APPLICATIONS OF INTEGRATION

6.2
Volumes
Thursday, March 11, 2010
In this section, we will learn about:
Using integration to find out
the volume of a solid.
IRREGULAR SOLIDS

Let A(x) be the area of the cross-section of S

in a plane Px perpendicular to the x-axis and
passing through the point x, where a ≤ x ≤ b.

 Think of slicing S
with a knife
through x and
computing the
area of this slice.
IRREGULAR SOLIDS

We divide S into n ‘slabs’ of equal width ∆x

using the planes Px1, Px2, . . . to slice the solid.

 Think of slicing a loaf of bread.

IRREGULAR SOLIDS

If we choose sample points xi* in [xi - 1, xi], we

can approximate the i th slab Si (the part of S
that lies between the planes Px 1 and Px ) by a
i i
cylinder with base area A(xi*) and ‘height’ ∆x.
DEFINITION OF VOLUME

Let S be a solid that lies between x = a

and x = b.
If the cross-sectional area of S in the plane Px,
through x and perpendicular to the x-axis,
is A(x), where A is a continuous function, then
the volume of S is:
n
V  lim  A( xi *)x   A( x) dx
b

x  a
i 1
VOLUMES

When we use the volume formula

b
V   A( x)dx , it is important to remember
a
that A(x) is the area of a moving
cross-section obtained by slicing through
x perpendicular to the x-axis.
SPHERES Example 1

Show that the volume of a sphere

of radius r is
V  r .
4
3
3
SPHERES Example 1

If we place the sphere so that its center is

at the origin, then the plane Px intersects
the sphere in a circle whose radius, from the
Pythagorean Theorem,
is:
y r x2 2
SPHERES Example 1

So, the cross-sectional area is:

A( x)   y   (r  x )
2 2 2
SPHERES Example 1

Using the definition of volume with a = -r and

b = r, we have:

V   A( x) dx     r  x  dx
r r
2 2
r r
r
 2  (r  x ) dx
2 2
(The integrand is even.)
0
r
 2 x  3
 3 r  3
 2  r x    2  r  
 3 0  3
 r
4
3
3
SPHERES

The figure illustrates the definition of volume

when the solid is a sphere with radius r = 1.
 From the example, we know that the volume of
the sphere is 43   4.18879
 The slabs are circular cylinders, or disks.
SPHERES

The three parts show the geometric

interpretations
n n
of the Riemann sums

i 1
A( xi )x    (1  xi )x when n = 5, 10,
i 1
2 2

and 20 if we choose the sample points xi*

to be the midpoints xi .
SPHERES

Notice that as we increase the number

of approximating cylinders, the corresponding
Riemann sums become closer to the true
volume.
VOLUMES Example 2

Find the volume of the solid obtained by

rotating about the x-axis the region under
the curve y  x from 0 to 1.

Illustrate the definition of volume by sketching

a typical approximating cylinder.
VOLUMES Example 2

The region is shown in the first figure.

If we rotate about the x-axis, we get the solid
shown in the next figure.
 When we slice through the point x, we get a disk
with radius x .
VOLUMES Example 2

The area of the cross-section is:

A( x)   ( x )2   x

The volume of the approximating cylinder

(a disk with thickness ∆x) is:

A( x)x   xx
VOLUMES Example 2

The solid lies between x = 0 and x = 1.

1
So, its volume is: V   A( x)dx
0
1
   xdx
0
1
x   2
  
2 0 2
VOLUMES Example 3

Find the volume of the solid obtained

by rotating the region bounded by y = x3,
y = 8, and x = 0 about the y-axis.
VOLUMES Example 3

As the region is rotated about the y-axis, it

makes sense to slice the solid perpendicular
to the y-axis and thus to integrate with
respect to y.

 Slicing at height y,
we get a circular
disk with radius x,
where x  3 y
VOLUMES Example 3

So, the area of a cross-section through y is:

A( y)   x   ( y )   y
2 3 2 2/ 3

The volume of the approximating

cylinder is:
A( y)y   y y 2/ 3
VOLUMES Example 3

Since the solid lies between y = 0 and

y = 8, its volume is:
8
V   A( y ) dy
0
8
   y dy
23
0

 3
5 8
96
 5 y
3

  0 5
VOLUMES Example 4

The region R enclosed by the curves y = x

and y = x2 is rotated about the x-axis.

Find the volume of the resulting solid.

VOLUMES Example 4

The curves y = x and y = x2 intersect at

the points (0, 0) and (1, 1).

 The region between them, the solid of rotation, and

cross-section perpendicular to the x-axis are shown.
VOLUMES Example 4

A cross-section in the plane Px has the shape

of a washer (an annular ring) with inner
radius x2 and outer radius x.
VOLUMES Example 4

Thus, we find the cross-sectional area by

subtracting the area of the inner circle from
the area of the outer circle:

A( x)   x   ( x )
2 2 2

  (x  x )
2 4
VOLUMES Example 4
1
Thus, we have: V  
0
A( x) dx
1
   ( x  x ) dx 2 4
0
1
x x  3 5
   
3 5 0
2

15
VOLUMES Example 5

Find the volume of the solid obtained

by rotating the region in Example 4
about the line y = 2.
VOLUMES Example 5
Again, the cross-section is a washer.
This time, though, the inner radius is 2 – x
and the outer radius is 2 – x2.
VOLUMES Example 5

The cross-sectional area is:

A( x)   (2  x )   (2  x)
2 2 2
VOLUMES Example 5

So, the volume is:

1
V   A( x) dx
0

    2  x   (2  x)  dx
1
2 2 2
0 
    x  5 x  4 x  dx
1
4 2
0
1
x x x  8
5 3 2
  5  4  
5 3 2 0 5
SOLIDS OF REVOLUTION

The solids in Examples 1–5 are all

called solids of revolution because
they are obtained by revolving a region
about a line.
SOLIDS OF REVOLUTION

In general, we calculate the volume of

a solid of revolution by using the basic
defining formula

V   A  y  dy
b d
V   A( x) dx or
a c
SOLIDS OF REVOLUTION

We find the cross-sectional area

A(x) or A(y) in one of the following
two ways.
WAY 1

If the cross-section is a disk, we find

the radius of the disk (in terms of x or y)
and use:
A = π(radius)2
WAY 2

If the cross-section is a washer, we first find

the inner radius rin and outer radius rout from
a sketch.
 Then, we subtract the area of the inner disk from
the area of the outer disk to obtain:
A = π(outer radius)2 – π(outer radius)2
SOLIDS OF REVOLUTION Example 6

Find the volume of the solid obtained

by rotating the region in Example 4
about the line x = -1.
SOLIDS OF REVOLUTION Example 6

The figure shows the horizontal cross-section.

It is a washer with inner radius 1 + y and
outer radius 1  y .
SOLIDS OF REVOLUTION Example 6

So, the cross-sectional area is:

A( y )   (outer radius)   (inner radius)

2 2

    1  y 
2
  1 y
2
SOLIDS OF REVOLUTION Example 6

The volume is:

1
V   A( y )dy
0


  
 1  y  dy
1 2
   1 y
2
0
 

 
1
   2 y  y  y dy 2
0
1
 4 y 2 y 2 y3  
3

     
 3 2 3
0
2
VOLUMES Example 9

The volume is:

4
V   A( x) dx
4

16  x 2
1
 
4 4
 dx   16  x dx2
4 0
2 3 3
4
1  x  128 3
 16 x  3  
3 0 3 3