Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2023/ib/paper-1/17b/b/solution

The function
is continuous, satisfies the equation away from , and has unequal one-sided derivatives there.
It is unique in the stated class. While a solution is positive its derivative is , so continuity forces it to follow until it first reaches zero at . It cannot subsequently make a positive excursion: on any connected interval where and , integration of gives . A negative excursion similarly contradicts . Hence the solution remains zero. This is the sign-decay differential equation.

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