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Approximate Solutions to Differential Equations (DP IB Maths: AI HL)
Revision Note
Euler’s Method: First Order
What is Euler’s method?
- Euler’s method is a numerical method for finding approximate solutions to differential equations
- It treats the derivatives in the equation as being constant over short ‘steps’
- The accuracy of the Euler’s Method approximation can be improved by making the step sizes smaller
How do I use Euler’s method with a first order differential equation?
- STEP 1: Make sure your differential equation is in form
- STEP 2: Write down the recursion equations using the formulae and from the exam formula booklet
- h in those equations is the step size
- the exam question will usually tell you the correct value of h to use
- STEP 3: Use the recursion feature on your GDC to calculate the Euler’s method approximation over the correct number of steps
- the values for and will come from the boundary conditions given in the question
Examiner Tip
- Be careful with letters – in the equations in the exam, and in your GDC’s recursion calculator, the variables may not be x and y
- If an exam question asks you how to improve an Euler’s method approximation, the answer will almost always have to do with decreasing the step size!
Worked example
Consider the differential equation with the boundary condition .
a)
Apply Euler’s method with a step size of to approximate the solution to the differential equation at .
b)
Explain how the accuracy of the approximation in part (a) could be improved.
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Euler's Method: Coupled Systems
How do I use Euler’s method with coupled first order differential equations?
- STEP 1: Make sure your coupled differential equations are in and form
- STEP 2: Write down the recursion equations using the formulae , and from the exam formula booklet
- h in those equations is the step size
- the exam question will usually tell you the correct value of h to use
- STEP 3: Use the recursion feature on your GDC to calculate the Euler’s method approximation over the correct number of steps
- the values for , and will come from the boundary conditions given in the question
- frequently you will be given an initial condition
- look out for terms like ‘initially’ or ‘at the start’
- in this case
Examiner Tip
- Be careful with letters – in the equations in the exam, and in your GDC’s recursion calculator, the variables may not be x, y and t.
- If an exam question asks you how to improve an Euler’s method approximation, the answer will almost always have to do with decreasing the step size!
Worked example
Consider the following system of differential equations:
Initially x = 10 and y = 2.
Use Euler’s method with a step size of 0.1 to find approximations for the values of x and y when t = 0.5.
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