Difficult Integrals

Miscellaneous Tricks

Johar M. Ashfaque

Consider Z π
2 dx
I= √ .
1 + (tan x) 2
0

Setting
π
x= −y
2
gives
1
tan x = cot y =
tan y
so that
0
−dy
Z
I = √
π 1 + (cot y) 2
2
π √
Z 2
2 (tan y) dy
= √ .
1 + (tan y) 2
0

Now, we add the original integral

π √ π
2
Z   Z
2 1 (tan x) 2 π
I +I = √ + √ dx = dx = .
0 1 + (tan x) 2 1 + (tan x) 2
0 2

Hence
π
I= .
4