Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 ib Paper 3 22A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Let . Direct substitution shows , so the functional annihilates all quadratic polynomials. Taylor's integral-remainder formula isApplying and interchanging the finite evaluations and derivative with the continuous integral gives the Peano kernel representation , whereAll three expressions are nonnegative; the middle quadratic has positive leading coefficient and discriminant . Therefore the best possible norm bound has constant . Evaluate that integral particularly simply by using , for which :It follows thatThe same cubic attains equality, so the constant is sharp, not merely sufficient. This is the sharp Peano bound for an interior three-point first derivative.