the reverse process of differentiaton
we know that, for example if f(x) = 2x^3 - 5x^2 + 3x
-7
then f'(x) = 6x^2 - 10x + 3
This process can be reversed.
In general, y = x^n ->
dy/
dx =
nx^(n-1)
So, reversing this process, it would seem that dy/dx = x^m -> y = (1/(m+1))x^(m+1)
The general process of finding a function from its derivative is known as
interation.
Given that
dy/
dx = 12x^2 +
4x - 5, find an expression for y.
y = 12((x^3)/3) + 4((x^2)/2) - 5((x^1)/1)
It would seem that
y=4x^3 +
2x^2 -
5x
but that is not quite the complete answer
Whenever you
differentiate a constant you get zero,
e.g. y = 7 dy/dx = 0
and so the expression for y above could have any constant on the end and still satisfy dy/dx = 12x^2 + 4x - 5
The answer to this example is therefore
y= 4x^3 + 2x^2 - 5x + c, where c is a constant.
