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Department of Mathematics
School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Math450 - Differential Equations II
Problem Set 2 1-July-2026
(1) Consider the linear system
x0 = 3x + y,
y 0 = 2x + 4y.
(i) Transform the system into a second order ODE in the form
ax00 + bx0 + cx = 0, a, b, c ∈ R.
(ii) Suppose that the second order ODE which you have found in (i) above has a
solution in the form x = ert , r ∈ R and find the general solution.
(iii) Use the solution which you have found in (ii) to find the general solution for
the other variable y.
(iv) Present the solution of the system in vector notation in the form
x a1 r1 t a
= C1 e + C2 2 er2 t .
y b1 b2
(v) Write the system in matrix and find the eigen pairs.
(vi) Use the eigen pairs in (v) to write the solution vectors for the system.
(vii) Find the solution and compare it with the solution which you have obtained
in (iv).
(2) Rewrite the following equations as linear systems of first order equations and present
your answer in the matrix form
x0 (t) = Ax(t) + b(t).
Instructor: Dr V. T. Teyekpiti Page 1 of 4
(i) y 00 − 2y 0 + 5y = 0
(ii) y (000) − y = 0, y(π) = 0, y 0 (π) = 2, y 00 (π) = −1
(iii) y 00 + 2y = sin 2t, y(0) = 1, y 0 (0) = 0
(iv) y (4) = y
(v) y (4) − y 0 = 1 + et , y(0) = 1, y 0 (0) = 0
(vi) t2 y 00 − 2ty 0 + y = 0, y(1) = 3, y 0 (1) = −1
(vii) y 000 − y = 0, y(π) = 0, y 0 (π) = 2, y 00 (π) = −1
3) Consider the system of equations
d2 x d2 y dx
+ − 2 =4
dt2 dt2 dt
d2 x dy
+ − 2x + 5y = 11 sin t.
dt2 dt
(a) Is the system linear or nonlinear?
(b) Is the system homogeneous or nonhomogeneous?
(c) Convert the given system into an equivalent system of first order equations
and write your answer in the form
x0 (t) = Ax(t) + b(t)
(4) Show that the vector x(t), ∀t ∈ R defined as
1 t 1 2t
x(t) = e +2 e
0 1
is a solution of the nonhomogeneous linear system
0 2 −1 −1 t
x (t) = x(t) + e
3 −2 1
(5) Let {y1 , y2 } be a fundamental set of solutions of the general second order equation
y 00 + p(t)y 0 + q(t)y = 0.
If we make a standard change of variables x1 = y and x2 = y 0 , then the above
equation can be transformed into the system
x01 = x2
x02 = −q(t)x1 − p(t)x2 .
Show that if {x2 , x2 } is a fundamental set of solutions of the system, then
W (y1 , y2 ) = αW (x1 , x2 ).
where α is a non-zero constant.
Instructor: Dr V. T. Teyekpiti Page 2 of 4
(6) Find the general solution of the system
dx
= x + 2y − z
dt
dy
=x+z
dt
dz
= 4x − 4y + 5z
dt
(7) The solution vectors of a 2x2 system of equations are
2
t t
X1 = and X2 = .
1 2t
(a) Compute the Wronskian of X1 and X2
(b) On which intervals do X1 and X2 form a fundamental set of solutions?
(c) What conclusion can be drawn about the coefficient matrix in the system of
homogeneous differential equations satisfied by X1 and X2 ?
(d) Find this system of equations and verify the conclusion which you have drawn
in (c).
(8) Find the general solution of the system
3 2 4
x0 (t) = 2 0 2 x(t).
4 2 3
(9) Find the solution of the given initial value problem
0 −3 2 7
x (t) = x(t), x(0) = .
−1 −1 −2
(10) Find the general solution of the given system
4 1 0
x0 (t) = 0 4 1 x(t).
0 0 4
(11) Use the method of undetermined coefficients to solve the nonhomogeneous system
0 −1 5 sin t
x (t) = x(t) + .
−1 1 −2 cos t
Instructor: Dr V. T. Teyekpiti Page 3 of 4
(12) Apply the method of undetermined coefficients to solve the nonhomogeneous system
dx
= 5x + 3y − 2e−2t ,
dt
dy
= −x + y − e−2t − 5t.
dt
(13) Apply the method of undetermined coefficients to find a general solution of the
nonhomogeneous system
2t
2 1 −3 e
x0 (t) = 0 −1 1 x(t) + −e2t .
0 1 −1 e2t
(14) Apply variation of parameters to solve the nonhomogeneous system
0 2 −1 sin 2t
x (t) = x(t) + e2t .
4 2 2 cos 2t
(15) Apply variation of parameters to solve the nonhomogeneous system given in ques-
tion (13).
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Instructor: Dr V. T. Teyekpiti Page 4 of 4