Section 1.

3 Direction Fields 21

1.3 EXERCISES
y
1. The direction field for dy / dx = 2x + y is shown in y = −2x y = 2x
Figure 1.12.
(a) Sketch the solution curve that passes through 4
A 0, !2 B . From this sketch, write the equation for
3
the solution.
2
(b) Sketch the solution curve that passes through
A !1, 3 B . 1
(c) What can you say about the solution in part (b) 0
x
1 2 3 4
as x S "q ? How about x S !q ?

6
5
4
3 Figure 1.13 Direction field for dy / dx # 4x / y
2
1 and 15. Why is the value y # 8 called the “terminal
0
x velocity”?
1 2 3 4 5 6
4. If the viscous force in Problem 3 is nonlinear, a pos-
sible model would be provided by the differential
equation
dy y3
#1! .
dt 8

Redraw the direction field in Figure 1.14 to incorpo-

Figure 1.12 Direction field for dy / dx # 2x " y
rate this y 3 dependence. Sketch the solutions with
initial conditions y A 0 B # 0, 1, 2, 3. What is the ter-
2. The direction field for dy / dx # 4x / y is shown in minal velocity in this case?
Figure 1.13.
(a) Verify that the straight lines y # $2x are solu- υ
tion curves, provided x % 0.
(b) Sketch the solution curve with initial condition
y A 0 B # 2.
(c) Sketch the solution curve with initial condition
y A 2 B # 1.
(d) What can you say about the behavior of the above 8
solutions as x S "q ? How about x S !q ?
3. A model for the velocity y at time t of a certain
object falling under the influence of gravity in a vis-
cous medium is given by the equation 1
t
0 1
dy y
#1! .
dt 8
From the direction field shown in Figure 1.14, sketch
dy y
the solutions with the initial conditions y A 0 B # 5, 8, Figure 1.14 Direction field for
dt
#1!
8
22 Chapter 1 Introduction

5. The logistic equation for the population (in thou- (b) Show that the acceleration of a particle is given by
sands) of a certain species is given by
d 2x
dp # 3t 2 ! 3t 3x 2 " 3x 5 .
# 3p ! 2p2 . dt 2
dt (c) If a particle is located at x # 2 when t # 2.5, can
(a) Sketch the direction field by using either a com- it reach the location x # 1 at any later time?
puter software package or the method of iso- 3 Hint: t 3 ! x 3 # A t ! x B A t 2 " xt " x 2 B . 4
clines. 9. Let f AxB denote the solution to the initial value
(b) If the initial population is 3000 3 that is, p A 0 B # problem
3 4 , what can you say about the limiting popula- dy
tion limtS"q p A t B ? #x!y , y A0B # 1 .
dx
(c) If p A 0 B # 0.8, what is lim tS"q p A t B ?
(d) Can a population of 2000 ever decline to 800? (a) Show that f– A x B # 1 ! f¿ A x B # 1 ! x " f A x B .
(b) Argue that the graph of f is decreasing for x
6. Consider the differential equation
near zero and that as x increases from zero, f A x B
dy decreases until it crosses the line y # x, where
# x " sin y .
dx its derivative is zero.
(c) Let x* be the abscissa of the point where the
(a) A solution curve passes through the point
solution curve y # f A x B crosses the line y # x.
A 1, p / 2 B . What is its slope at this point?
Consider the sign of f– A x* B and argue that f
(b) Argue that every solution curve is increasing for
has a relative minimum at x*.
x & 1.
(d) What can you say about the graph of y # f A x B
(c) Show that the second derivative of every solu-
for x & x*?
tion satisfies
(e) Verify that y # x ! 1 is a solution to dy / dx #
d 2y 1 x ! y and explain why the graph of f A x B always
# 1 " x cos y " sin 2y .
dx 2 2 stays above the line y # x ! 1.
(d) A solution curve passes through A 0, 0 B . Prove (f) Sketch the direction field for dy / dx # x ! y by
that this curve has a relative minimum at A 0, 0 B . using the method of isoclines or a computer
software package.
7. Consider the differential equation
(g) Sketch the solution y # f A x B using the direction
dp field in part A f B .
# p A p ! 1B A2 ! pB
dt 10. Use a computer software package to sketch the
for the population p (in thousands) of a certain direction field for the following differential equa-
species at time t. tions. Sketch some of the solution curves.
(a) Sketch the direction field by using either a com- (a) dy / dx # sin x
puter software package or the method of isoclines. (b) dy / dx # sin y
(b) If the initial population is 4000 3 that is, p A 0 B # (c) dy / dx # sin x sin y
4 4 , what can you say about the limiting popula- (d) dy / dx # x 2 " 2y 2
tion lim tS"q p A t B ? (e) dy / dx # x 2 ! 2y 2
(c) If p A 0 B # 1.7, what is lim tS"q p A t B ?
(d) If p A 0 B # 0.8, what is lim tS"q p A t B ? In Problems 11–16, draw the isoclines with their direction
(e) Can a population of 900 ever increase to 1100? markers and sketch several solution curves, including the
8. The motion of a set of particles moving along the curve satisfying the given initial conditions.
x-axis is governed by the differential equation 11. dy / dx # !x / y , y A0B # 4
dx 12. dy / dx # y , y A0B # 1
# t3 ! x3 ,
dt 13. dy / dx # 2x , y A 0 B # !1
where x A t B denotes the position at time t of the particle. 14. dy / dx # x / y , y A 0 B # !1
(a) If a particle is located at x # 1 when t # 2, what 15. dy / dx # 2x ! y ,
2
y A0B # 0
is its velocity at this time? 16. dy / dx # x " 2y , y A0B # 1

