MAT 350: Assignment -1

Syllabus: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 3.1

1.1 Exercises :

1. State the order of the given ordinary differential equation. Determine whether the equation is
linear or non-linear:

(𝑎 ) (1 − 𝑥)𝑦 ′′ − 4𝑥𝑦 ′ + 5𝑦 = cos 𝑦

𝑑3 𝑦 𝑑𝑦 3
(𝑏 ) 𝑥 − 4𝑥 ( ) +𝑦=0
𝑑𝑥 3 𝑑𝑥

𝑑3 𝑢 𝑑𝑢
(𝑐) 3
+4 + 𝑢 = cos(𝑟 + 𝑢)
𝑑𝑟 𝑑𝑟

(𝑑) (sin 𝜃) 𝑦 ′′′ − (cos 𝜃) 𝑦 ′ = 2

𝑥̇ 2
(𝑒) 𝑥̈ − (1 − ) 𝑥̇ + 𝑥 = 0
3

2. Verify that the indicated function

(i) 𝑦 = 𝜑(𝑥) is an explicit solution of the given first-order differential equation
(ii) Consider 𝑦 = 𝜑(𝑥) as a function of 𝑥. Then find the domain of 𝑦 = 𝜑(𝑥)
(iii) Consider 𝑦 = 𝜑(𝑥) as a solution of the differential equation. Then find at least one
interval 𝐼 of definition

1
(A) 𝑦 ′ = 2𝑥𝑦 2 ; 𝑦=
4−𝑥 2

1
(B) 2𝑦 ′ = 𝑦 3 cos 𝑥 ; 𝑦 = (1 − sin 𝑥 )−2 .

3. Verify that the indicated family of function is a solution of the given differential equation.
Assume an appropriate interval 𝐼 of the definition for each solution:

𝑑𝑃 𝑐1 𝑒 𝑡
(𝐴) = 𝑃(1 − 𝑃) ; 𝑃=
𝑑𝑡 1 + 𝑐1 𝑒 𝑡
𝑥
𝑑𝑦 −𝑥 2 2 2
(𝐵) + 2𝑥𝑦 = 1 ; 𝑦=𝑒 ∫ 𝑒 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 + 𝑐1 𝑒 −𝑥 .
𝑑𝑥
0
1.2 Exercises :

1. Given that 𝑥 = 𝑐1 cos 𝑡 + 𝑐2 sin 𝑡 is a two-parameter family of solutions of the second-order

DE 𝑥 ′′ + 𝑥 = 0 . Find a solution of the second-order IVP consisting of this differential
equation and the given initial conditions:

𝜋 𝜋
(𝐴) 𝑥 ( ) = 0 , 𝑥 ′ ( ) = 1.
2 2

𝜋 𝜋
(𝐵) 𝑥 ( ) = √2 , 𝑥 ′ ( ) = 2√2 .
4 4

2. (a) Verify that 3 𝑥 2 − 𝑦 2 = 𝑐 is a one-parameter family of solutions of the differential

𝑑𝑦
equation 𝑦 𝑑𝑥 = 3𝑥.

(b) By hand, sketch the graph of the implicit solution 3 𝑥 2 − 𝑦 2 = 3. Find all explicit solutions
𝑦 = 𝜑(𝑥) of the differential equation in part (a) defined by the this relation. Give the interval
𝐼 of definition of each explicit solution.

(c ) The point (−2, 3) is on the graph of 3 𝑥 2 − 𝑦 2 = 3, but which of the explicit solutions in
part (b) satisfies 𝑦(−2) = 3 ?

3. Find a function 𝑦 = 𝑓(𝑥) whose graph at each point (𝑥, 𝑦) has the slope given by 8𝑒 2𝑥 + 6𝑥
and has the 𝑦 −intercept (0, 9).

1.3 and 3.1 Exercises:

𝑑𝑃
1. Growth Rate: The rate 𝑑𝑡 at which the population of a country grows at a certain time is
proportional to the total population 𝑃 (𝑡) of the country at that time 𝑡:

𝑑𝑃 𝑑𝑃
∝ 𝑃 or = 𝑘𝑃 for 𝑘 > 0.
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

Exercise-1: Determine a differential equation for the population 𝑃(𝑡) of a country when
individuals are allowed to immigrate into the country at a constant rate 𝑟 > 0. What is the
differential equation for the population 𝑃(𝑡) of the country when individuals are allowed to
emigrate from the country at a constant rate 𝑟 > 0?

Exercise-2: The population model given in above fails to take death into consideration; the growth
rate equals the birth rate. In another model of a changing population of a community it is assumed
that the rate at which the population changes is a net rate—that is, the difference between the
 rate of births and the rate of deaths in the community. Determine a model for the population
𝑃(𝑡) if both the birth rate and the death rate are proportional to the population present at time
𝑡 > 0.

