Boyce & DiPrima ODEs 10e: Section 3.

5 - Problem 16 Page 1 of 2

Problem 16
In each of Problems 15 through 20, find the solution of the given initial value problem.

y 00 + 4y = t2 + 3et , y(0) = 0, y 0 (0) = 2

Solution

Because this ODE is linear, the general solution can be expressed as a sum of the complementary
solution yc (t) and the particular solution yp (t).

y(t) = yc (t) + yp (t)

The complementary solution satisfies the associated homogeneous equation.

yc00 + 4yc = 0 (1)

This is a homogeneous ODE with constant coefficients, so the solution is of the form yc = ert .

yc = ert → yc0 = rert → yc00 = r2 ert

Substitute these expressions into the ODE.

r2 ert + 4(ert ) = 0

Divide both sides by ert .

r2 + 4 = 0
r = {−2i, 2i}
Two solutions to equation (1) are then yc = e−2it and yc = e2it . By the principle of superposition,
the general solution is a linear combination of these two.

yc (t) = C1 e−2it + C2 e2it

= C1 [cos(−2t) + i sin(−2t)] + C2 [cos(2t) + i sin(2t)]
= C1 [cos(2t) − i sin(2t)] + C2 [cos(2t) + i sin(2t)]
= C1 cos 2t − iC1 sin 2t + C2 cos 2t + iC2 sin 2t
= (C1 + C2 ) cos 2t + (−iC1 + iC2 ) sin 2t
= C3 cos 2t + C4 sin 2t

On the other hand, the particular solution satisfies

yp00 + 4yp = t2 + 3et .

The right side has two terms. For the first one, we will include A + Bt + Ct2 , a polynomial that
ends at the highest power of t, in the trial solution. For the second one, we will include Det . The
trial solution is thus yp (t) = A + Bt + Ct2 + Det . Substitute this into the ODE to determine A,
B, C, and D.
(A + Bt + Ct2 + Det )00 + 4(A + Bt + Ct2 + Det ) = t2 + 3et
(B + 2Ct + Det )0 + 4(A + Bt + Ct2 + Det ) = t2 + 3et
(2C + Det ) + 4(A + Bt + Ct2 + Det ) = t2 + 3et

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Boyce & DiPrima ODEs 10e: Section 3.5 - Problem 16 Page 2 of 2

(2C + 4A) + (4B)t + (4C)t2 + (D + 4D)et = t2 + 3et

For this equation to be true, A, B, C, and D must satisfy the following system of equations.

2C + 4A = 0
4B = 0
4C = 1
D + 4D = 3

Solving it yields A = −1/8, B = 0, C = 1/4, and D = 3/5, which means

1 1 3
yp (t) = − + t2 + et .
8 4 5
The general solution is then
1 1 2 3 t
y(t) = C3 cos 2t + C4 sin 2t − + t + e.
8 4 5
Take a derivative of it with respect to t.
1 3
y 0 (t) = −2C3 sin 2t + 2C4 cos 2t + t + et
2 5
Apply the initial conditions now to determine C3 and C4 .
1 3
y(0) = C3 − + =0
8 5
3
y 0 (0) = 2C4 + = 2
5
Solving this system of equations yields C3 = −19/40 and C4 = 7/10. Therefore,
19 7 1 1 3
y(t) = − cos 2t + sin 2t − + t2 + et .
40 10 8 4 5

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