For any continuous function, , what does the following indefinite integral represent?
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Relevant wiki: Antiderivative and Indefinite Integration
Suppose F ( x ) is an antiderivative of f ( x ) . That is, F ′ ( x ) = f ( x ) . Observe that F ( x ) + C is also a antiderivative of f ( x ) for any value of C
The indefinite integral ∫ f ( x ) d x is the set of all antiderivatives of the function f ( x ) . This set consists of all functions of the form F ( x ) + C , generated by taking different values of C .
We can write the set in set-builder notation as:
∫ f ( x ) d x = { F ( x ) + C ∣ C ∈ R }
Thus we can say that the indefinite integral is a set of functions, that differ by a constant. □