Exercise-3: Determine a model for a population 𝑃(𝑡) if the birth rate is proportional to the
population present at time 𝑡 but the death rate is proportional to the square of the population
present at time 𝑡. Solve the model [Bernoulli]

Exercise-4: A culture initially has 𝑃0 number of bacteria. At 𝑡 = 1 ℎ the number of bacteria is

3
measured to be 𝑃0 . If the rate of growth is proportional to the number of bacteria 𝑃(𝑡)
2
present at time 𝑡, determine the time necessary for the number of bacteria to triple.

𝑑𝐴
2. Decay Rate: The rate 𝑑𝑡 at which the nuclei of a substance decay is proportional to the
amount 𝐴(𝑡) of the substance remaining at time 𝑡:
𝑑𝐴 𝑑𝐴
∝ 𝐴 or = 𝑘𝐴 for 𝑘 < 0.
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

Exercise-5: A breeder reactor converts relatively stable uranium-238 into the isotope plutonium-
239. After 15 years it is determined that 0.043% of the initial amount 𝐴0 of plutonium has
disintegrated. Find the half-life of this isotope if the rate of disintegration is proportional to the
amount remaining.

Exercise-6: A fossilized bone is found to contain 0.1% of its original amount of C-14. Determine
the age of the fossil, given that the half-life of C-14 is approximately 5730 years.

3. Newton’s Law of Cooling/Warming: According to Newton’s empirical law of cooling/warming, the

rate at which the temperature of a body changes is proportional to the difference between the
temperature of the body and the temperature of the surrounding medium, the so-called ambient
temperature. If 𝑇(𝑡) represents the temperature of a body at time 𝑡, 𝑇𝑚 the temperature of
𝑑𝑇
the surrounding medium, and the rate at which the temperature of the body changes, then
𝑑𝑡
Newton’s law of cooling/warming translates into the mathematical statement

𝑑𝑇 𝑑𝑇
∝ 𝑇 − 𝑇𝑚 𝑜𝑟 = 𝑘 (𝑇 − 𝑇𝑚 ),
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

where 𝑘 is a constant of proportionality. In either case, cooling or warming, if 𝑇𝑚 is a constant,

it stands to reason that 𝑘 < 0.

Exercise-7: When a cake is removed from an oven, its temperature is measured at 300° F. Three
minutes later its temperature is 200° F. How long will it take for the cake to cool off to a room
temperature of 70° F?

Exercise-8: A small metal bar, whose initial temperature was 20° C, is dropped into a large
container of boiling water. How long will it take the bar to reach 90° C if it is known that its
temperature increases 2° in 1 second? How long will it take the bar to reach 98° C?
4. Spread of a Disease: A contagious disease —for example, a flu virus —is spread throughout a
community by people coming into contact with other people. Let 𝑥(𝑡) denote the number of
people who have contracted the disease and 𝑦(𝑡) denote the number of people who have not
𝑑𝑥
yet been exposed. It seems reasonable to assume that the rate 𝑑𝑡 at which the disease spreads
is proportional to the number of encounters, or interactions, between these two groups of people.
If we assume that the number of interactions is jointly proportional to 𝑥(𝑡) and 𝑦(𝑡), that is,
proportional to the product 𝑥𝑦 . Then

𝑑𝑥
= 𝑘𝑥𝑦 … (∗)
𝑑𝑡
where 𝑘 is the usual constant of proportionality.

Suppose a small community has a fixed population of 𝑛 people. If one infected person is
introduced into this community, then it could be argued that 𝑥 (𝑡) and 𝑦(𝑡) are related by
𝑥 + 𝑦 = 𝑛 + 1. Using this last equation to eliminate 𝑦 in (∗) gives us the model

𝑑𝑥
= 𝑘𝑥 (𝑛 + 1 − 𝑥) … (∗∗)
𝑑𝑡
An obvious initial condition accompanying equation (∗∗) is 𝑥 (0) = 1.

Exercise-9: Suppose a student carrying a flu virus returns to an isolated college campus of 1000
students. Determine a differential equation for the number of people 𝑥(𝑡) who have contracted
the flu if the rate at which the disease spreads is proportional to the number of interactions
between the number of students who have the flu and the number of students who have not yet
been exposed to it.

