Taylor series technique for solving rst-order dierential equations

Travis W. Walker
Applied and Computational Mathematics Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Undergraduate South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Advised by Dr. R. Travis Kowalski

Introduction

Dierential equations have allowed man to form a dynamic understanding of the world around him; however, the ability to nd solutions to these differential equations can be quite dicult. Although mans understanding of dierential equations is plentiful, much of this understanding depends on the ability to explicitly solve certain classes of equations and to exploit numerical methods to approximate solutions to the rest. While many dierent classes of dierential equations exist, a thorough understanding of the simplest case seems a reasonable need prior to attempting to explicitly solve more compli1

cated systems. This paper examines a novel power series approach to analytically solve rst-order ordinary dierential equations in standard form

y = F (x, y).

(1)

Under suitable smoothness assumptions on F , the technique will nd a power series expansion of the unique solution to (1). As an application, the explicit solution to (1) can be expressed using only a presented system of universal recursion equations, with any knowledge of the motivating algorithm being unnecessary. As another application, this paper will examine the requirements for nding the particular solution of a linear nonhomogeneous ordinary dierential equation.

Review of Dierential Equations

Consider a rst-order ordinary dierential equation of the form given by (1); we shall for the remainder of the paper call this equation an ODE in standard form. By a solution to this ODE, we mean a dierentiable function y such that y (x) = F x, y(x)

for all x in the domain of y. Similarly, an initial value problem, or IVP, takes the form y = F (x, y) , y(c) = b

(2)

where (c, b) is in the domain of F . By a solution to the IVP, we mean a solution y to the dierential equation (1) dened on an open set containing c, called a neighborhood, such that y(c) = b. The Picard-Lindelof theorem states that (2) has a unique solution if F and
F y

are continuous on a neighborhood of (c, b). The remainder of this

section will be spent reviewing common techniques that apply to ODEs in standard form. Although a variety of techniques exist for solving dierential equations, two of the more common methods, separation of variables and undetermined coecients, will be reviewed here. As a rst example, consider the IVP y =y y(0) = b Using the method of separation and integration, the solution to this equation

(3)

can easily be shown to be dy = y

dx

ln(y) = x + c y(x) = kex .

Applying the initial condition, y(0) = b, gives k = b. Thus, the solution is

y(x) = bex .

As another example, consider the IVP y = y2 . y(0) = b

(4)

Note that while this equation is nonlinear, it is still separable, and the solution is now dy = dx y2 1 =x+c y 1 y(x) = . x+c

Applying the initial condition y(0) = b gives c = b . 1 bx

1 b

so that the solution is

y(x) =

Many dierential equations, however, are not separable. Consider the IVP y = y + e2x y(0) = 0 This dierential equation is linear and nonhomogeneous. Recall that any solution to such a dierential equation is the superposition of any xed particular solution solving (5) and a complimentary solution to the corresponding homogenous dierential equation

(5)

y = y,

which was shown earlier to take the form yq = kex . Observation of (5) suggests that a particular solution is of the form

yp = Ae2x .

Using the method of undetermined coecients and substituting this guessed particular solution into the original dierential equation, the value of the unknown coecient A can be found:

d(Ae2x ) = Ae2x + e2x dx 2Ae2x = (A + 1)e2x A = 1.

Thus, the general solution to the nonhomogeneous dierential equation takes the form y(x) = kex + e2x . Applying the initial condition as before gives the solution to the IVP as

y(x) = ex + e2x .

Finally, consider the IVP y = sin(xy) . y(1) = 2

(6)

Since this example is nonlinear and nonseparable, this IVP cannot be solved using any of the previously mentioned techniques, nor does it have a wellknown, ad hoc technique to nd an explicit solution. Since sin(xy) is continuously dierentiable, the Picard-Lindelof theorem states that a unique solution to (6) exists, but the theorem does not give any suggestions to ex-

actly what that solution should be. Instead, we must satisfy ourselves with only an approximation of the solution using a numerical technique such as the Euler, the midpoint, or the Runge-Kutta methods. For example, using the Euler method and the Runge-Kutta method, the solution to IVP (6) is approximated by the graphs below (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Euler and Runge-Kutta approximations for y = sin(xy), y(1) = 2. The seemingly endless specialized ad hoc techniques combined with the inability to solve a majority of IVPs in the form of (2) begs a variety of questions: Does there exist a single technique that nds the explicit solution to any IVP of the form (2)?

