Lung Surface Areas and Volumes

1
Areas, volumes and simple sums
Other courses
Our lungs pack an amazingly large surface area into a confined volume. The anatomy of the respiratory system
Most of the oxygen exchange takes place in tiny sacs (called alveoli) at the is studied in BPK 105: Fundamentals of
Human Structure and Function.
terminal branches of the airways passages. The bronchial tubes conduct air,
and distribute it to the many smaller and smaller tubes that eventually lead
to those alveoli. These many small structures present a very large surface
area, so that oxygen can diffuse into the bloodstream very efficiently. The
lungs - and many other biological “distribution systems” - are composed of a
branched structure. The initial segment is quite large. It divides (“bifurcates”)
into smaller segments, which then divide further, and so on, as depicted in
Figure 1.1.
The techniques developed in this chapter allow us to build and solve
mathematical models to determine the number of branches, their collective
volume, length, etc. of such distribution systems; we thus return to this
example in Section 1.6.
In this introductory chapter we first concentrate on a number of basic
formulae for areas and volumes that are used in the development of integral Figure 1.1: Structure of lungs.
calculus. Among these are areas of simple geometric shapes, and those
composed of multiple common shapes. To this end, we introduce notation
and formulae for sums of common sequences. We show that we can use
the sum of areas of elementary shapes to approximate the areas of more
complicated objects, and that the approximation can be made more accurate
by a process of refinement. We demonstrate, using examples, how such ideas
can be used in calculating the volumes or areas of more complex objects - in
particular, concluding with a detailed exploration of the structure of branched
airways in the lung.
8 I N T E G R A L C A L C U L U S W I T H A P P L I C AT I O N S F O R L I F E S C I E N C E S
1.1 Areas of simple shapes
Section 1.1 Learning goals
1. State the formulae for the areas and perimeters of basic shapes, including
triangles, squares, regular n-gons, parallelograms and circles.
2. Compute the areas of regions composed of multiple elementary geometric

shapes.
3. Explain Archimedes method for computing the exact value of π.
One of the main goals in this course is to calculate areas enclosed by

curves in the plane and volumes of three dimensional shapes. The tools of
calculus provide important and powerful techniques for meeting this goal.
That said, some shapes are simple enough that no elaborate techniques are
needed to compute their areas (or volumes). We briefly survey some of these
simple geometric shapes and list what we know or can easily determine about
their area or volume.
The areas of simple geometrical objects, such as rectangles, parallelo-
grams, triangles, and circles are given by elementary formulae. Our ability to
compute areas and volumes of more elaborate geometrical objects rests on
some of these simple formulae, summarized below.
Rectangular areas. Most of the integration techniques discussed in this Mastered Material Check
Practice unit conversion:
course are based on carving up irregular shapes into rectangular strips. Thus,
1. What is the area of a rectangle of
areas of rectangles play an important role. height 1 cm and base 2 m?
• The area of a rectangle with base b and height h is 2. A parallelogram with area 1 m2 has
height 20 mm. What is the base
A = b · h. length of this parallelogram?
• Any parallelogram with height h and base b also has area, A = b · h.
See Figure 1.2(a) and (b).
(a) (b) Figure 1.2: Rectangular regions have areas

given by the elementary formula, A = b · h.
h h
b b
Areas of triangular shapes. A few illustrative examples in this chapter are

based on dissecting shapes (such as regular polygons) into triangles. The
A R E A S , VO L U M E S A N D S I M P L E S U M S 9
areas of triangles are straightforward to compute; we summarize this review

material below.
Note: triangles play a less important role in subsequent integration methods.
• The area of a triangle can be obtained by slicing a rectangle or parallelo-

gram in half, as shown in Figure 1.3(a) and (b). Thus, any triangle with
base b and height h has area
1
A = bh.
2
Mastered Material Check
• In some cases, the height of a triangle is not given, but can be determined 3. Practice unit conversion: given a
from other information provided. For example, if the triangle has sides of triangle’s height 2 and base
width 1 , what is the triangle’s area?
length b and r with enclosed angle θ , as shown on Figure 1.3(c) then its
height is simply h = r sin(θ ), and its area is

1
A= br sin(θ ).
2
• If the triangle is isosceles, with two sides of equal length, r, and base
of length b, as in Figure 1.3(d) then its height can be obtained from
Pythagoras’ theorem, i.e. h2 = r2 − (b/2)2 so that the area of the triangle is
2
1 b
A= b r2 − .
2 2
(a) (b) Figure 1.3: Triangular regions whose areas

are given by elementary formulae.
h h
b b
(c) (d)
r h r h r
θ
b b
Example 1.1 (Area of a polygon.) Using the material reviewed so far, we

can determine the areas of more complex geometric shapes. For example,
let us compute the area of a regular polygon with n equal sides, where the
length of each side is b = 1. This example illustrates how a complex shape (the
polygon) can be dissected into simpler shapes, namely triangles.
Figure 1.4: An equilateral n-sided polygon.
θ
2
θ h
b
b
2
Solution. The polygon has n sides, each of length b = 1. We dissect the

polygon into n isosceles triangles, as shown in Figure 1.2. We do not know
the heights of these triangles, but the angle θ can be found:
2π
θ=
n
since together, n of these identical angles make up a total of 360◦ or 2π
radians.
Let h stand for the height of one of the triangles in the dissected polygon.
Then trigonometric relations (as reviewed in the Appendix for Math 154)
relate the height to the base length as follows:
opp b/2
= = tan (θ /2).
ad j h
Using the fact that θ = 2π/n, and rearranging the above expression, we get
b
h= .
2 tan (π/n)
Thus, the area of each of the n triangles is

1 1 b
AΔ = bh = b .
2 2 2 tan(π/n)
The statement of the problem specifies that b = 1, so Mastered Material Check

4. Use the result of Example 1.1 to
1 1
AΔ = . verify the area of a square with side
2 2 tan(π/n) length b = 1 is Asquare = 1.
5. Use the result of Example 1.1 to
The area of the entire polygon is then n times this, namely determine the area of a hexagon (a 6
n sided polygon).
An−gon = .
4 tan(π/n)

Archimedes’ circle area: dissect and “take a limit”. As we learned in
school the formula for the area of a circle of radius r is A = πr2 . But how
did this convenient formula come about? And how could we relate it to
what we know about simpler shapes whose areas we have discussed so far?
Here we illustrate how this formula for the area of a circle was determined
over two thousand years ago by Archimedes using a clever “dissection” and
approximation strategy. We have seen part of this idea in Example 1.1 when
we dissected a regular polygon into triangles. Here we see a critical second
step that formed the “leap of faith” on which most of calculus is based:
taking a limit as the number of subdivisions increases.
Definition 1.1 (π) In any circle, π is the ratio of the circumference C, to the
diameter d, of the circle; C = πd.
Shown in Figure 1.5 is a sequence of regular polygons inscribed in the 6. For any circle, what is the ratio of
circle. As the number of sides of the polygon increases, its area gradually radius to circumference?
becomes a better and better approximation of the area inside the circle 7. Give the area formula for half of
an n-sided polygon.
(similar observations are central to integral calculus - we encounter this idea
often). We can compute the area of any one of these polygons by dissecting
into triangles. All triangles are isosceles, since two sides are radii of the
circle.
r r
h
Figure 1.5: Archimedes approximated the

area of a circle by dissecting it into triangles.
Let r denote the radius of the circle. Suppose that at one stage we have
an n sided polygon.
Note: if we knew the side length of that polygon, then we already have a
formula for its area. However, this side length is not known to us. Rather, we
know that the polygon should fit exactly inside a circle of radius r.
This polygon is made up of n triangles, each an isosceles triangle with two
equal sides of length r and base of undetermined length that we denote by b.
(See Figure 1.5.) The area of this triangle is
1
AΔ = bh.
2
The area of the whole polygon An is then
1 1
An = n · (area of triangle) = n bh = nbh.
2 2
We have grouped terms so that (nb) can be recognized as the perimeter of the
polygon (i.e. the sum of the n equal sides, each of length b). Now consider
what happens when we increase the number of sides of the polygon, taking
larger and larger n. Then the height of each triangle gets closer to the radius
of the circle, and the perimeter of the polygon gets closer and closer to the
perimeter of the circle, which is (by definition) 2πr. i.e. as n → ∞,
h→r (nb) → 2πr,

