Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2017/paper-1/20/a/solution

The original differential equation is defined only where and . Put , so the chain rule gives . Multiplying the equation by yields a first-order linear ordinary differential equation:
An integrating factor on either half-line is , up to an irrelevant nonzero constant. Equivalently, apply the quotient rule directly:
Integrating gives . Thus the real general solution is
on any connected interval where and . These restrictions preserve both the original denominator and differentiability of the real cube root. In particular includes on either half-line; this solution has not been lost through division by an expression involving .
For verification, differentiating gives , while . The two sides agree wherever the original equation is defined.

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