[Math] Find a second order ODE given the solution

ordinary differential equations

Find a second order differential equation so that
$$y=C_1e^{-3x}\cos(4x)+C_2e^{-3x}\sin(4x)+4e^{3x}$$
solves the differential equation for any choice of $C_1$and $C_2$.

The answer should be in the form of $ay''+by'+cy=f$

Here's my work:
$y=C_1e^{-3x}\cos(4x)+C_2e^{-3x}\sin(4x)$ is the solution of the homogeneous equation and
$y=4e^{3x}$ is the particular solution. But how do I proceed from here to figure out the second order ODEs?

Best Answer

Hints:

  • We have complex conjugate roots that are $3 \pm 4 i$. What equation gives those roots? This defines the homogeneous equation $ay'' + by' + cy = 0$ .
  • We know the particular solution result and using the homogeneous result we just derived above, we can find what the constant for the particular solution is for the DEQ. That is, substitute $y = 4 e^{3x}$ into the homogeneous result.

Spoiler

$y'' + 6 y' + 25 y = 208 e^{3x}$