Solution

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

The first-order chain rule, with regarded as functions of , is
Apply the product rule when differentiating the first identity in , and apply the chain rule to . Equality of mixed partial derivatives for a function gives
Thus . These terms record the second derivatives of the coordinate transformation, not of .
For the given transformation,
The mixed-derivative coefficient is zero, while , , and . The required partial differential equation is therefore exactly . Integrating first in and then in on a coordinate rectangle gives
where are arbitrary twice continuously differentiable functions. The Jacobian determinant of the transformation is , so this calculation uses patches with . On a positive-quadrant patch we can take and , obtaining
Changing branches merely redefines the arbitrary functions.
For completeness, the original equation also makes sense in quadrants with , where that particular real square-root transformation is unavailable. Multiplying the equation by gives
On any quadrant with , put , ; then set , . The equation becomes . Thus an equivalent general local answer on every such quadrant is
Here are arbitrary functions on the relevant intervals. If a solution is required across , its quadrant expressions must extend with matching derivatives; on that line the equation itself imposes , so its trace is on each interval with . The displayed coordinate transformations do not assert invertibility at .

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