Separation of Variables Practice Problems

I. PROCEDURES

1. Find the general solution of the differential equations below.

a.
b.
c.
d.

=
= 2 + 1
=

= 2 +

2. Solve the given initial-value problem.

a. = 2 + 1, (0) = 3
b.

= 2 , (0) = 2

II. APPLICATIONS

3. Consider the following very simple model of blood cholesterol level based on the fact
that cholesterol is manufactured by the body for use in the construction of cell walls and
is absorbed from foods containing cholesterol: Let () be the amount (in milligrams per
deciliter) of cholesterol in the blood of a particular person at time (in days). Then

= 1 (0 ) + 2 ,

where

0 = the persons natural cholesterol level,

1 = production parameter,
= daily rate at which cholesterol is eaten, and
2 = absorption parameter

a. Suppose 0 = 200, 1 = 0.1, 2 = 0.1, = 400, and (0) = 150. What will be
the persons cholesterol level after 2 days on this diet?

b. With the initial conditions as above, what will the persons cholesterol level be
after 5 days on this diet?
c. What will the persons cholesterol level be after a long time on this diet?
d. High levels of cholesterol in the blood are known to be a risk factor for heart
disease. Suppose that, after a long time on the high cholesterol diet described
above, the person goes on a very low cholesterol diet. So changes to = 100.
(The initial cholesterol level at the starting time of this diet is the result of part
(c).) What will the persons cholesterol level be after 1 day on the new diet, after
5 days on the new diet, and after a very long time on the new diet?
e. Suppose the person stays on the high cholesterol diet but takes drugs that block
some of the uptake of cholesterol from food, so 2 changes to 2 = 0.075. With
the cholesterol level from part (c), what will the persons cholesterol level be after
1 day, after 5 days, and after a very long time?

4. Suppose Ms. Lee is buying a new house and must borrow $150,000. She wants a 30-year
mortgage and she has two choices. She can either borrow money at 7% per year with no
points, or she can borrow the money at 6.5% per year with a charge of 3 points. (A
point is a fee of 1% on the loan amount that the borrower pays the lender at the
beginning of the loan. For example, a mortgage with 3 points requires Ms. Lee to pay
$4,500 extra to get the loan.) As an approximation, we assume that interest is
compounded and payments are made continuously. Let
() = amount owed at time (measure in years),
= annual interest rate, and
= annual payment

Then the model for the amount owed is

a. How much does Ms. Lee pay in each case?

b. Which is a better deal over the entire time of the loan (assuming Ms. Lee does not
invest the money she would have paid in points)?
c. If Ms. Lee can invest the $4,500 she would have paid in points for the second
mortgage at 5% compounded continuously, which is the better deal?
5. Here we analyze a simple retirement plan. It is easiest to assume that all amounts and
returns are in real dollars (adjusted for inflation). Suppose a 25 year-old plans to set aside

a fixed amount every year of his/her working life, invests at a real return of 6%, and
retires at age 65. How much must he/she invest each year to have $8,000,000 at
retirement? NOTE: In Differential Equations, it is okay to/must be assumed that interest
is compounded continuously. Thus, in effect, it will be okay that the person considered is
actually putting away money continuously throughout the year.
III. CONCEPTUAL

6. Bob, Glen, and Paul are once again sitting around enjoying their nice, cold glasses of iced
cappuccino when one of their students asks them to come up with solutions to the
differential equation
+ 1
=
+ 1
After much discussion, Bob says () = , Glen says () = 2 + 1, and Paul says () = 2
2.

a. Who is right?
b. What solution should they have seen right away?

7. Make up a differential equation of the form

= (, )

that has () = as a solution. (Try to come up with one whose right-hand side (, )
depends explicitly on both and .)

ANSWERS:

1.

a. () = /2 , where is any real number

1
b. () = 2 2, where is any real number
c. () = ln( + ), where is any real number
d. () = ln(( 2 + 1)), where is any positive real number. The choice of
sign is determined by the initial condition
2.
a. =

7 2
2

b. () = +2
3.

a. () = 600 450 .1 is the solution we get when solving by separation and

using the initial value to solve for = 450. Thus, (2) 232 mg/dl
b. (5) 328 mg/dl
c. () 600, since the second term approaches 0 in the long-run (i.e., the limit as
of this function is 600). This makes sense, since the persons natural blood
mg
mg
d. () = 300 + 300 .1 ; (1) 571 dl , (5) 482 dl , and as ,
mg

300 dl .
e. () = 500 + 100 .1 ; (1) 590, (5) 560, and as , 500.
4.
a. At 7%, $358,957; at 6.5% with points, $345,518
b. Choose the 6.5% option.
c. Choose the 7% option.
5. $47,889 per year
6.
a. Bob and Glen
b. The equilibrium solution = 1
7. Answers vary; one possible example is

= 3 2