AQA C4 2009 January — Question 7

Exam BoardAQA
ModuleC4 (Core Mathematics 4)
Year2009
SessionJanuary
TopicDifferential equations

7
  1. A differential equation is given by \(\frac { \mathrm { d } x } { \mathrm {~d} t } = - k t \mathrm { e } ^ { \frac { 1 } { 2 } x }\), where \(k\) is a positive constant.
    1. Solve the differential equation.
    2. Hence, given that \(x = 6\) when \(t = 0\), show that \(x = - 2 \ln \left( \frac { k t ^ { 2 } } { 4 } + \mathrm { e } ^ { - 3 } \right)\).
      (3 marks)
  2. The population of a colony of insects is decreasing according to the model \(\frac { \mathrm { d } x } { \mathrm {~d} t } = - k t \mathrm { e } ^ { \frac { 1 } { 2 } x }\), where \(x\) thousands is the number of insects in the colony after time \(t\) minutes. Initially, there were 6000 insects in the colony. Given that \(k = 0.004\), find:
    1. the population of the colony after 10 minutes, giving your answer to the nearest hundred;
    2. the time after which there will be no insects left in the colony, giving your answer to the nearest 0.1 of a minute.