In cases where the time interval is exactly one unit (e.g. [2,3]), why do we usually say "during the third hour" instead of "during the second hour"? EDIT: Specifically, in the example where Eden walks "between the 2nd hour and the 3rd hour", wouldn't it make more sense to say "during the 2nd hour" because the first statement implies that Eden walked from the start of the 2nd hour to the start of the 3rd hour?

Think about if you were waiting for a friend. Waiting for your friend for the first hour would be from time 0-1, waiting for your friend for the second hour would be 1-2, and waiting for your friend for the third hour would be between 2-3. You may want to find a new friend though if he makes you wait that long. Time in centuries is similar. Between the years 0-99 AD is the first century, 100-199 is the second century, etc.

For the the calculation of the integral of r2(t)=6sin(0.3t) under "Thinking about accumulation in a real world context," why is the 6 divided by 0.3? Sorry, the answer given under Ryan's comment is not loading. Can someone please explain it? Thank you

Due to the chain rule, when you differentiate you would multiply by 0.3. When you integrate you reverse this process and so you divide by 0.3. You can make a u-substitution to make this easier to understand if you need to.

what is the difference between definate integral calculus and indefinate integral calculus

In the field of integral calculus we speak of definite integrals and indefinite integrals. In short, an indefinite integral is a function (𝐹(𝑥) + 𝐶), while a definite integral is a value ("area under the curve").

What does DT or dx means in this equation?

dt, dx and any d-something in calculus means "a small change in this thing" In fact it means so small it's basically 0

where did the 6sin(0.3) = 6/(0.3) [cos1.8] come from?

sin(x) is actually being integrated there, which will be covered in future videos.

where did the .3 come from in sin.3 example

6sin(.3t) you mean? That was just part of the chosen rate that was desired to be shown.

Main content

AP®︎/College Calculus AB

Course: AP®︎/College Calculus AB > Unit 6

Lesson 1: Exploring accumulations of change

Exploring accumulation of change

AP.CALC:

CHA‑4 (EU)

CHA‑4.A (LO)

CHA‑4.A.1 (EK)

CHA‑4.A.2 (EK)

CHA‑4.A.3 (EK)

CHA‑4.A.4 (EK)

Google Classroom

Definite integrals are interpreted as the accumulation of quantities. Learn why this is so and how this can be used to analyze real-world contexts.

The definite integral can be used to express information about accumulation and net change in applied contexts. Let's see how it's done.

Thinking about accumulation in a real world context

Say a tank is being filled with water at a constant rate of start color #11accd, 5, start text, space, L, slash, m, i, n, end text, end color #11accd (liters per minute) for start color #ca337c, 6, start text, space, m, i, n, end text, end color #ca337c. We can find the volume of the water (in start text, L, end text) by multiplying the time and the rate:

\begin{aligned} \text{Volume}&=\maroonD{\text{Time}}\times\blueD{\text{Rate}} \\ &=\maroonD{6\,\text{min}}\cdot\blueD{5\,\dfrac{\text{L}}{\text{min}}} \\ &=30\dfrac{\cancel{\text{min}}\cdot\text{L}}{\cancel{\text{min}}} \\ &=30\,\text{L} \end{aligned}

Now consider this case graphically. The rate can be represented by the constant function r, start subscript, 1, end subscript, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis, equals, 5:

Each horizontal unit in this graph is measured in minutes and each vertical unit is measured in liters per minute, so the area of each square unit is measured in liters:

start underbrace, start text, m, i, n, end text, end underbrace, start subscript, start text, w, i, d, t, h, end text, end subscript, dot, start underbrace, start fraction, start text, L, end text, divided by, start text, m, i, n, end text, end fraction, end underbrace, start subscript, start text, h, e, i, g, h, t, end text, end subscript, equals, start underbrace, start text, L, end text, end underbrace, start subscript, start text, a, r, e, a, end text, end subscript

Furthermore, the area of the rectangle bounded by the graph of r, start subscript, 1, end subscript and the horizontal axis between t, equals, 0 and t, equals, 6 gives us the volume of water after 6 minutes:

Now say another tank is being filled, but this time the rate isn't constant:

How can we tell the volume of water in this tank after 6 minutes? To do that, let's think about the Riemann sum approximation of the area under this curve between t, equals, 0 and t, equals, 6. For the sake of convenience, let's use an approximation where each rectangle is 1 minute wide.

We saw how each rectangle represents a volume in liters. Specifically, each rectangle in this Riemann sum is an approximation of the volume of water that was added to the tank at each minute. When we add all the areas, i.e. when all the volumes are accumulated, we get an approximation for the total volume of water after 6 minutes.

