The Trapezoidal Rule

To approximate

f ( x )dx we can draw a set of

a

trapezoids that approximately represent the same area. The bases of the trapezoids are function values. In the drawing at the right one trapezoid has been superimposed over the function. The

1 h(b1 + b2 ) . In this 2 case b1 = f (a ) and b2 = f ( b ) . So the area of 1 this trapezoid would be ( b a ) (f (a) + f (b)) . 2
area of one trapezoid is If additional trapezoids are added to the region it could look like the figure at the right. In this case the subintervals are the same width or

x =

using 4 subintervals would be

1 e a 1 e a 1 e a 1 e a (f (a ) + f (b )) + (f (b ) + f (c )) + (f (c ) + f (d )) + (f (d ) + f (e )) 2 4 2 4 2 4 2 4 1 e a ( f (a ) + 2f ( b ) + 2f (c ) + 2f (d ) + f (e ) ) 2 4

ea 4

. So the area of the this region

The program NUMINT (Available at http://jamesrahn.com/homepages/calculus_labs.htm enables you to calculate an approximation for the bounded area (between a function and the x-axis) using any number of sub-intervals. Approximating area with trapezoids is one of the choices. Let y = 5 4 sin

x . 2

Approximate the integral 5 4 sin

0

x dx using 1,5,10,25,50,100, and 1000 2

subintervals. Subintervals Area Rahn 2008 1 3 5 10 25 50 100 1000

If you looked at this function with LRAM, MRAM, and RRAM, compare the areas using 3 subintervals. What do you notice about the accuracy of the area with trapezoids compared to rectangles? Why do you think this is true? Will trapezoids always be extremely accurate? Let y = 2sin(5 x ) + 3 .

Evaluate

( 2 sin(5 x ) + 3 ) dx using 1, 3, 6, 12, and 20 subintervals.

0

Subintervals Area What is your observation?

12

20

When is the area an overestimate? Underestimate? What calculus concept gives us that information about a graph to decide if the trapezoidal rule will be an overestimate or underestimate? The calculator has been using subintervals that are the same width. case the formula used is In the

Area =

1 b a ( y 0 + 2y1 + 2y 2 + 2 n

+ 2y n 1 + y n )

Notice the second factor in the formula determines the width of the trapezoid. But in the real world it may not be possible to have equal subintervals. Therefore it would not be possible to use this trapezoidal rule to find the area. It would look like a series of trapezoids added together. It is just as easy to just calculate the area of each trapezoid. 1 1 1 1 ( b a ) (f (a) + f (b)) + ( c b ) (f (b) + f (c )) + ( d c ) (f (c ) + f (d )) + ( e d ) (f (d ) + f (e)) 2 2 2 2

Rahn 2008

Examples 1: Real Life Problem Stocking a Fish Pond As the fish and game warden of your township, you are responsible for stocking the town pond with fish before the fishing season. The average depth of the pond is 20 feet. Using the scaled map, you measure distances across the pond at 200 foot intervals, as shown in the diagram. A. Use the trapezoidal Rule to estimate the volume of the pond.

B. You plan to start the season with one fish per 1000 cubic feet. You intend to have at least 25% of the opening days fish population left at the end of the season. What is the maximum number of licenses the town can sell if the average seasonal catch is 20 fish per license? Example 2 A function f is continuous and non-negative on the interval [0,10] The chart below represent the function value of a function at 5 sample points in that interval. Use the trapezoidal rule with 5 trapezoids to approximate
10

f ( x )dx .
0

If you know that the function f(x)<0 for all x, what do you
10

know about your approximation of

f ( x )dx
0

x f(x)

0 0

2 16

5 25

6 24

9 9

10 0

Rahn 2008