Differential Equations (MATH313)

APPLICATIONS OF FIRST-ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Many physical problems involve differential equations of order one. Those physical problems that involve
time rates such as growth, decay, flow, or motion can be modeled simply by first-order equations. Thus, the
methods discussed in the previous chapter can be applied.

In this chapter, four application examples of first-order equations will be discussed, namely:

• Growth and decay;

• Newton’s law of cooling;
• Mixture and dilution; and
• Electrical circuits.

In solving physical problems involving differential equations, it is helpful that we observe the steps of the
construction of mathematical models as discussed in the first chapter. These are

1. Identify the independent and dependent variables and assign letters to represent them.
2. Choose the units of measurement for each variable. The choice of units is somewhat arbitrary, but
some choices may be much more convenient than others.
3. Articulate the basic principle that underlies or governs the problem you are investigating. This may
be a widely recognized physical law or it may be a more speculative assumption that may be
based on your own experience or observations.
4. Express the principle or law in step 3 in terms of the variables you chose in step 1. It may require
the introduction of physical constants or parameters and the determination of appropriate values
for them.
5. Make sure that your equation is expressed in correct units.
6. Depending on the complexity of the model constructed, special methods, like computer-aided
numerical methods, may be employed to solve the given model.

3.1 Growth and Decay

Differential equations can be applied to problems involving growth and decay. These include population
(human, animal, and microorganism), chemical conversion (simple chemical reactions, radioactivity) and
others. They can also include growth of investments compounded continuously.

Let N(t) denote the amount of substance (or population) that is either growing or decaying as a function of
time. It is generally accepted that the rate by which a substance (or population) grows is proportional to the
amount (or number) that is present, that is

dN
∝ N (3.1)
dt

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Introducing a constant of proportionality to this statement, we can come up with the equation

dN
= kN (3.2)
dt

where k is the proportionality constant, positive when the substance (or population) grows and negative
when it decays.

Here, we assume 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, equation 3.2
still provides a good approximation to the physical laws governing such a system.

Example 3.1
A bacteria culture is known to grow at a rate proportional to the amount present. After one hour, 1000
bacteria strands are observed in the culture; and after four hours, 3000 strands. Find (a) an expression for
the approximate number of strands of the bacteria originally in the culture at any time t and (b) the
approximate number of strands of bacteria originally in the culture.

Answer:
(a) Nt = 693e. , t in hours
(b) N = 693 strands

Example 3.2
The population of a certain country is known to increase at a rate proportional to the number of people
presently living in the country. If after two years the population has doubled, and after three years the
population is 20,000, find an expression for the approximate population of the country at any time and
estimate the number of people initially living in the country.

Answer:
At any time, the population of the country is given as Nt = 7071e. with t in years. Thus,
approximately 7071 people initially lived in the country.

Example 3.3
A certain radioactive material is known to decay at a rate proportional to the amount present. If initially
there is 50 milligrams of material present and after two hours it is observed that the material has lost 10%
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.

Answer:
(a) N = 50e. , t in hours
(b) N4 = 40.5 mg
(c) t = 13.16 hours

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Example 3.4
A person places $20,000 in a savings account which pays 5% interest per annum, compounded
continuously. Find (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.

Answer:
(a) N(3) = $23,236.68
(b) t = 13.86 years

Drill Problems 3.1

1. Bacteria grow in a nutrient solution at a rate proportional to the amount present. Initially, there are 250
strands of the bacteria in the solution which grows to 800 strands after seven hours. Find (a) an
expression for the approximate number of strands in the culture at any time t and (b) the time needed
for the bacteria to grow to 1600 strands.

2. Bacteria grow in a culture at a rate proportional to the amount present. Initially, 300 strands of the
bacteria are in the culture and after two hours, that number has grown by 20%. Find (a) an expression
for the approximate number of strands in the culture at any time t and (b) the time needed for the
bacteria to double its initial size.

3. Yeast grows at a rate proportional to its present size, If the original amount doubles in two hours, in
how many hours will it triple?

4. The population of a certain country has grown at a rate proportional to the number of people presently
living in the state. If after 10 years the population has tripled and if after 20 years, the population is
150,000, find the number of people initially living in the state.

5. A certain radioactive material is known to decay at a rate proportional to the amount present. If initially
there are 100 mg of the material present and if after two years it is observed that 5% of the original
mass has decayed, find (a) an expression for the mass at any time t and (b) the time necessary for
10% of the original mass to have decayed.

