b) Solve the differential equation with initial conditions [tex]\(y=4\)[/tex], [tex]\(x=0\)[/tex] and [tex]\(\frac{dy}{dx}=1\)[/tex]:

[tex]\[
\frac{d^2 y}{d x^2} + \frac{d y}{d x} - 2 y = e^{3 x}
\][/tex]

ii) Give an example of a software application suitable for solving 2nd order equations and state its limitations in finding a particular solution.



Answer :

Let's solve the differential equation step by step.

The given differential equation is:
[tex]\[ \frac{d^2 y}{d x^2} + \frac{d y}{d x} - 2 y = e^{3 x} \][/tex]

We will solve this differential equation with the initial conditions:
[tex]\[ y(0) = 4, \][/tex]
[tex]\[ \frac{d y}{d x}(0) = 1. \][/tex]

To solve this second-order differential equation, we can convert it into a system of first-order differential equations. Let's do this by introducing a new variable [tex]\( y_1 = y \)[/tex] and [tex]\( y_2 = \frac{d y}{d x} \)[/tex]. Hence, the system of equations becomes:

1. [tex]\(\frac{d y_1}{d x} = y_2 \)[/tex]
2. [tex]\(\frac{d y_2}{d x} = 2 y_1 - y_2 + e^{3 x} \)[/tex]

We can solve this system using initial conditions [tex]\( y_1(0) = 4 \)[/tex] and [tex]\( y_2(0) = 1 \)[/tex].

After performing numerical integration over the interval [tex]\([0, 5]\)[/tex], the x-values, [tex]\( y \)[/tex]-values, and the [tex]\(\frac{d y}{d x} \)[/tex]-values are as follows:

- [tex]\( x \)[/tex]-values: \\
[tex]\[ \{0.0, 0.0707179, 0.54827433, 1.17577739, 1.72119406, 2.26031096, 2.7653663 , 3.25204567, 3.73083301, 4.20645195, 4.68082726, 5.0\} \][/tex]

- [tex]\( y \)[/tex]-values: \\
[tex]\[ \{4.0, 4.09057426, 5.77692759, 12.6843307, 33.3464990, 115.222361, 445.703881, 1798.76021, 7374.88621, 30418.8467, 125757.292, 327301.67\} \][/tex]

- [tex]\(\frac{d y}{d x} \)[/tex]-values: \\
[tex]\[ \{1.0, 1.55988694, 5.74346605, 19.1936617, 68.2275970, 291.484445, 1247.72625, 5252.10015, 21896.9280, 90910.7694, 376801.760, 981171.683\} \][/tex]

### Part ii)
An example of software suitable to solve second-order differential equations is Mathematica, MATLAB, or Maple. These tools have powerful solvers for differential equations, including both symbolic and numerical solvers.

#### Limitations:
1. Computational Resources: These software packages might require significant computational resources, especially for complex or large systems.
2. Closed-form Solutions: For highly non-linear or intricate differential equations, finding closed-form solutions might not always be possible, and the software might have to resort to numerical solutions.
3. User Expertise: Effective use of these tools often requires a certain level of expertise and understanding of the underlying mathematical methods.
4. Precision: Numerical methods have inherent precision limitations. For extremely sensitive or stiff systems, the accuracy of the numerical solution might be affected.

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