MATH 259 – Review Sheet (Prerequisite Topics)

(This is NOT a comprehensive list!)

Contents
1 Trigonometry 1

2 Differentiation 2

3 Integration 3

1 Trigonometry
You need to know the definitions of the trigonometric functions and the basic relations
between them, like the identity sin x = cos ( π2 − x)
Pythagorean Theorem: (a.k.a. Pythagoras’ Theorem) If side lengths of a right
triangle are a, b, and c where c is the length of the hypotenuse, then we have the
identity:
a2 + b2 = c2
Dividing this by c2 , b2 , and a2 , we get the Pythagorean Trigonometric Identities:
sin2 θ + cos2 θ = 1
tan2 θ + 1 = sec2 θ
1 + cot2 θ = csc2 θ
Addition Formulas:
sin(α + β) = sin α cos β + sin β cos α
cos(α + β) = cos α cos β − sin α sin β
Double Angle Formulas: Replace the β’s with α’s in the Addition Formulas to get:
sin(2α) = 2 sin α cos α
cos(2α) = cos2 α − sin2 α
Using the first Pythagorean Trigonometric Identity, we can reformulate this last equa-
tion as:
cos(2α) = 1 − 2 sin2 α
= 2 cos2 α − 1
Half Angle Formulas: Using the last two equations above, we can easily find:
1 − cos (2α)
sin2 α =
2
1 + cos (2α)
cos2 α =
2

1
2 Differentiation
Fundamental Formulas for the Derivative:
d d n
(c) = 0 (x ) = nxn−1
dx dx
d x d 1
(e ) = ex (ln x) =
dx dx x
d d
(sin x) = cos x (cos x) = − sin x
dx dx
d d
(tan x) = sec2 x (cot x) = − csc2 x
dx dx
d d
(sec x) = tan x sec x (csc x) = − cot x csc x
dx dx
d 1 d −1
(sin−1 x) = √ (cos−1 x) = √
dx 1 − x2 dx 1 − x2
d 1 d −1
(tan−1 x) = (cot−1 x) =
dx 1 + x2 dx 1 + x2
d 1 d −1
(sec−1 x) = √ (csc−1 x) = √
dx x x2 − 1 dx x x2 − 1
Product Rule:
d
[f (x)g(x)] = f ′ (x)g(x) + g ′ (x)f (x)
dx
Quotient Rule: [ ]
d f (x) f ′ (x)g(x) − g ′ (x)f (x)
=
dx g(x) [g(x)]2
Chain Rule:
d
[f (g(x))] = f ′ (g(x)) · g ′ (x)
dx

2
3 Integration

Definite Integral:
∫ b
f ′ (x) dx = f (b) − f (a)
a
Fundamental Formulas for the Integrals: (Indefinite)
∫ ∫
xn+1
k dx = kx + C xn dx = + C if n ̸= 1
n+1
∫ ∫
ex dx = ex + C x−1 dx = ln |x| + C
∫ ∫
cos x dx = sin x + C sin x dx = − cos x + C
∫ ∫
sec2 x dx = tan x + C csc2 x dx = − cot x + C
∫ ∫
tan x sec x dx = sec x + C cot x csc x dx = − csc x + C
∫ ∫
dx dx
√ = sin−1 x + C = tan−1 x + C
∫ 1 − x 2 1 + x2
dx
√ = sec−1 x + C
x x −1
2

Integration by Substitution:
∫ ∫
f (g(x)) · g (x) dx = f ′ (u) du by letting u = g(x) and du = g ′ (x) dx
′ ′

= f (u) + C
= f (g(x)) + C

Integration by Parts:
∫ ∫
f (x)g (x) dx = f (x)g(x) − g(x)f ′ (x) dx
′

To obtain this equality we generally use the substitutions

u = f (x) dv = g ′ (x)dx
du = f ′ (x) v = g(x)

and use the following more familiar formula for Integration by Parts:
∫ ∫
udv = uv − vdu

3
 Integration by Partial Fractions:
An Example: To evaluate the integral
∫
3x2 − 7
dx
(2x − 3)3 (x2 + 4)2 (x − 7)

we decompose the integrand into the following sum:

3x2 − 7 A1 A2 A3
= + +
(2x − 3) (x + 4) (x − 7)
3 2 2 2x − 3 (2x − 3) 2 (2x − 3)3
B 1 x + C1 B 2 x + C2 D
+ + 2 +
2
x +4 (x + 4) 2 x−7
√
√ using Trigonometric Substitutions: If the integral contains 1 − x ,
2
√ Integration
1 + x2 , or x2 − 1, then it generally helps to use the substitutions x = sin θ, x = tan θ,
or x = sec θ, respectively. √
More generally, if the integral contains a2 + x2 for example, then we can use the
substitution x = a · tan θ.