Integration Techniques

Integration Techniques
1 Integration by reversing dierentiation
Integration undoes dierentiation. A function F(x) is called the integral (or antiderivative) of the function f(x)
on the interval [a, b] if, at all points of the interval,
d
dx
F(x) = f(x)
Or equivalently,
_
f(x) dx = F(x) + C
These are the basic properties of integrals.
1.
_ _
d
dx
f(x)
_
dx = f(x) + C
2.
d
dx
__
f(x) dx
_
= f(x)
3.
_
af(x) dx = a
_
f(x) dx
4.
_
f(x) g(x) dx =
_
f(x) dx
_
g(x) dx
The most straightforward way to calculate integrals is to recognise the integrand (that is, the function that
is to be integrated) as a known derivative, possibly multiplied by a constant.
Though tables of common integrals are given, you should be very familiar with them in order to recognise
situations where they need to be used.
1. Basic intengrals
_
0 dx = C
_
1 dx = x + C
_
a dx = ax + C
_
x
r
dx =
x
r+1
r + 1
+ C
2. Integrals of derivatives of trigonometric functions:
_
sin xdx = cos x + C
_
cos xdx = sin x + C
_
sec
2
xdx = tan x + C
_
cosec
2
xdx = cot x + C
_
tan xsec xdx = sec x + C
_
cot xcosec xdx = cosec x+C
3. Integrals of derivatives of inverse trigonometric functions:
_
1

1 x
2
dx = sin
1
x + C
_
1
1 + x
2
dx = tan
1
x + C
_
1
x

x
2
1
dx = sec
1
x + C
4. Integrals of derivatives of exponential and logarithmic functions:
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_
e
x
dx = e
x
+ C
_
1
x
dx = ln |x| + C
2 Integration by substitution (or by change of variables)
This arises by reversing the chain rule of dierentiation, and applies to cases where the integrand can be reduced
to the form, f(g(x))g

(x).
_
f(g(x))g

(x) dx =
_
f(u) du where u = g(x)
The aim is to reduce a complex function to a simpler form that you know how to integrate. In complicated
cases, the required substitutions will be given, but you will need to gure out the correct substitutions in most
of the simpler cases. Being very comfortable with integration by substitution is also important in aiding recall
of standard integrals such as
_
1
a
2
+ x
2
dx.
Figuring out the right substitutions requires some practice. Here are some rules of thumb that may help:
1. Typical integrands present you only with a few candidate g(x)-s for making the substitution u = g(x).
Try out the various combinations you can think of before committing to any particular substitution.
Example:

_
x
5
e
x
3
dx
Here are a few possible candidates: e
x
3
, x
3
, x
3
e
x
3
, x
5
, and so on. To pick out a suitable one, do a
mental estimate of where your choice will lead you to.
2. Try to see if any part of the integrand is such that its derivative is a factor of the integrand. If youre
successful, you would have found the substitution.
Example:

_
xcos x
2
dx
Looking for patterns of the form f(g(x)) and g

(x), you notice that

d
dx
x
2
= 2x, and that x
_
=
1
2
2x
_
indeed occurs in the integrand. You can now safely make the substitution u = x
2
and let the manip-
ulations carry you through.
u = x
2

du
dx
= 2x
du
2
= xdx
Making the substitution, we have:
_
xcos x
2
dx =
_
cos u
du
2
=
1
2
_
cos udu
=
1
2
sin(u) + C
=
1
2
sin(x
2
) + C
3. Know the special cases where integration by substitution can be directly applied.
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(a)
_
[f(x)]
n
f

(x) dx =
[f(x)]
n+1
n + 1
+ C by substituting u = f(x), and integrating
_
u
n
du.
(b)
_
f

