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Sarah Lewandowski
Mr. Acre
AP Calculus
17 March 2014
Riemann Sums
There are many important topics in calculus, one of which is the Riemann Sum. There are
different types of Riemann Sums that can be used, and there are also methods similar to using a
Riemann Sum. Sample problems will be done using Riemann Sums and similar methods.
A Riemann Sum is used to approximate the area under a graph, usually but not always
under a curve. Any number of rectangles are created and the area of each of these rectangles is
found and summer to find the area under the cure. A Riemann Sum of f over the interval [a,b] is

. The number of subintervals,

which will be the same as the number of
rectangles, is . The width of each
rectangle is , which is defined as

or
the total length of the interval over the
number of subintervals. This means that
each subinterval will have the same length.
The point

is a point contained in each Figure 1. f(x)

subinterval, and

is the point on the graph of f with an x-coordinate of

. Figure 1 shows a
sample function f(x) = (x-3)
4
+2(x-3)
3
-4(x-3)+5. The interval [a,b] in this case is [1,5], meaning
we are trying to find the area under the curve from x=1 to x=5. When using two subintervals, the
length of each subinterval will be

which, in this case, is

, so the length of each

1 5
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subinterval, or , is 2. To create each rectangle, a line segment is drawn perpendicular to the x-
axis from (x
i
,0) to (x
i
,f(x
i
)), as shown in Figure 2 (A point x
i
was arbitrarily placed on the first
subinterval to illustrate this). This line
segment is the height of the rectangle
which will be created. The height of
the rectangle will be drawn at a
specific point each time, depending on
the type of Riemann Sum that is being
used. The rectangle that is drawn in
Figure 2. f(x) and Perpendicular Line Figure 3 has a length of and a
height of f(x
i
), so the area of this rectangle is f(x
i
) times , which is highlighted in Figure 3.
This same process can be done for the second
interval, and the total area under f(x) on the
interval [1,5] will be

. This means
that starting at the first interval, the area of
rectangles of size

will be found, and

this will be done for 2 rectangles. Notice that the
rectangle in Figure 3 may or may not actually Figure 3. Rectangle for First Interval
contain the same amount of area that is under the curve f from 1 to 3; the Riemann Sum simply
produces an approximate value for the area under this curve.
There are several different types of Riemann Sums that can be used to approximate area.
One type is the left Riemann Sum. This involves using the leftmost point on each subinterval to
approximate the area. Given f(x) = (x-3)
4
+2(x-3)
3
-4(x-3)+5, the same function that was used
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before, the leftmost points on each
subinterval are shown in Figure 4, and the
corresponding rectangles are drawn in
with the area highlighted. The first
subinterval begins at x=1, therefore the
leftmost point on this subinterval is 1. The
height of this rectangle is f(1), which in
Figure 4. Left Riemann Sum this case is 13. The second subinterval
begins at x=3, therefore the leftmost point on this subinterval is 3. The height of this rectangle is
f(3), which in this case is 5. In terms of f(x), the sum of these two rectangles is f(1)()+f(3)()
and since , or the width of each subinterval, is 2, the sum is f(1)(2)+f(3)(2) = 132 + 52 = 36.
So, the area approximation for the curve f(x) on the interval [1,5] using left Riemann Sums is 36
square units.
Another type of Riemann sum that can be used is the right Riemann Sum. This method is
very similar to the left Riemann sum, but instead of using the leftmost point on each subinterval,
the rightmost point on each interval will
be used. The rightmost points and the
corresponding rectangles are shown in
Figure 5. The rightmost point on the
first subinterval is 3, therefore the height
of this rectangle is f(3), which is 5. The
rightmost point on the second
subinterval is 5, therefore the height Figure 5. Right Riemann Sum
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of this rectangle is f(5), which is 29. In terms of f(x), the sum of these two rectangles is
f(3)(2)+f(5)(2) = 52 + 292 = 68. So, the area approximation for the curve f(x) on the interval
[1,5] using right Riemann Sums is 68 square units.
Another Riemann Sum method that can be used is the midpoint Riemann Sum. This
method involves using the midpoint of each subinterval to find the height of each rectangle. The
midpoint can be found by averaging the bounds of each subinterval. The midpoints and the
drawn rectangles are shown in Figure 6
with the area of each rectangle
highlighted. For the first subinterval, the
midpoint is

