Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/prelims/mathematics-v-resit/question-5/c/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford 2015 Prelims Mathematics V resit Question 5 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Enforce the fixed-end Dirichlet boundary condition by taking the odd extension of the initial velocity to the whole line:This agrees with the specified initial condition for . To derive the relevant form of D'Alembert's formula, the zero initial displacement in b gives , up to a cancelling constant. The initial velocity then gives . HenceAn antiderivative, valid across , isEvaluation therefore gives the solution throughout :For , replace by ; for , replace it by . Thus the same expression includes the reflected wave after it reaches the fixed end.
At the two terms agree, so . At they again agree, so . Differentiating the integral with respect to giveswhich recovers . Since is a continuously differentiable function, the formula is twice continuously differentiable even across , and satisfies the wave equation there as well.
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