Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2023 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

ISSN No:-2456-2165

Differential System: A Self-Discovery

Approach using Combinatoric and
Modular Arithmetic Dynamics
David Umolo
Department of Statistics,
Federal Polytechnic Orogun, Delta State Nigeria

Abstract:- This study provides a new dimension (shortest will help identify shortest possible ways of solving simple
route) to handling and solving differential problems differential equations using the concept of combination and
involving reiterative or successive differentiation using permutation. It is an additional knowledge to the view of
the combinatoric and modular arithmetic techniques. Subramanian (2018).
The application of the technique is identified to be very
easy to apply in dealing with higher order differentiation II. METHODS
of linear, trigonometric and exponential functions with
attention drawn to the resulting identities and signs. The The techniques adopted in this study are combinatoric
successive differentiation of a function with negative and modular arithmeticmethods of solving simple
power is also explored and validated. The study is differential equations and it is a self-discovery approach
therefore targeted to aid learning, teaching and dependent on basic knowledge of the aforementioned
concepts. The fundamental counting principle is centered on
applications.
factorial denoted by 𝑛!, the possible number of ways 𝑛
Keywords:- Combinatoric, modular, differentiation, object can be arranged on a straight path. Mathematically, it
trigonometric, and successive. is expressed as:

I. INTRODUCTION 𝑛! = 𝑛(𝑛 − 1)(𝑛 − 2) … (2)(1)

Problems on differential equation have posed diverse If there exist an integer which is less than 𝑛 by 𝑟 i.e.
challenges to learners and teachers over the years. This 𝑛 − 𝑟, then the possible number of ways 𝑛 − 𝑟 object can be
could be due to the manner and methods available in solving arranged on a straight path is (𝑛 − 𝑟)!. Thus, the quotient
𝑛!
the underlined differential equation. In an instance where becomes the number of ways 𝑟 objects can be
(𝑛−𝑟)!
there is need to investigate the rate of change of a variable
arranged on a straight path among 𝑛. This development is
with respect to another variable (independent) in a high-
termed permutation and its is expressed as
dimension successive times, a challenge is then posed and
time is consumed meaninglessly. On this note, this study
𝑛! 𝑛(𝑛 − 1)(𝑛 − 2) … (𝑛 − 𝑟 + 1)(𝑛 − 𝑟)(𝑛 − 𝑟 − 1) … (2)(1)
𝑝(𝑛, 𝑟) = =
(𝑛 − 𝑟)! (𝑛 − 𝑟)!

𝑛(𝑛 − 1)(𝑛 − 2) … (𝑛 − 𝑟)!

=
(𝑛 − 𝑟)!

= 𝑛(𝑛 − 1)(𝑛 − 2) … (𝑛 − 𝑟 + 1)

which is having 𝑟 number of terms.

III. DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS

A. Permutation Representation of 𝒓𝒕𝒉 Order Successive Differentiation

𝑑𝑦 𝑑 2𝑦 𝑑3𝑦
 Case I: Let 𝑦 = 𝑥 𝑛 , = 𝑛𝑥 𝑛−1 , = 𝑛(𝑛 − 1)𝑥 𝑛−2 , = 𝑛(𝑛 − 1)(𝑛 − 2)𝑥 𝑛−3 ;
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥 2 𝑑𝑥 3

(Australia Curriculum, 2004; Good and Melinda, 2006)

By implication/induction
𝑑𝑟 𝑦
= 𝑛(𝑛 − 1)(𝑛 − 2) … (𝑛 − [𝑟 − 1])𝑥 𝑛−𝑟
𝑑𝑥 𝑟
= 𝑛(𝑛 − 1)(𝑛 − 2) … (𝑛 − 𝑟 + 1)𝑥 𝑛−𝑟

IJISRT23DEC1281 www.ijisrt.com 2049

Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2023 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
𝑛!
= 𝑝(𝑛, 𝑟)𝑥 𝑛−𝑟 = 𝑥 𝑛−𝑟
(𝑛 − 𝑟)!
𝑑 𝑟𝑦
The combinatoric form of becomes 𝑟! 𝑐(𝑛, 𝑟)𝑥 𝑛−𝑟
𝑑𝑥 𝑟

𝑛! 1
where 𝑐(𝑛, 𝑟) = 𝑟!(𝑛−𝑟)! = 𝑟! 𝑝(𝑛, 𝑟).

 Special Case I:when 𝑟 = 𝑛, we have the 𝑛𝑡ℎ order successive differentiation. Then
𝑑𝑟 𝑦 𝑑𝑛 𝑦
= = 𝑝(𝑛, 𝑛)𝑥 𝑛−𝑛 = 𝑝(𝑛, 𝑛) × 1
𝑑𝑥 𝑟 𝑑𝑥 𝑛
𝑛! 𝑛! 𝑛!
= = = = 𝑛!
(𝑛 − 𝑛)! 0! 1

Here, 𝑛 is the highest power of 𝑥 over which 𝑦 is defined.

