Integral of a Fraction: Solving with Substitution and Integration by Parts

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    Fraction Integral
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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the integral of a fraction involving square roots and polynomial expressions, specifically the integral of the form \(\int\frac{\sqrt{x^3} +1}{\sqrt{x}+1}dx\). Participants are exploring various methods of integration, including substitution and integration by parts.

Discussion Character

  • Mixed

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants have attempted substitution and integration by parts but expressed uncertainty about their effectiveness. There are questions regarding the clarity of the integral's expression due to the use of parentheses. Some suggest using polynomial long division as a potential approach before integration.

Discussion Status

Several participants are actively engaging with the problem, offering different methods and questioning the original poster's setup. There is no explicit consensus on the best approach, but various strategies are being explored, including polynomial division and factoring.

Contextual Notes

There is a noted confusion regarding the proper formulation of the integral due to the lack of parentheses, which has led to multiple interpretations of the problem. Participants are also addressing the original poster's attempts and the discrepancies between their results and the expected answer.

aquitaine
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Homework Equations



[tex]\int\sqrt{x^{3}}+1/\sqrt{x}+1[/tex]


The Attempt at a Solution



I tried substitution, but that wouldn't work. I tried integration by parts, but I must not have done it properly since my answer was several factors of x off. Am I missing something?
 
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Use parenthesis! I'm assuming your problem is:

[tex]\int\frac{\sqrt{x^3} +1}{\sqrt x+1}dx[/tex]

So, where is your work? Thanks :)
 
aquitaine said:

Homework Equations



[tex]\int\sqrt{x^{3}}+1/\sqrt{x}+1[/tex]


The Attempt at a Solution



I tried substitution, but that wouldn't work. I tried integration by parts, but I must not have done it properly since my answer was several factors of x off. Am I missing something?
Please use brackets!

Now it isn't clear what your integral is. :frown:

Is it the integral below? Is het root taken only of x^3 and x or the whole term?


[tex]\int \frac{ \sqrt{x^3}+1}{\sqrt{x}+1} \mbox{d}x[/tex]
 
Assuming rocomath is correct in formulating the problem, try long division before integration
 
rocomath said:
Use parenthesis! I'm assuming your problem is:

[tex]\int\frac{\sqrt{x^3} +1}{\sqrt x+1}dx[/tex]

So, where is your work? Thanks :)

Right. Here's my work:

u=x[tex]^{3/2}[/tex]+ 1 du= [tex]\frac{3}{2}[/tex]x[tex]^{1/2}[/tex]
dv = x[tex]^{1/2}[/tex] + 1 v= 2x[tex]^{3/2}[/tex] + x


After that I decided to check the answer before proceeding further to see if I was on the right track, which I wasn't. The books answer was (1/2)x^2 - (3/2)x[tex]\sqrt{x}[/tex] + x + C, and I'm at a loss as to how that happened.
 
I let [tex]x=u^2 \rightarrow dx=2udu[/tex]

Then I used polynomial division.
 
Last edited:
divide sqrt(x)+1 into x*sqrt(x)+1, the integration then becomes very straight forward
 
RTW69 said:
divide sqrt(x)+1 into x*sqrt(x)+1, the integration then becomes very straight forward

Quite so, or factor [tex]x^{3/2} + 1[/tex] as a sum of two cubes...
 
dynamicsolo said:
Quite so, or factor [tex]x^{3/2} + 1[/tex] as a sum of two cubes...
Oh! Very nice, didn't even notice that.
 
  • #10
thanks guys!
 

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