AL-MUSTANSIRYIA UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
MAT. ENG. DEP.

ODE – FIRST ORDER – LINEAR

BY: BALSAM MAHMOOD
FRYAL ADEL
KHEDR MUA’AD
Definition
  •
• The general form of a linear first-order ODE is

• In this equation:
• if (𝑥)=0, it is no longer an differential equation and so (𝑥)
cannot be 0; and
• if (𝑥)=0, it is a variable separated ODE and can easily be solved
by integration, thus in this chapter (𝑥) cannot be 0.
• If 𝑔(𝑥)=0, it is called a Homogenous Equation, and can easily be
solved by separating the variables, thus in this chapter g(𝑥) is
generally not 0. If 𝑔(𝑥)≠0 it is a non-homogenous equation.
Methods of solving
We consider four methods of solving linear differential
equations of first order:
• Using an integrating factor.
• Method of variation of a constant.
• Laplace method.
• Direct method
Integrating factor
 •
This method involve multiplying the
equation
by a function
of integrating factor
Ex1:
Ex2:
Method of Variation of a Constant
This method is similar to the previous approach. First it’s  •
necessary to find the general solution of the homogeneous
equation:

The general solution of the homogeneous equation contains a

constant of integration C. We replace the constant C with a
certain (still unknown) function C(x). By substituting this
solution into the nonhomogeneous differential equation, we can
determine the function C(x).
The described algorithm is called the method of variation of a
constant. Of course, both methods lead to the same solution.
:Ex1  𝑑𝑦
−2 𝑦=0
𝑑𝑥
Ex2:
  𝑑𝑦2
𝑥 + 𝑥𝑦 +2= 0
𝑑𝑥
Laplace method
 Direct method
The most general form is :  •

The solution is:

Y