 Case I: Successive Differential of a Function with Coefficient Term

Let 𝑦 = 𝑎𝑥 𝑛

𝑑𝑦 𝑑2 𝑦
⇒ = 𝑎 × 𝑛𝑥 𝑛−1 ⇒ 2 = 𝑎 × 𝑛(𝑛 − 1)𝑥 𝑛−2
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑑3 𝑦
⇒ = 𝑎 × 𝑛(𝑛 − 1)(𝑛 − 2)𝑥 𝑛−3
𝑑𝑥 3
By implication/induction,
𝑑𝑟 𝑦
= 𝑎 × 𝑛(𝑛 − 1)(𝑛 − 2) … . (𝑛 − 𝑟 + 1)𝑥 𝑛−𝑟
𝑑𝑥 𝑟
𝑎𝑛!
= 𝑎 × 𝑝(𝑛, 𝑟)𝑥 𝑛−𝑟 = 𝑥 𝑛−𝑟
(𝑛 − 𝑟)!

Dividing both numerator and denominator by 𝑟!, the combinatorial form becomes

𝑎𝑟! 𝑐(𝑛, 𝑟)𝑥 𝑛−𝑟

 Special Case II: For 𝑟 = 𝑛,

𝑑𝑟 𝑦 𝑑𝑛 𝑦
= = 𝑎𝑛!
𝑑𝑥 𝑟 𝑑𝑥 𝑛
𝑑 𝑟𝑦
Note: If 𝑛 < 𝑟, then 𝑑𝑥 𝑟 = 0 or undefined.

B. Successive Differentiation of an Exponential Function

𝑑𝑦
Let 𝑦 = 𝑒 𝑥 ⇒ = 𝑒 𝑥 (TES, 2013; Kreyszig, G. E., 2011)
𝑑𝑥

Since, taking the natural log of the function arrives at

1 𝑑𝑦
𝑙𝑛𝑦 = 𝑥 ⇒ = 1 ⇒ 𝑦 = 𝑒𝑥
𝑦 𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦 𝑑 2𝑦 𝑑 3𝑦
Let 𝑦 = 𝑒 𝑎𝑥 ⇒ 𝑑𝑥 = 𝑎𝑒 𝑎𝑥 ⇒ 𝑑𝑥 2 = 𝑎2 𝑒 𝑎𝑥 ⇒ 𝑑𝑥 3 = 𝑎3 𝑒 𝑎𝑥

By implication/induction,
𝑑𝑟 𝑦
= 𝑎𝑟 𝑒 𝑎𝑥
𝑑𝑥 𝑟

IJISRT23DEC1281 www.ijisrt.com 2050

Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2023 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
C. Direct Successive Differentiation of Trigonometric Functions via Modular Arithmetic

 Axiom I: Let 𝑦 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑥, then the 𝑟 𝑡ℎ order successive differential coefficient is given established to be
𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑥 𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑎𝑥
𝑑𝑟 𝑦 𝑖𝑓 𝑟 = 1 𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑀𝑜𝑑(4) = 0,1 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 (+)𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛
= 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒 (– )𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛
𝑑𝑥 𝑟
𝑜𝑑𝑑 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟, 𝑐𝑜𝑠
{ 𝑖𝑓 𝑟 = {
𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟, 𝑠𝑖𝑛

 Validation:

Sign notation for successive differential rth order for 𝑦 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑥

𝑟= 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ⋯
𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 + - - + + - - + + ⋯

𝑑 𝑟𝑦
⇒ For 𝑑𝑥 𝑟 to be positive, 𝑟 equals to

1 4 5 8 9 12 13 ⋯

4 4 4 4 4 ⋯ ⋯

𝑑 𝑟𝑦
Depicting 𝑟 = 1 (first instance), considering modulo 4, it is observed that, for 𝑑𝑥 𝑟
to be positive, 𝑟𝑀𝑜𝑑(4) = 0,1 (second
instance), otherwise negative.

 Revalidation:
It is of interest to note that if 𝑦 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑥, then the following holds
𝑑
(𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥) = 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥
𝑑𝑥
𝑑
(𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥) = −𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥
𝑑𝑥
𝑑
(−𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥) = −𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥
𝑑𝑥
𝑑
(−𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥) = 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥
𝑑𝑥
Thus, the identity follows as:

𝑟 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ⋯
𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥 ⋯
𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛 + - - + + - - + + ⋯
𝑑 𝑟𝑦 𝑑 𝑟𝑦
Hence if 𝑟 = 𝑜𝑑𝑑; 𝑑𝑥 𝑟
→ 𝐶𝑜𝑠 while 𝑟 = 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛; 𝑑𝑥 𝑟 → 𝑆𝑖𝑛

 Axiom II: Let 𝑦 = 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑎𝑥, then the 𝑟 𝑡ℎ order successive differential coefficient is established to be
𝑎𝑟 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑥 𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑟 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑎𝑥
𝑑𝑟 𝑦 𝑖𝑓 𝑟 = 3 𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑀𝑜𝑑(4) = 0, 3, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 (+)𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛
= 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒, (−)
𝑑𝑥 𝑟
𝑜𝑑𝑑 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟, 𝑆𝑖𝑛
𝑖𝑓 𝑟 = {
{ 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟, 𝐶𝑜𝑠

IJISRT23DEC1281 www.ijisrt.com 2051

Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2023 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
 Validation:
Given that 𝑦 is a 𝐶𝑜𝑠 function given as 𝑦 = 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑎𝑥, then the following sign notations hold.

