Math 331.

5: Homework 15
Solutions
1. Solve the initial value problem
y

3y

+ 2y = 1
y(0) = 0
y

(0) = 0
Step 1. Solve the corresponding homogeneous ODE.
y

h
3y

h
+ 2y
h
= 0
The characteristic equation is
r
2
3r + 2 = 0
(r 1)(r 2) = 0
r
1
= 1, r
2
= 2
Then the fundamental solutions are y
1
= e
t
and y
2
= e
2t
and the general solution of the homoge-
neous equation is
y
h
= c
1
e
t
+ c
2
e
2t
Step 2. Find a particular solution.
Since the right hand side is g(t) = 1, we guess y
p
= C.
y
p
= C
y

p
= 0
y

p
= 0
Substituting into the equation,
y

p
3y

p
+ 2y
p
= 1
2C = 1
C = 1/2
Thus, y
p
= 1/2 is a particular solution.
Step 3. The general solution.
All solutions of the inhomogeneous ODE are y = y
p
+ y
h
where y
h
is the general solution of the
homogeneous equation and y
p
is any particular solution of the inhomogeneous equation. Thus, the
general solution is
y =
1
2
+ c
1
e
t
+ c
2
e
2t
Step 4. Solve the IVP.
Putting t = 0 and y = 0 in y =
1
2
+ c
1
e
t
+ c
2
e
2t
, we have
1
2
+ c
1
+ c
2
= 0
Putting t = 0 and y

= 0 into y

= c
1
e
t
+ 2c
2
e
2t
, we have
c
1
+ 2c
2
= 0
2
Solving this system, we get c
1
= 1 and c
2
=
1
2
. Thus, the desired solution is y =
1
2
e
t
+
1
2
e
2t
.
2. Solve the initial value problem
y

+ 6y

+ 13y = 5
y(0) = 0
y

(0) = 1
Step 1. Solve the corresponding homogeneous ODE.
y

h
3y

h
+ 2y
h
= 0
The characteristic equation is
r
2
+ 6r + 13 = 0
We use the quadratic formula to solve for r.
r =
6

36 52
2
=
6

16
2
=
6

16

1
2
=
6 4i
2
= 3 2i
Then the fundamental solutions are y
1
= e
3t
cos(2t) and y
2
= e
3t
sin(2t) and the general solution
of the homogeneous equation is
y
h
= c
1
e
3t
cos(2t) + c
2
e
3t
sin(2t)
Step 2. Find a particular solution.
Since the right hand side is g(t) = 5, we guess y
p
= C.
y
p
= C
y

p
= 0
y

p
= 0
Substituting into the equation,
y

p
+ 6y

p
+ 13y
p
= 5
13C = 5
C = 5/13
Thus, y
p
= 5/13 is a particular solution.
Step 3. The general solution.
y = y
p
+ y
h
y =
5
13
+ c
1
e
3t
cos(2t) + c
2
e
3t
sin(2t)
3
Step 4. Solve the IVP.
Putting t = 0 and y = 0 in y =
5
13
+ c
1
e
3t
cos(2t) + c
2
e
3t
sin(2t), we have
5
13
+ c
1
= 0
c
1
= 5/13
Putting t = 0 and y

= 1 into y

= e
3t
[(2c
2
3c
1
) cos(2t) (2c
1
+ 3c
2
) sin(2t)], we have
2c
2
3c
1
= 1
c
2
= 1/13
Thus, the desired solution is y =
5
13
+
5
13
e
3t
cos(2t)
1
13
e
3t
sin(2t).
3. Find the general solution of the dierential equation
y

6y

+ 10y = g(t)
for
(i) g(t) = sint
The general solution is y = y
p
+ y
h
where y
h
is the general solution to the homogeneous
equation and y
p
is any particular solution of the inhomogeneous equation.
First we nd y
h
by solving the homogeneous ODE y

h
6y

h
+10y
h
= 0 The characteristic
equation is
r
2
6r + 10 = 0
We use the quadratic formula to solve for r.
r =
6

