Modules in

DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

SESSION TOPIC 4.2: Applications of First -Order DEs: Growth and Decay Problems

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the discussion, the student should be able to:
1. solve problems involving growth and decay

KEY TERMS
first-order exponential growth exponential decay half-life
differential equation

CORE CONTENT

Growth and Decay Problems

Let 𝑥(𝑡) be the amount of quantity (e.g. population, substance) present at any time 𝑡, and that is either
growing (increasing) or decaying (decreasing).
𝑑𝑥
If we assume that 𝑑𝑡 = time rate of change of the amount of quantity, is proportional to the amount
of quantity present, then
𝑑𝑥
= 𝑘𝑥 , where 𝑘 is the constant of proportionality
𝑑𝑡
and assume 𝑥(0) = 𝑥0 (the amount of quantity present at time 0)
Our problem is to find 𝑥(𝑡).
Let us solve this separable DE.
𝑑𝑥
= 𝑘𝑥
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑥
= 𝑘 𝑑𝑡
𝑥
𝑑𝑥
∫𝑥 = 𝑘 ∫ 𝑑𝑡
𝑙𝑛 𝑥 = 𝑘 𝑡 + 𝑐1
𝑒 𝑙𝑛𝑥 = 𝑒 𝑘𝑡+𝑐1
𝑥 = 𝑒 𝑘𝑡 ∙ 𝑒 𝑐1
𝑥 = 𝑐𝑒 𝑘𝑡 let 𝑐 = 𝑒 𝑐1
Using the initial condition 𝑥(0) = 𝑥0 , that is, when 𝑡 = 0 , 𝑥 = 𝑥0 , we obtain
𝑥 = 𝑐𝑒 𝑘𝑡
𝑥0 = 𝑐𝑒 𝑘(0)
𝑐 = 𝑥0
Thus, we have

𝑥(𝑡) = 𝑥0 𝑒 𝑘𝑡 𝑘 > 0 (growth), 𝑘 < 0 (decay)

Example 1: A bacteria culture is known to grow at a rate proportional to the number of bacteria
present in the culture. Initially, there were 300 bacteria, and after 2 hours, 700 bacteria were
observed in the culture.
(a) Find the approximate number of bacteria in the culture at any time 𝑡.
(b) What is the approximate number of bacteria present in the culture after 12 hours?
(c) How long will it take for the bacteria to increase to 5,000?

Solution:
(a) We wish to find 𝑥(𝑡).
𝑡 0 2 12 ?
We are given that 𝑥(0) = 𝑥0 = 300. So we have 𝑥(𝑡) = 300𝑒 𝑘𝑡 . 𝑥 300 700 ? 5,000
We have to find 𝑘.
When 𝑡 = 2, 𝑥 = 700. Substituting these values, we get the equation
700 = 300𝑒 𝑘(2)
700
𝑒 2𝑘 = 300 dividing both sides by 300
7
𝑒 2𝑘 = 3
7
2𝑘 = 𝑙𝑛 (3) taking 𝑙𝑛 of both sides
7
𝑙𝑛( )
3
𝑘= 2
7
𝑙𝑛( )
3 𝑡
Thus, the approximate number of bacteria at any time 𝑡 is 𝑥(𝑡) = 300𝑒 2 .

(b) The approximate number of bacteria present in the culture at 𝑡 = 12 hrs is

7
𝑙𝑛( )
3 (12)
𝑥(12) = 300𝑒 2
7
𝑥(12) = 300𝑒 6 𝑙𝑛(3)
𝑥(12) ≈ 48,415 bacteria

(c) We want to find 𝑡 when 𝑥 = 5,000.

7
𝑙𝑛( )
3 𝑡
5000 = 300𝑒 2
7
𝑙𝑛( )
50 3 𝑡

3
=𝑒 2 dividing both sides by 300
7
50 𝑙𝑛( )
3
𝑙𝑛 ( 3 ) = 𝑡 taking 𝑙𝑛 of each side
2
50 7
2 𝑙𝑛( ) 𝑙𝑛( )
3 3
𝑡= 7 dividing both sides by
𝑙𝑛( ) 2
3
𝑡 ≈ 6.64 ℎ𝑟𝑠
Example 2: The rate of increase of the population of a certain city is proportional to the population.
If the population in 1950 was 50,000 and in 1980 it was 75,000, what will be the population in the
year 2030?
Solution:
Let 𝑥(𝑡) = population of the city at time 𝑡
We are given 𝑥(0) = 𝑥0 = 50,000. So
𝑡 0 30 80
𝑥(𝑡) = 50,000𝑒 𝑘𝑡 𝑥 50,000 75,000 ?

Find 𝑘. When 𝑡 = 30, 𝑥 = 75,000,

75,000 = 50,000𝑒 30𝑘
3
𝑒 30𝑘 = 2
3
30𝑘 = 𝑙𝑛 (2)
3
𝑙𝑛( )
2
𝑘= 30
3
𝑙𝑛( )
2 𝑡
The population at any time t is 𝑥(𝑡) = 50,000𝑒 . 30

Thus, in the year 2030 (t=80), the city’s population is

3 3
𝑙𝑛( ) 8 𝑙𝑛( )
2 (80) 2
𝑥(80) = 50,000𝑒 30 = 50,000𝑒 3 ≈ 147,417 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒

Example 3: The rate of decay of radium is proportional to the amount present at any time.
If 60 mg of radium are present now and its half-life is 1690 years, how much radium will be
present 100 years from now?
(The half-life of a substance is the time required for half of it to decay/decompose.)

Solution:
Let 𝑥(𝑡) = amount (in mg) of radium present at any time 𝑡
Since 𝑥(0) = 𝑥0 = 60 , we have
𝑥(𝑡) = 60𝑒 𝑘𝑡
𝑡 0 1690 100
and because 𝑥 = 30 when 𝑡 = 1690, we get 𝑥 60 30 ?
𝑥(𝑡) = 60𝑒 𝑘𝑡
30 = 60𝑒 1690𝑘
1
𝑒 1690𝑘 = 2
1
1690𝑘 = 𝑙𝑛 (2)
1
𝑙𝑛( )
2
𝑘= 1690
1
𝑙𝑛( )
2 𝑡
The amount of radium present at time t is 𝑥(𝑡) = 60𝑒 . 1690

Hence, the amount of radium present 100 years from now is

1 1
𝑙𝑛( ) 10𝑙𝑛( )
2 (100) 2
𝑥(100) = 60𝑒 1690 = 60𝑒 169 ≈ 57.59 𝑚𝑔
 IN-TEXT ACTIVITY
1. Additional Lecture

REFERENCES

Rainville & Bedient (2014). Elementary Differential Equations, 8th Edition. Pearson Education
Zill & Wright (2013). Succeeding with Differential Equations, 8th Edition.Singapore: Cengage Learning
 SELF-ASSESSMENT

Problem Set 6
(Growth and Decay Problems)

Name: ________________ Score: ______________

Section: ________________ Date: ______________

Solve the following problems. Show complete solutions and box your final answers. (10 pts each)

1. A slow economy caused a company’s annual revenues to drop from $530,000 in 2018 to
$386,000 in 2020. If the revenue is following an exponential pattern of decline, what is the
expected revenue in 2022?

2. In a certain culture the rate of growth of bacteria is proportional the amount present. If 1,000
bacteria are present initially and the amount doubles in 12 minutes, how long will it take before
there will be 1,000,000 bacteria present?

3. Suppose a population of insects increases according to the law of exponential growth. There were
130 insects after the 3rd day of the experiment and 380 insects after the 7th day. Approximately
how many insects were in the original population?