SDSU Math 122 Calculus for Biology II
Fall Semester, 2000
Lab Help
26-Oct-00
San Diego State University

Laboratory Help Page

This page is designed to provide helpful information about the laboratory questions.

Question 1: Part c is a modification that makes the question more realistic, but causes certain complications. The solution to this differential equation can be easily found using Maple's dsolve command. The constant k2 in the solution appears in a very nonlinear manner in this equation, so it is impossible to solve for k2 exactly. Thus, you need to use a numerical routine to find the value of k2. You may use Maple's fsolve command. This is done by writing the equation with all the known information at time t = 2. The only unknown is now k2. In Maple, you can use subs t = 2 into your expression for the temperature and fsolve for the value of k2 that makes the expression for the temperature reach the given value.

At the end of this problem, your graph should show you the differences between the two solutions and show how well the easier equation approximates the time of death.

Question 2: This one is very similar to problem 1 except that the initial temperature is not given but rather is one of the unknowns. You can use T(10)=(your given value) as an additional equation for dsolve. You may want to use evalf to get a numeric answer at the end.