DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

ENGIANA
APPLICATIONS OF FIRST ORDER
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
A. A. EXPONENTIAL GROWTH AND DECAY
Exponential Growth
Let P be the population of organisms at any time t.
dP
 kP , k > 0
dt
Exponential Decay
Let R be the amount of radioactive substance at any
time t.
dR
 kR , k > 0
dt
Example 1: Exponential Growth

The population of a community is

known to increase at a rate proportion-
al to the number of people present at
time t. If an initial population P0 has
doubled in 5 years, how long will it take
to triple? quadruple?
Ans.: 7.9 yr, 10 yr
Example 2: Exponential Decay

Initially 100 mg of a radioactive substance

was present. After 6 hr the mass had
decreased by 3%. If the rate of decay is
proportional to the amount of substance
present at time t, find the amount
remaining after 24 hr. Determine the half-
life of this substance.
Example 3: Exponential Decay
The radioactive isotope of lead, Pb-209,
decays at a rate proportional to the
amount present at time t and has a
half-life of 3.3 hours. If 1 gram of this
isotope is present initially, how long
will it take for 90% of the lead to decay?
Ans.: 11 hr
Example 4: Exponential Growth
The population of bacteria in a culture
grows at a rate proportional to the
number of bacteria present at time t.
After 3 hours it is observed that 400
bacteria are present. After 10 hours
2000 bacteria are present. What was
the initial number of bacteria?
 Example 5: Exponential Growth
A variation on the population problem is when the population
size has an inhibitory effect on the growth of the population.
Hence, if x
dx
is the population size then,  k( a  x )x , where a is the total
dt
population and k is the constant of proportionality. This kind
of model can be extended in many situations called self-
limiting problems. One person in a small town with a
population of 200 proceeds to spread a rumor.
If the rate at which the rumor spreads is
proportional to the number of people who
know the rumor x as well as the number of
people who do not know, find the number of
people who know about the rumor after t
days. Fifty people know about the rumor after
one day. How many people will have heard of
the rumor after 2 days? Will the entire town
eventually hear about the rumor? Ans.: 192
Example 6: Exponential Growth
A bank offers 5% interest compounded
continuously in a savings account. Deter-
mine (a) the amount of interest earned in
one year on a deposit of P10,000; and (b)
the equivalent rate if the compounding
was done annually.
Ans.: (a) P512.7 (b) 5.127%
Example 7: Exponential Growth
A certain radioactive material is known to decay
at a rate proportional to the amount present. If
initially there are 100 milligrams of the material
present and if after two years it is observed that
5% of the original mass has decayed, find (a) an
expression for the mass at any time t and (b) the
time necessary for 10% of the original mass to
have decayed. (c) The half life of the material.
 B. Newton’s Law of Cooling
Under certain conditions, the rate at which the temperature of
an object changes is proportional to the difference between
temperature of the object and the temperature of the
surrounding medium (ambient temperature)
Let T be the temperature of an object at time t and Tm be the
temperature of the surrounding medium. Hence, we have

dT
 k(T  Tm ) , k > 0
dt
Example 1: Newton’s Law of Cooling

A thermometer reading 18°F is brought

into a room, the temperature of which is
70°F. One minute later, the reading is
31°F. Find the temperature reading as a
function of time. Find the temperature
reading 5 min after the thermometer is
first brought into the room. Ans.: 57.66°F
Example 2: Newton’s Law of Cooling

A thermometer is removed from a room

where the temperature is 70°F and is taken
outside, where the air temperature is 10°F.
After 0.5 min, the thermometer reads 50°F.
What is the reading of the thermometer at t
= 1 min? How long will it take for the
thermometer to reach 15°F?
Ans.: 36.67°F, 3.06 min
Example 3: Newton’s Law of Cooling

A thermometer is taken from the inside

room to the outside, where the air
temperature is 5°F. After 1 min the
thermometer reads 55°F, and after 5
min it reads 30°F? What is the initial
temperature of the inside room?
Example 4: Newton’s Law of Heating

