Physics Major Struggles with Integration: Books to Help

[clumps tim]

As a physics major, I felt devastated today when I had to face the toughest integrals in my life for advanced quantum mech course. I am really embarrassed I did bot learn integration properly. please suggest me a good book that will help me excel in sort of integraion I will face for QM and later physics courses.

 

[ZetaOfThree]

Any math methods book (ex. the one by Mary Boas) will probably cover integrals needed for physics courses. I'm curious, do you remember what the integrals were?

 

[clumps tim]

I remember one, I wanted to do it by integration by parts and then I see its not doable that way.

integral ( r^2 e^(-r/a) sin(kr)) dr

I t must be pretty easy that I misses due to my ignorance

 

[ZetaOfThree]

Was that for a test? If so, that's a bit strange to not provide an integral table. You might do well to review integration material in a single variable calculus, I don't think math methods books will cover integration at that level. Websites like Brilliant.org have good calculus exercises, so you might check that out too.

 

[mathwonk]

do you know the relation between sin(x) and e^x? it might simplify this integral to know that since e^ix = cos(x) + isin(x),

that it follows that sin(x) = (1/2i)(e^ix - e^-ix), or some such. i.e. after using this that integral would be doable by integration by parts.

but don't feel bad about that integral, many of us would be troubled by it, and your idea was essentially correct.

 

[ZetaOfThree]

many of us would be troubled by it

Yeah, it would be pretty scary to see that integral on a physics test.

 

[clumps tim]

Yes that was in my 1 hour midterm . I thought the instructor was going to test our physics knowledge and not scare us with tricky integrals.
anyway thanks for your suggestions. I will take a look at Boas .