Addis Ababa University

College Technology and Built Environment

School of Chemical and Bio Engineering

Worksheet on Ordinary Differential Equations (ODE)

by: Mulugeta Ayele; March 2026

Part A: Conceptual Questions

1. Define the following terms:

Differential equation
Ordinary differential equation
Order of a differential equation
Linear differential equation

2. Explain the difference between a general solution and a particular solution.

3. Why are initial conditions important in engineering modelling?

4. Give two examples of first–order processes in chemical engineering that can be described using differential
equations.

5. What is the difference between homogeneous and non-homogeneous differential equations?

6. What condition must be satisfied for a differential equation to be exact ?

7. classify differential equations

1. A well-mixed tank initially contains 2 m3 of water with 8 kg of dissolved salt. A salt solution with concentration
3 kg/m
3
flows into the tank at 0.02 m3 /s . The mixture leaves at the same rate.
a. Formulate the differential equation describing the mass of salt in the tank.

b. Solve the equation.

2. A tank contains 5 m3 of liquid. Pure water flows in at 0.01 m3 /s and the mixture leaves at the same rate. Initially
the tank contains 10 kg of salt.

Write the governing differential equation

3. A liquid tank with cross-sectional area 3 m2 has inflow rate 0.05 m3 /s . The outflow rate is proportional to the liquid
level h: F o = 0.02h

4. Derive the differential equation for the liquid level. Identify the type of differential equation.

5. The cooling of a reactor follows dT

dt
= −k(T − Ta )

a. Explain the physical meaning of this model.

b. Solve the equation for T (t).

Part C: Separable Differential Equations

Solve the following equations.

dy
1. = xy
dx
dy x
2. =
dx y
dy
3. = (1 + x )y
2

dx
dy 2x
4. =
2
dx 1 + y
 dy y
5. =
dx x
dy
6. dx
= 3xy, y(0) = 2

Part D: Linear First Order Differential Equations

Solve using the integrating factor method.

dy
1. + 2y = e
x

dx
dy
2. − 3y = x
dx
dy 1
3. + y = x
2

dx x
dy
4. + 4y = 8
dx
dy
5. x + y = x
2

dx
dy
6. dx
+ 2y = 4, y(0) = 1

Part E: Variation of Parameters

Solve the following.

dy
1. + y = e
x

dx

dy
2. − 2y = sin x
dx

dy
3. + 3y = x
dx

dy
4. − y = e
−x

dx

dy
5. + 4y = cos x
dx
Part F: Exact Differential Equations

Determine whether the following equations are exact. If exact, solve them.

1. m (2x + y)dx + xdy = 0

2. (y + 2x)dx + (x + 3y)dy = 0

3. (3x
2
+ y)dx + (x + 4y )dy = 0
3

4. 2
(2xy + y )dx + (x
2
+ 2xy)dy = 0

5. (4x + y)dx + (x + 2y)dy = 0

Part G: Non Exact Differential Equations

Solve using an integrating factor if possible.

1. (2xy + y)dx + x dy = 0
2

2. (y − x)dx + xdy = 0

3. (3x + 2y)dx + (x + y)dy = 0

4. (xy + 1)dx + x dy = 0
2

5. (x + y)dx + (x − y)dy = 0

Part H: Substitution Method

Solve using substitution.

dy x + y
1. =
dx x

dy y − x
2. =
dx x

dy
3. = (x + y)
2

dx
 2 2
dy x + y
4. =
dx xy

dy y
5. = + x
dx x

Part I: Second Order Linear Homogeneous Equations

Solve the following equations.

1. y
′′
+ 5y
′
+ 6y = 0

2. y
′′
− 4y
′
+ 4y = 0

3. y
′′
+ 9y = 0

4. y
′′
+ 2y
′
+ 5y = 0

5. y
′′
− 3y
′
− 4y = 0

Part J: Undetermined Coefficients

$ \textbf{Solve the following equations.}}

2. y
′′
+ y = sin x

3. y
′′
− y = e
2x

4. y
′′
+ 4y = cos 2x

5. y
′′
+ 2y
′
+ y = x

Part K: Variation of Parameters (Second Order)

1. y
′′
+ y = tan x

2. y
′′
+ 4y = e
x
 3. y
′′
− y = e
x

4. y
′′
+ y = sec x

5. y
′′
+ 2y
′
+ y = e
−x

Part L: Cauchy–Euler Equations

Solve the following equations.

1. m x2 y ′′ + 3xy
′
+ y = 0

2. x y
2 ′′
− xy
′
+ y = 0

3. x y
2 ′′
+ 2xy
′
− 3y = 0

4. x y
2 ′′
+ 5xy
′
+ 4y = 0

5. x y
2 ′′
− 4xy
′
+ 6y = 0

Part M: Problems Solvable by Multiple Methods

dy
1. Solve:
dx
+ y = e
x

using both:

Integrating factor
Variation of parameters

2. Solve: y
′′
+ 3y
′
+ 2y = e
x

Undetermined coefficients
Variation of parameters

3. Show that(2xy + y )dx + (x

is an exact differential equation and solve it.

5. Solve: y
′′
+ 4y = 0