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Time of Death Problem: Differential Equation Example

The document describes using differential equations and Newton's Law of Cooling to solve a "Time of Death Problem". It provides an example of using the method to determine the time of death of a corpse found in a motel room with a temperature of 25°C and then 23°C two hours later, in a room kept at 20°C. By setting up and solving differential equations based on the temperatures and time intervals, the method determines the time of death was 7:12 PM.

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Allen Castor
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457 views17 pages

Time of Death Problem: Differential Equation Example

The document describes using differential equations and Newton's Law of Cooling to solve a "Time of Death Problem". It provides an example of using the method to determine the time of death of a corpse found in a motel room with a temperature of 25°C and then 23°C two hours later, in a room kept at 20°C. By setting up and solving differential equations based on the temperatures and time intervals, the method determines the time of death was 7:12 PM.

Uploaded by

Allen Castor
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Time of Death Problem

Differential Equation Example


Objective

At the end of the lesson, you


should be able to:
•apply DE & Newton’s Law of
Cooling to the Time of Death
problem.
Time of Death Problem

Suppose that a corpse was discovered in a


motel room at midnight and its temperature
was 25°C. The temperature of the room is kept
constant at 20°C. Two hours later the
temperature of the corpse dropped to 23°C.
Find the time of death. (Assume a normal
body temperature of 37°C.)
Solution
Newton’s Law of Cooling:
The rate of cooling of an object is proportional to the temperature difference
between the object and its surroundings (provided that this difference is not too
large).
𝑑𝑇
= −𝑘 𝑇 − 𝑇𝑆
𝑑𝑡
Where:
𝑑𝑇
= 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔
𝑑𝑡
𝑇 = 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 (𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦)
𝑇𝑆 = 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚
𝑘 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦
Solution
Given:
𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑡 = 12 𝑎𝑡 12 𝑛𝑜𝑜𝑛
𝑡𝐷 = 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ
𝑇𝑆 = 20℃
𝑇1 = 𝑇 𝑡1 = 24 = 25℃
𝑇2 = 𝑇 𝑡2 = 26 = 23℃
𝑇𝐷 = 𝑇 𝑡𝐷 = 37℃
Solution

𝑑𝑇
= −𝑘 𝑇 − 𝑇𝑆
𝑑𝑡
Solution

𝑑𝑇
= −𝑘𝑑𝑡
(𝑇 − 𝑇𝑆 )
Solution

ln 𝑇 − 𝑇𝑆 = −𝑘𝑡 + ln 𝐶
Solution

−𝑘𝑡
𝑇 − 𝑇𝑆 = 𝐶𝑒
Solution

𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡 = 𝑡1 :
−𝑘𝑡1
𝑇1 − 𝑇𝑆 = 𝐶𝑒
Solution

𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡 = 𝑡2 :
−𝑘𝑡2
𝑇2 − 𝑇𝑆 = 𝐶𝑒
Solution

𝑇1 − 𝑇𝑆 −𝑘 𝑡1 −𝑡2
=𝑒
𝑇2 − 𝑇𝑆
Solution

1 𝑇1 − 𝑇𝑆
𝑘=− ln
𝑡1 − 𝑡2 𝑇2 − 𝑇𝑆
Solution
1 25 − 20
𝑘=− ln = +0.2554
24 − 26 23 − 20
Solution
1 37 − 20
𝑡𝐷 − 24 = − ln = 19.2086
𝑘 25 − 20

𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑖𝑠 7: 12 𝑃𝑀
Seatwork
Consider a crime scene in Banago, Bacolod City in which a man is
killed in his apartment apparently shot on the head. The body was
discovered in the apartment early in the morning and at 7:00 A.M.
The coroner measured its temperature, at 25°C that time. One hour
later another temperature, 24°C, was taken. The coroner noted that
the temperature of the murder victim's apartment was maintained
at a constant temperature of 20°C. (The ambient temperature in this
case remained constant, but keep in mind this is not always the
case.) A witness said he heard gun shots at around 1:30 A.M. but
forget about it until the body was discovered. Was the witness right?
Homework
Suppose that you come into your professor's office to ask some questions
shortly before 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. You find him lying on the floor of his
office in a pool of chalk dust, dead. You quickly call the police and their
investigators take several measurements over the next hour, including:
1) the body temperature at 7:45 a.m. - 32°C
2) the body temperature at 8:45 a.m. – 31.5°C
3) room temperature - 20°C (constant)
You quickly realize that the police believe you to be a prime suspect, so
you need an alibi. You know that you were studying until midnight, but
you aren't sure if that is enough information. You need to know the time
of death! How good is your alibi?

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