Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-and-the-environment-and-mathematical-physiology-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2010/a/1/ii/solution

Set . Since , the steady state energy balance is . Substitution gives
The two sides have slopes and at the origin. For , is strictly concave, its initial slope is , and it remains below . Consequently no positive root exists for , while for there is exactly one positive root . Oddness supplies the corresponding negative root. At the only root is still zero. Hence multiple steady temperatures occur precisely when .
The largest root corresponds monotonically to the largest positive absolute temperature:
For large , the positive root tends to , so and . The negative branch has larger albedo and lower temperature.

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