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
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 by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
At , the initial conditions implyDifferentiate the first relation and solve for the two derivatives:Fix a reference point and set . Taking antiderivatives givesThe 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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