What Am I Doing Wrong? : Improper Intergals

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on evaluating the improper integral $$\int_{0}^{2}z^2\ln z\,dz$$ using integration by parts (IBP) and L'Hôpital's rule. The user initially misapplies L'Hôpital's rule, leading to an incorrect result of $$-\frac{16}{9}$$ instead of the correct answer $$\frac{8}{3}\ln(2)-\frac{8}{9}$$ as stated in the solution manual. The user identifies the mistake as the improper use of L'Hôpital's rule and clarifies that it should only be applied to the limit of the term $$z^3\ln(z)$$ evaluated at $$t=0$$, ultimately arriving at the correct evaluation of the integral.

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Here's what I am trying to evaluate...

$$\int_{0}^{2}z^2lnz\,dz$$

This is what I did...

$$\lim_{{t}\to{0}}\int_{t}^{2}z^2lnz \,dz$$

Then using integration by parts...

$$u=\ln\left({z}\right)$$

$$du=\frac{1}{z}dz$$

$$dv=z^2dz$$

$$v=\frac{z^3}{3}$$

$$\lim_{{t}\to{0}}\left[\frac{z^3}{3}\ln\left({z}\right)\right]-\frac{1}{3}\int_{t}^{2}z^2\,ds$$

$$\lim_{{t}\to{0}}\frac{1}{3}\left[z^3\ln\left({z}\right)\right]-\frac{1}{9}\left[z^3\right]$$ for $$t \le z\le2$$

I know that $$\left[z^3\ln\left({z}\right)\right]$$ will give me some trouble so I use L'hopital's rule.

$$\left[\frac{\ln\left({z}\right)}{z^\left(-3\right)}\right]\implies

\left[\frac{\frac{1}{z}}{-3z^\left(-4\right)}\right]\implies

-\frac{1}{3}\left[z^3\right]$$

Then I plug that all back into my equation...

$$\lim_{{t}\to{0}}-\frac{1}{9}\left[z^3\right]-\frac{1}{9}\left[z^3\right]$$ for $$t \le z\le2$$

After evaluating I get...

$$-\frac{1}{9}\left[8-0\right]-\frac{1}{9}\left[8-0\right]\implies-\frac{16}{9}$$

What am I doing wrong? The solution manual states that I should be getting $$\frac{8}{3}\ln\left({2}\right)-\frac{8}{9}$$ as my answer.
 
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Oops, I think I see where I went wrong... I should only be using L'hopital's rule for the portion of $$\left[z^3\ln\left({z}\right)\right]$$ evaluated at $$t=0$$

In which case I would get $$-\frac{1}{3}\left[z^3\right]\implies-\frac{1}{3}\left[0^3\right] =0$$

So evaluated at $$\frac{1}{3}\left[2^3\ln\left({2}\right) - 0\right]-\frac{8}{9}$$ I would get the correct answer.

Lol. Sometimes all it takes is typing it up on here.
 
After you apply IBP, you should have:

$$\frac{1}{3}\lim_{t\to0^{+}}\left[\left[z^3\ln(z)\right]_t^2-\int_t^2 z^2\,dz\right]$$

$$\frac{1}{3}\lim_{t\to0^{+}}\left[8\ln(2)-t^3\ln(t)-\frac{1}{3}\left[z^3\right]_t^2\right]$$

$$\frac{1}{3}\lim_{t\to0^{+}}\left[8\ln(2)-t^3\ln(t)-\frac{1}{3}\left(8-t^3\right)\right]$$

$$\frac{8}{3}\ln(2)-\frac{8}{9}-\frac{1}{3}\lim_{t\to0^{+}}\left[\frac{\ln(t)}{t^{-3}}\right]$$

Now apply L'Hópital's Rule:

$$\frac{8}{3}\ln(2)-\frac{8}{9}+\frac{1}{9}\lim_{t\to0^{+}}\left[t^3\right]$$

And your final answer is:

$$\frac{8}{3}\ln(2)-\frac{8}{9}=\frac{8}{9}\left(3\ln(2)-1\right)$$
 
Thanks Mark. I shortly figured out where I went wrong after posting this, but your explanation was insightful none the less.
 

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