Questions tagged [integration]
For questions related to the teaching of integral calculus
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Antiderivative of $1/x$, with or without absolute value?
Many textbooks include $\int \frac{1}{x} dx = \ln |x| + c$ in their list of antiderivative formulas, with the absolute value. Correspondingly, they do the same with the antiderivative of $\tan x$ or ...
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How to properly define volume for beginner calculus students?
I'm interested in opinions based on experience about how to introduce volume for beginner calculus students. Below I present some observations and specific questions.
In Stewart's book, the volume of ...
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Definite integrals with equal limits
As a property of definite integrals, we teach that definite integrals are zero if the lower and upper limits are the same (Wolfram mathworld says this too). Is this valid in general?
In the case of ...
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Student forgets to remove dx after integrating
I am tutoring another US college student in a Calculus 1 class. Initially, she was having trouble with basic concepts, but after much prodding most of the conceptual difficulties seem to have been ...
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Should an undergraduate math program contain a course on Lebesgue integration?
Is it standard for a math undergraduate program to have a course on Lebesgue integration?
Does Riemann integral suffice for undergraduates?
The reason of my question is I read a paper by Bartle titled ...
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Good Examples of Equations Derived from Elementary Calculus
I'm collecting additional enrichment content for my calculus students. I'm looking for examples of equations that are used in various fields, but which can be derived at least somewhat ...
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Why can an easily graphable definite integral, be labyrinthine to evaluate?
How can I explain to 16-year-olds, who just started calculus, why it's so nettlesome and tricky to symbolically integrate definite integrals, when their graphs look so unremarkable and straightforward?...
user15364
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Usefulness of $u$-substitution in and beyond early Calculus?
My students, when presented with an integral (source) like
$$\int (2x+2)e^{x^2+2x+3} \ dx$$
are apt to recognize derivative patterns like $u' e^{u}$ and reverse-engineer anti-derivatives rather than ...
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Finding an error in a partial integration [closed]
There must be an error in this partial integration but I do not see it. Do you see it?
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Analogy for cylindrical shells
The analogy for cross-sections is easy since we can think of how slices of bread can make up a loaf.
But what would be the analogy for cylindrical shells?
Regarding shapes, apparently there's ...
user13544
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The purpose of a particular rational function integration exercise
This might be a more appropriate question for math.stackexchange, but it's about a problem I'm considering giving my students, so here it goes.
One of the later exercises in Section 7.4 of James ...
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Intuition or geometry for Partial Fractions
When teaching partial fractions, there's probably no way to escape the heavy algebra necessary for partial fractions, but I'm wondering how to introduce the idea in a way that is intuitive or ...
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The hardest case of integration by partial fractions
The context is explaining to calculus students how to integrate rational functions by using partial fractions decomposition.
As we all know, partial fractions decomposition is a method to write every ...
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A different symbol for the indefinite integral/antiderivative?
Examples. An indefinite integral (or antiderivative) of $\cos$ is $\sin$:
$$\int \cos = \sin.$$
Edit: There has been much unexpected confusion with the above statement. I define the above statement ...
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Retain problems and combat regression in learning
Regressive Learning
It's a really stressful situation. I can achieve but not retain expertise in maths problems.
History
6 months back, I studied integration in Calculus at college. I learnt it all ...
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How can I explain why numerical integration is easy, but symbolic integration is hard?
I'm asking about definite integrals that can effortlessly be found numerically by high schoolers using software. For example,
$$\int_{-1}^1\frac1x\sqrt{\frac{1+x}{1-x}}\ln\left(\frac{2\,x^2+2\,x+1}{2\...
user155
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Using discrete examples in the beginning of integration
In Germany, one usual example to start teaching about integrals is to look at a simple (piecewise constant or with constant slope) functions that make up a water flow vs. time diagram and ask about ...
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Why do we state the antiderivative of $\sec x$ as $\ln |\sec x +\tan x|+C$?
One easy integration of $\sec x$ substitutes $u=\sin x$, viz.$$\int\frac{\cos x}{1-\sin^2 x}\,\mathrm{d}x=\frac{1}{2}\ln\left|\frac{1+\sin x}{1-\sin x}\right|+C.$$Multiplying top and bottom by $1+\sin ...
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Would it be constructive to teach a whole course on how to evaluate certain hard integrals?
For example, there is an integration bee and lots of youtube videos tackling hard or impossible integrals with just tools of Calculus I & II. However, a lot of these integrals found on youtube ...