36 40
2
= 3 i
Then the fundamental solutions are y
1
= e
3t
cos t and y
2
= e
3t
sint and the general solution
is y
h
= c
1
e
3t
cos t + c
2
e
3t
sint.
Next we use the method of undetermined coecients to nd a particular solution y
p
.
Because the inhomogeneity is g(t) = sint, we guess that y
p
= Acos t + B sint for some
constants A and B. We use the ODE to nd A and B. We compute
y
p
= Acos t + B sint
y

p
= Asint + B cos t
y

p
= Acos t B sint
Substituting into the ODE,
y

p
6y

p
+ 10y
p
= sint
(Acos t B sint) 6(Asint + B cos t) + 10(Acos t + B sint) = sint
(9A6B) cos t + (6A + 9B) sint = sint
Equating the coecients of the sine and cosine terms on the left and right hand sides, we
obtain the following system of equations
9A6B = 0
4
6A + 9B = 1
Solving this system yields A = 2/39 and B = 1/13. So, y
p
=
2
39
cos t +
1
13
sint. Therefore,
the general solution is y =
2
39
cos t +
1
13
sint + c
1
e
3t
cos t + c
2
e
3t
sint.
(ii) g(t) = e
3t
cos t
From part i, y
h
= c
1
e
3t
cos t + c
2
e
3t
sint.
Now we nd a particular solution y
p
. Because the inhomogeneity is g(t) = e
3t
cos t, we
would guess that y
p
= Ae
3t
cos t+Be
3t
sint for some constants A and B. However, this is a
solution of the homogeneous equation. So, instead we guess y
p
= t(Ae
3t
cos t +Be
3t
sint).
We use the ODE to nd A and B. We compute,
y
p
= te
3t
(Acos t + B sint)
y

p
= e
3t
(Acos t + B sint) + te
3t
[(3A + B) cos t + (3B A) sint]
y

p
= e
3t
[(6A + 2B) cos t + (6B 2A) sint] + te
3t
[(8A + 6B) cos t + (8B 6A) sint]
Substituting into the ODE,
y

p
6y

p
+ 10y
p
= e
3t
cos t
e
3t
[2B cos t 2Asint] = e
3t
cos t
Equating coecients, we obtain
2B = 1 B = 1/2
2A = 0 A = 0
Then a particular solution is y
p
=
1
2
te
3t
sint and the general solution is y =
1
2
te
3t
sint +
c
1
e
3t
cos t + c
2
e
3t
sint.
4. Find the general solution of the dierential equation y

+ 6y

+ 9y = t
2
.
The general solution is y = y
p
+ y
h
where y
h
is the general solution to the homogeneous equation
and y
p
is any particular solution of the inhomogeneous equation.
First we nd y
h
by solving the homogeneous ODE
y

h
+ 6y

h
+ 9y
h
= 0
The characteristic equation is
r
2
+ 6r + 9 = 0
(r + 3)(r + 3) = 0
r = 3
Then the fundamental solutions are y
1
= e
3t
and y
2
= te
3t
and
y
h
= c
1
e
3t
+ c
2
te
3t
Next we use the method of undetermined coecients to nd a particular solution y
p
. Because the
inhomogeneity is g(t) = t
2
, we guess that y
p
= At
2
+ Bt + C for some constants A, B, and C. We
use the ODE to nd A, B and C. We compute,
y
p
= At
2
+ Bt + C
y

p
= 2At + B
5
y

p
= 2A
Substituting into the ODE,
y

p
+ 6y

p
+ 9y
p
= t
2
2A + 6(2At + B) + 9(At
2
+ Bt + C) = t
2
9At
2
+ (12A + 9B)t + (2A + 6B + 9C) = t
2
Equating coecients, we obtain the following system of equations
9A = 1
12A + 9B = 0
2A + 6B + 9C = 0
Solving this system yields A = 1/9, B = 4/27 and C = 2/27. So, y
p
=
1
9
t
2

4
27
t +
2
27
.
Therefore, the general solution is y =
1
9
t
2

4
27
t +
2
27
+ c
1
e
3t
+ c
2
te
3t
.
5. Find the general solution of the dierential equation y

