Finding the indefinite integral

csc2iffy
Messages
74
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement


\int(x^(1/3)/(x^(1/3)+1))dx


Homework Equations


I know I have to use u substitution
u=x^(1/3)
du=1/(3x^(2/3))dx


The Attempt at a Solution


I know that the denominator of the equation will be u+1, but I don't understand how to find the numerator because I thought it would just be u, but wolfram alpha says it's u^3?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
csc2iffy said:

Homework Statement


\int(x^(1/3)/(x^(1/3)+1))dx

Homework Equations


I know I have to use u substitution
u=x^(1/3)
du=1/(3x^(2/3))dx

The Attempt at a Solution


I know that the denominator of the equation will be u+1, but I don't understand how to find the numerator because I thought it would just be u, but wolfram alpha says it's u^3?

If x^(1/3)=u then x^(2/3)=u^2. So du=(1/(3*u^2))dx. Does that tell you where the extra two powers of u are coming from?
 
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...
Back
Top