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Mathematics LibreTexts

1.10: Substitution

  • Page ID
    90393
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    More complicated functions can be integrated using the chain rule. Since \[\frac{d}{dx}f(g(x))=f'(g(x))\cdot g'(x),\nonumber\] we have \[\int f'(g(x))\cdot g'(x)dx=f(g(x))+c.\nonumber\]

    This integration formula is usually implemented by letting \(y = g(x)\). Then one writes \(dy = g'(x)dx\) to obtain \[\begin{aligned}\int f'(g(x))g'(x)dx&=\int f'(y)dy \\ &=f(y)+c \\ &=f(g(x))+c.\end{aligned}\]


    This page titled 1.10: Substitution is shared under a CC BY 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jeffrey R. Chasnov via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.