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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Find Cross Sections: Triangles & Semicircles
Find the expression for the volume of the solid whose cross-sections are semicircles perpendicular to the axis and whose base is bounded by
and
.
Since the cross-sections are perpendicular to the axis, the volume expression will be in terms of
.
The area of a semicircle is . By applying this formula to our general volume formula
, we get the following:
.
Since the region bounded by and
is the base of the solid, the intersection points of these functions will create the bounds for the volume expression. These points are
and
. Since the expression is in terms of
, the
coordinates can be referenced for the bounds.
Next, an expression for must be determined. Since the radius
is half the diameter of the semicircle, and the diameter of the semicircle is the length stretching between the functions
and
, the expression of the radius is the following:
. Simplified, this reads
.
Putting this all together, we find the following:
Example Question #2 : Find Cross Sections: Triangles & Semicircles
Find the volume of the solid whose cross-sections are semicircles and whose base is bounded by the circle .
The base is defined by the following formula: . Therefore, the radius of the base is
. The radius
defines the bounds as being
The correct formula for the area of a semicircle is as follows:
, with r being the radius of the semicircle.
By applying this formula to our general volume formula , we get the following:
.
Next, an expression for must be determined. The radius
is half the diameter of the semicircle cross-section. The value of
is equivalent to the half the height of the base, or
. Therefore,
.
Putting this all together, we find the following:
*Note: the problem did not specify if the cross sections were perpendicular to the or
axis. Because the base is a circle, this should not change the resulting volume. The only difference should be the use of
or
as variables in the correct expression.
Example Question #1 : Find Cross Sections: Triangles & Semicircles
Identify the correct expression for the volume of the solid whose cross-sections are semicircles perpendicular to the axis and whose base is bounded by
and
.
Since the cross-sections are perpendicular to the axis, the volume expression will be in terms of
.
The area of a semicircle is . By applying this formula to our general volume formula
, we get the following:
.
Since the region bounded by and
is the base of the solid, the intersection points of these functions will create the bounds for the volume expression. These points are
and
. Since the expression is in terms of
, the
coordinates can be referenced for the bounds.
Next, an expression for must be determined. Since the radius
is half the diameter of the semicircle, and the diameter of the semicircle is the length stretching between the functions
and
, the expression of the radius is the following:
.
Putting this all together, we find the following:
Example Question #1 : Find Cross Sections: Triangles & Semicircles
Identify the correct expression for the volume of the solid whose cross-sections are semicircles perpendicular to the axis and whose base is bounded by
and
.
Since the cross-sections are perpendicular to the axis, the volume expression will be in terms of
.
The area of a semicircle is . By applying this formula to our general volume formula
, we get the following:
.
Since the region bounded by and
is the base of the solid, the intersection points of these functions will create the bounds for the volume expression. These points are
and
. Since the expression is in terms of
, the
coordinates can be referenced for the bounds.
Next, an expression for must be determined. Since the radius
is half the diameter of the semicircle, and the diameter of the semicircle is the length stretching between the functions
and
, the expression of the radius is the following:
. This can be simplified:
Putting this all together, we find the following:
Example Question #741 : Calculus Ab
Identify the correct expression for the volume of the solid whose cross-sections are semicircles parallel to the y axis and whose base is bounded by ,
and
.
The cross-sections are parallel to the axis; this is another way of saying the cross-sections are perpendicular to the
axis. Therefore, the volume expression will be in terms of
.
The area of a semicircle is . By applying this formula to our general volume formula
, we get the following:
.
Since the region is bounded by ,
, and
, the base is the area between the
axis and
on the interval
. Since the expression is in terms of
, the interval
will define the bounds.
Next, an expression for must be determined. Since the radius
is half the diameter of the semicircle, and the diameter of the semicircle is the length stretching between
and the
axis, the expression of the radius is the following:
.
Putting this all together, we find the following:
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