solve ordinary differential equation y''+y=e^x

1 answer

To solve the ordinary differential equation \( y'' + y = e^x \), we will use the method of undetermined coefficients. This ODE consists of a homogeneous part and a particular part.

  1. Homogeneous Solution: First, let's find the solution to the associated homogeneous equation:

    \[ y'' + y = 0 \]

    The characteristic equation is:

    \[ r^2 + 1 = 0 \]

    Solving this gives:

    \[ r = \pm i \]

    Thus, the general solution to the homogeneous equation is:

    \[ y_h = C_1 \cos(x) + C_2 \sin(x) \]

    where \( C_1 \) and \( C_2 \) are constants.

  2. Particular Solution: Now, we need to find a particular solution \( y_p \) for the non-homogeneous equation \( y'' + y = e^x \). We will use the method of undetermined coefficients, and we will try a solution in the form:

    \[ y_p = A e^x \]

    where \( A \) is a constant to be determined.

    We calculate the first and second derivatives of \( y_p \):

    \[ y_p' = A e^x \] \[ y_p'' = A e^x \]

    Substitute \( y_p \) and its derivatives back into the original equation:

    \[ y_p'' + y_p = A e^x + A e^x = 2A e^x \]

    We want this to equal \( e^x \):

    \[ 2A e^x = e^x \]

    Dividing both sides by \( e^x \) (assuming \( e^x \neq 0 \)) gives:

    \[ 2A = 1 \implies A = \frac{1}{2} \]

    Therefore, the particular solution is:

    \[ y_p = \frac{1}{2} e^x \]

  3. General Solution: The general solution \( y \) to the original non-homogeneous equation is the sum of the homogeneous and particular solutions:

    \[ y = y_h + y_p = C_1 \cos(x) + C_2 \sin(x) + \frac{1}{2} e^x \]

Thus, the final solution to the ordinary differential equation \( y'' + y = e^x \) is:

\[ \boxed{y = C_1 \cos(x) + C_2 \sin(x) + \frac{1}{2} e^x} \]

where \( C_1 \) and \( C_2 \) are arbitrary constants determined by initial or boundary conditions.