 Does there exist a numerical technique that provides successively better approximations without reevaluating the function from the beginning by changing the time step or mesh size? Beyond these thoughts, is there a technique for nding analytic solutions to the IVP by recursively dierentiating, rather than integrating?

Analyticity

To understand these questions, let us examine the notion of analyticity. To this end, dene the Taylor series for a function f (x) as the formal sum

n=0

f (n) (c)(x c)n , n!

(7)

where f (x) is innitely dierentiable in the neighborhood of c. The Taylor series of a function often sums to the function itself for values of x sufciently close to c, called the center ; however, this relation is not always true.1 Embedded into the Taylor series, there exists a radius of convergence, R R {} such that the series converges (absolutely) for all x such that |x c| < R, and diverges for all x such that |x c| > R.
The function f (x) = exp(x2 ) is an example of a function whose Taylor series at x = 0 does not converge to itself.
1

While the full series may not converge to the function f itself, estimates of f can be found by truncating the Taylor series to a nite number of terms, resulting in a Taylor polynomial
k

Pk (x) =
n=0

f (n) (c)(x c)n . n!

(8)

Knowing the accuracy of the nth-order Taylor polynomial is benecial and can be found from Taylors theorem [2]. Taylors theorem. For (2), if f is (n + 1)-times continuously dierentiable on an interval containing the point of interest, x, and the center, c, then assuming x > c, there exists (c, x) such that f (n+1) () (x c)(n+1) . (n + 1)!

f (x) Pn (x) =

We dene a function f as being analytic at the point c if and only if it is equivalent to its Taylor series on a neighborhood of the center c. We review some well-known facts about analyticity: Polynomials, exponentials, logarithms, sines, cosines, and algebraic combinations of these are analytic at each point in their domains. If f (x) can be written as the sum of a convergent power series,

f (x) =
n=0

an (x c)n 9

for all x near c, then it is analytic at its center, and an = the power series must coincide with the Taylor series.

f (n) (c) ; n!

i.e.

A few well-known Taylor series centered at zero are listed below.

e = 1 = 1x
n=0

xn x2 x3 x4 x5 =1+x+ + + + + ... n! 2! 3! 4! 5! xn = 1 + x + x2 + x3 + x4 + x5 + . . .

x R.

(9)

x (1, 1). (10)

n=0

Keeping these ideas in mind, let us revisit the simple IVP (2), y =y . y(0) = b

(11)

Let us for the moment assume that this IVP has an analytic solution y(x). Can we determine its Taylor series expansion from only (11)? Evaluating the dierential equation at x = 0 yields

y (0) = y(0).

Dierentiating both sides of (11) with respect to x, we nd that

y (x) = y (x).

10

Substituting in the identity (11), the expression reduces to

y (x) = y(x).

(12)

Evaluating this expression at x = 0,

y (0) = y(0).

Let us dierentiate both sides of (12) with respect to x again. We obtain

y (x) = y (x),

and after substituting, the identity (11), we obtain

y (x) = y(x).

Evaluating this expression at x = 0 yields

y (0) = y(0).

By induction, the nth-derivative can be shown to be

y (n) (x) = y(x),

11

whence we have y (n) (0) = y(0). Since we are assuming y is analytic at x = 0, y must take the form

(13)

y(x) = y(0) +
n=1

y (n) (0)(x 0)n n!

for all x in a neighborhood of 0. Substituting (13) into this equation gives

y(x) = y(0) +
n=1

y(0)xn , n!

which can be rewritten by (9) as

y(x) = y(0)
n=0

xn = y(0)ex . n!

After invoking the initial condition,

y(x) = bex ,

which is equivalent to what we found previously.

Taylor Series Algorithm

The method that we used to solve the IVP (11) can easily be generalized to any IVP of the form (2). The algorithm for nding the solution to (2) can 12

be condensed into the following steps [3]: given y = F (x, y), 1. Evaluate the IVP at x = c to obtain the value of y (c). 2. Determine whether F (x, y) is dierentiable. 3. If so, dierentiate both sides of the dierential equation and substitute y = F (x, y) to obtain a new equation y = F2 (x, y). 4. Evaluate this new equation at x = c to obtain the value of y (c). 5. Repeat this two-step process until a satisable number n of derivatives y (k) (c) has been determined. 6. Substitute the known values into the formula for the Taylor series, creating the Taylor polynomial of degree n, Pn (x). As another illustration of the technique, consider the IVP y = xy . y(0) = b Substituting x = 0 yields y (0) = 0. Dierentiating both sides of (14) with respect to x, we obtain

(14)

y (x) = y(x) + xy (x),

13

and after substituting,

y (x) = y(x) + x2 y(x).

