Calculus II For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 8

When All Else Fails: Integration with Partial Fractions

In This Chapter

Rewriting complicated fractions as the sum of two or more partial fractions

Knowing how to use partial fractions in four distinct cases

Integrating with partial fractions

Using partial fractions with improper rational expressions

Let’s face it: At this point in your math career, you have bigger things to worry about than adding a couple of fractions. And if you’ve survived integration by parts (Chapter 6) and trig integration (Chapter 7), multiplying a few polynomials isn’t going to kill you either.

So here’s the good news about partial fractions: They’re based on simple arithmetic and algebra. In this chapter, I introduce you to the basics of partial fractions and show you how to use them to evaluate integrals. I illustrate four separate cases in which partial fractions can help you integrate functions that would otherwise be a big ol’ mess.

Now here’s the bad news: Although the concept of partial fractions isn’t difficult, using them to integrate is just about the most tedious thing you encounter ...