Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2025/paper-1/3/a/solution

The homogeneous linear differential equation can be written in divergence form:
One integration gives . Therefore the two cases are
In each case the displayed functions have linear independence throughout the interval. Imposing both homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions forces : for , , and for , . This also establishes uniqueness for the inhomogeneous boundary value problem.

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