Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2001/paper-2/1/a/solution

Separate the variables in this first-order ordinary differential equation:
Integration gives , so . On the interval containing the prescribed point , we have . The initial condition therefore gives , hence . Choosing the positive square root to match that initial condition yields
The maximal interval containing on which this solves the explicit ordinary differential equation is . At the left endpoint , the original denominator vanishes and the derivative becomes unbounded. Directly, and , verifying the equation throughout this interval.

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