Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2015/paper-1/17/a/solution

For , split the interval into equal widths . Since increases on this interval, the left and right rectangles give lower and upper Riemann sums:
Using the finite sum of squares,
The rectangle bounds differ by . The squeeze theorem therefore gives, directly from elementary areas,
For the result is zero. If negative is allowed, reverse the integration limits and use the reflection ; the same signed formula holds. No antiderivative is needed for this first-principles calculation.

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