Integrating e2x Without Polar Coordinates

William Dunham

Mathematics Teacher, January 1988, Volume 81, Number 1, pp. 34–35.

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T
he improper integral

(1) I 5 E`

0
e2x dx
2

ranks as one of the most important and challenging that a college mathematics student
is likely to encounter. As an illustration of the power of calculus to attack truly
sophisticated problems, it appears in such texts as Munem and Foulis (1984, 943–44).
Outside of calculus, its chief application is in statistics, where the numerical value of
this integral is essential for proving that the area under a normal density is exactly one
unit. See Hogg and Craig (1978, 110).
The evaluation of such a critical integral presents the instructor with various options.
The least desirable is to tell the students that I 5 !py2 and move on to the next topic
as quickly as possible. This peculiar integral clearly merits a more thorough
examination.
By far the most common approach to evaluating I is to begin with the double
rectangular integral I 2 and then transform it into a polar integral, which easily yields
I 2 5 py4. This argument is a genuine mathematical classic that sparkles with elegance
and ingenuity. Its only potential drawback is its reliance on polar coordinates and
particularly on the “rectangular to polar” transformation for double integrals:

(2) EE
y x
gsx, yddx dy 5 EE u r
hsr, udr dr du

Unfortunately, some students do not include polar coordinates, nor formula (2), in their
working repertoire. Moreover, the instructor might wish to discuss this integral before
considering polar coordinates. Thus, we have legitimate reasons why we might want to
integrate e2x without a detour through polar regions.
2

The details of such an evaluation of (1) do not appear to be widely known. The
following argument, which begins like the derivation mentioned earlier, needs only
those elementary calculus techniques encountered in a study of double (rectangular)
integration. Although it is neither so short nor so elegant as the “polar” proof, some may
be surprised to find that it can be done at all. Consider

I2 5 E0
`
e2x dx ?
2
E
0
`
e2y dy 5
2
EE` `

0 0
e2sx
2 1y2
d dx dy.

In the inner integral, introduce the new variable

x
u5 .
!x2 1 y2

x
Figure 1. Let u 5 5 cos u.
!x 1 y2
2

Here “u” is playing the role of “cos u” in the standard transformation from rectangular
to polar coordinates (see fig. 1), which suggests that a polar viewpoint lies just beneath
the surface in this derivation. We stress, however, that the introduction of “u” succeeds
in keeping it below the surface.

2
We note that if x 5 0, u 5 0; and as x → `, u → 1. In addition,
x 5 uyy!1 2 u2,
from which it follows that
dx 5 ys1 2 u2d23y2 du
and that
y2
x2 1 y2 5 .
1 2 u2
With this change of variable, we have

I25 EE
0
` 1

0
e2y ys12u d fys1 2 u2d
2 2
gdu dy,
23y2

and reversing the order of integration yields

I2 5 E 3E
0
1

0
`
ye2y ys12u d dy s1 2 u2d
2 2
4
23y2
du.

Then, a final substitution of t 5 y2ys1 2 u2d in the inner integral gives

I2 5 E 3E
0
1

0
` 1 2t
2 4
e dt s1 2 u2d
21y2
du

5
1
2Es 1

0
1 2 u2d21y2 du

|
1
1 p
5 arcsin u 5 .
2 4
0

Since I 2 5 py4, I 5 !py2 and the proof is complete.

Some readers may assert that this argument “delays” rather than “avoids” the use of
polar coordinates, since the arcsine integral follows from the calculus technique of
trigonometric substitution, which itself requires a polar perspective. However, calculus
students tend to study this specific arcsine integral long before they get to polar
coordinates proper, and this argument certainly avoids the need for the relatively more
sophisticated formula (2).
References
Hogg, Robert V., and Allen T. Craig. Introduction to Mathematical Statistics. 4th ed.
New York: Macmillan, 1978.
Munem, Mustafa A., and David J. Foulis. Calculus with Analytic Geometry. 2d ed.
New York: Worth Publishers, 1984.