Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2025/paper-1/15/a/i/solution

Where , the separable differential equation is . Separating and taking antiderivatives gives , for nonzero . Including the zero solution, the explicit general solution is
on any interval with . It can also be obtained without dividing by : the product rule gives .
A nonzero solution cannot extend through a zero of . If a differentiable solution is required on an interval containing such a zero, the original equation there requires , and the only such solution across that zero is .

New to topics? Read the docs here!