Area between curves, with an absolute value function

tangibleLime
Messages
71
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



Then find the area S of the region. (between the curves)

symimage.cgi?expr=y%3Dabs%289%20x%29%20%2C%20y%3Dx%2A%2A2-10%20.gif

Homework Equations


A = \int_a^b f(x)-g(x) dx

The Attempt at a Solution



First I plotted both equations, determined the top and the bottom functions and found where they intersected (calculator).

Then I set up the problem according the the area formula above...
A = \int_{-10}^{10} ((|9x|)-(x^2-10))dx

Then I found the antiderivatives for each function...
(\frac{9x}{\sqrt{x^2}})-(\frac{x^3}{3}-10x)

Then I subtracted the two bounds...
((\frac{9(10)}{\sqrt{(10)^2}})-(\frac{(10)^3}{3}-10(10))) - ((\frac{9(-10)}{\sqrt{(-10)^2}})-(\frac{(-10)^3}{3}-10(-10)))

This gave me the final answer of \frac{-1346}{3}, which was wrong. I assume my problem is the absolute value sign... because this method works fine with other problems of the same nature that don't have an absolute value as one of the functions.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org
|x| is x when x > 0 and -x when x < 0.

Split up the case when x > 0 and x < 0 and add up the areas for both cases.
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
Back
Top