Differential Equations

Lecture Notes: Substitution Methods - Homogeneous

First-Order DEs and Bernoulli Equations

Substitution Methods

Substitution Method I: Homogeneous Equations

A homogeneous first-order DE is one that can be written in the form
dy
=F
dx

y
.
x

 

Note: Homogeneous has a very different meaning in the context of second-order

DEs. Well see this meaning in Chapter 2.
By an appropriate substitution, we can turn this equation into a separable equation. How
do we do this? First, we make the substitution v = xy . Then y = vx, so by the product rule
dy
dv
=v+x .
dx
dx

(1)

dv
= F (v) v,
dx

(2)

Equation (1) is equivalent to

x
which is a separable equation.
Example 1.1. Solve the DE
dy
y+x
=
dx
x
Solution. We see
dy
y+x
=
dx
x
y
=
+ 1.
x
1

Plugging the substitutions

y = vx,

dy
dv
y
1
x
= v + x , v = , and = .
dx
dx
x
v
y

into the above equation yields

v+x

dv
dv
=v+1 x
=1
dx
dx
1

dx = dv
x
dx
+C
x
v = ln |x| + C
v = ln |x| + ln C (changing C)
v = ln(|Cx|).

Since v = xy ,

y
x

dv =

= ln(Cx), or y = x ln(|Cx|).

Example 1.2. Solve the DE

2xy

dy
= 4x2 + 3y 2 .
dx

Solution. We see that

dy
4x2 + 3y 2
=
dx
2xy
2
4x
3y 2
=
+
2xy 2xy
!
 
x
3 y
= 2
+
.
y
2 x
Plugging the substitutions
y = vx,

dv
y
1
x
dy
= v + x , v = , and = .
dx
dx
x
v
y

into the above equation yields

dv
2 3
= + v.
dx
v 2
Subtracting v from both sides and finding a common denominator gives us
v+x

dv
2 v
=
+
dx
v 2
4 + v2
=
2v
v2 + 4
=
.
2v
2

(3)
(4)
(5)

Rearranging yields
2v
1
dv = dx.
+4
x
Now we integrate both sides and simplify.
v2

Z
1
2v
dv
=
dx ln(v 2 + 4) = ln x + ln C
2
v +4
x
v 2 + 4 = Cx.

This is our solution in terms of v. However, v was a substitution we introduced for

convenience. Changing v back to xy gives us
y2
+ 4 = Cx,
x2
or
y 2 + 4x2 = Cx3 .

Substitution Methods II: Bernoulli Equations

A first-order linear DE of the form
dy
+ P (x)y = Q(x)y n ,
dx
where is called a Bernoulli Equation. Note that if n = 0 or n = 1, this equation is a firstorder linear DE. Otherwise we transform the Bernoulli Equation into a linear first-order DE
as follows.

y + P (x)y = Q(x)y

y0
y
yn
n + P (x) n = Q(x) n
y
y
y
y0
1
n + P (x) n1 = Q(x).
y
y
0

(6)
(7)

1
Let v = yn1
= y (n1) = y 1n . Then v 0 = (1 n)y n y 0 = yyn (1 n). (Were taking the
derivative of v and y with respect to x, so we used the chain rule.) Now, substituting v and
v 0 into equation (7) yields
v0
+ P (x)v = Q(x),
1n
which is a linear first-order DE in v, which we know how to solve.

Example 1.3. Solve the DE y 0 =

y
x

y2.

Solution. Dividing through by y 2 gives us

y0
1 1
1.
=
y2
x y
Let v = y1 . Then v 0 = y12 y 0 . (Again, the differentiation is with respect to x, not y, so
we need the chain rule.) Substituting v yields
v 0 =
R

v
1
1 v 0 + v = 1.
x
x

Our integrating factor is e x dx = eln x = x. Multiplying through by this integrating

factor and solving the DE is as follows.
xv 0 + v = x (xv)0 = x
xv =

x dx + C

1
xv = x2 + C
2
x2 + C
x C
v= + =
2
x
2x
x2 + C
1
=

y
2x
2x
y= 2
x +C