MHB Pharaoh's Taylor series question from Yahoo Answers

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The discussion focuses on solving van der Pol's equation using two numerical methods: the Taylor series and the modified Euler method. The Taylor series expansion yields approximate values of y(0.1) as 0.109599 and y(0.2) as 0.108789, calculated to six decimal places. The modified Euler method provides an approximate solution of y(0.2) as 0.10961, which is slightly different from the Taylor series result. Both methods demonstrate effective approaches to approximating solutions for the given differential equation. The comparison highlights the reliability of these numerical techniques in solving complex equations.
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Part 1 of Pharaoh's Taylor series and modified Euler question from Yahoo Answers

consider van der pol's equation
y" - 0.2(1-y^2)y' + y = 0 y(0)=0.1 y'(0)=0.1
1)
You are asked to find the approximate solution for this problem using the Taylor series
method. Your expansion should include the first three non-zero terms and you should
work to six decimal places accuracy. First find the approximate solutions for both y (0.1)
and y’(0.1) using the first three non-zero terms of Taylor series expansion for each
function and then use this information to calculate the approximate solution at x = 0.2.
The Taylor series expansion about \(t=0\) is of the form:
\(y(t)=y(0)+y'(0)t+\frac{y''(0)t^2}{2}+.. \)​
We are given \(y(0)\) and \(y'(0)\) in the initial condition, and so from the equation we have:
\(y''(0) = 0.2(1-(y(0))^2)-y(0)=0.2(1-0.1^2)-0.1=-0.0802\)​
So the Taylor series about \(t=0\) is:
\(y(t)=0.1+0.1t-0.0401t^2+... \)​
and using the first three terms of this we have \(y(0.1)\approx 0.109599\), Also:
\(y'(t)=0.1-0.0802t+...\)​
and so \(y'(0.1) \approx 0.09198\)Now the Taylor expansion about \(t=0.1\) is:

\(y(t)=y(0.1)+(t-0.1)y'(0.1)+\frac{(t-0.1)^2y''(0.1)}{2}+...\)​
where \(y''(0.1)=0.2\left(1-(y(0.1))^2\right)y'(0.1)-y(0.1)=-0.08178796\).So:

\(y(0.2)\approx 0.109599+0.1\times 0.0198-0.1^2\times 0.8178796 = 0.108789 \) to 6 six DP​
 
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.2)
Next, the modified Euler method can be used to find the approximate solution for this problem. The modified Euler method is given by:

\(y_{n+1}=y_n+hf(x_n+\frac{h}{2},y_n+\frac{h}{2}f(x_n,y_n))\)

where \(f(x,y)=y"-0.2(1-y^2)y'+y\).

Using \(h=0.1\) and starting with \(y_0=0.1\), we can calculate the values of \(y_1\) and \(y_2\) as follows:

\(y_1\approx 0.1+0.1\left(0.1+\frac{0.1}{2}\left(0.1-0.2(1-0.1^2)0.1+0.1\right)\right)\approx 0.109625\)

\(y_2\approx 0.109625+0.1\left(0.2+\frac{0.1}{2}\left(0.2-0.2(1-0.109625^2)0.2+0.109625\right)\right)\approx 0.10961\)

So, the approximate solution at \(x=0.2\) using the modified Euler method is \(y(0.2)\approx 0.10961\). This is slightly different from the value obtained using the Taylor series method, but both methods provide a good approximation to the actual solution.