Find the following indefinite integral

jodecy
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Homework Statement



find the indefinite integral of ∫x√(1-x^2) dx

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


∫x√(1-x^2) dx

let x = sinθ
dx = cosθ dθ

now sin^2θ + cos^2θ = 1
=> cosθ = √1-sin^2θ ( for the form √(1-x^2))

∫x√(1-x^2) dx => ∫sinθ (√1-sin^2θ) cosθ dθ
=> ∫sinθ cos^2θ dθ

integrating :- let u = cosθ
du = -sinθ dθ

=> ∫ sinθ cos^2θ dθ = ∫ -u^2 du
=> -1/3 u^3 + c
=> -1/3 cos θ + c


is this correct?
 
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jodecy said:

Homework Statement



find the indefinite integral of ∫x√(1-x^2) dx

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


∫x√(1-x^2) dx

let x = sinθ
dx = cosθ dθ

now sin^2θ + cos^2θ = 1
=> cosθ = √1-sin^2θ ( for the form √(1-x^2))

∫x√(1-x^2) dx => ∫sinθ (√1-sin^2θ) cosθ dθ
=> ∫sinθ cos^2θ dθ

integrating :- let u = cosθ
du = -sinθ dθ

=> ∫ sinθ cos^2θ dθ = ∫ -u^2 du
=> -1/3 u^3 + c
=> -1/3 cos3 θ + c


is this correct?
Hello jodecy. Welcome to PF !

At the very least, you need to give the final result in terms of the variable, x .

A more direct substitution is to let u = 1-x2 .
 
ohhhh so i need to state θ = arcsinx

therefore my answer in terms of x would be -1/3 cos^3(arcsinx )?

when i come back i'll try subst with u = 1-x^2
 
Well, I wouldn't even mess with trig substitution, as SammyS said; that's just overkill and too much work for this problem.

But, it is also not "correct" in the sense that it is really hard to understand what (-1/3)\cos^3(\arccos(x)). So, here is a better way.

Draw a right triangle. Pick one of the non-right angles to be \theta. Now, you now that \sin (\theta)=x, and you know that sine is opposite over hypotenuse. Now, label the opposite side with an x and the hypotenuse with a 1. Now, do you see how to find the cosine of \theta out of that?
 
ok so i worked it out using the subst of u = 1 - x^2 and got the answer to be
-1/3 (1-x^2) ^ 3/2 + c. however the original method i used was that presented to me by my lecturer so I'm wondering ...
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
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