ES14

Differential Equation
For Engineers
Applications of First-Order
Differential Equations
Prepared by:
Engr. Marc Lin F. Abonales
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Growth, Decay and Continuous Compund

Interest Problems
Let N(t) denote the amount of substance (or population) that is either growing or decaying. If we assume that
dN/dt, the time rate of change of this amount of substance, is proportional to the amount of substance present, then
dN/dt = kN, or

Solving the differential equation, the solution will be

Where: c is the initial value and can be found from the initial condition and k is the constant of proportionality,
which is can be found from an additional condition which might be given in the problem. The above solution is
called the law of exponential growth and decay. Note: If k > 0 the exponential growth occurs, and if k < 0 the
exponential decay occurs. We are assuming that N(t) is a differentiable, hence continuous, function of time. For
population problems, where N(t) is actually discrete and integer-valued, this assumption is incorrect. Nonetheless,
the above equation still provides a good approximation to the physical laws governing such a system.
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

EXAMPLE. ANSWERS:
A person places $20,000 in a savings account
which pays 5 percent interest per annum,
(a)$23,236.68
compounded continuously. Find (b)13.86 years
(a) the amount in the account after three years,
and
(b) the time required for the account to double
in value, presuming no withdrawals and no
additional deposits.
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

EXAMPLE. ANSWERS:
A person places $5000 in an account that
accrues interest compounded continuously.
$9271.44
Assuming no additional deposits or
withdrawals, how much will be in the account
after seven years if the interest rate is a
constant 8.5 percent for the first four years and
a constant 9.25 percent for the last three years?
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

EXAMPLE. ANSWERS:
A bacteria culture is known to grow at a rate
proportional to the amount present. After one
(a)
hour, 1000 strands of the bacteria are observed (b) 694
in the culture; and after four hours, 3000
strands. Find
(a) an expression for the approximate number
of strands of the bacteria present in the
culture at any time t and
(b) the approximate number of strands of the
bacteria originally in the culture.
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

EXAMPLE. ANSWERS:
The population of a certain country is known to
increase at a rate proportional to the number of
7062
people presently living in the country. If after
two years the population has doubled, and
after three years the population is 20,000,
estimate the number of people initially living
in the country.
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

EXAMPLE. ANSWERS:
A certain radioactive material is known to
decay at a rate proportional to the amount
(a)
present. If initially there is 50 milligrams of the (b) 40.5 mg
material present and after two hours it is (c) 13 hours
observed that the material has lost 10 percent
of its original mass, find
(a) an expression for the mass of the material
remaining at any time t,
(b) the mass of the material after four hours,
and
(c) the time at which the material has decayed
to one half of its initial mass.
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Newton’s Law of Cooling

Newton's law of cooling, which is equally applicable to heating, states that the time
rate of change of the temperature of a body is proportional to the temperature
difference between the body and its surrounding medium. Let T denote the
temperature of the body and let Tm denote the temperature of the surrounding
medium. Then the time rate of change of the temperature of the body dT/dt, and
Newton's law of cooling can be formulated as dT/dt = k(T - Tm), where k is a positive
constant of proportionality. Solving the differential equation, the solution will be

T(t) = Tm + cekt

The constant of integration c can be calculated by using the initial condition and the
constant of proportionality k can be calculated by using an additional condition.
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

EXAMPLE. ANSWERS:
A body at a temperature of 50°F is placed
outdoors where the temperature is 100°F. If
(a) t = 15.4 mins
after 5 minutes the temperature of the body is (b) T = 79.5°F
60°F, find
(a) how long it will take the body to reach a
temperature of 75°F and
(b) the temperature of the body after 20
minutes.
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

EXAMPLE. ANSWERS:
A body at an unknown temperature is placed in
a room which is held at a constant temperature
-30°F
of 30°F. If after 10 minutes the temperature of
the body is 0°F and after 20 minutes the
temperature of the body is 15°F, find the
unknown initial temperature.
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Mixing (Non-Reacting Fluids)

All mixing problems we consider here will involve a
tank into which a certain mixture will be added at a
Input rate = (Solution of concentration flows in)*(Rate of flow in)
certain input rate and the mixture will leave the system
Output rate = (Solution of concentration flows out)*(Rate of flow out)
at a certain output rate. We shall always reserve Q =
Q(t) to denote the amount of substance in the tank at Solution of concentration, c1 (grams/liter),
any given time t. The time rate of change of Q, dQ/dt, flows in at a rate of r1 (liters/minute)
equals the rate at which a substance enters the tank
minus the rate at which a substance leaves the tank. The Q(t) = amount of substance in the tank at time t
differential equation involved here arises from the V(t) = volume of solution in the tank at time t
c2(t) = Q(t)/V(t) = concentration of substance in the tank at
following natural relationship: time t

dQ/dt = input rate – output rate Solution of concentration, c2

(grams/liter), flows out at a rate of r2
(liters/minute)
The main assumption that we will be using here is that
the concentration of the substance in the liquid is Where: V(t) = r1t – r2t + V0; V0 = initial volume
uniform throughout the tank. Clearly this will not be the
case, but if we allow the concentration to vary
depending on the location in the tank the problem
becomes very difficult and will involve partial
differential equations, which is not the focus of this
course.
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

EXAMPLE. ANSWERS:
A tank initially holds 100 gal of a brine solution
containing 1 Ib of salt. At t = 0 another brine
(a)
solution containing 1 Ib of salt per gallon is (b) 0.338 min
poured into the tank at the rate of 3 gal/min,
while the well-stirred mixture leaves the tank at
the same rate. Find
(a) the amount of salt in the tank at any time t
and
(b) the time at which the mixture in the tank
contains 2 Ib of salt.
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

EXAMPLE. ANSWERS:
A tank contains 8L (liters) of water in which is
dissolved 32 g (grams) of chemical. A solution
(a) 296/3 g
containing 2 g/L of the chemical flows into the (b) 37/17 g/L
tank at a rate of 4 L/min, and the well-stirred
mixture flows out at a rate of 2 L/min.
(a) Determine the amount of chemical in the
tank after 20 minutes.
(b) What is the concentration of chemical in
the tank at that time?
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

EXAMPLE. ANSWERS:
A tank initially holds 100 gal of a brine solution
containing 20 Ib of salt. At t = 0, fresh water is
poured into the tank at the rate of 5 gal/min,
while the well stirred mixture leaves the tank at
the same rate. Find the amount of salt in the
tank at any time t.
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Electrical Circuits
RL Circuit. For a series circuit containing only a resistor (R) and an inductor (L), Kirchhoff’s second law (voltage law) states that the sum of
the voltage drop across the resistor (RI) and the voltage drop across the inductor (L(dI/dt)) is the same as the impressed voltage or an
electromotive force (E) on the circuit.

Thus, RI + L(dI/dt)= E
or

Where:
dI/dt = time rate of change of the current in amperes per second
I = amount of current in amperes
R = resistance in ohms
L = inductor in henries
E = electromotive force (emf) in volts
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Electrical Circuits
RC Circuit. For a series circuit containing only a resistor (R) and capacitor (C), Kirchhoff’s second law (voltage law) states that the sum of
the voltage drop across the resistor (RI) and the voltage drop across a capacitor (q/C) is the same as the impressed voltage or an
electromotive force (E) on the circuit.

Thus, RI + q/C = E

The relationship between q and I is , therefore, R(dq/dt) + q/C = E or

Where:
dq/dt = time rate of change of the electrical charge in coulombs per second
q = amount of electrical charge in coulombs
R = resistance in ohms
C = capacitance in farads
E = electromotive force (emf) in volts
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

EXAMPLE. ANSWERS:
An RL circuit has an emf of 5 volts, a resistance
of 50 ohms, an inductance of 1 henry, and no
initial current. Find the current in the circuit at
any time t.
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

EXAMPLE. ANSWERS:
An RL circuit has an emf given (in volts) by
3sin2t, a resistance of 10 ohms, an inductance
of 0.5 henry, and an initial current of 6 amperes.
Find the current in the circuit at any time t.
 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

EXAMPLE. ANSWERS:
A 100-volt electromotive force is applied to an
RC series circuit in which the resistance is 200 (a)
ohms and the capacitance is 10-4 farad. Find
(a) the charge q(t) on the capacitor if q(0) = 0
(b) the current i(t)
(b)