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APPENDIX C.4 Applications of Differential Equations A39

C.4 A P P L I C AT I O N S O F D I F F E R E N T I A L E Q U AT I O N S
Use differential equations to model and solve real-life problems.

EXAMPLE 1 Modeling Advertising Awareness

The new cereal product from Example 3 in Section C.1 is introduced through an
advertising campaign to a population of 1 million potential customers. The rate at
which the population hears about the product is assumed to be proportional to the
number of people who are not yet aware of the product. By the end of 1 year, half
of the population has heard of the product. How many will have heard of it by the
end of 2 years?
SOLUTION Let y be the number (in millions) of people at time t who have heard
of the product. This means that 1  y is the number of people who have not
heard of it, and dydt is the rate at which the population hears about the product.
From the given assumption, you can write the differential equation as shown.
dy

k1  y
dt

Rate of is propor- the difference

change tional to between 1
of y and y.

Using separation of variables or a symbolic integration utility, you can find the
general solution to be
y
1  Cekt. General solution Advertising Awareness
y
To solve for the constants C and k, use the initial conditions. That is, because

Potential customers (in millions)

y
0 when t
0, you can determine that C
1. Similarly, because y
0.5 1.25
y = 1 e 0.693t
when t
1, it follows that 0.5
1  ek, which implies that 1.00
k
ln 2
0.693. 0.75
(2, 0.75)

So, the particular solution is 0.50

(1, 0.50)
y
1 e0.693t. Particular solution 0.25
(0, 0)
This model is shown graphically in Figure A.13. Using the model, you can deter- t
1 2 3 4 5
mine that the number of people who have heard of the product after 2 years is
Time (in years)
y
1  e0.6932

0.75 or 750,000 people. FIGURE A.13
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A40 APPENDIX C Differential Equations

EXAMPLE 2 Modeling a Chemical Reaction

During a chemical reaction, substance A is converted into substance B at a rate

that is proportional to the square of the amount of A. When t
0, 60 grams of A
is present, and after 1 hour t
1, only 10 grams of A remains unconverted.
How much of A is present after 2 hours?
SOLUTION Let y be the unconverted amount of substance A at any time t. From
the given assumption about the conversion rate, you can write the differential
equation as shown.
dy

ky2
dt
Rate of is propor- the square
change tional to of y.
of y

Using separation of variables or a symbolic integration utility, you can find the
general solution to be
1 .
y
General solution
kt  C
To solve for the constants C and k, use the initial conditions. That is, because
1
y
60 when t
0, you can determine that C
 60 . Similarly, because y
10
when t
1, it follows that
1
10

k  160
1
which implies that k
 12. So, the particular solution is
1
Chemical Reaction y
Substitute for k and C.
y 112t  160
60 .
60
(0, 60)
Particular solution
5t  1
Amount (in grams)

50
40 Using the model, you can determine that the unconverted amount of substance A
30 y=
60 after 2 hours is
5t + 1
20 60
(1, 10) y

10 (2, 5.45) 52  1
t
5.45 grams.
1 2 3
Time (in hours) In Figure A.14, note that the chemical conversion is occurring rapidly during the
first hour. Then, as more and more of substance A is converted, the conversion
FIGURE A.14 rate slows down.

STUDY TIP

In Example 2, the rate of conversion was assumed to be proportional to the

square of the unconverted amount. How would the result change if the rate of
conversion were assumed to be proportional to the unconverted amount?
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APPENDIX C.4 Applications of Differential Equations A41

Earlier in the text, you studied two models for population growth: exponen-
tial growth, which assumes that the rate of change of y is proportional to y, and
logistic growth, which assumes that the rate of change of y is proportional to y
and L  y, where L is the population limit.
The next example describes a third type of growth model called a Gompertz
growth model. This model assumes that the rate of change of y is proportional to
y and the natural log of Ly, where L is the population limit.

EXAMPLE 3 Modeling Population Growth

A population of 20 wolves has been introduced into a national park. The forest During the second half of the
service estimates that the maximum population the park can sustain is 200 twentieth century, wolves disap-
wolves. After 3 years, the population is estimated to be 40 wolves. If the popula- peared from most of the middle and
tion follows a Gompertz growth model, how many wolves will there be 10 years northern areas of the United States.
Recently, however, wolf populations
after their introduction?
have been reappearing in several
SOLUTION Let y be the number of wolves at any time t. From the given assump- northern national parks.
tion about the rate of growth of the population, you can write the differential
equation as shown.
dy 200

ky ln
dt y
Rate of is propor- the product the log of
change tional to of y and the ratio of
of y 200 and y.

