Linear Differential Equations

A first-order linear differential equation is one that can be put into the form

dy
1  P
xy
Q
x
dx

where P and Q are continuous functions on a given interval. This type of equation occurs
frequently in various sciences, as we will see.
An example of a linear equation is xy
 y
2x because, for x  0, it can be written
in the form

1
2 y
 y
2
x

Notice that this differential equation is not separable because it’s impossible to factor the
expression for y
as a function of x times a function of y. But we can still solve the equa-
tion by noticing, by the Product Rule, that

xy
 y

xy

and so we can rewrite the equation as

xy

2x

If we now integrate both sides of this equation, we get

C
xy
x 2  C or y
x
x

If we had been given the differential equation in the form of Equation 2, we would have
had to take the preliminary step of multiplying each side of the equation by x.
It turns out that every first-order linear differential equation can be solved in a similar
fashion by multiplying both sides of Equation 1 by a suitable function I
x called an
integrating factor. We try to find I so that the left side of Equation 1, when multiplied by
I
x, becomes the derivative of the product I
xy:

3 I
x
y
 P
xy

I
xy

If we can find such a function I , then Equation 1 becomes

I
xy

I
xQ
x

Integrating both sides, we would have

I
xy
y I
xQ
x dx  C

so the solution would be

4 y
x

1
I
x
y I
xQ
x dx  C
To find such an I, we expand Equation 3 and cancel terms:

I
xy
 I
xP
xy

I
xy

I

xy  I
xy

I
xP
x
I

x

1
2 ■ LINEAR DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

This is a separable differential equation for I , which we solve as follows:

dI
y
y P
x dx
I


ln I
y P
x dx

I
Ae x P
x dx

where A
e C. We are looking for a particular integrating factor, not the most general
one, so we take A
1 and use

5 I
x
e x P
x dx

Thus, a formula for the general solution to Equation 1 is provided by Equation 4, where I
is given by Equation 5. Instead of memorizing this formula, however, we just remember
the form of the integrating factor.

To solve the linear differential equation y
 P
xy
Q
x, multiply both sides by
the integrating factor I
x
e x P
x dx and integrate both sides.

dy
EXAMPLE 1 Solve the differential equation  3x 2 y
6x 2.
dx
SOLUTION The given equation is linear since it has the form of Equation 1 with
P
x
3x 2 and Q
x
6x 2. An integrating factor is
2 3
I
x
e x 3x dx

ex
3
Multiplying both sides of the differential equation by e x , we get
■ ■ Figure 1 shows the graphs of several mem-
bers of the family of solutions in Example 1. 3 dy 3 3
Notice that they all approach 2 as x l . ex  3x 2e x y
6x 2e x
dx
6
d x3 3
C=2 or
e y
6x 2e x
C=1 dx
C=0
C=_1 Integrating both sides, we have
_1.5 1.8
3 3 3
C=_2 e x y
y 6x 2e x dx
2e x  C
_3
3
FIGURE 1 y
2  Cex

EXAMPLE 2 Find the solution of the initial-value problem

x 2 y
 xy
1 x0 y
1
2

SOLUTION We must first divide both sides by the coefficient of y
to put the differential
equation into standard form:

1 1
6 y
 y
2 x0
x x

The integrating factor is

I
x
e x
1x dx
e ln x
x
 LINEAR DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS ■ 3

Multiplication of Equation 6 by x gives

1 1
xy
y
or
xy

x x

1
Then xy
y dx
ln x
C
■ ■ The solution of the initial-value problem in x
Example 2 is shown in Figure 2.
ln x
C
5 and so y

x
(1, 2) Since y
1
2, we have
ln 1
C
0 4 2

C
1
Therefore, the solution to the initial-value problem is
_5
ln x
2
y

FIGURE 2 x

EXAMPLE 3 Solve y
2xy
1.

