Math 166 Professor Ramras

Review for Exam 1

Exam 1 will cover Chapters 6 and 7, except for 7.6 and 7.7. (We’ll cover 7.7 later.)

Chapter 6: Here are some of the important facts and principals covered in Chapter 6.
Make sure to also review the assigned homework, the quizzes (and quiz solutions), and the
practice exam posted in Canvas.
Suggested Chapter 6 Review Exercises (pp. 505–507: # 3, 4, 8, 12, 17, 19, 21–47,
63, 64, 68–78, 89, 90, 92-105.
Problems 21–44 are differentiation problems, 63–78 are limit problems, and 92–105 are
integration problems. You should do enough of them that you feel comfortable using the
methods we’ve encountered in Chapter 6. For the differentiation problems, you need to
become comfortable using the basic differentiation rules (sum rule, product rule, quotient
rule, and especially chain rule) with the new functions from Chapter 6. For the integrals
problems, it’s important to recognize that the only way to get used to integration is through
practice. These examples are good illustrations of the methods in this chapter; you’ll see
that there are a lot of similarities among the solutions to these problems.

Inverse Functions: You should understand the definition of an inverse function, the hor-
izontal line test, and the relationship between the graph of a function and the graph of its
inverse. You should memorize the formula for the derivative of the inverse function.
Given a function y = f (x) that passes the horizontal line test (on some given domain) the
inverse function f −1 answers the question “What x-value outputs the value y?” For instance,
sin−1 (1/2) = π/6, because π/6 is the x–value satisfying sin(x) = 1/2.

Exponential Functions and Logarithms: You should memorize the definition and basic
rules for both logarithmic functions and exponential functions (with any positive real number
a as base). Learn these rules carefully, so that you don’t end up making up your own rules
on the exam. For instance, if you know the logarithm rules well, then you know that there
is no formula for ln(a + b).
You should know the graphs of y = ex and y = ln(x), and the values of e0 , e1 , ln(1), and
ln(e), as well as the limits limx→±∞ ex , limx→∞ ln(x), and limx→0+ ln(x).
You should memorize the derivatives of y = ax and y = loga (x), and you should be able to
use logarithmic differentiation to compute derivatives of functions involving products, ratios,
and powers. You can approach logarithmic differentiation using implicit differentiation, by
differentiating both sides of an equation
ln(y) = ln(f (x))
0
and then solving for y , or you can use the more direct formula
d
f 0 (x) = f (x) · ln(f (x)).
dx
In either case the key is to use logarithm laws to simplify ln(y) = ln(f (x)) before differen-
tiating. If you can’t see a way to simplify using logarithm laws, then logarithmic differen-
tiation will not help you. (Note that in the second formula, if you just use the equation
 0
d
dx
ln(f (x)) = ff (x)
(x)
, you end up right back where you started, which doesn’t help. Hence you
need to simplify ln(f (x)) before differentiating.)
0 (x)
You should be able to use logarithms to integrate functions similar to ff (x) , where f is an
arbitrary function. Such integrals are computed using the substitution u = f (x):
Z 0 Z
f (x) du
dx = = ln(|u|) + C = ln(|f (x)|) + C.
f (x) u
This method can be applied to more complicated functions, where the top of the fraction is
not exactly f 0 (x) but something similar. To see whether this method applies to an integral
of the form Z
g(x)
dx
f (x)
try using the substitution u = f (x).

Inverse Trigonometric Functions: You should also know the graphs of these inverse
trigonometric functions, including their domains and ranges. You should be able to calculate
quantities like sin(cos−1 (a)), where −1 6 a 6 1 by setting up a triangle with one angle
equal to θ = cos−1 (a). This type of computation is a key step in deriving the formulas for
derivatives of inverse trigonometric functions.
You should memorize the formulas for the derivatives of sin−1 (x), cos−1 (x), and tan−1 (x).
Moreover, you should understand how to derive these formulas using the basic properties of
inverse functions and the triangle method mentioned above.
You should also be able to calculate inverse trigonometric functions explicitly when the
answers just involve multiples of π/6 and π/4 (this requires you to know the values of the
trigonometric functions at these special angles).
You should be able to use the derivative formulas for sin−1 (x) and tan−1 (x) to integrate
1 1
functions similar to y = √1−x 2 and y = x2 +a2 . Such integration problems often require a

substitution step.

Hyperbolic Functions You should memorize the definitions of cosh(x), sinh(x), and
tanh(x), as well as the identity cosh2 (x) − sinh2 (x) = 1 and the formulas for the derivatives
of cosh(x), sinh(x), and tanh(x). You should be able to use these definitions to calculate
values of these functions. (It is not necessary to know the formulas for inverse hyperbolic
functions, or the derivatives of inverse hyperbolic functions.)

