Alexis U.

Zarate                            December 12, 2022
Math 88 - Differential Eqns.                         Mr. Johnson Carl K. Chan

An Academic Essay on “Differential Equations: Why do I even care?”

Differential Equations is a mathematical branch that contains one or many

derivatives, and ends with an outcome of only one function, whereas it is a statement that
represents the rates of change of continuously varying quantities. Differential Equations is an
application of both Integral, and Differential Calculus. Differential Equations may be viewed
as just a mathematical statement, but why should I care in accessing knowledge on such?.
As an aspiring engineer, Differential Equations can be applied career-wise. It can be applied
through logical context such as modeling real life problems, and bringing them into a
mathematical equation, and observing the changes. 

Civil Engineering has a lot of mathematical statements involved, it is a career where

both science, and mathematics can be applied. Examples of these are Statics, Dynamics,
Fluid Mechanics, Mass transfer, etc., for statics/dynamics, differential equations can be
applied through the calculation of load of a beam, this is an important knowledge in civil
engineering, due to the fact that as civil engineers we build structures that helps with
anthropological activities, finding the calculation of the load of a beam is important in
structures, because this determines on how sturdy a structure is, as it is part of our duty to
keep these structures safe. In fluid mechanics, it is a study on observation of changes of a
fluid that is affected by different systems. It is an important application as it creates/predicts
future outcomes, and uses these functions to help solve the modeled problem/s. Mass
transfer, such as heat transfer, etc. is also an important branch in engineering, as civil
engineers we need to know how these specific external forces affects a systems, such as
how an area affected by heat react to such forces, and cause internal erosions/problems, we
then bring these problem into the mathematical system, use it to find a solution, and then
observed how these changes has affected that problem. 

Differential Equations does not only be applied in engineering, it can be applied to

other parts of the sciences, such as biology, physics, etc.. Differential Equations can also be
applied in Finance and Economics, In the observation of population growth, and also in
medicine. Differential Equations can be applied in a wide variety of systems, and as part of
these systems it is a concrete understanding that I should know how these systems work,
and how different changes in the system could affect millions of lives.  It is not necessary to
study this mathematical statement, but rather I should acknowledge its existence. As part of
a growing community, there are a lot of different factors that affect all of our personal lives,
such as the ever growing problem of climate change. Climate change is a naturally created
system in the environment, so that human beings could live on earth, but the core problem of
climate change is how it was affected by anthropological activities, and has now created
multiple natural disasters. Scientists can use the said mathematical statement to observe the
given problem, with multiple observations they can then create various solutions that can
help lessen the impact of climate change in our daily lives, and also create various solutions
to lessen anthropological impact on climate change. 

As observed, differential equations are applied through multiple systems that are part
of our personal equations. In fact, it is a mathematical statement that rather helps us in
different situations. Some may wonder how mathematics is ever so important in our lives,
well we live in a world full of equations, from the temperature changes to rising sea levels.
These are real world problems/systems that are surrounded by this mathematical statement.
Medicine is also a system where differential equations can be applied. It observes the
algorithms of drug usage to multiple organs in our body. This is a very important observation,
due to the fact that drugs can affect your body in a chemically changing system, not just
biologically. There are certainties that drugs can over affect your body, or do not induce
certain effects through a certain matter of time (decay). These observations can also be
used in terms of creating new drugs, due to new found diseases, such as the observation of
creating a new type of drug to cure the virus that affected the whole world, which is Covid-
19. We know that Covid-19 has not just affected our health, but also on how it affected the
economic growth, and the population globally. Differential equations can help observe those
systems, it can predict the global population just by the rate of its declination, due to people
being deceased by the means of Covid-19. Differential equations is used to observe these
systems, and predict certain behaviors that can create an impact globally, with that it is
merely acknowledging the existence of these changes and studying them, so that it can be
controlled.

Therefore, why should I care about Differential Equations in the first place? One, It
can be applied in my chosen career path, as it is the duty of a Civil Engineer to create
structures/systems that are safe and best for anthropological usage. Two, Differential
Equations have already surrounded my whole life. From Economic to Modern Sciences,
differential equations helps the balance of these systems, and creates outcomes from the
changes observed in a certain system, and help improve more of that observed function, to
help maintain equilibrium. Three, Differential Equations can be used on discovered new
found forces, and help us understand its occurring changes. This is why Differential
Equations is to be acknowledged, because it helps us as human beings to understand
different systems that exist in our community, and as part of our community it is important to
know how these different systems be affected in different forces, as it creates a bigger
impact not just on me but also to the people part of our community, and whereas also it can
create a domino effect (affecting multiple systems at once) in our ever changing world.

References:

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2022, September 15). differential equation.

Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/differential-equation 

Calculus in Medicine |. (2019, May 5).

https://sites.northwestern.edu/recalculated/2019/05/05/calculus-in-medicine/ 

BYJUS. (2021, March 22). Differential Equations Applications. Retrieved December 12,
2022, from https://byjus.com/maths/differential-equations-applications/ 

Thoughts, M., & Thoughts, V. A. P. B. M. (2022, March 7). The Importance of Differential
Equations. Mathematical Thoughts.
https://mathematicalthoughtsdot.wordpress.com/2018/06/30/the-importance-of-differential-
equations/ 

Najera, J. (2021, December 10). Differential Equations — History & Overview - Towards
Data Science. Medium. https://towardsdatascience.com/differential-equations-history-
overview-a1d45ebc1a8b