Chapter 2.

Applications of the Integral1

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1. Net Change
Z b
The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus states that F 0 (t) dt = F (b) − F (a). Therefore, if
a
y = F (x), the right-hand side of the formula above may be interpreted as the net change in the
quantity y as x varies from a to b.
Example 1.1. Suppose that F 0 (t) denotes the rate of growth of a population with respect to time.
(1) What does F (t) represent?

(2) If the population is decreasing, then F 0 (t) is

Z b
(3) If F 0 (t) is negative on [a, b], then F 0 (t) dt is
a

(4) If the population is decreasing from t = a to t = b, then F (b) − F (a) is

Example 1.2. Water flows from the bottom of a storage tank at a rate of w0 (t) = 200 − 4t liters
Z 25
per minute, where 0 ≤ t ≤ 50. Evaluate w0 (t) dt. What does this mean in the context of the
10
problem?

2. Position, Velocity and Acceleration Revisited

Suppose that an object moves along a straight line, e.g. a spring. In this case, one can use the
real line to model the location s(t) of the particle (i.e. distance away from its original location)
at each time t. Thus, for instance, a positive value may represent movement to the right and a
negative value may represent movement to the left (of its original position).
1
By Alberto A. Condori. Department of Mathematics, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL 33965.
acondori@fgcu.edu.
1
MAC 2312 - 81054 Calculus II Fall 2020

Recall that given the position function s(t), we define

• v(t) = s0 (t) =

• a(t) = v 0 (t) =

Example 2.1. The velocity (in m/s) of a particle is given by v(t) = 3t − 6, 0 ≤ t ≤ 4.

(1) Under the assumption that s(0) = 1, find the position function s(t).

Z 2
(2) Evaluate v(t) dt. What does this mean in the context of the problem?
0

Z 4
(3) Evaluate v(t) dt. What does this mean in the context of the problem?
2

Z 4
(4) Evaluate v(t) dt. What does this mean in the context of the problem?
0

Z 4
(5) Evaluate |v(t)| dt. What does this mean in the context of the problem?
0

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Example 2.2. The velocity of a particle moving in a straight line is given by

v(t) = t2 − 2t − 3.
(1) Find the displacement of the particle during the time period 1 ≤ t ≤ 4.

(2) At time t = 1, the particle was 2 units to the right of its original position. What is the
location of the particle at time t = 4?

(3) What is the total distance traveled by the particle during the period 1 ≤ t ≤ 4?

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MAC 2312 - 81054 Calculus II Fall 2020

3. Area between curves

Recall the geometric interpretation of the integral: If a continuous function f is positive on
Rb
[a, b], then a f (x) dx represents the area enclosed by the graph of f and the x-axis on the interval
[a, b]. One can generalize this observation as follows:
If f and g are continuous functions on [a, b] and f (t) ≥ g(t) for all a ≤ t ≤ b, then
the area of the region bounded by f , g and the two vertical lines t = a and t = b
equals

Example 3.1. Find the area of the region bounded by the curves y = tan2 x and y = −x2 − 1
from x = −π/4 to x = π/4.

Example 3.2. Find the area of the region bounded by the curves y = x2 − 3 and y = x − 1.

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Example 3.3. Set up but do NOT evaluate a definite integral(s) that represents the area of the
region bounded by the curves y = x2 , x + y = 2 and the x-axis by
(a) integrating with respect to x (b) integrating with respect to y

Example 3.4. Set up but do NOT evaluate a definite integral(s) that represents the area of the
region bounded by the curves y = 3x2 + 1, y = 3x + 7, x = −3, and x = 5.

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4. Length of Curves
To approximate the length of the curve y = f (x) on the interval [a, b], one can use a Riemann
sum of the form
q q p Xn q
2 2 2
1 + m1 · ∆x + 1 + m2 · ∆x + . . . + 1 + mn · ∆x = 1 + m2k · ∆x
k=1
where ∆x denotes the width of the sub-intervals used, and mk is a “sample” slope in the kth
sub-interval.

Clearly, to obtain better estimates, we must use a higher number n of sub-intervals. Thus, the
length of the curve y = f (x) is given by
s
n q Z b  2
X dy
lim 1 + m2k · ∆x = 1+ dx.
n→∞ a dx
k=1
√
Example 4.1. Let y = 1 − x2 .
s  2
dy
(1) Compute and simplify 1 + .
dx
(2) Find the exact length of the curve on the interval [0, 1/2].

Example 4.2. Let y = ln(cos x).

s
dy 2
 
(1) Compute and simplify 1 + .
dx
(2) Find the exact length of the curve on the interval [0, π/3].

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MAC 2312 - 81054 Calculus II Fall 2020

It is worth noting that if a curve is more easily described as a function of y, i.e. x = g(y), over
an interval c ≤ y ≤ d, then the the length of the curve becomes
s  2
Z d
dx
1+ dy.
c dy
y4 1
Example 4.3. Find the length of the curve x = + 2 , 1 ≤ y ≤ 2.
8 4y

Example 4.4 (Try it yourself!). Consider the curve y 3 = 8x2 .

