Estimate the arclength of a curve with Riemann sums and find an integral which computes the arclength.
Subsection6.2.1Activities
Activity6.2.1.
Suppose we wanted to find the arclength of the parabola \(y=-x^2+6x\) over the interval \([0,4]\text{.}\)
Plot of \(y=-x^2+6x\) over \([0,4]\text{.}\)
Figure120.Plot of \(y=-x^2+6x\) over \([0,4]\text{.}\)
(a)
Suppose we wished to estimate this length with two line segments where \(\Delta x=2\text{.}\)
Plot of \(y=-x^2+6x\) over \([0,4]\text{.}\)
Figure121.Plot of \(y=-x^2+6x\) over \([0,4]\) with two line segments where \(\Delta x=2\text{.}\)
Which of the following expressions represents the sum of the lengths of the line segments with endpoints \((0,0)\text{,}\)\((2,8)\) and \((4,8)\text{?}\)
Suppose we wished to estimate this length with four line segments where \(\Delta x=1\text{.}\)
Plot of \(y=-x^2+6x\) over \([0,4]\text{.}\)
Figure122.Plot of \(y=-x^2+6x\) over \([0,4]\) with four line segments where \(\Delta x=1\text{.}\)
Which of the following expressions represents the sum of the lengths of the line segments with endpoints \((0,0)\text{,}\)\((1,5)\text{,}\)\((2,8)\text{,}\)\((3,9)\) and \((4,8)\text{?}\)
Which of the following Riemann sums best estimates the arclength of the parabola \(y=-x^2+6x\) over the interval \([0,4]\text{?}\) Let \(f(x)=-x^2+6x\text{.}\)