Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 68 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Seek an outer asymptotic expansion for fixed . The leading equation is , and the endpoint condition gives . At first order, and , so . This outer correction cannot be evaluated at .
The coefficient selects the boundary layer coordinate . With , the equation becomes . Its inner leading term is constant; matching it to the outer solution gives . At first order, , hence . In the overlap , the outer solution is . Matching the constants therefore givesfor fixed . The logarithmic matching in a small-exponent boundary layer must retain , which is larger in magnitude than a plain order- term. At the endpoint,The coefficient of a separate plain term is zero.
Direct integration provides the exact check:At zero its logarithm is . Exponentiating gives , whose remainder is indeed . The first-order uniform composite also satisfies the boundary condition exactly and reproduces both expansions to the requested order.