so
1 1
A = (nb)h → (2πr )r = πr2 .
2 2
We have used the notation “→” to mean that in the limit, as n gets large, the
quantity of interest “approaches” the value shown. This argument proves that
the area of a circle must be
A = πr2 .
One of the most important ideas contained in this argument is that by ap-
proximating a shape by a larger and larger number of simple pieces (in this
case, a large number of triangles), we get a better and better approximation
of its area. This idea appears again throughout this text, but in most of our
standard calculus computations, we use a collection of rectangles - rather
than triangles - to approximate areas of regions in the plane.
Areas of other shapes. We present the area of a circle and other shapes. Units.
Area can be measured in units of
• The area of a circle of radius r is metres2 (m2 ), centimetres2 (cm2 ),
square inches, etc.
A = πr2 .
• The surface area of a sphere/ball of radius r is
Sball = 4πr2 .
• The surface area of a right circular cylinder of height h and base radius r is
Scyl = 2πrh. 8. Can you draw a right circular
cylinder? What about a circular
cylinder that is not ‘right’?
1.2 Simple volumes
1. State the formulae for the volumes of elementary geometric shapes,

including cubes, rectangular boxes, cylinders and spheres.
2. Explain how the computation for finding the volume of a tower of discs is
set up.
As stated in Section 1.1, one of the main goals of this course is calculat-
ing the volumes of three dimensional shapes. We thus collect some basic
formulae for volumes of elementary geometric shapes, depicted in Figure 1.6.
• The volume of a cube of side length s - as depicted in Figure 1.6(a) - is
V = s3 .
Units.
Volume can be measured in units of
• The volume of a rectangular box of dimensions h, w l - as depicted in
metres3 (m3 ), centimetres3 (cm3 ), cubic
Figure 1.6(b) - is inches, etc.
V = hwl.
• The volume of a cylinder of base area A and height h, as in Figure 1.6(c) is
V = Ah.
Note: this applies for a cylinder with flat base of any shape, circular or not.
• The volume of a cylinder with a circular base of radius r, (e.g. a disc) is
V = h(πr2 ).
• The volume of a sphere of radius r - as depicted in Figure 1.6(d) is
4
V = πr3 .
3
• The volume of a spherical shell of thickness τ is approximately Mastered Material Check
9. Sketch a diagram that depicts a
V ≈ τ · (surface area of sphere) = rπτr2 . spherical shell of thickness τ.
10. Sketch a diagram that depicts a
• The volume of a cylindrical shell of radius r, height h and small thick- cylindrical shell of radius r, height h
ness τ is approximately and thickness τ.
V ≈ τ · (surface area of cylinder) = 2πτrh.
(a) (b) Figure 1.6: Four 3D shapes whose volumes

are given by elementary formulae.
s h
l
w
(c) (d)
h r
r
A
The Tower of Hanoi: a tower of discs. We now illustrate how the elemen-
tary shapes seen in Figure 1.6 can be used to determine the volumes of more
complex objects. The Tower of Hanoi is a shape consisting of a number of
stacked discs as seen in Figure 1.7. It is relatively straightforward to add up
the volumes of these discs, but if the tower is large, and comprised of many
discs, we may prefer a shortcut to avoid long sums.
Example 1.2 (Tower of Hanoi)(a) Compute the volume of a tower made

up of four discs stacked one on top of the other, as shown in Figure 1.7.
Assume that the radii of the discs are 1, 2, 3, and 4 units and that each disc
Figure 1.7: Computing the volume of a set
has height 1.
of discs. This structure is also referred to as
(b) Compute the volume of a tower made up of 100 such stacked discs, with the Tower of Hanoi, after a mathematical
radii r = 1, 2, . . . , 99, 100. puzzle by the same name.
Solution.
(a) The volume of the four-disc tower is calculated as follows:
V = V1 + V2 + V3 + V4 ,
where each Vi is the volume of the ith disc whose radius is r = i, i = 1, 2, 3, 4.

The height of each disc is h = 1, so
V = (π12 ) + (π22 ) + (π32 ) + (π42 ) = π (1 + 4 + 9 + 16) = 30π.
11. If the units for the radii of the discs
in Example 1.2(a) are nm, what is
(b) The idea is the same, but in this case we must calculate the volume of the four-disc tower?
V = π (12 + 22 + 32 + . . . + 992 + 1002 ).

Notice first that it is cumbersome to write down such a long list of terms
to add up - even using ellipsis (“. . .”) notation. This motivates us to introduce
a helpful, compact notation. Further, it is tedious to add up these many
individual terms. Thankfully, patterns often emerge that allow us to quickly
perform such calculations, as we see in Section 1.3.
1.3 Sigma notation
1. Explain the role of each of the symbols used in sigma notation.
2. Convert between sigma notation and standard notation.
3. Compute sums by expanding sigma notation and noticing patterns.
4. Justify Gauss’ formula for the sum of consecutive integers.
5. Manipulate and evaluate sums using the identities for sums of consecutive
integers, squares and cubes.
A sum with a simple internal structure, such as that found in the solution
to Example 1.2(b), should have a simple notation. Mathematicians and
physicists have such a notation which is convenient, logical, and simplifies
many summations - the ‘sigma notation’, sometimes called ‘summation
notation’.
The sum of the elements ak + ak+1 + . . . + an is written in sigma notation
as ∑nj=k a j , i.e.
n
∑ a j := ak + ak+1 + . . . + an .
j =k
The symbol ∑, “Sigma”, is the Greek letter for ‘S’ - we think of ‘S’ as
standing for summation. The expression ∑nj=k a j represents the sum of the
elements ak , ak+1 , . . . , an . The letter j is the index of summation and is a
dummy-variable, i.e. you are free to replace it with whatever letter or symbol
you want (e.g. k, l, m, n, ♥, , . . .). Both
250 250
∑ a♣ and ∑ aΔ
♣=1 Δ =1
stand for the same sum: a1 + a2 + . . . + a250 . The notation j = k that Mastered Material Check
appears underneath ∑ indicates where the sum begins (i.e. which term is 12. Rewrite the sum a1 + a2 + . . . + a250
first), and the superscript n tells us where it ends. We are interested in getting using sigma notation and dummy
variable .
comfortable with this notation, as well as in actually computing the value of
13. Expand and compute the following:
the desired sum using a variety of shortcuts and strategies.
4
Example 1.3 Rewrite the following 15 terms sum in sigma notation: ∑ 2.

