The University of Sydney

School of Mathematics and Statistics

Solutions to Week 2 Board Tutorial

MODELS AND DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

1. (a) Show that y = A(ex − x), where A is an arbitrary constant, satisfies the
differential equation
dy y(ex − 1)
= x .
dx e −x
dy
Solution: Differentiate y = A(ex − x) to get LHS = = A(ex − 1).
dx
y(ex − 1)
When we substitute y into the RHS we find = A(ex − 1) = LHS,
ex − x
and so the given function satisfies the equation.
(b) Since the general solution of a first order-differential equation involves only
one arbitrary constant, we see that the solution given in part (a) is the
general solution of the differential equation. Find the particular solution
satisfying the initial condition y(0) = −3.
Solution: We require that y(0) = −3, so we must have −3 = A(e0 −0) = A,
and the particular solution is y = −3(ex − x).
(c) Sketch the solution curves given in part (a) in the special cases A = 1, A = 0
and A = −1.
Solution: Consider first the case A = 1, y = (ex − x). Note that y(0) = 1.
dy dy dy
Also, = (ex − 1) and so = 0 when x = 0. Then since < 0 for x < 0
dx dx dx
dy
and > 0 for x > 0, we see that x = 0 is a global minimum. Also note
dx
d2 y
that = ex > 0 for all x. For negative values of x we have the following
dx2
situation: as x goes to minus infinity, ex quickly tends to zero from above.
It follows that y quickly approaches the line f (x) = −x from above as we
continue drawing the curve to the left. For positive values of x, note that
y = (ex − x) > x for all x > 0. This means that the curve always stays above
the main diagonal g(x) = x.
When A = −1, y = −(ex − x) and the curve is simply a reflection in the
x-axis of the curve y = (ex − x). Finally, in the case A = 0 we obtain the
particular solution y = 0.

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y=0

−1

y = −(ex − x)

dy
2. The differential equation = f (x) has a direction field given by the diagram
dx
below.
(a) On the direction field draw the graphs of two solutions of dy/dx = f (x),
where one solution y = g(x) passes through the point (0, 1) and the other
solution y = h(x) satisfies the equation h(1) = 0.
Solution:

0
−1 0 1 2 3

−1

(b) Do the graphs of y = g(x) and y = h(x) intersect? If not, why not?
Solution: No, because the second curve is displaced vertically by the same
amount for all x.

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3. Find the general and particular solutions for each of the following cases:
Solution: Note: I present two notations for initial conditions and functions
named y(x) and x(t) to make students used to different notations.
dy
(a) = (3 + x)4 ; y(2) = 0
dx
Solution: Solve by antidifferentiation to obtain general solution y(x) =
1
5
(3 + x)5 + C. Since y(2) = 54 = 625 we obtain C = −625.
dy
(b) = cos2 (x); y(π/4) = 1. Hint: use integration by parts and cos2 x +
dx
sin2 x = 1.
Solution: Solve by antidifferentiation to obtain general solution y(x) =
1
2
(cos(x) sin(x) + x) + C (use integration by parts and identity 1 = sin2 (x) +
cos2 (x)). Since y(π/4) = 14 + π8 we obtain C = 34 − π8 .
dx
(c) (1 + t2 ) = t3 ; (t0 , x0 ) = (0, 0) Hint: use integration by substitution with
dt
u = t2 , du = 2tdt
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Solution: Rewrite as dx dt
t
= 1+t2 . Solve by antidifferentiation to obtain
1 2
general solution x(t) = 2 (t − ln(1 + t2 )) + CR (perform substitution u
= t2
u
R
and hence du = 2tdt, this results in RHS 21 u+1 du = 21 1
1 − u+1 du.
Proceed by integrating the latter expression). Since x(0) = 0 already, we
obtain C = 0.
dy √
(d) x2 + 1 = 2x2 + x2 x; (x0 , y0) = (4, 12).
dx
Solution: Rewrite as dx dt
= −x−2 + 2 + x1/2 . Solve by antidifferentiation to
obtain general solution y(x) = x1 +2x+ 23 x3/2 +C. Since y(4) = 16312
= 12+ 1219
,
19
we obtain C = − 12 .

4. Heat tends to flow from hot bodies to cold bodies. Newton observed that the rate at
which temperature rises or falls within a body is proportional to the temperature
difference between the body and the surrounding air. In an experiment to test
Newton’s law, the surrounding air remained at a constant temperature.
(a) Construct a mathematical model based on the information above. Deter-
mine and name suitable independent and dependent variables. Construct a
differential equation.
Solution: The independent variable is t measuring time while the depen-
dent variable is T measuring the temperature in the body at time t. So
T = T (t). Let Ta be the temperature of the surrounding air. The equation
is then dT /dt = −k(T − Ta ) for some positive constant k.
Note the negative sign; this is to remind us that when the body is hotter
than the surroundings, the temperature should be falling.
(b) Draw the direction field of the differential equation.
Solution: The horizontal axis is labelled t (for time), the vertical axis is
labelled T (for temperature). The slope of the small lines in the direction

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 field is constant for constant values of T (i.e., on lines parallel to the t-
axis). More precisely, the slope equals −(T − Ta ). That is, it is negative for
temperatures above Ta and positive for temperatures below Ta .
(c) In one particular experiment, the body temperature was initially twice the
temperature of the surrounding air. Express this initial condition mathe-
matically and draw the particular solution.
Solution: The initial condition is given: T = 2Ta when t = 0.
2Ta T (t) = Ta + Ta e−kt
Ta
0
t

(d) Discuss what happens for t → ∞ for different values of the initial tempera-
ture.
Solution: The body temperature approaches the surrounding temperature
(exponentially fast): T (t) → Ta for t → ∞ for all initial conditions T (0) =
T0 . This can be seen from the direction field.