Setting Up Integrals: Step-by-Step Examples

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The discussion focuses on the need for resources that provide step-by-step examples for setting up area and volume integrals, particularly in the context of gravitational fields and forces. The original poster expresses confusion about transitioning from basic calculus to more complex applications in physics, highlighting a gap in their current textbook. Several websites are suggested, but they primarily cover techniques for solving integrals rather than setting them up for specific problems. Ultimately, the poster resolves their confusion about a specific integral setup but still seeks additional practice and examples to solidify their understanding. Recommendations for mechanics texts or resources with detailed examples are appreciated.
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Can anyone reccomend a website, or text, where there are step by step examples of setting up area and volume integrals where your looking for forces. I need to be able to do set ups for situations similar to the following :find the gravitational field vector on surface point of a cylinder or find or gravational force on a point mass from a disk.

Really get confused with this-- especially when it comes to putting the pieces in terms of each other?
Seems my calc. book just has me evalulate integrals and there's a big leap from my freshman/softmore physics text, where I hardly did any calc., to my junior level text.


Thanks.
 
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Peliminary inspection of these sites shows a lot about techniques for solving integrals but not a lot on setting one up for the situations I tried to describe. Maybe what I'm looking for is a good mechanics text. The one I have has examples in it that I can't follow, not because my integration is rusty, but because my text starts with a simple enough relation and the next line is the result of a triple integration.

Example of Hw problem:

Calculate the gravitational field vector due to a homogeneous cylinder at exterior points on the axis of the cylinder.
Only because the problem states that the result is to be found by computing the force directly; start with g = F/m

g = -GMrhat/ r^2


I can get that symmetry gives us that there is only force in z direction, and choosing a reference point on the z axis and pick an arbitrary point on the surface of mass dm- where dm = rhodV . The point dm connects to the (0, 0, z) reference point with a radial line and makes an angle with the z axis that we can put into the integral as the magnitude of dgz, so what goes into the integral is cos(angle)--where cos(angle) =(zo-z)^2/((sqrt r^2 + (zo -z)^2)).

Now, there's rhodV = dm = rhodr rdangle dz

Somehow, I have in my notes the final integral, skipping the 3 limits of integration resloves itself into, bringing rho outside, rho///drdangledz(zo -z)/(((zo -z)^2 + r^2))^3/2)). Even if there's an error in my notes, I'm stuck on the set up.

I can't figure out why the top term is no longer squared. Looking back at the origional formula; gz = -Grho(integral)cosangle/r^2.
I've drawn a triangle on my picture connecting the z axis across to the surface point, to the radial line, and back to the point zo. Now, I'm confused-- I've labled the radius of the cylinder R and the radial vector from reference point to zo is labled little r. To evaluate the integrand I need to get r in terms of R ? Just stuck!

See, what I need are some examples with some intermediate steps in setting up these types of problems.

Thanks
 
Solved it

ok it was simple and I apologize to anyone who tried to read my post. The (zo -z)^2 term never belonged there- Just lack of sleep r in terms of R easy.
No biggie-- hard part, I know is evaluating the result of the set up but looks like integration by parts--
Still, need practice, and worked out examples would be of a lot of help.

Reccomendations, advice, appreciated. :biggrin:
 
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