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APEX Calculus

Section 14.6 Volume Between Surfaces and Triple Integration

Subsection 14.6.1 Volume between surfaces

We learned in Section 14.2 how to compute the signed volume V under a surface z=f(x,y) over a region R: V=Rf(x,y)dA. It follows naturally that if f(x,y)g(x,y) on R, then the volume between f(x,y) and g(x,y) on R is
V=Rf(x,y)dARg(x,y)dA=R(f(x,y)g(x,y))dA.

Example 14.6.2. Finding volume between surfaces.

Find the volume of the space region bounded by the planes z=3x+y4, z=83x2y, x=0 and y=0. In Figure 14.6.3.(a) the planes are drawn; in Figure 14.6.3.(b), only the defined region is given.
Figure 14.6.3. Finding the volume between the planes given in Example 14.6.2
Solution.
We need to determine the region R over which we will integrate. To do so, we need to determine where the planes intersect. They have common z-values when 3x+y4=83x2y. Applying a little algebra, we have:
3x+y4=83x2y6x+3y=122x+y=4
The planes intersect along the line 2x+y=4. Therefore the region R is bounded by x=0, y=0, and y=42x; we can convert these bounds to integration bounds of 0x2, 0y42x. Thus
V=R(83x2y(3x+y4))dA=02042x(126x3y)dydx=16units3.
The volume between the surfaces is 16 cubic units.
In the preceding example, we found the volume by evaluating the integral
02042x(83x2y(3x+y4))dydx.
Note how we can rewrite the integrand as an integral, much as we did in Section 14.1:
83x2y(3x+y4)=3x+y483x2ydz.
Thus we can rewrite the double integral that finds volume as
02042x(83x2y(3x+y4))dydx=02042x(3x+y483x2ydz)dydx.
This no longer looks like a “double integral,” but more like a “triple integral.” Just as our first introduction to double integrals was in the context of finding the area of a plane region, our introduction into triple integrals will be in the context of finding the volume of a space region.
Figure 14.6.4. Approximating the volume of a region D in space
To formally find the volume of a closed, bounded region D in space, such as the one shown in Figure 14.6.4.(a), we start with an approximation. Break D into n rectangular solids; the solids near the boundary of D may possibly not include portions of D and/or include extra space. In Figure 14.6.4.(b), we zoom in on a portion of the boundary of D to show a rectangular solid that contains space not in D; as this is an approximation of the volume, this is acceptable and this error will be reduced as we shrink the size of our solids.
The volume ΔVi of the ith solid Di is ΔVi=ΔxiΔyiΔzi, where Δxi, Δyi and Δzi give the dimensions of the rectangular solid in the x, y and z directions, respectively. By summing up the volumes of all n solids, we get an approximation of the volume V of D:
Vi=1nΔVi=i=1nΔxiΔyiΔzi.
Let ΔD represent the length of the longest diagonal of rectangular solids in the subdivision of D. As ΔD0, the volume of each solid goes to 0, as do each of Δxi, Δyi and Δzi, for all i. Our calculus experience tells us that taking a limit as ΔD0 turns our approximation of V into an exact calculation of V. Before we state this result in a theorem, we use a definition to define some terms.

Definition 14.6.5. Triple Integrals, Iterated Integration (Part I).

Let D be a closed, bounded region in space. Let a and b be real numbers, let g1(x) and g2(x) be continuous functions of x, and let f1(x,y) and f2(x,y) be continuous functions of x and y.
  1. The volume V of D is denoted by a triple integral,
    V=DdV.
  2. The iterated integral abg1(x)g2(x)f1(x,y)f2(x,y)dzdydx is evaluated as
    abg1(x)g2(x)f1(x,y)f2(x,y)dzdydx=abg1(x)g2(x)(f1(x,y)f2(x,y)dz)dydx.
    Evaluating the above iterated integral is triple integration.
Our informal understanding of the notation DdV is “sum up lots of little volumes over D,” analogous to our understanding of RdA and Rdm.
Figure 14.6.6. Introducing the triple integral
We now state the major theorem of this section.
We evaluated the area of a plane region R by iterated integration, where the bounds were “from curve to curve, then from point to point.” Theorem 14.6.7 allows us to find the volume of a space region with an iterated integral with bounds “from surface to surface, then from curve to curve, then from point to point.” In the iterated integral
abg1(x)g2(x)f1(x,y)f2(x,y)dzdydx,
the bounds axb and g1(x)yg2(x) define a region R in the xy-plane over which the region D exists in space. However, these bounds are also defining surfaces in space; x=a is a plane and y=g1(x) is a cylinder. The combination of these 6 surfaces enclose, and define, D.
Examples will help us understand triple integration, including integrating with various orders of integration.
Figure 14.6.8. Finding the volume of a tetrahedron

Example 14.6.9. Finding the volume of a space region with triple integration.