5. Draining a Tank In hydrodynamics, Torricelli’s law states that the speed 𝑣 of efflux of water
though a sharp-edged hole at the bottom of a tank filled to a depth ℎ is the same as the speed
that a body (in this case a drop of water) would acquire in falling freely from a height ℎ, that is,
𝑣 = √2𝑔ℎ , where 𝑔 is the acceleration due to gravity. This last expression comes from
1
equating the kinetic energy 2 𝑚𝑣 2 with the potential energy 𝑚𝑔ℎ and solving for 𝑣. Suppose
a tank filled with water is allowed to drain through a hole under the influence of

gravity. We would like to fin the depth ℎ of water remaining in the tank at time 𝑡. Consider
the tank shown in Figure 1.3.3. If the area of the hole is 𝐴ℎ (in 𝑓𝑡 2 ) and the speed of the
water leaving the tank is 𝑣 = √2𝑔ℎ (in 𝑓𝑡/𝑠), then the volume of water leaving the tank per
 second is 𝐴ℎ √2𝑔ℎ (in 𝑓𝑡 3 /𝑠). Thus if 𝑉(𝑡) denotes the volume of water in the tank at
time 𝑡, then
𝑑𝑉
= −𝐴ℎ √2𝑔ℎ … (∗∗∗)
𝑑𝑡

where the minus sign indicates that 𝑉 is decreasing. Note here that we are ignoring the
possibility of friction at the hole that might cause a reduction of the rate of flow there. Now if the
tank is such that the volume of water in it at time 𝑡 can be written 𝑉(𝑡) = 𝐴𝑤 ℎ, where
𝑑𝑉
𝐴𝑤 (in 𝑓𝑡 2 ) is the constant area of the upper surface of the water (see Figure 1.3.3), then 𝑑𝑡 =
𝑑ℎ
𝐴𝑤 𝑑𝑡 . Substituting this last expression into (∗∗∗) gives us the desired differential equation for
the height of the water at time 𝑡:

𝑑ℎ 𝐴ℎ
=− √2𝑔ℎ .
𝑑𝑡 𝐴𝑤

It is interesting to note that the last equation remains valid even when 𝐴𝑤 is not constant. In this
case we must express the upper surface area of the water as a function of ℎ, that is, 𝐴𝑤 = 𝐴(ℎ ).
See Problem 14 in Exercises 1.3.

Exercise-10: Suppose water is leaking from a tank through a circular hole of area 𝐴ℎ at its bottom.
When water leaks through a hole, friction and contraction of the stream near the hole reduce the
volume of water leaving the tank per second to 𝑐𝐴ℎ √2𝑔ℎ , where 𝑐 (0 < 𝑐 < 1) is an
empirical constant. Determine a differential equation for the height ℎ of water at time 𝑡 for the
𝑓𝑡
cubical tank shown in Figure 1.3.12. The radius of the hole is 2 in., and 𝑔 = 32 𝑠2 .

Exercise-11: The right-circular conical tank shown in Figure 1.3.13 loses water out of a circular
hole at its bottom. Determine a differential equation for the height of the water ℎ at time 𝑡 > 0.
𝑓𝑡
The radius of the hole is 2 in., 𝑔 = 32 𝑠2 , and the friction/contraction factor 𝑐 = 0.6.
6. Mixtures: The mixing of two salt solutions of differing concentrations gives rise to a first-order
differential equation for the amount of salt contained in the mixture. Let us suppose that a large
mixing tank initially holds 300 gallons of brine (that is, water in which a certain number of pounds
of salt has been dissolved). Another brine solution is pumped into the large tank at a rate of 3
gallons per minute; the concentration of the salt in this inflow is 2 pounds per gallon. When the
solution in the tank is well stirred, it is pumped out at the same rate as the entering solution. See
Figure 1.3.2. If A(t) denotes the amount of salt (measured in pounds) in the tank at time t, then
the rate at which A(t) changes is a net rate:

𝑑𝐴
= input rate of salt − output rate of salt = 𝑅𝑖𝑛 − 𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑡 .
𝑑𝑡

Exercise-12: If 50 pounds of salt were dissolved initially in the 300 gallons, how much salt is in the
tank after a long time?

Exercise-13: A tank contains 200 liters of fluid in which 30 grams of salt is dissolved. Brine
containing 1 gram of salt per liter is then pumped into the tank at a rate of 4 L/min; the well-mixed
solution is pumped out at the same rate. Find the number A(t) of grams of salt in the tank at time
t.

Exercise-14: A large tank is filled to capacity with 500 gallons of pure water. Brine containing 2
pounds of salt per gallon is pumped into the tank at a rate of 5 gal/min. The well-mixed solution
is pumped out at the same rate. Find the number A(t) of pounds of salt in the tank at time t.

Exercise-15: A large tank is partially filled with 100 gallons of fluid in which 10 pounds of salt is
1
dissolved. Brine containing 2 pound of salt per gallon is pumped into the tank at a rate of 6
gal/min. The well-mixed solution is then pumped out at a slower rate of 4 gal/min. Find the
number of pounds of salt in the tank after 30 minutes.