Δ =1
12 + 22 + 32 + 42 + 52 + 62 + 72 + 82 + 92 + 102 + 112 + 122 + 132 + 142 + 152
Solution. The convenience and compactness of the sigma notation is clearly

illustrated:
15
∑ j2 .
j =1
Later in this section we determine a closed-formula for this sum - one which
has fewer operations to compute. It is also easier to derive using sigma
notation.
Example 1.4 Use sigma notation to express the sum of the ten numbers,
each equal to 1.
Solution. In sigma notation, we would write this as

10
S = 1 + 1 + 1 + ... + 1 = ∑ 1.
k =1
Notice that the sum of ten ones is just 10, so

10
S= ∑ 1 = 10.
k =1

Example 1.5 Expand the following sum:

4
S= ∑ k2 .
k =1
Solution.
4
S= ∑ k2 = 12 + 22 + 32 + 42 = 1 + 4 + 9 + 16 = 30.
k =1
Note: we saw this sum in Example 1.2(a): the Tower of Hanoi.
Example 1.6 (Common factors) Add up the following list of 100 numbers
(only a few of which are shown): Mastered Material Check
14. Compute the following two sums:
S = 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + . . . + 3.
10 50
∑ 1.17, ∑ 4.
Solution. There are 100 terms, all equal, so we can take out a common factor. a=1 ♣=1
100 100 15. Expand (but do not compute) the

S = 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + ... + 3 = ∑ 3 = 3 ∑ 1 = 3(100) = 300. following sigma notation:
k =1 k =1 5 z
3
∑ .
z=1 n
Example 1.7 (Find the pattern) Write the following summation in sigma
notation:
1 1 1 1
S= + + + .
3 9 27 81
Solution. We recognize that there is a pattern in the sequence of terms,
namely each is 1/3 raised to an increasing integer power, i.e:
2 3 4
1 1 1 1
S= + + + .
3 3 3 3
We can represent this with sigma notation as follows:
4 n
1
S= ∑ .
n=1 3
Note: the index n starts at 1 and counts up through 2, 3 and 4, which each
term has the form of (1/3)n . This is an example of a geometric series, to be
defined and further explored in Section 1.4. Further note that, while not the
case here, we can easily modify our notation to include additional terms, for
example:
5 n 2 3 4 5
1 1 1 1 1 1
∑ 3 = 1+ 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 .
n=0
Example 1.8 (Multiple sigma notation representations) Write the follow-

ing summation in sigma notation in two different (but equivalent) ways:
4+5+6+7+8
Solution.
8 5
4+5+6+7+8 = ∑ j = ∑ (3 + j ).
j =4 j =1
Example 1.9 (No upper bound) Write the following summation, which has
no upper bound in two different (but equivalent) ways:
1−2 + 3−4 + 5−6 + ...

Solution. We use ∞ to indicate that there are infinitely many terms: 16. Rewrite the following summation in
sigma notation:
∞ ∞
1−2 + 3−4 + 5−6 + ... = ∑ (−1) j+1 j = ∑ (−1) j ( j + 1). 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + ...
j =1 j =0
17. Rewrite the following summation
using sigma notation:

2 + 5 + 10 + 17.
Example 1.10 Rewrite the following sums in expanded/sigma notation:
(a) 7 + 9 + 11 + 13 + 15;
n
(b) ∑ a j;
j =n
4
jπ
(c) ∑ sin( 2 ).
j =0
Solution. Through noticing patterns and interpreting notation we get:

4
(a) 7 + 9 + 11 + 13 + 15 = ∑ (7 + 2 j ).
j =0
n
(b) ∑ a j = an .
j =n
4
jπ π 2π 3π 4π
(c) ∑ sin( 2 ) = 0 + sin( 2 ) + sin( 2
) + sin( ) + sin( ) = 0.
2 2
j =0

Manipulations of sums. Since addition is commutative and distributive,
sums of lists of numbers satisfy many convenient properties. We illustrate a
few in the examples below.
Example 1.11 Simplify the following expression:

10 10
∑ 2k − ∑ 2k .
k =1 k =3
Solution. Through expansion we obtain,
10 10
∑ 2k − ∑ 2k = (2 + 22 + 23 + . . . + 210 ) − (23 + . . . 210 ) = 2 + 22 .
k =1 k =3
Alternatively we could have arrived at this conclusion directly from

10 10 2
∑ 2k − ∑ 2k = ∑ 2k = 2 + 22 = 2 + 4 = 6.
k =1 k =3 k =1
Main idea: all but the first two terms in the sum cancel. The only remaining
terms are those corresponding to k = 1 and k = 2.
Example 1.12 Expand the following expression:

5
∑ (1 + 3n ).
n=0
Solution. We have
5 5 5 5
∑ (1 + 3n ) = ∑ 1 + ∑ 3n = 5 + ∑ 3n .
n=0 n=0 n=0 n=0

Note: of course, we could expand this further - particularly the sums of
powers of 3 - but we stop here having illustrated the distributive property of
sigma notation. Mastered Material Check
17. Determine the final numerical
Formulae for the sum of consecutive integers (Gauss’ formula). We show solution to Example 1.12.
that the sum SN of the first N integers is
N
N (N + 1)
SN = 1 + 2 + 3 + . . . + N = ∑k= 2
, (1.1)
k =1
The following technique is due to Gauss: by aligning two copies of the

expanded sum in Eqn. 1.1, one written backwards, we can add up the terms
one by one vertically:
SN = 1 + 2 + ... + (N − 1) + N
+
SN = N + (N − 1) + . . . + 2 + 1
2SN = (1 + N ) + (1 + N ) + . . . + (1 + N ) + (1 + N )
Notice that the right hand side of this equation has N copies of (1 + N ), so
N (1 + N )
2SN = N (1 + N ), so SN = .
2
Thus the formula is confirmed.
Example 1.13 Determine the sum of the first 1000 positive integers.
Solution. Gauss’ formula is very useful in what would otherwise be a huge

calculation. We find that,
1000
1000(1 + 1000)
S = 1 + 2 + 3 + . . . + 1000 = ∑ k= 2
= 500(1001) = 500500.
k =1
Formula for the sum of consecutive squares. We next show that the sum SN
of the first N squares is
N
N (N + 1)(2N + 1)
SN = 12 + 22 + 32 + . . . + N 2 = ∑ k2 = 6
, (1.2)
k =1
First, note that Mastered Material Check

(k + 1)3 − (k − 1)3 = 6k2 + 2, 18. Reverify the formula for the sum of
consecutive integers beginning with
so summing over the integers the identiy
N N (k + 1)2 − (k − 1)2 = 4k.

∑ ((k + 1) 3
− (k − 1) ) =
3
∑ (6k 2
+ 2).
19. Determine the sum of the first 20
k =1 k =1
squares.
But, expanding the left hand side illuminates the following:
N
∑ ((k + 1)3 − (k −1)3 ) = 23 −03 + 33 −13 + 43 −23 + 53 . . . + (N + 1)3 − (N −1)3
k =1
where many of the terms cancel. The only terms that are left are −1 + N 3 +
(N + 1)3 . This means that
N N
−1 + N 3 + (N + 1)3 = 6 ∑ k2 + ∑ 2,
k =1 k =1
so
N
−1 + N 3 + (N + 1)3 − 2N 2N 3 + 3N 2 + N N (N + 1)(2N + 1)
∑ k2 = 6
=
6
=
6
.
k =1
Formula for the sum of consecutive cubes. The sum SN of the first N cubes
is

N
N (N + 1) 2
SN = 1 + 2 + 3 + . . . + N = ∑ k =
3 3 3 3 3
, (1.3)
k =1 2
This formula can be obtained by starting with the identity
(k + 1)4 − (k − 1)4 = 8k3 + 8k,
and following a similar strategy to that employed for verifying Eqn. (1.2).
Example 1.14 (Tower of Hanoi, revisited) Armed with the formula for
the sum of squares, compute the volume of a tower of 100 stacked discs of
heights 1 and radii r = 1, 2, . . . , 99, 100.
Solution. We have
100
100(101)(201)
V = π (12 + 22 + 32 + . . . + 992 + 1002 ) = π ∑ k2 = π 6
,
k =1
which gives a total volume of 338, 350π cubic units.

Example 1.15 Compute the following sum:

20
S= ∑ (2 − 3k + 2k2 ).
k =1
Solution. We can separate this into three individual sums, each of which can
be handled by algebraic simplification and/or use of the summation formulae
developed so far.
20 20 20 20
S= ∑ (2 − 3k + 2k2 ) = 2 ∑ 1 − 3 ∑ k + 2 ∑ k2 .
k =1 k =1 k =1 k =1
Thus, we get

20(21) (20)(21)(41)
S = 2(20) − 3 +2 = 5150.
2 6

Example 1.16 Compute the following sum:

50
S= ∑ k.
k=10
Solution. We can express the second sum as a difference of two sums:

50 50 9
S= ∑ k= ∑k − ∑k .
k=10 k =1 k =1
Thus,
50(51) 9(10)
S= − = 1275 − 45 = 1230.
2 2

1.4 Summing the geometric series
1. State the definition of a geometric series.
2. Justify the closed-formula for a geometric series.

