1.

3 Direction Fields

When the first-order DE is written in the form

dy
= f (x, y ),
dx
it provides the slope of the solution at any point (x, y ). For every point
(x0 , y0 ) in the domain of f , we can draw a short line segment whose slope
is the value f (x0 , y0 ). The graph of all these line segments is called the
direction field of the DE.

January 13, 2021 1/8

 dy
(ex.) The direction field for = 1.
dx
Direction field for dy/dx=1
2

1.5

0.5

y(x) 0
0
-0.5

-1

-1.5

-2
-2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
x

A single solution curve that passes through a point in the direction field
must follow the flow pattern of the field.
The direction field of DE describes the “flow” of solution curves and
allows us to determine asymptotic behavior, that is lim y (x).
x→±∞

January 13, 2021 2/8

 dy
(ex.) Below is the direction field for the first-order DE = x + y.
dx
(1). Sketch the solution curve that passes through (-1, 1).
(2). What can you say about the solution in part (1) as x → ∞?

Direction field for dy/dx=x+y

4

2
y(x)

0
0

-1

-2
-2 -1 0 1 2 3 4
x

January 13, 2021 3/8

Hand sketching a direction field is easiest when the first-order DE has the
form
dy
= f (y ),
dx
because the right-hand side depends only on y . This means that along
any horizontal line the slopes are the same. DEs of this type are called
autonomous. If we know one solution to an autonomous DE, we can obtain
infinitely many others just by shifting the graph of the known solution to
the right or left.

January 13, 2021 4/8

(ex.) From a sketch of the direction field, what can one say about the
dy
behavior as x → ∞ of a solution to the first-order DE = −y .
dx

Direction field for dy/dx=-y

7

4
y(x)

0
0
-1
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
x

January 13, 2021 5/8

(ex.) The logistic equation for the population p (in thousands) for a certain
dp
species at time t is given by = p(p − 1)(2 − p). After sketching the
dt
direction field and answer the following questions:
a. If the initial population is 3000, what can you say about lim p(t)?
t→∞
b. If p(0) = 1.2, what is lim p(t)? c. If p(0) = 0.8, what is lim p(t)?
t→∞ t→∞
d. Can a population of 800 ever increase to 1100?

Direction field for dp/dt=p(p-1)(2-p)

4

3.5

2.5
p(t)

1.5

0.5

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
t

January 13, 2021 6/8

An isocline is a set of points in a direction field where all solutions have the
dy
same slope .
dx
dy
(ex.) Sketch the direction field for = x − y with Method of Isoclines.
dx

1.5

0.5

0
y

-0.5

-1

-1.5

-2
-2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
x

January 13, 2021 7/8

(HW) Textbook 1.3 Exercises: 1, 3, 11, 13.

January 13, 2021 8/8