APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

1. Bacteria grow in a nutrient solution at a rate proportional to the amount present. Initially, there
are 250 strands of the bacteria in the solution which grows to 800 strands after seven hours. Find
(a) an expression for the approximate number of strands in the culture at any time t and (b) the
time needed for the bacteria to grow to 1600 strands.
2. Bacteria grow in a culture at a rate proportional to the amount present. Initially, 300 strands of
the bacteria are in the culture and after two hours that number has grown by 20 percent. Find (a)
an expression for the approximate number of strands in the culture at any time t and (b) the time
needed for the bacteria to double its initial size.
3. A mold grows at a rate proportional to its present size. Initially there is 2 oz of this mold, and two
days later there is 3 oz. Find (a) how much mold was present after one day and (b) how much
mold will be present in ten days.
4. A mold grows at a rate proportional to its present size. If the original amount doubles in one day,
what proportion of the original amount will be present in five days? Hint: Designate the initial
amount by N0. It is not necessary to know N0 explicitly.
5. A yeast grows at a rate proportional to its present size. If the original amount doubles in two
hours, in how many hours will it triple?
6. The population of a certain country has grown at a rate proportional to the number of people in
the country. At present, the country has 80 million inhabitants. Ten years ago it had 70 million.
Assuming that this trend continues, find (a) an expression for the approximate number of people
living in the country at any time t (taking t = 0 to be the present time) and (b) the approximate
number of people who will inhabit the country at the end of the next ten-year period.
7. The population of a certain state is known to grow at a rate proportional to the number of people
presently living in the state. If after 10 years the population has trebled and if after 20 years the
population is 150,000, find the number of people initially living in the state.
8. A certain radioactive material is known to decay at a rate proportional to the amount present. If
initially there are 100 milligrams of the material present and if after two years it is observed that
5 percent of the original mass has decayed, find (a) an expression for the mass at any time t and
(b) the time necessary for 10 percent of the original mass to have decayed.
9. A certain radioactive material is known to decay at a rate proportional to the amount present. If
after one hour it is observed that 10 percent of the material has decayed, find the half-life of the
material. Hint: Designate the initial mass of the material by N0. It is not necessary to know N0
explicitly.
10. Find N(t) for the situation described in Seat work 1 (growth and decay).
11. A depositor places $10,000 in a certificate of deposit which pays 6 percent interest per annum,
compounded continuously. How much will be in the account at the end of seven years, assuming
no additional deposits or withdrawals?
12. How much will be in the account described in the previous problem if the interest rate is 7 1/2
percent instead?
13. A depositor places $5000 in an account established for a child at birth. Assuming no additional
deposits or withdrawals, how much will the child have upon reaching the age of 21 if the bank
pays 5 percent interest per annum compounded continuously for the entire time period?
14. Determine the interest rate required to double an investment in eight years under continuous
compounding
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

15. Determine the interest rate required to triple an investment in ten years under continuous
compounding.
16. How long will it take a bank deposit to triple in value if interest is compounded continuously at a
constant rate of 5 1/4 percent per annum?
17. How long will it take a bank deposit to double in value if interest is compounded continuously at
a constant rate of 8 3/4 percent per annum?
18. A depositor currently has $6000 and plans to invest it in an account that accrues interest
continuously. What interest rate must the bank pay if the depositor needs to have $10,000 in four
years?
19. A depositor currently has $8000 and plans to invest it in an account that accrues interest
continuously at the rate of 6 1/4 percent. How long will it take for the account to grow to $13,500?
20. A body at a temperature of 0° F is placed in a room whose temperature is kept at 100° F If after
10 minutes the temperature of the body is 25° F, find (a) the time required for the body to reach
a temperature of 50° F, and (b) the temperature of the body after 20 minutes.
21. A body of unknown temperature is placed in a refrigerator at a constant temperature of 0° F If
after 20 minutes the temperature of the body is 40° F and after 40 minutes the temperature of
the body is 20° F, find the initial temperature of the body.
22. A body at a temperature of 50° F is placed in an oven whose temperature is kept at 150° F. If after
10 minutes the temperature of the body is 75° F, find the time required for the body to reach a
temperature of 100° F.
23. A hot pie that was cooked at a constant temperature of 325° F is taken directly from an oven and
placed outdoors in the shade to cool on a day when the air temperature in the shade is 85° F.
After 5 minutes in the shade, the temperature of the pie had been reduced to 250° F. Determine
(a) the temperature of the pie after 20 minutes and (b) the time required for the pie to reach 275°
F.
24. A cup of tea is prepared in a preheated cup with hot water so that the temperature of both the
cup and the brewing tea is initially 190° F. The cup is then left to cool in a room kept at a constant
72° F. Two minutes later, the temperature of the tea is 150° F. Determine (a) the temperature of
the tea after 5 minutes and (b) the time required for the tea to reach 100° F.
25. A bar of iron, previously heated to 1200° C, is cooled in a large bath of water maintained at a
constant temperature of 50° C. The bar cools by 200° in the first minute. How much longer will it
take to cool a second 200°?
26. A body of mass 3 slugs is dropped from a height of 500 ft in a with zero velocity. Assuming no air
resistance, find (a) an expression for the velocity of the body at any time t and (b) an expression
for the position of the body at any time t with respect to the coordinate system described in Fig.
7-5.
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

