Interactive · 2 questions
In the previous section, we learned about integration by parts, which states that for continuously differentiable functions and we have This time, let's continue with a more elaborate example:
Find
Let's try integrating by parts: we let and . This gets us and So, we have Okay, but can we simplify that second integral? In fact, we can by using the same process! This time, we'll let and . Then and So, this gets us But remember, this isn't our final answer! We need to plug this integral back into our original expression to get where is just a new constant. This is our final answer.
As in this problem, you can see that a problem might require us to use this method more than once! With this in mind, try this next exercise:
Evaluate
Let's start with the same approach as usual: we set and . So, and So, it follows that Just like before, we have another integral that we need to solve by using integration by parts! This time, we let and . This gets us and So, by integration by parts, Darn, another complicated integral to compute! Well, not quite. Here's when we take a ``shortcut''. Let's substitute this integral into our original expression: Now, do you notice something similar in both sides the equation?
Aha! The left and right hand sides both have the integral . So, let's ``combine like terms'' and add the integral to both sides to get Therefore, we can solve for the integral to get This brings us to the end of the problem!
So, these past examples show that sometimes, we need to apply integration by parts more than once, and in unusual ways! But these methods also demonstrate just how useful this technique can be.



