Find Length of Parametrized Curve: x(t), y(t)

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To find the length of the parametrized curve defined by x(t) = 12t^2 - 24t and y(t) = -4t^3 + 12t^2, the correct formula for arc length is L = ∫ from 0 to 1 of √((x'(t))^2 + (y'(t))^2) dt. The derivatives are x' = 24t - 24 and y' = -12t^2 + 24t, leading to the integral ∫ from 0 to 1 of √((24t - 24)^2 + (-12t^2 + 24t)^2) dt. A common mistake was reported where the integration yielded an incorrect result of 6.49, while the correct length is actually 16. The integration process involves simplifying the expression under the square root and applying appropriate substitutions to evaluate the integral accurately.
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Find the length of parametrized curve given by
x(t) = 0t^3 +12t^2 - 24t,
y(t) = -4t^3 +12t^2+0t,
where t goes from zero to one.
Hint: The speed is a quadratic polynomial with integer coefficients.

it's an arclength question right?

x' = 24*t-24
y' = -12*t^2+24*t

\int_{0}^{1} \sqrt{(24*t-24)^2 + (-12*t^2+24*t)^2}

i get 6.49 when i use a math program to integrate it which is incorrect. anyone know where i went wrong?
 
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ILoveBaseball said:
Find the length of parametrized curve given by
x(t) = 0t^3 +12t^2 - 24t,
y(t) = -4t^3 +12t^2+0t,
where t goes from zero to one.
Hint: The speed is a quadratic polynomial with integer coefficients.

it's an arclength question right?

x' = 24*t-24
y' = -12*t^2+24*t

\int_{0}^{1} \sqrt{(24*t-24)^2 + (-12*t^2+24*t)^2}

i get 6.49 when i use a math program to integrate it which is incorrect. anyone know where i went wrong?

Note that:

1: \ \ \ \ \int_{0}^{1} \sqrt{(24*t-24)^2 + (-12*t^2+24*t)^2} \, dt \ = \ \int_{0}^{1} \sqrt{ \left ( 12t^{2} \ - \ 24t \ + \ 24 \right )^{2} } \, dt \ =

2: \ \ \ \ = \ \int_{0}^{1} \left | \left ( 12t^{2} \ - \ 24t \ + \ 24 \right ) \right | \, dt \ \color{red} = \ \mathbf{\left (16 \right )}


~~
 
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To find the length of a parametrized curve, we use the formula:

L = \int_{a}^{b} \sqrt{(x'(t))^2 + (y'(t))^2} dt

In this case, a = 0 and b = 1, so we have:

L = \int_{0}^{1} \sqrt{(24*t-24)^2 + (-12*t^2+24*t)^2} dt

To integrate this, we can use the substitution u = t^2, which gives us:

du = 2t dt

And our integral becomes:

L = \int_{0}^{1} \sqrt{(24*u-24)^2 + (-12*u+24*u)^2} \frac{1}{2\sqrt{u}} du

Simplifying, we get:

L = \int_{0}^{1} \frac{1}{2} \sqrt{(24*u-24)^2 + (12*u)^2} du

Now, we can use the trigonometric identity:

\sin^2 \theta + \cos^2 \theta = 1

To rewrite our integral as:

L = \int_{0}^{1} \frac{1}{2} \sqrt{24^2(u-1)^2 + 12^2(u)^2} du

= \int_{0}^{1} \frac{1}{2} \sqrt{12^2(u^2 + (u-1)^2)} du

= \int_{0}^{1} \frac{1}{2} \sqrt{12^2(2u^2 - 2u + 1)} du

= \frac{1}{2} \int_{0}^{1} 12\sqrt{2u^2 - 2u + 1} du

We can now use the substitution v = 2u^2 - 2u + 1, which gives us:

dv = (4u-2) du

And our integral becomes:

L = \frac{1}{2} \int_{0}^{1} 12\sqrt{v} \frac{dv}{4u-2}

= \frac{3}{4} \int_{0}^{1} \sqrt{v} dv

= \frac{3}{4} \left[ \
 
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