+ 2y

+ y = 2e
t
.
Homogeneous equation:
y

h
+ 2y

h
+ y
h
= 0
Characteristic equation:
r
2
+ 2r + 1 = 0
(r + 1)(r + 1) = 0
r
1
= r
2
= 1
Fundamental solutions: y
1
= e
t
, y
2
= te
t
.
Homogeneous solution: y
h
= c
1
e
t
+ c
2
te
t
.
Next we guess a particular solution y
p
. Since the right hand side is g(t) = 2e
t
, we start with
y
p
= Ce
t
But this is a multiple of the homogeneous solution y
1
, so next we guess
y
p
= Cte
t
But this is a multiple of the homogeneous solution y
2
, so next we guess
y
p
= Ct
2
e
t
y

p
= 2Cte
t
Ct
2
e
t
y

p
= 2Ce
t
2Cte
t
2Cte
t
+ Ct
2
e
t
Substituting into the ODE,
y

p
+ 2y

p
+ y
p
= 2e
t
2Ce
t
4Cte
t
+ Ct
2
e
t
+ 2(2Cte
t
Ct
2
e
t
) + Ct
2
e
t
= 2e
t
2Ce
t
= 2e
t
C = 1
Then y
p
= t
2
e
t
and y = t
2
e
t
+ c
1
e
t
+ c
2
te
t
.
6
6. Find the general solution of the dierential equation y

+ 2y

= 3 + 4 sin(2t).
Homogeneous equation:
y

h
+ 2y

h
= 0
Characteristic equation:
r
2
+ 2r = 0
r(r + 2) = 0
r
1
= 0 r
2
= 2
Fundamental solutions: y
1
= 1, y
2
= e
2t
.
Homogeneous solution: y
h
= c
1
+ c
2
e
2t
.
Next we guess a particular solution y
p
. Since the right hand side is g(t) = 3 + 4 sin(2t), we start
with
y
p
= Acos(2t) + B sin(2t) + C
But the last term, C, is a multiple of the homogeneous solution y
1
, so next we guess
y
p
= Acos(2t) + B sin(2t) + Ct
y

p
= 2Asin(2t) + 2B cos(2t) + C
y

p
= 4Acos(2t) 4B sin(2t)
Substituting into the ODE,
y

p
+ 2y

p
= 3 + 4 sin(2t)
4Acos(2t) 4B sin(2t) + 2(2Asin(2t) + 2B cos(2t) + C) = 3 + 4 sin(2t)
Equating coecients,
4A + 4B = 0
4B 4A = 4
2C = 3
Solving this system, A = 1/2, B = 1/2, C = 3/2. Then
y = c
1
+ c
2
e
2t

1
2
cos(2t)
1
2
sin(2t) +
3
2
t
7. Find the general solution of the dierential equation y

2y

3y = 3te
t
.
Homogeneous equation:
y

h
2y

h
3y
h
= 0
Characteristic equation:
r
2
2r 3 = 0
(r 3)(r + 1) = 0
r
1
= 3 r
2
= 1
Fundamental solutions: y
1
= e
3t
, y
2
= e
t
.
Homogeneous solution: y
h
= c
1
e
3t
+ c
2
e
t
.
Next we guess a particular solution y
p
. Since the right hand side is g(t) = 3te
t
, we start
with
y
p
= (At + B)e
t
7
But the last term, Be
t
, is a multiple of the homogeneous solution y
2
, so next we guess
y
p
= t(At + B)e
t
The general solution is:
y =

3
8
t
2
+
3
16
t

e
t
+ c
1
e
3t
+ c
2
e
t
8. Solve the initial value problem
y

2y

3y = 3e
2t
y(0) = 1
y

(0) = 0
From problem 7, the homogeneous solution is y
h
= c
1
e
3t
+ c
2
e
t
.
We guess a particular solution of the form y
p
= Ce
2t
. Substituting into the ODE, we nd C =
1.
The general solution is y = e
2t
+ c
1
e
3t
+ c
2
e
t
.
The solution to the IVP is y = e
2t
+ e
3t
.
9. Solve the initial value problem
y

+ y

2y = 2t
y(0) = 0
y

(0) = 1
The homogeneous solution is y
h
= c
1
e
t
+ c
2
e
2t
.
We guess a particular solution of the form y
p
= At + B. Substituting into the ODE, we nd
y
p
= t 1/2.
The general solution is y = t 1/2 + c
1
e
t
+ c
2
e
2t
.
The solution to the IVP is y = t
1
2
+ e
t

1
2
e
2t
.