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5.2 The Definite Integral

Consider a region bounded by a graph of a function f (x)
y

f HxL

We can estimate the area under the graph by adding the areas of the
approximating rectangles. However, we must decide how tall our rectangles must be.
Area

Where x =
, and n is a number of subintervals. The long summation can be written in short form using sigma notation:
Area
The sums of this form are called

The approximation is determined by how you choose the height of each

rectangle.
Definition
Ln : Left-endpoint Riemann Sum
Choose the height of each rectangle on the interval [xi1 , xi ]to be
y

f HxL

Area

Rn : Right-endpoint Riemann Sum

Choose the height of each rectangle on the interval [xi1 , xi ]to be
y

f HxL

Area

Mn : Midpoint Riemann Sum

Choose the height of each rectangle on the interval [xi1 , xi ]to be
, where xi =
y

f HxL

Area

NOTE: SM is not the average of SL and SR

Example 1 Approximate the area above the x-axis and below the graph of y =
the interval [1, 4] using left and right Riemann sums. Use n = 3

Give bounds for the true area under the graph of

x on

x on the interval [1, 4].

We have approximated the area under the graph of a function by using

rectangles. The
the rectangles (i.e. n ), the better the
approximation.
Exact area under the graph can be defined as a limit of the approximations
rectangle and f (xi ) is the

, where x is the
of the ith rectangle.

NOTE: It can be proved that

val [xi1 , xi ] will

number

) of each

in the ith subinter-

This motivates the following defintion:

Definition

If f is a

function on the interval [a, b], we divide the [a, b]

into n subintervals of equal width x =

f from a to b is:

. The definite integral of

=
where xi is

point inside ith subinterval.

REMARKS:
The definite integral is a
It represents the area under the graph only if
on [a, b]
If f (x) < 0 somewhere inside the interval, the definite integral
represent the area under the graph.
If f (x) < 0 somewhere on [a, b] the definite integral represents the
sum of the area under the graph where
MINUS the area
between the axis and the graph where
.
In other words the area under the graph above x-axis is taken as
area and the area below the x-axis is considered
.

Example 2 Write in integral notation:

a) x [2, 1], lim

n
X

b) x [3, 100], lim

1 (xi )2 x =

i=1


n 
X
ln(x )
i

xi

i=1

x =

Example 3 Consider the area between the two curves shown below.
10

5
f HxL 9 - x2

-2

-1

gHxL x3 - 9 x

-5

-10

a) Draw approximating rectangles to represent the area bounded between the two curves.
b) Represent the area as a limit of a Riemann Sum.

c) Write the limit in integral notation.

Example 4 Consider the integral

ex dx.
0
(MATLAB)
a) Use right and left Riemann sums with n = 25 to find two numbers
between which the value of the integral must lie.
Save rsumtool.m to your computer.
In MATLAB, navigate to your current folder directory where you
have saved rsumtool.m.
In the command window, type rsumtool and press enter.
The tool will automatically open 3 windows: a console for entering function information and two graphs.

In the console, enter exp(x2 ) in the box labeled f (x).

Enter the interval [0, 2] for [a, b] and the n value 25. Press enter.
Z 2
2
b) Can you make a similar statement for the integral
ex dx?
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