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Question

The solution of differential equation \(x^2 \frac {d^2y}{dx^2} + 4x\frac{dy}{dx}+2y=0\) will be ________, where c1 and c2 are constants.

The correct answer is \(y = \frac{c_1}{x} + \frac{c_2}{x^2}\)

Mathematical Step-by-Step Derivation

This expression is a standard second-order homogeneous Cauchy-Euler differential equation, which takes the form:

$$x^2 \frac{d^2y}{dx^2} + 4x \frac{dy}{dx} + 2y = 0$$

To solve a Cauchy-Euler equation, we assume a solution of the form $y = x^m$. Finding its derivatives yields:

$\frac{dy}{dx} = m x^{m-1} \implies x \frac{dy}{dx} = m x^m$

$\frac{d^2y}{dx^2} = m(m-1) x^{m-2} \implies x^2 \frac{d^2y}{dx^2} = m(m-1) x^m$

Substituting these values back into the primary differential equation gives:

$$[m(m-1) + 4(m) + 2]\, x^m = 0$$

Since $x^m \neq 0$, we can solve for the auxiliary characteristic equation:

$$m^2 - m + 4m + 2 = 0$$

$$m^2 + 3m + 2 = 0$$

Factoring the quadratic polynomial:

$$(m+1)(m+2) = 0 \implies m_1 = -1, \;\; m_2 = -2$$

Substituting the roots back into our assumed format yields the general solution:

$$y = c_1 x^{-1} + c_2 x^{-2} \implies y = \frac{c_1}{x} + \frac{c_2}{x^2}$$

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Important Questions from Differential Equations

  1. The Green's function for the differential equation \(\rm\frac{d^2x}{dt^2}\)  + x = f(t), satisfying the initial conditions x(0) =  \(\rm\frac{dx}{dt}\) (0) = 0, is

    G(t, τ) =  \(\begin{cases}0 & \text { for } \quad 0<\rm t<\tau \\ \sin (\rm t−\tau) & \text { for } \quad \rm t>\tau\end{cases}\)

    The solution of the differential equation when the source f(t) = θ(t) (the Heaviside step function) is

  2. \(\smallint \frac{{dx}}{{{{\left( {x + 1} \right)}^2}\left( {{x^2} + 1} \right)}}\) = ?
  3. A differential equation is given as x (t + 2) + 3x (t + 1) + 2x (t) =0; x(0) = 0, x(1) = 1. The solution of this equation will be:

  4. If y = \(\rm\left(\frac{1}{x}\right)^x \), then value of \(\rm e^e\left(\frac{d^2 y}{d x^2}\right)_{x=e}\) is:

  5. If \(f\left( x \right) = \frac{{ax + b}}{{cx + d}}\) and f(f(x)) = x then

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