Trapezoidal Rule Homework: Equations and Solutions

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Homework Statement


2427rbk.png

Part b.


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


Well I thought the trapezoidal rule was:
\int_a^b f(x)dx = \frac{b-a}{2n}[f(1)+2f(2)+2f(3)+...+f(n)]

But when I did that I got the wrong answer and the work shows a completely different formula that I didn't know:
2dw9ekw.png


The part I'm confused about is the (2((66+60)/2)+...)
 
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(66+60)/2 is the avg height and 2 is thw dith of the segment so then 2*(66+60)/2 = area of that segment. add them up to get the approx area under the curve.
 
Why is there an 2, then 3, then 4, then1 infront of each of the areas of the segments :|
 
iRaid said:
Why is there an 2, then 3, then 4, then1 infront of each of the areas of the segments :|
The first subinterval is of width 2 (sec); the 2nd's width is 3 sec; the 3rd's width is 4 sec; the last subinterval's width is 1.
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
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