Department of Mathematical Sciences

Rajiv Gandhi Institute Of Petroleum Technology, Jais

D IFFERENTIAL E QUATIONS (MA 121)

Week 1 / February 2025 Problem Set 4 GR, SD

Ordinary Differential Equations (ODE)

■ Tutorial Problems.

1. Consider the differential equation

d2 y dy
2
− 2 + y = 0. (1)
dx dx
i) Show that e x and xe x are linearly independent solutions of the equation (1) on the
interval −∞ < x < ∞.
ii) Write the general solution of the equation (1).
iii) Find the solution that satisfies the conditions y(0) = 1, y′ (0) = 4.

2. Show that y = c1 x + c2 x2 is the general solution of x2 y′′ − 2xy′ + 2y = 0 on any interval not
containing 0, and find the particular solution for which y(1) = 3 and y′ (1) = 5.

3. Suppose that f and g are linearly independent on an interval I. Prove that y1 = f + g and
y2 = f − g are are also linearly independent on I.

4. i) Verify that y1 = 1 and y2 = x2 are solutions of the equation xy′′ − y′ = 0, and write
down the general solution.
ii) Determine the value of a for which y p = ax3 is a particular solution of the equation
xy′′ − y′ = 3x2 . Use this solution and the result of part (i) to write down the general
solution of this equation.

5. Solve the following IVPs.

d2 y dy
i) 4 2
+4 − 3y = 0 y(0) = 0, y′ (0) = 1.
dx dx
d2 y dy
ii) 2
+ ( a + b) + aby = 0 y(0) = a, y′ (0) = b.
dx dx
d2 y dy
iii) 2
− 24 + 144y = 0 y(0) = 1, y′ (0) = 0.
dx dx
d2 y dy
iv) 2
+8 + 25y = 0 y(1) = 1, y′ (1) = 1.
dx dx
d2 y
v) − 4y = 0 y(0) = 5, y′ (0) = 2.
dx2
d2 y
vi) + 4y = 0 y(0) = 4, y′ (0) = 3.
dx2
6. Let the functions p( x ) and q( x ) be continuous at x = 0. Show that y( x ) = x2 can never be a
d2 y dy
solution of the differential equation 2 + p( x ) + q( x )y = 0.
dx dx

2
7. i) Solve y′′ + y′ = 0. [Hint: Consider y′ = p and solve the first order ODEs]
ii) Verify that y1 = 1 and y2 = log x are solutions of the given equation on the interval
[0.1, ∞).
iii) Is y = c1 + c2 log x the general solution of this ODE? Why?

8. If the Wronskian of any two solutions of y′′ + P( x )y′ + Q( x )y = 0 is constant in some inter-
val I, then the ODE becomes y′′ + Q( x )y = 0 on I.

9. Let y1 and y2 be solutions of Bessel’s equation

d2 y dy
x2 2
+ x + ( x 2 − n2 ) y = 0
dx dx
on the interval (0, ∞), with y1 (1) = 1, y1′ (1) = 0, y2 (1) = 0, and y2′ (1) = 1. Compute
W [y1 , y2 ]( x ).

10. Use the Wronskian to construct the ODE y′′ + P( x )y′ + Q( x )y = 0 such that y1 = x2 and
1
y2 = 2 are solutions of it on [1, ∞).
x
11. Assume that p and q are continuous functions of x, and that the functions y1 and y2 are
solutions of the ODE
d2 y dy
2
+ p( x ) + q( x )y = 0
dx dx
on the interval I.

i) Prove that if y1 and y2 vanish at the same point in the interval I, then they cannot form
a fundamental set of solutions on this interval.
ii) Prove that if y1 and y2 achieve a maximum or minimum at the same point in the inter-
val I, then they cannot form a fundamental set of solutions on this interval.
iii) Suppose that y1 and y2 are a fundamental set of solutions on the interval (−∞, ∞).
Show that there is one and only one zero of y1 between consecutive zeros of y2 .

12. Verify that one solution of xy′′ − (2x + 1)y′ + ( x + 1)y = 0 is given by y1 = e x , and find the
general solution.

13. Verify that one solution of x2 y′′ − x ( x + 2)y′ + ( x + 2)y = 0 is given by y1 = x, and find the
general solution

■ Assignment Problems.

1. Let y1 ( x ) = x2 , y2 = 2x2 and y3 ( x ) = x − x2 . Show that y1 , y2 and y3 are linearly

2. Let f ( x ) = e x , g( x ) = cos x and h( x ) = sin x. Show that f , g and h are linearly independent
functions on R.

3. Let y1 ( x ) = x2 and y2 ( x ) = x | x |.

i) Show that y1 and y2 are linearly dependent on the interval [0, 1].
ii) Show that y1 and y2 are linearly independent on the interval [−1, 1].
iii) Show that W [y1 , y2 ]( x ) is identically zero.
iv) Show that y1 and y2 can never be a solution of y′′ + P( x )y′ + Q( x )y = 0 on the interval
(−1, 1) if both P and Q are continuous in this interval.
4. If y1 and y2 are two linearly independent solutions of y′′ + P( x )y′ + Q( x )y = 0, then show
that
y1 y2′′ − y2 y1′′
P( x ) = −
W [ y1 , y2 ]
and
y1′ y2′′ − y2′ y1′′
Q( x ) = .
W [ y1 , y2 ]

5. Find the general solution of y′′ − x f ( x )y′ + f ( x )y = 0.

6. Find the general solution of y′′ − f ( x )y′ + [ f ( x ) − 1] y = 0.

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