Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/undated/prelims/mathematics-iii-resit/5/a/ii/solution

The homogeneous characteristic equation of a linear recurrence is
The repeated characteristic root of a linear recurrence supplies the independent terms and . A constant particular solution is , since . Thus .
The scan prints , not . These initial conditions are consistent. They give from , then , so . Therefore
In particular and . Direct substitution verifies the recurrence relation. This is an example of nonconsecutive initial values for a linear recurrence; replacing the printed subscript by 1 would change the answer.

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