CHAPTER 17 IRREGULAR AREAS AND VOLUMES AND MEAN
VALUES
EXERCISE 87 Page 215
1. Plot a graph of y = 3x - x2 by completing a table of values of y from x = 0 to x = 3. Determine the
area enclosed by the curve, the x-axis and ordinate x = 0 and x = 3 by (a) the trapezoidal rule, (b)
the mid-ordinate rule and (c) by Simpson's rule.
A table of values is shown below.
x 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
0 1.25 2.0 2.25 2.0 1.25 0
A graph of is shown below.
(a) Using the trapezoidal rule, with 6 intervals each of width 0.5 gives:
area = (0.5)(8.75) = 4.375 square units
(b) Using the mid-ordinate rule, with 6 intervals, with mid-ordinates occurring at
0.25 0.75 1.25 1.75 2.25 2.75
where the y-values are: 0.6875 1.6875 2.1875 2.1875 1.6875 0.6875
area (0.5)[0.6875 + 1.6875 + 2.1875 + 1.6875 + 0.6875] = (0.5)(9.125)
= 4.563 square units
(c) Using Simpson’s rule, with 6 intervals each of width 0.5 gives:
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area
= = 4.5 square units
Simpson’s rule is considered the most accurate of the approximate methods. An answer of 4.5
square units can be achieved with the other two methods if more intervals are taken.
2. Plot the graph of y = 2x2 + 3 between x = 0 and x = 4. Estimate the area enclosed by the curve, the
ordinates x = 0 and x = 4, and the x-axis by an approximate method.
A table of values is shown below.
x 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
3 3.5 5.0 7.5 11.0 15.5 21.0 27.5 35.0
A graph of is shown below.
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Using Simpson’s rule with 8 intervals each of width 0.5 gives:
area
= = 54.7 square units
3. The velocity of a car at one second intervals is given in the following table:
time t (s) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
velocity v (m/s) 0 2.0 4.5 8.0 14.0 21.0 29.0
Determine the distance travelled in 6 seconds (i.e. the area under the v/t graph) using Simpson’s
rule.
Using Simpson’s rule with 6 intervals each of width 1 s gives:
distance
= = 63.33 m
4. The shape of a piece of land is shown below. To estimate the area of the land, a surveyor takes
measurements at intervals of 50 m, perpendicular to the straight portion with the results shown
(the dimensions being in metres). Estimate the area of the land in hectares (1 ha = 104 m2).
Using Simpson’s rule with 6 intervals each of width 50 m gives:
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area
= = 47000
Hence, in hectares, area 4.70 ha
5. The deck of a ship is 35 m long. At equal intervals of 5 m the width is given by the following
table:
Width (m) 0 2.8 5.2 6.5 5.8 4.1 3.0 2.3
Estimate the area of the deck.
Using the trapezoidal rule with 7 intervals each of width 5 m gives:
area
= (5)(28.55) = 143
(To use Simpson’s rule needs an even number of intervals, so could not be used in this question).
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EXERCISE 88 Page 217
1. The areas of equidistantly spaced sections of the underwater form of a small boat are as follows:
1.76, 2.78, 3.10, 3.12, 2.61, 1.24, 0.85 m
Determine the underwater volume if the sections are 3 m apart.
Underwater volume =
= 2.61 + 28.56 + 11.42 = 42.59
2. To estimate the amount of earth to be removed when constructing a cutting the cross-sectional
area at intervals of 8 m were estimated as follows:
0, 2.8, 3.7, 4.5, 4.1, 2.6, 0 m
Estimate the volume of earth to be excavated.
Volume of earth to be excavated =
= = 147 (correct to 3 significant figures)
3. The circumference of a 12 m long log of timber of varying circular cross-section is measured at
intervals of 2 m along its length and the results are:
Distance from one end (m) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Circumference (m) 2.80 3.25 3.94 4.32 5.16 5.82 6.36
Estimate the volume of the timber in cubic metres.
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If circumference c = 2r then radius, r =
Cross-sectional area =
Hence, the cross-sectional areas are: , , 1.2353 ,
1.4851 , 2.1188 , 2.6955 , 3.2189
Hence, volume of timber
= 20.42
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EXERCISE 89 Page 220
1. Determine the mean value of the periodic waveforms shown below over a half cycle
(a) Over half a cycle, mean value = =2A
(b) Over half a cycle, mean value = = 50 V
(c) Over half a cycle, mean value = = 2.5 A
2. Find the average value of the periodic waveforms shown below over one complete cycle
(a) (b)
(a) Mean value = = 2.5 mV
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(b) Mean value = =3A
3. An alternating current has the following values at equal intervals of 5 ms:
Time (ms) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Current (A) 0 0.9 2.6 4.9 5.8 3.5 0
Plot a graph of current against time and estimate the area under the curve over the 30 ms period
using the mid-ordinate rule and determine its mean value.
A graph of current against time is shown plotted below
Mid-ordinates are shown by the broken lines in the above diagram. The mid-ordinate values are:
0.4, 1.6, 3.8, 5.7, 4.9 and 2.2
area
= = As = 0.093 As
Mean value = = 3.1 A
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4. Determine, using an approximate method, the average value of a sine wave of maximum value
50 V for (a) a half cycle, and (b) a complete cycle.
Let y = 50 sin θ
(a) Taking 30º intervals:
θ 0 π/6 (30º) π/3 (60º) π/2 (90º) 2π/3 (120º) 5π/6 (150º) π (180º)
y = 50 sin θ 0 25 43.3 50 43.3 25 0
Using Simpson’s rule with 6 intervals each of width π/6 gives:
area
= = 100 square units
Hence, average value 31.83 V
(b) The average value of a sine wave over a complete cycle is zero (area above horizontal axis is
equal to the area below)
5. An indicator diagram of a steam engine is 12 cm long. Seven evenly spaced ordinates, including
the end ordinates, are measured as follows:
5.90, 5.52, 4.22, 3.63, 3.32, 3.24, 3.16 cm
Determine the area of the diagram and the mean pressure in the cylinder if 1 cm represents 90 kPa.
Area
= = 49.13
Mean value = = 368.5 kPa
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EXERCISE 90 Page 221
1. (c) 2. (d) 3. (b) 4. (c) 5. (a)
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