USING THE DESOLVE COMMAND

HP49/50 Series March, 2011 Bill Markwick

Here are some results I foun while workin! with "#$s% #i I sta& u' all ni!ht creatin! e(uations that
woul come out nicel&) *ell, no + I swi'e them from a te,t-ook% [1]
.he #$S"/0$ comman is for sol1in! ifferential e(uations% #es'ite the 23. Hel' statement
im'l&in! that it onl& oes 4some first5orer e(uations4, it6s actuall& much more 1ersatile%
SETTING UP:
+ .he calculator shoul -e in 7eal moe, $,act moe, an raian moe%
+ 8la! 9 shoul -e clear for s&m-olic moe%
+ .o o this all at once, run CASCFG%
3lso, num-ers shoul -e inte!ers + see Using Initial Conditions -elow%
:ote that runnin! #$S"/0$ creates a 1aria-le calle "#$.;P$ in the current ir% It contains a strin!
showin! the t&'e of "#$ &ou <ust sol1e, such as 41st orer linear4% .he usefulness of this isn6t
o-1ious%
#$S"/0$ also writes the workin! 1aria-le into 0= 5 it a''ears in the heaer% 23S28> will reset it to
the efault 6=6%
STARTING:
7un 23S28> ?23. or t&'e in@
Sol1eA
dy
dx
+2 xy=5 x
In #$S"/0$ s&nta,, &/, ?or &6@ is written as d1Y(X) ?or 1&?,@ + &ou can use lower case if &ou
want@% .he e(uation !oes on /e1el 2 an /e1el 1 !ets the 1aria-le of interest + 'Y(X)'%
;ou can also use an& other 1aria-les if &ou kee' to the format + eg, the te,t-ook 3/B is the same as
the #$S"/0$ 13?B@%
#$S"/0$ inte!rates -oth sies of the e(uation, where & is the 1aria-le we want an , -ecomes the
1aria-le of inte!ration% 8or instance, in sol1in! &6 B ,, #$S"/0$ 'erforms

dy
dx
=

x dx
.he te,t-ook result woul -e
y=
x
2
2
+C.
;ou on6t ha1e to 'ut the e(uation in an& 'articular orer + #$S"/0$ takes care of the etails%
8inall&, when &ou6re enterin! an e(uation from a -ook, all occurrences of ; ?or &@ shoul a''ear as
;?=@ ?or &?,@@% ; -& itself will -e taken as a se'arate 1aria-le an will cause errors%
.he calculator format of the e,am'leA
'd1Y(X)+2*X*Y(X)=5*X'
'Y(X)'

#$S"/0$ will return {'Y(X)=(5*EXP(X^2)/2+cC0)/(1/EXP(X^2))'}
.here are se1eral thin!s to noteA it6s in a list, it6s an e(uation of the form 6&?,@Be,'ression6, an it
contains C!%
.he list can -e remo1e -& 'ressin! $03/% 3 secon $03/ will attem't to sim'lif& ?SIMP/I8; has
the same effect@% .his !i1es
'Y(X)=(5*EXP(X^2)+2*cC0)/(2*EXP(X^2))'
.he c20 is the ar-itrar& constant, usuall& <ust 2 in te,t-ooks% #$S"/0$ is the onl& one of the
inte!rators to insert it for &ou% If there6s more than one, the&6ll -e in the orer c20, c21, etc%
.he 1arious sim'lif&in! commans all lea1e the e,'ression as shown, more or less% Howe1er, if &ou
eit out the ;?=@B, ALG-PARTFRAC will return
5/ 2+
cC0
e
X
2
.he te,t-ook answer is 5/ 2+Ce
X
2
% 2lose enou!h%
If it won6t sim'lif&, &ou can tr& 3''ro,imate moe, thou!h it ma& !i1e lar!e reals that make the
e,'ression har to rea% Point of interestA when &ou6re settin! u' the e(uation, &ou can mo1e terms
aroun all &ou want, an s'aces are allowe% 8or e,am'le, the e(uation coul -eA
'd1Y(X) + 2*X*Y(X) - 5*X = 0'
'Y(X)'
S'aces will -e remo1e on the stack% .he result is the same%
USEFU" T##"S
If &ou 'lan on usin! #$S"/0$ a lot, it6s worth assi!nin! the comman to a ke&% I use the C ke&, which
is C2%1%
<< DE!L"E ## $2%1 A&

I also ha1e a 1ar calle #$EF#R%, which contains
{'d1Y(X)=0' 'Y(X)'}

It6s eas& to eit that into a new e(uation% Mani'ulatin! a result is easier if &ou remo1e the ;?=@B that
#$S"/0$ uses in answers% .his 'ro!ram oes thatA
<< E"AL E'( )AP DR!P ##
It6s store as SI%P$E% It remo1es the list an the ;?=@B% ;ou can a another $03/ or SIMP/I8;
at the en for sim'lif&in! if &ou want, -ut it6s usuall& worth checkin! the full answer first% I61e use
SIMP#$ in the e,am'les -elow + if &ou on6t use it, it means manuall& eitin! to some e,tent%
3 secon 'oint of interestA if &ou 'ut the answer into the $D* with the own5arrow cursor, &ou can
hi!hli!ht certain sections of it an 'ress SIMP% It mi!ht -e faster than a manual eit%
GETTING STUC&:
.his will ha''en% .he calculator6s inte!ration is not 'erfect, an some inte!rals ha1e no close form%
3n e,am'le of the latter is in the HP manualsA
'd1*(+)++^2**(+)=5'

