Question 5

The population vector after k months is given by the formula x k = A k x 0.

(a) In the absence of mice, the population vector becomes x 0= [] f0

0
. After one month, the

population vector is x 1= A x 0.

Multiplying the matrix A with the population vector x 0, we get:

x 1= A x 0= [ .7 .2 f 0
−.6 1.4 0 ][ ] [
=
.7 f 0
−.6 f 0 ]
This shows that after one month, in the absence of mice, the cat population will be 0.7 f 0,
which represents a decline of 30 % from the initial population f 0.

( b)

0
[ ]
In the absence of cats, the population vector becomes x 0= m . After one month, the
0

population vector is x 1= A x 0.

Multiplying the matrix A with the population vector x 0, we get:

x 1= A x 0= [−.6.7 1.4.2 ][ m0 ]=[ 1.4.2 mm ]

0
0

This shows that after one month, in the absence of cats, the mouse population will be
1.4 m0, which represents a growth of 40 % from the initial population m0.

(c)
Solving the equation ( A−λI )v =0 for each eigenvalue λ .

For λ 1=1.1, we have:

 ( A−λ1 I )v 1=
[ .7−1.1
−.6
.2
1.4−1.1 ] [
v 1=
−.4 .2
]
v =0
−.6 .3 1

We can simplify this equation to −.4 v 11 +.2 v 12=0,

Or

v 11=−.5 v12 .

Letting v 12=2 , we get v 11=−1. Therefore, one eigenvector corresponding to the

eigenvalue λ 1=1.1 is v 1= [−12].

For λ 2=1, we have:

( A−λ2 I )v 2=
[ .7−1
−.6
.2
1.4−1] [
v 2=
]
−.3 .2
v =0
−.6 .4 2

−2
This system of equations can be simplified to −.3 v 21 +.2 v 22=0 , or v 21= v . Letting
3 22
v 22=3 , we get v 21=−2. Therefore, one eigenvector corresponding to the eigenvalue λ 2=1

is v 2= [−23].
(d) we can express this discrete dynamical system as a linear linear combination of the
eigenvectors of matrix A , as

, x k =c1 λk1 v 1 +c 2 λk2 v 2,

where c 1 and c 2 are constants determined by the initial population vector x 0.

Since x 0= [105 ], we can write the system of equations as:

{−1 c1 −2 c2=5
2 c 1+3 c 2=10
Solving this system of equations, we get c 1=10 and c 2=−5 . Therefore, the general
solution is:

x k =10 ¿

Since λ 1=1.1>1, the long-term growth rate of each population is determined by the first
eigenvalue and its corresponding eigenvector. The cat population will grow at a rate of ¿,
while the mouse population will grow at a rate of 2 ¿.

The eventual ratio of cats to mice is given by the ratio of the entries in the first
−1
eigenvector, i.e., =−0.5. This means that in the long run, for every 2 mice, there will
2
be 1 cat which can be written as (1:2).