Finding the Wrong Answer with Stokes' Theorem

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the application of Stokes' theorem in a vector calculus context, specifically focusing on the computation of a surface integral involving the curl of a vector field. The original poster attempts to compute this integral after parametrizing a triangular surface.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster describes their approach to parametrizing the surface and computing the curl of the vector field. They express confusion regarding an incorrect result from their calculations. Participants question the correctness of the curl computation, particularly the z-component.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided feedback on the original poster's curl calculation, suggesting that there may be an error in the z-component. The original poster acknowledges this feedback and indicates that they have identified the mistake.

Contextual Notes

There is a mention of using cyclic permutations of the components of the vector field to simplify the computation of the curl, which may influence the approach taken in the discussion.

greg_rack
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Homework Statement
##\vec F=<x+y^2, y+z^2,z+x^2>##, C is the triangle with vertices (1,0,0), (0,1,0), (0,0,1). Compute ##\int_{C}^{}\vec F\cdot d \vec r##
Relevant Equations
Stoke's theorem
Computable form of a surface integral
From Stokes' theorem: ##\int_{C}^{}\vec F\cdot d\vec r=\iint_{S}^{}curl\vec F\cdot d\vec S=\iint_{D}^{}curl\vec F\cdot(\vec r_u \times \vec r_v)dA ##
To get to the latter surface integral, I started by parametrizing the triangular surface in ##uv## coordinates as:
$$\vec r=<1-u-v,u,v>, 0\leq u\leq 1, 0\leq v\leq 1-u$$
I then computed the curl of the vector field, the partial derivatives in ##u## and ##v## of the above parametrization and their cross product:
$$curl\vec F=<-2z, -2x, 2(x-y)>, \vec r_u \times \vec r_v=<1,1,1>$$
Now we can dot the curl with the cross product of the partial derivatives and get to a computable form of the surface integral
$$curl\vec F(\vec r(u,v))\cdot (\vec r_u \times \vec r_v)=-2(u+v)\rightarrow -2\int_{0}^{1}\int_{0}^{1-u}(u+v)dv du$$
which leads to a wrong answer. What am I missing?
 
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Check your curl. The ##z##-component looks funny. :smile:
 
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Yes I agree with ergospherical, checked the curl with wolfram and the z component is wrong.
 
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Thank you guys, I had indeed got the k hat component of the del cross F wrong!
It's cool now
 
Fun fact: The components of the field are just cyclic permutations ##x\to y \to z \to x## so the curl must have the same property. Therefore it is sufficient to compute one of the curl components and get the rest by cyclic permutation.
 
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