Change of Variables - Finding New Limits

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a double integral involving a change of variables in the context of integration over a specified region bounded by linear equations. The original poster seeks assistance in determining new limits of integration after performing a variable transformation.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to find new limits of integration after defining new variables u and v. They express confusion about the process of determining these limits and the choice of variables. Other participants suggest solving for x and y in terms of u and v and substituting these into the boundary equations.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively exploring the relationships between the original and transformed variables. Some have made progress in expressing x and y in terms of u and v, while others are questioning the correctness of their transformations and the resulting limits. There is a recognition of straightforward methods to derive the new limits, but no consensus has been reached on the best approach.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the complexity of the problem and the potential for confusion when determining the new limits. There is an acknowledgment of the need to visualize the boundaries and how they relate to the new variable definitions.

erok81
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Homework Statement



Integrate the following over the set E.

\int_E \frac{2x+y}{x+3y} dA

Bounded by the lines:
y = −x/3+1
y = −x/3+2/3
y = −2x
y = −2x + 1

Homework Equations



None.

The Attempt at a Solution



I can up to the same point everytime, but always get stuck on finding the new limits. Here is where I get to.

Let u=2x+y and v=x+3y

I take the Jacobian to find the distortion factor (or whatever you want to call it) and invert it. Please excuse my poor attempt at a matrix.

\left| 2 \ 1 \right| \\<br /> \left|1 \ 3 \right|

This is 5, which inverted it 1/5. This gives me the following:

\frac{1}{5} \int_E \frac{u}{v} du \ dv

Now the part I don't get. My new limits for integration. On the solution page for this problem, there is another Jacobian presented that doens't seem to match anything, except slightly matching the new limits.

So back to the question at hand - how does one figure out those new limits?

And as a secondary question - how do you choose u and v? In this case it is easy. But in other cases can you just choose whatever you want (within reason of course) and run it through the same steps to get your new limits?

I've seen some examples where an easy shape is drawn onto x-y co-ords and then mapped onto the u v plane.

For example take a unit square located at the origin. (0,0), (0,1), (1,0), (1,1). Is a correct method then to put those values into u and v and get new points?
 
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Solve for ##x## and ##y## in terms of ##u## and ##v## and then plug them into the expressions for the boundaries.
 
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Okay, this should be right.

I have x=(3u-v)/5 and y=(2v-u)/5

But I think I am doing something wrong as this is just getting messier and messier the further I go.

Using the first boundary y=-(x/3)+1 and my two equations there I end up with v=(5-2u)/3.

Which I am pretty sure is wrong because in the answer the limits are single digit numbers...
 
Last edited:
erok81 said:
Okay, this should be right.

I have x=(3u-v)/5 and y=(2v-u)/5

But I think I am doing something wrong as this is just getting messier and messier the further I go.

You have u = 2x + y and v = x + 3y.

The given boundaries are these:
y = −x/3+1
y = −x/3+2/3
y = −2x
y = −2x + 1

There are straightforward arithmetic operations which will turn the first two into "v = x + 3y = ..." and the second two into "u = 2x + y = ...".
 
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Ooooh yes. I see now. That is very straightforward. :)

Now I have:
2 ≤ v ≤ 3
0 ≤ u ≤ 1

I am guessing you choose which for v and which for u based on plotting the graph and seeing which corresponds to which axis? I tried swapping them and it wasn't working so well (I got results with x instead of values).

Now for some practice problems.
 

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