Improper integrals

P Test and comparison Test

Warm up
 Sometimes it is possible...
to show that an improper integral converges without
actually evaluating it:
1 1
Since 4 4 for all x 0, we have that
x x7 x
b b
1 1 1
1 x 4 x 7 dx 1 x 4 dx 3 3b3 for all b 1.
1

So the limit of the first integral must be finite as b goes to

infinity, because it increases as b does but is bounded
above (by 1/3).
 A puzzling example...
Consider the surface obtained by rotating the graph
of y = 1/x for x > 1 around the x-axis:

Lets calculate the volume contained

inside the surface:

V dx blim
1 2
x 1 b1 cubic units.

1
 What about the surface area?
This is equal to...

2 1
SA 2 f ( x) 1 f ' ( x) dx
2
1 4 dx
1 1
x x
This last integral is difficult (impossible) to evaluate
directly, but it is easy to see that its integrand is bigger

than that of the divergent integral 2

1
x
dx
Therefore it, too is divergent, so the surface has infinite
surface area.
This surface is sometimes called "Gabriel's horn" -- it is a
surface that can be "filled with water" but not "painted".