Homework 1 (25 points)

0
1: Find the general solution to t2 y + (t + 1) y = t 1 ; for t > 0:
2: Consider the initial-value problem:
0 2 1
y + y=1 x; y (0) = y0 :
3 2
Find the value of y0 for which the solution touches, but does not cross, the x-axis (you
may use a graphing calculator to approximate y0 !!!).
3: Newton’s emperical law of cooling/warming of an object is given by the linear …rst
order di¤erential equations
dT
= k (T Tambient ) ; (*)
dt
where k is a constant of proportionality, t is time, T (t) is the temperature for the
object for t > 0 and Tambient is the ambient temperature, that is, the temperature of
the medium around the object. In general, Tambient is assumed to be constant.
Problem: In …xing time of death, coroners use a formulation based on Newton’s law
of cooling ( ). This law states that the rate of change in the temperature T (t) of a
body in this case is directly proportional to the di¤erence between the temperature of
the body and the ambient temperature surrounding the body. Suppose that a coroner
arrives at 11:00 AM to investigate a murder. He …nds that the body is submerged
in a pool of water. Upon arrival he takes the temperature of the water and …nds
it is 76:10 F (degrees Fahrenheit). Since the water is in a protected environment
it is reasonable that the temperature for the surroundings may be presumed to have
remained constant. When the coroner arrived he also took the temperature of the
body and recorded it as 94:55 F . One hour later the temperature of the body is taken
again and recorded as 93:2 F before it is beeing removed from the water. Assuming
the body’s temperature was a normal of 98:6 F at the time of death, at what time
does the cooling law ( ) predicts that the murder took place? Hint: First, solve for
T (t) in the di¤erential equation ( ) :
4. Determine (without solving the problem) an interval of validity in which the solution
of the given initial value problem is certain to exist.
0
4 t2 y + 2ty = 3t2 ; y ( 1) = 3:
Hint: State the theorem …rst and check the hypotheses carefully.

1
5: In biology/ecology, a typical application of the Bernoulli di¤erential equation is
a common model of population growth, in which the rate of reproduction (of a given
population) is proportional to both the existing population and the amount of available
resources, all else being equal. Suppose that y of a certain species of …sh (for example,
tuna or halibut) in a given area of the ocean is described by the following law of logistic
growth:
dy y
=r 1 y;
dt K
where y (t) represents population size (measured as a biomass, in kilograms kg) and t
represent time, while the constant r de…nes the growth rate of the …sh population and
K is the carrying capacity. By de…nition, the carrying capacity of a biological species in
an environment is the maximum population size K of the species that the environment
can sustain inde…nitely, given the food, habitat, water, and other necessities available
in the environment. In addition, suppose that the initial population is given

y (0) = y0 ;

with y0 0 is given.
(a) Solve the initial value problem with any r > 0; K > 0 and y0 by …nding an actual
solution using a Bernoulli transformation.
(b) What happens to y (t) as t ! 1 in the case when r = 0:5=year; K = 80 106 kg
as a function of the given initial population y0 ?
(c) Suppose y0 = 0:3K. Find the time T > 0 that it takes for the biomass to reach
y (T ) = 0:80K (i.e., 80% of the enviromental carrying capacity).