Question

Set up a differential equation (with initial conditions!) and solve the differential equation in order to answer the following problem (you must also precisely explain what your variables x and y represent prior to writing down any computations). You are a police detective investigating a murder case. The first thing you must determine for this case is the time of death. Here’s what you know:

The body was found at 9:00pm and its temperature at that time was 60°F. The body’s temperature was taken again at 11:00pm, and at this time its temperature was 50°F. The temperature throughout the day was constant at 45°F. Assuming Newton’s law of cooling (also we must assume that the body had a temperature of 98.6°F when it was alive), you must determine the time of death rounded to the nearest minute.

Answer 1

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