Find the volume of the space region in the first octant bounded by the plane z=2y/32x/3, shown in Figure 14.6.10, using the order of integration dzdydx. Set up the triple integrals that give the volume in the other 5 orders of integration.
Figure 14.6.10. The region D used in Example 14.6.9
Solution.
Starting with the order of integration dzdydx, we need to first find bounds on z. The region D is bounded below by the plane z=0 (because we are restricted to the first octant) and above by z=2y/32x/3; 0z2y/32x/3.
To find the bounds on y and x, we “collapse” the region onto the xy-plane, giving the triangle shown in Figure 14.6.11. (We know the equation of the line y=62x in two ways. First, by setting z=0, we have 0=2y/32x/3y=62x. Secondly, we know this is going to be a straight line between the points (3,0) and (0,6) in the xy-plane.)
Figure 14.6.11. The region found by collapsing D onto the xy-plane
We define that region R, in the integration order of dydx, with bounds 0y62x and 0x3. Thus the volume V of the region D is:
V=DdV=03062x0213y23xdzdydx=03062x(0213y23xdz)dydx=03062xz|0213y23xdydx=03062x(213y23x)dydx.
From this step on, we are evaluating a double integral as done many times before. We skip these steps and give the final volume, V=6.
The order dzdxdy:
Now consider the volume using the order of integration dzdxdy. The bounds on z are the same as before, 0z2y/32x/3. Collapsing the space region on the xy-plane as shown in Figure 14.6.11, we now describe this triangle with the order of integration dxdy. This gives bounds 0x3y/2 and 0y6. Thus the volume is given by the triple integral
V=060312y0213y23xdzdxdy.
The order dxdydz:
Following our “surface to surface” strategy, we need to determine the x-surfaces that bound our space region. To do so, approach the region “from behind,” in the direction of increasing x. The first surface we hit as we enter the region is the yz-plane, defined by x=0. We come out of the region at the plane z=2y/32x/3; solving for x, we have x=3y/23z/2. Thus the bounds on x are: 0x3y/23z/2.
Now collapse the space region onto the yz-plane, as shown in Figure 14.6.12.(a). (Again, we find the equation of the line z=2y/3 by setting x=0 in the equation x=3y/23z/2.) We need to find bounds on this region with the order dydz. The curves that bound y are y=0 and y=63z; the points that bound z are 0 and 2. Thus the triple integral giving volume is:
0x3y/23z/20y63z0z2
02063z03y/23z/2dxdydz.
The order dxdzdy:
Figure 14.6.12. The region D in Example 14.6.9 is collapsed onto the yz-plane in (a); in (b), the region is collapsed onto the xz-plane
The x-bounds are the same as the order above. We now consider the triangle in Figure 14.6.12.(a) and describe it with the order dzdy: 0z2y/3 and 0y6. Thus the volume is given by:
0x3y/23z/20z2y/30y6
0602y/303y/23z/2dxdzdy.
The order dydzdx:
We now need to determine the y-surfaces that determine our region. Approaching the space region from “behind” and moving in the direction of increasing y, we first enter the region at y=0, and exit along the plane z=2y/32x/3. Solving for y, this plane has equation y=62x3z. Thus y has bounds 0y62x3z.
Now collapse the region onto the xz-plane, as shown in Figure 14.6.12.(b). The curves bounding this triangle are z=0 and z=22x/3; x is bounded by the points x=0 to x=3. Thus the triple integral giving volume is:
0y62x3z0z22x/30x3
03022x/3062x3zdydzdx.
The order dydxdz:
The y-bounds are the same as in the order above. We now determine the bounds of the triangle in Figure 14.6.12.(b) using the order dydxdz. x is bounded by x=0 and x=33z/2; z is bounded between z=0 and z=2. This leads to the triple integral:
0y62x3z0x33z/20z2
02033z/2062x3zdydxdz.
This problem was long, but hopefully useful, demonstrating how to determine bounds with every order of integration to describe the region D. In practice, we only need 1, but being able to do them all gives us flexibility to choose the order that suits us best.
In the previous example, we collapsed the surface into the x-y, x-z, and yz-planes as we determined the “curve to curve, point to point” bounds of integration. Since the surface was a triangular portion of a plane, this collapsing, or projecting, was simple: the projection of a straight line in space onto a coordinate plane is a line.
The following example shows us how to do this when dealing with more complicated surfaces and curves.

