Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2023/prelims/mathematics-v/4/b/iii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford 2023 Prelims Mathematics V 4 b iii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
The truncated Fourier cosine series gives the better approximation over the whole closed interval. Its Fourier coefficients obey , so absolute convergence and the tail boundgive uniform convergence. The even periodic extension is continuous; its slope changes only cause corners.
By contrast . The odd periodic extension has a jump at , giving slower coefficient decay and the Gibbs phenomenon near that endpoint. Every truncated Fourier sine series satisfies , soIt therefore cannot converge uniformly to on , although it converges at every point of . This comparison concerns approximation across the interval; it does not assert that the cosine truncation has smaller error at every individual interior point for every .
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