Why does the order of integration matter for the function $f(x,y)=y$?

789 Views Asked by At

Consider the integrals:

$$ I=\int_{0}^{\sqrt{2}}\int_{y^2}^{2}y\ dxdy \\ I'=\int_{y^2}^{2}\int_{0}^{\sqrt{2}}y\ dydx $$

From what I understand, the order of integration does not matter. However, as can be easily shown by hand or a simple online integration software:

$$I=1 \\ I'=2-y^2$$

Why are these not the same?

1

There are 1 best solutions below

2
On BEST ANSWER

You can reverse the order but the limits of integration change: $$\int_{y=0}^{\sqrt{2}}\left(\int_{x=y^2}^{2}y\ dx\right)dy=\int_{x=0}^{2}\left(\int_{y=0}^{\sqrt{x}}y\ dy\right)dx.$$ enter image description here