What is an integral?

An integral is the area that lies below a graphed line and the x-axis, an indefinite integral is when an interval is not used, and so is often infinite, as it covers the entire area under a graph, and not just a small section.
When an interval is used, the integral will usually be finite, e.g.
The integral of x between 0 and 2 is equal to [x2/2]2 which is equal to 22/2-02/2=2
If you think of this as the line y=x, and simply take the line from x=0 to x=2, then you can see that the graph forms a right angled triangle with base and height 2, calculate the area and you can see that it is also equal to 2, as expected.

JB
Answered by James B. Maths tutor

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