22
 Section 1.4 The Approximation Method of Euler 23

17. From a sketch of the direction field, what can one magnet, the magnetic field lines satisfy the differen-
say about the behavior as x approaches "q of a tial equation
solution to the following? dy 3xy
(4) ! 2
dy 1 dx 2x " y2
#3!y"
dx x and the equipotential lines satisfy the equation
18. From a sketch of the direction field, what can one dy y2 " 2x 2
say about the behavior as x approaches "q of a (5) ! .
dx 3xy
solution to the following?
(a) Show that the two families of curves are per-
dy pendicular where they intersect. [Hint: Con-
# !y
dx sider the slopes of the tangent lines of the two
curves at a point of intersection.]
19. By rewriting the differential equation dy / dx # !y / x
(b) Sketch the direction field for equation (4) for
in the form
!5 ' x ' 5 , !5 ' y ' 5. You can use a soft-
1 !1 ware package to generate the direction field or
dy # dx
y x use the method of isoclines. The direction field
should remind you of the experiment where
integrate both sides to obtain the solution y # C / x iron filings are sprinkled on a sheet of paper
for an arbitrary constant C. that is held above a bar magnet. The iron filings
20. A bar magnet is often modeled as a magnetic dipole correspond to the hash marks.
with one end labeled the north pole N and the oppo- (c) Use the direction field found in part (b) to help
site end labeled the south pole S. The magnetic field sketch the magnetic field lines that are solutions
for the magnetic dipole is symmetric with respect to to (4).
rotation about the axis passing lengthwise through (d) Apply the statement of part (a) to the curves in
the center of the bar. Hence we can study the mag- part (c) to sketch the equipotential lines that are
netic field by restricting ourselves to a plane with the solutions to (5). The magnetic field lines and
bar magnet centered on the x-axis. the equipotential lines are examples of orthogo-
For a point P that is located a distance r from the nal trajectories. (See Problem 32 in Exercises
origin, where r is much greater than the length of the 2.4, pages 62–63.)†

1.4 THE APPROXIMATION METHOD OF EULER

Euler’s method (or the tangent-line method) is a procedure for constructing approximate solu-
tions to an initial value problem for a first-order differential equation

(1) y¿ # f A x, y B , y A x 0 B # y0 .

It could be described as a “mechanical” or “computerized” implementation of the informal

procedure for hand sketching the solution curve from a picture of the direction field. As
such, we will see that it remains subject to the failing that it may skip across solution curves.
However, under fairly general conditions, iterations of the procedure do converge to true
solutions.

†
Equations (4) and (5) can be solved using the method for homogeneous equations in Section 2.6 (see Exercises 2.6,
Problem 47).