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The Auxiliary Equations

Any linear homogeneous differential equation with constant coefficients, a_o (d^n y)/〖dx〗^n + a_1 (d^(n-1) y)/〖dx〗^(n-1) +⋯+ a_(n-1) dy/dx+ a_n y =0 (1) may be written in the for f (D)y=0 (2) where f (D) is a linear differential operator. As we saw in the preceding chapter, if m is any root of the algebraic equati0n f(m) = 0, then f(D) e^mx=0, which means simply that y= e^mx is a solution of equation (2). The equation f (m)=0 (3) is called the auxiliary equation associated with (1) and (2).

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615 views4 pages

The Auxiliary Equations

Any linear homogeneous differential equation with constant coefficients, a_o (d^n y)/〖dx〗^n + a_1 (d^(n-1) y)/〖dx〗^(n-1) +⋯+ a_(n-1) dy/dx+ a_n y =0 (1) may be written in the for f (D)y=0 (2) where f (D) is a linear differential operator. As we saw in the preceding chapter, if m is any root of the algebraic equati0n f(m) = 0, then f(D) e^mx=0, which means simply that y= e^mx is a solution of equation (2). The equation f (m)=0 (3) is called the auxiliary equation associated with (1) and (2).

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Chriselle R
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The Auxiliary Equations: Distinct Roots

Any linear homogeneous differential equation with constant


coefficients,
n

ao

n1

d y
d y
dy
+a1 n1 + +a n1 +a n y =0
n
dx
dx
dx

(1)

may be written in the for


f ( D ) y=0

(2)

where f (D) is a linear differential operator. As we saw in the


preceding chapter, if m is any root of the algebraic equati0n f(m)
= 0, then
f ( D ) e mx =0,

which means simply that

y=emx

is a solution of equation (2). The

equation
f ( m )=0

(3)

is called the auxiliary equation associated with (1) and (2).

The auxiliary equation for (1) is of degree n. Let its roots be m 1,


m2, , mn. If these roots are all real and distinct, then the n
solutions
y 1=exp ( m1 x ) , y 2=exp ( m2 x ) , , y n=exp ( mn x ) ,

are linearly independent and the general solution of (1) can be


written at once. It is
y 1=c 1 exp ( m1 x ) +c 2 exp ( m2 x ) ++c n exp ( mn x ) ,

in which c1, c2, , cn are arbitrary constants.

EXAMPLE 1
Solve the equation
d2 y
dy
3 +2 y=0
2
dx
dx

First, write the auxiliary equations


m23 m+2=0

By factoring
( m1 ) ( m2 )=0
m1=1, m2 =2,

The roots are real and distinct. Thus

e x e2 x

general solution may be written


y=c1 e x +c 2 e2 x

EXAMPLE 2:
Find the general solution to the equation
y ' ' 2 y ' 8 y =0

Solution:
The associated auxiliary equation is
y 22 y8=0

are solutions and the

By factoring
( y4 ) ( y +2 )=0
y=4, y =2
4x
2 x
The fundamental solution set is {e , e } . Thus, the general

solution is
y ( x )=c 1 e 4 x + c2 e2 x

EXAMPLE 3
Solve the equation
d3 y
d2 y dy
4
+ +6 y=0
dx 3
dx 2 dx

First, write the auxiliary equations


m34 m2+ m+6=0

We observe that m = -1 is a root of this equation. By synthetic


division we obtain the factorization
( m+ 1 ) ( m25 m+6 )=0

( m+ 1 )( m2 )( m3 )=0

Thus the roots are distinct real numbers


m1=1,m 2=2, m 3=3,

and the general solution is


y=c1 ex +c 2 e 2 x +c 3 e3 x

Exercise:

Find the general solution. When the operator D is used, it is


implied that the independence
2
1) ( D +2 D3 ) y=0
2
2) ( D +2 D ) y =0
3
2
3) ( D +3 D 4 D ) y=0
3
2
4) ( D 2 D 5 D+6 ) y =0

Prepared by:
Ms. MARRY CHRISELLE H. RAOLA
MATHEd

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