Using separation of variables or a symbolic integration utility, you can find the
general solution to be
y
200eCe .
k t
General solution

To solve for the constants C and k, use the initial conditions. That is, because
y
20 when t
0, you can determine that
C
ln 10

2.3026.
Population Growth
Similarly, because y
40 when t
3, it follows that y
3k
40
200e2.3026e 200
180
y = 200e 2.3026e
0.1194t
Number of wolves

which implies that k
0.1194. So, the particular solution is 160

140
0.1194t 120
y
200e2.3026e . Particular solution 100 (10, 100)
80
Using the model, you can estimate the wolf population after 10 years to be 60
0.119410 40
y
200e2.3026e 20 (0, 20)
(3, 40)
t

100 wolves. 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

In Figure A.15, note that after 10 years the population has reached about half of Time (in years)
the estimated maximum population. Try checking the growth model to see that it
yields y
20 when t
0 and y
40 when t
3. FIGURE A.15
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A42 APPENDIX C Differential Equations

In genetics, a commonly used hybrid selection model is based on the differ-

ential equation
dy

ky1  ya  by.
dt
In this model, y represents the portion of the population that has a certain char-
acteristic and t represents the time (measured in generations). The numbers a, b,
and k are constants that depend on the genetic characteristic that is being studied.

EXAMPLE 4 Modeling Hybrid Selection

You are studying a population of beetles to determine how quickly characteristic

D will pass from one generation to the next. At the beginning of your study
t
0, you find that half the population has characteristic D. After four genera-
tions t
4, you find that 80% of the population has characteristic D. Use the
hybrid selection model above with a
2 and b
1 to find the percent of the
population that will have characteristic D after 10 generations.
SOLUTION Using a
2 and b
1, the differential equation for the hybrid
selection model is
dy

ky1  y2  y.
dt
Using separation of variables or a symbolic integration utility, you can find the
general solution to be
y2  y

Ce2kt. General solution
1  y2
To solve for the constants C and k, use the initial conditions. That is, because
y
0.5 when t
0, you can determine that C
3. Similarly, because y
0.8
when t
4, it follows that
0.81.2

3e8k
0.22
which implies that
Hybrid Selection 1
y k
ln 8
0.2599.
8
1.0
0.9 So, the particular solution is
Percent of population

0.8
(4, 0.8)
0.7 y2  y
0.6
3e0.5199t. Particular solution
0.5 1  y2
0.4
(0, 0.5) y (2 y)
= 3e 0.5199t
0.3 (1 y) 2 Using the model, you can estimate the percent of the population that will have
0.2 characteristic D after 10 generations to be given by
0.1
t y2  y
2 4 6 8 10 12
3e0.519910.
Time (in generations) 1  y2
Using a symbolic algebra utility, you can solve this equation for y to obtain
FIGURE A.16 y
0.96. The graph of the model is shown in Figure A.16.
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APPENDIX C.4 Applications of Differential Equations A43

EXAMPLE 5 Modeling a Chemical Mixture

A tank contains 40 gallons of a solution composed of 90% water and 10% alcohol. 4 gal/min
A second solution containing half water and half alcohol is added to the tank at
the rate of 4 gallons per minute. At the same time, the tank is being drained at the
rate of 4 gallons per minute, as shown in Figure A.17. Assuming that the solution
is stirred constantly, how much alcohol will be in the tank after 10 minutes?
SOLUTION Let y be the number of gallons of alcohol in the tank at any time t. 4 gal/min
The percent of alcohol in the 40-gallon tank at any time is y40. Moreover,
because 4 gallons of solution is being drained each minute, the rate of change of
y is
FIGURE A.17
dy
dt

4  
y
40
2

Rate of is equal to the plus the amount

change amount of alcohol of alcohol
of y draining out entering.

where 2 represents the number of gallons of alcohol entering each minute in the
50% solution. In standard form, this linear differential equation is
1
y  y
2. Standard form
10
Using an integrating factor or a symbolic integration utility, you can find the gen-
eral solution to be
y
20  Cet10. General solution

Because y
4 when t
0, you can conclude that C
16. So, the particular
solution is
y
20  16et10. Particular solution

Using this model, you can determine that the amount of alcohol in the tank when
t
10 is
y
20  16e1010

14.1 gallons.

TA K E A N O T H E R L O O K

Chemical Mixture
Sketch the particular solution obtained in Example 5. Describe the rate of change of
the amount of alcohol in the tank. Does the amount approach 0 as t increases?
Explain your reasoning.
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A44 APPENDIX C Differential Equations

P R E R E Q U I S I T E The following warm-up exercises involve skills that were covered in earlier sections. You will
R E V I E W C .4 use these skills in the exercise set for this section.

