Where Did I Go Wrong in Finding the Volume in the First Octant?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Punkyc7
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Volume
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
4 replies · 3K views
Punkyc7
Messages
415
Reaction score
0
Find the volume in the first octant bounded by the planes x+z=1 and y+2z=2. My question is where am I going wrong because when I use geometry I get the right answer but when I use calculus I do not.

So I solve for z and get
z=1-x
z=1-y/2

solve for y I get
y=2x

I set my first Double integral as
[tex]\int[/tex] from 0to2 [tex]\int[/tex] from 0toy/2 of 1-x dxdy

For my second integral I set up
[tex]\int[/tex] from 0to1 [tex]\int[/tex] 0to2x of1-y/2 dydx

solve those and I get 4/3 but the answer should be 2/3 because the volume is a Pyramid V=1/3 base area *height
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I did draw a picture, that's how I knew it was a pyramid, so its the inner limits
 
You basically have
a function
[tex]z=g(x)[/tex]
and another
[tex]y=f(z)[/tex]

the integral you search is:

[tex]\int_{0}^{x_0}\int_{0}^{g(x)}f(z)\ dz \ dx[/tex]

where [tex]x_0[/tex] is the endpoint on the x axis.

If you solve it, you actually get 2/3.

I read you draw the solid, but you really carefully need to visualize, what you are integrating, in which variable, in which direction.
The inner integral sums towards z lines parallel to y.
The outer integral sums toward x areas parallel to the yz plane.
Writing all in neat Latex code really helps finding mistakes.
Hope it helps.