A population of ants, y, living in a colony grows at a rate
dy
dt = 0.05y – 0.1y1/2,
where t is time in weeks. The initial population is 1000 insects. Using Euler’s method with h = 1,
what is the number of ants after 2 weeks?
When a dead body is discovered, one of the first steps in the ensuing investigation is for a medical
examiner to determine the time of death as closely as possible. If the temperature of the medium
has been fairly constant and less than 48 hours have passed since death, Newton’s law of cooling
can be used. Newton’s law of cooling states, dT
dt = – k(T –TM), where k is a constant, T is the
temperature of the object after t hours, and TM is the (constant) temperature of the surrounding
medium. Assuming the temperature of a body at death is 98.6°F, the temperature of the
surrounding air is 69°F, and at the end of one hour the body temperature is 89°F, when will the
temperature of the body be 77°F? Round to the nearest tenth of an hour.
Sales (in thousands) of a certain product are declining at a rate proportional to the amount of sales,
with a decay constant of 11% per year. Write a differential equation to express the rate of sales
decline.