Evaluating this expression at x = 0,

y (0) = y(0).

Repeating this method will provide the following iterations:

y (x) = 3xy(x) + x3 y(x) y (4) (x) = 3y(x) + 6x2 y(x) + x4 y(x) y (5) (x) = 15xy(x) + 10x3 y(x) + x5 y(x) y (6) (x) = 15y(x) + 45x2 y(x) + 15x4 y(x) + x6 y(x) . . .

y (0) = 0 y (4) (0) = 3y(0) y (5) (0) = 0 y (6) (0) = 15y(0)

Assuming that the solution y is analytic, we can express it near x = 0 as the Taylor series

y(x) = y(0) +
n=1

y (n) (0)(x 0)n . n!

14

Substituting the nth-derivative into this equation provides y(0)x2 3y(0)x4 15y(0)x6 + + + 2! 4! 6! 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 3 x + x + x2 + = y(0) 1 + 2 8 48 1 = y(0) 1 + 1! x2 2
1

y(x) = y(0) +

1 + 2!

x2 2

1 + 3!

x2 2

Making a logical guess at the series, this expression suggests that

y(x) = y(0)
n=0

1 n!

x2 2

= y(0) exp

x2 2

We could prove this formula by an induction; however, it is just as easy to check that the function. Note that it solves the dierential equation y (x) = xy(x). d dx x2 2 x2 2 x2 2

y(0) exp

= y(0)x exp

= xy(0) exp

for all x. Hence, this expression is a solution. After invoking the initial condition, this solution becomes x2 2

y(x) = b exp

We encourage the reader to double check this result using familiar techniques such as separation of variables.

15

How would we apply this algorithm to the general case of y = F (x, y)? In both cases one must note that the function F (x, y) had to be repeatedly dierentiable for this technique to work. Thus, let us assume F is analytic at (c, b). If one denes F1 (x, y) = F (x, y), then by the chain rule F1 (x, y(x)) F1 (x, y(x)) + y (x) x y F1 (x, y(x)) F1 (x, y(x)) + F1 (x, y(x)) = x y =: F2 (x, y(x)),

y (x) =

and F2 (x, y(x)) F2 (x, y(x)) + y (x) x y F2 (x, y(x)) F2 (x, y(x)) + F1 (x, y(x)) = x y

y (x) =

=: F3 (x, y(x)).

This recursion raises serval important questions: Will this pattern hold indenitely? Is the assumption that an analytic solution exists even valid? If so, what is the utility of this recursion? We discuss these questions in the next section. 16

The Main Result

Theorem 1. Consider the initial value problem y = F (x, y) y(c) = b,

(15)

and assume that F is analytic at (c, b). Then the unique solution of this IVP is given by the analytic function

y(x) = b +
n=1

Fn (c, b)(x c)n , n!

where Fn (x, y) is dened recursively by F =F 1

. Fn Fn F n+1 = + F1 x y

To the authors knowledge, this explicit form of the Taylor Series solution is the only technique for nding explicit solutions to any rst-order, analytic ordinary dierential equation of the form (15). Formally expressing two theorems will aid in the proof. The rst is a precise statement of the existence and uniqueness theorem mentioned in Section 2 [1]. Picard-Lindelof theorem. Consider initial value problem (15). If F is 17

bounded, continuously dierentiable in y, and continuous in x over the interval [c , c + ], then there exists a unique solution y to the IVP dened on [c , c + ]. The second extends this result to analytic functions [4]. Cauchy-Kovalevsky theorem (one-variable case). Consider initial value problem (15). If F = F (x, y) is analytic at (c, b), then the unique solution to (15) is analytic at c. We are now in a position to prove Theorem 1. Proof of Theorem 1. Since F is analytic near (c, b), the Picard-Lindelof theorem guarantees the existence of a solution on a neighborhood of c.2 If y is a solution, then we shall show that 1. y is innitely dierentiable near c, and 2. the Taylor series for y is

b+
n=1

Fn (c, b)(x c)n . n!

