Ordinary Differential Equations
32 Reading & State Questions
Definitions, Methods, and Examples
Q1. What is an ordinary differential equation (ODE)?
Answer:
An equation containing one or more derivatives of a function of only one independent
variable.
Example:
d²y/dx² + 5(dy/dx) + 6y = 0
Q2. What is a partial differential equation (PDE)?
Answer:
An equation containing partial derivatives of a function of two or more independent
variables.
Example:
∂²u/∂t² = c² ∂²u/∂x² (wave equation)
Q3. When do we say a differential equation is homogeneous?
Answer:
A differential equation is homogeneous if every term involves the dependent variable or its
derivatives; i.e., there is no term that is a function of the independent variable alone. For a
first-order ODE in the form M(x,y)dx + N(x,y)dy = 0, it is homogeneous if M and N are
homogeneous functions of the same degree.
Example:
d²y/dx² + 4y = 0 (no standalone function of x)
Q4. When do we say a first-order ordinary differential equation is exact?
Answer:
A first-order ODE of the form M(x,y)dx + N(x,y)dy = 0 is exact if ∂M/∂y = ∂N/∂x.
Example:
(2xy)dx + (x² - 1)dy = 0, because ∂/∂y(2xy) = 2x and ∂/∂x(x² - 1) = 2x
Q5. What is a linear differential equation?
Answer:
A linear ODE is one in which the dependent variable and its derivatives appear only to the
first power and are not multiplied together.
Example:
d²y/dx² + 3(dy/dx) + 2y = sin x
Q6. What is the difference between a linear ODE with constant coefficients and
one with variable coefficients?
Answer:
Constant coefficients are constants; variable coefficients are functions of the independent
variable.
Example:
Constant: d²y/dx² + 3(dy/dx) + 2y = 0
Variable: d²y/dx² + x(dy/dx) + 2y = 0
Q7. State three methods for solving a first-order ODE.
Answer:
1. Separation of variables
2. Integrating factor method
3. Method of exact equations
Example:
For dy/dx = 2x, separation gives y = x² + C
Q8. State two advantages of the method of variation of parameters over the
method of undetermined coefficients.
Answer:
1. Works for any continuous non-homogeneous term, not just polynomials, exponentials,
sines, or cosines.
2. No guesswork; never fails due to duplication with the complementary function.
Example:
For d²y/dx² + y = sec x, variation of parameters succeeds; undetermined coefficients fails
because sec x is not of the required form.
Q9. State two advantages of the method of undetermined coefficients over the
method of variation of parameters.
Answer:
1. Simpler and faster when applicable.
2. Avoids integration, which can be complicated.
Example:
For d²y/dx² + 3(dy/dx) + 2y = e^(3x), undetermined coefficients quickly gives y_p =
(1/20)e^(3x); variation of parameters requires integrals.
Q10. State the properties of a Laplace transform.
Answer:
• Linearity: L{af(t) + bg(t)} = aF(s) + bG(s)
• First shifting theorem: L{e^(at)f(t)} = F(s - a)
• Second shifting theorem: L{f(t-a)u(t-a)} = e^(-as)F(s)
• Time scaling: L{f(at)} = (1/a)F(s/a), a > 0
Example:
Linearity: L{3t + 2e^t} = 3/s² + 2/(s-1)
Q11. State the condition for the existence of the Laplace transform of a function.
Answer:
The function f(t) must be piecewise continuous on [0, ∞) and of exponential order, i.e., there
exist constants M > 0 and c such that |f(t)| ≤ Me^(ct) for sufficiently large t.
Example:
f(t) = e^(t²) does NOT have a Laplace transform because it grows faster than any
exponential.
Q12. State the first-shifting theorem.
Answer:
If L{f(t)} = F(s), then L{e^(at)f(t)} = F(s - a).
Example:
L{e^(3t) sin 2t} = 2 / ((s-3)² + 4)
Q13. State the second-shifting theorem.
Answer:
If L{f(t)} = F(s) and u(t-a) is the unit step function, then L{f(t-a)u(t-a)} = e^(-as)F(s).
Example:
L{(t-2)u(t-2)} = e^(-2s) / s²
Q14. State two applications of the Laplace transform in engineering.
Answer:
1. Solving linear ODEs with initial conditions.
2. Analyzing control systems and electrical circuits.
Example:
In RLC circuits, Laplace transforms convert differential equations into algebraic equations in
the s-domain.
Q15. Define the order of a differential equation.
Answer:
The order is the highest derivative appearing in the equation.
Example:
d³y/dx³ + 2(dy/dx) = sin x has order 3.
Q16. Define the degree of a differential equation.
Answer:
The degree is the power of the highest-order derivative after the equation has been made
free of radicals and fractions.
