Skip to main content
Library homepage
 

Text Color

Text Size

 

Margin Size

 

Font Type

Enable Dyslexic Font
Mathematics LibreTexts

2: Applications of First Order Equations

( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)

In this chapter, we consider applications of first order differential equations.

  • 2.1: Growth and Decay
    This section begins with a discussion of exponential growth and decay, which you have probably already seen in calculus. We consider applications to radioactive decay, carbon dating, and compound interest. We also consider more complicated problems where the rate of change of a quantity is in part proportional to the magnitude of the quantity, but is also influenced by other other factors for example, a radioactive susbstance is manufactured at a certain rate, but decays at a rate proportional
  • 2.2: Cooling Problems
    This section deals with applications of Newton's law of cooling and with mixing problems.
  • 2.3: Elementary Mechanics
    This section discusses applications to elementary mechanics involving Newton's second law of motion. The problems considered include motion under the influence of gravity in a resistive medium, and determining the initial velocity required to launch a satellite.
  • 2.4: Mixing Problems
    This page explores first-order differential equations in mixture problems, focusing on salt water solutions in tanks. It outlines modeling techniques involving flow rates, leading to equations that describe changes in concentration over time.
  • 2.5: Orthogonal Trajectories of Curves
    This page discusses orthogonal trajectories of a family of curves through differential equations, emphasizing the condition for perpendicular intersection through derivatives. It presents an example involving parabolas and demonstrates how to find their orthogonal trajectories, resulting in ellipses. The solution process includes parameter elimination and solving a differential equation, with a figure depicting the parabolas and their corresponding orthogonal ellipses.
  • 2.6: Pursuit Curves
    This page discusses pursuit curves involving a hawk chasing a sparrow on the y-axis. It derives equations that relate the hawk's interception path to both its and the sparrow's speeds. By solving a differential equation, the hawk's trajectory is determined, revealing that the hawk can successfully catch the sparrow if it travels faster than the sparrow.

Thumbnail: False color time-lapse video of E. coli colony growing on microscope slide. This growth can be model with first order logistic equation. Added approximate scale bar based on the approximate length of 2.0 μm of E. coli bacteria. (CC BY-SA 4.0 International; Stewart EJ, Madden R, Paul G, Taddei F).


This page titled 2: Applications of First Order Equations is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Vinh Kha Nguyen & Neelam R. Shukla.

Support Center

How can we help?