CLASS NOTES/ Differential

GUIDE PRACTICE Equations

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CHA AP CALCULUS AB HIGH TECH HIGH SCHOOL MR. IATESTA

2 Topic: 7.1 Modeling Situations with Differential

Equations

Learning Objective FUN-7.A: Interpret verbal statements of problems as differential equations

involving a derivative expression.
change in context.
over an interval.
This unit contains one of the most
animportant
interval. applications of calculus – differential equations.
A differential equation in x and y is an equation that involves x, y, and the derivatives of y.
A solution to a differential equation is a function that satisfies the differential equation when the function
and its derivatives are substituted into the equation. A solution to a differential equation could be one
function (singular solution) or a set of functions (general solution).

Notation
Examples of Differential Equations
,- . ,.
" ## + 2" # = 3" ( ## (* ) + 2( # (* ) = 3((*) ,/ -
+ 2 ,/ = 3"

Example 1: A particle moves along a straight line. Its velocity, v, is inversely proportional to the square
of the distance, !, it has traveled. Which equation describes this relationship?

k k dv k dv k
(A) v(t ) = (B) v(t ) = (C) = (D) =
t2 s2 dt t 2 dt s 2

Recall…
Direct variation occurs when a situation gives rise to a linear function ( (* ) = 0* or " = 0*, where
0 is the variation constant or constant of proportionality. We can say, “y varies directly as x” or that
“y is directly proportional to x.”
1 1
Inverse variation occurs when a situation gives rise to a function ((* ) = / or " = /, where 0 is the
constant of proportionality. We can say, “y varies inversely as x” or “y is inversely proportional to
x.”

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Example 2: A puppy gains weight, w, at a rate approximately inversely
proportional to its age, t, in months. Write an equation that
describes this relationship.

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Examples 1 & 2

Example 3: The learning rate for a skill, S, is proportional to the difference between the maximum
potential for learning that skill, 2, and the amount of that skill already learned, 3.
Write an equation that describes this relationship.

Example 4: An IV drip administers medication to a patient’s bloodstream at a rate of 3 cubic

centimeters per hour. At the same time, the patient’s organs remove the medication from
the patient’s bloodstream at a rate proportional to the current volume V of medication in the
bloodstream.
Which equation describes this relationship?

dV dV dV dV
(A) = 3 ! kV (B) = !3kV (C) = k ! 3v (D) = 3x ! V
dt dt dt dt

Example 5: A chemical is diluted out of a tank by pumping pure water into the tank and pumping the
existing solution out of it, so the volume at any time t is 20 + 2t .
The amount z of chemical in the tank decreases at a rate proportional to z and inversely
proportional to the volume of solution in the tank.
Which equation describes this relationship?

dz kz dz 1
(A) =! (B) = kz !
dt 20 + 2t dt 20 + 2t
dz 1 dz k (20 + 2t )
(C) = k (20 + 2t ) ! (D) =! Scan the QR
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Examples 3 - 5
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 FUN AP CALCULUS AB HIGH TECH HIGH SCHOOL MR. IATESTA

3 Topic: 7.2 Verifying Solutions for Differential

Equations

Learning Objective FUN-7.B: Verify solutions to differential equations.

Recall, a function y = f ( x) is called a solution of a differential equation if the equation is satisfied when y
and its derivatives are replaced by f ( x) and its derivatives. When at all possible, we strive to solve a
differential equation by writing y all by itself.
Example 1: Verifying Solutions to Differential Equations.
Determine whether the given function is a solution of the differential equation f !!( x) " f ( x) = 0 .

a. f ( x) = sin x b. f ( x) = 4e! x c. f ( x) = Ce x

Example 2:
dy 4 y
Determine whether the given function is a solution of the differential equation dx = x .

a. y = 4 x b. y = x 4

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Example 3:
For what values of k, if any, is y = e2 x + ke!3 x a solution to the differential equation 4 y ! y"" = 10e!3 x ?
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(A) !2 (B) (C) 10 (D) There is no such value of k
3

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Example 3
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FUN AP CALCULUS AB HIGH TECH HIGH SCHOOL MR. IATESTA

2 Topic: 7.3 Sketching Slope Fields

4 Topic: 7.4 Reasoning Using Slope Fields

Learning Objective FUN-7.C: Estimate solutions to differential equations.

