Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/ia/paper-2/1a/i/solution

Substitution of gives the characteristic equation of a linear recurrence
The repeated characteristic root of a linear recurrence supplies the solutions and , while the simple root supplies . They are linearly independent: their values at three consecutive indices have nonzero determinant. A third-order linear recurrence relation is uniquely determined by three consecutive initial values, so these three solutions span its solution space. The general solution is

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