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Trapezoidal Rule

In Calculus, “Trapezoidal Rule” is one of the important

integration rules. The name trapezoidal is because when
the area under the curve is evaluated, then the total area
is divided into small trapezoids instead of rectangles.
This rule is used for approximating the de?nite integrals
where it uses the linear approximations of the functions.

The trapezoidal rule is mostly used in the numerical

analysis process. To evaluate the de?nite integrals, we
can also use Riemann Sums, where we use small
rectangles to evaluate the area under the curve.

Also, read:

Calculus
Fundamental Theorem of Calculus
Riemann Integral
Riemann Sum Formula

Trapezoidal Rule De?nition

Trapezoidal Rule is a rule that evaluates the area under

the curves by dividing the total area into smaller
trapezoids rather than using rectangles. This integration
works by approximating the region under the graph of a
function as a trapezoid, and it calculates the area. This
rule takes the average of the left and the right sum.

The Trapezoidal Rule does not give accurate value as

Simpson’s Rule when the underlying function is smooth.
It is because Simpson’s Rule uses the quadratic
approximation instead of linear approximation. Both
Simpson’s Rule and Trapezoidal Rule give the
approximation value, but Simpson’s Rule results in even
more accurate approximation value of the integrals.

Trapezoidal Rule Formula

Let f(x) be a continuous function on the interval [a, b].
Now divide the intervals [a, b] into n equal subintervals
with each of width,

Δx = (b-a)/n, Such that a = x0 < x1< x2< x3<…..<xn = b

Then the Trapezoidal Rule formula for area

approximating the de?nite integral ∫ab f(x)dx is given by:

∫ab f(x)dx ≈ Tn = △x [f(x )

2 0 + 2f(x 1 ) + 2f(x 2 ) +

Where, xi = a+iΔx

If n →∞, R.H.S of the expression approaches the de?nite

integral ∫ab f(x)dx.

Solved Examples
Go through the below given Trapezoidal Rule example.

Example 1:

Approximate the area under the curve y = f(x) between x

=0 and x=8 using Trapezoidal Rule with n = 4
subintervals. A function f(x) is given in the table of
values.

x 0 2 4 6 8

f(x) 3 7 11 9 3

Solution:

The Trapezoidal Rule formula for n= 4 subintervals is

given as:

T4 =(Δx/2)[f(x0)+ 2f(x1)+ 2f(x2)+2f(x3) + f(x4)]

Here the subinterval width Δx = 2.

Now, substitute the values from the table, to ?nd the

approximate value of the area under the curve.

A≈ T4 =(2/2)[3+ 2(7)+ 2(11)+2(9) + 3]

A≈ T4 = 3 + 14 + 22+ 18+3 = 60

Therefore, the approximate value of area under the curve

using Trapezoidal Rule is 60.

Example 2:

Approximate the area under the curve y = f(x) between x

=-4 and x= 2 using Trapezoidal Rule with n = 6
subintervals. A function f(x) is given in the table of
values.

x -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2

f(x) 0 4 5 3 10 11 2

Solution:

The Trapezoidal Rule formula for n= 6 subintervals is

given as:

T6 =(Δx/2)[f(x0)+ 2f(x1)+ 2f(x2)+2f(x3) + 2f(x4)+2f(x5)+

f(x6)]

Here the subinterval width Δx = 1.

Now, substitute the values from the table, to ?nd the

approximate value of the area under the curve.

A≈ T6 =(1/2)[0+ 2(4)+ 2(5)+2(3) + 2(10)+2(11) +2]

A≈ T6 =(½) [ 8 + 10 + 6+ 20 +22 +2 ] = 68/2 = 34

Therefore, the approximate value of area under the curve

using Trapezoidal Rule is 34.

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Frequently Asked Questions –

FAQs
What is Trapezoidal Rule?
Trapezoidal Rule is an integration rule, in Calculus, that
evaluates the area under the curves by dividing the total
area into smaller trapezoids rather than using rectangles.

Why the rule is named after

trapezoid?
The name trapezoidal is because when the area under
the curve is evaluated, then the total area is divided into
small trapezoids instead of rectangles. Then we ?nd the
area of these small trapezoids in a de?nite interval.

What is the difference between

Trapezoidal rule and Riemann Sums
rule?
In trapezoidal rule, we use trapezoids to approximate the
area under the curve whereas in Riemann sums we use
rectangles to ?nd area under the curve, in case of
integration.

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1 Comment

arpan JULY 22, 2020 AT 8:01 PM

perfect explain

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