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Exercise 798Calculus › Single-variable calculus › Differentiation › Taylor expansionsL2Added 3 Nov 2026

Computing ∫₀¹ sin(x²) dx with a series

#integration of expansions#numerical approximation#alternating series

Statement

The function x↦sin⁡(x2)x\mapsto\sin(x^2) has no elementary antiderivative. Use its Taylor expansion to compute I=∫01sin⁡(x2) dxI=\displaystyle\int_0^1\sin(x^2)\,dx with an error less than 10−410^{-4}.

Hint

Substitute x2x^2 in the series of sin⁡\sin and integrate term by term. The resulting series is alternating.

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Solution

Series. sin⁡(x2)=∑k≥0(−1)k(2k+1)!x4k+2\sin(x^2)=\sum_{k\ge0}\frac{(-1)^k}{(2k+1)!}x^{4k+2}, and integrating on [0,1][0,1],
I=∑k≥0(−1)k(2k+1)! (4k+3)=13−142+11320−175 600+⋯I=\sum_{k\ge0}\frac{(-1)^k}{(2k+1)!\,(4k+3)}=\frac13-\frac1{42}+\frac1{1320}-\frac1{75\,600}+\cdots

Alternating series bound. The terms decrease in absolute value to 00, so the error is less than the first omitted term. The term for k=3k=3 is 175 600≈1.3⋅10−5<10−4\frac1{75\,600}\approx1.3\cdot10^{-5}<10^{-4}, so stopping at k=2k=2 suffices:
I≈13−142+11320=28679240≈0.31028.I\approx\frac13-\frac1{42}+\frac1{1320}=\frac{2867}{9240}\approx0.31028.

Check. The true value is 0.310268…0.310268\dots, with error 1.3⋅10−51.3\cdot10^{-5} ✓.

Remark. This is a Fresnel-type integral. Integrating a power series term by term is legitimate on the interval where the series converges uniformly (here, all of R\mathbb{R}).