Q.Using integration, find the area of the region bounded by the curves , and the x-axis.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →The region is bounded by a parabola, a line, and the x-axis. We find the intersection points to define the integration limits and split the area into two parts, integrating the line from to and the parabola from to . The total area is .
When finding the area of a region bounded by multiple curves using integration, the core idea is to sum up the areas of infinitesimally thin vertical strips. Each strip has a height determined by the difference between the upper and lower bounding curves, and a width . The challenge often lies in correctly identifying which curve forms the upper boundary and which forms the lower boundary across the entire region, as these can change. A clear sketch of the region is indispensable for this.
In this problem, we are given three curves:
- (a parabola opening upwards, with its vertex at the origin).
- (a straight line with a slope of 1 and a y-intercept of 2).
- The x-axis ().
Our goal is to find the area of the region enclosed by all three.
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Identify the curves and sketch the region.
First, let's find the points where these curves intersect each other. These points will define the limits of our integration.
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Intersection of the parabola () and the line ():
Set the values equal:
This gives or .
If , . So, point is .
If , . So, point is .
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Intersection of the line () and the x-axis ():
Set :
. So, point is .
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Intersection of the parabola () and the x-axis ():
Set :
. So, point is .
Now, let's visualize the region using these points.
- The line passes through , , and .
- The parabola passes through , , and .
- The x-axis is .
Plotting these reveals that the region bounded by all three curves lies to the left of the y-axis. The lower boundary of this region is consistently the x-axis (). However, the upper boundary changes:
- From to , the line forms the upper boundary.
- From to , the parabola forms the upper boundary.
This observation is crucial because it tells us we cannot use a single integral. We must split the total area into two sub-regions.
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Determine the integration strategy.
Based on the analysis in Step 1, the total area will be the sum of two integrals:
- : The area under the line from to .
- : The area under the parabola from to .
The area between a curve and the x-axis from to is given by , provided over .
In our case, both and are non-negative over their respective integration intervals, so we can directly integrate them.
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Set up the integrals.
The total area is given by: …
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