Clairut Proof
Clairut Proof
In chapter 14, we encountered Clairaut’s Theorem, which says that when fxy and fyx are both continuous,
they will be equal. This was presented as a fact—something to believe only because I told you so. Such
teaching by dictatorship is always regrettable; a guiding principle of the discipline of mathematics is that it
is democratic and egalitarian—that anyone can challenge anyone else’s statement, and logic will judge who
is right. I had no choice, though; the justification of Clairaut’s Theorem would not have made sense to you
at the time.
It is now possible to close this gap: using the perspective of § 15.2, I can now back up the claim of Clairaut’s
Theorem with a proof. I will break off the main part as a lemma.
Lemma. Let fxy and fyx be continuous on rectangle R = [a, b] × [c, d]. Then
ZZ ZZ
fxy dA = fyx dA = f (b, d) − f (a, d) − f (b, c) + f (a, c).
R R
Proof . I will prove the assertion for fxy ; the proof for fyx will be left as an exercise.
ZZ Z b Z d
fxy dA = fxy (x, y) dy dx
a c
R
Z b y=d
(by the FTC) −→ = fx (x, y) dx
a y=c
Z b
= fx (x, d) − fx (x, c) dx
a
Z b Z b
= fx (x, d) dx − fx (x, c) dx
a a
(by the FTC) −→ = f (b, d) − f (a, d) − f (b, c) − f (a, c)
= f (b, d) − f (a, d) − f (b, c) + f (a, c).
But this contradicts the lemma: since fxy and fyx have equal integrals over the rectangle, necessarily also
ZZ ZZ ZZ
fxy − fyx dA = fxy dA − fyx dA = 0.
R R R