Solving a DE: Variation of Parameters & Integration Issues

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around solving a differential equation (DE) using the method of variation of parameters. The original poster presents a specific DE involving a function y and its derivative, along with an exponential term on the right-hand side.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to solve the DE by rearranging it and solving the homogeneous part first. They express uncertainty regarding their integration steps and the resulting expression for u'(x). Other participants question the correctness of the algebra and the definition of u(t).

Discussion Status

Participants are actively discussing potential algebraic errors and clarifying the role of the function u(x) in the context of the problem. There is an ongoing exploration of the steps involved in the variation of parameters method, with no clear consensus yet on the correctness of the original poster's approach.

Contextual Notes

The original poster indicates difficulty in integrating the expression for u'(x) and acknowledges a possible oversight in their algebra. There is a mention of a missing step in the setup of the particular solution.

Lancelot59
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I've picked up a bit more since my last problem. I need to solve the following DE:
[tex]x^{2}\frac{dy}{dx}+x(x+2)y=e^{x}[/tex]

I decided to use variation of parameters, so I re-arranged it like so:
[tex]\frac{dy}{dx}=\frac{e^{x}}{x^{2}}-(1+\frac{2}{x})y[/tex]

Then solved the homogenous DE:
[tex]\frac{dy}{dx}=-(1+\frac{2}{x})y[/tex]
[tex]y=e^{-x}x^{-2}c[/tex]

Now for the particular solution:
[tex]y_{p}=u(x)e^{-x}x^{-2}c<br /> [tex]\frac{dy}{dx}=u'(x)e^{-x}x^{-2}-u(x)e^{-x}x^{-2}-2u'(x)e^{-x}x^{-2}[/tex]<br /> <br /> When I shoved this back in I wound up with this for u'(t):<br /> [tex]u'(x)=e^{x}x^{-2}[/tex]<br /> <br /> It seems...a bit strange. Did I mess up somewhere? It's a bit hard to integrate. I've gone over this several times already.[/tex]
 
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Looks to me like you have an algebra error somewhere. Doing exactly what you say, I get [itex]u'e^{-x}= e^x[/itex] or [itex]u'= e^{2x}[/itex].
 
what is u(t)?
 
u(t) is the unknown function, that when multiplied by the solution to the homogenous equation, gives you a particular solution to the DE. I forgot to put in the step where I set that part up. It should also be u(x). I'll try going over the algebra again.
 

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