(x)
f(x)
dx = ln |f(x)| + C by substituting u = f(x), and integrating
_
1
u
du.
(c)
_
f(ax + b) dx can be reduced to
1
a
_
f(u) du by substituting u = ax + b.
3 Integration by parts
This technique arises from reversing the product rule for dierentiation. Its useful for evaluating integrals
where the integrand is the product of two functions, such as
_
xsin xdx or
_
x
2
ln xdx.
Since integration by parts involves quite a bit of computation, it should always be the method of last resort.
The last thing you want to do is to jump straight into integration by parts without looking hard enough for a
proper substitution that can be used!
The rule for integration by parts is:
_
u
dv
dx
dx = uv
_
v
du
dx
dx
If you write the integrand as the product of two functions u and w, then the rule for integration by parts
becomes:
_
uwdx = uv
_
v
du
dx
dx where v =
_
wdx
The heuristic here is to pick your u (the function to dierentiate) and w (the function to integrate) such
that v =
_
wdx and
_
v
du
dx
dx are easy to evaluate.
3.1 The LIATE rule
This is a rule of thumb for selecting u (i.e, the function to dierentiate) in the integrand of
_
uwdx.
The rule is that whichever function comes rst in the following list should be your u. Functions lower in the
list have easier integrals that the ones above.
1. L: Logarithmic functions (ln x, log x, etc.)
2. I: Inverse trigonometric functions (sin
1
x, cos
1
x), etc.)
3. A: Algebraic functions (x
3
, 5x, etc.)
4. T: Trigonometric functions (sin x, cos x, etc.)
5. E: Exponential functions (e
x
, a
x/2
, etc.)
Example: In evaluating
_
xln xdx, we would choose u = ln x (the Logarithmic function) and w = x (the
Algebraic function). Our v will be, v =
_
xdx =
x
2
2
.
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Do not be pedantic about applying LIATE - its just a rule of thumb. If it doesnt work, try to foresee where
your choice of u and v will lead you to, and choose the path that will make your integrand simpler to evaluate.
3.2 Special Cases
Take note of the following special cases when doing integration by parts:
1. Taking the the function to be integrated
_
du
dx
_
as 1.
Example:

_
ln(x) dx
The integrand ln x can be written as 1 ln x. Applying integration by parts, we have,
u = ln x
du
dx
=
1
x
dv
dx
= 1 v = x
_
1 ln xdx = uv
_
v
du
dx
dx
= xln x
_
x
1
x
dx
= xln x
_
1 dx
= xln x x + C
2. The integral to be evaluated reappears on the RHS. In this case, you need to make it the subject of the
formula to get the result.
Example:

_
e
x
sin xdx
Well have to go for integration by parts.
u = sin x
du
dx
= cos x
dv
dx
= e
x
v = e
x
_
e
x
sin xdx = uv
_
v
du
dx
dx
= e
x
sin x
_
e
x
cos xdx
= e
x
sin x I
2
Now we need to evaluate the integral I
2
=
_
e
x
cos xdx. In applying integration by parts again to
I
2
,
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u = cos x
du
dx
= sin x
dv
dx
= e
x
v = e
x
I
2
= uv
_
v
du
dx
dx
= e
x
cos x
_
e
x
(sin x) dx
= e
x
cos x +
_
e
x
sin xdx
= e
x
cos x + I
1
, where I
1
=
_
e
x
sin xdx was the integral we started o with. That is,
I
1
= e
x
sin x I
2
= e
x
sin x (e
x
cos x + I
1
)
2I
1
= e
x
sin x e
x
cos x + C
I
1
=
1
2
e
x
(sin x cos x) + C
4 Selected Integrals
Here are a few cases for you to go through. Do not bother memorising them - just be familiar with them
enough so that you will be able to recognise the situations that call for specic techniques. Before you invest
computational eort in carrying out the steps, always mentally simulate how your chosen method will play out.
4.1 Trigonometric Integrals
1. Integrals of the form
_
sin
k
xcos
n
xdx, where k and n are non-negative integers.
(a) When at least one of sin x and cos x is raised to an odd power.
Examples:

_
sin
3
xcos
2
xdx
Let u = cos x. Then, du = sin xdx. Hence,
_
sin
3
xcos
2
xdx =
_
sin
2
xcos
2
xsin xdx
=
_
(1 cos
2
x) cos
2
xsin xdx
=
_
(1 u
2
)u
2
du =
_
(u
4
u
2
) du
=
1
5
u
5

1
3
u
3
+ C =
1
5
cos
5
x
1
3
cos
3
x + C
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_
sin
5
xdx
Let u = cos x. Then du = sin xdx, and
_
sin
5
xdx =
_
sin
4
xsin xdx =
_
(1 cos
2
x)
2
sin xdx
=
_
(1 u
2
)
2
du =
_
(1 2u
2
+ u
4
) du
= (u
2
3
u
3
+
1
5
u
5
) + C
=
1
5
cos
5
x +
2
3
cos
3
x cos x + C
(b) When both powers of sin x and cos x are even. This involves a more tedious computation using the
identities,
cos
2
x =
1 + cos 2x
2
and sin
2
x =
1 cos 2x
2
Example:

_
cos
4
xdx
_
cos
4
xdx =
_
(cos
2
x)
2
dx
=
_ _
1 + cos 2x
2
_
2
dx
=
1
4
_
1 + 2 cos 2x + cos
2
2xdx
=
1
4
_
x + sin 2x +
_
cos
2
2xdx
_
=
1
4
_
x + sin 2x +
_
1 + cos 4x
2
dx
_
=
1
4
_
x + sin 2x +
1
2
_
x +
1
4
sin 4x
_
+ C
=
1
4
_
x + sin 2x +
x
2
+
1
8
sin 4x
_
+ C
=
1
4
_
3
2
x + sin 2x +
1
8
sin 4x

