Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2024/paper-1/10/d/solution

Put and . Their differential equations are and . Subtract the two cross-multiplied equations and use integration by parts:
The lower boundary term is zero because both functions vanish there. At the upper endpoint, the Robin boundary condition gives , so
Since distinct positive roots have , we conclude
This orthogonality holds for every , even when the sine family requires the additional nonpositive mode for completeness as explained in part (c).

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