N
(1 − r N +1 )
3. Compute the sums using ∑ ri = 1−r
.
i=0
Consider a sum of terms that all have the form rk , where r is some real
number and k is an integer power. We refer to a series of this type as a
geometric series. We saw one example of this type in Example 1.7. Below
we show the sum of such a series is given by:

N
19. What is SN = ∑ rk if r = 1?
k =0
N
1 − r N +1
SN = 1 + r + r2 + r3 + . . . + rN = ∑ rk = 1−r
, r = 1. (1.4)
k =0
We call this sum a (finite) geometric series. This closed-formula can be

verified by performing the following subtraction, provided r = 1:
SN = 1 + r + r2 + . . . + rN
−
r SN = r + r2 + . . . + rN + r N +1
SN − rSN = 1 + 0 + 0 + ... + 0 − r N +1
As most of the terms on the right hand side cancel, we are left with
SN ( 1 − r ) = 1 − r N + 1 .
Dividing both sides by 1 − r leads to
1 − r N +1
SN = ,
1−r
which was the formula to be established.
Example 1.17 (Geometric series) Compute the following sum:

10
S10 = ∑ 2k .
k =0
Solution. This is a geometric series
20. Compute:
10
1 − 210+1 1 − 2048 10
S10 = ∑ 2k = = = 2047. S= ∑ 2α .
k =0 1−2 −1 α =1
1.5 Prelude to infinite series
1. Explain difference between convergent and divergent series.
2. Define a partial sum.
3. Identify which geometric series converge, and which diverge.

∞
1
4. Compute sums using ∑ ri = 1 − r .
i=0
So far, we have looked at several examples of finite series, i.e. series in

which there are only a finite number of terms, N (where N is some integer).
We would like to investigate how the sum of a series behaves when more and
more terms of the series are included.
It is evident that in many cases, the series simply gets larger and larger as
more terms are included. Examples of this include Gauss’s series (Eqn. (1.1)),
or sums of squared or cubed integers (Eqn. (1.2) and Eqn. (1.3)). We say
that such series diverge as N → ∞. Here we look specifically for series that
converge, i.e. have a finite sum, even as more and more terms are included
Note: convergence and divergence of series is discussed in fuller depth in
Chapter 8. However, these concepts are so important that some preliminary
ideas need to be introduced early.
We focus on the geometric series and determine its behaviour when the
number of terms is increased. Our goal is to understand
∞
S= ∑ rk ,
k =0
an infinite series.
We use the following definitions:
Definition 1.2 An infinite series that has a unique, finite sum is said to be
convergent. Otherwise it is divergent.
21. Do the following infinite series
Definition 1.3 Suppose that S is an (infinite) series whose terms are ak . Then converge or diverge?
the partial sums, Sn , of this series are
(a) ∑∞ k
k =1 1 .
n (b) ∑∞ k
k =1 0 .
Sn = ∑ ak .
k =0
We say that the sum of the infinite series is S, and write

∞ n
S= ∑ ak , provided that S = lim
n→∞
∑ ak .
k =0 k =0
That is, we consider the infinite series as the limit of the partial sums as
the number of terms n is increased. In this case we also say that the infinite
series converges to S.
Only under certain circumstances do infinite series have a finite sum, and
we are interested in exploring two questions:
1. Under what circumstances does an infinite series have a finite sum?

2. What value does the partial sum approach as more and more terms are
included?
Consider first the (finite) geometric series, Eqn. (1.4) restated below for
convenience:
n
1 − r n+1
Sn = ∑ rk = 1−r
, r = 1. (1.4)
k =0
The value of this sum depends on the number of terms in the series, n
via rn+1 . Notice that when r > 1, or r < −1, the term, rn+1 gets bigger
in magnitude as n increases, whereas, for 0 < r < 1, this term decreases in

magnitude with n. From this, we can say that
lim rn+1 = 0 provided |r| < 1.

n→∞
This leads to the following conclusion:
The sum of an infinite geometric series,

∞
S = 1 + r + r2 + · · · + rk + · · · = ∑ rk ,
k =0
exists provided |r| < 1 and is
1
S= . (1.5)
1−r
Example 1.18 Determine whether the sum of the following infinite series
exists:
∞ k
1
S= ∑ .
k =0 2
If it does, what is it?
Solution. Based on our above conclusion, upon noting |r| = | 12 | < 1 we

can conlude this sum exists. However, we take this opportunity to explore
the behaviour of geometric series. To this end, consider the finite geometric
series with r = 21 ,
2 3 n n k
1 1 1 1 1
Sn = 1 + + + + ... + =∑ .
2 2 2 2 k =0 2
Then, from Eqn. (1.4) we get

1 − (1/2)n+1
Sn = .
1 − 1/2
We observe that as n increases, i.e. as we retain more and more terms, we 22. Compute or state if it diverges:
∞ a
obtain 1
1 − (1/2)n+1 1 (a) ∑ 3
lim Sn = lim = = 2. a=0 4
n→∞ n→∞ 1 − (1/2) 1 − (1/2) ∞
In this case, we write

(b) ∑ 3 · 2i .
i=0
n
∞
1 1 1
∑ 2 = 1 + 2 + ( 2 )2 + . . . = 2,
n=0
and we say that “the (infinite) series converges to 2”.
Example 1.19 Determine whether the sum of the following infinite series
converges or diverges:
∞
S= ∑ (2)k .
k =0
Solution. Again, we can simply note that r = 2 > 1 in an infinite geometric

series, so the sum does not exist. Again, however, we take this opportunity
to explore the behaviour of such series. Consider the finite geometric series
with r = 2:
n
1 − 2n + 1
Sn = 1 + 2 + 22 + 23 + . . . + 2n = ∑ 2k = 1−2
= 2n+1 − 1.
k =0
We observe that as n grows larger, the sum continues to grow indefinitely. In

this case, we say that the sum does not converge, or, equivalently, that the
sum diverges.
It is important to remember that an infinite series, i.e. a sum with in-

finitely many terms added up, can exhibit either of these two very different
behaviours. It may converge in some cases, as the first example shows, or
diverge (fail to converge) in other cases. We see examples of each of these
trends again. It is essential to be able to distinguish the two. Divergent series
(or series that diverge under certain conditions) must be handled with par-
ticular care, otherwise we may find contradictions or seemingly reasonable
calculations that have meaningless results.
1.6 Application: the branching structure of the lungs

Other courses
The anatomy of the respiratory system
Section 1.6 Learning goals is studied in BPK105: Fundamentals of
Human Structure and Function.
1. Explain the assumptions of the branching lung structure model.
2. Describe the mathematical model used to approximate the volume and

surface area of lungs.
At the beginning of this chapter we described the branching structure of

lungs - and other biological distribution systems. We are now ready to return
to this application. We now use geometric series to explore this branched
structure of the lung. We construct a simple mathematical model and explore
its consequences. The model consists of some well-formulated assumptions
about the way that “daughter branches” are related to their “parent branch”.
Based on these assumptions, and on tools developed in this chapter, we then
predict properties of the structure as a whole.
We are particularly interested in the volume V and the surface area S of the
airway passages in the lungs. (In humans, the surface area of the bronchial
tubes does not actually absorb much oxygen. However, as an example of
summation, we compute this area and compare how it grows to the growth of
the volume from one branching layer to the next).
Assumptions
r0
• The airway passages consist of many “generations” of branched segments.
We label the largest segment with index “0”, and its daughter segments
with index “1”, their successive daughters “2”, and so on down the struc- l0 Segment 0
ture from large to small branch segments. We assume that there are M
“generations”, i.e. the initial segment has undergone M subdivisions. Fig- 1
ure 1.8 shows only generations 0, 1, and 2 (typically, for human lungs
there can be up to 25 − 30 generations of branching.) 2
• At each generation, every segment is approximated as a cylinder of

