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Mth 279

Your 'question form' report has been received. Scroll down through the document to see any comments I might have inserted, and my final comment at the end.

** Question Form_labelMessages **

Practice test question

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Sorry, I forgot to include my access code and other information.

This is a problem from the practice test and I can't quite figure it out.

2. The temperature of a room approaches the outdoor temperature at a rate proportional to the

difference between the two temperatures. The outdoor temperature is -10 Celsius, and the initial

room temperature is 20 Celsius. The average rate at which temperature changes during the first

30 minutes is -.2 Celsius / minute.

Write the differential equation for this situation, and use it along with the given conditions to

find the temperature of the room as a function of clock time.

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T_o = -10, T_r = 20, dT/dt = -.2

I think this is the equation:

dT_r/dt = T_r + (T_r - T_o)e^(kt)

-.2 = 20 + (30) e^(30k)

-20.2 = 30e^(30k)

ln(-20.2/30) = 30k

k = 1/30 ln (-20.2/30)

This seems horribly complex. And wrong.

dT_r/dt = T_r + (T_r - T_o) e^[ 1/30 ln (-20.2/30) ]

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I had the equation completely wrong

theta' = k(S - theta)

theta' + k*theta = Sk

e^(kt) theta' + ke^(kt) theta = Sk e^(kt)

integrate

e^(kt) theta = Se^(kt) + C

theta = S + Ce^(-kt)

plugging in initial values

20 = -10 + C

C =30

theta = -10 + 30e^(-kt)

However, I don't know where to go from here. Where would I plug in dtheta/dt = -.2 ???

I can't plug it into theta' = k(S-theta) because I don't know k

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Is this separable???

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y is proportional to x if there exists a constant number k such that y = k x.

The rate of change of the temperature is dT / dt. The stated difference in temperatures is T - (-10 CelsiusO = T + 10 Celsius.

To say that this rate is proportional to the stated difference is to say that

dT/dt = k * (T + 10 Celsius).

This is the differential equation you need to solve, and it is separable. I don't think you'll have any trouble solving it, but of course you want to be sure you know how to write the equation from the given problem statement.

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y is proportional to x if there exists a constant number k such that y = k x.

The rate of change of the temperature is dT / dt. The stated difference in temperatures is T - (-10 CelsiusO = T + 10 Celsius.

To say that this rate is proportional to the stated difference is to say that

dT/dt = k * (T + 10 Celsius).

This is the differential equation you need to solve, and it is separable. I don't think you'll have any trouble solving it, but of course you want to be sure you know how to write the equation from the given problem statement.

*@