Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 ia Paper 2 1A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
The repeated-root constant-coefficient differential equation has characteristic polynomial . Its two fundamental solutions areThey are linearly independent: their Wronskian is , which never vanishes. For the forced equation, exploit the repeated factor by writing . Direct differentiation gives , so the forcing reduces to . The initial data imply and , hence . ThereforeThe extra factor reflects resonance of the forcing with the repeated characteristic root; the exponential substitution obtains it without guessing a particular solution.