radius rn and length n .
Figure 1.8: Air passages in the lungs consist
of a branched structure. All segments are
• The number of branches grows along the “tree”. On average, each parent assumed to be cylindrical, with radius rn and
branch produces b daughter branches. In Figure 1.8, we have illustrated length n in the nth generation. The index n
this idea for b = 2. A branched structure in which each branch pro- refers to the branch generation, starting from
the initial segment, labeled 0.
duces two daughter branches is described as a bifurcating tree structure
(whereas trifurcating implies b = 3).
In real lungs, the branching is slightly irregular. Not every level of the
structure bifurcates, but in general, averaging over the many branches in
the structure b is smaller than 2. In fact, the rule that links the number of
branches in generation n, here denoted xn with the number (of smaller
branches) in the next generation, xn+1 is Mastered Material Check
23. Can you sketch a model for lungs
which have trifurcating tree
xn+1 = bxn . (1.6) structure?
We assume, for simplicity, that b is a constant. Since the number of 24. Why can a number like b = 1.7
daughter branches arise in such a
branches is growing down the length of the structure, it must be true that model for lung structure?
b > 1. For human lungs, on average, 1 < b < 2. In this particular we
take b to be constant, i.e. b = 1.7 in this particular case. In actual fact,
this simplification cannot be precise, because we have just one segment
initially (x0 = 1), and at level 1, the number of branches x1 should be some
small integer, not a number like “1.7”. However, as in many mathematical
models, some accuracy is sacrificed to get intuition. Later, details that
were missed and are considered important can be corrected and refined.
• The ratios of radii and lengths of daughters to parents are approximated

by “proportional scaling”. This means that the relationship of the radii and
lengths satisfy simple rules: the lengths are related by
n+1 = αn , (1.7)
and the radii are related by
rn+1 = β rn , (1.8)
with α and β positive constants. For example, it could be the case that
the radius of daughter branches is 1/2 or 2/3 that of the parent branch.
Since the branches decrease in size (while their number grows), we expect
that 0 < α < 1 and 0 < β < 1.
Rules such as those given by Eqns. (1.7) and (1.8) are often called self-
similar growth laws. They are closely linked to fractals, i.e. theoretical
structures produced by iterating growth laws indefinitely. In a real biological
structure, the number of generations is finite - however, in some cases, a finite
geometric series is well-approximated by an infinite sum.
Actual lungs are not fully symmetric branching structures, but these
approximations are used here for simplicity. According to physiological
measurements, the scale factors for sizes of daughter to parent size are in
the range 0.65 ≤ α, β ≤ 0.9. For the purposes of this example, we use the
constants given in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1: Typical structure of branched

airway passages in lungs.
radius of first segment r0 0.5 cm
length of first segment 0 5.6 cm
ratio of daughter to parent length α 0.9
ratio of daughter to parent radius β 0.86
number of branch generations M 30
average number of daughters per b 1.7
parent
A simple geometric rule

The three equations that govern the rules for successive branching, i.e.
Eqns. (1.6), (1.7), and (1.8), are examples of a very generic “geometric
progression” procedures. Before returning to the problem at hand, let us ex-
amine the implications of this recursive rule when it is applied to generating
the whole structure. Essentially, the rule linking two generations implies
an exponential growth. To see this, let us write out a few first terms in the
progression of the sequence {xn }: Mastered Material Check
25. Write out the first few terms in this
progression sequence {xn }
initial value: x0 when x0 = 1 and b = 1.7.
first iteration: x1 = bx0

second iteration: x2 = bx1 = b(bx0 ) = b2 x0
third iteration: x3 = bx2 = b(b2 x0 ) = b3 x0
..
.
By the same pattern, at the n’th generation, the number of segments is
n’th iteration: xn = bxn−1 = b(bxn−2 ) = b(b(bxn−3 )) = (1.9)
... = (b · b · · · b) x0 = bn x0 . (1.10)

n factors
We have arrived at a simple, but important result, namely:

The rule linking two generations,
xn = bxn−1 (1.11)
implies that the n’th generation has grown by a factor bn , i.e.,
xn = bn x0 . (1.12)
This connection between the rule linking two generations and the resulting
number of members at each generation is useful in other circumstances.
Eqn. (1.11) is sometimes called a recursion relation, and its solution is given
by Eqn. (1.12). We use the same idea to find the connection between the
volumes, and surface areas of successive segments in the branching structure.
Total number of segments

Given the above result, and the fact that there is one segment in the 0’th
generation, i.e. x0 = 1, to conclude that at the n’th generation, the number of
segments is
xn = x0 bn = 1 · bn = bn .
For example, if instead b = 2, the number of segments grows by powers of 2,
so that the tree bifurcates with the pattern 1, 2, 4, 8, etc. Mastered Material Check
To determine how many branch segments there are in total, we add up 26. Determine the total number of
over all generations, 0, 1, . . . M. This is a geometric series, whose sum we can segments in the lung structure
with 5 generations when b = 1.7.
compute. Using Eqn. (1.4), we find
27. Using data from Table 1.1, what is
the volume of the 0th generation
M
1 − bM +1
N= ∑ bn = 1−b
. segment?
n=0
Given b and M, we can then predict the exact number of segments in the
structure. The calculation is summarized further on for values of the branch-
ing parameter, b, and the number of branch generations, M, given in Ta-
ble 1.1.
Total volume of airways in the lung

Since each lung segment is assumed to be cylindrical, its volume is
vn = πrn2 n .
Here we are examining just a single segment in the nth generation of

branches.
Note: there are bn such identical segments in the nth generation; below we
refer to the volume of all of them together as Vn .
The length and radius of segments also follow a geometric progression.
In fact, the idea developed above can be used to relate the length and radius
of a segment in the n’th, generation segment to the length and radius of the
original 0th generation segment, namely,
n = αn−1 ⇒ n = α n 0 ,
and
rn = β rn−1 ⇒ rn = β n r0 .
Thus the volume of one segment in generation n is
vn = πrn2 n = π (β n r0 )2 (α n 0 ) = (αβ 2 )n (πr02 0 ) .

v0
This is just a product of the initial segment volume v0 = πr02 0 , with the nth
power of a certain factor(αβ 2 ) - this factor takes into account that both the
radius and the length are being scaled down at every successive generation of
branching. Thus
vn = (αβ 2 )n v0 .
The total volume of all (bn ) segments in the nth layer is
Vn = bn vn = bn (αβ 2 )n v0 = (bαβ 2 )n v0 .

We have grouped terms together to reveal the simple structure of the rela- Mastered Material Check
tionship: one part of the expression is just the initial segment volume, while 28. Using the data given in Table 1.1,
the other is now a “scale factor” that includes not only changes in length and what is the total volume of the 0th
layer?
radius, but also in the number of branches. Letting the constant a stand for
that scale factor, a = (bαβ 2 ) leads to the result that the volume of all segments
in the n’th layer is
Vn = an v0 .
The total volume of the structure is obtained by summing the volumes
obtained at each layer. Since this is a geometric series, we can use the sum-
mation formula. i.e., Eqn. (1.4). Accordingly, total airways volume is

30 30
1 − a30+1
V= ∑ Vn = v0 ∑ a n
= v0
1−a
.
n=0 n=0
The similarity of treatment with the previous calculation of number of

branches is apparent. We compute the values of the constants a and v0 in
Table 1.2.
Total surface area of the lung branches

The surface area of a single segment at generation n, based on its cylindrical
shape, is
sn = 2πrn n = 2π (β n r0 )(α n 0 ) = (αβ )n (2πr0 0 ),

s0
where s0 is the surface area of the initial segment. Since there are bn branches
at generation n, the total surface area of all the nth generation branches is thus
Sn = bn (αβ )n s0 = (bαβ )n s0 ,

where we have let c stand for the scale factor c = (bαβ ). Thus,
Sn = cn s0 .
This reveals the similar nature of the problem. To find the total surface area of
the airways, we sum up,