SOLUTION The given equation is in the standard form for a linear equation. Multiplying by
the integrating factor
we get
or
■ ■ Even though the solutions of the differential Therefore
equation in Example 3 are expressed in terms of
an integral, they can still be graphed by a com-
2
e x 2x dx
e x
2 2 2
e x y
2xe x y
e x
2 2
(e x y)
e x
2 2
e x y
y e x dx
C
2

puter algebra system (Figure 3). Recall from Section 5.8 that x e x dx can’t be expressed in terms of elementary functions.
Nonetheless, it’s a perfectly good function and we can leave the answer as
2.5
2
x2 2
C=2 y
ex ye dx
Cex

_2.5 2.5
Another way of writing the solution is
C=_2 2 x 2 2
y
ex y e t dt
Cex
0
_2.5

FIGURE 3 (Any number can be chosen for the lower limit of integration.)

Application to Electric Circuits

R In Section 7.2 we considered the simple electric circuit shown in Figure 4: An electro-
motive force (usually a battery or generator) produces a voltage of E
t volts (V) and a cur-
rent of I
t amperes (A) at time t . The circuit also contains a resistor with a resistance of
E L R ohms () and an inductor with an inductance of L henries (H).
Ohm’s Law gives the drop in voltage due to the resistor as RI . The voltage drop due to
the inductor is L
dIdt. One of Kirchhoff’s laws says that the sum of the voltage drops is
switch equal to the supplied voltage E
t. Thus, we have
FIGURE 4 dI
7 L
RI
E
t
dt

which is a first-order linear differential equation. The solution gives the current I at time t .
4 ■ LINEAR DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

EXAMPLE 4 Suppose that in the simple circuit of Figure 4 the resistance is 12  and the
inductance is 4 H. If a battery gives a constant voltage of 60 V and the switch is closed
when t
0 so the current starts with I
0
0, find (a) I
t, (b) the current after 1 s, and
(c) the limiting value of the current.
SOLUTION
■ ■ The differential equation in Example 4 is (a) If we put L
4, R
12, and E
t
60 in Equation 7, we obtain the initial-value
both linear and separable, so an alternative problem
method is to solve it as a separable equation
(Example 4 in Section 7.3). If we replace the dI
battery by a generator, however, we get an 4
12I
60 I
0
0
equation that is linear but not separable dt
(Example 5).
dI
or
3I
15 I
0
0
dt

Multiplying by the integrating factor e x 3 dt
e 3t, we get

dI
e 3t
3e 3tI
15e 3t
dt

d 3t

e I
15e 3t
dt

e 3tI
y 15e 3t dt
5e 3t
C

I
t
5
Ce3t

■ ■ Figure 5 shows how the current in Example

Since I
0
0, we have 5
C
0, so C
5 and
4 approaches its limiting value.
I
t
5
1  e3t 
6
y=5 (b) After 1 second the current is

I
1
5
1  e3   4.75 A

(c) lim I
t
lim 5
1  e3t 
tl tl

2.5
5  5 lim e3t

0 tl

FIGURE 5
50
5

EXAMPLE 5 Suppose that the resistance and inductance remain as in Example 4

but, instead of the battery, we use a generator that produces a variable voltage of
E
t
60 sin 30t volts. Find I
t.
SOLUTION This time the differential equation becomes

dI dI
■ ■Figure 6 shows the graph of the current 4
12I
60 sin 30t or
3I
15 sin 30t
dt dt
when the battery is replaced by a generator.
The same integrating factor e 3t gives
2
d 3t dI

e I
e 3t
3e 3tI
15e 3t sin 30t
dt dt
0 2.5
Using Formula 98 in the Table of Integrals, we have
e 3t
e 3tI
y 15e 3t sin 30t dt
15
3 sin 30t  30 cos 30t
C
_2
909

I
101
sin 30t  10 cos 30t
Ce3t

5
FIGURE 6
 LINEAR DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS ■ 5

Since I
0
0, we get

 101
C
0
50

I
t
101
sin 30t  10 cos 30t
101 e3t

5 50
so

Exercises
Observe that, if n
0 or 1, the Bernoulli equation is linear.
A Click here for answers. S Click here for solutions. For other values of n, show that the substitution u
y 1n trans-
forms the Bernoulli equation into the linear equation
1–4 Determine whether the differential equation is linear.
du
1. y
e x y
x 2 y 2 2. y
sin x
x 3y