#$S"/0$ returns {,*(+) =(5*-&T(EXP(+.^///)0+.0+)+cC0)*1/EXP(+^///)}1 }
.he INT an the 't tell &ou that the calculator isn6t !oin! to take it an& further -ecause eE,E9/9 has no
close form% .he HP manuals ha1e more to sa& a-out con1ertin! this to a form that can -e sol1e
numericall&%
.here6s also the 'ro-lem that the answer ma& not look e1en faintl& like the te,t-ook result% 3s the
te,t-ook authors 'oint out, 43 ifferential e(uation can ha1e infinitel& man& 'articular solutions%4 .his
can mean infinitel& more trou-le for &ou% A5@
USING INITIA" C#N$ITI#NS
3 nice feature of #$S"/0$ is the a-ilit& to acce't initial conitions alon! with the e(uation% .he
e(uation an conitions are enclose in an arra&% :um-ers shoul -e inte!ers ?con1ert an& ecimals
first with C!&"ERT-RE)R-TE-&XT- (')%
Sol1e
yx
dy
dx
+1=4,
4
for the initial conition that &B1/9 when ,B1%
.he initial conitions will -e written 'Y(1)=1//'%
2'Y(X)-X*d1Y(X)+1=3*X^3' 'Y(1)=1//'4 'Y(X)'
#$S"/0$ returns {'Y(X)=(-(3//*X^/--1/X+5//)*X'
SIMP#$ returns '(-(3//*X^/--1/X)+5//)*X'
$03/ 'rouces -((3*X^3-5*X+/)//)'
.he ()*+* comman ?the 1ertical line, 7S5.""/@ makes it eas& to sol1e for an& 1alue of =, sa&, 1%5A
5??4F=E45GF=H9@/9@6 I= 1%5J K
(
:LM
(
59%C5
"r &ou can use 'X=1%5' 67T for the same result%
SEPARATE$ $IFFERENTIA"S
#$ e(uations are often !i1en in the form

(2&M,
2
) dx+xdy=0
.here6s no irect wa& to enter this into #$S"/0$, -ut &ou can rewrite it to !et &/, -& i1iin!
throu!h -& ,A
2&M,
2
+x
dy
dx
=0
In #$S"/0$A 'X*d1Y(X)+2*Y(X)-8*X^2=0'
'Y(X)'
.his !i1es '(//2*X^3+cC0)*(1/X^2)' after SIMP#$%
Sim'lif&in! commans return onl& '(2*cC0+/*X^3)/(2*X^2)'0 -ut P37.8732 comes to the
rescue a!ain, returnin! //2*X^2 + cC0/X^20
which a!rees with the te,t-ook
9
2
X
2
+
C
X
2
A SEC#N$,#R$ER E-UATI#N
#$S"/0$ will sol1e secon5e!ree ?an hi!her@ e(uations% 3 sim'le e,am'leA
Sol1e &66 5 9&6 B 0, also written as
d
2
y
dx
2
9
dy
dx
=0%
In #$S"/0$, the secon eri1ati1e, &66, -ecomes d1d1Y(X)%

'd1d1Y(X)-/*d1Y(X)=0'
'Y(X)'

