Past exam of the year 2 of the earth sciences (geology) course of the University of Oxford / 2025 / Paper 3 / 8 / b

The wave equation is second order in time. Even one normal mode obeys a second-order ordinary differential equation, so its initial displacement and initial velocity are independent data. Physically they specify stored elastic deformation and the initial motion.

The heat equation is first order in time; its initial temperature already fixes the instantaneous time derivative through the spatial Laplacian. It needs one initial field. In either case spatial boundary conditions remain necessary and are not substitutes for initial data. Classical fixed-end string data must satisfy the appropriate endpoint compatibility, including $f(0)=f(L)=0$ and, when endpoint velocities exist, $g(0)=g(L)=0$.