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1.1.1. Evaluating Integrals. We Will Soon Study Simple and Ef-Ficient

The document discusses approximating the area under a curve using Riemann sums which divide the area into rectangles. It defines the definite integral as the limit of Riemann sums as the number of rectangles approaches infinity, representing the true area under the curve. It also notes that definite integrals can be negative if the curve falls below the x-axis over some intervals.

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20 views1 page

1.1.1. Evaluating Integrals. We Will Soon Study Simple and Ef-Ficient

The document discusses approximating the area under a curve using Riemann sums which divide the area into rectangles. It defines the definite integral as the limit of Riemann sums as the number of rectangles approaches infinity, representing the true area under the curve. It also notes that definite integrals can be negative if the curve falls below the x-axis over some intervals.

Uploaded by

isaack
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The area Si of the strip between xi−1 and xi can be approximated as the

area of the rectangle of width ∆x and height f (x∗i ), where x∗i is a


sample point in the interval [xi, xi+1]. So the total area under the curve is
approximately the sum
nΣ

f (x∗i ) ∆x = f (x∗1 ) ∆x + f (x∗2 ) ∆x + · · · + f (x∗n ) ∆x .


i=1
This expression is called a Riemann Sum.
The estimation is better the thiner the strips are, and we can iden- tify
the exact area under the graph of f with the limit:
Σn
A = lim f (x∗i ) ∆x
n→∞
i=1
As long as f is continuous the value of the limit is independent of the
sample points x∗i used.
∫ b
That limit is represented af (x) dx, and is called definite integral
of f from a to b:
∫b Σn
f (x) dx = lim f (x∗i ) ∆x
a n→∞
i=1
The symbols at the left historically were intended to mean
∫ an infinite
sum, represented by a long “S” (the integral symbol ), of infinitely
small amounts f (x) dx. The symbol dx was interpreted as the length of
an “infinitesimal” interval, sort of what ∆x becomes for infinite n. This
interpretation was later abandoned due to the difficulty of reasoning
with infinitesimals, but we keep the notation.
Remark : Note that in intervals where f (x) is negative the graph of y
= f (x) lies below the x-axis and the definite integral takes a negative
value. In general a definite integral gives the net area between the graph
of y = f (x) and the x-axis, i.e., the sum of the areas of the regions
where y = f (x) is above the x-axis minus the sum of the areas of the
regions where y = f (x) is below the x-axis.

1.1.1. Evaluating Integrals. We will soon study simple and ef- ficient
methods to evaluate integrals, but here we will look at how to evaluate
integrals directly from the definition.
∫ 1
Example: Find the value of the definite integral 0 x2 dx from its
definition in terms of Riemann sums.

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