6. A certain radioactive material is known to decay at a rate proportional to the amount present. If after
one hour, it is observed that 10% of the material has decayed, find the half-life of the material.

7. A certain radioactive substance has a half-life of 38 hours. Find how long it takes for 90% of the
radioactivity to be dissipated.

8. The population of a certain country has grown at a rate proportional to the number of people in the
country. At present, the country has 80 million inhabitants. Ten years ago, it had 70 million. Assuming
that this trend continues, find (a) an expression for the approximate number of people living in the
country at any time t (taking t = 0 to be the present time) and (b) the approximate number of people
who will inhabit the country at the end of the next ten-year period.

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9. For a certain substance, the time rate of conversion is proportional to the square of the amount x of
unconverted substance. Let k be the numerical value of the constant of proportionality and let the
amount of unconverted substance be x0 at time t = 0. Determine x for all t ≥ 0.

10. For a certain substance, the time rate of conversion is proportional to the square root of the amount x
of unconverted substance. Let k be the numerical value of the constant of proportionality. Show that the
substance will disappear in finite time and determine the time.

11. Two substances A and B are being converted into a single compound C. In the laboratory, it has been
shown that for these substances, the following law of conversion holds: The time rate of change of the
amount x of compound C is proportional to the product of the amount of the unconverted substances A
and B. Assume that the units of measure so chosen so that one unit of compound C is formed from the
combination of one unit of A with one unit of B. If at time t = 0 there are ‘a’ units of substance A, ‘b’
units of substance B, and none of compound C present, (a) derive a differential equation describing the
conversion law; (b) solve for the function x(t) using the initial conditions; (c) investigate the behavior of
x as time approaches infinity.

12. The population of mosquitoes in a certain area increases at a rate proportional to the current population
and, in the absence of other factors, the population doubles each week. There are 200,000 mosquitoes
in the area initially, and predators (birds, etc.) eat 20,000 mosquitoes per day. Determine the
population of mosquitoes in the area at any time.

13. A depositor places $10,000 in a certificate of deposit which pays 6% interest per annum (year),
compounded continuously. How much will be in the account at the end of seven years, assuming no
additional deposits or withdrawals?

14. Determine the interest rate required to double an investment in eight years under continuous
compounding.

15. How long will it take a bank deposit to double in value if interest is compounded continuously at a
constant rate of 8.75% per annum?

3.2. 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 Tm the temperature of the surrounding medium.
Then the time rate of change of the temperature of the body is dT/dt, and Newton’s law of cooling can be
formulated as

dT
= −kT − T' (3.3)
dt

or as

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dT
+ kT = kT' (3.4)
dt

The proportionality constant k is chosen to be positive to make dT/dt negative, indicating a cooling process
where T > Tm (heat flows out of the body into the surroundings).

Example 3.5
A metal bar at a temperature of 100°F is placed in a room at a constant temperature of 0°F. If after 20
minutes the temperature of the bar is 50°F, find (a) the time it will take the bar to reach a temperature of
25°F and (b) the temperature of the bar after 10 minutes.

Answer:
(a) t = 40 minutes
(b) T(10) = 70.71°F

Example 3.6
A body at a temperature of 50°F is placed outdoors where the temperature is 100°F. If after 5 minutes the
temperature of the body is 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.

Answer:
(a) t = 15.53 minutes
(b) T = 79.52°F

Example 3.7
A body at an unknown temperature is placed in a room which is held at a constant temperature 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.

Answer:
Initial temperature T0 = -30°F

Drill Problems 3.2

1. A body at a temperature of 0°F is placed in a room whose temperature is kept at 100°F. If after 10
minutes the temperature of the body is 25°F, find (a) the time required for the body to reach a
temperature of 50°F, and (b) the temperature of the body after 20 minutes.

2. A body of unknown temperature is placed in a refrigerator at a constant temperature of 0°F. If after 20

minutes the temperature of the body is 40°F and after 40 minutes the temperature of the body is 20°F,
find the initial temperature of the body.

3. A body at a temperature of 50°F is placed in an oven whose temperature is kept at 150°F. If after 10

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minutes the temperature of the body is 75°F, find the time required for the body to reach a temperature
of 100°F.

