Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2016 / ib / Paper 4 / 14A / c / i / Solution

Transform in time and use the zero interior initial conditions. The Laplace transform of a derivative formula turns the wave equation into $c^2{Y}_{xx}=p^{2}Y$. Its transformed endpoint conditions are $Y(0,p)=a/p$ and $Y(L,p)=0$. A homogeneous solution satisfying the right condition is a multiple of $\sinh [p(L-x)/c]$; the left condition fixes that multiple. Thus, for $\mathrm{Re}p>0$,Here $L,c>0$ and the denominator has no zeros in this half-plane. The initial-boundary corner at $(0,0)$ is deliberately discontinuous: the applied step launches propagating fronts, so one should not demand a globally smooth solution across them.