1st-order Linear ODEs

(1)

When g(x) = 0, the linear DE is said to be homogeneous; otherwise, it is nonhomogeneous.

By dividing both sides of the above DE by the coefficient we obtain, the standard form,
of a linear equation as

(2)

The DE has the property that its solution is the sum of the two solutions: where

is a solution of the associated homogeneous equation

and is a particular solution of the nonhomogeneous equation .

The homogeneous equation is separable and its solution (the complimentary function) can
be calculated from
as

or
To find a particular solution of the linear ODE, by variation of parameters.
The basic idea here is to find a function u so that

is a solution of of the non homogeneous DE.

Another way to sole the linear nonhomogeneous ODE:
Multiply the last equation by we get

Differentiate it

Dividing this result by we get

Reversing the steps we can solve the ODE in an easier way.

is an IF.
Summary
Example
H. W: Solve the following IVPs.

(1)

(2)