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The problem on my hw reads as

$e^{-y}\sin t$ (from the hw he hands out) with just a negative sign on the exponent

instead of

$e^{-ft}y\sin ω t$ where $f$ and $ω$ are real constants; $f$ = friction & $ω$ = frequency. (from the online notes)

Did he make a mistake? or are these two different solvable problems.

AsukaMinato
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stack ex
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    Is it literally $e^-ysint$ (MathJax e^-ysint) or does it look more like $e^{-y}\sin t$ (MathJax e^{-y}\sin t)? Or something else? It's also unclear what the homework would be asking in either case: if the domain of $t$ is all real numbers, then $e^{-ft}y\sin\omega t$ has no global minimum. Is the question actually about local minima? Anything you can do to make this question less cryptic will increase the chance of getting an answer. https://math.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-ask – David K May 01 '17 at 21:24
  • literally $e^-ysint$ with nothing floating next to it – stack ex May 01 '17 at 21:33
  • Unfortunately it says just minimum, not local minimum. Something It does say on the online version is that f and ω are real constants; f is the friction and ω is the frequency. – stack ex May 01 '17 at 21:35
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    That's looking suspiciously like a typographical error by whoever wrote this up. Regarding the other ambiguity, a non-mathematician wouldn't necessarily distinguish global and local mimima; or it may be that global is intended but only for $t \geq 0$. You could compare other worked problems from the same notes. You could also ask the instructor. – David K May 01 '17 at 21:39
  • Sounds good, I will keep the fact that it is only a local minimum in mind. Teacher isn't very responsive so I'll have to wait until our next meeting. – stack ex May 01 '17 at 21:41

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