. The height of the

first rectangle, then, is f(2) = 8. For the
second subinterval, the midpoint is

. The height of the second

rectangle, then, is f(4) = 4. In terms Figure 6. Midpoint Riemann Sum
of f(x), the sum of these two rectangles is f(2)(2)+f(4)(2) = 82 + 42 = 24. So, the area
approximation for the curve f(x) on the interval [1,5] using midpoint Riemann Sums is 16 square
units.
Upper Riemann Sums can also be used to approximate area. Upper Riemann Sums
involve using the uppermost point on f(x) on each subinterval to create rectangles. The
uppermost point on each interval can be found by looking at the graph in some cases or by
analyzing the maximum using graphing technology. The uppermost points and the rectangles
created from these points are shown in Figure 7 on the following page. The uppermost point on
the first subinterval is where x=1. The height of the first rectangle is f(1) = 13. The uppermost
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point on the second interval is where x=5.
The height of the second rectangle is f(5) =
29. In terms of f(x), the sum of these two
rectangles is f(1)(2)+f(5)(2) = 132 + 292 =
84. So, the area approximation for the curve
f(x) on the interval [1,5] using upper
Riemann Sums is 84 square units. Figure 7. Upper Riemann Sum
The final type of Riemann Sum that will be used is a Lower Riemann Sum. This involves
using the lowermost point of f(x) on each subinterval and using these points to create the
rectangles. The lowermost point on each
interval can be found by looking at the
graph or by finding the minimum using
graphing technology. The rectangles
created using the lowermost points are
shown in Figure 8 with the area of the
rectangles highlighted. The lowermost
Figure 8. Lower Riemann Sum point of f(x) on the first subinterval is where
x=3. The height of the first rectangle is f(3)=5. The lowermost point of f(x) on the second
subinterval is where x3.678 (this has been rounded to three decimal places). The height of the
second interval is f(3.678) 3.123 (this has also been rounded to three decimal places. In terms
of f(x), the sum of these two rectangles is f(3)(2)+f(3.678)(2) = 52 + 3.1232 = 16.246. So, the
area approximation for the curve f(x) on the interval [1,5] using lower Riemann Sums is
approximately 16.246 square units.
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Another area approximation method that can be used is the trapezoid rule. This involves
creating a number of trapezoids and finding the area of each of these and adding them to
approximate the total area. The area of a trapezoid is found using the formula

where b
1
and b
2
are the bases of
the trapezoid and h is the altitude
of the trapezoid. To use this in a
graphing scenario the trapezoids
can be drawn as in Figure 9. The
area of each trapezoid is
highlighted. There are four
subintervals being used in this
example, and therefore four
Figure 9. f(x) with Trapezoids trapezoids are created. The
trapezoids are drawn with the bases being the perpendicular lines drawn from the x-axis to f(x).
Therefore, all of the bases are parallel to each other and can be used as the bases for each
trapezoid. The altitudes for each trapezoid lie on the x-axis, and, in fact, each altitude is . The
final side of the trapezoid is drawn by connecting the point on f(x) to the next point on f(x) with
a width of between them. So, the area of all four trapezoids combined is

, which is a lot to look at, so it can be simplified

to

. This general form works anytime the trapezoid rule is

being used. All of the bases are doubled (except the first and last) because they are being counted
for two trapezoids. Given f(x) = (x-3)
4
+2(x-3)
3
-4(x-3)+5, the trapezoids can be drawn as in
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Figure 9 to approximate the area on the interval [1,5] using four subintervals. The length of each
subinterval is

or

. The length of each of the bases is equal to f(x) at each of these

places. The first base, b
1
, is equal to f(1), which is 13. The second base, b
2
, is equal to f(2), which
is 8. The third base, b
3
, is equal to f(3), or 5. The fourth base, b
4
, is equal to f(4), or 4, and the
fifth base, b
5
, is equal to f(5), or 29. Therefore, the sum of the area of all of these trapezoids is

= 38
units squared.
Another approximation method that can be used is Simpsons rule. Simpsons rule is
similar to the trapezoid rule except it uses a
curved line instead of the straight line used at
the top of the trapezoid in the trapezoid rule,
similar to what is shown in Figure 10. The
curved line that approximates the curve of the
function is actually a parabolic arc, or some
form of a quadratic equation. Essentially, Figure 10. Trapezoid vs. Simpsons
Simpsons rule uses trapezoids with parabolas for the top side to approximate area. This
generally gives a much more accurate answer because most graphs are curves and will fit better
to a curved line than a straight line. The general form of Simpsons rule if the interval [a,b] is
divided into an even number, n, of subintervals of width is

