Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2016 / ib / Paper 2 / 16A / b

The method of images for the Neumann boundary conditions extends $bx$ evenly through zero and then with period $2\pi$. Define the triangular waveThe formulas agree at their endpoints. It is even, $2\pi$-periodic, and agrees with $bx$ on $[0,\pi ]$. Its Fourier cosine series has the coefficients in part (a). The cosine product identity then gives the D'Alembert formulaIt is the average of two oppositely traveling reflected waves. For $b>0$, the sketch rises from zero at even multiples of $\pi$ to $b\pi$ at odd multiples; for $b<0$ it is reflected vertically, and for $b=0$ it is zero.