M
1 − cM + 1
S = s0 ∑ cn = s0 .
n=0 1−c
We compute the values of s0 and c in Table 1.2, and summarize final calcula-
tions of the total airways surface area below.
Summary of predictions for specific parameter values

In our set up of the model, we have revealed that each quantity in the struc-
ture obeys a simple geometric series, but with distinct “bases” b, a and c and
coefficients 1, v0 , and s0 . This approach shows that the formula for geometric
series applies in each case. It remains to merely “plug in” the appropriate
quantities. In this section, we collect our results, use the sample values for a
model “human lung” given in Table 1.1, or the resulting derived scale factors
and quantities in Table 1.2 to finish the task at hand.
Table 1.2: Volume, surface area, scale

factors, and other derived quantities.
volume of first segment v0 = πr02 0 4.4cm3 Because a and c are bases that are raised
surface area of first segment s0 = 2πr0 0 17.6 cm2 to large powers, it is important to that their
ratio of daughter to parent segment volume (αβ 2 ) 0.66564 values are fairly accurate, so we keep more
significant figures.
ratio of daughter to parent segment surface area (αβ ) 0.774
ratio of net volumes in successive generations a = bαβ 2 1.131588
ratio of net surface areas in successive generations c = bαβ 1.3158
Total number of segments.

M
1 − bM +1 1 − (1.7)31
N = ∑ bn = = = 1.9898 · 107 ≈ 2 · 107 .
n=0 1 − b 1 − 1.7
According to this calculation, there are a total of about 20 million branch
segments overall (including all layers, from top to bottom) in the entire
structure!
Total volume of airways. Using the values for a and v0 computed in Ta-
ble 1.2, we find that the total volume of all segments is

30
1 − a30+1 (1 − 1.13158831 )
V = v0 ∑ an = v0 = 4.4 = 1510.3 cm3 .
n=0 1 − a ( 1 − 1.131588 )
Recall that 1 litre = 1000 cm3 . We have found that the lung airways contain
about 1.5 litres. Mastered Material Check
Total surface area of airways. Using the values of s0 and c in Table 1.2, the 29. Consider a rectangular box with
dimensions 10 cm×10 cm cm.
total surface area of the tubes that make up the airways is Compare the ratio of volume:surface
area with that found for the lung
M
1 − cM + 1 (1 − 1.315831 ) airways.
S = s0 ∑c n
= s0
1−c
= 17.6
(1 − 1.3158)
= 2.76 · 105 cm2 .
n=0
There are 100 cm per meter, and (100)2 = 104 cm2 per m2 . Thus, the area we
have computed is equivalent to about 28 square meters!
Exploring the problem numerically

Thus far, all calculations have used the formulae developed for geometric
series. However, in problems like this, sometimes it is more convenient to
devise a computer algorithm to implement “rules” and perform repetitive
calculations. Advantages to implementing this approach include:
1. eliminating tedious, by hand calculations;

2. in cases where summation formulae are not known, reducing the need for
analytical computations, and
3. providing a shortcut to a visual summary of the results.
Disadvantage: it may be less obvious how each of the values of parameters

assigned to the problem affects the final answers.
A spreadsheet is an ideal tool for exploring iterated rules such as those
given in the lung branching problem. In Figure 1.9 we show the volumes
and surface areas associated with the lung airways for parameter values
discussed above. Both layer by layer values and cumulative sums leading to
total volume and surface area are shown in each of (a) and (c). In (b) and (d),
we compare these results to similar graphs in the case that one parameter, the
branching number, b is adjusted from 1.7 (original value) to 2. The contrast
between the graphs shows how such a small change in this parameter can
significantly affect the results.
1,500 1,500 Figure 1.9: Panel (a): Vn , the volume of

Cumulative layer n (light blue bars), and the cumulative
Cumulative volume
volume to volume down to layer n (darker orange
to layer n
1,000 1,000 layer n bars) are shown for parameters given in
Table 1.1. Panel (b): same as panel (a) but
with the assumption that parent segments
always produce two daughter branches
500 Vn = Volume of 500
(i.e. b = 2). The graphs in (a) and (b) are
layer n shown on the same scale to accentuate the
Vn = Volume of layer n more dramatic growth in (b). Panels (c) and
5 10 15 20 25 30 5 10 15 20 25 30
(d): similar, though showing the surface area
of nth layer (light gold) and the cumulative
surface area to layer n (darker gold) for
(a) (b)
original parameters (in (c)), as well as for
the value b = 2 (in (d)).
·105 ·105
2.5 2.5
Cumulative surface Cumulative
2 area to nth layer 2 surface area
to nth layer
1.5 1.5
1 1 Surface
Surface area area
0.5 0.5
of nth layer of nth
layer Object dimensions area, A
1
5 10 15 20 25 30 5 10 15 20 25 30 triangle base b, 2 bh
height h
rectangle base b, bh
(c) (d)
height h
circle radius r πr2
Table 1.3: Areas of planar regions
Summary Object dimensions volume, V

box base b, hwb
1. We collected formulae for areas and volumes of elementary two and three height h,
width w
dimensional shapes. A summary is given in the following tables: circular radius r, πr2 h
(a) Table 1.3 lists the areas of simple 2D shapes, cylinder height h
3 πr
4 3
sphere radius r
(b) Table 1.4 the volumes of elementary 3D shapes, and cylindrical radius r, 2πrhτ
(c) Table 1.5 the surface areas of 3D shapes. shell* height h,
thickness τ
2. We used areas of triangles to compute areas of more complicated shapes, spherical radius r, 4πr2 τ
including regular polygons. We used a polygon with N sides to approx- shell* thickness τ
imate the area of a circle, and then, by letting N go to infinity, we were Table 1.4: Volumes of 3D shapes. *As-
able to prove that the area of a circle of radius r is A = πr2 . This idea, and sumes a thin shell, i.e. small τ.
others related to it, form a deep underlying theme in the next two chapters Object dimensions surface area, S
and later on in this course. box base b, 2(bh + bw + hw)
height h,
3. We introduced some notation for series and collected useful formulae for width w
summation of such series. These are summarized in Table 1.6. circular radius r, 2πrh
cylinder height h
Note: these formulae are used extensively in Chapter 8. sphere radius r 4πr2
4. Finally, we investigated geometric series and studied a biological applica-
Table 1.5: Surface areas of 3D shapes
tion, namely the branching structure of lungs.
Table 1.6: Useful summation formulae.

Sum Notation Formula Comment
N (1+N )
1 + 2 + 3 + ··· + N ∑Nk=1 k 2 Gauss’ formula
N (N +1)(2N +1)
12 + 22 + 32 + · · · + N 2 ∑Nk=1 k2 Sum of squares
6
N (N +1) 2
13 + 23 + 33 + · · · + N 3 ∑Nk=1 k3 2 Sum of cubes
1−rN +1
1 + r + r2 + r3 · · · + rN ∑Nk=0 rk 1−r Sum of finite
geometric
series
Quick Concept Checks
1. Expand the following summations into standard notation:

5 3
(a) ∑ ei ; (b) ∑ f (i + 2) where f (x) = ln(2x).
i=0 i=1
29
2. Which of the following sums is equivalent to ∑ (i − 1)3 + i?
i=7
23 22
(i) ∑ ( j + 5)3 + j + 5 (iii) ∑ ( j + 6)3 + j + 6
j =1 j =1
25 32
(ii) ∑ (k + 4)3 + k + 5 (iv) ∑ (i + 2)3 + i + 3
k =3 i=10
27
(iv) ∑ (♣ + 1) 3
+♣+2
♣=5
3. Can you describe, perhaps using a picture, what it means for an infinite series to converge? Diverge?
4. Do the following infinite series converge? If so, compute their values:

