Is It Possible to Simplify This Tricky Triple Integral?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a challenging triple integral involving the expression \(\int^{1}_{0}\int^{x/2}_{0}\frac{y}{(2y-1)\sqrt{1+y^2}}dydx\). Participants express difficulty in solving the integral and explore various approaches to simplify or evaluate it.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Some participants suggest numerical approximation as a potential method for evaluation. Others discuss the possibility of changing the order of integration and the implications of such a change on the boundaries. There are mentions of integration techniques, including integration by parts and substitutions like \(y = \sinh z\). Participants also question whether the integral can be simplified through these methods.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with various strategies being proposed. Some participants have shared their calculations and insights, while others are still exploring different interpretations of the integral. There is no explicit consensus on a single approach, but several productive lines of reasoning have emerged.

Contextual Notes

Participants note that the area of integration forms a triangle, which influences the setup of the integral. There are also indications that some participants are working under constraints typical of homework assignments, which may limit their approaches.

Kreamer
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\int^{1}_{0}\int^{x/2}_{0}\frac{y}{(2y-1)\sqrt{1+y^2}}dydx

Most of my attempts at this problem fail pretty quickly. Not even my calculator knows what to do with this one.
 
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Kreamer said:
\int^{1}_{0}\int^{x/2}_{0}\frac{y}{(2y-1)\sqrt{1+y^2}} dydx

Most of my attempts at this problem fail pretty quickly. Not even my calculator knows what to do with this one.

This looks like another integral I just saw here.
I presume that one is yours as well?

This one looks equally difficult to solve.
My approach would be to approximate it numerically.
Is it possible that is intended?

It still means you need to bring in a suitable form to integrate numerically.
I guess you could then integrate it with your calculator?

The trick would be to swap the integrals, implying a change in boundary values.
Then you can easily integrate the inner integral over x, leaving the outer integral that will now have fixed boundaries.
Your calculator should be able to do the rest.
 
It's a double integral and it evaluates to 1 - SQRT (5) / 2
 
Would a change in the order of integration help? :)
 
If you want to do the integration, I think you will have to look at integration by parts with respect to y, using either trigonometric or hyperbolic substitution for the function of y under the square root.
 
In the inner integral:
You could try substituting y = sinh z to make the square root go away. Then you split of a summand 1/2 which integrates to z/2, and to find an indefinite integral for the remaining part, you should calculate the derivative of artanh(a + b tanh(z/2)).
 
Last edited:
Here's my calculation, using Derive for Windows
 

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The area that is integrated is a triangle between (0, 0), (1, 0), and (1, 1/2).
If we swap the integration order then y must run from 0 to 1/2, and the corresponding x must run from 2y to 1.

So we have:

\int^{1}_{0}\int^{x/2}_{0}\frac{y}{(2y-1)\sqrt{1+y^2}} dydx

= \int^{1/2}_{0}\int^{2y}_{1}\frac{y}{(2y-1)\sqrt{1+y^2}} dxdy

= \int^{1/2}_{0}\frac{y}{(2y-1)\sqrt{1+y^2}} (1 - 2y)dy

= \int^{1/2}_{0}\frac{-y}{\sqrt{1+y^2}}dy

= \left.-\sqrt{1+y^2}}\right|_{0}^{1/2}

= 1 - \frac 1 2 \sqrt{5}

It turns out to be easier than I thought :cool:.
 
Last edited:

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