2024 Spring MAS201 Quiz 5 (PM) TA: Beomjong Kwak
1. Using appropriate substitution, give one nonzero solution y : (0, π) → R to the
10 points. differential equation
d2 y dy
+ cot θ + 12y = 0.
dθ2 dθ
Your answer may be expressed using the n-th Legendre polynomial Pn , n ∈ N.
Solution. We substitute
x = cos θ.(+3 points)
We have
dy dx dy dy
= = − sin θ
dθ dθ dx dx
and
d2 y d dy dy 2
2 d y
= (− sin θ ) = − cos θ + sin θ .
dθ2 dθ dx dx dx2
Thus, the original equation gets transformed to
d2 y dy
sin2 θ − 2 cos θ + 12y = 0,
dx2 dx
from which we obtain that a solution y to the following equation also solves the original equation:
d2 y dy
(1 − x2 ) − 2x + 12y = 0, (+4 points)
dx2 dx
which is a Legendre polynomial of the third degree
5x3 − 3x 5 cos3 θ − 3 cos θ
y = P3 (x) = = .(+3 points)
2 2
• Any solution with a fully correct answer grants the full credit.
• In the last step, you may provide the final answer either containing P3 or giving the explicit
form. However, there is no partial credit for an wrong answer.
2. Find the general solution X of the given system
10 points.
1 1 1
X′ =
0 1 X.
1
0 0 1
Solution. Expanding the determinant in the characteristic equation
1−λ 1 1
det(A − λI) = 0 1−λ 1 =0
0 0 1−λ
yields (λ − 1)3 = 0. We see that λ1 = λ2 = λ3 = 1.(+2 points)
Gauss-Jordan elimination immediately gives
0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
row operations
(A − I | 0) =
0 1
0 0
−−−− −− −− −→ 0
0 1 .
0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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2024 Spring MAS201 Quiz 5 (PM) TA: Beomjong Kwak
Thus the eigenvector corresponding to λ = 1 is
1
K = 0
.(+2 points)
0
We next solve (A − I)P = K and (A − I)Q = P to obtain
0
P = 1
, (+1 points)
0
0
−1 .(+1 points)
Q=
1
We conclude that the general solution of the system is
X = c1 Keλt + c2 (Kt + P )eλt (+2 points)
1
+c3 ( Kt2 + P t + Q)eλt (+2 points)
2
• Any solution with a fully correct answer grants the full credit.
• The first four steps are for finding out the exact answers.
• The last four points are for giving the correct “form” of solution in terms of the eigenvalue
and generalized eigenvectors (K, P, Q). That is, your answer does not need to be explicitly
true for this step.
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