4. A hot pie that was cooked at a constant temperature of 325°F is taken directly from an oven and
placed outdoors in the shade to cool on a day when the air temperature in the shade is 85°F. After 5
minutes in the shade, the temperature of the pie had been reduced to 250°F. Determine the (a)
temperature of the pie after 20 minutes and (b) the time required for the pie to reach 275°F.

5. A bar of iron, previously heated to 1200°C, is cooled in a large bath of water maintained at a constant
temperature of 50°C. The bar cools by 200° in the first minute. How much longer will it take to cool a
second 200°?

6. A cup of tea is prepared in a preheated cup with hot water so that the temperature of both the cup and
the brewing tea is initially 190°F. The cup is then left to cool in a room kept at a constant 72°F. Two
minutes later, the temperature of the tea is 150°F. Determine (a) the temperature of the tea after 5
minutes and (b) the time required for the tea to reach 100°F.

7. A thermometer reading 18°C is brought into a room where the temperature is 70°C; one minute later
the thermometer reading is 31°C. Determine the temperature reading as a function of time and, in
particular, find the temperature reading 5 minutes after the thermometer is first brought into the room.

8. A thermometer reading 75°F is taken out where the temperature is 20°F. The reading is 30°F four
minutes later. Find (a) the temperature reading 7 minutes after the thermometer was brought outside
and (b) the time taken for the reading to drop from 75°F to within a half degree of the air temperature.

9. At 1:00 PM, a thermometer reading 70°C is taken outside where the air temperature is -10°C. At 1:02
PM, the reading is 26°C. At 1:05 PM, the thermometer is taken back indoors, where the air is at 70°C.
What is the temperature reading at 1:09 PM?

10. At 9 AM, a thermometer reading 70°F is taken outdoors, where the temperature is 15°F. At 9:05 AM,
the thermometer reading is 45°F. At 9:10 AM, the thermometer is taken back indoors, where the
temperature is fixed at 70°F. Find (a) the reading at 9:20 AM and (b) the time when the reading, to the
nearest degree, will show the correct 70°F indoor temperature.

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3.3. Mixture and Dilution Problems

Figure 3.1 Illustration for dilution problem

Consider a tank which initially holds V0 gal of brine that contains Q0 lb of salt. Another brine solution,
containing ‘b’ lb of salt per gallon, is poured into the tank at a rate of ‘e’ gal/min while, simultaneously, the
well-stirred solution leaves the tank at the rate of ‘f’ gal/min. The problem is to find out the amount of salt in
the tank Q(t) at any time ‘t’.
)*
In this situation, the time rate of change of the amount of salt in the tank Q, which is , equals the rate at
)
which the salt enters the tank minus the rate at which the salt leaves the tank, that is,

dQ
= rate entering - rate leaving (3.5)
dt

The salt enters the tank at a rate of ‘be’ lb/min, that is

Rate entering = be (3.6)

To determine the rate at which the salt leaves the tank, we first calculate the volume of the brine at any
time t, which is the initial volume V0 plus the volume of the brine that is added ‘et’ minus the volume of the
brine removed ‘ft’. Thus the volume of the brine at any time is

Volume of the brine = V + et − ft (3.7)

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The concentration of salt in the tank at any time is

Q
Concentration of salt =
V + et − ft (3.8)

Then the salt leaves at a rate of

Q
Rate leaving = f 6 7
V + et − ft (3.9)

Hence the differential equation for the rate of change in the amount of salt in the tank is

dQ Q
= be − f 6 7
dt V + et − ft (3.10a)

dQ f
+ 6 7 Q = be
dt V + e − f t (3.10b)

which is linear in Q.

Example 3.8
A tank initially holds 100 gal of brine solution containing 20 lb of salt. At t = 0, fresh water is poured into the
tank at a 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.

Answer:
Qt = 20e/:

Example 3.9
A tank initially holds 100 gal of a brine solution containing 1 lb of salt. At t = 0 another brine solution
containing 1 lb of salt per gallon is 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 lb of salt.

Answer:
(a) Qt = 100 − 99e/;
(b) t = 0.338 min

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Example 3.10
Consider a pond that initially contains 10 million gallons of fresh water. Water containing an undesirable
chemical flows into the pond at the rate of 5 million gallons per year and the mixture in the pond flows out at
the same rate. The concentration y(t) of chemical in the incoming water varies periodically with time
according to the expression y(t) = 2 + sin 2t grams per gallon. Construct a mathematical model of this flow
process and determine the amount of chemical in the pond at any time.