Example 14.6.13. Finding the projection of a curve in space onto the coordinate planes.

Consider the surfaces z=3x2y2 and z=2y, as shown in Figure 14.6.14.(a). The curve of their intersection is shown, along with the projection of this curve into the coordinate planes, shown dashed. Find the equations of the projections into the coordinate planes.
Figure 14.6.14. Finding the projections of the curve of intersection in Example 14.6.13
Solution.
The two surfaces are z=3x2y2 and z=2y. To find where they intersect, it is natural to set them equal to each other: 3x2y2=2y. This is an implicit function of x and y that gives all points (x,y) in the xy-plane where the z values of the two surfaces are equal.
We can rewrite this implicit function by completing the square:
3x2y2=2yy2+2y+x2=3(y+1)2+x2=4.
Thus in the xy-plane the projection of the intersection is a circle with radius 2, centered at (0,1).
To project onto the xz-plane, we do a similar procedure: find the x and z values where the y values on the surface are the same. We start by solving the equation of each surface for y. In this particular case, it works well to actually solve for y2:
z=3x2y2y2=3x2z
z=2yy2=z2/4.
Thus we have (after again completing the square):
3x2z=z2/4(z+2)216+x24=1,
and ellipse centered at (0,2) in the xz-plane with a major axis of length 8 and a minor axis of length 4.
Finally, to project the curve of intersection into the yz-plane, we solve equation for x. Since z=2y is a cylinder that lacks the variable x, it becomes our equation of the projection in the yz-plane.
All three projections are shown in Figure 14.6.14.(b).
Figure 14.6.15. Changing the order of integration in a triple integral

Example 14.6.16. Finding the volume of a space region with triple integration.

Set up the triple integrals that find the volume of the space region D bounded by the surfaces x2+y2=1, z=0 and z=y, as shown in Figure 14.6.17.(a), with the orders of integration dzdydx, dydxdz and dxdzdy.
Figure 14.6.17. The region D in Example 14.6.16 is shown in (a); in (b), it is collapsed onto the xy-plane
Solution.
The order dzdydx:
The region D is bounded below by the plane z=0 and above by the plane z=y. The cylinder x2+y2=1 does not offer any bounds in the z-direction, as that surface is parallel to the z-axis. Thus 0zy.
Collapsing the region into the xy-plane, we get part of the circle with equation x2+y2=1 as shown in Figure 14.6.17.(b). As a function of x, this half circle has equation y=1x2. Thus y is bounded below by 1x2 and above by y=0: 1x2y0. The x bounds of the half circle are 1x1. All together, the bounds of integration and triple integral are as follows:
0zy1x2y01x1
111x200ydzdydx.
We evaluate this triple integral:
111x200ydzdydx=111x20(y)dydx=11(12y2)|1x20dx=1112(1x2)dx=(12(x13x3))|11=23 units 3.
With the order dydxdz:
The region is bounded “below” in the y-direction by the surface x2+y2=1y=1x2 and “above” by the surface y=z. Thus the y bounds are 1x2yz.
Collapsing the region onto the xz-plane gives the region shown in Figure 14.6.18.(a); this half disk is bounded by z=0 and x2+z2=1. (We find this curve by solving each surface for y2, then setting them equal to each other. We have y2=1x2 and y=zy2=z2. Thus x2+z2=1.) It is bounded below by x=1z2 and above by x=1z2, where z is bounded by 0z1. All together, we have:
1x2yz1z2x1z20z1
011z21z21x2zdydxdz.
Figure 14.6.18. The region D in Example 14.6.16 is shown collapsed onto the xz-plane in (a); in (b), it is collapsed onto the yz-plane
With the order dxdzdy:
D is bounded below by the surface x=1y2 and above by 1y2. We then collapse the region onto the yz-plane and get the triangle shown in Figure 14.6.18.(b). (The hypotenuse is the line z=y, just as the plane.) Thus z is bounded by 0zy and y is bounded by 1y0. This gives:
1y2x1y20zy1y0
100y1y21y2dxdzdy.
The following theorem states two things that should make “common sense” to us. First, using the triple integral to find volume of a region D should always return a positive number; we are computing volume here, not signed volume. Secondly, to compute the volume of a “complicated” region, we could break it up into subregions and compute the volumes of each subregion separately, summing them later to find the total volume.
We use this latter property in the next example.

