Introduction To Dynamical Systems and Chaos Homework For Unit 2: Differential Equations
Introduction To Dynamical Systems and Chaos Homework For Unit 2: Differential Equations
5
4
3
2
1
f(X)
0
−1
−2
−3
−40 2 4 6 8 10
X
Figure 1: A graph of f (X).
Beginner
(a) Sketch a graph of an f (X) that would lead to the differential equation having one
unstable fixed point.
(b) Sketch a graph of an f (X) that would lead to the differential equation having a stable
fixed point at −2 and an unstable fixed point at 5.
(c) Sketch a graph of an f (X) that would lead to the differential equation having all
solutions tend toward infinity, regardless of the initial condition.
4
2
0
−2
g(X)
−4
−6
−8
−10−6 −4 −2 0 2 4 6
X
Figure 2: A graph of g(X).
2
10
8
6
f(X) 4
2
0
−2−2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
X
Figure 3: A graph of f (X).
Intermediate
dX
1. Consider the differential equation dt
= f (X), where f (X) is plotted in Fig. 3.
(a) Draw the phase line for this differential equation.
(b) Classify the stability of all fixed points.
2. Consider the differential equation dY
dt
= − 12 Y . Let Y (0) = 100. Use Euler’s method with
∆t = 2 to determine estimates for Y (2) and Y (4).
Advanced
1. Recommended Write a program that implements Euler’s method for the main example
of this chapter,
dT
= 0.2(20 − T ) . (4)
dt
Some things to try out or experiment with:
• Have your program produce a plot of your Euler solution.
• Make plots of the Euler solutions for several different values of ∆t.
• Compare the Euler solution with the exact solution
3
• Generalize your program so that it can solve any differential equation of the form
dX
= f (X) . (6)
dt
3. Euler’s method is an approximation that becomes better and better as ∆t approaches zero.
Under what circumstances would Euler’s method yield an exact solution without letting ∆t
approach zero?