Line Integrals of piecewise curves to find mass of wire

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the mass of a wire along a piecewise linear curve defined by the points (4,3), (6,15), and (12,15) using line integrals. The density function is given by ρ(x,y) = 3xy + 2y. The solution involves breaking the curve into two segments, C1 from (4,3) to (6,15) and C2 from (6,15) to (12,15), and computing separate integrals for each segment. The user proposes a parameterization method for both segments and expresses concerns about the complexity of the calculations, particularly in substituting variables and evaluating the integrals.

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  • Knowledge of density functions and their applications in physics
  • Proficiency in evaluating integrals, especially with square root terms
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Homework Statement


A wire lies along the piecewise linear curve extending from the point (4,3) to the point (6,15) to the point (12,15). If the density of the wire is given by (xy)=3xy+2y, use a line integral to find the mass of the wire.

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


So I have to find two C (C1 and C2) where C1=(4,3) to (6,15) and C2=(6,15) to (12,15) and do two integrals and add the two up. I Assume I have to parametrize using (1-t)R0+tR1 for each C1 and C2.
But then I have to substitute for t in all the x and ys and that gets really ugly especially the ds part which is sqrt((3y+2y)^2+(3x+2)^2) and I have to substitute my t components and then I have to do it for C2. This problem seems way too difficult and easy to make errors. Is there an easier way?
 
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I assume you're integrating 3xy+2y along those two paths. For the first path, a parameterization is y(t)=6t-21 and x(t)=t so that would be:

\int_4^6 \big(3t(6t-21)+2(6t-21)\big)\sqrt{1+36}dt

and the second one would be equally easy to set up and evaluate
 
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