PHYS1034 NOVEMBER EXAM PREP (MATHEMATICAL MODELLING)

Sources: Phys1034 Lecture Notes & Tutorials, APPM Notes, Mathematical Methods & Modelling
Notes

CHAPTER 1: (Dimensional Analysis & Others) ✓

CHAPTER 2: (Recurrence Relationships and Difference Eqn Sols) ✓

CHAPTER 3: (Continuous Change)

QN 1. Solve the following continuous equations

𝑑𝑦
i) − 2𝑦 2 = 0
𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦
ii) 𝑑𝑥 − 2𝑦 = 0
𝑑𝑦
iii) 𝑑𝑥 − 5 = 10
𝑑𝑦 5
iv) 𝑑𝑥 − 𝑥 𝑦 = 0

𝑑𝑥
QN 2. Suppose the function 𝑥(𝑡) satisfies the equation, − 𝑡 + 𝑡𝑥 = 0, and that 𝑥(0) = 2,
𝑑𝑡
find the value of 𝑥(1) rounded to two decimal places.

QN 3. Suppose that South Africa’s Population is increasing at a rate which is proportional to

the number of people living at any time. Let 𝑃 = number of people at any time 𝑡. When the
calculation starts, there are 55.5million people in South Africa.

i) Which mathematical model below best describes the population growth of South Africa
with time?

𝑑𝑃
A. = 𝑒 𝜆𝑃(𝑡)
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑃
B. = −𝜆𝑃(𝑡)
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑃
C. = 𝜆𝑃(𝑡)
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑃
D. 𝑑𝑡 = (55.5 × 106 )𝑒 𝜆𝑡
E. None of the above

ii) Which of the below states the initial condition mathematically?

A. 𝑃(0) = 55.5
B. 𝑃(0) = 0
C. 𝑃(0) = 55.5 × 106
D. 𝑃(𝑡) = 55.5 × 106
E. None of the above

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 PHYS1034 NOVEMBER EXAM PREP (MATHEMATICAL MODELLING)

QN 4. The rate of decay of any given radioactive substance is directly proportional to the
amount of sample 𝑁 available at any given time 𝑡.

i)Derive the equation relating the amount of sample that remains after a certain time 𝑡. Take
𝜆 to be the decay constant.

ii) How long will it take for the half of the original amount of substance to decay? Take this
time to be 𝑡1/2.

QN 5. The growth rate of bacteria in a culture medium is directly proportional to the difference
̅.
between the number of bacteria and a certain number 𝑵

i)An expression for the number of bacteria 𝒏 as a function of the time 𝒕, given that the initial number
of bacteria placed in the culture medium is 𝑁0 and the constant of proportionality is 𝝀, is given by:

A. 𝑛(𝑡) = 𝑁0 + (𝑁̅ − 𝑁0 )𝑒 𝜆𝑡
B. ̅ + (𝑁
𝑛(𝑡) = 𝑁 ̅ − 𝑁0 )𝑒 𝜆𝑡
C. 𝑛(𝑡) = 𝑁0 + (𝑁0 − 𝑁 ̅)𝑒 𝜆𝑡
D. ̅ + (𝑁0 − 𝑁
𝑛(𝑡) = 𝑁 ̅)𝑒 𝜆𝑡
E. None of these options

̅, the time 𝑡 ∗ taken for the bacteria to vanish in the

ii) If the initial number of bacteria 𝑁0 is less than 𝑁
culture medium is given by:

A. None of these options

̅
𝑁
B. 𝑡 ∗ = 𝜆ln (𝑁 ̅
)
0 −𝑁

1 ̅
𝑁
C. 𝑡 ∗ = ln ( ̅
)
𝜆 𝑁0 −𝑁
̅
𝑁
D. 𝑡 ∗ = 𝜆ln ( ̅ )
𝑁−𝑁0
̅−𝑁0
𝑁
E. 𝑡 ∗ = 𝜆ln ( ̅
𝑁
)

QN 6. (Qn5 Look-alike) If the growth rate of bacteria in a culture medium is directly proportional to
the difference between the number of bacteria and a certain optimal number 𝑃̅ .

i)Derive an expression for the number of bacteria P as a function of the time 𝑡 given that the initial
number of bacteria placed in the culture medium is 𝑃0 and that the constant of proportionality is 𝜆

ii) How long does it take for the difference in the number of bacteria and the optimal number to reduce
to ¼ of the initial difference?

