Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2025/paper-2/20/b/solution

At , the initial conditions imply
Differentiate the first relation and solve for the two derivatives:
Fix a reference point and set . Taking antiderivatives gives
The constants must be opposite to preserve the first initial condition; the arbitrary constant of integration does not change . Substitution yields D'Alembert's formula:
The fundamental theorem of calculus verifies that its time derivative at zero is , and its value at zero is . The oriented integral also makes the formula valid for negative .

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