Differential Equations : Initial-Value Problems

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Differential Equations

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Example Questions

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Example Question #11 : Initial Value Problems

Solve the following initial value problem: .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

This type of problem will require an integrating factor. First, let's get it into a better form: . Once we have an equation in the form , we find  (where the constant of integration is omitted because we only need one, arbitrary integrating factor).

Once we do this, we can see that 

This is simply due to product rule, and then at the end, substitution of the original equation. Thus, as we know that , we can just integrate both sides to find y.

. A quick application of integration by parts with  and  tells us that the right hand side is . Dividing both sides by mu, we are left with . Plugging in the initial condition, we find  giving us . Thus, we have a final answer of .

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