As we use more rectangles with smaller widths, we will get a better approximation. If we take this to a limit of accumulating infinite rectangles, we will get the definite integral integral, start subscript, 0, end subscript, start superscript, 6, end superscript, r, start subscript, 2, end subscript, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis, d, t. This means that the exact volume of water after 6 minutes is equal to the area bounded by the graph of r, start subscript, 2, end subscript and the horizontal axis between t, equals, 0 and t, equals, 6 .

And so, integral calculus allows us to find the total volume after 6 minutes:

integral, start subscript, 0, end subscript, start superscript, 6, end superscript, r, start subscript, 2, end subscript, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis, d, t, approximately equals, 24, point, 5, start text, L, end text

[Show calculation.]

Definite integral of the rate of change of a quantity gives the net change in that quantity.

In the example we saw, we had a function that describes a rate. In our case, it was the rate of volume over time. The definite integral of that function gave us the accumulation of volume—that quantity whose rate was given.

Another important feature here was the time interval of the definite integral. In our case, the time interval was the beginning left parenthesis, t, equals, 0, right parenthesis and 6 minutes after that left parenthesis, t, equals, 6, right parenthesis. So the definite integral gave us the net change in the amount of water in the tank between t, equals, 0 and t, equals, 6.

These are the two ways we commonly think about definite integrals: they describe an accumulation of a quantity, so the entire definite integral gives us the net change in that quantity.

Why "net change" in the quantity and not simply the quantity?

Using the above example, notice how we weren't told whether there was any amount of water in the tank prior to t, equals, 0. If the tank was empty, then integral, start subscript, 0, end subscript, start superscript, 6, end superscript, r, start subscript, 2, end subscript, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis, d, t, approximately equals, 24, point, 5, start text, L, end text is really the amount of water in the tank after 6 minutes. But if the tank already contained, say, 7 liters of water, then the actual volume of water in the tank after 6 minutes is:

start underbrace, 7, end underbrace, start subscript, start text, v, o, l, u, m, e, space, a, t, space, end text, t, equals, 0, end subscript, plus, start overbrace, integral, start subscript, 0, end subscript, start superscript, 6, end superscript, r, start subscript, 2, end subscript, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis, d, t, end overbrace, start superscript, start text, c, h, a, n, g, e, space, i, n, space, v, o, l, u, m, e, space, f, r, o, m, space, end text, t, equals, 0, start text, space, t, o, space, end text, t, equals, 6, end superscript

This is approximately 7, plus, 24, point, 5, equals, 31, point, 5, start text, space, L, end text.

Remember: The definite integral always gives us the net change in a quantity, not the actual value of that quantity. To find the actual quantity, we need to add an initial condition to the definite integral.

Problem 1.A

Current

Problem set 1 will walk you through the process of analyzing a context that involves accumulation:

At time t, a population of bacteria grows at the rate of r, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis grams per day, where t is measured in days.

What are the units of the quantity represented by the definite integral integral, start subscript, 0, end subscript, start superscript, 8, end superscript, r, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis, d, t?

Common mistake: Using inappropriate units

As with all applied word problems, units play an important role here. Remember that if r is a rate function measured in start fraction, start color #11accd, start text, Q, u, a, n, t, i, t, y, space, A, end text, end color #11accd, divided by, start color #ca337c, start text, Q, u, a, n, t, i, t, y, space, B, end text, end color #ca337c, end fraction, then its definite integral is measured in start color #11accd, start text, Q, u, a, n, t, i, t, y, space, A, end text, end color #11accd.

For example, in Problem set 1, r was measured in start fraction, start color #11accd, start text, g, r, a, m, s, end text, end color #11accd, divided by, start color #ca337c, start text, d, a, y, end text, end color #ca337c, end fraction, and so the definite integral of r was measured in start color #11accd, start text, g, r, a, m, s, end text, end color #11accd.

Problem 2

Eden walked at a rate of r, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis kilometers per hour (where t is the time in hours).

What does integral, start subscript, 2, end subscript, cubed, r, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis, d, t, equals, 6 mean?

Common mistake: Misinterpreting the interval of integration

For any rate function r, the definite integral integral, start subscript, a, end subscript, start superscript, b, end superscript, r, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis, d, t describes the accumulation of values between t, equals, a and t, equals, b.

A common mistake is to disregard one of the boundaries (usually the lower one), which results in a wrong interpretation.