Example 14.6.20. Finding the volume of a space region with triple integration.

Find the volume of the space region D bounded by the coordinate planes, z=1x/2 and z=1y/4, as shown in Figure 14.6.21.(a). Set up the triple integrals that find the volume of D in all 6 orders of integration.
Figure 14.6.21. The region D in Example 14.6.20 is shown in (a); in (b), it is collapsed onto the xy-plane
Solution.
Following the bounds-determining strategy of “surface to surface, curve to curve, and point to point,” we can see that the most difficult orders of integration are the two in which we integrate with respect to z first, for there are two “upper” surfaces that bound D in the z-direction. So we start by noting that we have
0z112x and 0z114y.
We now collapse the region D onto the xy-axis, as shown in Figure 14.6.21.(b). The boundary of D, the line from (0,0,1) to (2,4,0), is shown in Figure 14.6.21.(b) as a dashed line; it has equation y=2x. (We can recognize this in two ways: one, in collapsing the line from (0,0,1) to (2,4,0) onto the xy-plane, we simply ignore the z-values, meaning the line now goes from (0,0) to (2,4). Secondly, the two surfaces meet where z=1x/2 is equal to z=1y/4: thus 1x/2=1y/4y=2x.)
We use the second property of Theorem 14.6.19 to state that
DdV=D1dV+D2dV,
where D1 and D2 are the space regions above the plane regions R1 and R2, respectively. Thus we can say
DdV=R1(01x/2dz)dA+R2(01y/4dz)dA.
All that is left is to determine bounds of R1 and R2, depending on whether we are integrating with order dxdy or dydx. We give the final integrals here, leaving it to the reader to confirm these results.
dzdydx:
0z1x/20z1y/40y2x2xy40x20x2DdV=0202x01x/2dzdydx+022x401y/4dzdydx
dzdxdy:
0z1x/20z1y/4y/2x20xy/20y40y4DdV=04y/2201x/2dzdxdy+040y/201y/4dzdxdy
The remaining four orders of integration do not require a sum of triple integrals. In Figure 14.6.22 we show D collapsed onto the other two coordinate planes. Using these graphs, we give the final orders of integration here, again leaving it to the reader to confirm these results.
Figure 14.6.22. The region D in Example 14.6.20 is shown collapsed onto the xz-plane in (a); in (b), it is collapsed onto the yz-plane
dydxdz:
0y44z0x22z0z1
01022z044zdydxdz.
dydzdx:
0y44z0z1x/20x2
0201x/2044zdydxdz.
dxdydz:
0x22z0y44z0z1
01044z022zdxdydz.
dxdzdy:
0x22z0z1y/40y4
0401y/4022zdxdzdy.
We give one more example of finding the volume of a space region.

Example 14.6.23. Finding the volume of a space region.