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Integral calculus from the modern viewpoint
This is a soft question.
What is the purpose of teaching techniques of integration at the college level?
More specifically, in the sense of putting integration into practice, what value does ...
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Tables of primitives with indication of solution method
I am looking for an extensive source (often called "table of integrals") listing primitives of various classes of functions including the "elementary" ones (rational functions, functions involving ...
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Integration by substitution not using letter u
Until a few days ago, every calculus textbook I have seen uses $u$ as the default variable for integration by substitution (a.k.a. integration by change of variables). It was brought to my attention ...
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Alternative ways of thinking about the one-variable Riemann integral for elementary calculus,
I think I've done a decent job with teaching my students limits and derivatives so far in elementary calculus -- they were particularly intrigued with how easy and how accurate a first-order, linear ...
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How do i deal with students who make these mistakes? [closed]
I came across some interesting mistakes in many area of mathematics with my students and do not let me also to tell you for university students level, I would like to know How do i deal with ...
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Evaluating integrals geometrically, without using the fundamental theorem of calculus
I'm designing a lesson for an Introduction to Integral Calculus class, and I want to encourage students to evaluate integrals without just going straight for the antiderivative and using the ...
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Double Integral: Area or Volume? [closed]
When we study double integral many Calculus textbooks state that for a region $R$ in the plane $$\iint_R1\ dA= \text{area bounded by }R $$
But double integral actually give the volume of a solid. ...
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A very tricky pseudo-proof of $0=-1$ through series and integrals
Dealing with a recent question I spotted a very nice exercise for Calc-2 students, i.e. to find the mistake in the following lines.
Lemma 1. For any $n\in\mathbb{N}$, we have: $$ \int_{0}^{1} x^n\...
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Demonstrating that integrals of some unbounded functions exist, and others do not
This is my first year teaching calculus.
On a recent quiz, I asked my students to give an argument that $\int^0_1(1/x)dx$ does not exist. I was looking for arguments that appealed to Riemann sum ...
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Should we teach trigonometric substitution?
This is the question that was not asked here. Also related is this question, but both presuppose that it will be taught and ask about how best to do it. My question here is, suppose we are designing ...
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Should $\varphi$ be monotone in the integration by substitution?
I'm trying to calculate $$\int_{\frac{-\pi}{2}}^{\frac{\pi}{2}}\sin t \cos^3 t\,dt$$ using integration by substitution $$\int_{\varphi([a;b])} f(x)dx=\int_{[a;b]} f\left(\varphi(t)\right)|\varphi'(t)|...
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How to convince students of the integral identity $\int_0^af(x)dx=\int_0^af(a-x)dx$?
A common identity in integration is $\int_0^af(x)dx=\int_0^af(a-x)dx$.
The steps to prove it (algebraically, ignoring the geometric method) are as follows.
Let $u=a-x$ so $dx=-du$.
$\int_0^af(a-x)...
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How to give homework for integration techniques?
When I was a freshman in Mathematics we learned the usual integration techniques (lots of standard integrals, integration by parts, substitution, partial fractions,…). As homework we simple got a ...
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Non-Rigorous Use of Differentials
Consider the following example of working "directly" with differentials.
One way to approach the problem of determining the arc length of the graph of a single-variable function is to imagine the arc ...
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Language to Distinguish Between Variables and Arbitrary Constants
Today in second semester calculus, I found myself stumbling a bit to provide a natural-sounding explanation for all the letters involved in the expression
$$
\lim_{t \rightarrow \infty} \int_1^t \frac{...
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What is a good way to explain the Lebesgue integral to non-math majors?
A few days ago I had my last discussion session on probability theory as a TA. In the end I asked students to ask me questions as this is the last class. One of the student asked me about the (real) ...
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How useful/useless is the indefinite integral [duplicate]
After having met yet another person confused by indefinite integrals today, I've finally decided to ask the community.
Do you think it makes sense to teach indefinite integrals? My opinion is that ...
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Introducing the Lebesgue integral before Riemann's
Has anyone attempted to introduce, or has data on such endeavor, Lebesgue integration before Riemann? I've seen many discussions about how the Riemann integral is obsolete and that it is presented ...
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Should we avoid indefinite integrals?
I am very uncomfortable with indefinite integrals, as I have a hard time giving them a precise sense that matches the way they are written and the usual meaning of other symbols.
For example, when ...
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