How can I use Reimann integral to find the area of a circle?

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    Integral
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around using the Riemann integral to calculate the area of a circle, particularly focusing on a unit circle centered at the origin and a point outside the circle. Participants explore various mathematical approaches and formulas, including the use of angles and chords, while grappling with integration challenges.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant proposes a formula for the length of a chord in a circle based on the angle θ and distance d from the center.
  • Another participant suggests that integrating from θ = 0 to π should yield the area of the circle, but questions arise about the correctness of the approach.
  • A participant presents a detailed integral expression for the area, but expresses uncertainty about the validity of the limits and the integrand's form.
  • Concerns are raised about the implications of the distance d being greater than the radius r, questioning the existence of certain angles and the applicability of the formulas used.
  • Participants discuss the potential for the square root in the integrand to complicate the integration process, with one participant wondering if it can be simplified when squared.
  • Another participant shares a graphical representation to illustrate the relationship between the circle and the line, attempting to clarify the integration approach through visual means.
  • There is a realization that the initial assumptions regarding the position of point d relative to the circle may affect the correctness of the formulas used.
  • One participant mentions using a program to integrate and obtain an area value, prompting questions about the feasibility of the integration method employed.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express uncertainty and disagreement regarding the validity of the integration approach and the formulas used. Multiple competing views on how to correctly apply the Riemann integral to find the area of the circle remain unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the dependence on the specific definitions of the variables involved, the unresolved nature of the mathematical steps, and the implications of the distance d being greater than the radius r, which complicates the integration process.

Zula110100100
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Say we have a circle of unit radius centered on the origin, and another point on the x-axis d units away, were we to draw a line at angle θ relative to the x axis, cutting across the circle at either 2, 1 or 0 points, the length of the chord made(or not made) is

L(\theta) = 2r\sqrt{1-\frac{d^2\sin^2(\theta)}{r^2}}

My calculus isn't up to par to figure out how to then determine the area of the circle using that equation...I would have thought maybe using the area of sector .5r^2dθ with r = L(θ) but I keep getting the wrong answers, is it not possible to integrate over theta here and get the area of the circle? Is the above function incorrect?
 
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Hi Zula110100100! :wink:
Zula110100100 said:
to then determine the area of the circle using that equation...… I would have thought maybe using the area of sector .5r2dθ with r = L(θ) but I keep getting the wrong answers

Your formulas look ok, and integrating from θ = 0 to π should work …

show us what you did :smile:
 
I put it all together to get:

A = \int_{-\arcsin(\frac{r}{d})}^{\arcsin(\frac{r}{d})}{\frac{1}{2}(4r^2-4d^2\sin^2(\theta))}d\theta = 2r^2\theta + d^2\sin(2\theta)-2d^2\theta |_{-\arcsin(\frac{r}{d})}^{\arcsin(\frac{r}{d})}

A = 2\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}) + (1.5)^{2}\sin(2\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}))-2(1.5)^{2}\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}) - (-2\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}) - (1.5)^{2}\sin(2\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}))+2(1.5)^{2}\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5})) = 4\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}) +2(1.5)^{2}\sin(2\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}))-4(1.5)^{2}\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}) \approx -.65

The domain of L(θ)
1-d^2sin^2(θ)/r^2≥0
d^2sin^2(θ)/r^2≤1
sin^2(θ) ≤ r^2/d^2
sin(θ) ≤ r/d
θ <= arcsin(r/d)
 
Hi Zula110100100! :smile:

(just got up :zzz:)
Zula110100100 said:
The domain of L(θ)
1-d^2sin^2(θ)/r^2≥0
d^2sin^2(θ)/r^2≤1
sin^2(θ) ≤ r^2/d^2
sin(θ) ≤ r/d
θ <= arcsin(r/d)

but r > d, so r/d > 1, so arcsin doesn't exist!

the limits are 0 to π …

the pivot point (at d) is fixed, and the line rotates from horizontal to horizontal :smile:
I put it all together to get:

A = \int_{-\arcsin(\frac{r}{d})}^{\arcsin(\frac{r}{d})}{\frac{1}{2}(4r^2-4d^2\sin^2(\theta))}d\theta = 2r^2\theta + d^2\sin(2\theta)-2d^2\theta |_{-\arcsin(\frac{r}{d})}^{\arcsin(\frac{r}{d})}

A = 2\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}) + (1.5)^{2}\sin(2\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}))-2(1.5)^{2}\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}) - (-2\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}) - (1.5)^{2}\sin(2\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}))+2(1.5)^{2}\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5})) = 4\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}) +2(1.5)^{2}\sin(2\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}))-4(1.5)^{2}\sin^{-1}(\frac{1}{1.5}) \approx -.65

no, the integrand has a square-root :redface:

however, although i said that you could solve it that way, on second thoughts, i don't think that √(r2 - d2sin2θ) has a straightforward integral :frown:

is this a question from a book, or one you've made up out of interest?​
 
out of interests...d>r, (d,0) is a point outside the circle. So arcsin(r/d) should I think somehow be the angle, relative to the x-axis, that a tangent line to the circle passes through (d,0)

Does the root not go away from the fact that I am using L(θ) as r in .5r^2θ so .5(L(θ))^2θ and the root gets squared to find the area of each sector
 
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So here is a graph on a unit circle centered at origin, y=sqrt(1-x^2) and a line that passes through (d,0), d=1.5, the slope of that line is -tan(arcsin(r/d))=-tan(arcsin(1/1.5)), as you can see it is the correct slope, so greater than that there are no points of intersection, and less than that and greater than it's negative(consider +/- sqrt circle) there are two points of intersection, L(θ) from above should give the distance between those two points of intersection, and thus a chord from the circle. I am attemepting to integrate by adding areas of sectors that are between two such chords, though that area is not truly a sector, or even too very close to one...but, I was under the impression that as dθ approached 0 it would be close enough...more importantly though, why does the sqrt not go away when being squared?

grph1.jpg


I am not sure how to shade the sector with the prgrm I am using, but it would be between the two lines.
grph12-1.jpg
 
Last edited:
Just realized I didn't mention d>r in the first post and I really should have, does the formula still look correct for that case?
 
Using the program to get the graphs there i put in the formula for L(θ) and it has an option to integrate for area and it gave me 2.23...so my question is why can't I integrate for area this way? the distance from the point to the region being measured makes it impossible to use theta to integrate?
 
Zula110100100 said:
out of interests...d>r, (d,0) is a point outside the circle.

ah! :smile:
Does the root not go away from the fact that I am using L(θ) as r in .5r^2θ so .5(L(θ))^2θ and the root gets squared to find the area of each sector

ooh yes, you're right, it is squared :redface:

but, for each value of θ, you need to find the area of the dθ sector centred at the "d" point to the furthest intersection, minus the sector to the nearest intersection …

your single sector based on the distance between those two points, is much smaller :wink:
 

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