Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2015 / Paper 1 / 13 / a / Solution

Set $T=t+a>0$. The similarity solution uses $y=(x+b)T^{-1/2}$, whose partial derivatives at fixed $x$ or $t$ areApply the multivariable chain rule to $u=T^{-1/2}v(y)$:Substituting in the heat equation and cancelling the positive common factor $T^{-3/2}$ gives