. What Simpsons rule does is create parabolic

hats for each trapezoid, with the three points that determine the parabola going through f(x),
the next f(x) after a change in x , and the f(x) on the midpoint between those two f(x).
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All of these three methods Riemann Sums, the trapezoid rule, and Simpsons rule are
similar but have distinct differences. All of the methods are used for approximating the area
under a curve, therefore they are similar to a definite integral, but a definite integral gives the
exact area while these methods are approximations. All three methods involve creating shapes
and summing the area of these shapes to find total area, also like a definite integral. However, the
methods use different shapes. A Riemann Sum uses rectangles, the trapezoid rule uses
trapezoids, and Simpsons rule uses trapezoids with parabolas for hats. Because Simpsons
rule uses curves instead of straight lines, it generally fits the shape of the curve much better and
therefore is the most accurate approximation method.
The Mean Value Theorem for integrals is also useful when talking about area under a
curve. The Mean Value Theorem states that if f is continuous on [a,b] then there exists a c on the
interval [a,b] such that f(c)=

. This theorem will find a value on any continuous

interval that will create two rectangles such that the combined area of the two rectangles is equal
to the area under the curve. Figure 11
shows what this could possibly look
like. Although this is probably not the
correct c, it shows that there exists a c
that can create two rectangles whose
area will equal the area under the curve.
Given f(x) = (x-3)
4
+2(x-3)
3
-4(x-3)+5,
Figure 11. Mean Value Theorem Example using the Mean Value Theorem
f(c)=

. When evaluated using the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus and simplified,

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f(c)=8.2. This means that if both rectangles
have a height of 8.2, the combined area of the
rectangles equals the area under the curve. In
fact,

equals 32.8, and the length of

the rectangle times the width, 8.2 times 4, also
equals 32.8, so the Mean Value Theorem does
Figure 12. Mean Value Theorem Rectangles in fact work. Figure 12 shows the two
rectangles drawn each with a height of 8.2. The highlighted area of the two rectangles equals the
area under the curve from 1 to 5.
Consider the following problem. The volume of a spherical hot air balloon expands as the
air inside the balloon is heated. The radius of the balloon, in feet, is modeled by a twice-
differentiable function r of time t, where t is measured in minutes. For 0<t<12, the graph is
concave down. The table below gives selected values of the rate of change, r(t), of the radius of
the balloon over the time interval 0t12. The radius of the balloon is 32 feet when t=7. (The
volume of a sphere of radius r is given by V = 4/3 r
3
.
t (seconds) 0 1 4 7 11 12
r(t) (ft/sec) 5.7 4.0 2.0 1.4 0.5 0.4

One can estimate the radius of the balloon when t=7.2 using the tangent line approximation at
t=7. To find the tangent line to the function r at t=7, the slope of the tangent line must be found.
The slope of a tangent line to a function is the same of the rate of change of the function at that
point. This is helpful because the rate of change of the function r was already given in the
problem. The rate of change of r when t=7 is equal to r(7) which is equal to 1.4. The slope of the
tangent line, then, is 1.4. Using point-slope form and the given information that r(7)=32, the
tangent line is r 32=1.4(t 7), which is the same as r = 1.4t + 22.2. Using this tangent line, the
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estimated radius at t=7.2 is 32.28 ft. This estimate is greater than the true value because in the
problem it states that r is concave down, meaning that the tangent line would be above the graph,
making it an overestimate.
The rate of change of the volume of the balloon with respect to time when t=7 can be
found using a related rates setup. When t=7, r=32, dr/dt=1.4. The volume equation for the
balloon is V = 4/3 r
3
. The derivative of this is

. r and dr/dt are known, so

= 5734.4. The rate of change of the volume of the balloon with respect to time
when t=7 is 5734.4 ft
3
/min.
A right Riemann Sum can be used to approximate

. Using 5 subintervals as
indicated in the table,

= 4.0(1) + 2.0(3) + 1.4(3) + 0.5(4) + 0.4(1) = 16.6 ft. The units of

are in feet because

this is the definite integral of r, which has units of feet/minute, and to find the definite integral,
r is multiplied by t, which is in minutes, and feet/minute times minutes is just feet. In other
words, the integral of the rate of change of the radius of the balloon is just the amount the radius
changes over the time 0 to 12 minutes, so from 0 to 12 minutes, the radius of the balloon changes
by about 16.6 feet. This approximation is less than the actual integral

because r(t) is
decreasing, so the right Riemann sum will find a smaller area than what is under the curve
because the rightmost value in each subinterval is so low that the rectangles will all be drawn
under the curve.
The concept of a Riemann Sum is a very important one in calculus. It is a basic idea, but
there are many other ideas that come from the Riemann Sum, including the trapezoid rule,
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Simpsons rule, and the Mean Value Theorem for integrals. Knowing more about Riemann sums
is extremely beneficial to success in calculus, especially on the AP Calculus exam.