Improper integral concept question

In summary, the integral in question may be improper if any of the following conditions are met: the lower limit is -\infty, the upper limit is \infty, the integrand goes to -\infty at some point in the interval of integration, or the integrand goes to \infty at some point in the interval of integration. The values of x that make the denominator of the integrand 0 also need to be considered.
  • #1
wetwilly92
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0

Homework Statement



For what values of K is the following integral improper?

[tex]\int\stackrel{K}{0}x^2 / (x^2-19x+90) dx[/tex]I'm stuck on this question. I understand mechanically, that the integration require partial fraction decomp, which results in -9ln(x-9) (from 0 to K) + 10ln(x-10) (from 0 to K). What I don't understand is what makes this integral improper. I understand that LN is undefined for all evaluations < 1. So does this mean that any K < 10 will create an improper integral?

EDIT: How does one properly display the upper and lower limits on the integration symbol?
 
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  • #2
wetwilly92 said:

Homework Statement



For what values of K is the following integral improper?

[tex]\int\stackrel{K}{0}x^2 / (x^2-19x+90) dx[/tex]I'm stuck on this question. I understand mechanically, that the integration require partial fraction decomp, which results in -9ln(x-9) (from 0 to K) + 10ln(x-10) (from 0 to K). What I don't understand is what makes this integral improper. I understand that LN is undefined for all evaluations < 1. So does this mean that any K < 10 will create an improper integral?

EDIT: How does one properly display the upper and lower limits on the integration symbol?

To get the limits right use \int_0^K instead of stackrel.

As for the question itself, you might want to draw a sketch of the function.
 
  • #3
An integral may be "improper" for one of several reasons-
1) The lower limit is [itex]-\infty[/itex].
2) The upper limit is [itex]\infty[/itex].
3) The integrand goes to [itex]-\infty[/itex] at some point in the interval of integration.
4) The integrand goes to [itex]\infty[/itex] at some point in the interval of integration.

Which of those can happen here?

What values of x make the denominator of the integrand 0?
 

1. What is an improper integral?

An improper integral is an integral that does not have both limits of integration as finite values. This means that one or both of the limits of integration are either negative infinity or positive infinity.

2. How is an improper integral different from a regular integral?

An improper integral differs from a regular integral in that it does not have both limits of integration as finite values. Regular integrals have both limits of integration as finite values, while improper integrals have one or both limits as infinity.

3. What are the two types of improper integrals?

The two types of improper integrals are Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 improper integrals have one or both limits of integration as infinity, while Type 2 improper integrals have a discontinuity within the interval of integration.

4. How do you determine the convergence or divergence of an improper integral?

To determine the convergence or divergence of an improper integral, you must evaluate the integral and see if it converges to a finite value or diverges to infinity. This can be done by using various convergence tests, such as the limit comparison test or the integral test.

5. What are some real-world applications of improper integrals?

Improper integrals are commonly used in physics and engineering to solve problems involving infinite quantities, such as calculating the work done by an object moving at a constant velocity or finding the center of mass of an object with an infinite length or volume. They are also used in probability and statistics to calculate the expected value of a continuous random variable.

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