APPLICATIONS OF FIRST ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

 Growth and Decay

 Compound Interest
 Newton’s Law of Cooling and Warming
 Mechanics Problems
 Mixture Problems
 Electric Circuits

Exponential Growth and Decay

The rate of growth or decay of a certain population is directly proportional to the amount
present.

𝑑𝑥
∝𝑥
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑥
= 𝑘𝑥
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑥
∫ 𝑥 = 𝑘 ∫ 𝑑𝑡
𝑿 = 𝑪𝒆𝒌𝒕

Sample Problems:
1. The population of a community is known to increase at a rate proportional to the number
of people present at time t. If an initial population has doubled in 5 years, how long will it
take to triple?
2. Archeologists used pieces of burned wood or charcoal found at the site to date prehistoric
paintings and drawings on walls and ceilings of a cave in Lascaux, France. Determine the
approximate age of a piece of burned wood if it was found that 85.5% of the C-14 found
in living trees of the same type had decayed. (half-life of C-14: 5730 years)
3. Water leaks from a cylinder at a rate proportional to the square root of the volume
remaining at any time. If initially there are 64 gallons present and 15 gallons leak out on
the first day, how much will be left after 4 days? When will there be 25 gallons?
4. Initially, 100 mg of a radioactive substance was present. After 6 hours, the mass had
decreased by 3%. If the rate of decay is proportional to the amount of the substance
present at time t, find the amount remaining after 24 hours.
5. The population of bacteria in a culture grows at a rate proportional to the number of
bacteria present at time t. After 3 hours, it is observed that 400 bacteria are present. After
10 hours, 2000 bacteria are present. What was the initial number of bacteria?
Compound Interest Problems

The rate of increase in the value of money is directly proportional to the amount of money
present.

𝑑𝑥
∝𝑥
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑥
= 𝑘𝑥
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑥
∫ 𝑥 = 𝑘 ∫ 𝑑𝑡
𝑿 = 𝑪𝒆𝒌𝒕

Sample Problems:
1. When interest is compounded continuously, the amount of money increases at a rate
proportional to the amount present at time t. (a) Find the amount of money accrued at
the end of 5 years when P50,000 is deposited in a savings account drawing 5.75% annual
interest compounded continuously? (b) In how many years will the initial sum deposited
have doubled?
2. A person places P5,000 in an account that accrues interest compounded continuously.
Assuming no additional deposits or withdrawals, how much will be in the account after
seven years if the interest rate is constant 8.5 percent for the first four years and a
constant 9.25 percent for the last three years?
Newton’s Law of Cooling and Warming

Newton’s Law of Cooling states that the time rate of change of the temperature of the
body is proportional to the temperature difference between the body and its surrounding
medium.

𝑑𝑇
∝ (𝑇 − 𝑇𝑚 )
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑇
= 𝑘(𝑇 − 𝑇𝑚 )
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑇
∫ (𝑇−𝑇 = 𝑘 ∫ 𝑑𝑡
𝑚)
𝑻 − 𝑻𝒎 = 𝑪𝒆𝒌𝒕

𝑑𝑇
Where: → time rate of change of the temperature of the body
𝑑𝑡
𝑇 → temperature of the body at any time
𝑇𝑚 → temperature of the medium
𝑘 → proportionality constant
𝑡 → time

Sample Problems:
1. A body at a temperature of 50℉ is placed in an oven whose temperature is kept at 150℉.
If after 10 minutes the temperature of the body is 75℉, find the time required for the
body to reach a temperature of 100℉.
2. A body with a temperature of 100℃ is immersed in a liquid that is kept constant
temperature of 20℃. After 15 minutes, the temperature of the body decreased to 60℃.
(a) Find the time it will take for the temperature of the body to decrease to 40℃. (b) What
will be the temperature of the body after 40 minutes?
3. At 1:00 PM, a thermometer reading 70℉ is taken outside where the air temperature is
−10℉. At 1:02 PM, the reading is 26℉. At 1:05 PM, the thermometer is taken back
indoors where the air is 70℉. What is the thermometer reading at 1:09 PM?
4. At 2:00 PM, a thermometer reading 80℉ is taken outside, where the air temperature is
20℉. At 2:03 PM, the temperature reading yielded by the thermometer is 42℉. Later,
the thermometer is brought inside, where the air is at 80℉. At 2:10 PM, the reading is
71℉. When was the thermometer brought indoors?
5. A thermometer is taken from an inside room to the outside, where the air temperature is
−15℃. After 1 minute the thermometer reads 13℃, and after 5 minutes it reads −1℃.
What is the initial temperature of the inside room?
6. If a thermometer is taken from a room in which the temperature is 75℃ into the open,
where the temperature is 35℃, and the temperature reading is 65℃ after 30 seconds, (a)
How long after the removal will the reading be 50℃? (b) What will be the temperature
reading 3 minutes after the removal?
Mixture Problems

The rate at which a substance changes is equal to the rate at which the substance is
entering minus the rate at which it is going out.

