Chapter 2

Basic integral calculus

2.1 Antiderivatives

Consider a function f (x ). We know that the derivative of this function is given by

df f (x + Δx ) − f (x )
= lim .
dx Δx →0 Δx

We saw in the previous chapter how this definition can be used to calculate the derivative of

any function, although in practice this is rarely done since various rules of differentiation can

be applied. However, many times we need to perform the reverse process, that is, given a
dF
function f (x ), we need to find a function F (x ) such that dx = f (x ). F (x ) is then referred to

as the antiderivative of f (x ) (the antiderivative is also known as the ‘indefinite integral’). An

immediate application of ‘anti-differentiation’ should pop up in your head. Suppose we know the
dx
speed v (t) of an object. Can we find the distance x (t) traveled by the object? Since v (t) = dt ,

x (t) is nothing but the antiderivative of v (t).

As a concrete example, consider once again an object in free fall. We know from the previous
dv
chapter that dt = g, where g is the constant acceleration of free fall. Our objective is to find

v (t)1 . The most commonly used method to find antiderivatives is the wonderful method of
1
Generally speaking, an equation involving the derivative (or derivative of the derivative, and so on) of a
function that you want to find is called a differential equation. Differential equations arise all over the place in
science and engineering.

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 Chapter 2. Basic integral calculus

guessing2 . It goes something like this: you stare at the function whose antiderivative you want

to find, you write down your guess for the antiderivative, and then you differentiate the guess

to check whether or not you get back the original function. If you do, congratulations; if not,
dv
you modify your guess accordingly. Let’s see how this allows us to find v (t) given dt = g. It is

clear that v (t) is a function which you differentiate to get a constant. Your guess should not
dv
be v (t) = k, where k is a constant, since then dt = 0. So we modify your guess to v (t) = t.

This is wrong for two reasons. First, the dimensions are off - the left hand side has dimensions

of velocity, while the right hand side has dimensions of time. Second, differentiating v (t) = t

gives one, not g. But we are close. We very quickly realize that if we use v (t) = gt, then we
dv
are fine; now we get dt = g, which is what we want. But hang on, that’s not the only solution!

That’s because the derivative of a constant is zero, and the sum rule of differentiation tells us
dv
that v (t) = gt + k, where k is a constant, is also a solution of dt = g.
dv
What we have found is that the solution of the equation dt = g is v (t) = gt + k. Now

this solution should leave you a little bit queasy. What is k? How do we find k? The answer is

that k is determined by the physical situation; in particular, k comes from the initial conditions

of the problem. To see this, set t = 0 in v (t) = gt + k. On the left hand side, we get

v (t = 0) = u, where u denotes the initial speed. On the right hand side, we get g(0) + k = k.

So k is nothing but the initial speed (for a body dropped from rest, u = 0). To sum up, solving

a differential equation involves performing antiderivatives; antiderivatives come with constants

which are determined by the initial conditions.

dv dx
Once we have solved dt = g, we can go one step further and solve for dt = v (t) = u + gt.

So now x (t) is a function which, when you differentiate, you get u + gt. You can get u by

differentiating ut, while you get gt by differentiating 12 gt 2 . We can then write x (t) = ut + 12 gt 2 .

But hang on! Once again that’s not the whole story, since we can write x (t) = k + ut + 12 gt 2
dx
(where k is another constant) and still satisfy dt = v (t). What is k now? Use the initial

conditions again! On the left hand side of x (t) = k + ut + 12 gt 2 we get x (t = 0) = x0 , where x0

is simply the initial position of the object. On the right hand side, we get k +u(0)+ 12 g(0)2 = k.
2
Scientists and engineers guess all the time. If they want to sound more respectable while they guess, they
say ‘ansatz’ instead of ‘guess’; an ‘ansatz’ is essentially the same thing (in German), but it does sound more
sophisticated.

13
2.1. Antiderivatives

So k is just the initial position of the object. All in all then we get x (t) = x0 + ut + 12 gt 2 .

Currently, we have found equations for the speed at later times and the distance covered

in terms of the time elapsed. We can eliminate the time t from these expressions. From
v −u
v (t) = u + gt, we get t = g . Then, we can use this in x = x0 + ut + 12 gt 2 . We get

   
v −u 1 v −u 2
x − x0 = u + g
g 2 g

which can be rearranged to give

2g(x − x0 ) = 2uv − 2u 2 + (v − u)2

= 2uv − 2u 2 + v 2 + u 2 − 2uv

= v 2 − u2.

