CAIE P3 2011 June — Question 9

Exam BoardCAIE
ModuleP3 (Pure Mathematics 3)
Year2011
SessionJune
TopicFirst order differential equations (integrating factor)

9 In a chemical reaction, a compound \(X\) is formed from two compounds \(Y\) and \(Z\). The masses in grams of \(X , Y\) and \(Z\) present at time \(t\) seconds after the start of the reaction are \(x , 10 - x\) and \(20 - x\) respectively. At any time the rate of formation of \(X\) is proportional to the product of the masses of \(Y\) and \(Z\) present at the time. When \(t = 0 , x = 0\) and \(\frac { \mathrm { d } x } { \mathrm {~d} t } = 2\).
  1. Show that \(x\) and \(t\) satisfy the differential equation $$\frac { \mathrm { d } x } { \mathrm {~d} t } = 0.01 ( 10 - x ) ( 20 - x )$$
  2. Solve this differential equation and obtain an expression for \(x\) in terms of \(t\).
  3. State what happens to the value of \(x\) when \(t\) becomes large.