Trapezoidal Rule
Main Concept
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Integral
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The integral of a function between the points and is denoted by
and can be roughly described as the area below the graph of and above the -axis, minus any area above the graph and below the -axis, and all taken between the points and .
The integral is important because it is an antiderivative for the original function, that is, if
then
.
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Riemann sum
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A Riemann sum is an approximation to the integral, that is, an approximation using rectangles to the area mentioned above. The line segment from to is split into subsegments of equal width which form the bases of these rectangles, and the corresponding heights are determined by the value of at some point between the endpoints of the subsegment. The division of the segment into subsegments is called a partition.
The Riemann Sum is given by the general formula:
There are five main types of Riemann Sums, depending on which point is chosen to determine the height:
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Right Sum: the right endpoint of the subsegment
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Left Sum: the left endpoint of the subsegment
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Middle Sum: the point half way between the left and right endpoints
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Lower Sum: any point such that is minimal
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Upper Sum: any point such that is maximal
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Trapezoidal Rule
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Instead of using rectangles to approximate the area under the curve, trapezoids give a better approximation to the area.
The area of a trapezoid with base and heights and is given by:
To approximate the area under the curve, add up the area of all the trapezoids.
which can be simplified to become the trapezoidal rule:
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Adjust the number of trapezoids use to approximate the area under the curve.
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domain =
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range =
n =
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Example =
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