A small metal bar, whose initial tempera-

ture was 20°C, is dropped into a large
container of boiling water. How long will
it take the bar to reach 90°C if it is
known that its temperature increases 2°
in 1 sec? How long will it take the bar to
reach 98°C? Ans.: 82.1 sec, 145.7 sec
Example 5: Newton’s Law of Cooling

A steel ball is placed at time t = 0 in a medium

which is maintained at a temperature of 30°C.
Heat flows so rapidly within the ball that the
temperature is essentially the same at all points
of the ball. At the end of 3 min, the temperature
of the ball is reduced to 70°C. After 15 min, the
temperature of the ball becomes 42°C. Find the
initial temperature of the steel ball. Ans.: 84°C
Example 6: Newton’s Law of Cooling
The body of a murder victim was “discovered” at 9:30
p.m. The crime scene investigator on call arrived at
11:30 p.m. and immediately took the temperature of
the body, which was 94.6°F. He again took the
temperature after one hour, when it was 93.4°F, and
he noted the room temperature was constant at
70°F. Use Newton’s Law of cooling to estimate the
time of death, assuming the victim’s normal body
temperature was 98.6°F. Ans.: 8:29 p.m.
Example 7: Newton’s Law of Cooling/Heating

At 1:00 p.m., a thermometer reading 10°F is re-

moved from a freezer and is placed in a room
whose temperature is 65°F. At 1:05 p.m., the
thermometer reads 25°F. Later, the thermometer
is placed back in the freezer. At 1:30 p.m., the
thermometer reads 32°F. When was the thermo-
meter returned to the freezer and what was the
thermometer reading at that time?
Ans.: 1:21 p.m., 50.15°F
Example 8: Newton’s Law of Cooling

A thermometer reading 70°F is taken out-

side. Five minutes later, the thermometer
reads 40°F. Thirty-five minutes after being
taken outside, the thermometer reading is
within one-half a degree of the outside tem-
perature. Find the value of the outside tem-
perature assuming it is constant.
Example 9: Newton’s Law of Heating

A thermometer reading 70°F is placed in an

oven preheated to a constant temperature.
Through a glass window in the oven door,
an observer records that the thermometer
reads 110°F after 0.5 min and 145°F after 1
min. How hot is the oven?
Ans.: 390°F
Example 10: Newton’s Law of Heating
A dead body was found within a closed room of a house
where the temperature was a constant 70°F. After the
time of discovery the core temperature of the body was
determined to be 85°F. One hour later, a second mea-
surement showed that the core temperature of the body
was 80°F. Assume that the time of death corresponds to
t = 0 and that the core temperature at that time was
98.6°F. Determine how many hours elapsed before the
body was found. Ans.: 1.6 hr prior to the discovery
of the body
Example 11: Newton’s Law of Heating

At 2 pm, a chemistry student heats a

beaker that is at room temperature (30 °C)
by inserting it in an oven. What should be
the oven temperature if the student wants
the beaker to be at 150 °C at 3 pm and at
200 °C at 4 pm? Sketch the graph of the
temperature of the beaker versus time.
 C. SIMPLE CHEMICAL MIXTURE
Let S be the amount of substance at any time t in the tank.
Liquid containing a Substance S
enters the tank

Rate of Rate at which Rate at which

Change = S enters  S exits
of S the tank the tank

Mixture containing a Substance S

exits the tank
 Flow rate Concentration Flow rate Concentration
dS
= of liquid X of substance  of liquid X of substance
dt entering in liquid entering exiting in liquid exiting

dS  S 
 rinSin  rout   , Sout  S
dt  Vo  (rin  rout )t  Vo  (rin  rout )t
 mixture concetration
in the tank
Initially, the tank contains:
Vo = volume of liquid
S = So , amount of substance at t = 0
If rin  rout , then the following can be used
as an option