In Exercises 14, use separation of variables to find the general solution of the differential equation.
dy
1.
3x
dx
dy
2. 2y
3
dx
dy
3.
2 xy
dx
dy x  4
4.

dx 4y 3

In Exercises 58, use an integrating factor to solve the first-order linear differential equation.
5. y  2y
4
6. y  2y
e2x
7. y  xy
x
8. xy  2y
x 2

In Exercises 9 and 10, write the equation that models the statement.
9. The rate of change of y with respect to x is proportional to the square of x.
10. The rate of change of x with respect to t is proportional to the difference of x and t.

E X E R C I S E S C .4

In Exercises 16, assume that the rate of change of y is propor- 9. Sales Growth The rate of change in sales S (in thou-
tional to y. Solve the resulting differential equation dydx
ky sands of units) of a new product is proportional to the
and find the particular solution that passes through the points. difference between L and S (in thousands of units) at any
1. 0, 1, 3, 2 time t. When t
0, S
0. Write and solve the differential
equation for this sales model.
2. 0, 4, 1, 6
10. Sales Growth Use the result of Exercise 9 to write S
3. 0, 4, 4, 1 as a function of t if (a) L
100, S
25 when t
2, and
4. 0, 60, 5, 30 (b) L
500, S
50 when t
1.
5. 2, 2, 3, 4
In Exercises 1114, the rate of change of y is proportional to the
6. 1, 4, 2, 1 product of y and the difference of L and y. Solve the resulting
differential equation dydx
kyL  y and find the particular
7. Investment The rate of growth of an investment is pro- solution that passes through the points for the given value of L.
portional to the amount A of the investment at any time t.
An investment of $2000 increases to a value of $2983.65 in 11. L
20; 0, 1, 5, 10
5 years. Find its value after 10 years. 12. L
100; 0, 10, 5, 30
8. Population Growth The rate of change of the population 13. L
5000; 0, 250, 25, 2000
of a city is proportional to the population P at any time t. In 14. L
1000; 0, 100, 4, 750
1998, the population was 400,000, and the constant of pro-
portionality was 0.015. Estimate the population of the city in
the year 2005.
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APPENDIX C.4 Applications of Differential Equations A45

15. Biology At any time t, the rate of growth of the popula- Biology In Exercises 25 and 26, use the hybrid selection model
tion N of deer in a state park is proportional to the product in Example 4 to find the percent of the population that has the
of N and L  N, where L
500 is the maximum number indicated characteristic.
of deer the park can maintain. When t
0, N
100, and 25. You are studying a population of mayflies to determine
when t
4, N
200. Write N as a function of t. how quickly characteristic A will pass from one generation
16. Sales Growth The rate of change in sales S (in thou- to the next. At the start of the study, half the population has
sands of units) of a new product is proportional to the characteristic A. After four generations, 75% of the
product of S and L  S. L (in thousands of units) is the esti- population has characteristic A. Find the percent of the
mated maximum level of sales, and S
10 when t
0. population that will have characteristic A after 10 genera-
Write and solve the differential equation for this sales tions. (Assume a
2 and b
1.)
model. 26. A research team is studying a population of snails to
determine how quickly characteristic B will pass from one
Learning Theory In Exercises 17 and 18, assume that the generation to the next. At the start of the study, 40% of the
rate of change in the proportion P of correct responses after n
snails have characteristic B. After five generations, 80% of
trials is proportional to the product of P and L  P, where L is
the population has characteristic B. Find the percent of the
the limiting proportion of correct responses.
population that will have characteristic B after eight gener-
17. Write and solve the differential equation for this learning ations. (Assume a
2 and b
1.)
theory model.
27. Chemical Reaction In a chemical reaction, a compound
18. Use the solution of Exercise 17 to write P as a function of changes into another compound at a rate proportional to the
n, and then use a graphing utility to graph the solution. unchanged amount, according to the model
(a) L
1.00 dy

ky.
P
0.50 when n
0 dt
P
0.85 when n
4 (a) Solve the differential equation.
(b) L
0.80 (b) If the initial amount of the original compound is 20
grams, and the amount remaining after 1 hour is 16
P
0.25 when n
0
grams, when will 75% of the compound have been
P
0.60 when n
10 changed?
28. Chemical Mixture A 100-gallon tank is full of a solu-
Chemical Reaction In Exercises 19 and 20, use the chemical
tion containing 25 pounds of a concentrate. Starting at time
reaction model in Example 2 to find the amount y as a function
t
0, distilled water is admitted to the tank at the rate
of t, and use a graphing utility to graph the function.
of 5 gallons per minute, and the well-stirred solution is
19. y
45 grams when t
0; y
4 grams when t
2 withdrawn at the same rate.
20. y
75 grams when t
0; y
12 grams when t
1 (a) Find the amount Q of the concentrate in the solution as
a function of t. (Hint: Q  Q20
0)
In Exercises 21 and 22, use the Gompertz growth model
described in Example 3 to find the growth function, and sketch
(b) Find the time when the amount of concentrate in the
its graph.
tank reaches 15 pounds.

