Find a solution for a differential equation, assume that y(x)=ax^2+bx+c
Madison Costa
Answered question
2022-11-14
Find a solution for a differential equation, assume that Find a solution to the given equation:
and we are told to assume that y(x) is a quadratic function, which follows this general form
Now to find the solutions, at first I tried to solve the given for y and then see what I could do from there but, I realized that you can't take the derivative of a function that contains its own derivative. So then I thought that I had to create my own function that follows the perviously mentioned parameters (the given and the quad. form). This is were I am stuck, I can not mathematically deduce a solution for this problem.
Answer & Explanation
Biardiask3zd
Beginner2022-11-15Added 16 answers
Step 1 If , then . Plug this into your equation:
Step 2 Two polynomials are equal iff they are equal in all coefficients. You obtain a linear equation system
which you have to solve for (a,b,c) in order to get a particular solution.
Paula Cameron
Beginner2022-11-16Added 6 answers
Step 1 If you assume that , you can plug this hypothesis in the equation, which then writes
For the two members to be equal for all x, by regrouping the terms, you must have that , then and finally . As these equations do have a solution, the hypothesis works. More generally, if your LHS is a linear combination of the derivatives of the unknown, and the RHS is a polynomial, you can try an arbitrary polynomial of the same degree. Step 2 Also note that the solution that you found is not the only one which is possible. Indeed, you can add any function such that
without violating the equation. And where c has any value is such a function.