Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-algebra-analysis-and-differential-equations-1-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2005/2/solution

For affine polynomials and , direct integration gives . This is bilinear and symmetric, and for every nonzero . Thus it is an inner product.
The adjoint of differentiation on affine polynomials is determined by . Since , the left side is . Writing , the right side is . Equality for every forces , , hence
This is not simply negative differentiation: there are no endpoint conditions here that would remove the boundary term in an integration by parts argument.

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