Differential Equations
MODULE 1: Definition and Classification of Differential Equations
Prepared by: Engr. Mary Christianne Edjan
Definition of
Differential
Equation
Differential Equations are equations that contains derivatives of one
or more dependent variables with respect to one or more independent variable (Zill,
2009).
Example:
In the example above, the x is the independent variable and y is the dependent
variable.
The derivative in the equation represent the rate of change, thus the differential
equation describes a relationship to the change. A good example of differential
equation being used in real time is Newton’s Law of acceleration. Not only in physics,
differential equation can also be used in medicine, economy, and so on.
Classification of
Differential
Equation
Classifications
By Types
01 • Ordinary Differential Equation
• Partial Differential Equation By Linearity
02 • Linear Differential Equation
• Nonlinear Differential Equation
By Homogeneity
• Homogeneous Differential
03 Equation
• Nonhomogeneous Differential
Equation
Ordinary Differential Equation
01 A differential equation is said to be Ordinary Differential
Equation if it contains a single independent variable
and one or more dependent variable.
Examples:
Partial Differential Equation
02
Classification
A differential equation is said to be Partial Differential
Equation if it contains a one or more independent
variable and one or more dependent variable.
by Types Examples:
Linear Differential Equation
01 A differential equation is said to be Linear Differential
Equation if the equation is linear in y, y’…, y(n). So, it will
appear like:
where, an(x), an-1(x) …, a0(x) and g(x) are functions of x.
In addition, Linear Differential Equation should follow
these conditions:
Classification a. The dependent variable y and all its derivatives y, y’, . . ., y(n) are
of the first degree, that is, the power of each term involving y is 1.
by Linearity
b. The coefficients a0, a1, . . ., an of y, y’, . . ., y(n) depend at most on
the independent variable x.
c. The dependent variable y and all its derivatives y, y’, . . ., y(n)
should not be in transcendental function such as trigonometric or
logarithmic.
Linear Differential Equation
01
Examples:
As for the first example, it may not look like a linear
differential equation at first glance, but it can be also
written as 4xy’ + y = x by manipulating the equation which
satisfies with the definition of a linear differential equation.
Classification
by Linearity
Nonlinear Differential Equation
02 A differential equation is said to be Nonlinear
Differential Equation if the equation is nonlinear in y,
y’…, y(n). In other words, if it doesn’t satisfy the
conditions of Linear Differential Equation, it is a
Nonlinear Differential Equation.
Examples:
Classification
by Linearity
Homogeneous Differential Equation
01 A differential equation is said to be Homogeneous
Differential Equation in the form of f(x,y)dy = g(x,y)dx if
f(x, y) and g(x, y) have the same degree.
To verify its homogeneity of f(x, y) and g(x, y), replace x
and y with vx and vy respectively. If F(vx, vy) = vnf(x, y)
and G(vx, vy) = vng(x, y), then the differential equation is
homogenous.
Classification Example:
by Homo- Let,
geneity Therefore, the equation is homogenous.
Homogeneous Differential Equation
01 In the case of linear differential equation being
homogeneous, there will be no constant terms, g(x) will
be equal to 0. It will be in this form:
Example:
Classification
by Homo-
geneity
Nonhomogeneous Differential Equation
02 A differential equation is said to be Nonhomogeneous
Differential Equation in the form of f(x, y)dy = g(x, y)dx if
f(x, y) and g(x, y) does not have the same degree. In
other words, if it doesn’t satisfy the conditions of
Homogeneous Differential Equation, it is a
Nonhomogeneous Differential Equation.
Example:
Classification
Let,
by Homo-
geneity Since, the function is not homogeneous, making the
entire equation nonhomogeneous differential equation.
Nonhomogeneous Differential Equation
02 In the case of linear differential equation being
nonhomogeneous, there will be constant terms, g(x) will
not be equal to 0. It will be in this form:
Example:
Classification
by Homo-
geneity
Degree and Order
of Differential
Equation
Order of Differential Equation
The order of a differential equation is the order of the highest
derivative in the equation.
Examples:
The order of this differential
equation is 2.
Degree of Differential Equation
The degree of a differential equation is the degree or exponent
of the highest order derivative in the equation.
Examples: Since the highest order
derivative of the differential
equation is the 2nd order
derivative, the degree of this
differential equation is 1.
THANK YOU
MODULE 1: Definition and Classification of Differential Equations
