Surface Area of Cylinder inside of sphere

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on calculating the surface area of a cylinder defined by the equation x² + y² = 2ay, which lies within a sphere described by x² + y² + z² = 4a². The user correctly parametrized the cylinder and computed the differential surface area dS, arriving at an integral that evaluates to zero due to the inclusion of negative values. The textbook method suggests integrating from 0 to π/2 to account for symmetry, which yields a non-zero area. The key takeaway is that when calculating areas, one must ensure that negative contributions do not cancel out positive contributions.

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Homework Statement



Find the area of that part of the cylinder x^2 + y^2 = 2ay that lies inside the sphere x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = 4a^2.

Homework Equations


[/B]
If a surface S can be parametrized in terms of two variables u and v, then dS = Norm[dR(u,v)/du x dR(u,v)/dv].

The surface area is given by ∫∫dS where the integral is evaluated over the given region (here it would be over the region of the cylinder that lies within the sphere).

The Attempt at a Solution



I completed the square of the cylinder to get x^2 + (y-a)^2 = a^2

I parametrized the cylinder as follows (where t stands for theta):

R(t,z) = (rcos(t),rsin(t),z)
r = 2asin(t)

So R(t,z) = (2asintcost,2asintsint,z)

I computed dS = Norm[dR(t,z)/dt x dR(t,z)/dz] and got 2adtdz, which I know is correct (same answer as textbook).

For the given cylinder, t goes from 0 to Pi. By equating x^2 + y^2 in the equations given (i.e. sphere and cylinder), we get:

2ay = 4a^2 - z^2
z^2 = 4a^2 - 2ay
z^2 = 4a^2 - 2a(2a(sint)^2)
z^2 = 4a^2(1-(sint))^2
z^2 = 4a^2((cost)^2)
z = 2acost

So z goes from -2acost to 2acost.

So the Area = ∫∫1dS
= ∫∫2adzdt, where t goes from 0 to Pi and z from -2acost to 2acost.

We get:

A = ∫2a(2acost + 2acost)dt
A = ∫2a(4acost)dt
A = ∫8a^2costdt
A = 8a^2∫cost

But the integral of cost from 0 to pi = 0.

So A = 0.

The textbook uses symmetry and integrates from 0 to pi/2 (i.e. finds the area of half of the cylinder under the sphere), and then multiplies by 2. Which makes sense. But why doesn't this method work? Furthermore, ∫cost from 0 to pi is NOT EQUAL to 2∫cost from 0 to pi/2, so the two methods are not compatible. So what did I do wrong?

Thanks!
 
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Your integral equals zero because you are taking negative values into account. For the volume, your should have positive values. The volumes on either side of the axis should not cancel each other out, they should add together. That is why doubling half is better.
 

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