Applications of First order ODEs

Department of Mathematics
IIT Guwahati (SHB/SU)
Lecture 3
Applications of Linear Equations: Growth and Decay Problems

The initial value problem

dx
= kx, x(t0 ) = x0 (1)
dt

where k is a constant, occurs in many physical theories involving either growth or

decay. For instance, in biology it models the growth of bacteria or a small population
of animals that increases at a rate proportional to the amount present at any time.

In physics the IVP (1) models the process of estimating the amount of radioactive
substance remaining at any time t or the temperature of a cooling body. Similarly in
chemistry, it may be used to estimate the amount of chemicals that remain at any
time during certain chemical processes.
Bacterial Growth

Problem: A culture has N0 number of bacteria. At t = 1 hour the number of bacteria

is measured to be (3/2)N0 . If the rate of growth is proportional to the number of
bacteria present, determine the time necessary for the number of bacteria to triple.

Answer: The associated initial value problem is

dN
= kN, N(0) = N0 (2)
dt

which has the solution N(t) = N0 e kt . Since N(1) = 32 N0 , we have

3
N
2 0
= N0 e k ⇒ k = ln( 23 ) = 0.4055. Thus N(t) = N0 e 0.4055t .

Suppose that the bacteria population triples in time t = t1 . Then

ln3
3N0 = N0 e 0.4055t1 ⇒ t1 = ≈ 2.71 hours .
0.4055
Carbon Dating

Problem: A fossilized bone is found to contain 1/1000 the original amount of

radioactive carbon C-14. Given the the half-life of C-14 in approximately 5600 years,
determine the age of the fossil.

Answer: If A0 be the original amount of C-14, then the associated IVP is once again
of the same type as in the previous problem and it has the solution A(t) = A0 e kt .
Since A(t) = A0 /2 when t = 5600 years, we have

A0 ln2
= A0 e 5600t ⇒ k = − = −0.00012378.
2 5600

Therefore the process satisfies the equation, A(t) = A0 e −0.00012378t .

Thus if the age of the fossil be t1 years, then

A0 ln1000
= A0 e −0.00012378t1 ⇒ t1 = ≈ 55, 800 years.
1000 0.00012378
Electrical Circuits

Problem: A 12-volt battery is connected to a simple series circuit in which the

inductance is 1/2 henry and the resistance is 10 ohms. Determine the current i if the
initial current is zero.

In a series circuit containing only a resistor and an inductor, Kirchoff’s second law
di
states that the sum of the voltage drop across the inductor (L dt ) and the voltage drop
across the resistor (iR) is the same as the impressed voltage (E (t)) on the circuit.
Thus the current flow i(t) satisfies the linear equation

di
L + Ri = E (t) (3)
dt

Thus the given problem gives rise to the IVP

1 di
+ 10i = 12, i(0) = 0 (4)
2 dt
6
Upon solving it we get the current flow as i(t) = 5
− 65 e −20t .
Fluid Mixtures

Problem: Initially 50 pounds of salt is dissolved in a large tank holding 300 gallons of
water. A brine solution is pumped into the tank at a rate of 3 gallons per minute and
a well-stirred solution is then pumped out at the same rate. If the concentration of the
solution entering is 2 pounds per gallon, determine the amount of salt in the tank at
any time. How much salt is present after 50 minutes? After a long time?

Answer: If A(t)be the amount of salt in the tank at any time t, then

dA
= (Rate of entry) − (Rate of exit) = R1 − R2 .
dt

For the given problem the rate at which salt enters the tank is
R1 = (3gal/min) × (2lb/gal) = 6lb/min
and the rate at which salt leaves the tank is
A A
R2 = (3gal/min) × ( lb/gal) = lb/min.
300 100
Fluid Mixtures

Thus the associated IVP is

dA A
=6− , A(0) = 50 (5)
dt 100

It has the solution A(t) = 600 − 550e −t/100 . Thus at t = 50, A(50) = 266.41 lbs.
Also as t → ∞, we have A → 600. Thus after a long period of time the amount of
salt in the solution is 600 lbs.

