Serraiocco 1

Lucas Serraiocco
Mr. Acre
AP Calculus
23 February 2015
Solids Of Revolution
The integral is a fundamental part of calculus. One of its key uses is in the
subject of solids of revolution. It allows for the calculation of volume of an equation that
has been revolved around an axis of rotation. This concept is divided into several
methods that each fill a niche goal.
Area Under a Curve
The integral can be used to calculate the area under a curve between a set
range. The general equation that is used is below.
b

f ( x ) dx
a

Figure 1. General Equation of Integral

In this equation, the bounds of integration are depicted by the a and b values
where a is the lower bound and b is the upper bound. F(x) represents the original
function and dx refers to the direction that the graph is being cut. If a dx cut is being
performed, the cut is perpendicular to the x-axis. Each one of these cuts is how the
integral is calculated. An infinite number of rectangles are created from the curve to the

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x-axis. However, a dy cut can also be performed in which the cut is perpendicular to the
y-axis. The rectangles would now stem from the y-axis instead of the x. Also, it is
important to note that the bounds of integration now deal with the y values and the area
is to the left to the curve as opposed to under it. Dx is also the widths of the rectangles
that are being created. These rectangles are then added up and an accurate area is
obtained. Each of these rectangles share similar properties in the sense that they all
have infinitely small widths and the height being f(x). An example calculation is shown
2
below for the function y=x when the bounds of integration are 1 to 2

Figure 2. Sample Calculation Graph

Figure 2 highlights the region where the area is being calculated. The bounds of
integration are denoted by the black lines while the desired area is highlighted in blue.

The equation

y=x 2 is substituted for f(x) and the following integration is set up.

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f (x)d x
a

x 2 dx
1

2.33 units

This is done by taking the integral of

x 2 which is

x3
3

and substituting the

2 1
bounds of integration in for x and subtracting the upper from the lower ( 3 3

2.33).
Calculating Area between two Curves
The integral an also be used to calculate the area between two curves. The

picture below shows the graphs of the functions

y= x

and

y=

x
3 .

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Figure 3. Intersection of Equations

Figure 3 shows the point in which these two graphs intersect.

Example (5a). Find the area of the region between

y= x

and

y=

x
3 . In

order to calculate this, the lower and upper bounds of integration must be discovered.
This process can either be completed algebraically or graphically. In this instance it was
done graphically by plotting both functions and seeing where they intersect. As seen
highlighted in the graph, the two functions intersect at x = 9, which will be the upper
bound of integration. The lower bound is determined to be at x = 0 as shown in the
figure above. Since there are two equations here, one as to be subtracted from the

other in order to find the area between them. The bottom function

y=

x
3

must be

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subtracted from the top function of

y= x

because

y=

x
3

is closer to the x axis

than the top function. The calculation for this desired area is shown below.

x
3
() dx

x
9

2 2
9
3
()dx
9

4.5 units2

Again, the upper and lower bounds are substituted in for x and the area is found.
Calculating Volume using the Disk, Ring, and Shell Methods
This type of math can also be applied to the concept of solids of revolution. This
process includes finding the volume of a rotated equation around an axis of rotation.
There are several methods that can accomplish this and each is used in different
scenarios. The first of these is the disk method which takes the equation and creates
an infinite number of disks from the axis of rotation. The volume of each of these disks
is calculated and when they are added together, the total area of the solid is discovered.

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This method can only be used if there is no hole in the revolved solid. The disks that are
being sliced are in the shape of cylinders which means that the properties of this shape
can be applied here. When the equation is revolved around the x-axis the value
calculated for f(x) will represent the circular base of the cylinder while the height is
denoted by dx. The volume of a cylinder will also be incorporated into the integral.
2

Volume= r h

As mentioned before, the area of the circular based can be used here which is

the

r 2 in the equation while the height of the disk is represented by h. However,

the radius becomes f(x) in this case and the equation is used when calculating. When
using the disk method, the cut being made must be perpendicular to the axis of rotation.
An example can be seen below for the function

Figure 4.

y= x

y= x

Being revolved around the x-axis

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Figure 4 shows the original function highlighted in blue and then what it looks like
when it is revolved around the x-axis. Inside this new object are an infinite number of
disks that can be used to calculate the volume.
This shows what the function looks like when revolved around the x-axis. The
calculation is shown below.

