The Useful Arctan Integral Form

The following integral is very common in calculus:

1

 = arctan  + .
1 + 

A more general form is

1 1 

 = arctan   + .
 +   

Proof:

Factor  from the denominator:

1 1 1 1

 =
 =
.
 +    1 +   ⁄   1 +   ⁄ 

 
Now we do a u-du substitution, with  = , so that  =  . Thus,  =  . We make the
replacements:

1 1 1 1

 = 
 .
  1 +  ⁄ 
   1 + 

Note that the a inside the integral comes out to the front, so we have:

1 1 1 1

  =
.
 1 +   1 + 

Now we integrate:

1 1 1 1 

 = arctan  = arctan   + .
 1+    

This is an important form! Please memorize it.

Example: Find
5

.
9 + 

Solution: The 5 can be moved outside, and we have  = 9, so that  = 3. Thus, using the form, we
have

5 5 

 = arctan   + .
9+  3 3
Sometimes you need to complete the square:

Example: Find
8

.
  + 4 + 9

Solution: The denominator is   + 4 + 9 =  + 2 + 5, after completing the square (you should
verify this).

Thus, we now have

8 1

 = 8
.
 + 4 + 9  + 2 + 5

Now it’s in that arctan form. We have  = √5 (do you see why?). Therefore, we have

1 8 +2
8
 = arctan # $ + .
 + 2 + 5

√5 √5

Example: Find
3

.
11 +  %

Solution. This requires a u-du substitution:  =   , so that  = 2 . Note that  =  . Also note
that  % =    . We make the substitutions:

3 3 1

 =
# $.
11 +  % 11 +  2
&
Now simplify. Note that the  can be moved outside, and the x’s cancel:

3 1 3 1

# $ =
.
11 +  2 2 11 + 

Now it’s in the arctan form, with  = √11:

3 1 3  3 

 = arctan # $= arctan ' ( + .
2 11 +  2√11 √11 2√11 √11
Example: Find
7

.
1 + 4 

Solution: We prefer the quadratic term in the denominator to have a coefficient of 1. So factor a 4 from
the denominator, and move it (and the 7 while we’re at it) to the front:

7 7 1

 =
.
1 + 4  4 1⁄4 +  
 
Here,  = , so that  = :
% 

7 1 7 1  7

 = # $ arctan # $ = arctan2 + .
4 1⁄4 +   4 1⁄2 1⁄2 2

The last step featured some basic simplification of fractions.

Be careful! Some forms look like the arctan form, but they are not:

 1

 = ln1 +    + .
1+  2

Later, you will see some forms like:



.
1 + 

This one is solved by long dividing the denominator into the numerator:

 1

 =
#1 − $ .
1+  1 + 

The arctan then is used on the second part.

You may see a form such as

  + 2 + 4

.
 & + 4

We use partial fractions:

  + 2 + 4 1 2

 =
# + $ .
 & + 4   + 4

The arctan form is applied to the second term. You will see these forms later in this chapter.

Scott Surgent © 2014 surgent@asu.edu