Learning Objective FUN-7.C: Estimate solutions to differential equations.

Slope Fields
In a later lesson, we will learn ways to solve a differential equation analytically. However,
doing so can be difficult or sometimes impossible. A graphical approach to solve a
differential equation is by creating slope fields, which show the general shape of all solutions
to a differential equation.
Consider a differential equation y! = F ( x, y ) in terms of x and y. For every point ( x, y ) in its Scan the QR
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domain, y! determines the slope of the solution function at that point. If you draw a short watch a video
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line segment with the slope indicated at each point on y! , the slope field (direction field) Example 1

will show the general shape of all the solution functions to that differential equation.
dy ! x
Example 1: Consider the following differential equation = . 2.0

dx 2 y
1.0
a. Sketch a slope field of the differential equation on the coordinate
plane.
!2.0 !1.0 1.0 2.0

b. Sketch a possible solution curve to the differential equation that !1.0

passes through (0,1) on the coordinate plane to the right.

!2.0

Example 2:
Shown to the right is a slope field for which of the following
differential equations?
dy
(A) = x+ y
dx
dy
(B) = x! y
dx
dy
(C) = !x + y
dx
dy
(D) = x2 ! y
dx

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Example 3:
The graph to the right shows a slope field for the function
y = f ( x) . If the initial condition is (0,6), what is the range of
the solution curve y = f ( x) for x ! 0 ?

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Example 4:
What is the general solution to the differential equation that
generated the slope field to the right?
(A) x = cos y + C

(B) y = ! cos x + C

(C) y = cos x + C

(D) y = ! sin x + C

(E) y = sin x + C

Example 5
dy
Consider the differential equation = x 2 ( y ! 1) . Describe all points in the xy-plane for which the slopes
dx
are positive.

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Examples 4 & 5

Special thanks to Shannon and Samuel Cozzens from West Aurora and East Aurora High Schools, Illinois for their
contributions to this Guided Practice for Topics 7.1-7.5

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FUN AP CALCULUS AB HIGH TECH HIGH SCHOOL MR. IATESTA

1 Topics: 7.6 Finding General Solutions Using

Separation of Variables

1 Topics: 7.7 Finding Particular Solutions Using Initial

Conditions and Separation of Variables

Learning Objective FUN-7.D: Determine general solutions to differential equations.

Learning Objective FUN-7.E: over an interval.

Determine particular solutions to differential equations.
an interval.

Separating Variables
Up until now, we have only been able to solve two types of differential equations analytically.

,.
! # = $(&) or ,/
= $(&) AND ! ## = $(&)

In this section we will now solve a more general type of differential equation. The strategy we will use is
rewriting the equation so that each variable occurs on only one side of the equation. This strategy is called
separation of variables.
2x
Example 1: Solve the differential equation y! = .
y

Original Differential Equation Rewritten with Variables Separated

dy
x2 + 3 y =0 3ydy = ! x2 dx
dx
(sin x) y! = cos x dy = cot xdx

xy! 1 2
=2 dy = dx
ey +1 e +1
y
x

dy 4 x3
Example 2: Solve the differential equation: = .
dx cos y

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Examples 1 & 2
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Finding Particular Solutions
dy
Example 3: Given the differential equation ( x 2 + 4) = xy , find the particular solution determined by the
dx
initial condition y = 2 when x = !3 .

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Example 4: Given the initial condition y (0) = 1, find the particular solution of the equation
2
xydx + e! x ( y 2 ! 1)dy = 0 .

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Example 4

y
Example 5: Find the equation of the curve that passes through the point (1,3) and has a slope of at any
x2
point ( x, y ) . Be sure to state the domain of your solution equation.