1  nP
xu

1  nQ
x
dx
3. xy
ln x  x 2 y
0 4. y
cos y
tan x 24–26 Use the method of Exercise 23 to solve the differential
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
equation.
5–14 Solve the differential equation. 2 y3
24. xy
y
xy 2 25. y
y
2
5. y
2y
2e x
6. y
x
5y x x
26. y
y
xy 3
7. xy  2y
x 2 8. x 2 y
2xy
cos 2 x
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

9. xy
y
sx 10. 1
xy
xy

27. In the circuit shown in Figure 4, a battery supplies a constant
dy voltage of 40 V, the inductance is 2 H, the resistance is 10 ,
11.
2xy
x 2 and I
0
0.
dx
(a) Find I
t.
dy (b) Find the current after 0.1 s.
12.
x sin 2x
y tan x, 2  x  2
dx
28. In the circuit shown in Figure 4, a generator supplies a voltage
13.
1
t
du

u
1
t, t  0 of E
t
40 sin 60t volts, the inductance is 1 H, the resistance
dt is 20 , and I
0
1 A.
dr (a) Find I
t.
14. t ln t
r
te t (b) Find the current after 0.1 s.
dt
; (c) Use a graphing device to draw the graph of the current
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

function.
15–20 Solve the initial-value problem. 29. The figure shows a circuit containing an electromotive force,
15. y
x
y, y
0
2 a capacitor with a capacitance of C farads (F), and a resistor
with a resistance of R ohms (). The voltage drop across the
dy
16. t
2y
t 3, t  0, y
1
0
dt C
dv 2
17.  2tv
3t 2e t , v
0
5
dt
E R
18. 2xy
y
6x, x  0, y
4
20
19. xy
y
x 2 sin x, y

0
dy y
20. x 
x, y
1
0, x0
dx x
1 capacitor is QC, where Q is the charge (in coulombs), so in
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ this case Kirchhoff’s Law gives

; 21–22 Solve the differential equation and use a graphing cal- Q

culator or computer to graph several members of the family of RI

E
t
C
solutions. How does the solution curve change as C varies?
But I
dQdt (see Example 3 in Section 3.3), so we have
21. xy
y
x cos x, x0 22. y

cos xy
cos x
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
dQ 1
R
Q
E
t
23. A Bernoulli differential equation (named after James dt C
Bernoulli) is of the form
Suppose the resistance is 5 , the capacitance is 0.05 F, a
dy battery gives a constant voltage of 60 V, and the initial charge

P
xy
Q
xy n
dx is Q
0
0 C. Find the charge and the current at time t.
6 ■ LINEAR DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
30. In the circuit of Exercise 29, R
2 , C
0.01 F, Q
0
0,
and E
t
10 sin 60t. Find the charge and the current at time t.
31. Let P
t be the performance level of someone learning a skill
as a function of the training time t. The graph of P is called a
learning curve. In Exercise 13 in Section 7.1 we proposed the
differential equation
dP

kM  P
t
dt
as a reasonable model for learning, where k is a positive
constant. Solve it as a linear differential equation and use your
solution to graph the learning curve.
32. Two new workers were hired for an assembly line. Jim
processed 25 units during the first hour and 45 units during the
second hour. Mark processed 35 units during the first hour and
50 units the second hour. Using the model of Exercise 31 and
assuming that P
0
0, estimate the maximum number of
units per hour that each worker is capable of processing.
33. In Section 7.3 we looked at mixing problems in which the
volume of fluid remained constant and saw that such problems
give rise to separable equations. (See Example 6 in that
section.) If the rates of flow into and out of the system are dif-
ferent, then the volume is not constant and the resulting differ-
ential equation is linear but not separable.
A tank contains 100 L of water. A solution with a salt
concentration of 0.4 kgL is added at a rate of 5 Lmin. The
solution is kept mixed and is drained from the tank at a rate
of 3 Lmin. If y
t is the amount of salt (in kilograms) after
t minutes, show that y satisfies the differential equation
dy 3y

