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First Order Differential Equations

1. First order linear differential equations can be solved using an integrating factor method. This involves rewriting the equation in standard form, finding the integrating factor, and using it to obtain the general solution. 2. Additional initial conditions can then be applied to determine any constants and obtain the specific solution for that initial value problem. 3. Examples demonstrate solving first order linear differential equations step-by-step and applying initial conditions to get the particular solution when an initial value problem is given.

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jhames09
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457 views

First Order Differential Equations

1. First order linear differential equations can be solved using an integrating factor method. This involves rewriting the equation in standard form, finding the integrating factor, and using it to obtain the general solution. 2. Additional initial conditions can then be applied to determine any constants and obtain the specific solution for that initial value problem. 3. Examples demonstrate solving first order linear differential equations step-by-step and applying initial conditions to get the particular solution when an initial value problem is given.

Uploaded by

jhames09
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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First Order Differential Equations

1. First Order Linear Equations

A first order linear differential equation has the following form:

The general solution is given by

where

called the integrating factor. If an initial condition is given, use it to find the constant C.

Here are some practical steps to follow:

1.
If the differential equation is given as

rewrite it in the form

where

2.
Find the integrating factor

.
3.

Evaluate the integral


4.
Write down the general solution

5.
If you are given an IVP, use the initial condition to find the constant C.

Example1: Find the particular solution of:

Solution: Let us use the steps:

Step 1: There is no need for rewriting the differential equation. We have

Step 2: Integrating factor

Step 3: We have

Step 4: The general solution is given by

Step 5: In order to find the particular solution to the given IVP, we use the initial
condition to find C. Indeed, we have

.
Therefore the solution is

Note that you may not have to do the last step if you are asked to find the general solution
(not an IVP).

Example2: Find the solution to

Solution: First, we recognize that this is a linear equation. Indeed, we have

Therefore, the integrating factor is given by

Since , we get

Hence, the general solution is given by the formula

We have

The details for this calculation involve the technique of integrating rational functions. We have
Hence, the only difficulty is in the integral . Here we will use integration by

parts. We will differentiate t and integrate . The details are left to the reader. We have

Therefore, we have

which clearly implies

The general solution can also be rewritten as

Finally, the initial condition y(0) = 0.4 gives C = 0.4. Therefore, the solution to the IVP is

Example3: Solve the following initial value problem for t > 0

Answer: This is a linear equation. Let us follow these steps for solving such equations:

1. We have to divide by 2t
2. We get the integration factor u(t) by

3. The general solution is given by

Since

Therefore, we have

4. The solution to the given initial value problem may be obtained by using the initial
condition y(2)=4. We have

which gives . Therefore, the solution is


Example4: Find the solution to

Answer: This is a linear equation. First we have to rewrite the equation with no function in front
of y'. We get

which may also be rewritten as

Hence, the integrating factor is given by

Therefore, the general solution can be obtained as

Since we have

we get

The initial condition implies

which gives C=-1. Therefore, the particular solution to the initial value problem is

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