27. (a) Determine the time required for the body described in the previous problem to hit the ground,
(b) How long would it take if instead the mass of the body was 10 slugs?
28. A body is dropped from a height of 300 ft with an initial velocity of 30 ft/sec. Assuming no air
resistance, find (a) an expression for the velocity of the body at any time t and (b) the time
required for the body to hit the ground.
29. A body of mass 2 slugs is dropped from a height of 450 ft with an initial velocity of 10 ft/sec.
Assuming no air resistance, find (a) an expression for the velocity of the body at any time t and
(b) the time required for the body to hit the ground.
30. A body is propelled straight up with an initial velocity of 500 ft/sec in a vacuum with no air
resistance. How long will it take the body to return to the ground?
31. A ball is propelled straight up with an initial velocity of 250 ft/sec in a vacuum with no air
resistance. How high will it go?
32. A body of mass m is thrown vertically into the air with an initial velocity v0. The body encounters
no air resistance. Find (a) the equation of motion in the coordinate system of Fig. 7-6, (b) an
expression for the velocity of the body at any time t, (c) the time tm at which the body reaches its
maximum height, (d) an expression for the position of the body at any time t, and (e) the
maximum height attained by the body.

33. Redo Problem 26 assuming there is air resistance which creates a force on the body equal to -2v
Ib.
34. Redo Problem 26 assuming there is air resistance which creates a force on the body equal to 1/2v
Ib.
35. A ball of mass 5 slugs is dropped from a height of 1000 ft. Find the limiting velocity of the ball if it
encounters a force due to air resistance equal to —1/2v.
36. 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.
37. A body 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 t, (b) an expression for the
position of the body at any time t, and (c) the time required for the body to attain a velocity of
160 ft/sec.
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

38. A body weighing 8 Ib is dropped from a great height with no initial velocity. As it falls, the body
encounters a force due to air resistance proportional to its velocity. If the limiting velocity of this
body is 4 ft/sec, find (a) an expression for the velocity of the body at any time t and (b) an
expression for the position of the body at any time t.
39. A body weighing 160 Ib is dropped 2000 ft above ground with no initial velocity. As it falls, the
body encounters a force due to air resistance proportional to its velocity. If the limiting velocity
of this body is 320 ft/sec, find (a) an expression for the velocity of the body at any time t and (b)
an expression for the position of the body at any time t.
40. A tank initially holds 10 gal of fresh water. At t = 0, a brine solution containing 1/2 Ib of salt per
gallon is poured into the tank at a rate of 2 gal/min, while the well-stirred mixture leaves the tank
at the same rate. Find (a) the amount and (b) the concentration of salt in the tank at any time t.
41. A tank initially holds 80 gal of a brine solution containing 1/8 lb of salt per gallon. At t = 0, another
brine solution containing 1 Ib of salt per gallon is poured into the tank at the rate of 4 gal/min,
while the well-stirred mixture leaves the tank at the rate of 8 gal/min. Find the amount of salt in
the tank when the tank contains exactly 40 gal of solution.
42. A tank contains 100 gal of brine made by dissolving 80 Ib of salt in water. Pure water runs into the
tank at the rate of 4 gal/min, and the well-stirred mixture runs out at the same rate. Find (a) the
amount of salt in the tank at any time t and (b) the time required for half the salt to leave the
tank.
43. A tank contains 100 gal of brine made by dissolving 60 Ib of salt in water. Saltwater containing 1
Ib of salt per gallon runs in at the rate of 2 gal/min and the well-stirred mixture runs out at the
same rate of 3 gal/min. Find the amount of salt in the tank after 30 minutes.
44. A tank contains 40 1 of solution containing 2 g of substance per liter. Saltwater containing 3 g of
this substance per liter runs in at the rate of 4 1/min and the well-stirred mixture runs out at the
same rate. Find the amount of substance in the tank after 15 minutes.
45. A tank contains 40 1 of a chemical solution prepared by dissolving 80 g of a soluble substance in
fresh water. Fluid containing 2 g of this substance per liter runs in at the rate of 3 I/mm and the
well-stirred mixture runs out at the same rate. Find the amount of substance in the tank after 20
minutes.