21. L
500; y
100 when t
0; y
150 when t
2 29. Chemical Mixture A 200-gallon tank is half full of dis-
tilled water. At time t
0, a solution containing 0.5 pound
22. L
5000; y
500 when t
0; y
625 when t
1 of concentrate per gallon enters the tank at the rate of
5 gallons per minute, and the well-stirred mixture is with-
23. Biology A population of eight beavers has been intro- drawn at the same rate. Find the amount Q of concentrate
duced into a new wetlands area. Biologists estimate that the in the tank after 30 minutes. (Hint: Q  Q20
52)
maximum population the wetlands can sustain is 60
beavers. After 3 years, the population is 15 beavers. If the 30. Safety Assume that the rate of change in the number of
population follows a Gompertz growth model, how many miles s of road cleared per hour by a snowplow is inversely
beavers will be in the wetlands after 10 years? proportional to the depth h of snow. That is,

24. Biology A population of 30 rabbits has been introduced ds k

.
into a new region. It is estimated that the maximum popu- dh h
lation the region can sustain is 400 rabbits. After 1 year, the Find s as a function of h if s
25 miles when h
2 inches
population is estimated to be 90 rabbits. If the population and s
12 miles when h
6 inches 2 h 15.
follows a Gompertz growth model, how many rabbits will
be present after 3 years?
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A46 APPENDIX C Differential Equations

31. Chemistry A wet towel hung from a clothesline to dry 38. Find t if the corporation needs $800,000 and it can invest
loses moisture through evaporation at a rate proportional to $75,000 per year in a fund earning 13% interest com-
its moisture content. If after 1 hour the towel has lost 40% pounded continuously.
of its original moisture content, after how long will it have
lost 80%? Medical Science In Exercises 3941, a medical researcher
wants to determine the concentration C (in moles per liter) of a
32. Biology Let x and y be the sizes of two internal organs
tracer drug injected into a moving fluid. Solve this problem by
of a particular mammal at time t. Empirical data indicate
considering a single-compartment dilution model (see figure).
that the relative growth rates of these two organs are equal,
Assume that the fluid is continuously mixed and that the volume
and can be modeled by
of fluid in the compartment is constant.
1 dx 1 dy

. Figure for 3941
x dt y dt
Tracer
Use this differential equation to write y as a function of x. injected
33. Population Growth When predicting population
growth, demographers must consider birth and death rates
Flow R (pure)
as well as the net change caused by the difference between
the rates of immigration and emigration. Let P be the pop- Volume V
ulation at time t and let N be the net increase per unit time
due to the difference between immigration and emigration.
So, the rate of growth of the population is given by Flow R
dP (concentration C)

kP  N, N is constant.
dt
Solve this differential equation to find P as a function of 39. If the tracer is injected instantaneously at time t
0, then
time. the concentration of the fluid in the compartment begins
diluting according to the differential equation
34. Meteorology The barometric pressure y (in inches of
mercury) at an altitude of x miles above sea level decreases
at a rate proportional to the current pressure according to
dC
dt
R
 

 C, C
C0 when t
0.
V
the model (a) Solve this differential equation to find the concentra-
dy tion as a function of time.

0.2y
dx (b) Find the limit of C as t .
where y
29.92 inches when x
0. Find the barometric 40. Use the solution of the differential equation in Exercise 39
pressure (a) at the top of Mt. St. Helens (8364 feet) and to find the concentration as a function of time, and use a
(b) at the top of Mt. McKinley (20,320 feet). graphing utility to graph the function.
35. Investment A large corporation starts at time t
0 to (a) V
2 liters, R
0.5 Lmin, and C0
0.6 molL
invest part of its receipts at a rate of P dollars per year in a
(b) V
2 liters, R
1.5 Lmin, and C0
0.6 molL
fund for future corporate expansion. Assume that the fund
earns r percent interest per year compounded continuously. 41. In Exercises 39 and 40, it was assumed that there was a sin-
So, the rate of growth of the amount A in the fund is given gle initial injection of the tracer drug into the compartment.
by Now consider the case in which the tracer is continuously
injected (beginning at t
0) at the rate of Q mol/min.
dA

rA  P Considering Q to be negligible compared with R, use the
dt
differential equation
where A
0 when t
0. Solve this differential equation
for A as a function of t.
dC Q
dt


V
R
V
C,  C
0 when t
0.

Investment In Exercises 3638, use the result of Exercise 35. (a) Solve this differential equation to find the concentra-
36. Find A for each situation. tion as a function of time.

(a) P
$100,000, r
12%, and t
5 years (b) Find the limit of C as t .

(b) P
$250,000, r
15%, and t
10 years

37. Find P if the corporation needs $120,000,000 in 8 years and
1
the fund earns 164 % interest compounded continuously.