Example:
(d²y/dx²)³ + (dy/dx)² = 0 has degree 3.
Q17. What is a general solution of a differential equation?
Answer:
A general solution contains all possible solutions and includes a number of arbitrary
constants equal to the order of the ODE.
Example:
For d²y/dx² = 0, the general solution is y = C₁x + C₂.
Q18. What is a first-order differential equation?
Answer:
A first-order ODE involves only the first derivative of the unknown function.
Example:
dy/dx + p(x)y = q(x)
Q19. What is a non-homogeneous differential equation?
Answer:
A non-homogeneous ODE includes a non-zero term that is a function of the independent
variable only.
Example:
d²y/dx² + 4y = e^x
Q20. What is a scalar differential equation?
Answer:
A scalar ODE involves a single unknown function of one variable.
Example:
dy/dt = ky
Q21. What is a system of differential equations?
Answer:
A system involves multiple unknown functions and their derivatives.
Example:
dx/dt = x - y, dy/dt = x + y
Q22. What is an autonomous differential equation?
Answer:
An autonomous ODE does not explicitly depend on the independent variable.
Example:
dy/dt = y(1 - y)
Q23. What is a Bernoulli differential equation?
Answer:
A Bernoulli equation is a first-order ODE of the form dy/dx + p(x)y = q(x)y^n with n ≠ 0, 1. It
is reduced to linear by the substitution u = y^(1-n).
Example:
dy/dx + (1/x)y = x²y³
Q24. State the limitations of the method of undetermined coefficients.
Answer:
1. Only for linear ODEs with constant coefficients.
2. Non-homogeneous term must be a polynomial, exponential, sine, cosine, or combination.
3. Fails if the guessed form duplicates part of the complementary function (without
modification).
Example:
For d²y/dx² + y = sin x, the guess A sin x fails because it is already a solution of the
homogeneous equation.
Q25. Define the Wronskian of two functions.
Answer:
The Wronskian of differentiable functions y₁ and y₂ is W(y₁, y₂) = y₁(dy₂/dx) - y₂(dy₁/dx). It
tests linear independence.
Example:
For y₁ = cos x, y₂ = sin x: W = cos x · cos x - sin x · (-sin x) = 1 ≠ 0, so they are linearly
independent.
Q26. State the time scaling property of the Laplace transform.
Answer:
If L{f(t)} = F(s), then for a > 0: L{f(at)} = (1/a)F(s/a).
Example:
L{cos(2t)} = s/(s²+4), so L{cos(4t)} = s/(s²+16)
Q27. State two additional properties of the Laplace transform (beyond linearity).
Answer:
• Differentiation: L{f'(t)} = sF(s) - f(0)
• Integration: L{∫₀ᵗ f(τ)dτ} = (1/s)F(s)
Example:
For f(t) = t, F(s) = 1/s², then L{1} = s·(1/s²) - 0 = 1/s.
Q28. State the condition for a first-order ODE to be linear.
Answer:
It must be expressible as dy/dx + p(x)y = q(x), i.e., y and dy/dx appear to the first power and
are not multiplied together.
Example:
dy/dx + 3xy = e^x is linear; dy/dx + y² = 0 is nonlinear.
Q29. State the condition for a first-order ODE to be homogeneous (in the sense of
a homogeneous function).
Answer:
Written as M(x,y)dx + N(x,y)dy = 0, it is homogeneous if M and N are homogeneous
functions of the same degree, i.e., M(tx, ty) = t^k M(x, y) and similarly for N.
Example:
(x² + y²)dx + (2xy)dy = 0 is homogeneous of degree 2.
Q30. State the advantage of variation of parameters for second-order linear ODEs.
Answer:
It can be applied to any second-order linear ODE (constant or variable coefficients) as long
as the complementary solution is known, and it works for any continuous non-homogeneous
term without guesswork.
Example:
For x²(d²y/dx²) + x(dy/dx) + y = ln x, undetermined coefficients is not applicable; variation of
parameters works after finding the complementary solution.
Q31. What is a singular solution of a differential equation?
Answer:
A singular solution is a solution that cannot be obtained from the general solution by any
choice of the arbitrary constants.
Example:
For dy/dx = √y, the general solution is y = (x/2 + C)². The singular solution is y = 0, which is
not covered by any finite C.
Q32. What is linear independence of functions?
Answer:
A set of functions is linearly independent if no nontrivial linear combination of them equals
zero for all x; otherwise, they are linearly dependent. The Wronskian is often used to test
independence.
Example:
{e^(2x), e^(3x)} are linearly independent because c₁e^(2x) + c₂e^(3x) = 0 for all x forces c₁
= c₂ = 0. Their Wronskian is e^(5x) ≠ 0.