Definition:Linear Second Order Ordinary Differential Equation

Definition
A linear second order ordinary differential equation is a differential equation which is in (or can be manipulated into) the form:
 * $\dfrac {\mathrm d^2 y} {\mathrm d x^2} + P \left({x}\right) \dfrac {\mathrm d y} {\mathrm d x} + Q \left({x}\right) y = R \left({x}\right)$

where, as is indicated by the notation, $P \left({x}\right)$, $Q \left({x}\right)$ and $R \left({x}\right)$ are functions of $x$ alone (or constants).

Also presented as
A linear second order ordinary differential equation can also be presented as:
 * $\dfrac {\mathrm d^2 y} {\mathrm d x^2} = P \left({x}\right) \dfrac {\mathrm d y} {\mathrm d x} + Q \left({x}\right) y + R \left({x}\right)$

Also known as
The order of adjectives can be varied, for example: second order linear ordinary differential equation.