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Madison Kirby
AP Calculus
Mrs. Tallman
13 April 2015
Derivatives, Integrals, and Graphs (Part 2)
Natalie Babbitt once wrote, Things can come together in strange ways. The
wood was at the center, the hub of the wheel. All wheels must have a hub. A Ferris wheel
has one, as the sun is the hub of the wheeling calendar. Fixed points they are, and best left
undisturbed, for without them, nothing holds together. As with wheels and the sun, the
idea of things coming together and having connections applies to the art of calculus as
well. The hub of calculus holds different concepts together and shows the connection
between everything. These concepts are things such as the derivative, the integral,
determining area under a curve and of cross sections, average values, and so much more.
Recognizing the connections between these topics is what makes problems, like those to
be discussed, solvable.
To start, lets say there is a scientist that measures the depth of the Doe River at
Picnic Point. At this point of the river, the width is 24 feet. The velocity of the water at
Picnic Point is modeled by v ( t )=16+2 sin ( t +10) for 0 t 120 minutes, with
the units in feet per minute. The scientists measurements are taken in a straight line
perpendicular to the edge of the river, as shown in Figure 1, and the data for the
measurements are shown in table 1, below.

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Figure 1. Diagram of Doe River

For table 1, the top row is the distance from one edge of the river to the opposite
edge and is measured in feet. The bottom row is the depth measurements the scientist is
collecting in feet. These are positive in the table because the scientist is measuring from
the rivers bottom to the surface. However, if these points were to be graphed, the depth
would be negative since the depth is below the surface. This is displayed in Figure 2 and
is only significant for graphing the data.
Table 1
Data Measured
Distance from the
rivers edge (ft.)
Depth of the
water (ft.)

14

22

24

Figure 2. Graph of Data Measured

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(24, 0)

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(22, -2)

The first problem this scientist faces is approximating the area of the river
(14, -8)
between the curve and the surface at Picnic Point, in square feet. To do this, the first thing
he should do is use the trapezoid rule with the four subintervals indicated in table 1.
Figure 3 shows the trapezoids drawn over the graph from Figure 2. The trapezoid rule is
used because it estimates the area between the function and the axis. This method will be
able to fairly accurately approximate the area because the shape of the trapezoid fits the
curve of the data closely.

Figure 3. Trapezoid Rule on Graph

Figure 3 displays the trapezoids drawn onto the function from Figure 2. There are
four trapezoids because there are four intervals within the interval from x = 0 to x = 24.
However, the data does not have consistent intervals, so solving this problem requires a
bit of creativity. The basic formula for trapezoid rule is

T n= x

1
1
f ( a ) +f ( x 1 ) + f ( x 2 ) + f ( x3 ) + +f ( x n1 ) + f ( b )
2
2

. Tn is the solution, f(x) is

the function, a and b are the upper and lower limits of the interval, and x is the width of

each trapezoid, where x=

ba
. The general formula is designed for equal interval
n

graphs, but this problem does not have this quality so a different method must be used. To
properly calculate this area, each individual trapezoid area must be found separately

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using the area formula of area=

height (base 1+ base2 )

. The vertical legs are
2

substituted in for base1 and base2, and the horizontal width of each region is substituted

for height. For example, the area of the first trapezoid is area1 =

8(0+7)
2

= 28 un2.

The second trapezoid is area2 = 45 un2. And the third and fourth are area3 = 40 un2 and
area4 = 2 un2. This means that by the trapezoid rule, the area under the surface of the
water at Picnic Point is 115 un2.
Next, the scientist has to estimate the average value of the volumetric flow at
Picnic Point, in cubic feet per minute, from t = 0 to t = 120 minutes. The volumetric flow
at a location along the river is the product of the cross-sectional area and the velocity of
the water at that location. The water flow is the measurement of how much water is
travelling through that area at Picnic Point based on how much fluid the river can hold at
this point (the cross-sectional area) and the speed of the rivers water (velocity). This
means that the scientist can use the area he computed above and multiply it with the
velocity of the water, which was given to be v ( t )=16+2 sin ( t +10) for 0 t 120

minutes. To set up a problem like this, the formula used is

1
ba

(
a

v ( t ) dt area . The

letters a and b are the limits of the function; v(t) is the function, which is f(x) in general
terms; and dt is showing that the problem is dealing with values in terms of t which is dx
in general. The definite integral is used to make sure that the calculation is evaluating the
problem at every point between a and b. Essentially, by slicing the area into small
amounts, the height of these slices is what dt represents. After substituting the values in,

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the formula now looks like

1
1200

120

(16+ 2sin ( t +10) dt) 115 . The result comes

out to be 1807.169 ft3/min. This means that the volumetric flow of water at Picnic Point is
1807.169 cubic feet per minute.
Now that the scientist has discovered this, he can explore more calculus
connections by trying to find the area of the cross-section of the river at Picnic Point

based on the function f(x) = 8 sin

( 24 x )

, shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Model of Data

Figure 4 is a mathematical model for the graph in Figure 2. This model places the
graph above the x-axis, unlike Figure 2. This is because the data entered to find the
equation were the positive ones from the table. Essentially, it does not matter whether it is
above or below the x-axis because there is still the same amount of area between the
curve and the axis. Figure 2 was more for displaying the drawing of the river.
To calculate the cross-sectional area using this model, the formula used is

area= f ( x ) dx . Unlike the volumetric flow problem where a and b were the time
a

intervals, a and b in this problem are the distances from one edge of the river to the
opposite edge, so a = 0 and b = 24. After substituting the values, the formula becomes

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24

area= 8 sin (
0

x
) dx . Through the use of the model f(x) = 8 sin
24

( 24 x )

, the

cross-sectional area of the Doe River at Picnic Point is 122.230 ft2. This problem is
basically the same as the trapezoid rule above, except a different method was used to
figure out the cross-sectional area. The two solutions are fairly similar, however the
model may have overestimated the shape of the rivers bottom, which would lead to the
larger area.
Now that this function has been used to model the data and has been used to
compute the cross-sectional area, it can also calculate the volumetric flow through Picnic
Point in order to determine whether or not there is a need to divert the water and prevent
flooding. If the volumetric flow through Picnic Point exceeds 2100 ft3/min for a 20minute period, then the water must be diverted. To solve this, the scientist needs to set up
the volumetric flow integral, which was explained above. For this problem, the integral

would be

1
6040

60

(
40

(16+2 sin ( t +10) dt ) ( 122.230 ) , which calculates the

volumetric flow of the water to be 2181.913 ft3/min. This value is greater than the
predetermined 2100 ft3/min, which means that yes, the water will need to be.
Another situation that requires different stems and features of calculus is the
following: There are 700 people in line for a popular amusement-park ride when the ride
begins operation in the morning. Once it begins operation, the ride accepts passengers
until the park closes 8 hours later. While there is a line, people move onto the ride at a
rate of 800 people per hour. Figure 5 below shows the rate, r(t), at which people arrive at

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the ride throughout the day. Time t is measured in hours from the time the ride begins
operation.

Figure 5. Passenger Flow Graph

Say the parks mathematicians need to crunch some numbers and figure out how
many people arrive at the ride between t = 0 and t = 3. The first thing theyre going to do
is set up a definite integral because this allows for the accumulation of data between two
points, which would be from the time the ride opened until three hours later. The integral

(r (t ))dt
for this problem is

, which become 2

( 1000+ 1200 ) (1200+ 800)

+
2
2

after

the values from Figure 5 at t = 0 and t = 3 are substituted into the functions integral.
Another possible way to solve this problem is to use the counting squares method.
Looking at Figure 6, if the number of squares below the function, and bounded by the
axis, is counted between x = 0 and x = 3, and then multiplied by the area of one square,
the answer can be found.

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Figure 6. Counting Squares Method

There are 16 squares in this boundary and one squares area is 200, so
16 200=3200 people. The result of the calculation for the number of people that
arrive at the ride between t = 0 and t = 3 is 3200 people.
These mathematicians now wonder whether the number of people waiting in line
from t = 2 to t = 3 is increasing or decreasing. Looking at Figure 5, the number of people
per hour arriving at the ride (between 1200 and 800 people/hour) is greater than the rate
at which people get on the ride (800 people/hour), which means that the number of
people waiting in line is increasing in this time frame.
Furthering their understanding of this particular ride, the mathematicians wish to
know at what time in the day the line for this ride the longest, and how many people are
in the line at this time. Using the information previously discovered they know that the
line is building up from t 0 to t < 3, where r(t) is greater than the rate at which
people move onto the ride. Also from t > 3 to t 8, r(t) is less than the rate at which
people move onto the ride. This means the line is shorter during these times. The only
time that r(t) equals this rate is when the line will be longest, at t = 3. The number of
people in line at t = 3 is found by adding the original number of people in line, 700, to the
total number of people in line from start to three hours later, found earlier to be 3200, and
subtracting the rate time the time, or 800(3). So, the time at which the most number of

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people are in line for the ride is at 3 hours after it opens and amount of people in line at
this time is 1500 people.
The next thing the mathematicians decide to do is to write an equation involving
an integral expression of r whose solution gives the earliest time t at which there is no
longer a line for the ride. In order to properly create this integral, the initial step is to set it
equal to zero, and since the starting line was 700 people this will be added to the integral.
So far, the only thing they know is the following: 0 = 700 + some integral. Finding out
what some integral is where the trickiness begins. This integral is composed of two
parts that range from the opening of the ride, 0, to the time of there being no line, t. The

first part is the integral of the original equation, so

r ( x ) d x

. The second part is the

rate at which people get on the ride, 800t. When the second part is subtracted from the
first and set to zero, the time where there is no line can be found. The mathematicians

r ( x ) dx 800 t
must write 0 = 700 +

Overall, these two examples were able to illustrate how calculus is like a wheel.
Every concept is connected to one another through a hub and can be used to find
solutions. In these problems, the definite integral was combined with volumetric flow,
and other ideas like counting squares were used to find solutions too. There are endless
combinations to math, and the two examples above only show a speck of whats out
there.

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Works Cited
Luberoff, Eli. "Desmos Graphing Calculator." Desmos Graphing Calculator. Desmos, Inc., 6
Mar. 2015. Web. 6 Mar. 2015. <https://www.desmos.com/calculator>.