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NCERT Exemplar · Q8

Q.Evaluate: ∫sin⁡x+cos⁡x1+sin⁡2x dx\int \dfrac{\sin x+\cos x}{\sqrt{1+\sin 2x}}\,dx

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The integrand simplifies to a constant sign function (±1\pm 1) because 1+sin⁡2x=∣sin⁡x+cos⁡x∣\sqrt{1+\sin 2x} = |\sin x + \cos x|. The integral therefore reduces to ∫sgn(sin⁡x+cos⁡x) dx\int \text{sgn}(\sin x + \cos x) \, dx, which is a piecewise linear function. The final result is sgn(sin⁡x+cos⁡x)⋅x+C\boxed{\text{sgn}(\sin x + \cos x) \cdot x + C}, where sgn\text{sgn} is the sign function.

The key insight here is that the denominator is not just a square root — it’s the square root of a perfect square. That changes everything.


1. Recognize the perfect square under the root

We know sin⁡2x=2sin⁡xcos⁡x\sin 2x = 2\sin x \cos x. So:

1+sin⁡2x=1+2sin⁡xcos⁡x=sin⁡2x+cos⁡2x+2sin⁡xcos⁡x1 + \sin 2x = 1 + 2\sin x \cos x = \sin^2 x + \cos^2 x + 2\sin x \cos x

That’s exactly (sin⁡x+cos⁡x)2(\sin x + \cos x)^2. Check:

(sin⁡x+cos⁡x)2=sin⁡2x+cos⁡2x+2sin⁡xcos⁡x=1+sin⁡2x(\sin x + \cos x)^2 = \sin^2 x + \cos^2 x + 2\sin x \cos x = 1 + \sin 2x

So the integrand becomes:

sin⁡x+cos⁡x(sin⁡x+cos⁡x)2\frac{\sin x + \cos x}{\sqrt{(\sin x + \cos x)^2}}

Watch out

A common mistake is to cancel (sin⁡x+cos⁡x)2\sqrt{(\sin x + \cos x)^2} with sin⁡x+cos⁡x\sin x + \cos x and get 11. But t2=∣t∣\sqrt{t^2} = |t|, not tt. So cancellation is not automatic — it depends on the sign of sin⁡x+cos⁡x\sin x + \cos x.


2. Write the integrand using absolute value

We have:

sin⁡x+cos⁡x∣sin⁡x+cos⁡x∣\frac{\sin x + \cos x}{|\sin x + \cos x|}

This ratio is simply the sign (or signum) of sin⁡x+cos⁡x\sin x + \cos x:

sin⁡x+cos⁡x∣sin⁡x+cos⁡x∣={1,sin⁡x+cos⁡x>0−1,sin⁡x+cos⁡x<0\frac{\sin x + \cos x}{|\sin x + \cos x|} = \begin{cases} 1, & \sin x + \cos x > 0 \\ -1, & \sin x + \cos x < 0 \end{cases}

At points where sin⁡x+cos⁡x=0\sin x + \cos x = 0, the integrand is undefined (division by zero), so the integral is defined piecewise on intervals where the sign is constant.

Tip

The expression sin⁡x+cos⁡x\sin x + \cos x can be rewritten as 2sin⁡(x+π4)\sqrt{2} \sin\left(x + \frac{\pi}{4}\right). This makes it easy to see where it changes sign: it’s positive when sin⁡(x+π4)>0\sin\left(x + \frac{\pi}{4}\right) > 0, i.e., when x+π4∈(2nπ,(2n+1)π)x + \frac{\pi}{4} \in (2n\pi, (2n+1)\pi), and negative otherwise.


3. Integrate piecewise

On any interval where sin⁡x+cos⁡x\sin x + \cos x has a constant sign, the integrand is just ±1\pm 1. So:

  • If sin⁡x+cos⁡x>0\sin x + \cos x > 0, the integral is ∫1 dx=x+C\int 1 \, dx = x + C.
  • If sin⁡x+cos⁡x<0\sin x + \cos x < 0, the integral is ∫(−1) dx=−x+C\int (-1) \, dx = -x + C. …

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