2.

Modelling with
differential equations
Population dynamics (T. Malthus 1798)

The rate at which the population of a country grows at a certain time is

proportional to the total population of the country at that time

Not really accurate except for very small populations (example: bacteria in a Petri
dish)

Here, the constant of proporcionality is possitive! (growth)

Also describes the growth of capital, when an anual rate of interest is compound.
Radioactive decay

To model de phenomenon of radioactive decay, it is assumed that the rate
at which the nuclei of a substance decay is proportional to the amount (more
precisely, the number of nuclei) () of the substance remaining at time .

Here, the constant of proporcionality is negative! (decay)

This model is usefull also for the half life of a drug (the time that it takes for
50% of a drug to be eliminated by the body)
Newtons law of cooling/warming

The rate at which temperature of a body changes is proportional to the

difference between the temperature of the body and the temperature of the
surrounding medium (ambient temperature).

where is the temperature of the medium

Spread of a disease
A virus spreads throughout a community by people coming into contact with other
people. Let x(t) denote the number of people who have contracted the disease
and y(t) denote the number of people who have not yet been exposed.
We assume that the rate dx/dt at which the disease spreads is proportional to the
number of encounters or interactions between these two groups of people.
We assume the number of interactions is proportional to both x and y

=

If one sick person is introduced into a healthy community of people, then + =
+ 1 and we can substitute to get

= ( + 1 )

Chemical reaction

In
chemestry a few reactions follow a first-
order reaction model. To describe a second
reaction in general, let us suppose one
molecule of a substance combines with
one molecule of a substance to form one
molecule of a substance

+
Chemical reaction

If denotes the amount of chemical formed at

time and if and are, in turn, the amounts of the
two chemical at = 0 (the initial amounts), then the
instantaneous amounts of and not converted to
chemical are and , respectively. Hence
the rate of formation of is proportional to the
product of the remaining concentrations of A and B

=

Draining a tank

In hydrodynamics Torricellis law states that

the speed of efflux of water through a
sharp-edged hole at the bottom of a tank
filled to a depth is the same as the speed
that a body (in this case a drop of water)
would acquire in falling freely from a
height , that is, = 2
Draining a tank

Suppose a tank filled with water is allowed to drain

through a hole under the influence of gravity. We
would like to find the depth h of water remaining in
the tank at time . If the area of the hole is and
the speed of the water leaving the tank is = 2,
then the volume of water leaving the tank per
second is 2. Thus if denotes de volumen
of water in the tank at time , then

= 2

Draining a tank

Where the minus sign indicates that is

decreasing. Now if the tank is such that the
volumen of water in it at time can be written
= , where is the constant area of the

upper surface of the water then = .

Substituting this last expression in the latter DE
gives us the desired DE for the height of water at
time

= 2

Electric circuits ()
Consider the single-loop series circuit containing an
inductor, resistor and capacitor.
The current in a circuit after a switch is closed is
denoted by ; the charge on a capacitor at time
is denoted by .
The letters , and are known as inductance,
resistance and capacitance (generally constants).
Electric circuits

Accordingto Kirchhoffs second law the

impressed voltage on a closed loop
must equal the sum of the voltaje drops in
the loop.
Electric circuits

Sincecurrent is related to the charge on

the capacitor by = , adding the voltages

And equating the sum to the impressed voltages

yields a second-order DE.
2 1
2 + + = ()

Exercises

A spherical snowball melts proportional to

its surface area. Find an expression for the
volume of the sphere at any time.

= 36 1/3 2/3

 When removing a cake from the oven, its
temperature is 300F. Three minutes later the
temperature is 200F. What is the temperature of
the cake at any time, if the room temperature is
70F?
It is known that the rate of temperature change
is proportional to the temperature difference
between the body and the sorroundings.
(Newtons Law of cooling/warming)

= 70 ; 0 = 300; 3 = 200

 In the process of preserving food, sugar cane

experience an inversion becoming a mixture of
two simple sugars: glucose and fructose. In dilute
solution, the inversion rate is proportional to the
sugar concentration not altered. If the
concentration is 1/50 at the begining of the
procces and 1/200 after three hours, give a
model for the sugar concentration not altered at
any time.
1 1
= ; 0 = ; 3 =
50 200
A culture initially have a certain number of
bacteria. Within an hour, the number of
bacteria is measured in 3/2 of the initial
amount. If the bacterial growth is
proportional to the number of bacteria
present, provide a model that gives the
number of bacteria present at any time.
3
= ; 0 = 0 ; 1 = 0
2
A reactor converts uranium-238, which is
relatively stable, in the isotope plutonium-239.
After 15 years it is determined that 4.3% of the
initial amount 0 of uranium has decayed. Give a
model that provides the amount of uranium-238
at any time if the rate of decay is proportional to
the remaining amount.

= ; 0 = 0 ; 15 = 0.9570