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 PHYS1034 NOVEMBER EXAM PREP (MATHEMATICAL MODELLING)

QN 7. A tank contains 100 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠 of pure water. A salt-water solution, containing 4% salt and 96%
water, is pumped into the tank at a rate of 2𝑙/𝑚𝑖𝑛. Simultaneously, perfectly mixed liquid is being
drained from the tank, also at a rate of 2𝑙/𝑚𝑖𝑛.

i) The mathematical equation that represents the initial condition of the problem statement is:

A. 𝐴(0) = 0
B. 𝐴(0) = 100𝑙
C. 𝐴(𝑡) = 0.96
D. 𝐴(0) = 0.04
E. None of the above

ii) The equation that represents the amount of salt in the tank at a particular time 𝑡, is given by:

1
A. 𝐴(𝑡) = 16 (𝑒 −0.02𝑡 − 1)
1
B. 𝐴(𝑡) = 4 (𝑒 −0.02𝑡 − 1)

C. 𝐴(𝑡) = 4(𝑒 −0.02𝑡 − 1)

D. 𝐴(𝑡) = 4(1 − 𝑒 −0.02𝑡 )
E. None of the above

QN 8. A distillery has a primary mixing tank capable of keeping its content perfectly mixed at
all times, as seen in the figure below. This mixing tank currently contains a 𝑇 = 55 litres of
mixture with a 𝑎2 = 30% concentration of alcohol. There are inlet and outlet valves on this
tank which allow mixture to flow in and out at a constant rate of 𝑓 = 4.5 litres per minute
respectively, thus keeping the volume of mixture in the tank constant. To increase the
percentage concentration of alcohol in this tank a second tank containing a mixture which has
a 𝑎1 = 55% percentage concentration of alcohol is connected to the inlet valve and another
tank to the outlet valve to capture the released mixture. What is the percentage
concentration of alcohol in the tank after 9 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠 of running this mixing process?

QN 9. A Population of a small town grows proportionately to its current population. The initial
population is 5000 and grows 4% 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟. This can be modelled by:

𝑑𝑃
= 0.4𝑃,
𝑑𝑡

i) Find the equation that models the population size.

ii) Determine the population after 3 years

iii) Determine how long it will take the population to double.

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 PHYS1034 NOVEMBER EXAM PREP (MATHEMATICAL MODELLING)

Logistic Model & Carrying capacity (Theory explained in class)

QN 10. Given the logistic equation below:

𝑑𝑃 𝑃
= 𝑘𝑃(1 − )
𝑑𝑡 𝑀

i) The solution, 𝑃(𝑡) where 𝑃 is the population at a given time, M is the carrying capacity and
𝑘 is the growth constant, is:

1
A. 𝑃(𝑡) = 𝑀
1−𝐶𝑒 −𝑘𝑡
1
B. 𝑃(𝑡) = 𝑀
1+𝐶𝑒 −𝑘𝑡
1
C. 𝑃(𝑡) = 𝑀 𝐶𝑒 −𝑘𝑡 −1
1
D. 𝑃(𝑡) = 𝑀 𝐶𝑒 𝑘𝑡 +1

E. None of the above

ii) The arbitrary constant 𝐶 can be found to be:

𝑀+𝑃0
A. 𝐶 = 𝑃0
𝑀+𝑃0
B. 𝐶 = 𝑀
𝑃0 −𝑀
C. 𝐶 = 𝑀
𝑀−𝑃0
D. 𝐶 = 𝑃0
E. None of the above

QN 11. The population of a certain species grows at a rate that is proportional to their current
population. Without any outside factors the population will double every month. However
the ecosystems the species are living in can only support 15,000 of them. If the population is
originally 100, how many of the species will there be after 3 months?

QN 12. Let 𝐹(𝑡) be the number of Facebook friends you have at time t. Assume that 𝐹(𝑡)
satisfies the logistic growth equation:

𝑑𝐹 𝐹
= 0.1𝐹(1 − )
𝑑𝑡 100

i) Find 𝐹(𝑡). Do not find the constant

II) Find lim 𝐹(𝑡). What does this result mean?

𝑡→∞

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 PHYS1034 NOVEMBER EXAM PREP (MATHEMATICAL MODELLING)

Newton’s Model of Cooling (Theory explained in class)

QN 13. Dr. Daniel Pierce is investigating a crime scene. A corpse was found and the
temperature, 𝑇 was recorded to be 26°𝐶 with the surrounding room temperature, 𝑇𝑠 being
22°𝐶. The temperature of the corpse was measured two hours later and was found to be
24°𝐶.

i) The solution to the differential equation, where 𝐶 is an arbitrary constant, is:

A. ln(𝑇𝑠 − 𝑇) = −𝑘𝑡 + 𝐶
B. ln(𝑇𝑠 + 𝑇 ) = −𝑘𝑡 + 𝐶
C. ln(𝑇𝑠 − 𝑇) = 𝑇 − 𝑘𝑡 + 𝐶
D. ln(𝑇 − 𝑇𝑠 ) = −𝑘𝑡 + 𝐶
E. None of the above

ii) Assuming that prior to being murdered the person was 37°C, approximately how long ago
was the murder committed?

A. 1 hour
B. 2 hours
C. 3 hours
D. 4 hours
E. None of the above

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