Final answer:
To find the general solution to the differential equation y'' + 4y = -12sin(2x), we solve the homogeneous equation y'' + 4y = 0 and find the general solution y = c1cos(2x) + c2sin(2x). By using the method of undetermined coefficients, we find a particular solution and add it to the general solution of the homogeneous equation.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the general solution to the differential equation y'' + 4y = -12sin(2x), we can first find the complementary solution by solving y'' + 4y = 0. The characteristic equation is r^2 + 4 = 0, which gives us r = ±2i. Therefore, the general solution to the homogeneous equation is y = c1cos(2x) + c2sin(2x).
Next, we can find a particular solution to the nonhomogeneous equation. Since the right side is -12sin(2x), we can guess a particular solution in the form y = Asin(2x). Plugging this into the equation, we get -4Asin(2x) + 4Asin(2x) = -12sin(2x). This yields 0 = -12sin(2x), which is not true for all values of x. Therefore, this guess does not work.
In order to find a particular solution, we can use the method of undetermined coefficients. Since the right side of the equation is -12sin(2x), we can guess a particular solution in the form y = a + bsin(2x) + ccos(2x). Plugging this into the equation, we get -4b - 4asin(2x) + 4c + 4bcos(2x) = -12sin(2x). By matching the coefficients on both sides, we can solve for a, b, and c. Once we have the particular solution, we can add it to the general solution of the homogeneous equation to get the general solution to the nonhomogeneous equation.