# Show the bounds of an integral in LaTeX

1. Feb 2, 2008

### kentm

Hey I'm typing out my math homework, and I've run into some notation that I'm kind of confused about:

I need to know how to show the bounds of an integral after you've taken the antiderivative. Kind of like this:

Integral (bounds: 0 to 2) of x^2 = [1/3x^3] (0 to 2).

The actual notation might look like this:

--------|2
1/3x^3|
--------|0

Sorry if I have this in the wrong forum; I didn't see any designated for LaTeX.

2. Feb 2, 2008

### Kurdt

Staff Emeritus
Something like:

$$\int_0^2 x^2 dx = \left[\frac{1}{3} x^3 \right]_0^2$$

Code (Text):
\int_0^2 x^2 dx = \left[\frac{1}{3} x^3 \right]_0^2

3. Feb 2, 2008

### kentm

That's exactly what I needed...

Thanks.

4. Feb 2, 2008

### kentm

Okay, now I've got another question:

What if I want to have negative bounds like this:

\int_-3^3?

pdflatex doesn't seem to like that very well.

5. Feb 2, 2008

### Kurdt

Staff Emeritus
Bound them with curly brackets {..}. What Latex package are you using? Most come with a PDF explaining the simple operations of Latex in the source folder.

6. Feb 2, 2008

### Larne

Compound expressions should be enclosed in curly braces:

\int_{-3}^3 dx

Also, as an alternate answer to your original question, if you just want a long vertical bar try \bigg|

For example,

$$\int_{-3}^3 dx = x \bigg|_{-3}^3 = 3 - (-3) = 6$$

(if you think \bigg| looks too big you can drop down a size with \big| )

7. Feb 2, 2008

8. Feb 3, 2008

### CompuChip

and if you have an expression which is tall enough of itself, you may just want to use left and right;
$$\int_{-3}^3 x^2 dx = \left. \frac{1}{3} x^3 \right|_{-3}^3 = \cdots$$
(note the use of the \left. - otherwise LaTeX will complain!)