Concordia University March 20, 2009

Applied Differential Equations

Section J
Exam II (A)

ANSWER KEY

(1) (8 points) We evaluate the Wronskian of the three functions (by developing along the first
column)
 
x x2 4x − 3x2 µ ¶ µ 2 ¶
  2x 4 − 6x x 4x − 3x2
det 1 2x 4 − 6x = x · det − 1 · det
2 −6 2 −6
0 2 −6

= x · (−12x − 8 + 12x) − (−6x2 − 8x + 6x2 ) = 0,

hence the functions are linearly dependent on any interval of the real line, in particular on
(0, ∞).
In fact, it is enough to note that the third function, f3 , is a linear combination of the other
two, namely f3 = 4f1 − 3f2 , to conclude that the three functions are linearly dependent.
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(2) (15 points) Consider first the homogeneous

√ equation y 00 − 2y 0 + 2y = 0. Its auxiliary equation is
2± 4−8 2 ± 2i
r2 − 2r + 2 = 0 and has the roots = = 1 ± i. This makes the complementary
2 2
part of the general solution of the nonhomogenous equation equal to
yc (x) = C1 ex cos x + C2 ex sin x, C1 , C2 arbitrary constants.

We will now continue with the method of undetermined coefficients to find a particular
solution to the nonhomogenous equation. Set yp (x) = Ax + B, thus yp0 (x) = A and yp00 (x) = 0.
By substitution in the nonhomogenous ODE, we obtain −2A + 2(Ax + B) = 2x − 2, or
2Ax + (2B − 2A) = 2x − 2. Consequently, 2A = 2 ⇒ A = 1 and B = A − 1 = 0. So, we
obtain that yp (x) = x.
Therefore the general solution of the nonhomogenous ODE is
ygen (x) = yc (x) + yp (x) = C1 ex cos x + C2 ex sin x + x, C1 , C2 arbitrary constants.

We’ll find the constants from the initial conditions. First, y(0) = 2 ⇒ 2 = C1 . Then we
0 (x) = C (ex cos x − ex sin x) + C (ex sin x + ex cos x) + 1.
find the first derivative of ygen : ygen 1 2
Since y 0 (0) = 0, we get 0 = C1 + C2 + 1 ⇒ C2 = −C1 − 1 = −3.
Thus the solution to the given initial value problem is the function
y(x) = 2ex cos x − 3ex sin x + x.
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(3) (12 points) Like in the previous problem, consider the homogeneous ODE associated: y 00 + y =
0. Its auxiliary equation is r2 + 1 = 0 with the roots ±i, hence the general solution of
the homogeneous ODE (and the complementary of the nonhomogenous ODE) is yc (x) =
C1 cos x + C2 sin x, C1 , C2 arbitrary constants.

By denoting y1 (x) = cos x, y2 (x) = sin x, we proceed now with the method of variation of
parameters to find yp . Its form is yp = u1 y1 + u2 y2 .

µ ¶ µ ¶
cos x sin x 0 sin x
W = det = 1, W1 = det = − csc2 x sin x = − csc x,
− sin x cos x csc2 x cos x
due to the definition of csc x = 1/ sin x, and
µ ¶
cos x 0 cos x
W2 = det 2 = csc2 x cos x = .
− sin x csc x sin2 x
Thus u01 = − csc x ⇒ u1 = − lnR| csc x − cot x| (following the formula provided). On the
cos x cos x
other hand, u02 = sin 2x ⇒ u2 = sin 2 x dx. We may find this antiderivative by using the
R
substitution v = sin x, dv = cos x dx. Since, v −2 dv = −v −1 + C (we actually chose C = 0),
we have that u2 (x) = −1/ sin x = − csc x.
So, yp (x) = cos x · (− ln | csc x − cot x|) + sin x · (− csc x) = − cos x ln | csc x − cot x| − 1.
Finally we can state the general solution of the given ODE:
ygen (x) = C1 cos x + C2 sin x − cos x ln | csc x − cot x| − 1, C1 , C2 arbitrary constants.
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(4) (5 points) After multiplication by x, this ODE becomes an Euler-Cauchy equation. Hence we
seek solutions of the form xm . This leads to the auxiliary equation m(m − 1) + 2m = 0 ⇒
m2 + m = 0 ⇒ m = 0 and m = −1.
Therefore the general solution of the ODE is ygen (x) = C1 +C2 x−1 , C1 , C2 arbitrary constants.
This is not the only method possible. One can also denote w = y 0 and reduce the second
order ODE to a first order linear ODE. After finding w, we integrate once more to find y,
which is the antiderivative of w, and arrive at the same answer.
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