Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2002/paper-1/8/a/solution

Use reduction of order by setting . Then and , so the differential expression simplifies to
In the homogeneous case is constant. Hence , and a basis of the solution space is
Their Wronskian is on , proving linear independence. No nonzero homogeneous solution satisfies both endpoint conditions: sets , and then sets .

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