A honey bee makes several trips from the hive to a flower

garden. The velocity graph is shown below.

What is the total distance traveled by the bee?
200  200  200  100  700 700 feet

ft
200ft 200ft
min

minutes
200ft 100ft


What is the displacement of the bee?

200  200  200  100  100

100 feet towards the hive

ft
200ft 200ft
min

minutes
-200ft -100ft


To find the displacement (position shift) from the velocity
function, we just integrate the function. The negative
areas below the x-axis subtract from the total
displacement.
b
Displacement   V  t  dt
a

To find distance traveled we have to use absolute value.

b
Distance Traveled   V  t  dt
a

Find the roots of the velocity equation and integrate in

pieces, just like when we found the area between a curve
and the x-axis. (Take the absolute value of each integral.)

Or you can use your calculator to integrate the absolute

value of the velocity function.

 Displacement:

1 1 1 1
2 1    2  1
1 2 2
2
2

Distance Traveled:
velocity graph
1 1
1   2  4
2 2

Every AP exam I have seen

has had at least one
problem requiring students
to interpret velocity and
position graph position graphs.

In the linear motion equation:

dS
V  t V(t) is a function of time.
dt

For a very small change in time, V(t) can be

dS  V  t  dt
considered a constant.

S  V  t  t We add up all the small changes in S to get

the total distance.

S  V1  t  V2  t  V3  t  

S   V1  V2  V3    t


S  V  t  t We add up all the small changes in S to get
the total distance.

S  V1  t  V2  t  V3  t  

S   V1  V2  V3    t

k
S   Vn  t As the number of subintervals becomes
n 1
infinitely large (and the width becomes
 infinitely small), we have integration.
S   Vn  t
n 1

S   V  t  dt


This same technique is used in many different real-life
problems.


Example 5: National Potato Consumption

The rate of potato consumption

for a particular country was:

C  t   2.2  1.1t
where t is the number of years
since 1970 and C is in millions
of bushels per year.

For a small t , the rate of consumption is constant.

The amount consumed during that short time is C  t   t .


Example 5: National Potato Consumption

C  t   2.2  1.1t
The amount consumed during that short time is C  t   t .

We add up all these small

amounts to get the total
consumption:

total consumption   C  t  dt
From the beginning of 1972 to
the end of 1973:
4
4 1 million
2  t
2.2 1.1 dt  2.2t  1.1t
 7.066 bushels
ln1.1 2

 Work:

work  force  distance

Calculating the work is easy

when the force and distance are
constant.

When the amount of force

varies, we get to use calculus!


Hooke’s law for springs: F  kx

k = spring x = distance that

constant the spring is
extended beyond
its natural length


Hooke’s law for springs: F  kx
F=10 N
Example 7:

x=2 M It takes 10 Newtons to stretch a

spring 2 meters beyond its natural
length.
10  k  2
5k F  5 x

How much work is done stretching

the spring to 4 meters beyond its
natural length?


 F(x)
How much work is done stretching
the spring to 4 meters beyond its
natural length?
x=4 M
For a very small change in x, the
force is constant.

dw  F  x  dx F  x   5x

dw  5 x dx 5 2
4

W x
2 0
 dw   5 x dx
4 W  40 newton-meters
W   5 x dx
0
W  40 joules