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General Solutions of Linear Equations

The document discusses the general solution of linear equations. It states that the general solution of a homogeneous linear equation is the sum of any particular solution and the complementary function. The complementary function is the general solution to the corresponding homogeneous equation, which is a linear combination of linearly independent solutions. For a non-homogeneous equation, the general solution is the sum of the complementary function and a particular solution. Two examples are provided to illustrate finding the general solution.

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50 views2 pages

General Solutions of Linear Equations

The document discusses the general solution of linear equations. It states that the general solution of a homogeneous linear equation is the sum of any particular solution and the complementary function. The complementary function is the general solution to the corresponding homogeneous equation, which is a linear combination of linearly independent solutions. For a non-homogeneous equation, the general solution is the sum of the complementary function and a particular solution. Two examples are provided to illustrate finding the general solution.

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General Solution of a Linear Equation

General Solution of a Homogeneous Linear Equation

Theorem 4

Let {y1 , y2 , · · · , yn } be a linearly independent set of solutions of the homogeneous linear


equation
b0 (x)y (n) + b1 (x)y (n−1) + · · · + bn−1 (x)y 0 + bn (x)y = 0 (1)
for x on the interval a ≤ x ≤ b. Suppose further that the equation is normal on the interval
a ≤ x ≤ b.

If φ is any solution of (1), valied on the interval a ≤ x ≤ b, there exist constants c̄1 , c̄2 ,
· · · , c̄n such that
φ = c̄1 y1 + c̄2 y2 + · · · + c̄n yn .

By Theorem 4 we define that the general solution of equation (1) is

y = c1 y1 + c2 y2 + · · · + cn yn

General Solution of a Non-Homogeneous Linear Equation

Let yp be any particular solution (not having any arbitrary constants) of the equation

b0 (x)y (n) + b1 (x)y (n−1) + · · · + bn−1 (x)y 0 + bn (x)y = R(x) (2)

and let yc be a solution corresponding to the homogeneous equation

b0 (x)y (n) + b1 (x)y (n−1) + · · · + bn−1 (x)y 0 + bn (x)y = 0 (3)

Then,
y = yc + yp (4)
is a solution of (2).

If y1 , y2 , · · · , yn are linearly independent solutions of (3), then

yc = c1 y1 + c2 y2 + · · · + cn yn (5)

in which c1 , c2 , · · · , cn are arbitrary constants, is the general solution of (3). The right
member of equation (5) is called the complementary function for equation (2).
The general solution of a non-homogeneous linear differential equation is the sum of
the complementary function and any particular solution.

Example 1.

Find the general solution of


y 00 = 4

Solution:
We will learn later that 1 and x are linearly independent solution on any interval and are
solutions of the homogeneous equation y 00 = 0. Hence the complementary function of the
equation is
yc = c1 + c2 x

On the other hand the function 2x2 is a particular solution of the equation. Hence the
general solution is

y = yc + yp
y = c1 + c2 x + 2x2

Example 2.

Find the general solution of


y 00 − y = 4

Solution:
It is obvious that y = −4 is a solution. Hence we can take yp = −4. We shall see in the next
topics that the equation y 00 − y = 0 has a general solution to be

yc = c1 ex + c2 e−x

The general solution is


y = c1 ex + c2 e−x − 4

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