Help with this trigonometric integral (why doesn’t the method work)

calculusdefinite integralsintegration

The definite integral, $$\int_0^{\pi}3\sin^2t\cos^4t\:dt$$

My question: for the trigonometric integral above the answer is $\frac{3\pi}{16}$. What I want to know is how can I compute these integrals easily. Is there more than one way to solve it? If so, is the key to solving these integrals, just recognizing some trig identities and using u-sub until it looks like a simpler integral?

Here's what I tried (Why doesn't it work!):

I rewrote the integrand as: $3(1-\cos^2t)\cos^4t\:dt$ then foiled it in,

$3\cos^4t-3\cos^6t dt$
, then I used the power rule and multipied through by chain rule and then did

$F(\pi)-F(0)$ and got the answer: $\frac{6}{35}$

Why does this not work?!?

Best Answer

Use walli's formula given here to do it faster Reduction formula for integral $\sin^m x \cos^n x$ with limits $0$ to $\pi/2$

$I=3\displaystyle\int_{0}^{\pi} \sin^2t\cos^4t\ dt=6 \displaystyle\int_{0}^{\pi/2} \sin^2t\cos^4t\ dt=6\times \dfrac{(2-1)(4-1)(4-3)}{6(6-2)(6-4)}\times \dfrac{\pi}{2}=\dfrac{3\pi}{16}$

your mistake : Use of Power rule in wrong way

we know,

$\displaystyle\int x^m \ dx=\dfrac{x^{m+1}}{m+1}+C$ but this is not analogous to

$3 \displaystyle\int \cos^6t\ dt\neq\dfrac{3}{7}cos^7t + C $ as you've written in comments.

but ,

$\displaystyle\int \cos^6t\ d(cost)\ =-\displaystyle\int \cos^6t \ sint\ dt \ =\dfrac{3}{7}cos^7t + C $

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