9/7/2020 Calculus II - Integrals Involving Roots

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Paul
August 27, 2020

Section 1-5 : Integrals Involving Roots

In this section we’re going to look at an integration technique that can be useful for some
integrals with roots in them. We’ve already seen some integrals with roots in them. Some can be
done quickly with a simple Calculus I substitution and some can be done with trig substitutions.

However, not all integrals with roots will allow us to use one of these methods. Let’s look at a
couple of examples to see another technique that can be used on occasion to help with these
integrals.

Example 1 Evaluate the following integral.

x + 2
∫ dx
3
√x − 3

Show Solution 

So, sometimes, when an integral contains the root √g (x) the substitution, n

n
u = √g (x)

can be used to simplify the integral into a form that we can deal with.

Let’s take a look at another example real quick.

Example 2 Evaluate the following integral.

https://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/CalcII/IntegralsWithRoots.aspx 1/2
9/7/2020 Calculus II - Integrals Involving Roots

2
∫ dx
x − 3√x + 10

Show Solution 

So, we’ve seen a nice method to eliminate roots from the integral and put it into a form that we
can deal with. Note however, that this won’t always work and sometimes the new integral will be
just as difficult to do.

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