Set up a triple integral that gives the volume of the space region D bounded by z=2x2+2 and z=62x2y2. These surfaces are plotted in Figure 14.6.24.(a) and Figure 14.6.24.(b), respectively; the region D is shown in Figure 14.6.24.(c).
Figure 14.6.24. The region D is bounded by the surfaces shown in (a) and (b); D is shown in (c)
Solution.
The main point of this example is this: integrating with respect to z first is rather straightforward; integrating with respect to x first is not.
The order dzdydx:
The bounds on z are clearly 2x2+2z62x2y2. Collapsing D onto the xy-plane gives the ellipse shown in Figure 14.6.24.(c). The equation of this ellipse is found by setting the two surfaces equal to each other:
2x2+2=62x2y24x2+y2=4x2+y24=1.
We can describe this ellipse with the bounds
44x2y44x2 and 1x1.
Thus we find volume as
2x2+2z62x2y244x2y44x21x1
1144x244x22x2+262x2y2dzdydx.
The order dydzdx:
Integrating with respect to y is not too difficult. Since the surface z=2x2+2 is a cylinder whose directrix is the y-axis, it does not create a border for y. The paraboloid z=62x2y2 does; solving for y, we get the bounds
62x2zy62x2z.
Collapsing D onto the xz-plane gives the region shown in Figure 14.6.25.(a); the lower curve is from the cylinder, with equation z=2x2+2. The upper curve is from the paraboloid; with y=0, the curve is z=62x2. Thus bounds on z are 2x2+2z62x2; the bounds on x are 1x1. Thus we have:
62x2zy62x2z2x2+2z62x21x1
112x2+262x262x2z62x2zdydzdx.
Figure 14.6.25. The region D in Example 14.6.23 is collapsed onto the xz-plane in (a); in (b), it is collapsed onto the yz-plane
The order dxdzdy:
This order takes more effort as D must be split into two subregions. The two surfaces create two sets of upper/lower bounds in terms of x; the cylinder creates bounds
z/21xz/21
for region D1 and the paraboloid creates bounds
3y2/2z2/2x3y2/2z2/2
for region D2.
Collapsing D onto the yz-axes gives the regions shown in Figure 14.6.25.(b). We find the equation of the curve z=4y2/2 by noting that the equation of the ellipse seen in Figure 14.6.24.(c) has equation
x2+y2/4=1x=1y2/4.
Substitute this expression for x in either surface equation, z=62x2y2 or z=2x2+2. In both cases, we find
z=412y2.
Region R1, corresponding to D1, has bounds
2z4y2/2,2y2
and region R2, corresponding to D2, has bounds
4y2/2z6y2,2y2.
Thus the volume of D is given by:
2224y2/2z/21z/21dxdzdy+224y2/26y23y2/2z2/23y2/2z2/2dxdzdy.
If all one wanted to do in Example 14.6.23 was find the volume of the region D, one would have likely stopped at the first integration setup (with order dzdydx) and computed the volume from there. However, we included the other two methods 1) to show that it could be done, “messy” or not, and 2) because sometimes we “have” to use a less desirable order of integration in order to actually integrate.

Subsection 14.6.2 Triple Integration and Functions of Three Variables

There are uses for triple integration beyond merely finding volume, just as there are uses for integration beyond “area under the curve.” These uses start with understanding how to integrate functions of three variables, which is effectively no different than integrating functions of two variables. This leads us to a definition, followed by an example.

Definition 14.6.26. Iterated Integration, (Part II).

Let D be a closed, bounded region in space, over which g1(x), g2(x), f1(x,y), f2(x,y) and h(x,y,z) are all continuous, and let a and b be real numbers.
The iterated integral abg1(x)g2(x)f1(x,y)f2(x,y)h(x,y,z)dzdydx is evaluated as
abg1(x)g2(x)f1(x,y)f2(x,y)h(x,y,z)dzdydx=abg1(x)g2(x)(f1(x,y)f2(x,y)h(x,y,z)dz)dydx.

Example 14.6.27. Evaluating a triple integral of a function of three variables.