dV = y 2 dx

( x ) dx
0

x dx
0

1 2 1 2
9
0
2
2

40.5 (127.235)units 3

The second method that can be used involves rings. This differs from the disk
method in the sense that the solid needs to have a hollow center. Also, the infinite
number of disks is replaced with rings. The idea can be thought of as the void between
two solids. This means that two radii are needed. One is denoted as the large radius

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while the other is the small radius. The larger of the two will have a solid that contains
no hole, however, when the small radius is subtracted from it, the hole is created. The
formula below shows the general formula for the ring method.
R
( 2r 2) dx
b

Example 5b: Find the volume of the solid when it is rotated around the horizontal
line y = -2. When graphed, there is a hole between the rotated region and the axis of
rotation. This justifies the use of the ring method. A dx cut will be used due to the axis of
rotation being horizontal. In order to determine the major and minor radius, the distance
y= x

from the axis of rotation needs to be observed. Since

of y = -2, it becomes the major radius, while

x
3

y=

is the minor radius. The integral

set up is shown below.

R
( 2r 2) dx
b

2
x
+ 2 dx
3

( )

( x +2)

is further from the axis

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31.5 units3

A visual representation is shown below

Figure 5. Visual representation of the ring method

Figure 5 depicts the red ring as the larger radius for the equation

y= x

while

the blue ring represents the smaller radius for the equation. When the ring method is
performed, an infinite amount of these rings are created which are used to calculate
volume.
The third method that will be discussed is the shell method. This is especially
useful when revolving around the y-axis. Unlike the other two methods, the shell method
uses cuts parallel to the axis of rotation instead of perpendicular. The shell method will

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create an infinite number of hollow cylinders in order to calculate volume. These
cylinders are then opened up and flattened out to create rectangles that have a
thickness of dx. The general equation is shown below.
b

2 radiu sheightdx
a

Figure 6. General Set up of the Shell Method

Figure 6 shows the general formula for the shell method. The equation takes into
account the radius of the created shell as well as the height. Below is a visual example
for the equation

y= x

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Figure 7. Visual Representation of the shell method.
The function is reflected over the y axis and a rectangle is made as denoted by
the black lines. The horizontal red line shows the radius of the new shape and the
vertical green line is the height.
Calculating Volume using Cross Sections and Slabs
The volume of solids can also be calculated using slabs and cross sections. This
process uses an infinite number of slabs to calculate volume. This method differs from
the others in the fact that the solid has not been rotated around any axis. Each case
using this method will be different since calculating the area of a solid depends on what
shape the solid is. This is because the base of the solid created is the area of that
shape. Due to this fact, there is no true general equation for slabs but there is still a
process to follow. Depending on the shape, the set up is shown below.

Volume= equation to calculate area of base shape) dx

Depending on the orientation of the thickness, the equation will be multiplied by

either dy or dx.
Example 5c: The region R is the base of a solid. For this solid the cross-sections
perpendicular to the x-axis are isosceles right triangles with one leg on the base. Find
the volume. As determined before, the bounds of integration are set to be from 0 to 9
based on where the two graphs intersect. Since the shape being used in this instance
are triangles, the equation to calculate area of a triangle will be used.

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1
A= BH
2

In this equation b represents the base of the triangle while h is the height. Due to
basic isosceles properties, the legs that represent the base and height will be the same.
This value is the difference between the two equations. The new integration set up is
shown below.
x 2
( x )
3
2
()dx
9

3
= 1.35units

When these two equations are graphed, the isosceles triangles are placed inside.

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Figure 8. Cross section and slab example

Figure 8 shows the triangles between the equations of

y= x

and

y=

x
3 .

Understanding the uses for the integral is a crucial in the overall development of
calculus. Through the use of the definite integral, several efficient methods were created
in order to find the volume of solids.

Works Cited
"Experimental Feature." Wolfram|Alpha: Computational Knowledge Engine. Web. 20
Feb. 2015. <https://www.wolframalpha.com/>.
"Graphing Calculator- Free Online Tool Graph Functions, Finds Intersections, Table of
Values. Implicit Equations, Pan, Zoom, & Export as Image." Graphing CalculatorFree Online Tool Graph Functions, Finds Intersections, Table of Values. Implicit

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Equations, Pan, Zoom, & Export as Image. PainFreeHomework.com, n.d. Web.
20 Feb. 2015.