Taylor expansions and integration.

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the use of Taylor series expansions for functions that cannot be integrated analytically. It is established that if the function f(x) is analytic around a specific point, expanding it in a Taylor series and using that expansion to approximate a definite integral is valid, particularly when the interval of integration is short. However, it is noted that using a finite number of terms in the expansion will only yield an approximation of the integral, not an exact value.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Taylor series expansions
  • Knowledge of analytic functions
  • Familiarity with definite integrals
  • Basic calculus concepts
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the properties of analytic functions in detail
  • Learn about the convergence of Taylor series
  • Explore numerical integration techniques for approximating integrals
  • Investigate the implications of truncating Taylor series in practical applications
USEFUL FOR

Mathematicians, calculus students, and anyone interested in numerical methods for integration and approximation techniques.

JamesHG
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
I have a short doubt: Let f(x) be a fuction that can't be integrated in an analytical way . Is anything wrong if I expand it in a Taylor' series around a point and use this expansion to get the value of the definite integral of the function around that point? Suppose that the interval between the integral limits it's short so that the expansion is a good approximation to the function in that interval.
Thanks!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
JamesHG said:
I have a short doubt: Let f(x) be a fuction that can't be integrated in an analytical way . Is anything wrong if I expand it in a Taylor' series around a point and use this expansion to get the value of the definite integral of the function around that point? Suppose that the interval between the integral limits it's short so that the expansion is a good approximation to the function in that interval.
Thanks!

If the function is analytic around the point (i.e. all the derivatives exist and or finite at the point), I cannot see any problem. Obviously, unless you use infinite number terms it will usually only be an approximation to your integral over f(x).
 

Similar threads

Replies
23
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
1K
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
6K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
1K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
4K
  • · Replies 31 ·
2
Replies
31
Views
4K