Mount AllÇson

UNIVERSITY
Founded 1839

MATHEMATICS 2121
Final Examination. Time: 3 hours. Questions are of equal value.
Family Name: First Name:
Show all relevant steps. Questions 2, 3, 4, 7 and 13 could count as Test 3.
1. Solve the following differential equation.
(2tx2 + 3t2)dt + (2t2x + 4x3)dx = 0

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2. Use Laplace transforms to solve the following initial value problem
xO + 3xN + 2x = t; x(0) = 0, xN(0) = 2. (No other method will count.)

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3. Use Laplace transforms to solve the following initial value problem
xO + 0.4xN + 2x = 1 - H5(t); x(0) = 0, xN(0) = 0. (No other method will count.)

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4. Use Variation of Parameters to solve the following differential equation
xO - 2xN + x = et'(2t). (No other method will count.)

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5. Show that the graph of any solution of the equation
xO + 2axN + a2x = 0, a > 0
cannot cross the t-axis more than once. Hint: Find the general solution and assume,
by way of contradiction, that there are two crossings.

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6. Suppose that x(t) = t3 is a solution to the equation xO + 2xN + 2x = q(t). What is
q(t)? With this q(t), find the general solution to the equation
xO + 2xN + 2x = q(t).

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7. Consider the equation
xN = x3 - 3x2 + 2x.
Sketch the phase line. Solve the equation and sketch the graphs of some solutions
including at least one solution with values in each interval above, below and between
the critical points. Identify the critical points as stable or unstable.

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8. Suppose that a body moves through a resisting medium with resistance
proportional to its velocity v, so that its movement is governed by the equation vN = -
kv, k a positive constant. Find its velocity and position at time t. Note: If x(t) is the
position, then xN(t) = v(t). Use v0 and x0 for the velocity and position at time t = 0.
Conclude that the body travels only a finite distance and find that distance. i.e. find
the limit of x(t) as t approaches infinity.

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9. For which values of the constant p does the equation xO + pxN + 12x = 0 have only
trigonometric functions for solutions? Solve the equation using those values of p.

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10. Solve the equation
t2xO - 5txN + 9x =0, t > 0 .

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11. Note that x1(t) = t is a solution Legendre’s equation of order 1,
(1 - t2)xO - 2txN + 2x = 0, -1 < t <1.
Use reduction of order to find a second linearly independent solution. (No other
method will count.)

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12. A bowl of French onion soup cooling in air at 15oC was initially boiling at 100oC
and cooled 20o during the first 40 minutes. How much will it cool during the next 20
minutes? Assume Newton’s Law of Cooling.

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13. A tank initially contains 5 lbs of salt in 1000 gallons of water. For t > 0 pure
water is pumped into the tank at the rate of 2 gallons per minute; the perfectly stirred
mixture is pumped out at the same rate. Derive a formula for the concentration of
salt in the tank at any time. (Concentration equals pounds of salt divided by gallons
of water at time t.)

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