This is usually written as

v 2 = u 2 + 2g(x − x0 ).

Of course, the equations we have derived above are true for any constant acceleration a (you

just replace g by a in the above derivations). To sum up, we have the kinematic equations

v = u + at,

v 2 = u 2 + 2a(x − x0 ),
1
x = x0 + ut + at 2 .
2

I must emphasize that these are only true for constant acceleration. Later on, we will write

these equations using vectors.

So far, so good. Now I want to discuss probably the most important discovery in the history

of mathematics: the fact that antiderivatives are related to sums. To make the point concrete,

consider again a body, falling freely. It starts from rest and picks up speed as it falls down. At

14
 Chapter 2. Basic integral calculus

gT

t
0 T
Fig. 2.1: Plot of the speed v (t) of a free falling object, starting from rest. Remember that v (t) = gt. The
shaded area represents the distance fallen by the object in time T .

time T , it’s speed is gT . The graph of v (t) is shown in Fig. 2.1. What is the distance moved

between t = 0 to t = T ? Well, we know the answer, since we have found x (t) previously; it’s
1
simply x = gT 2 . But let’s do this on another way. We divide the time interval from t = 0
2
to t = T into many small time intervals (see Fig. 2.2 below). For each time interval, the speed

is approximately constant (since the time interval is small). The first interval is Δt1 ; the value

of speed over this time interval is approximately v (t1 ), where t1 is any time within the first

interval (in the figure, this time is the right most time in each segment3 ). The distance moved

in the first segment is v (t1 )Δt, where Δt is the time interval for the first segment; the distance

moved in the second interval is v (t2 )Δt, and so on. The distance traveled is then

x (T ) = v (t1 )Δt + v (t2 )Δt + · · · + v (tN )Δt,

where N are the number of segments that the total time interval has been divided into. Now it

is not necessary that the segments are of equal size; the first time interval can be slightly longer

or shorter than the second time interval. So we can write instead

x (T ) = v (t1 )Δt1 + v (t2 )Δt2 + · · · + v (tN )ΔtN ,

3
It doesn’t matter which time this is within the interval; since the interval is small, you get approximately the
same value of the speed for every time in the time interval.

15
2.1. Antiderivatives

gT

t
0 T
Fig. 2.2: The time interval between t = 0 and t = T has been divided into segments. For each segment,
the speed is calculated at the right most point of the segment. The area of each rectangle corresponds to
(approximately) the distance traveled during that segment. The sum of the areas of the rectangles is equal to
(approximately) the total distance traveled. In the limit where each segment becomes infinitesimally small,
the total area of the rectangles becomes equal to the area under the curve, which is also equal to the distance
traveled.

where Δt1 is the size of the first interval,Δt2 the size of the second interval, and so on. Now

this is a sum - I am calculating the distance via a sum. To write this in a more straightforward

manner, we write instead


N
x (T ) = v (t1 )Δt1 + v (t2 )Δt2 + · · · + v (tN )ΔtN = v (ti )Δti .
i=1


The symbol stands for sum (it’s the Greek letter capital sigma). The notation says that

whatever comes after the symbol, first put in that i = 1; write down the resulting expression.

Then put in a + sign (it’s a sum!). Then set i = 2 in the expression after the , and write

that down. Then put another +. Then set i = 3, and so on, all the way to i = N. So you see,

the symbol gives a nifty way to writing down a long sum in a very compressed form.
N
Now the distance traveled is not exactly equal to i=1 v (ti )Δti since the speed of the

object over each time interval is not exactly constant. But if I consider smaller and smaller

time intervals, I should get a more accurate answer. In particular, if I increase the number

of segments N to infinity so that each time interval Δti approaches zero, I should obtain the

16
 Chapter 2. Basic integral calculus

correct distance. We can therefore define the distance as the sum


N
x (t) = lim v (ti )Δti .
Δti →0
i=1

Notice that this sum is also equal to the area under the velocity-time graph4 , since the sum

of the areas of the rectangles corresponds physically to the total distance traveled; in the limit

where each segment is infinitesimally small, this becomes exactly the area under the curve.

