Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematical-methods-ii-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2021-resit/2/solution

First method: substitute the trajectory. Along the parametric curve, the temperature is . The chain rule gives
Second method: use the spatial derivatives. The partial derivatives of the scalar field are and , while the velocity components are and . The multivariable chain rule therefore gives
which agrees with the first calculation. This is the gradient dotted with the velocity, rather than a partial derivative at a fixed position.

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