∞ ∞
(−3)n−1
(a) ∑ 4n
, (b) ∑ 3 · 2−♣ .
n=1 ♣=2
Exercises
1.1. Summation notation. Answer the following:

20
(a) What is the value of the fifth term of the sum S20 = ∑ (5 + 3k)/k?
k =1
17
(b) How many terms are there in total in the sum S17 = ∑ ek ?
k =7
5
(c) Write out the terms in ∑ 2n−1 .
n=1
4
(d) Write out the terms in ∑ 2n .
n=0
(e) Write the series 1 + 3 + 32 + 33 in summation notation in two

equivalent forms.
1.2. Summation notation.
(a) Write 2 + 4 + 6 + 8 + 10 + 12 + ... in summation notation.
(b) Write 1 + 12 + 13 + 14 + ... in summation notation.
100
(c) Write out the first few terms of ∑ 3i .
i=0
∞
1
(d) Write out the first few terms of ∑ nn .
n=1
∞ k 4 k
1 1
(e) Simplify ∑ 2 + ∑ 2 .
k =5 k =2
50 50
(f) Simplify ∑ 3x − ∑ 3x .
x=0 x=10
100 100
(g) Simplify ∑ n + ∑ n2 .
n=0 n=0
100 100 100

(h) Simplify 2 ∑ y + ∑ y2 + ∑ 1.
y=0 y=0 y=0
1.3. Summation equivalencies. Show that the following pairs of sums are
equivalent:
10 11
(a) ∑ (m + 1)2 and ∑ n2 .
m=0 n=1
4 4
(b) ∑ (n2 − 2n + 1) and ∑ (n − 1)2 .
n=1 n=1
1.4. Computing summations. Consider the following summation formu-

lae, shown below for convenience:
n n
n(n + 1)
S0 ( n ) = ∑ 1 = n, S1 (n) = ∑i = 2
,
i=1 i=1

n
n(n + 1)(2n + 1) n
n(n + 1) 2
S2 ( n ) = ∑ i2= 6
, S3 (n) = ∑ i3=
2
.
i=1 i=1
Using these, and possibly a calculator, compute the following sums:

290 150 80
(a) ∑ 1 (b) ∑ 2 (c) ∑ 3
i=1 i=1 i=1
50 60 60
(d) ∑ n (e) ∑ n (f) ∑ n
n=1 n=1 n=10
100 25 20
(g) ∑ n (h) ∑ 3n2 (i) ∑ 2n2
n=20 n=1 n=1
55 75 500
(j) ∑ (i + 2) (k) ∑ (i + 1) (l) ∑ k
i=1 i=1 k=100
100 50 50
(m) ∑ k (n) ∑ (k2 − 2k + 1) (o) ∑ (k2 − 2k + 1)
k=50 k =2 k =5
20 15
(p) ∑ m3 (q) ∑ (m + 1)3 .
m=10 m=0
1.5. Applying summation notation. Use the sigma summation notation

to set up the following, and then apply known formulae to compute the
sums.
(a) Find the sum of the first 50 even numbers, 2 + 4 + 6 + ...
(b) Find the sum of the first 50 odd numbers, 1 + 3 + ...
(c) Find the sum of the first 50 integers of the form n(n + 1) where
n = 1, 2, .., 50.
(d) Consider all the integers that are of the form n(n − 1) where
n = 1, 2, 3 . . .. Find the sum of the first 50 such numbers.
1.6. Computing a sum. Compute the following sum.
12
S= ∑ i ( 1 − i ) + 2i .
i=1
1.7. Chiming clock. A clock at London’s Heathrow airport chimes every

half hour. At the beginning of the n’th hour, the clock chimes n times
(e.g., at 8:00 AM the clock chimes 8 times, at 2:00 PM the clock
chimes fourteen times, and at midnight the clock chimes 24 times).
The clock also chimes once at half-past every hour.
Determine how many times in total the clock chimes in one full day.
Use sigma notation to write the form of the series, and then find its
sum.
1.8. Lacquer boxes. A set of Japanese lacquer boxes have been made to
fit one inside the other. All the boxes are cubical, and they have sides
of lengths 1, 2, 3 . . . 15 inches. Find the total volume enclosed by all
the boxes combined. Ignore the thickness of the walls of the boxes.
Note: a calculator may be helpful.
1.9. Square frames. A framing shop uses a square piece of matt card-
board to create a set of square frames, one cut out from the other, with
as little wasted as possible. The original piece of cardboard is 50 cm
by 50 cm. Each of the “nested” square frames (see Exercise 1.8 for the
definition of nested objects) has a border 2 cm thick.
How many frames in all can be made from this original piece of
cardboard? What is the total area that can be enclosed by all these
frames together?
2cm
50cm
Figure 1.10: For Exercise 1.9; nesting

square picture frames.
1.10. Great Pyramid of Giza. The Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt, built
around 2,720-2,560 BC by Khufu (also known as Cheops) has a
square base. We assume that the base has side length 200 meters.
The pyramid is made out of blocks of stone whose size is roughly
1 × 1 × 0.73 m3 . There are 200 layers of blocks, so that the height of
the pyramid is 200 · 0.73 = 146 m. Assume that the size of the pyramid
steps (i.e. the horizontal distance between the end of one step and the
beginning of another) is 0.5 m. Also, assume that the pyramid is solid,
i.e. neglect the (relatively small) spaces that make up passages and
burial chambers inside the structure.
(a) How many blocks are there in the layer that makes up the base of
the pyramid? How many blocks in the second layer?
(b) How many blocks are there at the very top of the pyramid?
(c) Write down a summation formula for the total number of blocks in
the pyramid and compute the total. (hint: you may find it easiest to
start the sum from the top layer and work your way down).
1.11. Orange display. Your local produce store has a special on oranges.
Their display of fruit is a triangular pyramid with 100 layers, topped
with a single orange (i.e. top layer: 1). The layer second from the top
has three (3 = 1 + 2) oranges, and the one directly under it has six
(6 = 3 + 2 + 1). The same pattern continues for all 100 layers - this
results in efficient “hexagonal” packing, with each orange sitting in a
little depression created by three neighbours right under it.
(a) How many oranges are there in the fourth and fifth layers from the
top? How many in the N th layer from the top?
(b) If the “pyramid of oranges” only has 3 layers, how many oranges
are used in total? What if the pyramid has 4, or 5 layers?
(c) Write down a formula for the sum of the total number of oranges
that would be needed to make a pyramid with N layers. Simplify
your result so that you can use the summation formulae for ∑ n
and for ∑ n2 to determine the total number of oranges in such a
pyramid.
(d) Determine how many oranges are needed for the pyramid with 100
layers.
1.12. Circular cone. A right circular cone (shaped like “an inverted ice
cream cone”), has height h and a circular base (radius r) which is
perpendicular to the cone’s axis. In this exercise you calculate the
volume of this cone.
(1) Make N uniform slices of the cone, each one parallel to the bottom,
and of height h/N. Inside each slice put a cylindrical disk of the
same height. The radius of the slices vary from 0 at the top to h
nearly r at the bottom (see Figure 1.11, N = 10). Use similar
triangles to answer these questions:
(a) What is the smallest disk radius other than 0?
(b) What is the radius of the kth disk?
r
(2) Express the total volume of the N disks as a sum and evaluate it.
Figure 1.11: For Exercise 1.12; a cone
(3) As N gets larger, what is the limit of this sum? (This is the volume with N approximating disks.
of the cone.)
1.13. Finite geometric series. A (finite) geometric series with (N + 1)