Infinite sums similar to the one you have seen above occur very often in science and engi-

neering, so let’s talk about these in a more general setting. They are known as Riemann sums.

In a general context, the Riemann sum of a function f (x ) over the interval x = a and x = b

involves chopping up the interval into little segments, calculating the function for each segment

multiplied by the little segment, adding it up, and then taking the limit that the size of the

segments goes to zero. In equation form, the Riemann sum (considering the interval from x = a

to x = b) is

N
lim f (xi )Δxi .
Δxi →0
i=1

This notation is quite cumbersome, so we write this as


N  b
lim f (xi )Δxi = f (x ) dx .
Δxi →0 a
i=1


The symbol is supposed to remind you that this is a sum (from x = a to x = b). Since

Δxi → 0, we replace Δxi by dx . Also, in the limit Δxi → 0, the function is being calculated at

infinitely many points, so we simply have f (x ) instead of f (xi ) (you are finding the function at
b
all values of x from x = a to x = b). a f (x ) dx , known as the integral of f (x ) from x = a to

x = b, is also the area under the graph of the function f (x ) from x = a to x = b. Remember

that the integral is simply a sum, and the process of ‘summing’ is integration5 .
4
Notice that this ‘area’ is a generalization of the original meaning of area. Area is normally introduced as a
measure of ‘space’ enclosed by a two-dimensional shape, so it is naturally measured in meters squared. The area
under the curve that we are talking about has dimensions equal to whatever is plotted on the vertical axis times
whatever is plotted on the horizontal axis.
5
I should emphasize that this integral, or sum, can be negative - for example, imagine a function which is
negative for all values of x , so f (x1 ), f (x2 ), and so on are all negative while Δx1 , Δx2 , and so on are all certainly
positive. You can interpret this negative area as the area between the curve and the horizontal axis, with the
negative sign emphasizing that the area you are considering lies below the horizontal axis.

17
2.1. Antiderivatives

f(x)

0 a y x

y
Fig. 2.3: The area under the curve (shaded in the figure) is A(y ) = a
f (x ) dx .

Now how do we calculate this infinitely long sum? Or, equivalently, how do we find the area

under the curve? The key breakthrough is made when we consider the area not from x = a to

x = b to begin with, but rather from x = a to a variable value of x which we denote as y . In

other words, you allow the ‘right’ boundary of the figure whose area you want to find to move.

The shaded area is now a function of y , known as the area function, which we denote as A(y ).
y
Note that we can write A(y ) = a f (x ) dx . The fundamental theorem of calculus (probably the

most important theorem in all of mathematics) says that

 y
dA d
= f (x ) dx = f (y ).
dy dy a

It essentially says that differentiation undoes integration, or in other words, the sum that we

want to calculate is related to the antiderivative of the function f (x ). Let’s try to make sense

of this theorem. If we have a constant function, f (x ) = c, then the area function is found to

be (from the area of a rectangle) A(y ) = c(y − a). Then dA

dy = c = f (y ), so the fundamental

theorem checks out. Alternatively, if f (x ) = x , then the area function (from the area of a
1 1 2
trapezium) is A(y ) = 2 (y − a)(y + a) = 2 (y − a2 ). Now dA
dy = y = f (y ), so once again

the fundamental theorem is verified. But the point is that the fundamental theorem works for

any ‘nice’ enough function f (x )6 . To motivate this, let us study Fig. 2.3. The shaded area
y 
is a f (x ) dx = limΔxi →0 N i=1 f (xi )Δxi = A(y ). To see how this area changes, we look at

Fig. 2.4. As y changes from y to y + Δy , the area changes by ΔA. This additional area
6
When I say ‘nice’ enough, I usually mean no discontinuities. But it turns out that the integral can be defined
even if the function has a finite number of discontinuities as you will see in your calculus course. For our purposes,
f (x ) will always be ‘nice’ enough.

18
 Chapter 2. Basic integral calculus

f(x)

0 a y y+Δy x

Fig. 2.4: Change in area under the curve as x changes from y to y + Δy . The additional area has been
shaded.

