Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-approximation-theory-and-finite-element-methods-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2008/b/7/a/solution
Past exam of the approximation theory and finite element methods course of the University of Oxford 2008 B 7 a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Put and . The primal solution and its finite element approximation lie in the same affine space with value one at the right endpoint, so . UseDefine the dual solution byEquivalently satisfies for every . Positivity of gives a unique solution, and one-dimensional regularity gives .
Then . The nodal interpolant belongs to the homogeneous finite element test space, so Galerkin orthogonality gives . Set . Using the primal weak equation,Integrate the derivative term separately on each element. Since vanishes at every mesh node, all endpoint flux and flux-jump terms vanish. ThereforeThe absence of jump terms here follows specifically from one-dimensional nodal interpolation; it is not an assumption that the finite element flux itself is continuous.
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