The integral

Now to ask a simple but important question about the function in figure 2: what is the area
under any given part of the curve? In figure 6, the area under the curve between x = 0 and x
= x0 has been shaded in.
This area is called the definite integral of f (x) between 0 and x0 . the definite integral, like the
derivative at a single point, is simply a number. In our example, the definite integral says how
many square inches the shaded area in figure 6 is.

The definite integral can tell us the actual physical area of an object with curving edges. It
can have other physical meaning, as well. For example, the integral of an equation that
describes an objects velocity tells us how far the object has traveled. Consider an object
moving at a steady speed or velocity, v. velocity might change over time, so we will write v
as a function of time, v (f). if the objects velocity happens to be an unchanging 100 miles
per hour, we can write v (f) = 100 miles per hour. This function is shown in figure 7.

100

v (t)

The definite integral of the velocity, v (f), from time 0 to time t 0 is the area under the curve
from 0 to time t0. This area is shaded in figure 8.
The length of the rectangle in figure 8 is t0 and its height is 100. Therefore, its area the value
of the definite integral is 100 x t 0 . the definite integral of a velocity function is useful
because it gives the distance traveled in that time.
In hour, the object in our example will have traveled 100 x 1 = 100 miles; in 2.5 hours, it will
have traveled 100 x 2.5 = 50 miles

100

v (t)

t0

Here the area calculation is simple because the velocity is unchanging, so we can use the
formula for the area of a rectangle. In real life, objects such as cars, bullets, spacecraft, and
runners change their velocities over time. In this case the velocity curve is not a flat line (as
in figure 7) but a more complicated curve, perhaps like that figure 6. The more complex the
curve, the more complex the mathematics neededfor find its integral.
Just as with the derivative, it is possible to find a series of definite integrals and to graph them
as a function in their own right. This is called integrating f (x), and the resulting curve or
function is called the indefinite integral ( or simply the integral ) of f (x). also, instead of
graphing the integral point by point by evaluating definite integrals its is often possible to
find an axact expression for the integral.
The indefinite integral of a function f(x) is written as follows:

f ( x ) dx
The symbol at the far left that looks like a stretched s,

, actually is a stretched s.

centuries ago it stood for summa, which is Latin for sum, a reference to summing up the
area under the curve. This symbol is called the curve. This symbol is called te integral sign.
The expression

f ( x ) dx

is read aloud as integral of

f ( x ) dec x

. (we can use

letters other than f and x whenever we like ; they are just labels or names.).
In our example of an object moving at a constant 100 milesper hour, the integral of v (t) =
100 is easy to write down as an exact mathematical expression:

 v ( t ) dt=100t +C
The C at far right stands for constant of integration. C is arbitrary, meaning that it can
be set equal to any number and the equation will still be true. The indefinite integral of v (t) =
100 , namely

v ( t ) dt=100t +C

is plotted in figure 9 with C set equal to 0.

An indefinite integral is more informative than a definite integral because it can tell us the
value of any definite integral. To find the value of a definite integral over a certain interval
(for example, from time 0 to time t0 ), we subtract the value of the indefinite integral at the
lefthand end of the interval from its value at the right - handend.
In the case of the object moving at 100 miles per hour, the value of the indefinite integral at
time t0 is 100 x t0 +C. At time 0 it is 100 x 0 +C. Subtracting, we have.
100 x t0 + C
-100 x t0 + C
100 x t0

Which is exactly what we found by calculating this definite integral as the area of a rectangle
We have already seen, in figures 4 and 5, the first and second derivatives of the curve first
shown in figure 2. The integral of that curve is shown in figure 10.

As mentioned earlier, in a real life application, the area under a curve may not
correspond to a literal, physical area like 0 square miles of parking lot. In calculus, depending
on what real- world quantity youre measuring, an area may be the number of miles driven,
or the profit made by a business, or the amount of oil leaked from a beached tanker, or the
probability that a rocket will explode before reaching orbit, or many other things. Derivatives
are flexible in the same way. Its one of the reasons calculus is so useful.