Mathematics 134 -- Intensive Calculus for Science
Discussion 2 -- Antiderivatives and Differential Equations
January 24, 2001
Background
We have seen that solving a differential equation
dy/dx = f(x) is the same as finding the indefinite
integrals of the function f. The indefinite
integral of f contains an arbitrary constant, so
if we also want f to satisfy an initial condition
y(x0) = y0, we can always
solve for the correct constant (as long as x0
is in the domain of the antiderivative, of course!). Today,
we want to look at some examples of these ideas in our groups.
Discussion Questions
- Section 6.3, problem 10
- Section 6.3, problem 13
- Section 6.3, problem 15
Assignment
One write-up per group of solutions for these problems,
due Monday, January 29.