Applications of Integration

Area between curves can be found by using vertical slices and a definite integral. For two continuous functions on a closed interval from a to b, the region is bounded by their graphs on the sides and by the interval endpoints across the bottom and top edges of the setup.

A first estimate comes from splitting the interval into many narrow vertical strips of equal width. Each strip is treated like a rectangle. Its height is the vertical difference between the two functions at a chosen point...

Area between curves can be found with horizontal slices when both boundaries are written as functions of y. The left and right curves are continuous from y = c to y = d, and those lines set the vertical limits of the region. Because the curves depend on y, the area is best measured by moving across the shape with thin horizontal strips.

The method uses a Riemann sum. The region is divided into many thin strips with the same height, delta y. For each strip, the width is the horizontal distance...

Piecewise area between curves uses more than one integral to find the size of a region on a graph. In this example, the region is enclosed by a square root function, a reflected cube root function, and a linear function. The line intersects each of the other two curves, and those intersection points show where the boundary of the region changes.

The area cannot be found with one setup over the full interval because the top and bottom curves are not the same everywhere. The region is split at...

Slicing methods help find the volume of solids with changing cross-sections. A basic solid, like a rectangular box, is easy to measure because its base area stays the same along its height. Many real objects do not have that regular shape, so elementary geometry is not enough.

The slicing method solves this by breaking a solid into many very thin slices. These slices are taken perpendicular to a chosen axis, often the x-axis. Each slice has a small thickness, written as delta x, and a...

The disk method is used to find the volume of a solid formed by rotating a region around an axis. The region is first drawn in a two-dimensional plane. When that region spins around a fixed line, called the axis of revolution, it creates a three-dimensional shape with rotational symmetry. These shapes appear often in math models, physics, and engineering.

When the region touches the axis of revolution, the solid has no hollow space inside. Its cross-sections are circular, so the shape can be...

Tetrahedron volume can be found by adding the areas of triangular slices. This method uses cross-sectional area, which is the area of a flat slice taken through a 3D solid. It is useful when a solid changes shape in a regular way and a simple geometric formula is not available.

A tetrahedron is a good example. It has a height h and an equilateral triangle base with side length a. The coordinate system places the origin at the top vertex, and the y-axis goes downward along the height to the...

The volume of a jet fuel tank can be found with solids of revolution. The tank is modeled by rotating a two-dimensional region around the x-axis. This creates a three-dimensional shape that is symmetric about the axis of rotation. The region runs from 0 to 2 meters, so the tank’s shape can be measured along that length.

Because the boundary curve touches the axis, the disk method works well here. The disk method breaks the solid into many very thin circular slices that are perpendicular to the...

The average value of a function gives one number that summarizes how a quantity changes over a closed interval. It can also be viewed as the height of a rectangle whose area matches the net area under the curve. That net area includes both positive and negative parts of the function, so the result reflects the function’s overall behavior.

A greenhouse temperature over a 24-hour period is a practical example of this idea. The temperature may rise and fall throughout the day, but it is still...