2
dt 100
2t
Solve this equation and find the concentration after 20 minutes.
34. A tank with a capacity of 400 L is full of a mixture of water
and chlorine with a concentration of 0.05 g of chlorine per liter.
In order to reduce the concentration of chlorine, fresh water is
pumped into the tank at a rate of 4 Ls. The mixture is kept
stirred and is pumped out at a rate of 10 Ls. Find the amount
of chlorine in the tank as a function of time.
35. An object with mass m is dropped from rest and we assume
that the air resistance is proportional to the speed of the object.
If s
t is the distance dropped after t seconds, then the speed is
v
s
t and the acceleration is a
v
t. If t is the acceleration
due to gravity, then the downward force on the object is
mt  cv, where c is a positive constant, and Newton’s Second
Law gives
dv
m
mt  cv
dt
(a) Solve this as a linear equation to show that
mt
v

1  ectm 
c
(b) What is the limiting velocity?
(c) Find the distance the object has fallen after t seconds.
36. If we ignore air resistance, we can conclude that heavier
objects fall no faster than lighter objects. But if we take air
resistance into account, our conclusion changes. Use the
expression for the velocity of a falling object in Exercise 35(a)
to find dvdm and show that heavier objects do fall faster than
lighter ones.
 LINEAR DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS ■ 7

Answers
25. y
Cx 4  2
5x 12
S Click here for solutions.
27. (a) I
t
4  4e5t (b) 4  4e12  1.57 A
29. Q
t
3
1  e , I
t
12e4t
4t

5. y
3 e x  Ce2x
2
1. No 3. Yes 31. P
t
M  Cekt P(t)

 
7. y
x 2 ln x  Cx 2
x 2 1 x
9. y
3 sx  Cx
2 2
2 M

y
x  Ce  e x e dx
1 x
11. 2 2
13. u

t 2  2t  2C2
t  1
2 2
15. y
x  1  3e x 17. v
t 3e t  5e t P(0)
19. y
x cos x  x 0
t
21. y
sin x 
cos xx  Cx 6

33. y
5
100  2t  40,000
100  2t32; 0.2275 kgL

C=2 2
C=1
C=0.2 35. (b) mtc (c)
mtct 
mcectm  m 2tc 2
0 10
C=_1
C=_2
_4
8 ■ LINEAR DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Solutions: Linear Differential Equations

1. y 0 + ex y = x2 y 2 is not linear since it cannot be put into the standard linear form (1), y 0 + P (x) y = Q(x).

ln x
3. xy0 + ln x − x2 y = 0 ⇒ xy 0 − x2 y = − ln x ⇒ y0 + (−x) y = − , which is in the standard linear
x
form (1), so this equation is linear.

5. Comparing the given equation, y0 + 2y = 2ex , with the general form, y0 + P (x)y = Q(x), we see that P (x) = 2
R R
and the integrating factor is I(x) = e P (x)dx = e 2 dx = e2x . Multiplying the differential equation by I(x) gives
¡ ¢0 R
e2x y 0 + 2e2x y = 2e3x ⇒ e2x y = 2e3x ⇒ e2x y = 2e3x dx ⇒ e2x y = 23 e3x + C ⇒
y = 23 ex + Ce−2x .
µ ¶
0 2 0 2
7. xy − 2y = x [divide by x] ⇒ y + − y = x (∗).
x
R R −2 2
I(x) = e P (x) dx
=e (−2/x) dx
= e−2 ln|x| = eln|x| = eln(1/x ) = 1/x2 . Multiplying the differential
µ ¶0
1 0 2 1 1 1 1
equation (∗) by I(x) gives y − 3y= ⇒ y = ⇒ y = ln |x| + C ⇒
x2 x x x2 x x2
y = x2 (ln |x| + C ) = x2 ln |x| + Cx2 .

9. Since P (x) is the derivative of the coefficient of y0 [P (x) = 1 and the coefficient is x], we can write the
√ √
differential equation xy 0 + y = x in the easily integrable form (xy)0 = x ⇒ xy = 23 x3/2 + C ⇒
√
y = 23 x + C/x.