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Example 5

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 FUN AP CALCULUS AB HIGH TECH HIGH SCHOOL MR. IATESTA

4 Topic: 7.8 Exponential Models with Differential

Equations

Learning Objective FUN-7.F: Interpret the meaning of a differential equation and its variables in
context.
Learning Objective FUN-7.G: Determine general and particular solutions for problems involving
differential equations in context.

Theorem
Often times, physical phenomenaovercan
an be described by a differential equation. For example, problems
interval.
involving radioactive decay, population growth, and Newton’s Law of Cooling can be formulated in terms
an interval.
of an equation that contains a derivative (or rate of change).

Growth and Decay

In many applications, the rate of change of the variable y is directly proportional to the value of y. If y is a
function of time t, the proportion can be written as follows:
!"
= #"
!$

Rate of change of y is proportional to y

The general solution of this differential equation is given in the following theorem.

Exponential Growth and Decay Model Theorem

If y is a differentiable function of t such that ! > !""#$%""! = "! & for some constant k, then

# = $%!"
C is the initial value of y, and k is the proportionality constant. Exponential growth occurs when
! > ! , and exponential decay occurs when ! < ! .

Proof of the Exponential Growth and Decay Model Theorem

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Example 1: The rate of change of y is proportional to y. When t = 0, y = 2. When t = 2, y = 4 . What is
the value of y when t = 3 ? '
y

&

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Example 1
!

! " # $

Applications of Growth and Decay

Half-Lives
You may recall this topic in previous math or science courses. We will take a slightly different approach
with these problems now that we have a formal Growth/Decay Model with which to work. We work on the
assumption that the rate of decay is proportional to the amount of the material.

The half-lives of some common radioactive isotopes are as follows:

Uranium (236U) 4,510,000,000 years Plutonium (239P) 24,360 years
Carbon (14C) 5730 years Caesium (137Cs) 30 years
Einsteinium (254Es) 270 days Nobelium (257No) 23 seconds

Radioactivity in Chernobyl, U.S.S.R.

Example 2: Suppose that 15 grams of the caesium isotope Cs-137
that was released during the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident and
absorbed into the groundwater. How long will it take for the 15
grams to decay to 1 gram and become safer to drink?

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Example 2
Fruit Fly Population
Example 3: An absent-minded graduate student at a university is studying
a population of fruit flies in a biology lab. She works under the premise that
this experimental population of fruit flies increases according to the law of
exponential growth. She counts 100 flies after the second day of the
experiment and 300 flies after the fourth day, however, she forgot to record
the number of fruit-flies she initially had at the beginning of the experiment.
Approximately how many flies were in the original population? Round to
the nearest fly.

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Example 3

Advertising Problem
Example 4: Four months after it stops advertising, a manufacturing company notices that its sales have
dropped from 100,000 units per month to 80,000 units per month. If the sales follow an exponential pattern
of decline, what will they be, to the nearest unit, after another 2 months?

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Example 4

Newton’s Law of Cooling

Newton’s Law of Cooling states that the rate of change in the temperature of an object is
proportional to the difference between the object’s temperature and the temperature of the
surrounding medium.
In other words,
dTo
= k ! (To " TE )
dt
where To represents the temperature of the object and TE represents the temperature of the
surrounding environment.

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Note: Newton’s Law of Cooling isn’t specifically tested on the AP Calculus Exam, although models that
closely resemble its form are sometimes tested.
Example 5: The world famous pastry chef, Bernie D. Rolz removes
a completely baked cake from an oven and places it upon a cooling
rack in a room whose temperature is kept at a constant 60 ! F. Using
a cooking thermometer, he determines the cake cools from 100 ! F to
90 ! F in 10 minutes. The icing that is to be used for the cake cannot
be applied until the cake’s temperature reaches 80 ! F. How much
longer must Bernie wait to ice the cake?

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Example 5

Another Type of Growth Model

Example 6: Fish are being introduced into a man-made lake. The change in the rate of fish, F, with
respect to time, t, is directly proportional to 900 ! F , where t is measured in years. When t = 0 , there are
400 fish in the lake and 3 years later, there are 600 fish in the lake.
a. Write and solve the differential equation that describes this situation.

b. Find the fish population in another 3 years.

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t !"
Example 6
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