Help with an (I think) homogeneous DE.

  • Thread starter Thread starter 1MileCrash
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Homogeneous
Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a differential equation given by y' = (2xy + y² + 1) / (y(2 + 3y)). Participants are exploring whether this equation is homogeneous and discussing potential methods for solving it.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts a substitution to determine if the equation is homogeneous but finds it does not lead to a separable form. They inquire about the possibility of making the equation exact through multiplication by a function.
  • Another participant suggests rewriting the equation in the form Mdx + Ndy = 0 to check for homogeneity, noting that neither M nor N are homogeneous of the same degree.
  • There is a question about the nature of the differential equation and whether it admits an easy solution.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants providing observations and suggestions regarding the nature of the equation. There is no explicit consensus on a method, but some guidance has been offered regarding testing for homogeneity.

Contextual Notes

The problem is sourced from a textbook problem set, and there is an indication that the original poster may have copied the equation incorrectly, which could affect the analysis.

1MileCrash
Messages
1,338
Reaction score
41

Homework Statement



[itex]y' = \frac{2xy + y^{2} + 1}{y(2+3y)}[/itex]

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



First I tried making a substitution in the case that it is homogeneous, but it didn't make the equation separable. It's not linear, it's not exact, and not separable.

Does it become exact when multiplying by some function?

I just need a little guidance for what method I should use to solve.

After making a substitution y = vx,

[itex]v + xv' = \frac{2x^{2}v + v^{2}x^{2} + 1}{vx(2+3vx)}[/itex]

This doesn't seem to simplify into anything separablem, after doing some algebra. Any ideas?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
1MileCrash said:

Homework Statement



[itex]y' = \frac{2xy + y^{2} + 1}{y(2+3y)}[/itex]First I tried making a substitution in the case that it is homogeneous,

but it didn't make the equation separable.

You don't want to waste time trying the ##y=vx## substitution on the offhand chance it might be homogeneous. You write it as ##Mdx + Ndy = 0## and check whether or not ##M## and ##N## are homogeneous of the same degree. In this case neither ##M## nor ##N## are homogeneous of any degree, much less the same degree.

Other than that observation, I agree with what you say about the equation. Unfortunately, I don't have any helpful suggestions on what to do with this one. I presume you know it is not a given that a random DE like this admits an easy solution. Where did you get this problem?
 
Last edited:
It's just in the problem set of my textbook, after covering a few methods. I'm pretty sure I wrote it down correctly.

Thanks
 
Nope, copied the numerator from one and denomenator from that other.

Thanks for the help. I'll be sure to apply what you said about testing for homogenous equations.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
3K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K