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Exercise 7.2 · Q15

Q.Integrate the following function: x9−4x2\frac{x}{9-4x^2}

Telangana TsbieTextbookSubjective· 2mImportance★★★★★
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This integral is a textbook case for u-substitution because the numerator is a constant multiple of the derivative of the denominator. Substituting u=9−4x2u = 9 - 4x^2 simplifies the integral to −18log⁡∣9−4x2∣+C-\frac{1}{8} \log|9-4x^2| + C.

The key insight here is pattern recognition. When you see a rational function where the numerator looks like the derivative of the denominator (up to a constant factor), your brain should immediately light up: u-substitution.

Look at the denominator: 9−4x29 - 4x^2. Its derivative is −8x-8x. The numerator is just xx. That’s almost a perfect match — we’re only off by a factor of −8-8. This means we can set uu equal to the denominator, and the integral will collapse into a simple logarithmic form.

Let’s walk through it.

  1. Choose the substitution.

    Let u=9−4x2u = 9 - 4x^2.

    Why? Because the derivative du=−8x dxdu = -8x \, dx contains an x dxx \, dx term, which is exactly what’s in the numerator (just missing a constant).

  2. Solve for x dxx \, dx.

    From du=−8x dxdu = -8x \, dx, we get

x dx=−18 du.x \, dx = -\frac{1}{8} \, du.

This is the cleanest way to replace the messy xx and dxdx together.

  1. Rewrite the integral entirely in terms of uu. The original integral is

∫x9−4x2 dx.\int \frac{x}{9-4x^2} \, dx.

Substituting uu for the denominator and −18du-\frac{1}{8} du for x dxx \, dx gives:

∫1u⋅(−18)du=−18∫1u du.\int \frac{1}{u} \cdot \left(-\frac{1}{8}\right) du = -\frac{1}{8} \int \frac{1}{u} \, du.

  1. Integrate with respect to uu. The integral of 1u\frac{1}{u} is log⁡∣u∣+C\log|u| + C. So:

−18log⁡∣u∣+C.-\frac{1}{8} \log|u| + C.

  1. Substitute back to xx. …

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