We study general dynamical equations describing homogeneous isotropic cosmologies coupled to a scalaron $psi$. For flat cosmologies ($k=0$), we analyze in detail the gauge-independent equation describing the differential, $chi(alpha)equivpsi^prime(alpha)$, of the map of the metric $alpha$ to the scalaron field $psi$, which is the main mathematical characteristic locally defining a `portrait of a cosmology in `$alpha$-version. In the `$psi$-version, a similar equation for the differential of the inverse map, $bar{chi}(psi)equiv chi^{-1}(alpha)$, can be solved asymptotically or for some `integrable scalaron potentials $v(psi)$. In the flat case, $bar{chi}(psi)$ and $chi(alpha)$ satisfy the first-order differential equations depending only on the logarithmic derivative of the potential. Once we know a general analytic solution for one of these $chi$-functions, we can explicitly derive all characteristics of the cosmological model. In the $alpha$-version, the whole dynamical system is integrable for $k eq 0$ and with any `$alpha$-potential, $bar{v}(alpha)equiv v[psi(alpha)]$, replacing $v(psi)$. There is no a priori relation between the two potentials before deriving $chi$ or $bar{chi}$, which implicitly depend on the potential itself, but relations between the two pictures can be found by asymptotic expansions or by inflationary perturbation theory. Explicit applications of the results to a more rigorous treatment of the chaotic inflation models and to their comparison with the ekpyrotic-bouncing ones are outlined in the frame of our `$alpha$-formulation of isotropic scalaron cosmologies. In particular, we establish an inflationary perturbation expansion for $chi$. When all the conditions for inflation are satisfied and $chi$ obeys a certain boundary (initial) condition, we get the standard inflationary parameters, with higher-order corrections.
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