Ordinar y Linear Differential Equations 67
1.13. According to Newton’s law of cooling, a body loses heat at a rate proportional to the
instantaneous temperature difference between the body and its surroundings. Consider a
body that loses heat in accordance with this law, where the initial temperature of the
body is 70°C, the surrounding temperature is 20°C, and the temperature decay
coefficient is k = 3/10 per min. (a) Find an expression for the temperature T(t) at any
time t. (b) At what time will the body temperature be 30°C? Hint: This is an initial
condition problem with T(0) = 70°C, and the differential equation is
d
dt
T(t) =−k(T(t) −20)
1.14. Solve Exercise 1.13 for the case where k = 5/10/min and T(0) = 100°C.
1.15. A body of mass m undergoes freefall due to gravity in a viscous medium, where the
viscous force is proportional to the body speed. We would like to calculate the speed
v(t) of a body whose mass is m = 5 kg in freefall if its initial speed is 50 m/sec upward
and the damping coefficient is γ = 1 N/m/sec. The acceleration due to gravity is
g = 9.8 m/sec/sec in the MKS system. Hint: This is an initial value problem with
v(0) = 50 m/sec, and the differential equation is
m
d
dt
v(t)
=−mg −γv(t)
1.16. Solve Exercise 1.15 for the time at which the speed is zero.
1.17. Solve Exercise 1.15 for the case where the damping coefficient is doubled.
1.18. We consider a resistance-inductance (RL) circuit with an impressed voltage e(t), where
the electric current in the circuit at any time t is i(t). The circuit resistance R = 20 ohms
and the inductance L = 100 henries. At time t = 0, the circuit switch is closed, and the
impressed voltage is e(t) = 20 volts. Solve for the current in the circuit. Hint: This is an
initial value problem with i(0) = 0 amps, and the differential equation is
L
d
dt
i(t)
+Ri(t) = e(t)
1.19. Solve Exercise 1.18 for the case where the impressed voltage is e(t) = 40 sin(t) volts
and the initial current is i(0) = 10 amps.
1.20. We consider a resistance-capacitance (RC) circuit with an impressed voltage e(t), where
the electric charge on the capacitor at any time t is q(t). The circuit resistance R = 3
ohms, and the capacitance C = 2 farads. At time t = 0, the circuit switch is closed and
the capacitor has an initial charge of 200 coulombs. If the impressed voltage is
e(t) = 20 volts, solve for the charge in the circuit. Hint: This is an initial value problem