Answer:
40 10 300 /:
Qt = 20 − cos 2t + sin 2t − e
17 17 17

where Q(t) is in million grams and t in years.

Drill Problem 3.3

1. A tank initially holds 10 gal of fresh water. At t = 0, a brine solution containing ½ lb of salt per gallon is
poured into the tank at a rate of 2 gal/min, while the well-stirred mixture leaves the tank at the same
rate. Find (a) the amount and (b) the concentration of salt in the tank at any time t.

2. A tank initially holds 80 gal of a brine solution containing 1/8 lb of salt per gallon. At t = 0, another brine
solution containing 1 lb of salt per gallon is poured into the tank at the rate of 4 gal/min, while the well-
stirred mixture leaves the tank at a rate of 8 gal/min. Find the amount of salt in the tank when the tank
contains exactly 40 gal of solution.

3. A tank contains 100 gal of brine made by dissolving 80 lb of salt in water. Pure water runs into the tank
at the rate of 4 gal/min, and the well-stirred mixture runs out at the same rate. Find (a) the amount of
salt in the tank at any time t and (b) the time required for half the salt to leave the tank.

4. A tank contains 100 gal of brine made by dissolving 60 lb of salt in water. Salt water containing 1 lb of
salt per gallon runs in at the rate of 2 gal/min and the well-stirred mixture runs out at the same rate of 3
gal/min. Find the amount of salt in the tank after 30 mins.

5. A tank contains 40 L of solution containing 2 g of substance per liter. Salt water containing 3 g of this
substance per liter runs in at the rate of 4 L/min and the well-stirred mixture runs out at the same rate.
Find the amount of substance in the tank after 15 minutes.

6. A tank contains 40 L of a chemical solution prepared by dissolving 80 g of a soluble substance in fresh

water. Fluid containing 2 g of this substance per liter runs in at the rate of 3 L/min and the well-stirred
mixture runs out at the same rate. Find the amount of substance in the tank after 20 minutes.

7. Consider a tank used in a certain hydrodynamic experiments. After one experiment the tank contains
200 liters of a dye solution with a concentration of 1 gram per liter. To prepare for the next experiment,
the tank is to be rinsed with fresh water flowing in at a rate of 2 liters per minute, the well-stirred
solution flowing out at the same rate. Find the time that will elapse before the concentration of dye in
the tank reaches 1% of its original value.

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8. A tank initially contains 120 liters of pure water. A mixture containing a concentration of y g/L of salt
enters the tank at a rate of 2 L/min, and the well-stirred mixture leaves the tank at the same rate. Find
an expression in term of y for the amount of salt in the tank at any time t. Also find the limiting amount
of salt in the tank as t → ∞.

9. A tank originally contains 100 gal of fresh water. Then water containing ½ lb of salt per gallon is poured
into the tank at a rate of 2 gal/min, and the mixture is allowed to leave at the same rate. After 10
minutes the process is stopped, and fresh water is poured into the tank at a rate of 2 gal/min, with the
mixture again leaving at the same rate. Find the amount of salt in the tank at the end of an additional
10 min.

10. A tank with a capacity of 500 gal originally contains 200 gal of water with 100 lb of salt in solution.
Water containing 1 lb of salt per gallon is entering at a rate of 3 gal/min, and the mixture is allowed to
flow out of the tank at a rate of 2 gal/min. Find the amount of salt in the tank at any time prior to the
instant when then solution begins to overflow. Find the concentration (in pounds per gallon) of salt in
the tank when it is on the point of overflowing.

3.4 Electrical Circuits

An inductor is a passive electrical component that can store energy in a magnetic field created by the
electric current passing through it. An inductor’s ability to store magnetic energy is measured by its
inductance, in units of henries (henry in singular). Typically, an inductor is a conducting wire shaped as a
coil, the loops helping to create a strong magnetic field inside the coil (due to Ampere’s circuital law). Due
to the time-varying magnetic field inside the coil, a voltage is induced (according to Faraday’s law of
electromagnetic induction), which opposes the change in current that created it (by Lenz’s law).

Consider a series RL circuit with E as the applied electromotive force (emf) in volts, a resistor R in ohms,
and an inductor L in henry.

