Consider the region bounded by the following two functions:
-
and 
a) Using the lower sum with three rectangles having equal width , approximate the area.
b) Using the upper sum with three rectangles having equal width, approximate the area.
c) Find the actual area of the region.
Solution:
(a)
Step 1:
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We need to set these two equations equal in order to find the intersection points of these functions.
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So, we let . Solving for , we get .
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This means that we need to calculate the Riemann sums over the interval .
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Step 2:
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Since the length of our interval is and we are using rectangles,
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each rectangle will have width .
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Thus, the lower Riemann sum is
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.
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(b)
Step 1:
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As in Part (a), the length of our inteval is and
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each rectangle will have width . (See Step 1 and 2 for (a))
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Step 2:
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Thus, the upper Riemann sum is
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(c)
Step 1:
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To find the actual area of the region, we need to calculate
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Step 2:
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We integrate to get
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Final Answer:
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(a)
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(b)
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(c)
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