Integrating x^2 sin x: Find Exact Value of Abs(-pi/2 to pi/2)

madhamster
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
The question asks me to integrate x^2 sin x dx and then use it to find the exact value of the integration of abs ( x^2 sin x dx) with upper limit of pi/2 and lower limit of -pi/2.

I have found the integration of x^2 sin x dx which is -x^2 cosx + 2xsinX + 2 cosx + C

but after putting in the upper limits and lower limits i get the answer 2pi, where have i gone wrong because my first part is correct but the second part is different from the answer given.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
For what values of x is x2 sin x positive and for what values of x is it negative? Remember that |a|= a if a is positive and |a|= -a if a is negative. You cannot just evaluate x2 cosx + 2xsinX + 2 cosx + C at -pi/2 and pi/2.
 
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