Boyce & DiPrima ODEs 10e: Section 3.

1 - Problem 16 Page 1 of 2

Problem 16
In each of Problems 9 through 16, find the solution of the given initial value problem. Sketch the
graph of the solution and describe its behavior as t increases.

4y 00 − y = 0, y(−2) = 1, y 0 (−2) = −1

Solution

Since this is a linear homogeneous constant-coefficient ODE, the solution is of the form y = ert .

y = ert → y 0 = rert → y 00 = r2 ert

Substitute these expressions into the ODE.

4(r2 ert ) − ert = 0

Divide both sides by ert .

4r2 − 1 = 0
(2r + 1)(2r − 1) = 0
 
1 1
r= − ,
2 2
Two solutions to the ODE are y = e−t/2 and y = et/2 , so the general solution is

y(t) = C1 e−t/2 + C2 et/2 ,

a linear combination of the two. Differentiate it once with respect to t.

C1 −t/2 C2 t/2
y 0 (t) = − e + e
2 2
Apply the two initial conditions now to determine C1 and C2 .

y(−2) = C1 e1 + C2 e−1 = 1
C1 C2 −1
y 0 (−2) = − e1 + e = −1
2 2
Solving the system of equations yields C1 = 3/(2e) and C2 = −e/2. Therefore,
3 −t/2 e t/2
y(t) = e − e .
2e 2
Because the coefficient of t in the second exponential function is positive, this solution diverges to
−∞ as t → ∞.

www.stemjock.com
Boyce & DiPrima ODEs 10e: Section 3.1 - Problem 16 Page 2 of 2

www.stemjock.com