(1) Set up a definite integral with respect to x that represents the length of the curve from
(0, 0) to (1, 2).

(2) Set up a definite integral with respect to y that represents the length of the curve from
(0, 0) to (1, 2).

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5. Area of Surface of Revolution

Recall that the surface area of an object is the sum of all the areas (of all the shapes) that cover
the surface of the object. For instance, the surface area of an open cylinder is

A surface of revolution is a surface generated by rotating a curve (in the plane) about a line
(in the same plane).

The area on the surface of the solid obtained by rotating the curve y = f (x), a ≤ x ≤ b, about
the x-axis

Z Z
Compact form: Sx = 2πy ds or Sy = 2πx ds, where

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MAC 2312 - 81054 Calculus II Fall 2020

Example 5.1. Find the exact area of the surface obtained by rotating the curve about the x-axis.
√
(1) y = 25 − x2 , −4 ≤ x ≤ 3.

√
(2) y = 1 + ex , 0 ≤ x ≤ 1.

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MAC 2312 - 81054 Calculus II Fall 2020

Example 5.2. Find the exact area of the surface obtained by rotating the curve about the y-axis.
(1) y = 1 − x2 , 0 ≤ x ≤ 1.

1 1
(2) y = x2 − ln x, 1 ≤ x ≤ 2
4 2

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6. Volume of solids
In practice, it is important to measure the volume of solids. Often, those solids can be generated
after rotating a region bounded by curves about an axis. The simplest possible case is that of a
region R bounded by two horizontal lines, say y = y0 and y = 0, and two vertical lines, say x = a
and x = b. What does the solid obtained after revolving R about the x-axis look like? What is its
corresponding volume?

What if the (constant) curve y = y0 is replaced by another, say y = f (x)? What does the
corresponding solid look like? How can we compute its volume? One way to approximate the volume
of the resulting solid is by slicing the solid into n slabs; the volume of the solid is approximately
equal to the sum of the volumes of each of the approximating slabs.

Example 6.1. Set up (but do not evaluate) a definite integral(s) that represents the volume of
the solid obtained by rotating the region bounded by the given curves and rotated about the given
line or axis.
√
(1) Region bounded by y = x, y = 0, x = 1 and x = 4 about the x-axis.

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MAC 2312 - 81054 Calculus II Fall 2020
√
(2) Region bounded by y = x, x = 0, y = 1 and y = 2 about the y-axis.

√
(3) Region bounded by y = x, y = 5, x = 1 and x = 4 about the line y = 5.

√
(4) Region bounded by y = x, x = 1, y = 1 and y = 2 about the line x = 1.

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MAC 2312 - 81054 Calculus II Fall 2020

Example 6.2. Consider the region bounded by the functions y = x2 + 2 and y = 4x − 1. Set up
(but do NOT evaluate) an integral that represents the volume of the solid generated by revolving
the region
(a) about the x-axis.

(b) about the y-axis.

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MAC 2312 - 81054 Calculus II Fall 2020

Example 6.3. Set up (but do not evaluate) a definite integral that represents the volume of the
solid obtained by rotating the region bounded by the curves y = 1 + sec x and y = 3 about the line
y = 1.

Consider the region R bounded by y = 3x2 − x3 = x2 (3 − x) and y = 0. How can we find the
volume of the solid obtained after revolving R about the y-axis?

The main issue(s) with the slicing method here:

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MAC 2312 - 81054 Calculus II Fall 2020

The general situation: Consider the region R enclosed by y = f (x), y = 0, x = a and x = b. To

find the volume of the solid obtained by revolving R about the y-axis, consider cylindrical shells.

Example 6.4. Consider the region R bounded by y = 3x2 − x3 = x2 (3 − x), y = 0, x = 0 and

x = 3. Set up (but do not evaluate) a definite integral that represents the volume of the solid
obtained by revolving R about the y-axis.

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MAC 2312 - 81054 Calculus II Fall 2020

Example 6.5. Consider the region R bounded by y = (3 − x)(x − 1)2 and y = 0 in the first
quadrant.
(1) Sketch the solid of revolution obtained by revolving the region about the line x = −2 and
sketch a typical approximating cylindrical shell.

(2) Determine the volume for the typical approximating shell sketched in part 1 in terms of x
only.

(3) Use the method of cylindrical shells and part 2 to set up a definite integral that represents
the volume of the solid sketched in part 1.

Example 6.6. Consider the region R bounded by y = x2 and y = 2 − x2 .

(1) Sketch the solid of revolution obtained by revolving the region about the line x = 1 and
sketch a typical approximating cylindrical shell.

(2) Determine the volume for the typical approximating shell sketched in part 1 in terms of x
only.

(3) Use the method of cylindrical shells and part 2 to set up a definite integral that represents
the volume of the solid sketched in part 1.

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