R 2
11. I(x) = e = ex . Multiplying the differential equation y 0 + 2xy = x2 by I(x) gives
2x dx

2 2 2
³ 2 ´0 2
ex y 0 + 2xex y = x2 ex ⇒ ex y = x2 ex . Thus
2
hR 2
i 2
h 2 R i 2 R
1 x2 2
1 x2
y = e−x x2 ex dx + C = e−x 12 xex − 2
e dx + C = 12 x + Ce−x − e−x 2
e dx.

du du 1
13. (1 + t) + u = 1 + t, t > 0 [divide by 1 + t] ⇒ + u = 1 (∗), which has the form
dt dt 1+t
R R
u0 + P (t) u = Q(t). The integrating factor is I(t) = e P (t) dt
=e [1/(1+t)] dt
= eln(1+t) = 1 + t.
Multiplying (∗) by I(t) gives us our original equation back. We rewrite it as [(1 + t) u]0 = 1 + t. Thus,
R t + 12 t2 + C t2 + 2t + 2C
(1 + t) u = (1 + t) dt = t + 12 t2 + C ⇒ u= or u = .
1+t 2 (t + 1)

R
15. y 0 = x + y y0 + (−1)y = x. I(x) = e (−1) dx = e−x . Multiplying by e−x gives e−x y 0 − e−x y = xe−x
⇒
R
⇒ (e−x y)0 = xe−x ⇒ e−x y = xe−x dx = −xe−x − e−x + C [integration by parts with u = x,

dv = e−x dx] ⇒ y = −x − 1 + Cex . y(0) = 2 ⇒ −1 + C = 2 ⇒ C = 3, so y = −x − 1 + 3ex .

dv 2 R 2
17. − 2tv = 3t2 et , v (0) = 5. I(t) = e (−2t)dt = e−t . Multiply the differential equation by I(t) to get
dt
2 dv 2
³ 2 ´0 2 R 2 2
e−t − 2te−t v = 3t2 ⇒ e−t v = 3t2 ⇒ e−t v = 3t2 dt = t3 + C ⇒ v = t3 et + Cet .
dt
2 2
5 = v(0) = 0 · 1 + C · 1 = C, so v = t3 et + 5et .
 LINEAR DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS ■ 9

1 R −1 1
19. xy0 = y + x2 sin x ⇒ y0 −
y = x sin x. I(x) = e (−1/x) dx = e− ln x = eln x = .
x x
µ ¶0
1 1 1 1 1
Multiplying by gives y0 − 2 y = sin x ⇒ y = sin x ⇒ y = − cos x + C ⇒
x x x x x
y = −x cos x + Cx. y(π) = 0 ⇒ −π · (−1) + Cπ = 0 ⇒ C = −1, so y = −x cos x − x.

1 R
21. y 0 + y = cos x (x 6= 0), so I(x) = e (1/x)dx = eln|x| = x (for
x
x > 0). Multiplying the differential equation by I(x) gives
xy0 + y = x cos x ⇒ (xy)0 = x cos x. Thus,
·Z ¸
1 1
y= x cos x dx + C = [x sin x + cos x + C]
x x
cos x C
= sin x + +
x x

The solutions are asymptotic to the y-axis (except for C = −1). In fact, for C > −1, y → ∞ as x → 0+ , whereas

for C < −1, y → −∞ as x → 0+ . As x gets larger, the solutions approximate y = sin x more closely. The

graphs for larger C lie above those for smaller C. The distance between the graphs lessens as x increases.

du dy dy yn du un/(1−n) du
23. Setting u = y 1−n , = (1 − n) y −n or = = . Then the Bernoulli differential
dx dx dx 1 − n dx 1 − n dx

un/(1−n) du du
equation becomes + P (x)u1/(1−n) = Q(x)un/(1−n) or + (1 − n)P (x)u = Q(x)(1 − n).
1 − n dx dx

2 y3 2 1 4u 2
25. y 0 + y = 2 . Here n = 3, P (x) = , Q(x) = 2 and setting u = y −2 , u satisfies u0 − = − 2.
x x x x x x
R
µZ ¶ µ ¶
2 2 2
Then I(x) = e (−4/x)dx = x−4 and u = x4 − 6 dx + C = x4 + C = Cx4 + .
x 5x5 5x
µ ¶−1/2
2
Thus, y = ± Cx4 + .
5x

dI dI R
5 dt
27. (a) 2 + 10I = 40 or + 5I = 20. Then the integrating factor is e = e5t . Multiplying the differential
dt dt
dI ¡ ¢0
equation by the integrating factor gives e5t + 5Ie5t = 20e5t ⇒ e5t I = 20e5t ⇒
dt
£R ¤
I(t) = e−5t 20e5t dt + C = 4 + Ce−5t . But 0 = I(0) = 4 + C, so I(t) = 4 − 4e−5t .

