MATH 1005H Fall 2015

Test Two Solutions

1. (5 marks) Find an integrating factor which makes the equation

2 + ex−3y + 6xy 0 = 0

exact. Do not solve the equation.

Solution: We have Py = −3ex−3y and Qx = 6. Since Py 6= Qx , the equation is not exact. We
need either Py −Q
Q
x
to be independent of y or QxP−Py to be independent of x. We have

Py − Qx −3ex−3y − 6 ex−3y + 2
= =− ,
Q 6x 2x
which is not independent of y. We have

Qx − Py 6 + 3ex−3y 3(2 + ex−3y )

= = = 3,
P 2 + ex−3y 2 + ex−3y
which is independent of x. Thus we set

I 0 (y) Qx − Py
= = 3.
I(y) P

Integrating both sides with respect to y, we have

ln |I(y)| = 3y

(we don’t have to worry about the arbitrary constant when finding an integrating factor). Thus
I(y) = e3y is an integrating factor (we also don’t have to worry about the absolute value).

2. (5 marks) Find the general solution of 25y 00 − 20y 0 + 4y = 0.

Solution: We set y = erx , which yields the indicial equation

25r2 − 20r + 4 = 0.

This factors as (5r − 2)2 = 0, and so we have one real root r = 52 (we could have used the
2
quadratic formula instead of factoring). Thus two linearly independent solutions are y1 = e 5 x
2
and y2 = xe 5 x . The general solution is
2 2 2
y = c1 e 5 x + c2 xe 5 x = e 5 x (c1 + c2 x).

3. (6 marks) Solve the initial value problem

y 00 − 4y 0 − 5y = 0, y(0) = 0, y 0 (0) = 60.

Solution: We set y = erx , which yields the indicial equation

r2 − 4r − 5 = 0.

1
 This factors as (r − 5)(r + 1) = 0, and so we have two real roots r1 = 5 and r2 = −1 (we could
have used the quadratic formula instead of factoring). Two linearly independent solutions are
y1 = e5x and y2 = e−x . The general solution is
y = c1 e5x + c2 e−x .
Using the fact that y(0) = 0 yields c1 + c2 = 0. Thus c2 = −c1 , and the solution becomes
y = c1 (e5x − e−x ). Then y 0 = c1 (5e5x + e−x ). Using the fact that y 0 (0) = 60 yields c1 (5 + 1) = 60.
Thus c1 = 10 and so c2 = −10. The solution to the initial value problem is
y = 10e5x − 10e−x .

4. (4 marks) Find the general solution of 2x2 y 00 − xy 0 − 2y = 0 (for x 6= 0).

Solution: We set y = xr , which yields the indicial equation
2r(r − 1) − r − 2 = 2r2 − 3r − 2 = 0.
The quadratic formula yields roots r1 = 2 and r2 = − 21 . Two linearly independent solutions are
1
y1 = |x|2 and y2 = |x|− 2 . The general solution is
1
y = c1 |x|2 + c2 |x|− 2
1
= c1 x 2 + c2 p .
|x|

5. (5 marks) Find the general solution of x2 y 00 − xy 0 + 17y = 0 (for x 6= 0).

Solution: We set y = xr , which yields the indicial equation
r(r − 1) − r + 17 = r2 − 2r + 17 = 0.
The quadratic equation yields roots 1 ± 4i. Thus two linearly independent solutions are y1 =
|x| cos(4 ln |x|) and y2 = |x| sin(4 ln |x|). The general solution (for all x 6= 0) is
y = c1 |x| cos(4 ln |x|) + c2 |x| sin(4 ln |x|)
= c3 x cos(4 ln |x|) + c4 x sin(4 ln |x|)
= x(c3 cos(4 ln |x|) + c4 sin(4 ln |x|)).

6. (5 marks) Given the fact that the homogeneous equation y 00 − 10y 0 + 25y = 0 has general solution
y = c1 e5x + c2 xe5x , use the method of undetermined coefficients to find a particular solution yp
for the equation
y 00 − 10y 0 + 25y = 50e−5x .
You do not need to give the general solution.
Solution: Since g(x) = 50e−5x is not a solution to the associated homogeneous equation, we use
yp = Ae−5x . Then yp0 = −5Ae−5x and yp00 = 25Ae−5x . Substituting these in to the equation yields
25Ae−5x − 10(−5Ae−5x ) + 25(Ae−5x ) = 50e−5x
25A + 50A + 25A = 50
100A = 50
1
A= .
2
1 −5x
Thus a particular solution is yp = 2 e .