B.M.S.

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, BENGALURU

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS

Dept. of Math., BMSCE Unit 3: Ordinary Differential Equations of First Order

For the Course Code: 23MA1BSMCS

Course: Mathematical Foundation for Computer Science Stream – 1

Differential equations:
Any equation which involves derivatives, dependent variables and independent variables is
called a differential equation.

Classification

Ordinary differential equations Linear differential equations

Nonlinear differential equations
Partial differential equations Linear, semi linear, quasi linear
…

Solution of a differential equation: A relation between x and y which satisfies the given
differential equation.
General Solution: A solution which contains arbitrary constants.

Solution of first order ODE: Geometrically, the solution of a first order ODE represents a
family of curves.

Linear Ordinary differential equations of 1st order

dy
An equation of the form  P  x  y  Q  x  is called a linear first order differential equation.
dx

The solution is given by y  IF     IF  Q  c where IF  e 

Pdx
and c is the constant of
integration.

I. BERNOULLI’S EQUATION

dy
The equation of the form  P  x  y  Q  x  y n is called the Bernoulli’s equation. It can be
dx
reduced to a linear differential equation by dividing throughout by y n , to get
dy
yn  Py1 n  Q and substituting y1n  z .
dx

EXAMPLES:

Solve the following differential equations:

dy
1 x  y  x3 y 6 .
dx

Page 1 of 5
Dept. of Maths., BMSCE Unit - 4: ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS OF FIRST ORDER

y x
2 y   , y (1)  2.
2 x y3
3  y log x  2  ydx  xdy  0.
4 x y 3 2
 xy  dx  dy.
5 cos xdy  y (sin x  y )dx.
dr
6 r sin   cos   r 2.
d
7 y 2 y  y3 tan x  sin x cos 2 x  0.
dy x 2  y 2  1
8  .
dx 2 xy
9 3 y  xy  xy 2 .
dy y
10  .
dx x  xy
dz z z 2
11  log z   log z  .
dx x x
12
13

14 Suppose a student carrying a flu virus returns to an isolated college of 1000 students. It is assumed that
the rate at which the virus spreads is proportional not only to the number x of the infected students but
also to the number of students not infected. The equation is given by
Determine the number of infected students after 6 days if it is further observed that after 4 days,
by the treating the equation as Bernoulli’s equation.

II. EXACT DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

A differential equation of the form M  x, y  dx  N  x, y  dy  0 is said to be exact if

M  x, y  dx  N  x, y  dy is the exact differential of some function u  x, y  i.e.
du  Mdx  Ndy. Its solution, therefore is u  x, y   c .

The necessary and sufficient condition for the differential equation Mdx  Ndy  0 to be exact
M N
is  , and its solution is given by  Mdx    terms of N without x  dy  c .
y x y constant 

Page 2 of 5
 Dept. of Maths., BMSCE Unit - 4: ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS OF FIRST ORDER

EXAMPLES:

Solve the following differential equations:

1  x4  2xy2  y4  dx  2x2 y  4xy3  sin y  dy  0 .

  1 
2  y 1  x   cos y  dx   x  log x  x sin y  dy  0 .
   
3   
2 xy  y  tan y dx  x 2  x tan 2 y  sec2 y dy  0 .
2x y 2  3x 2
4 dx  dy  0 .
y3 y4

y  2x
5 y= , y(1)=2.
2y  x
 2 xy2 3  dx   2 xye xy2  3 y 2  dy  0 .
6  y e  4 x   
   
7 sec x tan x tan y  e x  dx  sec x sec2 ydy  0 .
8  y sin 2 x  dx  1 y2  cos2 x  dy  0 .
9  cos x  x cos y  dy   sin y  y sin x  dx  0 .
 y   x 
10  -1 dx + 1-  dy =0 .
 ( x + y )2   ( x  y )2 
   
11 sin x cosh ydx  cos x sinh ydy  0 , y  0   3 .

III. DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS REDUCIBLE TO THE EXACT FORM

 M N 
 y  x 
Type 1: In the differential equation Mdx  Ndy  0 , if   a function of x say f x ,
 
N
 f  x dx
then IF  e .

 M N 
 y  x 
Type 2: In the differential equation Mdx  Ndy  0 , if   a function of y say
M
F  y dy
F  y  , then IF  e  .

Page 3 of 5
Dept. of Maths., BMSCE Unit - 4: ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS OF FIRST ORDER

EXAMPLES:

Solve the following differential equations by reducing it to exact differential equations

1.
2.
3. ( )
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

IV. ORTHOGONAL TRAJECTORIES

In Cartesian Co-ordinates:
EXAMPLES:
1. Find the orthogonal trajectories of the family of:
a) b) c)

d) e)
2. Find constant ‘e’ such that are orthogonal to each other.
3. Find the value of constant d such that the parabolas are the orthogonal trajectories of the
family of ellipses .
4. The electric lines of force of two opposite charges of the same strength at (1,0 ) and (−1,0 ) are circles
(through these points) of the form Find their equipotential lines (orthogonal
trajectories)
5. Find the orthogonal trajectories of the family of confocal conics where is the
parameter.
6. Given find that member of the orthogonal trajectory which passes through point
(0, 3).
7. The electric field between two concentric cylinders, the equipotential lines (lines of constant potential)
are circles given by what are their orthogonal trajectories (the
curves of electric force)?
8. If the streamlines of the flow are (paths of the particles of the fluid) in the channel are
what their orthogonal trajectories (called equipotential lines) are?
9. If the isotherms (curves of constant temperature) in a body are a constant,
what are their orthogonal trajectories (curves along which heat will be flowing in regions free of heat
sources or sinks and filled with homogeneous material)?
10. Isotherms of a lamina in the xy -plane are defined by What are their orthogonal
trajectories (flux lines). Then determine the isotherm and the flux line passing through

Page 4 of 5
Dept. of Maths., BMSCE Unit - 4: ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS OF FIRST ORDER

a) (0,2) b) (-1,1) c) (2,0).

11. Show that the family of curves are self-orthogonal:
a)
b) Confocal conics, being the parameter.
c)
12. Find the orthogonal trajectories (O.T.) of each of the following family of curves:
2a
a) r
1  cos  
b) r  a cos 2
2 2

c) r  4a sec   tan 


d) r  a 1  sin 2  
e) r  a sin  tan 
f) r  a  sec  tan  

g) r cos n  a
n n

V. APPLICATIONS

Growth and Decay

EXAMPLES:

1. A culture initially has number of bacteria. At t=1 hour, the number of bacteria is measured to be
If the rate of growth is proportional to the number of bacteria present at time t , determine the time
necessary for the number of bacteria to triple.
2. A breeder reactor converts relatively stable uranium-238 into isotope plutonium-239. After 15 years, it
is determined that 0.043% of the initial amount of the plutonium has disintegrated. Find the half-life
of this isotope if the disintegration is proportional to amount remaining.
3. The population of a community is known to increase at a rate proportional to the number of people
present at time t . If an initial population has doubled in 5 years, how long will it take to triple? To
quadruple?
4. The population of a community is known to increase at a rate proportional to the number of people
present at time t . An initial population has doubled in 5 years. Suppose it is known that the
population of the community is 10000 after 3 years. What will the population be in 10 years? How fast
is the population growing at t =10 ?
5. The radioactive isotope of lead, Pb-209, decays at a rate proportional to the amount present at a time t
and has a half-life of 3.3 hours. If 1 g of this isotope is present initially, how long will it take for 90% of
the lead to decay?
6. Initially 100 mg of a radioactive substance was present. After 6 hours the mass has decreased by 3%. If
the rate of decay is proportional to amount of the substance present at time t , find the amount remaining
after 24 hours.

Page 5 of 5