Evaluate 01x2xx2y2x+3y(xy+2xz)dzdydx.
Solution.
We evaluate this integral according to Definition 14.6.26.
01x2xx2y2x+3y(xy+2xz)dzdydx=01x2x(x2y2x+3y(xy+2xz)dz)dydx=01x2x((xyz+xz2)|x2y2x+3y)dydx=01x2x(xy(2x+3y)+x(2x+3y)2(xy(x2y)+x(x2y)2))dydx=01x2x(x5+x3y+4x3+14x2y+12xy2)dydx.
We continue as we have in the past, showing fewer steps.
=01(72x78x672x5+15x4)dx=2813360.836.
We now know how to evaluate a triple integral of a function of three variables; we do not yet understand what it means. We build up this understanding in a way very similar to how we have understood integration and double integration.
Let h(x,y,z) be a continuous function of three variables, defined over some space region D. We can partition D into n rectangular-solid subregions, each with dimensions Δxi×Δyi×Δzi. Let (xi,yi,zi) be some point in the ith subregion, and consider the product h(xi,yi,zi)ΔxiΔyiΔzi. It is the product of a function value (that’s the h(xi,yi,zi) part) and a small volume ΔVi (that’s the ΔxiΔyiΔzi part). One of the simplest understanding of this type of product is when h describes the density of an object, for then h× volume = mass .
We can sum up all n products over D. Again letting ΔD represent the length of the longest diagonal of the n rectangular solids in the partition, we can take the limit of the sums of products as ΔD0. That is, we can find
S=limΔD0i=1nh(xi,yi,zi)ΔVi=limΔD0i=1nh(xi,yi,zi)ΔxiΔyiΔzi.
While this limit has lots of interpretations depending on the function h, in the case where h describes density, S is the total mass of the object described by the region D.
We now use the above limit to define the triple integral, give a theorem that relates triple integrals to iterated iteration, followed by the application of triple integrals to find the centers of mass of solid objects.

Definition 14.6.28. Triple Integral.

Let w=h(x,y,z) be a continuous function over a closed, bounded region D in space, and let ΔD be any partition of D into n rectangular solids with volume ΔVi. The triple integral of h over D is
Dh(x,y,z)dV=limΔD0i=1nh(xi,yi,zi)ΔVi.
The following theorem assures us that the above limit exists for continuous functions h and gives us a method of evaluating the limit.
Note: In an aside in Section 14.2, we showed how the summation of rectangles over a region R in the plane could be viewed as a double sum, leading to the double integral. Likewise, we can view the sum
i=1nh(xi,yi,zi)ΔxiΔyiΔzi
as a triple sum,
k=1pj=1ni=1mh(xi,yj,zk)ΔxiΔyjΔzk,
which we evaluate as
k=1p(j=1n(i=1mh(xi,yj,zk)Δxi)Δyj)Δzk.
Here we fix a k value, which establishes the z-height of the rectangular solids on one “level” of all the rectangular solids in the space region D. The inner double summation adds up all the volumes of the rectangular solids on this level, while the outer summation adds up the volumes of each level.
This triple summation understanding leads to the D notation of the triple integral, as well as the method of evaluation shown in Theorem 14.6.29.
We now apply triple integration to find the centers of mass of solid objects.

Subsection 14.6.3 Mass and Center of Mass

One may wish to review Section 14.4 for a reminder of the relevant terms and concepts.

Definition 14.6.30. Mass, Center of Mass of Solids.

Let a solid be represented by a closed, bounded region D in space with variable density function δ(x,y,z).
  1. The mass of the object is M=Ddm=Dδ(x,y,z)dV.
  2. The moment about the yz-plane is Myz=Dxδ(x,y,z)dV.
  3. The moment about the xz-plane is Mxz=Dyδ(x,y,z)dV.
  4. The moment about the xy-plane is Mxy=Dzδ(x,y,z)dV.
  5. The center of mass of the object is
    (x,y,z)=(MyzM,MxzM,MxyM).

Example 14.6.31. Finding the center of mass of a solid.

Find the mass and center of mass of the solid represented by the space region bounded by the coordinate planes and z=2y/32x/3, shown in Figure 14.6.32, with constant density δ(x,y,z)=3g/cm3. (Note: this space region was used in Example 14.6.9.)
Figure 14.6.32. Finding the center of mass of the solid in Example 14.6.31
Solution.
We apply Definition 14.6.30. In Example 14.6.9, we found bounds for the order of integration dzdydx to be 0z2y/32x/3, 0y62x and 0x3. We find the mass of the object:
M=Dδ(x,y,z)dV=03062x02y/32x/3(3)dzdydx=303062x02y/32x/3dzdydx=3(6)=18g.
The evaluation of the triple integral is done in Example 14.6.9, so we skipped those steps above. Note how the mass of an object with constant density is simply “density×volume.”
We now find the moments about the planes.
Mxy=D3zdV=03062x02y/32x/3(3z)dzdydx=03062x32(2y/32x/3)2dydx=0349(x3)3dx=9.
We omit the steps of integrating to find the other moments.
Myz=D3xdV=272.Mxz=D3ydV=27.
The center of mass is
(x,y,z)=(27/218,2718,918)=(0.75,1.5,0.5).

