Problem 301
Evaluate the integral: I = integral sqrt((x+1)/(x-1)) dx
Evaluate the integral: $$ I = \int \sqrt{\frac{x+1}{x-1}}\,dx. $$
Explanation of Method
Multiplying numerator and denominator inside the radical by $\sqrt{x+1}$ turns the integrand into $(x+1)/\sqrt{x^2-1}$, which splits cleanly into a power-rule piece and a standard logarithm piece — no substitution needed.
- Rationalize the radical: $\sqrt{(x+1)/(x-1)}=(x+1)/\sqrt{x^2-1}$.
- Split into $x/\sqrt{x^2-1}+1/\sqrt{x^2-1}$.
- Integrate each piece.
Step 1 · Rationalize
$$ \sqrt{\frac{x+1}{x-1}} = \sqrt{\frac{(x+1)^2}{(x+1)(x-1)}} = \frac{x+1}{\sqrt{x^2-1}}. $$
Step 2 · Split and integrate
$$ I = \int\frac{x}{\sqrt{x^2-1}}\,dx + \int\frac{dx}{\sqrt{x^2-1}} = \sqrt{x^2-1} + \ln\left|x+\sqrt{x^2-1}\right| + C. $$
Summary Table
| Piece | Antiderivative |
|---|---|
| $x/\sqrt{x^2-1}$ | $\sqrt{x^2-1}$ |
| $1/\sqrt{x^2-1}$ | $\ln|x+\sqrt{x^2-1}|$ |
Additional Notes
- Major rewrite: the source's approach substituted $u=\sqrt{(x+1)/(x-1)}$ and, after a long partial-fraction and reduction-formula chain, arrived at coefficient $3$ on the logarithm (and offered two "equivalent" boxed forms that are not actually equal to each other, confirming an internal error). Differentiating the source's answer at $x=2$ gives $\approx2.02$, while the true integrand value is $\sqrt3\approx1.73$. The direct rationalization above avoids the error entirely and gives the correct coefficient of $1$.
- The domain requires $x>1$ (or $x<-1$ with sign adjustments).
- The result was verified by differentiation: $\dfrac{d}{dx}\left[\sqrt{x^2-1}+\ln(x+\sqrt{x^2-1})\right] = \dfrac{x}{\sqrt{x^2-1}}+\dfrac1{\sqrt{x^2-1}} = \dfrac{x+1}{\sqrt{x^2-1}} = \sqrt{\dfrac{x+1}{x-1}}$, matching the integrand exactly.
Result
The solution to the integral is:
$$ I = \sqrt{x^2-1} + \ln\left|x+\sqrt{x^2-1}\right| + C. $$