How do you integrate x^2 e^-5x dxx2e5xdx?

1 Answer
Feb 19, 2015

Hello,

I think you want integrate x^2 e^{-5x}x2e5x, not x^2 e^{-5}xx2e5x...

Use two integrations by parts :
\int_0^x u(t) v'(t) dt = [u(t)v(t)]_0^x - \int_0^x u'(t) v(t) dt.
You can prove that if you write (uv)' = u'v+uv' and if you integrate between 0 and x.

Let F be the function define by F(x) = \int_0^x t^2 e^{-5t} dt.

Take u(t) = t^2 and v(t) =-\frac{1}{5}e^{-5t}. So you have
u'(t) = 2t and v'(t) = e^{-5t}

Apply the integration by parts formula :

F(x) = [-\frac{1}{5} t^2 e^{-5t} ]_0^x +\frac{2}{5} \int_0^x te^{-5t}dt

Use integration by parts again to calculate \int_0^x te^{-5t}dt. Take
u(t) =t and v(t) = -\frac{1}{5}e^{-5t}. So you have
u'(t) = 1 and v'(t) = e^{-5t}, and

\int_0^x te^{-5t}dt = [-\frac{1}{5}t e^{-5t}]_0^x + \frac{1}{5}\int_0^x e^{-5t}dt = [-\frac{1}{5}t]_0^x + \frac{1}{5}[-\frac{1}{5}e^{-5t}]_0^x

You can simplify :

\int_0^x te^{-5t}dt =-\frac{1}{5}xe^{-5x} - \frac{1}{25}(e^{-5x}-1)

Finally, plug that in the above expression :

F(x) = -\frac{1}{5}x^2e^{-5x} - \frac{2}{5}(\frac{1}{5}xe^{-5x} + \frac{1}{25}(e^{-5x}-1))

Primitives (or antiderivatives) of x^2e^{-5x} are

-(\frac{1}{5}x^2 + \frac{2}{25}x + 2/125)e^{-5x} + c

where c \in RR.