(b) I(0.1) = 4 − 4e−0.5 ≈ 1.57 A

dQ R
4 dt
29. 5 + 20Q = 60 with Q(0) = 0 C. Then the integrating factor is e = e4t , and multiplying the differential
dt
dQ ¡ ¢0
equation by the integrating factor gives e4t + 4e4t Q = 12e4t ⇒ e4t Q = 12e4t ⇒
dt
£R ¤ ¡ ¢
Q(t) = e−4t 12e4t dt + C = 3 + Ce−4t . But 0 = Q(0) = 3 + C so Q(t) = 3 1 − e−4t is the charge at time

t and I = dQ/dt = 12e−4t is the current at time t.

10 ■ LINEAR DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

dP R
31. + kP = kM , so I(t) = e k dt = ekt . Multiplying the differential
dt
dP
equation by I(t) gives ekt + kP ekt = kM ekt ⇒
dt
¡ kt ¢0
e P = kM ekt ⇒
¡R ¢
P (t) = e−kt kM ekt dt + C = M + Ce−kt , k > 0. Furthermore, it is
reasonable to assume that 0 ≤ P (0) ≤ M , so −M ≤ C ≤ 0.
µ ¶µ ¶
kg L kg
33. y(0) = 0 kg. Salt is added at a rate of 0.4 5 =2 . Since solution is drained from the tank at a
L min min
rate of 3 L/min, but salt solution is added at a rate of 5 L/min, the tank, which starts out with 100 L of water,
y(t) kg
contains (100 + 2t) L of liquid after t min. Thus, the salt concentration at time t is . Salt therefore
100 + 2t L
µ ¶µ ¶
y(t) kg 3y
L kg
leaves the tank at a rate of 3 =. Combining the rates at which salt enters
100 + 2t L 100 + 2t min
min
µ ¶
dy 3y dy 3
and leaves the tank, we get =2− . Rewriting this equation as + y = 2, we see that
dt 100 + 2t dt 100 + 2t
µZ ¶
3 dt ¡ ¢
it is linear. I(t) = exp = exp 32 ln(100 + 2t) = (100 + 2t)3/2 . Multiplying the differential
100 + 2t
dy
equation by I(t) gives (100 + 2t)3/2 + 3(100 + 2t)1/2 y = 2(100 + 2t)3/2 ⇒
dt
h i0
(100 + 2t)3/2 y = 2(100 + 2t)3/2 ⇒ (100 + 2t)3/2 y = 25 (100 + 2t)5/2 + C ⇒

y = 25 (100 + 2t) + C(100 + 2t)−3/2 . Now 0 = y(0) = 25 (100) + C · 100−3/2 = 40 + 1000

1
C ⇒
h i
C = −40,000, so y = 25 (100 + 2t) − 40,000(100 + 2t)−3/2 kg. From this solution (no pun intended), we
" #
y(t) −40,000 2 kg
calculate the salt concentration at time t to be C(t) = = 5/2
+ . In particular,
100 + 2t (100 + 2t) 5 L

−40,000 2 kg
C(20) = + ≈ 0.2275 and y(20) = 25 (140) − 40,000(140)−3/2 ≈ 31.85 kg.
1405/2 5 L
dv c R
35. (a) + v = g and I(t) = e (c/m)dt = e(c/m)t , and multiplying the differential equation by I(t) gives
dt m
dv vce(c/m)t h i0
e(c/m)t + = ge(c/m)t ⇒ e(c/m)t v = ge(c/m)t . Hence,
dt hRm i
v(t) = e−(c/m)t ge(c/m)t dt + K = mg/c + Ke−(c/m)t . But the object is dropped from rest, so v(0) = 0
h i
and K = −mg/c. Thus, the velocity at time t is v(t) = (mg/c) 1 − e−(c/m)t .

(b) lim v(t) = mg/c

t→∞
R h i
(c) s(t) = v(t) dt = (mg/c) t + (m/c)e−(c/m)t + c1 where c1 = s(0) − m2 g/c2 . s(0) is the initial position,
h i
so s(0) = 0 and s(t) = (mg/c) t + (m/c)e−(c/m)t − m2 g/c2 .