot be orientable
This is an application of the previous of the previous exercise. If our surface
where orientable, then we could induce an orientation on the Mobius strip, but
this is nonsense because there is no nonvanishing continuous normal vector field
on the M
obius strip. It follows that our surface cannot be orientable.