OCR MEI C4 — Question 6

Exam BoardOCR MEI
ModuleC4 (Core Mathematics 4)
TopicGeneralised Binomial Theorem
TypeCoefficient of x^n in product

6 Two students are trying to evaluate the integral \(\int _ { 1 } ^ { 2 } \sqrt { 1 + \mathrm { e } ^ { - x } } \mathrm {~d} x\).
Sarah uses the trapezium rule with 2 strips, and starts by constructing the following table.
\(x\)11.52
\(\sqrt { 1 + \mathrm { e } ^ { - x } }\)1.16961.10601.0655
  1. Complete the calculation, giving your answer to 3 significant figures. Anish uses a binomial approximation for \(\sqrt { 1 + \mathrm { e } ^ { - x } }\) and then integrates this.
  2. Show that, provided \(\mathrm { e } ^ { - x }\) is suitably small, \(\left( 1 + \mathrm { e } ^ { - x } \right) ^ { \frac { 1 } { 2 } } \approx 1 + \frac { 1 } { 2 } \mathrm { e } ^ { - x } \quad \frac { 1 } { 8 } \mathrm { e } ^ { - 2 x }\).
  3. Use this result to evaluate \(\int _ { 1 } ^ { 2 } \sqrt { 1 + \mathrm { e } ^ { - x } } \mathrm {~d} x\) approximately, giving your answer to 3 significant figures.