Introduction General case Examples Summary Test

AREA BETWEEN CURVES

CALCULUS 9
INU0115/515 (M ATHS 2)

Dr Adrian Jannetta MIMA CMath FRAS

Area between curves 1 / 10 Adrian Jannetta

Introduction General case Examples Summary Test

Regions enclosed by curves and lines

Consider the shaded area on the graph, which is enclosed by the curve
y = x2 and the line y = x.
y
y = x2

y=x

x
1

How can we calculate the area?

Definite integrals give us the net area between the curve and the x-axis
so geometrically we can calculate the enclosed area by finding the
difference between the areas under the curve and line.
Area between curves 2 / 10 Adrian Jannetta
Introduction General case Examples Summary Test

Areas enclosed by curves and lines

In picture form we calculate the area by doing this:

y y y
y = x2 y = x2
y=x y=x

= −
x x x
1 1 1

Using integration we’d write this process like this:

Z 1 Z 1
Enclosed area = x dx − x2 dx
0 0
Therefore:
2 1
1   1 3 1 1 1 1
Enclosed area = 2x 0
− 3x 0 = 2 − 3 = 6
Alternatively, since the limits on each integral are the same we can combine them in a
single integrand:
Z1
(x − x2 ) dx = 21 x2 − 13 x3 = ( 21 − 13 ) − 0 = 16 units2
 
Enclosed area =
0

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Introduction General case Examples Summary Test

Area between curves: general case

Consider the general case of two curves, shown on the following picture, with an
enclosed area and where x = a and x = b denote their intersections.
y
y2 = g(x)

y1 = f (x)

x
a b

Take care to subtract the smaller area from the larger area otherwise the integral
will give a negative value (because we would be subtracting large y values from
small ones).
The formula for finding the enclosed area is:
Z b Z b
 
Area = (y1 − y2 ) dx = f (x) − g(x) dx
a a

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Introduction General case Examples Summary Test

Area between two quadratic curves

The picture shows a region enclosed by the curves y = 3 − x2 and y = x2 + 5x.

y = 3 − x2
a x
b

y = x2 + 5x

Calculate the area of the shaded region.

The limits of the integration are the

intersection points x = a and x = b: Simplify and evaluate:
1
x2 + 5x = 3 − x2
Z
2
Area = (3 − 2x2 − 5x) dx
Rearrange to get 2x2 + 5x − 3 = 0 −3
Solve to get x = −3 and x = 21 . =
 1
3x − 23 x3 − 25 x2 −3
2

So the limits are a = −3 and b = 12 .

19 27
= 24 − (− 2 )
Z 1
2 343 2
Area = (3 − x2 ) − (x2 + 5x) dx ∴ Area = 24 units
−3

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Introduction General case Examples Summary Test

Area between sin x and cos x

Calculate the shaded area between the curves y = sin x and y = cos x.
y

y = sin x

y = cos x

5π
Limits are the intersection points: Solve Z
4
Area = (sin x − cos x) dx
sin x = cos x π
4

Divide by cos x to get: 5π/4

= [− cos x − sin x]π/4
sin x = − [cos x + sin x]π/4
5π/4
= 1 ⇒ tan x = 1
cos x
− (cos 5π 5π

π 5π
= 4 + sin 4 )
Solutions are x = 4 and 4 . π π

−(cos 4 + sin 4 )
5π
Z
4 ”€ p p Š €p p Š—
Therefore: Area = (sin x − cos x) dx = − − 22 + 22 − 22 + 2
2

π p
4
= 2 2 units2

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Introduction General case Examples Summary Test

Summary
The area enclosed between two curves, which intersect at the points
x = a and x = b is given by the formula
Z b
Area = (y1 − y2 ) dx
a

It is equivalent to finding the signed area between y1 and the x-axis and
subtracting the signed area between y2 and the x-axis.
Take note of the following:

• Provided b > a then a positive value will be obtained if y1 > y2 across

the interval. Use a sketch of the region to decide the order, or take
the absolute value if a negative value is obtained.
• This formula gives the total area between the curves; you don’t have
to consider regions above and below the x-axis.

Area between curves 7 / 10 Adrian Jannetta

Introduction General case Examples Summary Test

Test yourself...
Solve the following three area problems using integration.
1. The area enclosed by the curve y = 4 − x2 and the line y = x + 2.

y =x+2

y = 4 − x2
x

Answers:
1. Area is 29 .
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Introduction General case Examples Summary Test

Test yourself...
2. The area enclosed by the curves y = ex , y = x2 − 2x + 1 and the line
x = 2. Give your answer in terms of e.
y

y = x2 − 2x + 1

y = ex
x
O 2

Answers:
29
2. Area is e2 − 3 .

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Introduction General case Examples Summary Test

Test yourself...
3. The area enclosed by the curves y = sec2 x and the line y = 4.
y
y = sec2 x

y=4

x
O

Answers:
p
3. Area is 38 π − 2 3.
Area between curves 10 / 10 Adrian Jannetta