Application Guide

50 Alphabetical Listing
deSolve()
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the 1st derivative of the dependent
variable with respect to the independent
variable.
• Use two prime symbols to denote the
corresponding second derivative.
The prime symbol is used for derivatives
within deSolve() only. In other cases, used
().
The general solution of a 1st-order equation
contains an arbitrary constant of the form
ck, where k is an integer suffix from 1
through 255. The solution of a 2nd-order
equation contains two such constants.
Apply solve() to an implicit solution if you
want to try to convert it to one or more
equivalent explicit solutions.
When comparing your results with textbook
or manual solutions, be aware that different
methods introduce arbitrary constants at
different points in the calculation, which
may produce different general solutions.
deSolve(1stOrderODE and initCond, Var,
depVar) ⇒ aparticularsolution
Returns a particular solution that satisfies
1stOrderODE and initCond. This is usually
easier than determining a general solution,
substituting initial values, solving for the
arbitrary constant, and then substituting
that value into the general solution.
initCond is an equation of the form:
depVar (initialIndependentValue) =
initialDependentValue
The initialIndependentValue and
initialDependentValue can be variables
such as x0 and y0 that have no stored
values. Implicit differentiation can help
verify implicit solutions.