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1. Riemann Sums and the Definite Integral

Integral calculus fundamentally deals with accumulating quantities, often visualized as finding the area under a curve.

1.1. Motivation and Historical Context

  • Ancient Roots: Archimedes (around 250 BCE) calculated the area of a parabolic segment, effectively performing an early integration.

  • 17th Century Development: Newton and Leibniz independently developed calculus, establishing the crucial link between differentiation (tangent problem) and integration (area problem).

  • 19th Century Rigor: Cauchy and Weierstrass provided the formal definitions and proofs used today, including defining the derivative as a limit of the difference quotient and rigorously proving the Fundamental Theorem 3333. Bernhard Riemann formalized the concept of the integral using sums44.

1.2. The Riemann Sum

Many practical problems lead to approximating a total quantity by summing up small pieces:

  • Distance from Velocity: Total distance is approximated by summing distances traveled in small time intervals: 5.

  • Volume: The volume of a solid (like a sphere) is approximated by summing volumes of thin slices (like cylinders): 6.

  • Work: The work done (e.g., by a pump) is approximated by summing the work done on small portions: 7.

These sums all take the general form , known as a Riemann Sum888. The exact value is obtained by taking the limit as the width of the pieces goes to zero ( or )9.

1.3. The Definite Integral

  • Definition: The definite integral of a function from to is defined as the limit of the Riemann Sum:

  • Terminology:

    • Integration limits (lower and upper).

    • Integral sign (originating from Leibniz’s notation 12).

    • Integrand.

    • : Indicates the integration variable.

  • Result: A definite integral is always a number.

1.4. Geometric Interpretation: Area

  • If  on , the Riemann sum approximates the area under the curve using rectangles (Untersumme/Obersumme).

  • In this case, the definite integral  gives the exact area under the graph of  from  to .

  • Important: If  takes negative values, the integral represents a net area, where areas below the x-axis are counted negatively.

    • If  on , then  (negative of the geometric area).

1.5. Direct Calculation (via Definition)

Calculating integrals directly from the Riemann sum definition is possible but often tedious, involving sums and limits 18.

  • Example: 

    • Geometrically, this is the area of a triangle:  19.

    • Via definition: 20.

    •  21.

    • Using  gives  22.


2. Properties and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus

2.1. Basic Definitions and Properties

  • Definitions 23:

  • Linearity 24:

    •  (Factor rule)

    •  (Sum rule)

  • Interval Additivity 25: For :

  • Mean Value Theorem for Integrals 26: If  is continuous on , there exists a  such that:

    • .

    • Geometrically: The area under the curve equals the area of a rectangle with width  and some height  attained within the interval 27.

2.2. Antiderivatives (Stammfunktionen)

  • Definition: A function  is called an antiderivative (Stammfunktion) of  if 28.

  • If  is one antiderivative, then any other antiderivative must be of the form  for some constant 29.

  • Indefinite Integral: The indefinite integral  represents the set of all antiderivatives of  30.

    • Example:  31.

2.3. The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus (Hauptsatz)

This theorem provides the crucial link between differentiation and integration, enabling the efficient calculation of definite integrals32323232.

Part 1 (1. Fassung)

  • Defines the integral function with a variable upper limit33:

    (Lower limit could be any constant ).

  • Statement: The derivative of this integral function with respect to its upper limit is the original function evaluated at that limit 34:

  • Interpretation: Integration (as building the integral function) is the inverse operation of differentiation35. The rate of change of the accumulated area up to  is precisely the value of the function at  36.

Part 2 (2. Fassung) - The Evaluation Theorem

  • Statement: If is any antiderivative of (i.e., ), then the definite integral can be calculated by evaluating at the limits 37:

  • Notation:  is often abbreviated as  38.

  • Algorithm for Calculation 39393939:

    1. Find an antiderivative  for the integrand .

    2. Calculate .

  • Example: 

    1. An antiderivative of  is 40.

    2.  41.


3. Integration Rules and Techniques

Finding antiderivatives is the key challenge. Basic rules come from reversing differentiation rules. More complex functions require specific techniques.

3.1. Basic Integration Rules (Reversing Differentiation)

Based on known derivatives 42:

  • Linearity:  and  43.

  • Power Rule:  (for ) 44.

  • Special Case :  (Note: Original text states  for , but  is more general) 45.

  • Trigonometric:  and  (for  in radians) 46.

  • Exponential:  and  (for ) 47.

3.2. Integration by Parts (Partielle Integration)

This technique comes from reversing the product rule for differentiation48484848.

  • Product Rule: 49.

  • Integrating both sides gives  50.

  • Rule (Indefinite):

    51

  • Rule (Definite):

    52

  • Strategy: The goal is to choose  and  such that the new integral  is easier to solve than the original  53.

  • Example: 

    • Choice 1: . Integral becomes , which is harder 54.

    • Choice 2: . Rule gives:

      •  55.

      • 56.

3.3. Integration by Substitution

This technique comes from reversing the chain rule and is useful for integrals involving composite functions57. It often applies when the integrand contains a function  and its derivative  as a factor 58585858.

  • Chain Rule: 59. Let .

  • Integrating gives . Since  is an antiderivative of .

  • Rule (Indefinite):

    60

  • Rule (Definite): The integration limits must also be transformed:

    61

  • Practical Use (“u-Substitution”):

    1. Identify an inner function  such that its derivative  (or a constant multiple) is also present.

    2. Find .

    3. Substitute  and  into the integral, converting it entirely in terms of .

    4. Change integration limits to  and  (for definite integrals).

    5. Integrate with respect to .

    6. Substitute back  (for indefinite integrals).

  • Example: 

    1. Let 62626262.

    2. 63.

    3. Substitute:  64.

    4. Integrate:  65.

    5. Substitute back:  66.

3.4. Non-Elementarily Integrable Functions

  • Not every elementary function has an antiderivative that can be expressed using elementary functions (polynomials, roots, trig, exp, log)67676767. Such functions are not closed (or elementarily) integrable 68.

  • Examples:  69.

  • Risch Algorithm: A complex (semi-)algorithm exists to determine if a function has an elementary antiderivative and find it if it does 70. It’s implemented in computer algebra systems71.


4. Applications: Lengths, Areas, and Volumes

Definite integrals provide a powerful tool for geometric calculations.

4.1. Area Calculation

  • Area between graph and x-axis: If  on , Area = . If , Area =  72. If  changes sign, integrate positive and negative parts separately and add the absolute values.

  • Area between two curves: If on , the area between the curves is:

    • First find intersection points  by solving  73.

    • Example: Area between  and . Intersections at . Area = 74.

4.2. Arc Length

  • The length  of a curve  from  to  is found by integrating the length element .

  • Formula:

    75(Derived by approximating the curve with small line segments and taking the limit 76).

4.3. Volume of Revolution

  • If a region bounded by , the x-axis, , and  is rotated around the x-axis, it generates a solid of revolution77.

  • The volume is calculated using the disk method: Sum the volumes of infinitesimally thin disks with radius and thickness . Volume of disk  78.

  • Formula (Rotation around x-axis):

    79

  • Examples:

    • Cone: Generated by rotating  from  to  80.

    • Sphere: Generated by rotating  from  to  81.

    • Gabriel’s Horn: Rotate  from  to . This uses an improper integral:

      •  82828282.

      • Paradoxically, this infinite horn has a finite volume () but an infinite surface area 83.