Proving a differential equation using the substitution method

jeffreylze
Messages
43
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



dy/dx = \frac{[2cos(x)^2-sin(x)^2+y^2]}{[2cos(x)]}

Substitute y(x) = sin(x) + \frac{1}{u(x)}

Homework Equations



By doing the substitution, it will yield the differential equation for u(x)

du/dx = -u tan(x) - \frac{1}{2}sec(x)

The Attempt at a Solution



I figured out i have to use chain rule. However, if du/dx = du/dy x dy/dx , which dy/dx do i choose? It can be either

this - dy/dx = \frac{[2cos(x)^2-sin(x)^2+y^2]}{[2cos(x)]}

or - y = sin(x) + 1/[u(x)]
dy/dx = cos(x)

Then, I found the dy/du from this equation y = sin(x) + 1/[u(x)] and flipped it around to get du/dy. After multiplying using the chain rule, I don't get the differential equation as shown. Please help me out here. =X
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I just realized a similar question has been posted. Please close the thread. Sorry for the trouble. =X
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
Back
Top