These two statements suce to prove the result, since the Cauchy-Kovalevsky theorem asserts that the IVP admits an analytic solution, whence this unique Taylor series necessarily converges to y(x).
While Picard-Lindelof asserts uniqueness, this property will actually be a consequence of our proof.
2

18

Being a solution to the dierential equation, we have

y (x) = F1 (x, y(x)),

(16)

for all x in some neighborhood N of c. Thus,

y (c) = F1 (c, b)

after applying the initial conditions. Observe that y is dierentiable on N , since F1 is (innitely) dierentiable and y is dierentiable. Dierentiating both sides of (16) using the chain rule gives (F1 (x, y(x))) x F1 F1 = (x, y(x)) + (x, y(x)) y (x) x y F1 F1 = (x, y(x)) + (x, y(x)) F1 (x, y(x)), x y

y (x) =

after substituting (16). Thus,

y (x) = F2 (x, y(x)).

(17)

In particular, two facts are gained: 1. y (c) = F2 (c, b), and 2. y itself is dierentiable, since both F2 and y are dierentiable. 19

Dierentiating both sides of (17) gives F2 F2 (x, y(x)) + (x, y(x)) y (x), x y

y (x) =

which reduces to F2 F2 (x, y(x)) + (x, y(x)) F1 (x, y(x)), x y

y (x) =

after substituting (16). Then,

y (x) = F3 (x, y(x)).

(18)

Again, two new facts are gained: 1. y (c) = F3 (c, b), and 2. y itself is dierentiable, since both F3 and y are dierentiable. Now, assume by induction that for some n 3 we have

y (n) (x) = Fn (x, y(x))

(19)

for x N . Observe y (n) is itself dierentiable, being a composition of dierential functions. Then, d Fn Fn y (n) (x) = (x, y(x)) + (x, y(x)) y (x), dx x y 20

y (n+1) (x) =

which reduces to y (n+1) = after substituting (16). Thus, Fn Fn + F1 , x y

y (n+1) (x) = Fn+1 (x, y(x))

for all n 0. In particular, this induction proves that

y (n) (c) = Fn (c, b)

for any n 1. Thus, the Taylor series for y takes the form

n=0

y (n) (c, b)(x c)n Fn (c, b)(x c)n =b+ . n! n! n=1

Worth noting is the fact that we have proven more than our initial statement. Corollary 1. If F is innitely dierentiable near (c, b), then the IVP (2) has a unique solution y such that 1. y is innitely dierentiable, and

21

2. the Taylor series for y is

b+
n=1

Fn (c, b)(x c)n ; n!

however, no guarantee exists that the Taylor series converges to y. As an example, consider
2 exp(x2 ) x3

F (x, y) =

x=0 x=0

0 then the unique solution is exp(x2 )

y(x) =

x=0 x=0

Corollary 2. If F is k-times continuously dierentiable near (c, b), then 1. y is k-times continuously dierentiable, and 2. the kth order Taylor polynomial for y is
k

Pk (x) = b +
n=1

Fn (c, b)(x c)n . n!

Moreover, if F is (k + 1)-times dierentiable near (c, b), then for any x

22

near c there exists (, ) near (c, b) such that Fk+1 (, )(x c)k+1 . (k + 1)!

y(x) Pk (x) =

The Taylor polynomial result was also proven during the proof of the theorem. The error statement is a direct application of Taylors Theorem, using the fact that y (k+1) (x) = Fk+1 (x, y(x)) for all x near c.

Results

Again, let us return to (3) and attempt to use Theorem 1 to solve the problem. Note that F (x, y) = y is a polynomial, so it is analytic at any point. Hence, Theorem 1 can be applied. Setting

F1 = y,

we nd F2 = Similarly, Fn+1 = Thus, Fn (0, 1) = 1 23 Fn Fn + F1 = 0 + 1 y. x y F1 F1 + F1 = 0 + 1 y. x y

for all n 1. Substituting,

y(x) = 1 +
n=1

(1)(x 0)n = n!

n=0

(x)n = ex , n!

coinciding with what was found solving the IVP using separation and integration and using the Taylor Series Solution algorithm. Now, let us return to (4) and attempt to use Theorem 1 to solve this problem. Note that if F (x, y) = y 2 is a polynomial, so it is analytic at any point. Thus, Theorem 1 can be applied. Setting

