Stoockiltj5
Answered
2022-01-23
When do we have to change the limits?
completing the square gives me:
Is trig sub the best way to go?
if then
using half angle identity I eventually get:
Where do I go from here?
Answer & Explanation
Dakota Cunningham
Expert
2022-01-24Added 9 answers
I would recommend changing the limits every time we substitute. Here, that leads to
If you do it that way, there's no need to go back -- we just evaluate the integral right there.
Definite integrals have more tools we can use than indefinite integrals. Even at the basic calculus level you're at, symmetry comes up a lot -- the integral of an odd function from −a to a is zero, for example. If we turn a definite integral problem into an indefinite integral problem and then only convert back at the very end, we lose access to those tools. So then, it makes sense to always bring the limits along and convert them when substituting in an indefinite integral problem.
Is trig sub the best way to go?
No, the best way to go is to not calculate any antiderivatives at all. Once you reach that first line I wrote down (the same point you were at when writing this line, plus the limits), recognize it as the area of a semicircle of radius
That is, of course, not something we could ever have done with an indefinite integral.
mihady54
Expert
2022-01-25Added 13 answers
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