dV
 rin  rout
dt
dV  rin  rout  dt
V  (rin  rout )t  k
Example 1: Chemical Mixture
A tank contains 200 L of fluid in which 30 g
of salt is dissolved. Brine containing 1 g of
salt per liter is then pumped into the tank
at a rate 4 L/min; the well- mixed solution
is pumped out at the same rate. Find the
number of grams of salt in the tank at time
t. How much salt is in the tank after 10
min?
Example 2: Chemical Mixture
A 300-gal capacity tank contains a solution of 200
gal of water and 50 lb of salt. A solution
containing 3 lb of salt per gal is allowed to flow
into the tank at the rate of 4 gal/min. The mixture
flows from the tank at the rate of 2 gal/min. How
many pounds of salt are in the tank at the end of
30 min? When does the tank start to overflow?
How much salt is in the tank at the end of 60
min? Ans.: 357 lb, 50 min, 579 lb
Example 3: Chemical Mixture
A tank contains 100 gal of water. Brine
enters the tank at the rate of 3 gal/min.
The mixture, thoroughly stirred, leaves the
tank at the rate of 2 gal/min. If the salt
concentration in the tank at the end of 20
minutes is to be 2 lb/gal, what should be
the salt concentration in the brine entering
the tank? Ans.: 4.75 lb/gal
Example 4: Chemical Mixture
A large tank is filled with 500 gal of pure
water. Brine containing 2 lb of salt per
gallon is pumped into at a rate of 5 gal/min.
The well-mixed solution is pumped out at a
rate of 10 gal/min. How much salt is in the
after 15 min? How long will it take for the
amount of salt in the tank to be 15 lb?
When is the tank empty?
Example 5: Chemical Mixture
A tank initially holds 100 gal of brine
solution. At t = 0, fresh water is poured into
the tank at the rate of 5 gal/min, while the
well-stirred mixture leaves the tank at the
same rate. After 20 min, the tank contains
20/e lb of salt. Find the initial concentration
of the brine solution inside the tank.
Ans.: 0.20 lb/gal
Example 6: Chemical Mixture
Blood carries a drug into an organ at the rate of 3
cm3/sec and leaves at the same rate. The organ
has a liquid volume of 125 cm3. If the concentra-
tion of the drug in the blood entering the organ is
0.2 g/cm3, what is the concentration of the drug in
the organ at time t? After how many seconds will
the concentration of the drug in the organ reach
0.1 g/cm3? Ans.: 0.2(1-e-3t/125 ), 28.9 sec
Example 7: Chemical Mixture
A tank contains 100 gal of water. In error, 300 lb of
salt are poured into the tank instead of 200 lb. To
correct this condition, a stopper is removed from
the bottom of the tank allowing 3 gal of brine to
flow out per minute. At the same time, 3 gal of
fresh water per minute are pumped into the tank.
If the mixture is kept uniform constant stirring,
how long will it take for the brine to contain the
desired amount of salt? Ans.: 13.52 min
Example 8: Chemical Mixture
A nitric acid solution flows at a constant rate of 6
L/min into a large tank that initially held 200 L of
0.5% nitric acid solution. The solution inside the
tank is kept well stirred and flows out of the tank
at a rate of 8 L/min. If the solution entering the
tank is 20% nitric acid, determine the volume of
nitric acid in the tank after t minutes. When will
the percentage of nitric acid in the tank reach 10%?
Ans.: 19.96 min
Example 9: Chemical Mixture
A brine solution of salt flows at a constant rate of 4
L/min into a large tank that initially held 100 L of
water. The solution inside the tank is kept well
stirred and flows out of the tank at a rate of 3
L/min. If the concentration of salt in the brine
entering the tank is 0.2 kg/L, determine the mass
of salt in the tank after t minutes. When will the
concentration of salt in the tank reach 0.10 kg/L?
Ans.:
Example 10: Chemical Mixture
A swimming pool whose volume is 10,000 gal
contains water that is 0.01% chlorine. Starting at t
= 0, city water containing 0.001% chlorine is
pumped into the pool at the rate of 5 gal/min. The
pool water flows out at the same rate. What is the
percentage of chlorine in the pool after 1 hr? When
will the pool water be 0.002% chlorine?
Ans.: 73.24 hr
Example 11: Chemical Mixture
A 480 gallons capacity tank with open top is partially
filled with 360 gallons of fluid in which 12 pounds of
salt is dissolved. Brine containing 0.03 pound of salt
per gallon is pumped into the tank at a rate of 6
gal/min. The well mixed solution is then pumped out
at a slower rate of 3 gal/min. (a) When will the tank
overflow? (b) What will be the number of pounds of
salt in the tank at the instant it overflows? Ans.:
 D. SIMPLE ELECTRIC CIRCUIT

