LECTURE 31

Definite and Indefinite Integrals

The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus came in two parts:

Theorem 31.1. Let f be a continuous function on the interval [a, b]. Then

(i) If g (x) ≡ ax f (t) dt , then g (x) = f (x) .

(ii) If F (x) is an antiderivative of f (x), then ab f (x) dx = F (b) − F (a).

The expression

b
f (x) dx
a

is called definite integral of f (x) from a to b. It is just a number (for any fixed choice of a and
b). The second part of the Fundamental Theorem says that that this number can be computed by finding
an antiderivative F of f and then computing the difference between its value at x = b and its value at x
= a.

In general, given an expression of the form

y
f (x) dx
a

we refer to

• as the integration sign,

• y as the upper endpoint of
integration,
• a as the lower endpoint of integration,
• f as the integrand of the integral,
and
• x as the variable of integration..

x
The expression f (t) dt

is called an indefinite integral of the function f (x). It is just the anti-derivative of f (x) (up to a
constant that gets ignored). Sometimes we write this as simply

f (x) dx

but continue to regard the result as a function of x.

133
 1. THE NET CHANGE THEOREM 134

What we formally called a Table of Antiderivatives, will now be called a Table of Indefinite Integrals

f (x) f (x) dx
1 xn+1
xn n+1
1
x ln |x|
sin (x) − cos
(x) cos (x) sin
(x) sec2 (x) tan
(x) csc2 (x) −
cot (x)
sec (x) tan (x) sec (x)
csc (x) cot (x) − csc
(x)
1 eλx
eλx λ

1. The Net Change Theorem

Recall that the Part (ii) of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus says
b
f (x) dx = F (b) − F (a)
a
where F (x) is any anti-derivative of f . If we replace the integrand f by its derivative, then we get
the statement
b
(*) f (x) dx = f (b) − f (a)
a
because f (x) is alway an anti-derivative of its derivative. Now let us reinteprete this last equation:
When
we think of f (x) = d as prescribing the rate at which f (x) changes with respect to x, then equation (*)
df x

says the following

Theorem 31.2. The integral of a rate of change of a function f between x = a and x = b yields
precisely the difference between the value of f (x) at x = b and x = a.

This interpretation of the second part of the Fundamental Theorem is very useful for applications.
Example 31.3. An object moves along a line in such a way that its velocity at time t is given by
v (t) = t2 − t +
1.
How far does it move between t = 1 and t = 4.

• Let x (t) be the function that prescribes the position of the object at time t. We need to compute
x (4) − x (1)
from the fact the its velocity is given by
dx
= t2 − t + 1
v (t) =
dt
We can do this using Theorem 31.2, which says for the situation at hand that,
4
dx
dt = x (4) − x (1)
1 dt
And so we just need to compute
4 4 4
dx 2
1 3 1 2
dt = t − t + 1 dt = t− t +t
1 dt 1 3 2 1
64 16 1 1
=
 1. THE NET CHANGE THEOREM 134
− + 4− + 1
3 2 −3 2
33
=
2
 2. VARYING ENDPOINTS OF 135
INTEGRATION 1351

So the total distance travelled between t = 1 and t = 4 is 233 .

2. Varying Endpoints of Integration

In Part (i) of the Fundamental theorem

x
(**) if g (x) = f (t) dt =⇒ g (x) = f (x)
a
the upper end point of integration x is regarded as a variable parameter, and the integral of f is used
to define a new function g (x). Now once we have a function of x we can use it to build more
complicated functions. For example we could define a function
h (x) = g x2
What is this new function, well all we need to do is replace the x in (**) by
x2
x2
f (t) dt
h (x) = g x2 =
a

Ok. Now what does the Fundamental Theorem say about the derivative of h (x)? To answer this
question correctly we have to first utilize the Chain Rule:
dh dg d dg
= 2 (2x)
d
u x =
dx u=x2 dx
du u=x2

Now g (u) is given by the Fundamental Theorem

u
g (u) = f (t) dt =⇒ g (u) = f (u)
a
Thus
dg
= f (u)|u=x2 = f x2
d u=x2
u
and so
x2
d
dx a f (t) dt = f x2 (2x)
In general,
Theorem 31.4. Suppose h (x) is defined by
p(x)
h (x) = f (t) dt
a
then its derivative is
f (p (x)) p (x)
In other words,
p(x)
d f (t) dt = f (p (x)) p (x)
dx a

Proof. We can regard h (x) as a composed function

h (x) = g (p (x))
g (u) =
where
 2. VARYING ENDPOINTS OF 136
INTEGRATION 1361

u
f
(t)
dt
a
The Chain Rule then says
d d
h (x) = g (p (x)) = dp
dx dx dg
d
u dx
u=p(x)

Now the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, Part (i), tells us that

dg d u
= f (t) dt = f (u)
du du
a
and so we have
d
h (x) = dg
dx dp u=p(x) dp = f (p (x)) p (x)
d u=p(x) = f
u dx (u)| dx
and the stated result follows.