Chapter IV

Applied Differential Equations

Differential Equations appear frequently in mathematical models that attempt to

describe real-life situations. Many natural laws and hypotheses can be translated via
mathematical language into equations involving derivatives. For example, derivatives
appear in physics as velocities and accelerations, in geometry as slopes, in biology as
rates of growth of populations, in psychology as rates of learning, in chemistry as
reaction rates, in economics as rates of change of the cost of living, and so on…

Modeling with First-Order Differential Equations

We will start this chapter by studying the art and science of modeling first-order
differential equations. We will use the notes in chapter 10 from the following online
book by Kenneth Howell

http://www.math.uah.edu/~howell/DEtext/Part2/Modeling.pdf

Some Examples on Applied Differential Equations

1. Finance

Example 4.1: The sum of 5,000 SR is invested at the rate of 8% per year compounded
continuously. What will the amount be after 25 years?

Solution:

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2. Psychology

Example 4.2: Some Psychologists are interested in studying learning curves. A

learning curve is the graph of a function P(t), which is the performance of someone
dp
learning a skill as a function of time. The derivative dt
represents the rate at which

performance improves. If M is the maximum level of performance of which the

dp
learner is capable, it is reasonable to assume that dt
is proportional to M – P(t). (AT

first the learning is raid. Then the rate of learning decreases). Derive a differential
equation modeling the situation.

Solution:

Example 4.3: Two new workers were hired for an assembly line. Jim processed 25
units during the first hour and 45 units during the second hour. Mark processed 35
units during the first hour and 50 units during the second hour. Using the model in
example 4.2 and assuming P(0) = 0, estimate the maximum number of units per hour
that each worker is capable of processing.

Solution:

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3. Mechanics

According to Newton's second law of motion, A body experiencing a force F

experiences an acceleration a related to F by F = ma, where m is the mass of the body.
Alternatively, force is equal to the time derivative of momentum. This law is governed
by the following differential equation

dv
F m where v is the velocity.
dt

Example 4.4: In this example we use the English unit system(foot-slug-second).

A body of mass 5 slugs is dropped from a height of 100 ft with zero velocity.
Assuming no air resistance, find an expression for the velocity of the body at time t
and an expression for its position. What is the time required for the body to reach the
ground? (Take g = 32 ft/sec2)

Solution:

Example 4.5: A steel ball of mass 1/16 slug is dropped from a height of 300 ft with no
velocity. As it falls, the ball encounters air resistance equal to 2v, where v is the
velocity of the ball. Find (a) The limiting velocity of the ball and (b) the time required
for the ball to hit the ground.

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Solution:

Example 4.6: In this example we use the Cgs unit system(centimeter-gram-second).

From a great height above the earth, a body of mass m = 2 kilograms is thrown
downward with initial velocity vo = 105 centimeters per second. Air resistance is acting
upon this body, which is equal to twice its speed at any time t. Find the velocity of the
body after 103 seconds. (Take g = 900 cm/sec2)

Solution:

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Medicine

Certain diseases that affect humans can be considered to impart immunity for life. This
is the case for such common diseases as measles, mumps and chicken pox. In trying to
assess the effect of such diseases, we can consider the following notation:

N(t) is the number of the population who have survived to age t.

S(t) is the number of individuals who have not had the disease and are still susceptible
to it at age t.

P is the probability of all susceptible individuals getting the disease (0<p<1)

1/m is the proportion of those who die due to the disease. The following relation can
be derived

dS S dN pS 2
  pS   (1)
dt N dt mN

This equation was first derived by Daniell Bernoulli (in 1760).

Example 4.7: (a) Solve equation (1) to find the number of susceptible at age a in
terms of the number of survivals at age a of the population and the two constants m
and p.

(b) Bernoulli estimated p = 1/8 and m = 8 for the case of small pox in Paris of the
1760s. Find the number of susceptible at age a.

Solution: