What is the antiderivative of 1/[x(ln(x^3))]?

1 Answer
Jan 20, 2016

int 1/(xln(x^3)) dx

Note that d/dx(lnx) = 1/x and,

more importantly,

d/dx(ln(x^3)) = 3/x.
(You can get this by the chain rule, or more simply, by noting that ln(x^3) = 3lnx.)

This integral can be evaluated by substitution:

Let u = ln(x^3), then du = 3/x dx, so 1/x dx = 1/3 du

Upon substitution, the integral becomes:

int 1/3 u^-1 du = 1/3 ln abs u+C.

Therefore:

int 1/(xln(x^3)) dx = 1/3 ln abs ln(x^3)+C

Another way to proceed:

int 1/(xln(x^3)) dx = int 1/(3xln(x)) dx

= 1/3 int 1/(xln(x)) dx

Let u = lnx and proceed to get:

int 1/(xln(x^3)) dx = 1/3 lnabs(lnx) +C

It looks different, but what is the difference?

1/3 ln abs ln(x^3) =1/3 ln abs(3lnx)

= 1/3(ln3 + ln abs lnx)+C

= 1/3ln3 + 1/3 ln abs lnx+C

So the difference between the expressions is a constant.
The two general answers simply have different C's for particular answers.