Originally Posted by polythenepam
hey i need help
the question is
integrate :
(Ln(x^2-4))/(x^2-4)^(1/2) dx
before that it asks to show the integral of
x/(x^2-4)dx = (x^2-4)^1/2
i just had this question asked of me last week by a fellow student who was looking at past papers from a Catholic school's trial. (i think he got it through a tutor or something).
anyways, the point this question is misplaced at the HSC level and the integral cannot be found using high school mathematics, even if the integral is a definite integral. unless you know what Polylogarithmic functions are, then it can't be done.
if i remember correctly you are suppose to find its definite integral between sqrt(5) and sqrt(8)... i think... and you're suppose to express it in exact form ---> which leads me to believe the integral is actually that of
x(ln(x^2-4))/sqrt(x^2-4) , they just forgot the extra 'x'.
P.S. i don't think that the definite integral for ln(x^2-4)/sqrt(x^2-4) between sqrt(5) and sqrt(8) can even be expressed in
exact form. (certainly not interms of root extractions or logarithms and exponential values).