𝑟 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ⋯
𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛 - - + + - - + + - ⋯
𝑑 𝑟𝑦
This suffices that for to be positive, the following prevails
𝑑𝑥 𝑟

3 4 7 8 11 12 15 ⋯

4 4 4 4 4 ⋯ ⋯

The possible instances being 𝑟 = 3 or 𝑟𝑀𝑜𝑑(4) = 0, 3. Otherwise, the sign will be negative.

 Revalidation:
The trigonometric outcome of the function is derived as follows based on fundamentals:

𝑦 = 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥
𝑑
(𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥) = −𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥
𝑑𝑥
𝑑
(−𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥) = −𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥
𝑑𝑥
𝑑
(−𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥) = 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥
𝑑𝑥
𝑑
(𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥) = 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥
𝑑𝑥
Thus, the notation identity is presented as:

𝑟 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ⋯
𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑥 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑥 ⋯
𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛 - - + + - - + + - ⋯
𝑑 𝑟𝑦 𝑑 𝑟𝑦
Hence, for 𝑟 = 𝑜𝑑𝑑; 𝑑𝑥 𝑟
= 𝑆𝑖𝑛 while 𝑟 = 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛; 𝑑𝑥 𝑟
= 𝐶𝑜𝑠.

D. Successive Differentiation with Negative Powers

𝑑 𝑟𝑦
 Axiom I: Let 𝑦 = 𝑥 𝑛 for 𝑛 < 0, then 𝑑𝑥 𝑟 which is the 𝑟 𝑡ℎ order differentiation is established to be:

𝑑𝑟 𝑦 (−1)𝑟 (|𝑛| + 𝑟 − 1)! 𝑥 𝑛−𝑟

=
𝑑𝑥 𝑟 (|𝑛| − 1)!

 Justification:
By induction approach, let 𝑦 = 𝑥 −𝑏 for 𝑛 = −𝑏; then,
𝑑𝑦
= −𝑏𝑥 −𝑏−1
𝑑𝑥
𝑑2 𝑦
= (−𝑏)(−𝑏 − 1)𝑥 −𝑏−2
𝑑𝑥 2
𝑑3 𝑦
= (−𝑏)(−𝑏 − 1)(−𝑏 − 2)𝑥 −𝑏−3 ⋮
𝑑𝑥 3
𝑑𝑟 𝑦
= (−𝑏)(−𝑏 − 1)(−𝑏 − 2) ⋯ (−𝑏 − [𝑟 − 1])𝑥 −𝑏−𝑟
𝑑𝑥 𝑟

IJISRT23DEC1281 www.ijisrt.com 2052

Volume 8, Issue 12, December 2023 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
= (−1)𝑟 (𝑏)(𝑏 + 1)(𝑏 + 2) ⋯ (𝑏 + 𝑟 − 1)𝑥 −𝑏−𝑟

(−1)𝑟 (1)(2)(3) ⋯ (𝑏 − 1)(𝑏)(𝑏 + 1) ⋯ (𝑏 + 𝑟 − 1)𝑥 −𝑏−𝑟

=
(1)(2)(3) ⋯ (𝑏 − 1)

(−1)𝑟 (𝑏 + 𝑟 − 1)! 𝑥 −𝑏−𝑟

=
(𝑏 − 1)!
Recall that 𝑛 = −𝑏 ⇒ |𝑛| = |−𝑏 | = 𝑏

By substituting |𝑛| for 𝑏, we have

𝑑𝑟 𝑦 (−1)𝑟 (|𝑛| + 𝑟 − 1)! 𝑥 𝑛−𝑟
=
𝑑𝑥 𝑟 (|𝑛| − 1)!

IV. CONCLUSION

Findings have shown with much justification from the

study that some of the challenges posed while dealing with
successive differential equations can be handled at ease by
adopting the fundamental principles of combination,
permutation and modular arithmetics. The study gives a
directional approach with better stand point for its
application. It is therefore recommended that this technique
be adopted in diverse situations where the need is required
since it is legitimate and saves time in solving related
differential equation problems.

REFERENCES

[1]. Australian Curriculum, (2014). Mathematics:

Overview.
https://www.australiacurriculum.edu.au/mathematics
[2]. Good and Melinda (2006). Differentiated Instruction:
Principles and Techniques for the Elementary Grades.
San Rafael CA: Dominican University of California.
[3]. Kreyszig G. E. (2011). Advanced Engineering
Mathematics. 10th Edition, John Wiley & Sons Ltd.,
Amsterdam.
[4]. TES. (2013). Using Differentiation in Mixed-ability
Classes. https://newteacher.tes.co.uk.
[5]. Subramanian P. K. (2018). Successive Differentiation
and Leibniz’s Theorem.The College of Mathematics
Journal.

IJISRT23DEC1281 www.ijisrt.com 2053