Moraine Valley Community College

MTH 150 201, Calculus I / Analytic Geometry, Hussain, Spring 2017

Project Explanation
Due 11:59 pm on Mon., May 15. 150 pts

1. Pendulum
a. Provide a sketch of a simple pendulum, complete with the displacement , length , and
all forces acting on the point mass.
b. Apply Newtons second law and provide all algebraic steps and assumptions to obtain
the second-order differential equation for with respect to time .

Newtons Second Law states that the net force acting on the mass and its mass de-
termines its net mass : . The net force on the mass corresponds to the compo-
nent of gravity that is tangent to the masss trajectory: . We can obtain an
expression for using the equation that relates arc length , radius , and central angle
Note for us that .

Since ,

c. Show that the following solves the differential equation by substitution.

( )

The goal here is to show that the solution

( )
satisfies the equation we obtained above,

We can substitute the solution in right now.

( ) ( )
Make sure you evaluate the second derivative
( )
Your final result should be .

d. The differential equation system that satisfies the given scenario is given by

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 Using the small-angle approximation and substitution, show the solution is given by

( ) ( )

The original equation becomes

( )
The second part of the system above can help us simplify :
( )

( )
The equation via small-angle approximation becomes
( )
Now, we substitute the proposed solution:

( [ ( )] ) [ ( )] [ ( )]

You may assume that . You should end with .

2. Wave Equation
Suppose a string is attached at two ends and is level with the horizontal and has constant hori-
zontal tension. The string is plucked in the middle. Assume small vertical displacements.

a. Use Newtons Second Law and the small-angle approximation to derive the differential
equation for ( ), the vertical displacement.

The total vertical force acting on the infinitesimal piece of string is

( ) ( ) ( ( ) ( ))

According to Newtons Second Law,

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 Thus, we get

( ( ) ( ))

The infinitesimal piece has mass , which means

( ( ) ( ))

( ) ( )
( )

If we let ,

Finally, let be the square speed of the transverse wave.

b. Assume that ( ) and ( ) . Show that the solution to the equation is

( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Assume the solution is of the form ( ) ( ). Then

[ ( ) ( )] [ ( ) ( )]

( ) ( )
Since each side of this equation contains only or only , both sides simultaneously
equal a negative constant, .

( )
We can solve each equation easily. Each equation can be assumed to have a solution
that is a combination of sine and cosine.

( ) ( )
( ) ( )
This means that our general solution for is

It can be similarly shown that the general solution for is

The final general solution is given by

( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Note that an initial condition is ( ) which means that

( ) ( ) ( )
( )
Explain why this means that . The general solution is thus

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 ( ) ( ) ( )
Using the other initial condition, one can show that the general solution should be
( ) ( ) ( )

Part c. has been cancelled.

3. RLC Circuit
a. Sketch a schematic of a resistor-inductor-capacitor (RLC) circuit. Label each load and
the potential difference across each load.

The resistor has resistance . The inductor has inductance . The capacitor has capaci-
tance . The potential difference across the resistor is , where is the current
through the resistor. The potential difference across the inductor is . The
potential difference across the capacitor is .

b. Use Kirchoffs laws to derive the second-order differential equation for charge ( ).

Current is nothing more than the rate of charge movement, which means

Using Kirchoffs voltage law, the sum of the potential differences (up to sign) is 0.

( )

c. If the voltage is ( ) , prove the solution is as follows using substitution.

( ) ( )

Lets ignore the left-hand side for a moment.

We recall that ( ) (the derivative is just a constant times the original function)
and we observe that the equation above implies that a particular linear combination of
the first two derivatives is 0, so it might be that the solution might take the form
. If so, then calculus and algebra will show that

Now, lets put back the left-hand side and assume another solution,
. If so, then you get

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 ( )

4. Salt Solution
a. Suppose that a container with salt solution initially contains lb salt and has volume
gallons. A salt solution is added to the container such that is the constant concentra-
tion of the incoming solution, the incoming rate of solution is , and the outgoing rate of
the resulting mixed solution is . Show that must satisfy

( )

b. Show by substitution that the following is the solution if .

( ) ( )

Part c. has been cancelled.

Evaluation
Submit your projects with all algebraic work, assumptions, reasoning, etc., incorporated elec-
tronically or via hard copy. If electronically, save a copy of your e-mail to me, send another e-
mail without the project attached to let me know you sent it, and make sure you receive my con-
firmation e-mail. The following is a non-exhaustive list of point penalties.
-75 if entire project submitted within 24 hours of 11:59 pm Mon., May 15
-140 if submitted after 11:59 pm Tues., May 16
-10 for each part (i.e., letter under each number) missing
-30 for each section missing
-3 for each instance of lack of clarity in exposition

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