Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-year-2-of-the-earth-sciences-geology-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2022/paper-1/10/c/iii/solution

Successive jumps occur at times separated by s. Between and s the plotted function is , periodically extended, with maximum and minimum . Its mean is therefore m, and is an odd function over that centered period.
For the Fourier series convention
m and for every ; the nonconstant content consists of sine terms. If denotes the mean directly in the alternative convention , its value is m. Stating the convention resolves the otherwise ambiguous notation.
For completeness, integrating against the sine basis gives m. At a jump the Fourier series converges to the midpoint m. The nonzero mean does not destroy the oddness argument for the mean-subtracted function; declaring the original function itself odd would incorrectly force its mean to vanish.

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