L’Hopital’s Rule You should know how to apply L’Hopital’s rule to calculate limits of
indeterminate forms of type ∞ ∞
and 00 , and you should know how to convert indeterminate
∞
forms of other types into indeterminate forms of type ∞ or 00 so that you can compute their
limits using L’Hopital’s Rule. The other types of indeterminate forms are:
∞ · 0, ∞ − ∞, 1∞ , 00 , and ∞0
It’s important to remember that L’Hopital’s rule does not apply to every limit: your limit
∞
must be an indeterminate form of type ∞ or 00 , or else L’Hopital’s rule will give you a
completely incorrect answer. It’s also good to remember that some indeterminate forms of
type ∞/∞ can be handled by the simpler method of dividing top and bottom by the biggest
term that appears. For instance, this method is used in Math 165 to calculate limits like
x5 − 3x + 2
lim ,
x→∞ 2x5 − x3 − x2 + 6

which would requite 5 applications of L’Hopital’s rule.

L’Hopital’s Rule is one of the most powerful methods of Calculus. This rather amazing
result allows one to use derivatives to compute many limits that would be extremely difficult
to evaluate otherwise. It can also be used to help in graphing functions, since it allows one
to determine asymptotes.
In its most basic form, it tells us how to compute indeterminate limits of the form
f (x)
lim .
x→a g(x)

To apply L’Hopital’s Rule, calculate the derivative of f and the derivative of g, and form a
new fraction using these derivatives:
f (x) f 0 (x)
lim = lim 0 .
x→a g(x) x→a g (x)

Note that the formula on the right is not the formula from the quotient rule: we are not
differentiating y = f (x)/g(x). Often (but not always) the limit on the right is no longer
indeterminate, and we can simply plug in x = a to obtain an answer. In fact, if the right-
hand limit comes out to +∞ (or to −∞), then this means the original limit was also +∞
(or −∞, respectively). If the right-hand limit is still indeterminate, then no conclusion can
be made.
Sometimes this rule must be used several times before it gives a definite answer. Sometimes
L’Hopital’s rule just makes your limit worse, e.g. if the derivatives of f and g are more
complicated than f and g themselves (and still give an indeterminate form). In this case,
1/g(x)
you can try to apply L’Hopital’s rule to the equivalent fraction .
1/f (x)
Many limits can be rearranged algebraically in order to make L’Hopital’s rule apply.
Important methods include:
f (x) g(x)
• Changing a product into a fraction: f (x)g(x) = = . This allows us
1/g(x) 1/f (x)
to handle limits of the form 0 · ∞, by changing them into limits of the form ∞/∞
or 0/0. For instance, this method is used in Example 6 in Section 6.8 to compute
limx→0+ x ln(x) (this is a limit of type 0 · (−∞)).
• Combining fractions over a common denominator: this helps us to handle indeter-
minate limits of the form ∞ − ∞; see Example 8 in Section 6.8. Often, as in this
example, some manipulation needs to be done so that the given expression becomes
a difference of fractions.
• Change of base or application of logarithms: this helps us handle limits of the form
1∞ , 00 , and ∞0 . For instance, to find limx→0+ xx , we can write xx = eln(x)x (type
00 ), and then evaluate limx→0+ ln(x)x as in the example mentioned above. Since ex
is continuous,
lim+ eln(x)x = elimx→0+ ln(x)x = e0 = 1.
x→0
See Example 9 in Section 6.8 for another example using a slightly different method.
 Here are some of the important facts and principals covered in Chapter 7. Make sure to
also review the assigned homework, the quizzes (and quiz solutions), and the practice exam.
Suggested Chapter 7 Review Exercises (pp. 577–579): # 1–49 (odd), 71.
Problems # 1–39 give practice with the various integration techniques we’ve learned.
Problems # 41–49 and 71 deal with Improper Integrals (Section 7.8).
Common Mistakes: Here are a number of common mistakes that you should try to avoid:
• The first step in many integration problems is actually differentiation (for instance,
you need to do differentiation whenever you do a substitution, an integration by
parts, or a trig substitution). If you mess up this differentiation step, everything that
follows will be wrong. So you need to review the basic differentiation rules (especially
the Chain Rule) and apply them carefully!
x2
Z
• You cannot integrate a product term-by-term. For instance, x cos(x) dx 6= sin(x).
2
Similarly, you can’t integrate a ratio term-by-term.
Z
1
• The rule dx = ln(x) does not apply to arbitrary functions. It is almost never
Z x
1
true that dx = ln(f (x)). This works for f (x) = x, and for f (x) = x ± a, but
f (x)
that’s it.
• In an integration problem with several steps, it is very tempting to jump to an answer
too quickly. Every time you see an integral sign, you have an integration problem
to do. If you do not have one of the methods below (or a standard integration
formula) in mind when integrating a function, you are probably making a mistake.
Integration is hard, so don’t jump to an answer.
• Don’t stay stuck! If you can’t think of what method to use in a problem, go through
the list: Substitution, Integration by Parts, Trig Substitution, Partial Fractions. Give
yourself 30 seconds to think seriously about each one. If only trig functions appear
in the integral, you may need to use a method from Section 7.2.

