Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2013 / Paper 2 / 1 / i / Solution

Multiply the differential equation by $(1-x^2{)}^{-1/2}$. Sincethe Sturm-Liouville form isThe weighted inner product is consequently $⟨u,v{⟩}_w={\int }_{-1}^1{u}^{\ast }vdx/\sqrt{1-x^2}$. These endpoints are singular: $p$ vanishes and $w$ diverges, though $w$ is integrable. The required boundedness of $y,y^{\prime }$ makes the boundary factors $p{y}^{\prime }$ vanish, which is the fact needed in the integration identities below.