ΔA is the shaded area in the figure. For Δy small, this additional area is approximately a

rectangle. The rectangle has height f (y ) and width Δy 7 . This means that ΔA ≈ f (y )Δy . For

infinitesimal change in y , we get, dA = f (y )dy , or

dA
= f (y ).
dy

This is the fundamental theorem of calculus (sometimes known as the first part of the funda-

mental theorem of calculus). We can use this to find the area under the curve from x = a to
dA
x = b via antiderivatives. To this end, we observe that dy = f (y ) implies that A(y ) is (by

definition) an antiderivative of f (y ). But which antiderivative? There are an infinite number of

antiderivatives of a given function! Given an antiderivative, we can add a constant - it’s still an

antiderivative (since the derivative of a constant is zero). So

dA
= f (y )
dy
⇒ A(y ) = F (y ) + C ,

where C is any constant and F (x ) is any antiderivative of f (x )8 . What is this constant C ?

Note that A(a) = 09 . It follows that A(a) = F (a) + C = 0, which implies that C = −F (a).

Using this, we obtain A(y ) = F (y ) − F (a). But now remember what we had to do in the first
7
You might argue about the height of the rectangle. Why f (y ) and not f (y + Δy )? The answer is that it
doesn’t matter if Δy is small enough. Once again, you will do this more rigorously in your calculus course.
8
F (y ) is the antiderivative F (x ) of f (x ) evaluated at x = y .
9
In this case, we are making the ‘right’ edge of the figure the same as the ‘left’ edge, so the area of the figure
is zero.

19
2.1. Antiderivatives

f(x)

0 a x
b

Fig. 2.5: The area that we want to find is from x = a to x = b.

place! We had to find the area under the curve from x = a to x = b (see Fig. 2.5 below). This

area under the curve from x = a to x = b is then10

A = F (b) − F (a),

where you must remember that F (x ) is any antiderivative of f (x ). This then allows you to

find the area under the curve, or equivalently the integral, via antiderivatives. Given the deep

relationship between integrals and antiderivatives that we have established, the antiderivative

of a function is also written as f (x ) dx (notice that there are no limits a or b here!). The
b
antiderivative F (x ) is then also known as an indefinite integral (in contrast, a f (x ) dx is a

definite integral).

As an example of what we have learned, suppose that f (x ) = 2x 4 . To find the area under

the curve from x = 1 and x = 4, we first find an antiderivative of f (x ). You can easily check

that F (x ) = 25 x 5 is an antiderivative of f (x ). It follows that the required area under the curve

is
2 × 45 2 × 15
A= − .
5 5

Physically, if the speed of a moving object is v (t) = 2t 4 , A corresponds to the distance traveled
x
between t = 1 and t = 4. As an another, perhaps more pedestrian, example, consider x0f dx .
x x
This can be written as x0f 1 dx . The anti-derivative of one is simply x , and so we get x0f 1 dx =

xf − x0 . No surprise here! Adding up lots of small changes is the same as the total change.
10
This follows by noting that the ‘right’ boundary is not actually varying, but is actually fixed at x = b. So
y = b.

20
 Chapter 2. Basic integral calculus

To see this in another way, consider that we have divided the interval from x0 to xf into little

pieces; the values of x in ascending order at the intermediate points are x1 , x2 , and so on. The

changes are (x1 − x0 ), (x2 − x1 ), and so on. Adding up all these changes (‘integration’), you

notice that x1 , x2 , x3 , et cetera all cancel - only the endpoints remain to give xf − x0 .

Before concluding, let me mention that the antiderivative of a function, if required, will

usually be given to you, but you should be able to find the antiderivative of simple functions

such as f (x ) = x , f (x ) = 2x , f (x ) = 5x 2 , and f (x ) = 3x − 4.

Problems:

1. Find the antiderivatives of f (x ) = x , f (x ) = 2x , f (x ) = 5x 2 , f (x ) = 3x − 4, f (x ) =

x 3 + 5x 2 − 2.

2. Find the area under the curve for each of the above functions between x = 0 and x = 2.

3. Consider f (x ) = x 2 − 4. Find the area under the curve from x = −2 and x = 2. Why is

your answer negative? How can ‘area’ be negative?

b c b
4. Justify the following rule of integration: a f (x ) dx = a f (x ) dx + c f (x ) dx . Use this

rule to find the area under the curve for f (x ) = |x | (where |x | = x if x ≥ 0 and |x | = −x

if x < 0) between x = −2 and x = 2.

21