APPLICATIONS OF INTEGRATION

6.1
Areas Between Curves
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
In this section we learn about:
Using integrals to find areas of regions that lie
between the graphs of two functions.
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES

Consider the region S that lies between two

curves y = f(x) and y = g(x) and between
the vertical lines x = a and x = b.
 Here, f and g are
continuous functions
and f(x) ≥ g(x) for all
x in [a, b].
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES

As we did for areas under curves in Section

5.1, we divide S into n strips of equal width
and approximate the i th strip by a rectangle
with base ∆x and height f ( xi *)  g ( xi *) .
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES

We could also take all the sample points

to be right endpoints—in which case
xi *  xi .
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES
n
The Riemann sum   f ( x *)  g ( x *)  x
i 1
i i

is therefore an approximation to what we

intuitively think of as the area of S.

 This approximation appears to become

better and better as n → ∞.
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Definition 1
Thus, we define the area A of the region S
as the limiting value of the sum of the areas
of these approximating rectangles.
n
A  lim   f ( xi *)  g ( xi *)x
n 
i 1

 The limit here is the definite integral of f - g.

AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Definition 2
Thus, we have the following formula for area:

The area A of the region bounded by

the curves y = f(x), y = g(x), and the lines
x = a, x = b, where f and g are continuous
and f ( x)  g ( x) for all x in [a, b], is:

A    f  x   g  x  dx
b

a
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES

Where both f and g are positive, you can see

from the figure why Definition 2 is true:
A   area under y  f ( x)    area under y  g ( x) 
b b
  f ( x)dx   g ( x) dx
a a

 f ( x)  g ( x)  dx
b

a
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 1
As shown here, the upper boundary curve
is y = ex and the lower
boundary curve is y = x.
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 1
So, we use the area formula with
f(x) = x2 +1, g(x) = x, a = 0, and b = 1:

A    x  1  x  dx
1
 2
0

   x  x  1 dx
1
2
0
3 2
x x 1 1 5
   x 0    1 
1

3 2 3 2 6
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES

Here, we drew a typical approximating

rectangle with width ∆x
as a reminder of
the procedure by which
the area is defined
in Definition 1.
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES

In general, when we set up an integral for

an area, it’s helpful to sketch the region to
identify the top curve yT , the bottom curve yB,
and a typical
approximating
rectangle.
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES

Then, the area of a typical rectangle is

(yT - yB) ∆x and the equation
n
A  lim  ( yT  yB )x    yT  yB  dx
b

n  a
i 1

summarizes the procedure of adding (in

a limiting sense) the areas of all the typical
rectangles.
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES

Notice that, in the first figure, the left-hand

boundary reduces to a point whereas, in
the other figure, the right-hand boundary
reduces to a point.
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 2
First, we find the points of intersection of
the parabolas by solving their equations
simultaneously.

 This gives x2 = 2x - x2, or 2x2 - 2x = 0.

 Thus, 2x(x - 1) = 0, so x = 0 or 1.

 The points of intersection are (0, 0) and (1, 1).

AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 2

From the figure, we see that the top and

bottom boundaries are:
yT = 2x – x2 and yB = x2
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 2
The area of a typical rectangle is
(yT – yB) ∆x = (2x – x2 – x2) ∆x
and the region lies between x = 0 and x = 1.

 So, the total area is:

A    2x  2x  dx  2  x  x  dx
1 1
2 2
0 0
1
x x 
2 3
1 1 1
 2     2   
 2 3 0  2 3 3
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES

Sometimes, it is difficult—or even

impossible—to find the points of intersection
of two curves exactly.

 As shown in the following example, we can

use a graphing calculator or computer to find
approximate values for the intersection points
and then proceed as before.
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 3

Find the approximate area of the region

bounded by the curves y  x x 1
2

and y  x  x.
4
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 3

If we were to try to find the exact intersection

points, we would have to solve the equation
x
 x x
4

x 1
2

 It looks like a very difficult equation to solve exactly.

 In fact, it’s impossible.

AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 3
Instead, we use a graphing device to
draw the graphs of the two curves.
 One intersection point is the origin. The other is x ≈ 1.18

 If greater accuracy
is required,
we could use
Newton’s method
or a rootfinder—if
available on our
graphing device.
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 3
Thus, an approximation to the area
between the curves is:
 x 
  x  x   dx
1.18
A  2
4

 x 1 
0

 To integrate the first term, we use

the substitution u = x2 + 1.
 Then, du = 2x dx, and when x = 1.18,
we have u ≈ 2.39
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 3
Therefore,
   x  x  dx
2.39 du 1.18
A 
1 4
2 1
u 0
1.18
2.39 x5
x  2
 u    
1
 5 2 0
5 2
(1.18) (1.18)
 2.39  1  
5 2
 0.785
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Definition 3
The area between the curves y = f(x) and
y = g(x) and between x = a and x = b is:

b
A   f ( x)  g ( x) dx
a

 However, when evaluating the integral, we must still

split it into integrals corresponding to A1, A2, . . . .
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 5

Find the area of the region bounded

by the curves y = sin x, y = cos x,
x = 0, and x = π/2.
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 5

The points of intersection occur when

sin x = cos x, that is, when x = π / 4
(since 0 ≤ x ≤ π/2).
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 5

Observe that cos x ≥ sin x when

0 ≤ x ≤ π/4 but sin x ≥ cos x when
π/4 ≤ x ≤ π/2.
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 5
So, the required area is:
 2
A cos x  sin x dx  A1  A2
0
 4  2

0
 cos x  sin x  dx   4  sin x  cos x  dx
 sin x  cos x 0    cos x  sin x 
 4  2
4

 1 1   1 1 
   0  1   0  1   
 2 2   2 2
 2 2 2
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES

Some regions are best treated by

regarding x as a function of y.

 If a region is bounded by curves with equations x = f(y),

x = g(y), y = c, and
y = d, where f and g
are continuous and
f(y) ≥ g(y) for c ≤ y ≤ d,
then its area is:
 f ( y)  g ( y) dy
d
A
c
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES

If we write xR for the right boundary and xL

for the left boundary, we have:
 xR  xL  dy
d
A
c

 Here, a typical
approximating rectangle
has dimensions xR - xL
and ∆y.
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 6

Find the area enclosed by

the line y = x - 1 and the parabola
y2 = 2x + 6.
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 6
By solving the two equations, we find that the
points of intersection are (-1, -2) and (5, 4).

 We solve the equation of the parabola for x.

 From the figure, we notice

that the left and right
boundary curves are:
xL  y  3
1
2
2

xR  y  1
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 6

We must integrate between

the appropriate y-values, y = -2
and y = 4.
AREAS BETWEEN CURVES Example 6

 xR  xL  dy
4
Thus, A  
2

   y  1   2 y  3  dy
4
 1 2
2

 y  y  4  dy
4
 1
2
2
2
4

1 y 3
 y 2

      4 y
2 3  2  2
  (64)  8  16    2  8   18
1
6
4
3