MATH 265 TEST 2 SOLUTIONS

1. Consider the non-homogeneous equation

y 00 + 2y 0 + y = t−2 e−t

(a) Find the general solution of the associated homogeneous equation.

(b) Use the method of variation a parameters to find the general solution of this ODE.

Solution:

(a) The characteristic equation r2 + 2r + 1 = 0 has repeated real roots r1 = r2 = −1.

Therefore the general solution of the homogeneous equation is

yh (t) = c1 e−t + c2 te−t

(b) Set y1 (t) = e−t and y2 (t) = te−t . We have

W [y1 , y2 ] = y1 y20 − y10 y2 = e−t (e−t − te−t ) − (−e−t )te−t = e−2t

A particular solution of the non-homogeneous equation is given by

yp (t) = u1 (t)y1 (t) + u2 (t)y2 (t),

where
−y2 g te−t t−2 e−t 1
u01 = =− −2t
=−
W [y1 , y2 ] e t
−t −2 −t
y1 g e t e 1
u02 = = −2t
= 2
W [y1 , y2 ] e t
Therefore, we may take u1 = − ln |t| and u2 = −1/t, and we obtain a particular solution

yp = −e−t ln |t| − e−t

Since the second term of yp is a solution the homogeneous equation, the general solution of
the ODE is
y = c1 e−t + c2 te−t − e−t ln |t|

2. Compute the Laplace transform of f (t) = |et − e|, using the definition of the Laplace
transform.

Solution: We have
(
−(et − e) for t < 1
f (t) =
et − e for t ≥ 1
1
By definition of the Laplace transform,
Z ∞
L{f (t)} = e−st f (t) dt
0
Z 1 Z ∞
−st
= t
e (e − e ) dt + e−st (et − e) dt
0 1
Z 1 Z A
1−st (1−s)t
e(1−s)t − e1−st dt



= e −e dt + lim
0 A→∞ 1
t=1 t=A
e1−st e(1−s)t 
 (1−s)t
e1−st 

e
= − + lim −
−s 1 − s t=0 A→∞ 1 − s −s t=1
 1−s
e1−s
  
e e 1
= − − − − −
s 1−s s 1−s
 (1−s)A 1−As
  1−s
e1−s

e e e
+ lim + − +
A→∞ 1−s s 1−s s
1−s 1−s
e − 2e 1 − 2e
= + , s>1
s 1−s

3. Suppose an electrical circuit is governed by the following equation:

q 00 + q 0 + q = v,
where q(t) is the charge on the capacitor, and v(t) is the voltage imposed, which has the
following form:
(
0, 0 ≤ t < 2π
v(t) =
sin(t), t ≥ 2π

(a) Write v(t) in terms of the unit step function uc (t).

(b) Compute the Laplace transform L{v(t)}.

(c) Use the Laplace transform to solve the initial value problem consisting of the differential
equation above and initial conditions q(0) = 0 and q 0 (0) = 0.

Solution:

(a) v(t) = u2π sin(t − 2π) = u2π sin(t).

(b) L{v(t)} = e−2πs s21+1

(c) Taking the Laplace transform of the whole equation and plugging in the initial conditions,
we get
e−2πs
Q(s) = L{q(t)} = 2 2
= e−2πs H(s).
(s + 1)(s + s + 1)
Now we need to invert H(s) to get h(t) = L−1 {H(s)}, and the solution shall be q(t) =
u2π (t)h(t − 2π).
Breaking H(s) into partial fractions:
as + b cs + d
H(s) = 2
+ 2 ,
s +1 s +s+1
we get the following: a = −1, b = 0, c = d = 1. Therefore,
−s s+1
H(s) = 2 + 2 .
s +1 s +s+1
Now we have  
−1 −s
L = − cos t
s2 + 1
and
( √ )
  1 3
s + 1 s + 1
L−1 = L−1 2
+√ 2
s2 + s + 1 (s + 21 )2 + 34 3 (s + 1 2
2
) + 43
" √ ! √ !#
t 3 1 3
= e− 2 cos t + √ sin t .
2 3 2
t
h √   √ i
Finally, h(t) = − cos t + e− 2 cos 23 t + √13 sin 23 t , and
q(t) = u2π (t)h(t − 2π)
" √ ! √ !#
1 3 1 3
= −u2π cos t + u2π e− 2 (t−2π) cos (t − 2π) + √ sin (t − 2π)
2 3 2

4. Consider the initial value problem (IVP) given by

y 00 + y 0 = g(t); y(0) = 0, y 0 (0) = 2
(a) Express the solution of the IVP as a convolution integral.

(b) Evaluate the integral for g(t) = e−t .

Solution:

(a) Taking the Laplace transform of the whole equation and plugging in the initial conditions,
we get
2 G
Y (s) = 2 + 2
s +s s +s
The transfer function is
1 1 1
H(s) = 2 = −
s +s s s+1
and we have
h(t) = L−1 {H(s)} = 1 − e−t
The general solution is
Z t
−t
y(t) = 2 − 2e + h(t − u)g(u) du
0
Z t
−t
1 − e−(t−u) g(u) du


= 2 − 2e +
0
(b) For g(t) = e−t , we have
Z t
−t
1 − e−(t−u) e−u du


y(t) = 2 − 2e +
0
Z t
= 2 − 2e−t + e−u − e−t du


0
−u t
t
= 2 − 2e − e 0 − e−t u0
−t


= 2 − 2e−t − e−t + 1 − te−t

= 3 − 3e−t − te−t