# Math Help - Just a theoretical economics-based calculus problem

1. ## Just a theoretical economics-based calculus problem

I was just messing around in economics class and created an integral that followed a graph illustrating law of diminishing returns in reference to price of an item. I got something like 10.94 ∫.796^x dx. I understand how to compute the integral, but what would be the significance of the value?

2. ## Re: Just a theoretical economics-based calculus problem

Originally Posted by ohshiznit422
I was just messing around in economics class and created an integral that followed a graph illustrating law of diminishing returns in reference to price of an item. I got something like 10.94 ∫.796^x dx. I understand how to compute the integral, but what would be the significance of the value?
a definite integral value takes on the product of the independent variable's units and the dependent variable's units.

for example, integrating velocity (meters/second) vs. time (seconds) yields (meters/second)(seconds) = meters ... displacement.

3. ## Re: Just a theoretical economics-based calculus problem

Ok, yes I understand. I am saying if it is a definite integral, what is the integral equal to. For example, the integral of the force vs distance graph over any parameter is equal to the work.

4. ## Re: Just a theoretical economics-based calculus problem

Originally Posted by ohshiznit422
Ok, yes I understand. I am saying if it is a definite integral, what is the integral equal to. For example, the integral of the force vs distance graph over any parameter is equal to the work.
units on the graph?

5. ## Re: Just a theoretical economics-based calculus problem

Originally Posted by ohshiznit422
I was just messing around in economics class and created an integral that followed a graph illustrating law of diminishing returns in reference to price of an item. I got something like 10.94 ∫.796^x dx. I understand how to compute the integral, but what would be the significance of the value?
To answer that we would need to know the "significance" of x as well as the constants. What do they mean? What are their units?