R-L Circuit

di
L  Ri  E
dt

R-C Circuit
dq q dq
R  E, i
dt C dt
E - Electromotive force (emf)  the voltage developed by any
source of electrical energy such as a battery or dynamo. It is
generally defined as the electrical potential for a source in a
circuit. It is a device that supplies electrical energy, volts (V)

R - resistance (the measure of the degree to which a conductor

opposes an electric current through that conductor), ohms (Ω)
L - inductance (the property of an electrical conductor by which a
change in current through it induces an electromotive force in
both the conductor itself and in any nearby conductors by mu-
tual inductance), henries (H)
C - capacitance (the ability of a body to store an electrical charge),
farads (F)
lim i 
t

Example 1: R-L Circuit

A 10-ohm resistor and a 5-henry inductor

are connected to a 50-volt source at time
t = 0. Express the current i as a function of
time t. What happens to the value of i as
time goes on indefinitely?
Ans.: i  5(1  e 2t ) , tlim

i5A
Example 2: R-C Circuit

A decaying emf E  200e  5t is connected in

series with a 20-ohm resistor and 0.01 fara-
rad capacitor. Assuming q = 0 when t = 0,
find the charge and current at any time.
When does the charge attain its maximum
amount? Determine the maximum charge.
Example 3: R-C Circuit

A resistor (of unknown constant resistance)

and a 0.02 farad capacitor are connected in
series with emf of E = 100 V. The initial
charge of the capacitor is 5 coulombs. If at
t = 1/10 sec, the current flowing is 30/e A on
the reverse direction, find the value of the
resistance. Ans.: 5 
Example 4: R-L Circuit

An electric circuit contains an 8-ohm

resistor in series with an inductor of 0.5
H and a battery of E volts. At t = 0, the
current is zero. Find E if the maximum
current flowing in the circuit is 8 A.
Ans.: 64 V
Example 5: R-C Circuit

A 20-ohm resistor and a capacitor are

connected in series with a battery of 60
volts. At t = 0, there is no charge on the
capacitor. Find the capacitance if the
current at t = 5 sec is 3e5 A.
Ans.: 0.05 farad
Example 6: R-L Circuit

A coil of inductance 1 H and a resist-

ance of 20  is connected to an emf
E = 200sin 20t. If i = 0 when t = 0, find
i at t = 0.06 sec.
Ans.: 4.35 A
Example 7: R-L Circuit

An R-L circuit has an emf of 3sin 2t

volts, a resistance of 10 ohms and an
inductance of 0.5 henry with an initial
current of 6 amperes. Find the current
at any time t.
3 609  20t
Ans.: i  (10 sin 2t  cos 2t )  e
101 101
Example 8: R-L Circuit
A 220 volt electromotive force is applied to an
RC-series circuit in which the resistance is
1000 ohms and the capacitance is 5𝑥10−6
farad. Find the charge q(t) on the capacitor if
i(0) = 0.5. Determine the charge and current
at t = 0.008 sec. Determine the charge as t →
∞.
 Miscellaneous Problems

1. The air in a certain room 150 ft x 50 ft

x12 ft tested 0.2% CO2. Fresh air
containing 0.05% CO2 was then admitted
by ventilators at the rate of 9000 ft3/min.
Find the % of CO2 after 20 min. Ans.:
0.0703%
 Miscellaneous Problems
2. The rate at which a solid dissolves varies directly as the
amount of undissolved solid present in the solvent and as
the difference between the saturation concentration and
the instantaneous concentration of the substance. A
saturated solution of salt in H2O will hold approximately
3-lb salt/gal. A block of salt weighing 60 lb is placed into a
vessel containing 100 gal of H2O. In 5 min., 20 lb of salt
are dissolved (a) How much salt will be dissolved in 1 hr?
(b) When will 45 lb of salt be dissolved?
Ans.: 59.145 lb, 18.21 min
 Miscellaneous Problems
3. By natural increase, a city whose
population is 40 thousand will double in 50
years. There is a net addition of 400
persons per year because of the people
living and moving into the city. Estimate
its population in 10 years. Hint: First, find
the natural growth proportionality factor.
Ans.: 50,239
 Miscellaneous Problems
4. A tank initially contains salt in the pores of
inert materials and 10 gallons of fresh water.
The salt dissolves at a rate per minute of 2
times the difference between 3 lb/gal and the
concentration of the brine. Two gal of fresh
water enters the tanks per minute. How much
salt will be dissolved in the first 10 min? in the
second 10 min? Ans.: 40 lb, 32 lb.
 Miscellaneous Problems
5. At 1 p.m., a thermometer reading 80°F is taken
outside where the temperature is constant. At 1:05
p.m., the thermometer reads 35° F more than the
surrounding temperature. Forty minutes after
being taken outside, the thermometer reading
differs from the outside temperature by 15° F.
Determine the outside temperature. How long will
it take for the same thermometer to cool from 100°
F to 60° F in air, which is maintained at 50° F?
Ans.: 40.5° F, 66.5 min
 Miscellaneous Problems

6. An RL circuit has an emf of 3sin 2t

volts, a resistance of 10 ohms and an
inductance of 0.5 henry with an initial
current of 6 amperes. Find the current
at any time t.
3 609 20t
Ans.: i (10 sin 2t  cos 2t )  e
101 101
 Miscellaneous Problems
7. Two substances, A and B, are being reconverted into a single
compound C. In the laboratory, it has been shown that, for these
substances, the following law of conversion holds: the time rate of
change of the amount x of compound C is proportional to the
product of the amounts of unconverted substances A and B. If at
time t = 0, there are CAO mols of substance A and CBO mols of
substance B, and none of compound C present, find x(t). Assume
that one mole of C is formed from the combination of one mole of A
and one mole of B. Ans.:
kt (C AO CBO )
Ans.: C [1  e ]
x  AO
C AO kt(C AO CBO )
1 e
CBO
 Miscellaneous Problems

8. A bank offers 5% interest com-

pounded continuously in a savings
account. Determine (a) the amount of
interest earned in one year on a deposit
of P10,000; and (b) the equivalent rate
if the compounding was done annually.
Ans.: (a) P512.7 (b) 5.127%
 Miscellaneous Problems
9. A 100-gallon tank initially contains pure
water. A solution of dye containing 0.3
lb/gal flows into the tank at the rate of 5
gal/min and the resulting mixture flows
out at the same rate. After 15 min, the
process is stopped and fresh water flows
into the tank at the same rate. Find the
concentration of dye in the tank at the end
of 30 min. Ans.: 0.075 lb/gal
 Miscellaneous Problems
10. A 400-galon capacity tank initially contains salt
solution consisting of 150 gallons of water and 25 lb
of salt. A salt solution containing 2 lb of salt per
gallon is allowed to enter the tank at the rate of 10
gal/min and the resulting mixture is removed at
the rate of 5 gal/min. (a) Find the number of
pounds of salt in the tank as a function of time. (b)
Find the amount of salt in the tank at the instant
the tank starts to overflow. Ans.:
2
600t  10t  750
S where t in min and S in lb, 697 lb.
30  t
 Miscellaneous Problems
11. The air in a small room 12 ft by 8 ft by 8 ft
is 3% carbon monoxide. Starting at t = , fresh
water containing no carbon monoxide is blown
into the romm at a rate of 100 ft3/min. If air in
the room flows out through a vent at the same
rate, when will the air in the room be 0.01%
carbon monoxide? Ans.:
 Miscellaneous Problems
12. Water flows into the Lake Magdalene from Sweet-
water Creek at a rate of 300 gal/min. Lake Magdalene
contains about 100 million gal of water. The spraying of
nearby orange groves has caused the concentration of
pesticides in the lake to reach 0.000035, or 35 parts per
million. If pesticides are banned, how long will it be before
the concentration of pesticides in the Lake Magdalene is
below 10 parts per million? (Assume Sweetwater Creek
contains no pesticides and the volume of Lake Magdalene
stays constant.) Ans.: