Ch 6.

3: Step Functions
Some of the most interesting elementary applications of the
Laplace Transform method occur in the solution of linear
equations with discontinuous or impulsive forcing functions.
In this section, we will assume that all functions considered
are piecewise continuous and of exponential order, so that
their Laplace Transforms all exist, for s large enough.
Step Function definition
Let c  0. The unit step function, or Heaviside function, is
defined by

0, t  c
uc (t )  
1, t  c

A negative step can be represented by

1, t  c
y (t )  1  uc (t )  
0, t  c
Example 1
Sketch the graph of
h(t )  u (t )  u2 (t ), t  0

Solution: Recall that uc(t) is defined by

0, t  c
uc (t )  
1, t  c
Thus
0, 0  t  

h(t )  1,   t  2
0 2  t  


and hence the graph of h(t) is a rectangular pulse.

Laplace Transform of Step Function
The Laplace Transform of uc(t) is
 
Luc (t )   e uc (t )dt   e  st dt
 st
0 c

b  1  st b

 lim   st
e dt  lim   e 
b  c b
 s c

 e bs e cs 
 lim   
b
 s s 
e cs

s
Translated Functions
Given a function f (t) defined for t  0, we will often want to
consider the related function g(t) = uc(t) f (t - c):
 0, tc
g (t )  
 f (t  c), t  c
Thus g represents a translation of f a distance c in the
positive t direction.
In the figure below, the graph of f is given on the left, and
the graph of g on the right.
Example 2
Sketch the graph of
g (t )  f (t  1)u1 (t ), where f (t )  t 2 , t  0.

Solution: Recall that uc(t) is defined by

0, t  c
uc (t )  
1, t  c

Thus
0, 0  t 1
g (t )   2
(t  1) , t 1

and hence the graph of g(t) is a shifted parabola.

Theorem 6.3.1
If F(s) = L{f (t)} exists for s > a  0, and if c > 0, then
Luc (t ) f (t  c)  e  cs L f (t )  e  cs F ( s )

Conversely, if f (t) = L-1{F(s)}, then

uc (t ) f (t  c)  L1 e  cs F ( s)

Thus the translation of f (t) a distance c in the positive t

direction corresponds to a multiplication of F(s) by e-cs.
Example 3
Find the Laplace transform of

0, 0  t 1
f (t )   2
(t  1) , t 1

Solution: Note that

f (t )  (t  1) 2 u1 (t )

Thus 2e  s
 2

L f (t )  L u1 (t )(t  1)  e L t  3
s

s

2
Example 4
Find L{ f (t)}, where f is defined by
sin t , 0t  /4
f (t )  
sin t  cos(t   / 4), t   / 4

Note that f (t) = sin(t) + u/4(t) cos(t - /4), and

L f (t )  Lsin t Lu / 4 (t ) cos(t   / 4)
 Lsin t e  s / 4 Lcos t 
1  s / 4 s
 2 e
s 1 s2 1
1  se  s / 4

s2 1
Example 5
Find L-1{F(s)}, where
3  e 7 s
F (s) 
s4
Solution:
 3  1  e 
7 s
1
f (t )  L  4   L  4 
s   s 
1 1  3!  1 1  7 s 3! 
 L  4   L e  4 
2 s  6  s 
1 1
 t 3  u7 (t )t  7 
3

2 6
Theorem 6.3.2
If F(s) = L{f (t)} exists for s > a  0, and if c is a constant,
then
Le ct f (t ) F ( s  c), s  a  c
Conversely, if f (t) = L-1{F(s)}, then
e ct f (t )  L1F ( s  c)

Thus multiplication f (t) by ect results in translating F(s) a

distance c in the positive t direction, and conversely.
Proof Outline:

   
L e f (t )   e e f (t )dt   e ( s c )t f (t )dt  F ( s  c)
ct
0
 st ct
0
Example 4
Find the inverse transform of
s 1
G(s)  2
s  2s  5
To solve, we first complete the square:
G(s) 
s 1

s 1

s  1
s 2  2s  5 s 2  2s  1 4 s  12  4
Since
 s 
f (t )  L1F ( s )  L1  2   cos2t 
s  4
it follows that
L1G ( s )  L1F ( s  1)  e t f (t )  e  t cos2t 