- #1
Liger20
- 65
- 0
Homework Statement
Hello, first of all I would like to apologize for the fact that this question is extremely trivial compared to the other questions being asked. I have a improper integral problem, and the entire problem itself is not relevant, because I understand everything in it except for one thing. One step in the problem requires finding the indefinite integral of (1/x^2). The example in the book tells me that the answer is (-1/x), and it says that the answer is obtained by using the reverse power rule, but I just can’t see how they got that answer. I have a feeling that it is something very simple, and that I’ve forgotten some subtle detail.
Homework Equations
The Attempt at a Solution
Here’s how I tried to solve it:
(1/x^2) has an overall power of one, right? I increased the power of the whole thing by one, which is (1/x^2)^2, and I divided the whole thing by two, which is the same thing as multiplying by ½. So…
(½)(1/x^2)^2
You can already see that this is not going to give an answer of (-1/x). Could someone please help me with this?