Nasty integral - which piece of technology to trust?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around evaluating the indefinite integral of the function e^x / (e^2x + 9) dx. Participants are exploring the use of technology to solve the integral and questioning the validity of different outputs from various calculators.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the outputs from different calculators and express uncertainty about which result to trust. There are attempts to use substitution methods, with some participants questioning the effectiveness of their chosen substitutions. Others are clarifying the relationship between variables involved in the integral.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants sharing their thought processes and clarifying their understanding of substitution. Some guidance has been offered regarding the substitution method, and there is a recognition of potential issues with calculator settings. Multiple interpretations of the integral are being explored.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working under the constraints of using technology for solving the integral and are discussing the implications of different calculator modes (degrees vs. radians). There is also a focus on ensuring that the substitutions made are appropriate for the integral being evaluated.

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Nasty integral -- which piece of technology to trust?

Homework Statement



indefinite integral: e^x / (e^2x + 9) dx
Technology is allowed to solve it.

Homework Equations



The Attempt at a Solution



My trusty TI-89 says (pi/540)arctan((e^3x)/3)

while two different online integral calculators came up with (1/3log(e))*arctan((e^3x)/3)

What do you think? Which is right/should I trust? Should I just do it by hand? If so, what method do you recommend?

Thanks
 
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u=e^x
 


Hmm, I don't know if it's just by foggy memory of Calc II but that substitution doesn't seem to help it at all.
 


Make the subst e^{x} = 3 u[/tex] and your integral will be converted to a table one. none of the answers is correct.
 


What relationship is there between e^{2x} and e^x? That should help with the integral and the substitution.
 


Thanks you two, I am starting to get it, but I am running into trouble.

So far, 3u=e^x, du=?dx -- should I take du/dx of e^x/3 and get du = e^x dx? But if I do that then I get an e^x in my integral below.

integral: 3u / (9u^2 + 9)
 


what is du?
 


The derivative of u. I thought I had to take the derivative of my subsitution and solve for dx to sub that back into my integral.
 


Write what you get for du.
 
  • #10


I think your trusty TI-89 calculated exactly what you told it to calculate, rather than what you meant to calculate. Is it in degree mode, perchance, instead of radian mode?
 
  • #11


yes :)
 
  • #12


so I got du = (e^x)/3 dx. What do I do with this expression? I thought I was supposed to solve for dx, and plug that into my integral with my u's. Is that not right?

integral: 3u / (9u^2 + 9) * 3 / (e^x) du
 
  • #13


Hurkyl, it was in radian mode.
 
  • #14


Oh, so then the default output of the arctangent function for TI-89 is in degrees.
 
  • #15


Oh wow, I just did it in degree mode and it produced the answer consistent with the back of the book.
 
  • #16


Thanks Statdad, Dickfore and Hurkyl, so very much!
 
  • #17


Oh and I finally figured out the substitution thing. I realized I didn't need to sub 3u into the numerator
 
  • #18


u=e^x
du=e^xdx
Your integral becomes
1/(u^2 +9) which is the antiderievative of (1/3)arctan(u/3)...
 
Last edited:

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