Integrating Powers of x
How do I integrate powers of x?
- Powers of are integrated according to the following formula:
- (where is the constant of integration)
- This is valid for any value of except
- So you cannot integrate this way
- (where is the constant of integration)
- If is multiplied by a constant then
-
- This also is not valid for
-
- These formulae are not on the exam formula sheet, so you need to remember them
- Remember the special case:
-
- e.g.
- This allows constant terms to be integrated
-
- Functions involving roots will need to be rewritten as fractional powers
- e.g.
- rewrite as
- then integrate
- e.g.
- Fractions with in the denominator will need to be rewritten as negative powers
- e.g.
- rewrite as
- then integrate
- e.g.
How do I integrate sums and differences of powers of x?
- The formulae can be used to integrate sums or differences of powers of
- Just integrate term by term
- e.g.
- Just integrate term by term
- Products and quotients cannot be integrated this way
- You need to expand and/or simplify first
- e.g.
- expand as
- then integrate term by term
- you cannot just multiply the integrals of and together
- You need to expand and/or simplify first
What might I be asked to do once I’ve integrated?
- You may be given the derivative of a function and asked to find the function
- Integration and differentiation are inverse operations so
- Integration and differentiation are inverse operations so
- With more information the constant of integration,, can be found
- The area under a curve can also be found using integration
Exam Tip
- Remember the basic pattern of integrating powers of x
- 'Raise the power by one and divide by the new power'
- Lots of practice will improve your speed and accuracy
- It's easy to check your answer when integrating
- Just differentiate your answer
- It should turn back into the function you were integrating in the first place
Worked example
Given that , find an expression for in terms of.
Start by rewriting entirely in powers of
By laws of indices
Remember
We can integrate term by term using
We can't find the value of without further info, so that's the answer to the question
It's 'nice' to turn back into for the final answer, but you would also get the marks without doing that