Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2023/prelims/mathematics-iii/1/c/solution

For , the first and second derivatives are one and zero, giving . To find an independent solution, use reduction of order and write . Cancellation of the terms proportional to leaves
Writing and using separation of variables gives
Since , integration yields the general solution
The second factor divided by has nonzero derivative , so the two solutions are linearly independent.

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