MA 114 Worksheet # 19: Integration by Partial Fractions

1. Conceptual Understanding: Your lecture described four cases for partial fraction decomposition.
An example of each case occurs below. Write out the general form for the partial fraction decom-
position but do not determine the numerical value of the coefficients.
3
(a)
x2
+ 2x + 4
x
(b) 2
(x + 1)(x + 2)(x + 1)
1
(c) 2
x + 3x + 2
3x + 1
(d)
(x2 + 1)3 (x + 1)(x + 2)
2. Compute the following integrals.
Z 3
x − 2x2 − 4
(a) dx
x3 − 2x2
x−9
Z
(b) dx
(x + 5)(x − 2)
Z 1 3
x +4
(c) 2
dx
0 x +4
Z
1
(d) 2
dx
x + 3x + 2
x3 + 1
Z
(e) dx
(x − 1)2 (x + 1)
2
R A
[Hint: to compute an integral of the form dx substitute x = tan θ.]
(1 + x2 )
3. (Text, problem 45, p 482.) Compute
Z
1
√ √ dx
x− 3x
√
by first making the substitution u = 6
x.