+ C
=
3
8
x +
1
4
sin 2x +
1
32
sin 4x + C
2. Integrals of the form,
_
tan
k
xsec
n
xdx, where k and n are non-negative integers.
(a) When n is even, substitute u = tan x.
Example:

_
tan
2
xsec
4
xdx
Let u = tan x, du = sec
2
xdx. Hence,
_
tan
2
xsec
4
xdx =
_
tan
2
x(1 + tan
2
x) sec
2
xdx
=
_
u
2
(1 + u
2
) du
=
_
u
4
+ u
2
du =
1
5
u
5
+
1
3
u
3
+ C
=
1
5
tan
5
x +
1
3
tan
3
x + C
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(b) When n is odd and k is odd, substitute u = sec x
Example:

_
tan
3
xsec xdx
Let u = sec x, du = sec xtan xdx. Hence,
_
tan
3
xsec xdx =
_
tan
2
xsec xtan xdx =
_
(sec
2
x 1) sec xtan xdx
=
_
(u
2
1) du
=
1
3
u
3
u + C
=
1
3
sec
3
x sec x + C
4.2 Rational Functions
Rational functions are of the form,
f(x) =
P(x)
Q(x)
=
B
0
x
m
+ B
1
x
m1
+ + B
m
A
0
x
n
+ A
1
x
n1
+ + A
n
, where P(x) and Q(x) are polynomial functions. If the degree of the numerator is less than that of the
denominator, the rational function is said to be proper, otherwise it is called improper. Improper fractions can
be represented as the sum of a polynomial and a proper fraction:
f(x) =
P(x)
Q(x)
= M(x) +
P
1
(x)
Q(x)
Keep in mind the following techniques for integrating rational functions:
1. Splitting the function into partial fractions and integrating each partial fraction.
Example:

_
11x + 48
2x
2
+ 13x + 15
dx
By splitting the integrand into partial fractions, we see that
11x + 48
2x
2
+ 13x + 15
=
9
2x + 3
+
1
x + 5
.
Hence,
_
11x + 48
2x
2
+ 13x + 15
dx =
_
9
2x + 3
dx +
_
1
x + 5
dx
=
9
2
ln |2x + 3| + ln |x + 5| + C
2. Examining whether the integrand is of the form
_
f

(x)
f(x)
dx.
Example:

_
4x + 3
8x
2
+ 12x + 5
dx
We notice that
d
dx
(8x
2
+ 12x + 5) = 16x + 12, and that the numerator is
1
4
(16x + 12). Hence,
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_
4x + 3
8x
2
+ 12x + 5
dx =
1
4
_
16x + 12
8x
2
+ 12x + 5
dx
=
1
4
ln |8x
2
+ 12x + 5| + C
3. If the denominator is a quadratic and not factorisable (i.e., of the form ax
2
+ bx + c with b
2
4ac < 0),
you can complete the square of the denominator, and use the result,
_
1
a
2
+ x
2
dx =
1
a
tan
1
_
x
a
_
+ C.
Example:

_
1
4x
2
+ 12x + 90
dx
Trying to factorise the integrand, we notice that the discriminant of the denominator is negative
it cannot be split into factors with real coecients. Also, the numerator is a constant, and theres
no way we can get the derivative of the denominator there. So, we proceed to complete the square
of the denominator.
_
1
4x
2
+ 12x + 90
dx =
_
1
81 + (2x + 3)
2
dx
=
_
1
9
2
+ (2x + 3)
2
dx
=
1
2 9
tan
1
_
2x + 3
9
_
+ C
In addition, be prepared to use any combination of the above techniques in the same problem.
4.3 Irrational Functions
You will need to recognise cases where the result
_
1

a
2
x
2
= sin
1
_
x
a
_
+C applies. For trickier ones, such
as
_

x
2
+ a
2
dx, you will be given the substitutions to use.
Example:

_
1

8 9x
2
6x
dx
This calls for recognising the integrand as of the form
1
_
a
2
(bx + c)
2
. By completing the square,
8 9x
2
6x = 9 (3x + 1)
2
= 3
2
(3x + 1)
2
. Hence,
_
1

8 9x
2
6x
dx =
_
1
_
3
2
(3x + 1)
2
dx
=
1
3
sin
1
_
3x + 1
3
_
+ C
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