Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2020 / Paper 1 / 13 / a

For a first-order linear ordinary differential equation $y^{\prime }+p(x)y=q(x)$, an integrating factor is $\exp (\int p(x)dx)$. Here $p(x)=\cot x$, soThe sine is positive on the specified interval, so this integrating factor never vanishes there. Any nonzero constant multiple is equally suitable.

Multiplication by the integrating factor and the product rule turn the left side into a single derivative:Using integration by substitution $u=\cos x$ gives $y\sin x=-{\cos }^{3}x/3+C$. Therefore the general solution isThere is one arbitrary constant of integration, as expected for a first-order ordinary differential equation.