Browsing as Guest. Progress, bookmarks and attempts are disabled.
Log in to track your work.
June 2012 p33 q5
2302
In a certain chemical process a substance A reacts with another substance B. The masses in grams of A and B present at time t seconds after the start of the process are x and y respectively. It is given that \(\frac{dy}{dt} = -0.6xy\) and \(x = 5e^{-3t}\). When \(t = 0\), \(y = 70\).
(i) Form a differential equation in y and t. Solve this differential equation and obtain an expression for y in terms of t.
(ii) The percentage of the initial mass of B remaining at time t is denoted by p. Find the exact value approached by p as t becomes large.
Solution
(i) Substitute \(x = 5e^{-3t}\) into the differential equation \(\frac{dy}{dt} = -0.6xy\) to get \(\frac{dy}{dt} = -0.6(5e^{-3t})y = -3e^{-3t}y\).
Separate variables: \(\frac{1}{y} dy = -3e^{-3t} dt\).
Integrate both sides: \(\ln y = e^{-3t} + C\).
Use the initial condition \(t = 0, y = 70\) to find \(C\): \(\ln 70 = 1 + C\), so \(C = \ln 70 - 1\).
Thus, \(\ln y = e^{-3t} + \ln 70 - 1\).
Rearrange to find \(y\): \(y = 70(e^{-3t} - 1)\).
(ii) As \(t \to \infty\), \(e^{-3t} \to 0\), so \(y \to 70(-1) = -70\).
The percentage of the initial mass of B remaining is \(p = \frac{y}{70} \times 100\).
Thus, \(p \to \frac{100}{e}\) as \(t \to \infty\).