How do I know which method of integration to use?

In reality there's no way to know for certain and in fact some integrals can actually be proven to be impossible but they won't give you those in the exam. There's only really two main methods that you'll need to be able to use - use integration by parts when you have to integrate two things multiplied together (and hopefully one of them disappears when you differentiate it), and if that's not the case then for C4 your best bet is to try substitution (I'll show you how to know which bit to substitute). Occasionally you might have to use partial fractions or something else more interesting but there's really not much they're able to ask you for this exam.

OR
Answered by Oliver R. Maths tutor

3591 Views

See similar Maths A Level tutors

Related Maths A Level answers

All answers ▸

(19x - 2)/((5 - x)(1 + 6x)) can be expressed as A/(5-x) + B/(1+6x) where A and B are integers. Find A and B


Prove or disprove the following statement: ‘No cube of an integer has 2 as its units digit.’


When you integrate, why do you need to add a +C on the end?


How do you find the normal to a curve at a given co-ordinate?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning