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Ch. 4 - Applications of Derivatives
Hass - Thomas' Calculus 15th Edition
Hass15th EditionThomas' CalculusISBN: 9780137616077Not the one you use?Change textbook
Chapter 4, Problem 4.7.13a

Finding Antiderivatives
In Exercises 1–16, find an antiderivative for each function. Do as many as you can mentally. Check your answers by differentiation.
sec²x

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Recall that an antiderivative of a function is another function whose derivative is the original function. In other words, if \(F'(x) = f(x)\), then \(F(x)\) is an antiderivative of \(f(x)\).
Identify the given function: \(f(x) = \sec^{2}x\).
Recall the derivative of the tangent function: \(\frac{d}{dx}(\tan x) = \sec^{2}x\).
Since the derivative of \(\tan x\) is \(\sec^{2}x\), an antiderivative of \(\sec^{2}x\) is \(\tan x\) plus a constant of integration, \(C\).
Write the general antiderivative as \(\int \sec^{2}x \, dx = \tan x + C\), where \(C\) is an arbitrary constant.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Antiderivative (Indefinite Integral)

An antiderivative of a function is another function whose derivative equals the original function. It represents the reverse process of differentiation and is expressed with an arbitrary constant since differentiation of a constant is zero.
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Basic Trigonometric Derivatives

Understanding the derivatives of trigonometric functions like tangent and secant is essential. For example, the derivative of tan(x) is sec²(x), which helps identify that the antiderivative of sec²(x) is tan(x) plus a constant.
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Derivatives of Other Inverse Trigonometric Functions

Verification by Differentiation

After finding an antiderivative, differentiating it should return the original function. This step confirms the correctness of the antiderivative and reinforces the connection between differentiation and integration.
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