KIX 1001: ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS 1

Tutorial 11: Differential Equations (First Order)

1. Identify 5 physical laws/ theory that are frequently used in your field of study (i.e.
Mechanical/Electrical/Chemical/Civil/Environment/etc.) and show that they can be
transformed into the form of differential equation.

2. Identify the dependent & independent variables for each case. Classify each equation
according to its order, linearity/non-linearity, and homogeneity/non-homogeneity. Hence,
find its’ solutions if it can be solved by using linear differential equation and separable
differential equation.
d 2 y 4 dy
(i) 5x 2 - - sin 2 x = 0 , y (0) = 0 , y '(0) = 0
dx x dx
2
2 d y dy
(ii) x 2 - 3x = 4 y , y (0) = 0 , y '(0) = 0
dx dx
dy 4
(iii) + y - x 3 y 2 = 0 , y (2) = -1
dx x
3 dx 3
(iv) e-t - 3t 2e-t x = 0 , x(1) = 2
dt
dv 2
(v) - 3t v + 3t 2 = 0 , v(0) = 2
dt
dy t 2 y3
(vi) - 3ty = , y (0) = 0
dt y +1
d2y dy
(vii) x2 2 - 3y = 0 , y (0) = 1 , y (2) = 4
dx dx
dy
(viii) x + y = 8 , y (3) = 5
dx
dy y 2 + yt
(ix) = , y (1) = 4
dt t2
d 3 y 4 dy
(x) 5x 3 - -5tan x = 0 , y (0) = 0 , y (5) = 4 , y (10) = 7
dx x dx
(xi) 𝑥 ′′ + sin(𝑥) = 0
(xii) 𝑥 ′′ + 2𝑥 ′ + 𝑥 = sin(𝑡)
𝑑𝑦
3. Find the solution of the differential equation 𝑑𝑥 = −2𝑥.
a. Sketch the curves of the solution when the constant value is 1, 0 and -1, respectively.
b. What would be the particular solution if given a boundary condition of 𝑦(1) = 3?

4. (a) Given the population of rabbit in human habitat (rabbit farm) grows at a rate proportional
to the number of rabbit at time t (year). It is observed that 200 and 800 rabbits are presented
 at 3rd year and 6th year respectively. What was the initial number of the rabbit, y (0) = y0 ? How
long does it take the population to double to 2 y0 ?

(b) A person has bought 1000 rabbits from the farm and releases them to the jungle that is
full of predator (i.e. p = 50 snakes at the time he/she releases the rabbit). Given the governing
dy y
equation of the rabbit population is changed to = - p + 3 y (1- ) . How long does it take
dt 100
the rabbit population to decrease to half?

5. A brine mixing problem is illustrated in the following figure where a tank contains a liquid of
g
volume V0 = 10m3 with concentration C0 = 0.5 3 initially and two valves (A & B) are
m
opened simultaneously. The rate of change for the amount of salt in the tank over time is
dx x(t )
given: = Q1C1 - Q2 . Let x(t ) = amount of salt; concentration of salt over
dt V0 + (Q1 - Q2 )t
x(t ) 𝑚3 g
time= C (t ) = ; 𝑄1 = 𝑄2 = 𝒂 𝑚𝑖𝑛; C1 = 1 3 .
V (t ) m

Replace 𝒂 with the last three digits of your matric number. For example, if your matric
number is KHA110108, your 𝒂 is thus 108.

What is the change of the amount of salt and also the change of its concentration over time.?

Valve A
Q1 , C1 Stir the mixture so that it is
homogeneous and the
Volume, V0 Concentration, C0 concentration of salt distribute
evenly in the liquid
Valve B
Q2 , C2

6. In the lecture note, mathematical modelling of engineering problem such as falling

parachutist problem and electrical circuit problem, using differential equation has been
demonstrated. Give an example for the mathematical modelling of an engineering problem
related to your field of study by using differential equation. Identify the dependent variable,
independent variable, parameters and forcing functions for your problem. You are required
to present that in the tutorial class. Credit will be given for those who provide example
involving calculation or illustration.

d 2 q(t ) dq(t ) 1
7. Given the governing equation for RLC electrical circuit: L 2 +R + q(t ) = E (t ) .
dt dt C
An inductor of L = 2 henrys and a resistor of R = 10 ohms are connected in series with an
emf of E volts. Note that in this case the capacitor has been removed. At t = 0, the switch
 S is closed, thus no charge and current flow at that moment. Find the charge and current at
any time t > 0 if
a) E (t ) = 40 volts
-3t
b) E (t ) = 20e volts

A B

Switch C q(t )

L
D F

8. When a hot liquid is placed on a cooler environment, experimental observation shows that
its temperature decreases to approximately that of its surroundings. A typical graph of the
temperature of the liquid plotted against time is shown in the figure below:

After an initially rapid decrease the temperature changes progressively less rapidly and eventually
the curve appears to ‘flatten out’. Newton’s law of cooling states that the rate of cooling of liquid is
proportional to the difference between its temperature and the temperature of its environment (the
ambient temperature). To convert this into mathematics, let 𝑡 be the time elapsed (in seconds, s),𝜃
the temperature of the liquid (°C), and 𝜃0 the temperature of the liquid at the start (t = 0). The
temperature of the surroundings is denoted by 𝜃𝑠 . The mathematical expression of Newton’s law of
𝑑𝜃 𝑑𝜃
cooling is thus ∝ (𝜃 − 𝜃𝑠 ), or,
𝑑𝑡
= −𝑘(𝜃 − 𝜃𝑠 ). Here, 𝑘 is a positive constant of proportionality
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝜃
and the negative sign is present because (𝜃 − 𝜃𝑠 ) is positive, whereas must be negative because
𝑑𝑡
𝜃 decreases with time. Thus, this justifies the presence of the negative sign.

a) What would be the unit of 𝑘?

b) Given the initial condition at 𝑡 = 0 is 𝜃 = 𝜃0 , find the solution to the differential equation
𝑑𝜃
𝑑𝑡
= −𝑘(𝜃 − 𝜃𝑠 ) that satisfy the initial condition.
c) Plot the graph of 𝜃 against 𝑡 for the solution obtained in b) and indicate 𝜃0 and 𝜃𝑠 on the axis.
 𝑑𝜃
d) If the Newton’s law of cooling is written in the form of 𝑑𝑡 + 𝑘𝜃 = 𝑘𝜃𝑠 , solve the differential
equation using the integrating factor method. Initial condition is the same as given in b).
Compare your answer with the one obtained in b).