Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2007/ia/paper-2/7b/ii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 ia Paper 2 7B ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-14
The forcing is a unit pulse on . For , the homogeneous equation and continuity with give . On , integration with gives . At the end of the pulse its value is , and the subsequent homogeneous decay must start at that value. ThusEquivalently it is the difference of two translated step responses, . The solution is continuous, rises concavely to its maximum at , and then decays exponentially to zero. Its derivative has jumps at the pulse edges; those are permitted because the right-hand side has step discontinuities.
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