First-Order Ordinary Differential Equations

Examples of linear first-order differential equations occur frequently in

chemical engineering practice through unsteady state mass balances or first-

order chemical reaction problems.

Here we will review a few methods for solving the first-order ordinary

differential equations. Following each method are examples demonstrating

the application of that method. Also, the notion of translating prose into

mathematical symbolism is introduced as ‘‘Problem Setup’’ in Section 2.4.