Quiz 9

1. Consider the simple harmonic oscillator (SHO) equation

d2y
dx2

y0

Determine a power series solution of the form

y

an x n

n 0

To obtain the solution proceed as follows:

a) Determine the first derivative

dy
of y
dx
d2y

b) Determine the second derivative

c) Substitute the series for

d2y
dx 2

dx 2

of y

and y in the SHO equation

d) Evaluate the first two terms in the

d2y
dx2

series to obtain the arbitrary constants

e) Obtain the recurrence relation for the SHO equation using

n2

n 0

nn 1an x n2 n 1n 2an2 x n

f) Using the recurrence relation obtain the general solution

y a0 cos x a1 sin x