A differential equation is an equation that relates the rate dydt at which a quantity y is changing (or sometimes a higher derivative) to some function f(t,y) of that quantity and time.
Examples: dydt=3y;dydt=5t2;dydt=5t2+3y
are examples of explicit first-order equations, i.e., equations of the form
dydt=f(t,y)
while
d2ydt2=−4x;d2ydt2=ysin(t)+dydt
are examples of explicit second-order equations, i.e., equations of the form
d2ydt2=f(t,y,y′).
Modeling with differential equations boils down to four steps.
Understand the science behind what we're trying to model. For example, if we are studying populations of animals, we need to know something about population biology, and what might cause the number of animals to increase or decrease.
Express the rules for how the system changes in mathematical form. The result is a differential equation.
Use calculus to solve the differential equation.
Interpret the solution(s) in context to predict future behaviour.
The following video describes this general philosophy.