F1 = y 2 ,

we nd F1 F1 + F1 = 0 + 2y y 2 = 2y 3 x y F2 F2 F3 = + F1 = 0 + 6y 2 y 2 = 6y 4 x y F3 F3 F4 = + F1 = 0 + 24y 3 y 2 = 24y 5 . x y F2 = Similarly, Fn = n!y n+1 . Thus, Fn (0, b) = n!bn+1

24

for all n 1. Substituting,

y(x) = b +
n=1

(n!bn+1 )(x 0)n n! (bx)n

=b+b
n=1

=b
n=0

(bx)n

b , = 1 bx using (10). This expression coincides with what was found solving the IVP using separation and integration. Now, let us return to (6). First, sin(xy) is analytic, as it is the composition of sine with a product of polynomials. Theorem 1 can be applied. Let

F1 = sin(xy),

whence F1 (1, 2) = sin(2). The next iteration reduces to

F2 = y cos(xy) + x cos(xy) sin(xy),

whence F2 (1, 2) = cos(2) (2 + sin(2)). Continuing this iterative process can be computationally intensive; however, after nding the next two recursions, substituting the initial conditions, and substituting into the Taylor series,

25

the third-order Taylor polynomial is (x 1)2 2 (x 1)3 . 6

P3 (x) =2 + sin(2)(x 1) + cos(2) (2 + sin(2))

+ 5 sin(2) + 2 cos(2) sin(2) + 2 sin(2) cos(2)2 4 + 6 cos(2)2

A decimal approximation of the ninth-order Taylor polynomial to four signicant gures is

P9 (x) =1.091 + 0.9093x 0.6053(x 1)2 1.325(x 1)3 + 0.4268(x 1)4 + 1.738(x 1)5 0.1539(x 1)6 2.613(x 1)7 0.3907(x 1)8 + 4.075(x 1)9 .

The truncated Taylor series does a very good job approximating the solution after as few as three to ve iterations. Plotting these expressions versus the numerical approximations of the solution using both the Euler technique and the Runga-Kutta technique shows this relationship (see Figure 2).

26

Figure 2. Comparison for y = sin(xy). This plot illustrates a potential downside of analytic solutions: the radius of convergence might unexpectedly be smaller than one would like.

Linear Dierential Equations

The general form of a rst-order linear nonhomogeneous ordinary dierential equation is

y (x) = q(x)y(x) + p(x)

(20)

y(c) = b

27

with corresponding homogeneous ODE

y (x) = q(x)y(x).

(21)

From the previous discussion the general solution to (20) is the superposition of the general solution to (21) and a particular solution to (20). For sake of consistency, call these solutions yq and yp , respectively, so that the solution to (20) is y(x) = kyq (x) + yp (x). Theorem 2. If p, q are both analytic at c, then the unique solution to (20) is

y(x) = b + b
n=1

pn (c)(x c)n qn (c)(x c)n + , n! n! n=1

where qn (x) is dened by q1 = q q n+1 = qn + qn q1 and pn (x) is dene by p1 = p . p n+1 = pn + qn p1

28

A consequence of this result is that it gives explicit formulas for both yq and yp , namely yq (x) = b + b
n=1

qn (c)(x c)n , n!

and

yp (x) =
n=1

pn (c)(x c)n . n!

Proof of Theorem 2. Theorem 1 asserts that this IVP has an analytic solution. Since y (x) = q(x)y(x) + p(x), this equation implies

F1 (x, y) = q1 (x)y + p1 (x).

(22)

Since q and p are analytic, F1 (x, y) F1 (x, y) + F1 (x, y) x y (q1 (x)y + p1 (x)) (q1 (x)y + p1 (x)) = + (q1 (x)y + p1 (x)) x y = q1 (x)y + p1 (x) + q1 (x) (q1 (x)y + p1 (x)) = (q1 (x) + q1 (x)q1 (x)) y + (p1 (x) + q1 (x)p1 (x)) = q2 (x)y + p2 (x)

F2 (x, y) =

after substituting (22) and rearranging.

29

Now, assume Fn = qn y + pn for some n 2; then, Fn Fn + F1 x y (qn y + pn ) (qn y + pn ) = + (q1 y + p1 ) x y = qn y + pn + qn (q1 y + p1 ) = (qn + qn q1 )y + (pn + qn p1 ) = qn+1 y + pn+1 .

