MA 126 Quiz 1 Solutions

1/20/2014

1. Find an upper sum estimate of the area under the curve f (x) =
equal length.

1
x

on [1, 5] using four rectangles of

(1,1)
(2, 1/2)

(3,1/3)
3

(4,1/4)
4

Since f (x) = x1 is decreasing when x > 0, we get an upper sum estimate by choosing the height of
each rectangle to be the left endpoint on each subinterval.
X =

51
ba
=
= 1unit
n
4

Area 4k=1 X f (k) = X f (1) + X f (2) + X f (3) + X f (4) =

1
1

1
2

1
3

1
4

25
12