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Section 8.2 First Order ODEs: Notation and Theorems

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Subsection 8.2.1 Notation for First Order ODEs

Standard Form:

\begin{equation} \frac{dy}{dx}=f(x,y)\label{standard}\tag{8.2.1} \end{equation}

Differential Form: Write

\begin{equation} f(x,y)=-\frac{M(x,y)}{N(x,y)}\tag{8.2.2} \end{equation}

(There are many ways to do this. Choose a way that is helpful for the problem at hand.) Then Eqn(8.2.1) becomes

\begin{equation} M(x,y)\, dx + N(x,y)\, dy =0\tag{8.2.3} \end{equation}

Subsection 8.2.2 First-Order ODEs: Uniqueness Theorem

If \(f\) and \(\frac{\partial f}{\partial y}\) are continuous in a rectangle \(\vert x-x_0\vert \le a\text{,}\) \(\vert y-y_0\vert\le b\text{,}\) then there exists an interval about \(x_0\) in which the initial value problem \(y^{\prime}=f(x,y)\text{,}\) \(y(x_0)=y_0\) has a unique solution.