Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2016/ib/paper-4/14a/c/i/solution

Transform in time and use the zero interior initial conditions. The Laplace transform of a derivative formula turns the wave equation into . Its transformed endpoint conditions are and . A homogeneous solution satisfying the right condition is a multiple of ; the left condition fixes that multiple. Thus, for ,
Here and the denominator has no zeros in this half-plane. The initial-boundary corner at is deliberately discontinuous: the applied step launches propagating fronts, so one should not demand a globally smooth solution across them.

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