sinxcos3xdx


By Anonymous on Sunday, February 25, 2001 - 08:40 pm :
How would you integrate sinxcos3xdx? Just give me a little hint, and I'll try to do the rest!
By Michael Doré (Md285) on Sunday, February 25, 2001 - 08:44 pm :

Try integration by parts. You probably need to use parts twice to get the answer out. Alternatively, if you know about complex exponentials, try substituting them in, expanding and integrating directly.

Michael

PS. I'm assuming that this is sin x cos 3x not sin x cos3 x. If the latter is the case, of course you use the substitution u = cos x.


By Anonymous on Sunday, February 25, 2001 - 08:45 pm :

Thanks Michael for that tip. I'll do it by parts!


By Michael Doré (Md285) on Sunday, February 25, 2001 - 09:12 pm :

Alternatively, use some trig formulae.

sin(x + 3x) = sin(x)cos(3x) + cos(x)sin(3x)
sin(x - 3x) = sin(x)cos(3x) - cos(x)sin(3x)

Add these together and you get:

sin(x)cos(3x) = (sin 4x - sin 2x)/2

and from there it's straightforward.


By Anonymous on Sunday, February 25, 2001 - 09:28 pm :

Thank you again Michael.