Programme Details
Second-order differential equations
By The Open University
About the programme
This free course is concerned with second-order differential equations. Section 1 introduces some basic principles and terminology. Sections 2 and 3 give methods for finding the general solutions to one broad class of differential equations, that is, linear constant-coefficient second-order differential equations. Section 2 covers homogeneous equations and Section 3 covers inhomogeneous equations. Section 4 explains how extra information can be used to help to select particular solutions that are appropriate in given situations. Section 5 looks at the phenomenon of resonance to gain insights into the solutions of inhomogeneous linear constant-coefficient second-order differential equations.