Figure 3.2 Series RL circuit

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By Kirchhoff’s voltage law (KVL), equation 3.11 can be established, that is

E − V> − v? = 0
(3.11)

From Ohm’s law, the voltage across the resistor R, which is VR, is equal to

V> = iR (3.12)

The effect of an inductor in a circuit is to oppose changes in current through it by developing a voltage
across it proportional to the rate of change of current. Thus, the time-varying voltage across the inductor is

di
v? = L
dt (3.13)

Example 3.11
Consider the series circuit of Figure 3.2, assuming that the electromotive force (emf) applied to the circuit is
a dc voltage E and the initial current is zero. Determine the current flowing through the circuit at any time t.

Answer:
E
it = A1 − e>/? B
R

Example 3.12
Consider the series circuit of Figure 3.2, assuming that the electromotive force (emf) applied to this circuit is
a time-varying sinusoidal voltage E sin ωt and the initial conditions zero. Determine the current flowing
through the circuit at any time t.

Answer:
ER sin ωt − ωEL cos ωt + ωELe>/?
i =
R: + ω: L:

A capacitor is a passive electrical component consisting of a pair of conductors separated by a dielectric.

When there is a potential difference (voltage) across the conductors a static electric field develops in the
dielectric that stores energy. An ideal capacitor is characterized by a single constant value, capacitance,
measured in farad. Capacitors store energy by moving charges between conductors, hence work is done.
The dielectric then stores this work in the form of electric field.

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Consider a series RC circuit with an applied electromotive force E, a resistor E, and a capacitor C.

Figure 3.3 A series RC circuit

By KVL, equation 3.14 can be established as

E − V> − VD = 0 (3.14)

Again by Ohm’s law, we know that

V> = iR (3.12)

The time-varying voltage across the capacitor is given as

qt 1 
VD = = F iτ dτ + vt 
C C H (3.15)

In terms of the charge q(t), the equation governing the amount of electrical charge q on the capacitor at any
time is

dq 1 E
+ q =
dt RC R (3.16)

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Example 3.13
Consider the series RC circuit of figure 3.3. Find an equation for the current in the circuit and the voltage
across the capacitor at any time t. Assume that the electromotive force applied is a dc source E and the
capacitor contains no charge at t = 0.

Answer:
The current in the circuit is given as
V />D
i= e
R

and the voltage across the capacitor as

VD = V A1 − e−t/RC B

Drill Problems 3.4

1. A series 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, its transient current, and steady-state current.

2. A series RL circuit has an emf given (in volts) by 3 sin 2t, 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.

3. A series RL circuit has no applied emf, a resistance of 50 ohms, an inductance of 2 henries, and an
initial current of 10 amperes. Find (a) the current in the circuit at any time t and (b) its transient
component.

4. A series RL circuit has a resistance of 10 ohms, an inductance of 1.5 henries, an applied emf of 9 volts,
and an initial current of 6 amperes. Find (a) the current in the circuit at any time t, and (b) its transient
component.

5. A series RL circuit has an emf given (in volts) by 4 sin t, a resistance of 100 ohms, an inductance of 4
henries and no initial current. Find the current at any time t.

6. A series RC circuit has an emf given (in volts) by 400 cos 2t, a resistance of 100 ohms, and a
capacitance of 10-2 farad. Initially there is no charge on the capacitor. Find the current in the circuit at
any time t.

7. A series RC circuit has an emf of 5 volts, a resistance of 10 ohms, a capacitance of 10-2 farad, and
initially a charge of 5 coulombs on the capacitor. Find (a) the transient current and (b) the steady-state
current.

8. A series RC circuit has an emf of 100 volts, a resistance of 5 ohms, a capacitance of 0.02 farad, and an
initial charge on the capacitor of 5 coulombs. Find (a) an expression for the charge on the capacitor at
any time t and (b) the current in the circuit at any time t.

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9. A series RC circuit has an emf of 10 sin t volts, a resistance of 100 ohms, a capacitance of 0.005 farad,
and no initial charge on the capacitor. Find (a) the charge on the capacitor at any time t and (b) the
steady-state current.

10. A series RC circuit has an emf of 300 cos 2t volts, a resistance of 150 ohms, a capacitance of (1/6) x
10-2 farad, and an initial charge on the capacitor of 5 coulombs. Find (a) the charge on the capacitor at
any time t and (b) the steady-state current.

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