3fter sim'lif&in!, the result isA
'(cC1*EXP(/*X)+(/*cC0-cC1))//'
C2e
9=
+9C1C2
9
is the te,t-ook 1ersion%
AN APP: NE(T#N'S "A( #F C##"ING
In the 1M00s, Isaac :ewton 'ointe out ?alon! with e1er&thin! else worth knowin!, a''arentl& [.]@ that
an o-<ect cools at a rate 'ro'ortional to the ifference -etween the o-<ect6s tem'erature an the am-ient
tem'erature%
3 thermometer reain! C5 e!rees 8 is 'lace in an am-ient tem'erature of 40 e!rees% 3fter 5
minutes, the reain! is M0 e!rees% 8in the reain! after C minutes%
.he e(uation is
dT
dt
=k(T Ta)
where
. B o-<ect tem'
.a B am-ient tem', in this case alwa&s 40
t B time
k is a constant allowin! for conitions an must -e etermine -& measurements
.he -&5han solution for this has a lot of ste's, -ut #$S"/0$6s initial conitions feature shortens it
somewhat% *e know that .BC5 when tB0, or .?0@BC5, so that !oes into the arra& after the e(uationA
2'd1T(.)=9*(T(.)-30)' 'T(0)=$5'4
'T(.)'
.his returns, after SIMP#$ an $03/A
695FEXP(.*9)+30' ?the 1alue for ., the o-<ect tem'@
$/0liat* this with $:.$7 5 we6ll nee it twice%
*e know that .BM0 when tB5, so we can fin k% $nter M0 an 'ress 1 to make an e(uation,
then enter 6tB56 an the stack shoul showA
695FEXP(.*9)+30'
'/5*EXP(.*9)+30=80'
'.=5'
7un SLBS. to re'lace the t with 5%
$nter 6k6 an 'ress S%S/05S"/0$ ?or IS"/@A
'/5*EXP(.*9)+30'
'9=-(L&($)-2*L&(2))/5'
.he 'resence of k makes the sim'lif&in! commans refuse to !et out of s&m-olic moe, so switch to
A00+o'i2at* moe ?7SH$:.$7@ an 'ress $03/% .he stack shoul show
'EXP(.*9)+30'
'9=-%111:2/15$555'
*e nee to insert k into the e,'ression on /e1 2, an also tBC to !et the final answer% SLBS. can o
-oth with an arra& [3], so enter 6tBC6 ?or 'ress 2M# to retrie1e 6tB56 an eit that@ an then a .% Press
P7>5.;P$5
(
377;% .he stack shoul -eA
'EXP(.*9)+30'
2'9=-%111:2/15$555' '.=$'4
7un SLBS. an $03/ to !et 55%9GGC59C2G2%
If &our thermometer can is'la& trillionths of a e!ree, there &ou !o% "therwise, 5M e!rees shoul o
it%
AN#T4ER APP: C4ARGING A CAPACIT#R
If &ou look in electronic han-ooks for the char!in! of a ca'acitor throu!h a resistor, &ou6ll see this
classic termA
It6s usuall& in an e(uation that !i1es a 1alue with res'ect to current or 1olta!e% .he emonstration
circuit is somethin! like the one -elow, left% .he 'lot at the ri!ht shows the circuit current ecreasin!
as the ca'acitor char!es throu!h 7 from a constant 1olta!e #2 when the switch is close% .he =5a,is
is time%
Howe1er, few -ooks e1er e,'lain where this comes from% 3 i! throu!h some $$ te,ts 'rouce some
e(uations%
3s Mr% Nirchoff 'ointe out, the 1olta!es in the series circuit elements ha1e to e(ual the su''l& 1olta!e
0s, ?or later, Oero, which is what the constant 0s -ecomes after ifferentiatin!@%
0
7
H 0
2
B 0s
Since the current is the same in all 'arts of a series circuit, how it chan!es a''lies to -oth 7 an 2, so
we6 like to use it for our workin! 1aria-le% In the resistor, 0Bi7, so ifferentiatin! throu!hout returns
R
d
dt
i (t )+
dVc(t )
dt
=0
.he secon term is still a 1olta!e an we6 like it in terms of current% .he current in a ca'acitor is
i=C
dV
dt
.o 'ut that in #$S"/0$ format, I61e use u''er5case I -ecause of the on!oin! stru!!le -etween the
en!ineer6s i ?current@ an the calculator6s i ?P51@%

'C*d1"(.)=-'
'"(.)'
.his returns '"(.)=-*./C+cC0'% *e can take c20 as Oero an i!nore it, an since I 1aries with
time t, we can take it as I(t)%
e
t
RC
.he ca'acitor current is now with res'ect to time, so we can irectl& su-stitute for the 1olta!e
eri1ati1e in our e(uationA
R
d
dt
i (t )+
i ( t )
C
=0
*e coul 'ut that strai!ht into #$S"/0$, -ut if we multi'l& throu!h -& 1/R to isolate the eri1ati1e, it
starts to look more familiarA
d
dt
i (t )+
i (t )
RC
=0
In #$S"/0$ formatA
'd1-(.)+-(.)/(R*C)=0'
'-(.)'
"n the stack, in te,t-ook is'la&, this returnsA
I ( t )=cC0
1
e
t
RC
*hich is the same thin! asA
I (t )=cC0e
t
RC
.he constant c20 usuall& re'resents current, so our ne!lecte Vs can return% *hen the switch is first
close, the ca'acitor is em't& an e(ual to a short circuit, so for the first instant the current is <ust Vs/R%
"ur final e,'ression for the current isA
i=
Vs
R
e
t
RC
*hen t is 1er& lar!e with res'ect to RC, eE5t/72 can -e taken as Oero an current sto's flowin!% In
fact, there6s a rule of thum- from thisA the ca'acitor can -e consiere char!e at 572 secons ?72 is
calle the time constant@ % 3t 572, the current is own to 0%00MC times the ma,imum, so the ca'acitor
1olta!e is a-out 99%9Q of ma,imum, ae(uate for most 'ur'oses%
[1] 3n a 1er& !oo te,t-ook it is, too% Technical Calculus, #ale $wan et al, Pearson $ucation,
Prentice Hall, 2002% .here6s a 2005 eition calle Technical athe!atics "ith Calculus, thou!h the
calculus section is a-out the same%
[.] He also wrote millions of useless wors on alchem&% But that6s the wa& it was -ack then%
[3] Lsin! an arra& with SLBS. seems to -e unocumente%