Analyzing the Setup
The given integral equation is:
f(x)=∫0xex−tf′(t)dt−(x2−x+1)ex
The presence of ex−t inside the integral is the primary obstacle. Using the laws of exponents, we rewrite ex−t as ex⋅e−t. Since the integration is with respect to t, ex acts as a constant and can be factored out.
The equation becomes:
f(x)=ex∫0xe−tf′(t)dt−(x2−x+1)ex
To simplify the expression, we divide the entire equation by
ex:
f(x)e−x=∫0xe−tf′(t)dt−(x2−x+1)
The Magic of Leibniz
To eliminate the integral, we apply the Newton-Leibniz Rule by differentiating both sides with respect to x.
On the left side, we apply the product rule to
f(x)e−x:
dxd[f(x)e−x]=f′(x)e−x−f(x)e−x
On the right side, the derivative of the integral ∫0xe−tf′(t)dt is simply e−xf′(x). The derivative of the polynomial −(x2−x+1) is −(2x−1).
Combining these, we obtain:
f′(x)e−x−f(x)e−x=e−xf′(x)−(2x−1)
The Elegant Cancellation
Observe that the term
f′(x)e−x appears on both sides of the equation. They cancel out perfectly, leaving us with:
−f(x)e−x=−(2x−1)
Multiplying both sides by
−ex, we successfully isolate the function:
f(x)=(2x−1)ex
Final Optimization
With
f(x) determined, we find the critical points by calculating the derivative
f′(x):
f′(x)=dxd[(2x−1)ex]=2ex+(2x−1)ex=(2x+1)ex
Setting
f′(x)=0 and noting that
$e^x
eq 0$ for all real
x, we solve
2x+1=0 to find the critical point:
x=−21
Finally, we substitute
x=−21 into
f(x) to determine the minimum value:
f(−21)=(2(−21)−1)e−1/2=(−1−1)e−1/2=−2e−1/2
The minimum value of the function is: