Differential Equations and Slope Fields

Period:________

Name________________________
dy ) of dx

A differential equation is an equation that gives you information about how the slope ( some function family is related to the coordinates of points on the curve. Example 1 The equation

dy = 3 y is a differential equation. The solution of this differential dx

equation will be a family of curves all satisfying the requirement that: At any point on one of the curves, the slope (
dy ) at that point will equal three times the y-coordinate of that point. dx

Evaluate:

dy = dx (1, 1)

Explain in words___________________________________________________________________ How Are Differential Equations Solved? As with any equations, there are various methods of solving differential equations. We will explore algebraic, geometric, and numerical ways to solve a diffeq. Example 2 1. A. 2. Given the differential equation y = y . Of course can also be written
dy =y dx

Evaluate the differential equation at the following points: (1, -4) B. (3, 0) C. (2, )

Based on your answers to #1, what does this diffeq tell us about the nature of the curves whose derivative satisfies y = y ?

3.

Lets solve this differential equation geometrically. At each coordinate, use the equation y = y to sketch tiny segments with the appropriate slope. Any guesses as to what family of functions we have sketched?

4.

Find the particular solution to this diffeq that passes through the point (0, 1) by using the tiny segments as little signposts directing your pencil.

A Separable Differential Equation will be in the form of

you must put it into the form of j ( y ) dy = g ( x ) dx , allowing you to integrate each side

dy = g ( x ) h ( y ) . In order to solve it, dx

separately in terms of its only variable. Your goal is to get a final solution in the form y = f ( x ) .

5.

Now lets solve the differential equation from the previous page algebraically using the technique called Separation of Variables. You will need to remember the catch-phrase separate and integrate! To use this method, we will need to re-write y as

dy . dx

dy =y dx
6. Find a particular solution to this diffeq by using the initial condition y(0) = 1.

Example 3

Solve the differential equation subject to the given initial condition.

dP = 0.3P ; P(0) = 10 dt

Example 4 2004 AP

(a) Consider the differential equation

field for the given differential equation at the 12 points indicated. While the slope field in part (a) is drawn at only 12 points, it is defined at every point in the xy-plane. Describe all points in the xy-plane for which the slope is positive.

dy = x 2 ( y 1) . On the axes provided, sketch a slope dx

(b) Find the particular solution y=f(x) to the given differential equation with the initial condition f(0)=3.

Example 5 Shown below is the slope field for

dy x = dx 2 y dy a. Calculate at the points (3, 5) _____ and (-5, 1) _____ dx

and demonstrate that the results agree with the figure.

b. Sketch the graph of the particular solution that contains

the point (5, 1). Draw on both sides of the y-axis.

c. Solve the differential equation algebraically. Find the particular solution that contains the point (5, 1).

Example 6 A sky diver jumps from an airplane. During the free-fall stage, the divers speed increases at the acceleration of gravity, about 32.16 (ft/sec)/sec. But wind resistance causes a force that reduces the acceleration. The resistance force is proportional to the square of the velocity. Assume that the constant of proportionality is 0.0015, so that

dv = 32.16 0.0015v 2 dt

where v is in feet per second and t is in seconds. The slope field for this differential equation is shown here. a) What does the slope appear to be at the point (5, 120)? _____ What does it actually equal? _____ Explain any discrepancy between your answers.

b) The diver starts at time t = 0 with zero initial velocity.

Sketch the divers velocity as a function of time on the slope field.

c)

The velocity in part (b) approaches an asymptote. What does this terminal velocity appear to be? ______

d) About how long does it take the diver to essentially reach this terminal velocity? _____ e) A second diver starts 5 seconds later with zero initial velocity. Sketch the velocity-time graph.

f) Suppose the plane is going down steeply as a third diver jumps, giving that diver an initial
downward velocity of 180 ft/sec. Sketch this third divers velocity-time graph. How is it different from the graphs you sketched for the first two sky divers? ______________

Consider the statement, The rate of change of some quantity y is directly proportional to y.

Quantity = y So this statement can be translated: Steps for solving: dy = k dt y dy y = k dt ln y = kt + C y = e kt +C y = e kt +C y = e kt eC y = Ae kt

rate of change of y = dy = ky. dx

dy dx

directly proportional = multiplied by some constant k

k is sometimes called the growth (or decay) constant

Separate the variables. Integrate both sides. Perform the integration. Put the + C on the right side. Write this exponentially. Drop the absolute value as: e raised to any power is +. Split the right side into 2 factors. e c is simply a constant, well call A. When t = 0, y = A.

So, the statement: the rate of change of some quantity y is directly proportional to y is translated: dy = ky, which can be translated into y = Ae kt . dt KNOW THIS BACKWARD AND FORWARD! Example 7 Punctured Tire Problem: You run over a nail. As air leaks out of your tire, the rate of change of air pressure inside the tire is directly proportional to that pressure. a) Write a differential equation that uses the fact: at the time the nail is struck, the pressure is 35 lbs/psi and the pressure is decreasing at a rate of 0.28 lbs/psi/min. b) Solve the differential equation.

c) What will the pressure be at 10 minutes after the tire was punctured?

d) The car is safe to drive as long as the pressure is 12 lbs/psi or greater. For how long after the puncture will the car be safe to drive?

Example 8 Dont Inhale Fumes: You accidentally inhale some poisonous fumes. Twenty hours later, you still feel woozy so you go to a doctor. From blood samples, he measures a poisonous concentration of

0.00372 mg/ml and tells you to come back in 8 hours. On the second visit, he measures a concentration of 0.00219 mg/ml. Let t be the number of hours since your first doctor visit and C be the concentration of poison in your blood. The rate of change of C is directly proportional to the current value of C. a) Write a DEQ that relates these two variables. b) Solve the DEQ for the given data.

c) The doctor says that you might have serious bodily damage if the poison concentration has ever been as high as 0.015 mg/ml. Based on your equation, was the concentration ever that high?