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12.4: Summary

  • Page ID
    121149
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    1. Given a function, we can check whether it is a solution to a differential equation by performing the appropriate differentiation and algebraic simplification.
    2. Solutions to differential equations in which there is no change at all ("constant solutions") are referred to as steady states.
    3. The differential equations

    \[\frac{d y}{d t}=a-b y, \quad y(0)=y_{0} \nonumber \]

    has a steady state solution \(y=a / b\).

    1. If we define the deviation from steady state, \(z(t)=y(t)-\frac{a}{b}\), we get a decay equation for \(z(t)\) that has exponentially decreasing solutions provided \(b>0\). This says that the eviation from steady state always decrease over time.
    2. The resulting solution for \(y(t)\) is

    \[y(t)=\frac{a}{b}-\left(\frac{a}{b}-y_{0}\right) e^{-b t} . \nonumber \]

    1. For some differential equations, it is not always possible to determine an analytic solution (explicit formula). Numerical solutions can be found using Euler’s method, and serve as an approximate solution.
    2. Euler’s method takes a known initial value \(y_{0}\) and uses the iteration scheme:

    \[y_{k+1}=y_{k}+f\left(y_{k}\right) \Delta t . \nonumber \]

    to generate successive values of \(y_{k}\) that approximate the solution at time points \(t_{k}=k \Delta t\)

    1. Applications considered in this chapter included:
      1. height of water draining out of a cylindrical container (verifying a solution to a differential equation);
      2. Newton’s law of cooling (described by a linear differential equation);
      3. growth of the radius of a cell;
      4. the accumulation of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere;
      5. friction and terminal velocity; and
      6. chemical production and decay.
    Quick Concept Checks
    1. Explain why an object at room temperature is at a steady state for Newton’s law of cooling.
    2. The following graph depicts solution curves to a particular differential equation of the form \(d y / d t=a-b y\).

    clipboard_ec34882c83c2391e273b4bacc126aad83.png

    1. Estimate the value that these solution curves are approaching.
    2. Which solutions are approaching from above or below?
    1. Consider the following initial value problem:

    \[\frac{d y}{d t}=2-4 y, \quad y(0)=4, \nonumber \]

    1. What value does its solution curve approach?
    2. Does its solution approach from above or below?
    1. Why is a large value of \(\Delta t\) not a good idea when using Euler’s method?

    This page titled 12.4: Summary is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Leah Edelstein-Keshet via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.