Rate equation:
𝑑𝑥
= 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 − 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑡
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑥
= 𝑞𝑖 𝑐𝑖 − 𝑞𝑜 𝑐𝑜
𝑑𝑡

*Volume at any time (t)

𝑉 = 𝑉𝑜 + (𝑞𝑖 − 𝑞𝑜 )𝑡
Where: 𝑉𝑜 → initial volume

Let 𝑥 → amount of substance present at any time

𝑞𝑖 → volumetric flow rate of the solution coming in
𝑞𝑜 → volumetric flow rate of the solution going out
𝑐𝑖 → concentration of the solution coming in
𝑐𝑜 → concentration of the solution going out
𝑡 → time
𝑑𝑥
→ rate of change
𝑑𝑡

Sample Problems:
1. A tank contains 100 liters of fresh water and brine containing 2 kg of salt per liter, flows
into the tank at the rate of 3 liters per minute and the mixture, kept uniform by stirring,
flows out at the same rate. How many kg of salt are there in the tank at the end of 30
minutes?
2. A sewage disposal plant has a big holding tank of 100,000-gal capacity. It is ¾ filled with
liquid to start with and contains 60,000 lb of organic material in suspension. Fresh water
runs into the tank at the rate of 20,000 gal/hr and the well-stirred mixture leaves at the
rate of 15,000 gal/hr. How much organic material is in the tank at the end of 3 hours?
3. A 50-gal tank initially contains 10 gal of fresh water. At t=0, a brine solution containing 1
lb of salt per gallon is poured into the tank at the rate 4 gal/min, while the well-stirred
mixtures leaves the tank at the rate of 2 gal/min. Find (a) the amount of time required for
overflow to occur and (b) the amount of salt in the tank at the moment of overflow.
Electric Circuits

For a series circuit containing only a resistor and an inductor, Kirchhoff’s second law states
𝑑𝑖
that the sum of the voltage drop across the inductor (𝐿 𝑑𝑡) and the voltage drop across the
resistor (𝑖𝑅) is the same as the impressed voltage 𝐸(𝑡) on the circuit.
𝒅𝒊
𝑳 𝒅𝒕 + 𝑹𝒊 = 𝑬(𝒕)

The voltage drop across a capacitor with capacitance C is given by 𝑞(𝑡)/𝐶, where q is the
charge on the capacitor.
𝟏
𝑹𝒊 + 𝒒 = 𝑬(𝒕)
𝑪

But current I and charge q are related by 𝑖 = 𝑑𝑞/𝑑𝑡, so the linear differential equation of
the series circuit is
𝒅𝒒 𝟏
𝑹 + 𝒒 = 𝑬(𝒕)
𝒅𝒕 𝑪

Sample Problems:
1. A 30-volt electromotive force is applied to an LR-series circuit in which the inductance is
0.1 henry and the resistance is 50 ohm. Find the current 𝑖(𝑡) if 𝑖(0) = 0. Determine the
current as 𝑡 → ∞.
2. A 100-volt electromotive force is applied to an RC-series circuit in which the resistance is
200 ohm and the capacitance is 10−4 farad. Find the charge 𝑞(𝑡) on the capacitor if
𝑞(0) = 0. Find the current 𝑖(𝑡).
3. A 200-volt electromotive force is applied to an RC-series circuit in which the resistance is
1000 ohm and the capacitance is 5𝑥10−6 farad. Find the charge 𝑞(𝑡) on the capacitor if
𝑖(0) = 0.4. Determine the charge and current at 𝑡 = 0.005 𝑠. Determine the charge as
𝑡 → ∞.
Problems in Mechanics

The time rate of change of momentum of a body is proportional with the resultant force
acting on the body and is in the direction of the resultant force.

Recall: Newton’s Second Law of Motion

𝒅𝒗
𝑭 = 𝒎𝒂 = 𝒎 𝒅𝒕

Length Force Mass Gravity

cgs centimeter (cm) dyne (d) gram (g) 980 cm/s2
mks meter (m) Newton (N) kilogram (kg) 9.8 m/s2
British foot (ft) pound (lb) slug (sl) 32 ft/s2

Sample Problems:
1. A body of mass 5 slugs is dropped from a height of 100 feet with zero velocity. Assuming
no air resistance, find the time required for the body to reach the ground.
2. A body of mass 2 kg is dropped from a height of 200 m. Find the limiting velocity of the
body if it encounters a resistance force equal to −50𝑣.
3. A ball of mass 10 slugs is dropped from a height of 1000 ft with no initial velocity. The
body encounters an air resistance proportional to its velocity. If the limiting velocity is
known to be 320 ft/sec, find (a) an expression for the velocity of the body at any time; (b)
an expression for the position of the body at any time; (c) the time required for the body
to attain velocity of 160 ft/sec; and (d) the time it takes for the body to hit the ground.
4. A long, very smooth board is inclined at an angle of 10 degrees with the horizontal. A
weight starts from rest 10ft from the bottom of the board and slides downward under
the action of gravity alone. Find how long it will take the weight to reach the bottom of
the board and determine the terminal speed.
5. An object weighing 48 lb is released from rest at the top a plane metal slide that is inclined
30 degrees to the horizontal. Air resistance (in pounds) is numerically equal to one-half
the velocity (in feet per second) and coefficient of friction is one-quarter. (a) What is the
velocity of the object 2 seconds after it is released? (b) if the slide is 24 ft long, what is the
velocity when the object reaches the bottom?