Prof.

Hunter 22B Homework 6 Solutions

Steffen Docken and Paige Buck-Moyer
November 13, 2014

3.3 7. Find the general solution y 00 2y 0 + 2y = 0

Ans: We start by solving the characteristic equation r2 2r + 2 = 0 Using the quadratic equation
we get r1 = 1 + i and r2 = 1 i.

y1 = exp(1 + i) = et (cos(t) + isin(t))

y2 = exp(1 i) = et (cos(t) + isin(t)) = et (cost(t) isin(t))

y(t) = c1 et (cos(t) + isin(t)) + c2 et (cos(t) isin(t))

32. Consider the differential equation

ay 00 + by 0 + cy = 0,
where b2 4ac < 0 and the characteristic equation has complex roots i. Substitute the
functions
u(t) = et cos(t) and v(t) = et sin(t)
for y in the differential equation and thereby confirm that they are solutions.
Ans: For this ODE, the characteristic equation is ar2 + br + c = 0, which means

b b2 4ac
r= = i
2a

b 4acb2
So, = 2a and = 2a . Taking derivatives of u(t) gives

u0 (t) = et cos(t) et sin(t)

and

u00 (t) = 2 et cos(t)et sin(t)et sin(t)2 et cos(t) = (2 2 )et cos(t)2et sin(t)

And taking derivatives of v(t) gives

v 0 (t) = et sin(t) + et cos(t)

and

v 00 (t) = 2 et sin(t)+et cos(t)+et cos(t)2 et sin(t) = (2 2 )et sin(t)+2et cos(t)

Now, plugging the derivatives of u into the ODE gives

a (2 2 )et cos(t) 2et sin(t) + b et cos(t) et sin(t) + cet cos(t)

   

= a(2 2 ) + b + c et cos(t) + [2a b] et sin(t)

 
  2
4ac b2 b2
   
b t b
= a + c e cos(t) + 2a b et sin(t)
4a2 4a2 2a 2a
 2
b2

b 2ac
= + c et cos(t)
2a 2a
=0

1
 And plugging in v gives

a (2 2 )et sin(t) +2et cos(t) + b et sin(t) + et cos(t) + cet sin(t)

   

= a(2 2 ) + b + c et sin(t) + [2a + b] et cos(t)

 
  2
4ac b2 b2
   
b t b
= a + c e sin(t) + 2a + b et cos(t)
4a2 4a2 2a 2a
 2
b2

b 2ac
= + c et sin(t)
2a 2a
=0

So, u and v are solutions to the ODE.

35. t2 y 00 + ty 0 + y = 0
Ans: This equation is of the form discussed in problem 34 with = 1 and = 1, so this is
equivalent to
d2 y
+y =0
dx2
where x = ln t. This ODE has the characteristic equation r2 + 1 = 0, so r = i. Therefore, the
linearly independent solutions are y1 (x) = eix , y2 (x) = eix , or y1 (x) = cos(x), y2 (x) = sin(x).
Plugging in x = ln(t) gives y1 (t) = cos(ln(t)), y2 (t) = sin(ln(t)). So, the general solution is

y(t) = c1 cos(ln(t)) + c2 sin(ln(t))

3.4 18. Consider the initial value problem.

9y 00 + 12y 0 + 4y = 0

Solve and then find the critical value of a that separates solutions that become negative from
solutions that are always positive.
Ans:
2
a) We consider the characteristic equation 9r2 + 12r + 4 = 0. This factors to r + 3 = 0 so
2 2
y(t) = c1 e 3 t + c2 te 3 t

Plugging in the initial conditions we get

a = y(0) = c1
2
1 = y 0 (0) = a + c2
3
2
c2 = a 1
3
Putting in these values gives our solution
2 2 2
y(t) = ae 3 t + ( a 1)te 3 t
3
2
b. We can rewrite y to give y(t) = e 3 t (a + t( 32 a 1)). Since exponential functions are positive,
we need to find out when the other term is positive.
2
a + t( a 1) 0
3

2
 2
a(1 + t) t 0
3
t
a
1 + 23 t
This is true for small values of t so we look at the long term behavior of the right side.
t 3
limt =
1 + 23 t 2

So
3
a
2

28. Use the method of reduction of order to find a second solution to (x 1)y 00 xy 0 + y = 0 for
x > 1, given y1 (x) = ex is a solution.
Ans: For the reduction of order method, we try to find a solution of the form y2 (x) = v(x)y1 (x) =
v(x)ex . This means
y20 (x) = v 0 (x)ex + v(x)ex = [v 0 (x) + v(x)]ex
and
y200 (x) = [v 00 (x) + v 0 (x)]ex + [v 0 (x) + v(x)]ex = [v 00 (x) + 2v 0 (x) + v(x)]ex
Plugging this into the ODE gives

(x 1)[v 00 (x) + 2v 0 (x) + v(x)]ex x[v 0 (x) + v(x)]ex + v(x)ex = 0

or
(x 1)v 00 (x) + (x 2)v 0 (x) = 0
Let w(x) = v 0 (x), then we have (x 1)w0 (x) = (2 x)w. Using separation of variables gives

2x
Z Z
dw
= dx
w x1
1x
Z Z
1
ln(w) = dx + dx
x1 x1
ln(w) = ln(x 1) x + C
w(x) = C(x 1)ex

This means v 0 (x) = C(x 1)ex , so

Z
v = (x 1)ex dx
Z Z
= xe dx ex dx
x

Z Z
= xex + ex dx ex dx

= xex

So, yx (x) = xex ex = x for x > 1.

3.5 6. Find the general solution to y 00 + 2y 0 = 3 + 4 sin(2t)

Ans: First, we will find the two linearly independent solutions to the homogenous ODE. The
homogenous ODE is y 00 + 2y 0 = 0. Trying a solution y = ert gives the characteristic equation
r2 + 2r = 0. So, r = 0 or 2. So, the homogenous solution is yh (t) = c1 + c2 e2t . To find the

3
particular solution, we will try y(t) = Ax + B sin(2t) + C cos(2t). With this equation, we have
y 0 (t) = A + 2B cos(2t) 2C sin(2t) and y 00 (t) = 4B sin(2t) 4C cos(2t). Plugging this in gives

4B sin(2t) 4C cos(2t) + 2A + 4B cos(2t) 4C sin(2t) = 3 + 4 sin(2t)

This gives the three equations

4B sin(2t) 4C sin(2t) = 4 sin(2t)

4C cos(2t) + 4B cos(2t) = 0
and
2A = 3
Therefore, A = 3/2, (B + C) = 1, and B = C. So, 2B = 1, which means B = C = 1/2, and
3 1
yp (t) = x (sin(2t) + cos(2t))
2 2
Therefore, the general solution to the ODE is
3 1
y(t) = yh (t) + yp (t) = c1 + c2 e2t + x (sin(2t) + cos(2t))
2 2