If in the preceding example, the well stirred solution is pumped out at a slower rate of
2 gallons per minute, then the solution is accumulating at a rate of (3 − 2)gal/min
= 1 gal/min. After  t minutes there
 are 300 + t gallons of brine in the tank so that
A 2A
R2 = (2gal/min) × 300+t lb/gal = 300+t lb/min and the IVP (5) takes the form
dA 2A
+ = 6, A(0) = 50, (6)
dt 300 + t
This has the solution A(t) = 2(300 + t) − (4.95 × 107 )(300 + t)−2 .
Applications of nonlinear equations: Population Growth

dP
If the rate of growth in a population P is described by the equation = kP, k > 0
dt
then the population exhibits unbounded exponential growth. This is an unrealistic
model of growth in many cases, especially in those where the initial population is
large. In such cases overcrowded conditions with the resulting detrimental effects of
such as pollution and excessive and competitive demand for resources inhibit growth.
In 1840 a Belgian mathematician-biologist P. F. Verhulst proposed a different equation
of the form
dP
= P(a − bP)
dt
where a and b are positive constants determined by the circumstances. This equation
is referred to as the logistic equation and its solution as the logistic function.
Population Growth

In particular if a(> 0) is the average birthrate and the average death rate is
proportional to the population P(t) at any time t, then the rate of growth per
1 dP
individual ( ) satisfies
P dt

1 dP
= (average birth rate − average death rate) = a − bP.
P dt

Thus if P0 be the initial population, this gives rise to the IVP

dP
= aP − bP 2 , P(0) = P0 (7)
dt

This has the solution

aP0
P(t) = .
bP0 + (a − bP0 )e −at
Logistic curves are quite accurate predictors of growth patterns in a limited space of
certain types of bacteria, protozoa, water fleas and fruit flies.
Spread of contagious diseases.

In the spread of contagious diseases, it is reasonable to expect that the rate dx/dt at
which the disease spreads is proportional not only to the number of people x(t) that
have already contracted disease, but also to those y (t) which have not yet been
affected. Thus
dx
= kxy
dt
where k is the constant of proportionality.

Thus if one infected person is introduced into a population of n people, then we have
x + y = n + 1 so that the rate of spread of the disease is given by
dx
= kx(n + 1 − x). This gives rise to the obvious initial value problem
dt

dx
= kx(n + 1 − x), x(0) = 1. (8)
dt
Spread of contagious diseases.

Problem: Suppose a student carrying a flu virus returns to an isolated college campus
of 1000 students. Determine the number of infected students after 6 days if it is
observed that 50 students are affected after 4 days.

Answer: Assuming that nobody leaves the campus throughout the duration of the
disease, we seek the solution of the following IVP.

dx
= kx(1000 − x), x(0) = 1.
dt

1000
This has the solution x(t) = . Using the fact that x(4) = 50 we have
1 + 999e −1000kt
−1 19 1000
k= ln = 0.0009906 so that x(t) = . Thus the number of
4000 999 1 + 999e −0.9906t
students affected after 6 days is

1000
x(6) = ≈ 276 students.
1 + 999e −5.9436
Problems from mechanics: Falling bodies

It is well known that free-falling bodies close to the surface of the earth accelerate at a
constant rate g . Since acceleration is the first derivative of velocity which in turn is
the first derivative of the distance s(t) covered in time t, the vertical distance covered
by the body is described by the equation

d 2s
= g.
dt 2

d 2s dv dv ds dv
If v (t) be the velocity at any time t then = = =v . Thus if the
dt 2 dt ds dt ds
body is falls from rest from a height h close to the earth’s surface, then this gives rise
to the following first order IVP in v .

dv
v = g , v (h) = 0 (9)
ds
Falling bodies

If a falling body of mass m encounters air resistance which is proportional to its

velocity v (t) at any time time then the force acting on the body is mg − kv where k
is a constant of proportionality and the negative sign is due to the fact that resistance
opposes the motion.

Then Newton’s second law of motion implies that

dv
m = mg − kv .
dt

Thus if the body falls from a height h, then this gives rise to the initial value problem

dv k
v +v = g , v (h) = 0 (10)
ds m
Projectiles

A rocket of mass m is propelled from the surface of the earth. its motion is resisted by
gravitational force which is inversely proportional to the square of the distance covered
at any time t. Thus its motion is described by the equation

d 2s k
m =− 2
dt 2 s

where k is the constant of proportionality.

Using the fact that the acceleration due to gravity on the surface of the earth is g if R
be the radius of the earth, this yields the equation mg = k/R 2 . Thus if v0 be the initial
velocity of the rocket, then the velocity v (s) at any height s is the solution of the IVP

dv gR 2
v = − 2 , v (R) = v0 (11)
ds s