Cannot figure out how to solve this differential equation

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around solving the differential equation dy/dx = 1/(x^2 - xy). Participants explore various methods and substitutions to tackle the equation, including separable, exact, homogeneous, Bernoulli, and linear forms, as well as transformations and alternative variable definitions.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses difficulty in solving the equation and mentions attempts at various methods, including substitutions like y = ux and u = x - y.
  • Another participant suggests inverting the equation to dx/dy = x^2 - xy, proposing that it resembles a Bernoulli equation.
  • A later reply points out a potential error in the previous participant's LaTeX formatting and emphasizes the importance of including the integration constant in the solution.
  • Further elaboration is provided on transforming the equation into a Riccati type, detailing the substitution process and resulting equations, leading to a proposed solution involving integrals.
  • Another approach is introduced, where a change of variable is suggested (x = e^t) to make the original ODE separable, leading to a different form of the solution.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants present multiple competing methods and approaches to solving the differential equation, with no consensus on a single solution or method being established.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note the potential for errors in LaTeX formatting and the importance of integration constants, while others explore various transformations and substitutions without resolving the overall complexity of the equation.

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dy/dx= 1/(x^2-xy)

I have tried all the basic steps in an attempt to make it take the form of:
separable
exact
homogenous
bernoulli
linear

I have tried substitution with:
y=ux
u=x-y
u=x^2-y

I cannot for the life of me figure this out, thank you for any help.
 
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Well, you might try do invert it, and solve instead:
\frac{dx}{dy}=x^{2}-xy
Isn't that sort of Bernoulli-like? Don't remember all those tricks any longer..

EDIT:

If I have done this correctly, we should get something like:
x(y)=\frac{e^{-\frac{y^{2}{2}}}{\int{e}^{-\frac{u^{2}}{2}}du
 
Last edited:
Arildno, there seems to be something wrong with the formula, the latex image failed to generate. I think you forgot a \frac.

Anyway, this is the right approach to solving the equation, don't forget the integration constant :-)

[Edit]

Some more explanation and intermediate steps might be useful. The equation will become after setting z=x and t=y (in order to avoid mistakes)

\frac{dz}{dt}+tz-z^2=0

This is a Riccati type equation, which is in it's general form:

\frac{dz}{dt}+Q(t)z+R(t)z^2=P(t)

and can be transformed into a second order linear differential equation by using the substitution:

z(t)=\frac{1}{R(t)u}\frac{du(t)}{dt}

In our case this is:

z(t)=\frac{-1}{u}\frac{du(t)}{dt}

Differentiating this gives (leaving out the independent variable notation):

\frac{dz}{dt}=\frac{1}{u^2}\left(\frac{du}{dt}\right)^2 -\frac{1}{u}\frac{d^2u}{dt^2}

Substituting this in the orginal equation gives:

\frac{d^2u}{dt^2}=-t\frac{du}{dt}

Which has the following solution:

\frac{du}{dt}=A\cdot e^{-\frac{t^2}{2}}

And thus:

u=A\int e^{-\frac{t^2}{2}}dt+B

Using the transformation:

z(t)=-\frac{1}{u}\frac{du}{dt}=-\frac{A\cdot e^{-\frac{t^2}{2}}} {A\int e^{-\frac{t^2}{2}}dt+B}

Which is after dividing with A and setting B/A=C:

z(t)=-\frac{e^{-\frac{t^2}{2}}} {\int e^{-\frac{t^2}{2}}dt+C}

[Edit 2]

It is indeed the solution, substituting back in the original equation shows this.

There might be easier ways to solve this, but I can't think of any.
 
Last edited:
Another way to deal with equation is the following.
Change the independent variable x=e^t, thus y'=e^{-t}\,\frac{d\,y}{d\,t} in order to have for the inital ODE

\frac{d\,y}{d\,t}=\frac{1}{e^t-y}\Rightarrow \frac{d\,t}{d\,y}=e^t-y

Now define t(y)=u(y)-\frac{1}{2}\,y^2 in order to get rid of y and make the ODE separable, i.e.

\frac{d\,u}{d\,y}=e^{u-\frac{1}{2}\,y^2}\Rightarrow e^{-u}\,d\,u=e^{-\frac{1}{2}\,y^2}\,d\,y\Rightarrow -e^{-u}=\int e^{-\frac{1}{2}\,y^2}\,d\,y+C\Rightarrow -e^{t+\frac{1}{2}\,y^2}=\int e^{-\frac{1}{2}\,y^2}\,d\,y+C\Rightarrow -\frac{1}{x}\,e^{\frac{1}{2}\,y^2}=\int e^{-\frac{1}{2}\,y^2}\,d\,y+C

yielding to

x=-\frac{e^{-\frac{1}{2}\,y^2}}{\int e^{-\frac{1}{2}\,y^2}\,d\,y+C}

i.e. coomast's solution. :smile:
 
arildno said:
Well, you might try do invert it, and solve instead:
\frac{dx}{dy}=x^{2}-xy
Isn't that sort of Bernoulli-like? Don't remember all those tricks any longer..

EDIT:

If I have done this correctly, we should get something like:
x(y)=\frac{e^{-\frac{y^{2}}{2}}}{\int{e}^{-\frac{u^{2}}{2}}du

Okay, an old Latex error finally rectified..
 

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