3 – Integration of Rational

Algebraic Fractions
ES 14: Calculus II (Integral Calculus)

David A. Agbayani

Note: These lecture slides are not meant to be published.

 Rational Algebraic Fraction
• A rational algebraic fraction (RAF) is, in the simplest idea, a
quotient of two polynomials.

• This may be broken down to an equivalent sum of partial

fractions.

• We will be encountering at least four different cases in integrating

rational algebraic fractions.
 Case 1: Distinct Linear Factors

where , are the distinct linear factors of the denominator .

 Example 1
• Evaluate the following integral

• If we use integration by substitution, that is , we will get , not . This

will not help us move forward with the solution.

• However, we can try to rewrite the given fraction as a sum of more

easily integrable fractions.
 Example 1
• The fraction in the integrand can be written as

• Since the denominator consists of two distinct linear factors, we

can rewrite it as a sum of two partial fractions under Case 1.

• Multiplying both sides of the equation with gives us

 Example 1
• The derived equation implies that the variables of the same degree
must have equal coefficients in both sides of the equation, and the
constant terms must be equal.

• To make sense of this, we distribute A and B respectively.

 Example 1

• Since both sides of the equation must be equivalent, the coefficient

of x must be the same for both sides.

• The constants must also be equal on both sides.

• Now we have two equations and two unknowns. Solving for the
values of A and B, we get
 Example 1
• Going back to the original fraction,

• We can now substitute this to the original integrand.

Example 1
 Case 2: Repeated Linear Factors

where is a repeated linear factor of the denominator .

 Example 2
• Evaluate the following integral

• Again, none of the integration techniques we have learned so far

will lead us to a concrete solution.

• Upon inspection of the denominator, it appears we can rewrite it

into a factored polynomial.
 Example 2

• Looking at the denominator, the factor has a multiplicity of 2, that

is, it is repeated ().

• Thus, this falls under Case 2. We will attempt to rewrite the

fraction as
 Example 2
• To solve for the values of A, B, C, and D, we multiply to both sides.
 Example 2

• Since both sides of the equation must be equivalent, the coefficient of

must be the same for both sides.

• The coefficient of must also be the same for both sides.

• And so with the coefficient of .

• Lastly, the constants must also be equal on both sides.

 Example 2
• Solving for each value, we get

• Substituting this to the partial fractions,

 Example 2
• Substituting to the original integrand,
 Case 3: Quadratic Factors

• The denominator is considered a quadratic factor when the

discriminant is less than 0 ().

• The term multiplied to the first arbitrary constant A is simply the

first derivative of the quadratic factor , that is, .
 Example 3
• Evaluate the integral

• Hayy. Sir, why do these integrals exist… Good thing integration

techniques also exist!

• Let’s check if this falls under Case 3:

 Example 3
• Since this falls under Case 3, we can rewrite the fraction as

• Since the denominators are equal, we can equate both numerators.

• The coefficient of must also be the same for both sides.

• Equating the constants for both sides,

 Example 3
• The fraction may now be written as

• Rewriting the integrand, we get

 Example 3

• Let us first solve the first term.

• Since we know that the factor multiplied to 2 in the numerator is
the first derivative of the denominator, we can easily employ
integration by substitution, where
 Example 3

• Rewriting, we get
 Example 3

• For the second term, we will need to refresh ourselves with a

familiar technique called completing the square.

• This is so that we can make use of the identity

Example 3
 Example 3

• To solve it, we let , giving us .

 Example 3
• The final answer is then written as
 15 MINUTE BREAK
• Take a break!

• Trust me; you’ll need it.

• Stretch your arms, legs, and most of all, your patience.

• The next part will be a challenge. But we’ll go through it together.

• Naks.
 Case 4: Repeated Quadratic Factors

• Again, the denominator is considered a quadratic factor when the

discriminant .

• As with Case 3, the term multiplied to the arbitrary constants A, C,

… , R is simply the first derivative of the quadratic factor , that is, .
 Example 4
• Evaluate the following integral

• Let’s check if the denominator is a quadratic factor.

• Since the quadratic factor is raised to 2, it falls under Case 4.

 Example 4
• We now rewrite the fraction as

• The term that we multiplied to both A and C is simply the first

derivative of which is .

• We now solve the values of A, B, C, and D.

 Example 4
• Multiplying on both sides, we get

• Expanding, (try it on your notebooks!)

 Example 4

• For the coefficient of on both sides:

• For the coefficient of on both sides:

 Example 4

• For the coefficient of on both sides:

• For the constants on both sides:

 Example 4
• We now substitute these values back to the partial fractions:

• The original integral can now be written as

Example 4
 Example 4

• Let’s solve each term one by one, starting with the first term.
• Since we know that the term left in the numerator is the first
derivative of the denominator, we can use substitution!
 Example 4

• One down, three to go!

 Example 4

• For the second term, we need to rearrange the expression

(complete the square) such that it will fit the syntax for
 Example 4

• If we let , we get .

• Two down, two to go!

 Example 4

• For the third term, we can, again, use substitution, where

• Rewriting,
 Example 4

• Three down, one last term to go!

 Example 4

• For the fourth term, we will need a lot of our brain cells. So drink
up (some non-alcoholic beverage), fasten your seat belts, and close
the other windows on your gadgets, as I will need all of your
attention.
 Example 4

• The key to solving this integral is with the use of trigonometric

identities. We’ll use about three of them just to solve this last term.

• The first step is to rewrite the denominator in the same format as

the second term.
 Example 4

• To make it more friendly to our eyes, let’s substitute , giving us .

• It looks a lot like , but it’s not. So we use another technique.

 Example 4

• If we let , this will give us .

• Why did we choose ? We’ll see how it helps when we substitute it
to the expression.

• Uhh… Sir? Didn’t we make it more complicated? Lol.

 Example 4
• We may not see it now, but we’re actually moving closer to the
answer. Expanding the denominator, we get

• Do you remember what is equal to? That’s right!

 Example 4
• Substituting that to the integral,

• Now that we can solve!

 Example 4

• Recall the identity to solve this integral.

 Example 4
• So are we done? Well…

• This would have been done already if the integral is expressed in

terms of .

• The sort-of bad news is that we were originally dealing with . So

we need to express

all in terms of .
 Example 4

• What we know so far:

• This gives us

or
 Example 4

• From here, we get

• Now we have . But how do we get ? Recall the identity

• Rewriting, we get
 Example 4

• If we know that , how do we get the value of and in terms of ?

• Recall the mnemonic for for a right triangle: SOH-CAH-TOA.

• Given the two sides, we can solve for

the hypotenuse (H).
𝐻 𝑥 −1
𝜃
2
 Example 4
• The Pythagorean Theorem gives us
√ ( 𝑥 −1 ) +4
2

𝑥 −1
𝜃
2
• Since we now have all the sides, we can get the value of and in
terms of ! (SOH-CAH-TOA)
 Example 4
• We now substitute the values of , and back to
 Example 4
• We now add the four individual solutions of the four integral terms
for the final solution:

• We can combine similar terms (green boxes) and add fractions of

the same denominator (orange boxes).
 Example 4

• We did it!!! Congrats!!!