Example 14.6.33. Finding the center of mass of a solid.

Find the center of mass of the solid represented by the region bounded by the planes z=0 and z=y and the cylinder x2+y2=1, shown in Figure 14.6.34, with density function δ(x,y,z)=10+x2+5y5z. (Note: this space region was used in Example 14.6.16.)
Figure 14.6.34. Finding the center of mass of the solid in Example 14.6.33
Solution.
As we start, consider the density function. It is symmetric about the yz-plane, and the farther one moves from this plane, the denser the object is. The symmetry indicates that x should be 0.
As one moves away from the origin in the y or z directions, the object becomes less dense, though there is more volume in these regions.
Though none of the integrals needed to compute the center of mass are particularly hard, they do require a number of steps. We emphasize here the importance of knowing how to set up the proper integrals; in complex situations we can appeal to technology for a good approximation, if not the exact answer. We use the order of integration dzdydx, using the bounds found in Example 14.6.16. (As these are the same for all four triple integrals, we explicitly show the bounds only for M.)
M=D(10+x2+5y5z)dV=111x200y(10+x2+5y5z)dV=64515π163.855.Myz=Dx(10+x2+5y5z)dV=0.Mxz=Dy(10+x2+5y5z)dV=261π481.99.Mxy=Dz(10+x2+5y5z)dV=61π961090.885.
Note how Myz=0, as expected. The center of mass is
(x,y,z)=(0,1.993.855,0.8853.855)(0,0.516,0.230).
As stated before, there are many uses for triple integration beyond finding volume. When h(x,y,z) describes a rate of change function over some space region D, then Dh(x,y,z)dV gives the total change over D. Our one specific example of this was computing mass; a density function is simply a “rate of mass change per volume” function. Integrating density gives total mass.
While knowing how to integrate is important, it is arguably much more important to know how to set up integrals. It takes skill to create a formula that describes a desired quantity; modern technology is very useful in evaluating these formulas quickly and accurately.
In Section 14.7, we learn about two new coordinate systems (each related to polar coordinates) that allow us to integrate over closed regions in space more easily than when using rectangular coordinates.

Exercises 14.6.4 Exercises

Terms and Concepts

1.
The strategy for establishing bounds for triple integrals is to , to and to .
2.
Give an informal interpretation of what “DdV” means.
3.
Give two uses of triple integration.
4.
If an object has a constant density δ and a volume V, what is its mass?

Problems

Exercise Group.
Two functions f1(x,y) and f2(x,y) and a region R in the x, y plane are given. Set up and evaluate the double integral that finds the volume between the surfaces given by the graphs of these two functions over R.
5.
f1(x,y)=8x2y2, f2(x,y)=2x+y;
R is the square with corners (1,1) and (1,1).
6.
z=f1(x,y)=x2+y2 and z=f2(x,y)=x2y2;
R is the square with corners (0,0) and (2,3).
7.
f1(x,y)=sin(x)cos(y), f2(x,y)=cos(x)sin(y)+2;
R is the triangle with corners (0,0), (π,0) and (π,π).
8.
f1(x,y)=2x2+2y2+3 and f2(x,y)=6x2y2;
R is the disc x2+y21.
Exercise Group.
In the following exercises, a domain D is described by its bounding surfaces, along with a graph. Set up the triple integrals that give the volume of D in all 6 orders of integration, and find the volume of D by evaluating the indicated triple integral.
15.
D is bounded by the coordinate planes and by
y=1x2 and y=1z2.
Do not evaluate any triple integral. Which order is easier to evaluate: dzdydx or dydzdx? Explain why.
Exercise Group.
In the following exercises, evaluate the triple integral.
17.
π/2π/20π0π(cos(x)sin(y)sin(z))dzdydx
18.
Evaluate 010x0x+y(x+y+z)dzdydx.
19.
0π010z(sin(yz))dxdydz
20.
Evaluate ππ2xx3y2y2(zx2y+y2xex2+y2)dzdydx.
Exercise Group.
In the following exercises, find the center of mass of the solid represented by the indicated space region D with density function δ(x,y,z).
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