MATH 275 ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

REVIEW TOPICS FOR THE FINAL EXAM

The exam is cumulative and consists of ~10 problems covering the main
concepts in the course.

You may bring two 8”x 11” information sheets for use during the exam.
A calculator may be handy.
You will have the entire class period for the exam.

The following is a list of topics that you should be familiar with for the final
exam. Exam problems will cover some subset of these topics.

Chapter 1 (1.1 – 1.4, 1.6 – 1.9)

 Be able to solve 1st order differential equations by separation of
variables.
 Be able to interpret slope/direction fields.
 Be able to apply Euler’s method for 1st order differential equations.
 Be able to find equilibria and be able to draw associated phase lines.
 Be able to draw and label bifurcation diagrams.
 Be able to solve, analytically, 1st order linear differential equations by
the method of guessing (undetermined coefficients) and by the
method of integrating factors.

Chapter 2 (2.1 – 2.4)

 Be able to find equilibrium solutions and interpret direction fields for
1st order differential equations.

Chapter 3 (3.1 – 3.6)

 Be familiar with properties of linear systems, vectors, matrices, etc.
 Be able to find straight line solutions.
 Be familiar with phase planes, how they are constructed and how they
are interpreted.
 Be able to find eigenvalues, eigenvectors, general, and particular
solutions for 2x2 linear systems with:
 Real eigenvalues
 Complex eigenvalues
 Zero and repeated eigenvalues

1
Skyline College Math 275
  Be able to solve 2nd order linear homogeneous differential equations
with constant coefficients two ways; directly and by first converting
to a 2x2 1st order linear system.

Chapter 5 (5.1 – 5.2)

 Be able to find and classify all equilibria for 2x2 nonlinear systems.
 Be able to “linearize” a given nonlinear system in the neighborhood of
equilibrium points.

2
Skyline College Math 275
 MATH 275 ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
Final Exam sample

Name ______________________________ Date ___________________

Show all work. No work, no credit!!

1) Find the general solution of the differential equation

dy − xy
=
dx x + 1

Skyline College Math 275 1

 dx dy
2) Consider the system =−2 x + y, =− y + x 2 ,
dt dt
(a) Find all of the equilibrium points for the system.
(b) Find the linearized system near each of the equilibrium points.
(c) Classify each equilibrium point (source, sink, saddle, etc.)

Skyline College Math 275 2

3) Use an integrating factor to find the particular solution for the IVP
dx  1 
t − x = t , x (1) = 0.
dt  t + 1 

Skyline College Math 275 3

 1 
4) Suppose A is a 2 × 2 matrix with eigenvalues λ1 = 2 and λ2 =−3. If X 1 = 2  is an
 
 2
eigenvector associated to λ1 , and X 2 =   is an eigenvector associated to λ2 , solve
 −3

dX    −4 
the initial-value problem
= AX = , X ( 0)   .
dt  13

Skyline College Math 275 4

5) Find and classify the equilibria and sketch the null-clines for the system
dx
= x ( − x − 3 y + 150 )
dt
dy
= y ( −2 x − y + 100 )
dt

Skyline College Math 275 5

 dx dy
6) Given the system = 2 x + y, = 2 x + 3 y,
dt dt
(a) Convert the system to vector form.
(b) Find the characteristic equation for the system.
(c) Find the eigenvalues for the system.
(d) What kind of equilibrium point is the origin? Briefly justify your answer.
(e) Find representative eigenvectors for each eigenvalue.
(f) Give the general solution for the system in vector form.

Skyline College Math 275 6

7) Given the initial value problem
d2y t2
+ 4 y t
=− y ( 0 ) =y ' ( 0 ) =0
dt 2 20

a) Compute the general solution by the method of guessing

b) Compute the particular solution

Skyline College Math 275 7

8) Given the 2x2 system and initial value,

dY  2 −6    2
= =  Y , Y0  
dt  2 1 1 

a) Find the general solution,

b) Find the particular solution.

Skyline College Math 275 8

9) Given the 2x2 system

dY  2 1   1 
= =  Y, Y0  
dt  −1 4  0 

a) Find the general solution,

b) Find the particular solution.

Skyline College Math 275 9