Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2017/paper-2/20/a/ii/solution

This is a Bernoulli differential equation with exponent four. On the nonzero branch selected by , put . Multiplying the original equation by gives
Its integrating factor is , so and . The initial condition sets . Thus
This is the maximal real solution interval containing zero: the solution diverges as . The real negative branch of the same algebraic formula for is disconnected from this initial-value solution. The original equation also admits , but it does not satisfy the prescribed initial condition.

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