terms is a sum of the form
N
1 + r + r2 + r3 + ... + rN = ∑ rk
k =0
and is given by the formula
1 − r N +1
S= provided r = 1.
1−r
(a) This formula does not work if r = 1. Find the actual value of the
series for r = 1.
(b) Express in summation notation and find the sum of the series
1 + 21 + 22 + 23 + .. + 210 .
(c) Express in summation notation and find the sum of the series
1 + (0.5)1 + (0.5)2 + (0.5)3 + ..(0.5)10 .
1.14. Geometric series pattern. Use the sum of a geometric series to
answer this question (and a calculator).
(a) Find the sum of the first 11 numbers of the form 1.1k for k =
0, 1, 2, . . .. Now find the sum of the first 21 such numbers, the first
31 such numbers, the first 41 such numbers, and the first 51 such
numbers.
(b) Repeat the process but now find sums of the numbers 0.9k , k =
0, 1, 2...
(c) What do you notice about the pattern of results in part (a) and in
part (b)? Can you explain what is happening in each of these cases
and why they are different?
(d) Now consider the general problem of finding a value for the sum
N
∑ rk
k =0
when the number N gets larger and larger. Suggest under what
circumstances this sum stays finite, and what value that finite sum
approaches.
Note: to do this, you should think about the formula for the finite
geometric sum and determine how it behaves for various values of r
as N gets very large.
1.15. Invention of chess. According to legend, the inventor of the game
of chess (in Persia) was offered a prize for his clever invention. He
requested payment in kind, i.e. in kernels of grain. He asked to be paid
1 kernel for the first square of the board, two for the second, four for
the third, etc.
Use a summation formula to determine the total number of kernels of
grain he would have earned in total (hint: a chess board has 8 × 8 = 64
squares and the first square contains 20 = 1 kernel).
1.16. Branching fungus. A branching colony of fungus starts as a single Other courses
spore with a single segment of filament growing out of it. This is
is studied in BPK 105: Fundamentals of
called generation 0. The tip of the filament branches, producing two Human Structure and Function.
new segments. Each tip then branches again and the process repeats.
Suppose there have been 10 such branching events.
How many tips are there? If each segment is the same length (1
unit), what is the total length of all the segments combined after 10
branching events? (Include the length of the initial single segment in
your answer.)
1.17. A branching plant and geometric series. A plant grows by branch- Other courses
Plant growth and development is studied
ing, starting with one segment of length 0 (in the 0th generation).
in BISC 337: Plant Biology.
Every parent branch has exactly two daughter branches. The length
of each daughter branch is (2/5) times the length of the parent branch.
(Your answers should be in terms of 0 .)
(a) Find the total length of just the 12th generation branch segments.
(b) Find the total length of the whole structure including the original
segment and all 12 successive generations.
(c) Find the approximate total length of all segments in the whole
structure if the plant keeps on branching forever.
1.18. Branching airways, cont’d. Consider the branching airways in the Other courses
lungs. Suppose that the initial bronchial segment has length 0 and
is studied in BPK 105: Fundamentals of
radius r0 . Human Structure and Function.
Let α and β be the scale factors for the length and radius, respectively,
of daughter branches (i.e. in a branching event), assume that n+1 =
αn and rn+1 = β rn are the relations that link daughters to parent
branches, and that 0 < α < 1, 0 < β < 1, li > 0, ri > 0 for all i).
Let b be the average number of daughters per parent branch.
Let Fn = Sn /Vn be the ratio of total surface area to total volume in the
nth layer of the structure (i.e. for the nth generation branches).
(a) Find Fn in terms of 0 , r0 , b, β , α.
(b) In the lungs, it would be reasonable to expect that the surface area
to volume ratio should increase from the initial segment down
through the layers. What should be true of the parameters for this to
be the case?
1.19. Branching lungs.
(a) Consider branched airways that have the following geometric
radius of first segment r0 0.5 cm
properties (Table 1.7). Find the total number of branch segments, length of first segment 0 5.0 cm
the volume and the surface area of this branched structure ratio daughter to parent length α 0.8
ratio daughter to parent radius β 0.8
Note: a calculator may be helpful. number of branch generations M 20
average no. daughters/parent b 2
(b) What happens as M gets larger? Do the volume and the surface
area approach some finite limit, or do they grow indefinitely? How Table 1.7: Table for Exercise 1.19; branch-
ing lung parameters.
should the parameter β be changed so that the surface area keeps
increasing while the volume stays finite as M increases?
1.20. Using simple geometry to compute an area.
(a) Find the area of a regular octagon (a polygon that has eight equal
sides). Assume that the length of each side is 1 cm.
(b) What is the area of the smallest circle that can be drawn around this
octagon?

Lung Surface Areas and Volumes

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1

Areas, volumes and simple sums

1.1 Areas of simple shapes

Section 1.1 Learning goals

2. Compute the areas of regions composed of multiple elementary geometric

3. Explain Archimedes method for computing the exact value of π.

One of the main goals in this course is to calculate areas enclosed by

• Any parallelogram with height h and base b also has area, A = b · h.

See Figure 1.2(a) and (b).

(a) (b) Figure 1.2: Rectangular regions have areas

Areas of triangular shapes. A few illustrative examples in this chapter are

areas of triangles are straightforward to compute; we summarize this review

• The area of a triangle can be obtained by slicing a rectangle or parallelo-

(a) (b) Figure 1.3: Triangular regions whose areas

Example 1.1 (Area of a polygon.) Using the material reviewed so far, we

Figure 1.4: An equilateral n-sided polygon.

Solution. The polygon has n sides, each of length b = 1. We dissect the

Thus, the area of each of the n triangles is

The statement of the problem speciﬁes that b = 1, so Mastered Material Check

Figure 1.5: Archimedes approximated the

h→r (nb) → 2πr,

• The surface area of a sphere/ball of radius r is

Section 1.2 Learning goals

1. State the formulae for the volumes of elementary geometric shapes,

• The volume of a cube of side length s - as depicted in Figure 1.6(a) - is

• The volume of a cylinder of base area A and height h, as in Figure 1.6(c) is

• The volume of a sphere of radius r - as depicted in Figure 1.6(d) is

V ≈ τ · (surface area of cylinder) = 2πτrh.

(a) (b) Figure 1.6: Four 3D shapes whose volumes

Example 1.2 (Tower of Hanoi)(a) Compute the volume of a tower made

where each Vi is the volume of the ith disc whose radius is r = i, i = 1, 2, 3, 4.

V = π (12 + 22 + 32 + . . . + 992 + 1002 ).

1.3 Sigma notation

Section 1.3 Learning goals

1. Explain the role of each of the symbols used in sigma notation.

2. Convert between sigma notation and standard notation.

3. Compute sums by expanding sigma notation and noticing patterns.

4. Justify Gauss’ formula for the sum of consecutive integers.

Example 1.3 Rewrite the following 15 terms sum in sigma notation: ∑ 2.

12 + 22 + 32 + 42 + 52 + 62 + 72 + 82 + 92 + 102 + 112 + 122 + 132 + 142 + 152

Solution. The convenience and compactness of the sigma notation is clearly

Solution. In sigma notation, we would write this as

Notice that the sum of ten ones is just 10, so

Example 1.5 Expand the following sum:

Note: we saw this sum in Example 1.2(a): the Tower of Hanoi.

100 100 15. Expand (but do not compute) the

Example 1.8 (Multiple sigma notation representations) Write the follow-

1−2 + 3−4 + 5−6 + ...

Solution. Through noticing patterns and interpreting notation we get:

Example 1.11 Simplify the following expression:

Solution. Through expansion we obtain,

Alternatively we could have arrived at this conclusion directly from

Example 1.12 Expand the following expression:

The following technique is due to Gauss: by aligning two copies of the

Solution. Gauss’ formula is very useful in what would otherwise be a huge

First, note that Mastered Material Check

N N (k + 1)2 − (k − 1)2 = 4k.

This formula can be obtained by starting with the identity

(k + 1)4 − (k − 1)4 = 8k3 + 8k,

which gives a total volume of 338, 350π cubic units.

Example 1.15 Compute the following sum:

Example 1.16 Compute the following sum:

Solution. We can express the second sum as a difference of two sums: