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Area of a Plane Region

Calculus I Lab -- Fall 2002

prepared by

Douglas B. Meade

Department of Mathematics

University of South Carolina

Columbia, SC 29208

E-mail: meade@math.sc.edu

25 November 2002

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Purpose

The purpose of this week's lab is to obtain more experience with the "setting up" of definite integrals for the area of a region in the plane. Note that while Maple can evaluate most definite integrals we will encounter, you must determine the appropriate definite integral.

This lab can be prepared in any format -- Word document, Maple worksheet, text file, handwritten (provided it is neat!).  A hyperlink to a template is provided on the course homepage. All reports are due by 5:00pm Wednesday, November 27, 2002.

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Example: #10 (page 279)

>    restart;
with( plots ):
with( Student[Calculus1] ):

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This problem was discussed in class on Monday, November 25. This discussion will be similar, except that Maple will be used to perform some of the computations leading to the formulation of the definite integrals. The problem is to find the area of the region bounded by the graphs of y = sqrt(x) , x+y = 6 , and the x -axis:

>    eq1 := y = sqrt(x);
eq2 := x + y = 6;
eq3 := y = 0;

>    plot( [ rhs(eq1), solve(eq2,y), rhs(eq3) ], x=0..10,
      color=[red,blue,green], thickness=3 );

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As discussed in class, this problem can be approached using either vertical or horizontal slices:

Vertical Slices

To use vertical slices it is necessary to identify the curves that comprise the top and bottom of the region as functions of x. The bottom of the region is always the x -axis:

>    bottom := 0;

The curve that defines the top of the region depends upon the value of x . The two top curves are

>    top1 := solve( eq1, y );

>    top2 := solve( eq2, y );

The transition between these curves occurs where they intersect:

>    ip := solve( top1=top2, x );

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The subregion where the square root function forms the top of the region corresponds to 0 <= x  <= 4:

>    area1 := Int( top1-bottom, x=0..4 );

The subregion where the linear function forms the top of the region corresponds to 4 <= x  <= 6:

>    area2 := Int( top2-bottom, x=4..6 );

The area of the full region is, therefore, the sum of these two subareas:

>    area := area1 + area2;

The value of these integrals is easily determined by Maple

>    area = value( area );

Thus, this region has area 22/3.

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Horizontal Slices

To use horizontal slices it is necessary to identify the curves that form the left and right sides  of the region as functions of y.  In this case, the left side is always formed by the graph of the square root function

>    left := solve( eq1, x );

The right edge of the region is formed by the graph of the linear function:

>    right := solve( eq2, x );

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The  typical (horizontal) slice has width

>    width := left - right;

and height Delta*y. These slices are formed for all value of y from zero up to the height where the two curves intersect:

>    ip := solve( left=right, y );

The solution we need is the positive value of y . Thus, the area can be expressed as the definite integral

>    area := Int( right-left, y=0..2 );

The value of this integral is

>    area=value(area);

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Note that the value of the integral is the same, 22/3 , by either method.

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Exercise 1: #35 (page 279)

Express area of regions A, B, C, and D as one or more definite integrals. Then, evaluate each definite integral (with Maple or the 2nd FTC). Report your results in a Word document. A hyperlink to a template is provided on the course homepage.

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