-1
$\begingroup$

I'm having quite a hard time keeping apart all the different formulas I need to calculate integrals. This is why I'm wondering if there is another way to calculate them, or even a way to keep all these formulas apart. We're doing basic logarithmic and exponential integrals - if it matters.

Also, excuse me if I used any wrongly translated terminology, our math classes use Dutch terminology.

  • 0
    @Simon: the obvious and easiest way to learn anything is to understand it - go and work out what integrals are, and the formulas should start to make sense!2011-11-25

2 Answers 2

4

I'll take the question as simplified in the comments, "How to easily memorize a lot of similar formulas?"

The answer is, there is no easy way to memorize a lot of formulas. Worse than that: even if you manage to memorize a lot of formulas - even if you are allowed to have a sheet of paper in front of you with all the formulas you've ever seen - you will find that the real problem is deciding which formula(s) will be useful when you are faced with an integral that isn't on your list.

The good news is, there is a way to get to where you want to go; it just isn't easy. The way to get to where you want to go is to do a few dozen problems. A few hundred would be even better. The more problems you do, the more formulas you will find you have memorized, and the better you will become at judging which formula(s) to use on a given problem.

It's like that old joke:

Tourist: How do I get to Het Muziektheater?

Native: Practice, practice, practice.

  • 0
    @AsafKaragila, she has also been seen asking for directions to 19 Shaul Hamelech St.2011-11-25
1

There is no general method to compute any integral, if it's your question. Actually, there are lots of primitives of simple functions that cannot be expressed using usual functions (rational fractions, log, exp and trigonometric functions).

Furthermore, it has even been shown that there is no general algorithm (i.e., method) to determine systematically if an integral is finite or not.

So the only way to go is to learn to use "recipes" that only work in some special (but often used) cases.