Fn+1 =

Thus, Fn (x, y) = qn (x)y + pn (x) for all n. Substituting into the explicit formula given by (7) gives

y(x) = b +
n=1

Fn (c)(x c)n n! (qn (c)d + pn (c))(x c)n n! qn (c)(x c)n pn (c)(x c)n + . n! n! n=1

=b+
n=1

=b+b
n=1

A quick observation of this result, in comparison to the result for (21) using

30

Theorem 1, conrms that

yq (x) = b + b
n=1

qn (c)(x c)n , n!

and

yp (x) =
n=1

pn (c)(x c)n . n!

Now, (5) can be reevaluated using the previous recursion statements. First, we must identify the various parts of the dierential equation:

q1 = 1;

p1 = exp(2x).

With these initial expressions, the recursive statement can be employed such that

q2 = q1 + q1 q1 = (1) + (1) (1) = 1, q3 = q2 + q2 q1 = (1) + (1) (1) = 1,

and, by induction,

qn+1 = qn + qn q1 = (1) + (1) (1) = 1.

31

Also,

p2 = p1 + q1 p1 = (exp(2x)) + (1) (exp(2x)) = 3 exp(2x), p3 = p2 + q2 p1 = (3 exp(2x)) + (1) (exp(2x)) = 7 exp(2x), p4 = p3 + q3 p1 = (7 exp(2x)) + (1) (exp(2x)) = 15 exp(2x),

and, by induction,

pn+1 = pn + qn p1 = (2n 1) exp(2x).

Thus,

y(x) = (0) + (0)

n=1

(1)(x 0)n (2n 1)(x 0)n + n! n! n=1

= =

n=1

xn 2n xn n! n! n=1 (2x)n (2x)0 n! 0!

n=0

n=0

xn x0 n! 0!

= e2x 1 ex + 1 = e2x ex .

This expression is exactly what was previously found by using the method of undetermined coecients. The novelty of Theorem 2 is that it produces a particular solution without requiring the solution to the related homogeneous ODE to be known beforehand. As an example, let us attempt to nd the 32

particular solution to y = y + ex . y(0) = 0 (23)

Now, (23) can be reevaluated using the previous recursion statements. First, we must identify the various parts of the dierential equation:

q1 = 1;

p1 = exp(x).

With these initial expressions, the recursive statement can be employed such that

q2 = q1 + q1 q1 = (1) + (1) (1) = 1, q3 = q2 + q2 q1 = (1) + (1) (1) = 1,

and, by induction,

qn = qn1 + qn1 q1 = (1) + (1) (1) = 1.

Also,

p2 = p1 + q1 p1 = (exp(x)) + (1) (exp(x)) = 2 exp(x) p3 = p2 + q2 p1 = (2 exp(x)) + (1) (exp(x)) = 3 exp(x) p4 = p3 + q3 p1 = (3 exp(x)) + (1) (exp(x)) = 4 exp(x)

33

and, by induction,

pn = pn1 + qn1 p1 = n exp(x).

Then, the particular solution to (23) is

yp (x) =
n=1

(n exp(0)(x 0)n n! nxn n!

=
n=0

= xex .

Conclusions

The exploitation of dierential equations has allowed a substantial increase in the understanding of nature, but limitations to accurately and eciently solving dierential equations still persist. Any grasp of the analytic solutions for sets of dierential equations will only aid the eort. The theorems presented provide a convenient way to gauge the sensitivity of a solution to its initial conditions (c, b), and to parameters such as a in the classic rocket problem modeled by y (x) = y a , a 2 with the initial conditions bounded away from (0, y). Also, noting that a formal solution exists regardless of the radius of convergence for the solution is benecial; it can identif candidate solutions and still provide numerical approximations.

34

The most convenient characteristic of this technique is that it solves ODEs using only dierentiation techniques and hence is accessible to any calculus student. Although this paper only examined a power series approach to analytically solving rst-order ODEs in standard form, many new directions are fostered from this discussion.

References
[1] P. Blanchard, R.L. Devaney, G.R. Hall. Dierential Equations. Second Edition. Pacic Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole, 2002. [2] W. Kosmala. A Friendly Introduction to Analysis. Second Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. [3] R.K. Nagel, E.B. Sa, A.D. Snider. Fundamentals of Dierential Equations. Sixth Edition. Boston: Pearson-Addison Wesley, 2004. [4] E.C. Zachmanglou and D.W. Thoe. Introduction to Partial Dierential Equations. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1986.

35