Basic Integrals: You need to memorize a number of basic integrals. This is important not
only so that you can evaluate them when you see them, but also so that when deciding how
to solve a problem, you can tell if a method is likely to work. You need to know items 1–8,
10, 16, and 17 in the Table of Integrals on Reference Page 6 in your book (items 9, 12–15,
and 18 are useful to know, and make some problems easier, but are not necessary).

Methods of Integration: You need to understand how to use the following integration
methods:
• Substitution: This is usually the first thing to consider. Reasonable substitutions
tend to be things like:
√ the inside1/5
of a composition, the bottom of a fraction, a root
function like u = x or u = x . If your integrand is a product of two terms,
 substituting u for one of the terms is an option, especially if du is pretty close to the
remaining term.

• Integration by Parts: Mainly useful when your function can be written as a

product of two terms, one of which gets simpler (or at least not too much more
complicated) when you differentiate
Z it, and the other of which is easy to integrate.
Sometimes – for instance, with ln(x) dx – IBP can be used by setting dv = dx
and letting u be the entire integrand. This will mainly work if du is simpler than u.
Warning: integration by parts is a method for integrating a product of the form
u dv, where u and dv are both functions of x (say). If you try to use this method
for a ratio, you
Z need to firstZrewrite it as a product. For instance, if you want to try
sin(x)
to compute tan(x) dx = dx using integration by parts, you cannot set
cos(x)
cos(x) = u and sin(x) dx = dv. (Instead, you’d have to first write your integrand as
a product sin(x) · (cos(x))−1 , and it might not work so well...)

• Trigonometric Substitution:√ This

√ method is √mainly for integrals involving a
square root function, like a2 − x2 , x2 − a2 , or x2 + a2 . It’s important to care-
fully set up your triangle at the beginning. Remember, the numbers x, a, and your
square root function go on the sides of the triangle, with the biggest one on the hy-
potenuse (and x never goes on the x–axis). From the triangle, you can write formulas
for x, dx, and your square root in terms of trigonometric functions of θ.

• Partial Fractions: If your function is a ratio of two polynomials, then this is a safe
bet (although sometimes there’s a quicker way). Partial fractions involves several
steps:
(1) Use “long-division” to make the numerator of lower degree than the denominator.
You won’t see hard long-division problems on the exam, but you should be able
to use long-division (or just guess-and-check) to write functions like

3x2 + x + 1
x2 − 2x + 3
P (x)
in the form C + Q(x) where C is a constant and P has lower degree than Q. In
the above example, C would be 3; what would P be?
(2) Factor the denominator into linear terms and irreducible quadratic terms. To
tell if you can factor a quadratic, just use the quadratic formula.
(3) Split apart the fraction according to the factors in the denominator, and solve
for the new numerators. This works differently in the 4 cases outlined in Section
7.4. You need to know how to deal with the first 3 cases.
(4) Integrate the more basic fractions you get from the previous step. This requires
you to know how to integrate several basic forms, using either logarithms (when
the numerator has degree one less than the denominator) or tan−1 (x) (when the
numerator is constant and the denominator is quadratic). In some cases, it is
 necessary to complete the square in the denominator using the formula:
x2 + bx + c = (x + b/2)2 + c − b2 /4

• Strategies for Trigonometric Integrals: If your function is written in terms of

trig functions only, then methods from 7.2 can be quite helpful (especially if powers
of trig functions appear). Don’t forget to try simple substitutions first, though.

Improper Integrals (Section 7.8): You need to understand how to recognize improper
integrals, and how to write them as limits of ordinary integrals. It’s crucial to remember the
“p–test” (formula 2 on p. 571) and the Comparison Theorem. When calculating an improper
integral, you may have to use one of the methods above to find an antiderivative. After doing
so, you’ll need to calculate a limit, possibly by using L’Hopital’s Rule or by thinking about
the graph of the relevant function. (In particular, you should know the graphs of ln(x) and
ex .)