For example, in Problem 2, it would be a mistake to interpret integral, start subscript, 2, end subscript, cubed, r, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis, d, t as the distance Eden walked in 3 hours. The lower boundary is 2, so integral, start subscript, 2, end subscript, cubed, r, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis, d, t is the distance Eden walked between the 2, start superscript, start text, n, d, end text, end superscript hour and the 3, start superscript, start text, r, d, end text, end superscript hour. Furthermore, in cases like that where the time interval is exactly one unit, we usually say "during the 3, start superscript, start text, r, d, end text, end superscript hour."

Problem 3

Julia's revenue is r, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis thousand dollars per month (where t is the month of the year). Julia had made 3 thousand dollars in the first month of the year.

What does 3, plus, integral, start subscript, 1, end subscript, start superscript, 5, end superscript, r, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis, d, t, equals, 19 mean?

(Choice A)
Julia made an additional 19 thousand dollars between months 1 and 5.
(Choice B)
Julia made an average of 19 thousand dollars per month.
(Choice C)
Julia made 19 thousand dollars in the fifth month.
(Choice D)
By the end of the fifth month, Julia had made a total of 19 thousand dollars.

Common mistake: Ignoring initial conditions

For a rate function f and an antiderivative F, the definite integral integral, start subscript, a, end subscript, start superscript, b, end superscript, f, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis, d, t gives the net change in F between t, equals, a and t, equals, b. If we add an initial condition, we will get an actual value of F.

For example, in Problem 3, integral, start subscript, 1, end subscript, start superscript, 5, end superscript, r, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis, d, t represents the change in the amount of money Julia made between the 1, start superscript, start text, s, t, end text, end superscript and the 5, start superscript, start text, t, h, end text, end superscript months. But since we added 3, which is the amount Julia had at the 1, start superscript, start text, s, t, end text, end superscript month, the expression now represents the actual amount in the 5, start superscript, start text, t, h, end text, end superscript month.

Connection with applied rates of change

In differential calculus, we learned that the derivative f, prime of a function f gives the instantaneous rate of change of f for a given input. Now we're going the other way! For any rate function f, its antiderivative F gives the accumulated value of the quantity whose rate is described by f.

	Quantity	Rate
Differential calculus	f, left parenthesis, x, right parenthesis	f, prime, left parenthesis, x, right parenthesis
Integral calculus	F, left parenthesis, x, right parenthesis, equals, integral, start subscript, a, end subscript, start superscript, x, end superscript, f, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis, d, t	f, left parenthesis, x, right parenthesis

Problem 4

The function k, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis gives the amount of ketchup (in kilograms) produced in a sauce factory by time t (in hours) on a given day.

What does integral, start subscript, 0, end subscript, start superscript, 4, end superscript, k, prime, left parenthesis, t, right parenthesis, d, t represent?

(Choice A)
The amount of ketchup produced over the first 4 hours.
(Choice B)
The instantaneous rate of production at t, equals, 4.
(Choice C)
The time it takes to produce 4 kilograms of ketchup.
(Choice D)
The average rate of change of the ketchup production over the first 4 hours.

Want more practice? Try this exercise.

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Sort by:

Jeff Ma
Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Jeff Ma's post “In cases where the time i...”
In cases where the time interval is exactly one unit (e.g. [2,3]), why do we usually say "during the third hour" instead of "during the second hour"?

EDIT: Specifically, in the example where Eden walks "between the 2nd hour and the 3rd hour", wouldn't it make more sense to say "during the 2nd hour" because the first statement implies that Eden walked from the start of the 2nd hour to the start of the 3rd hour?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Jeff Ma's post “In cases where the time i...”
(21 votes)
Answer
- Garret Cervantez
  Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Garret Cervantez's post “Think about if you were w...”
  Think about if you were waiting for a friend. Waiting for your friend for the first hour would be from time 0-1, waiting for your friend for the second hour would be 1-2, and waiting for your friend for the third hour would be between 2-3. You may want to find a new friend though if he makes you wait that long.
  
  Time in centuries is similar. Between the years 0-99 AD is the first century, 100-199 is the second century, etc.
  Comment on Garret Cervantez's post “Think about if you were w...”
  (139 votes)
richard.monjed
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to richard.monjed's post “For the the calculation o...”
For the the calculation of the integral of r2(t)=6sin(0.3t) under "Thinking about accumulation in a real world context," why is the 6 divided by 0.3?

Sorry, the answer given under Ryan's comment is not loading. Can someone please explain it? Thank you
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(17 votes)
Answer
- Christopher Blake
  Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to Christopher Blake's post “Due to the chain rule, wh...”
  Due to the chain rule, when you differentiate you would multiply by 0.3. When you integrate you reverse this process and so you divide by 0.3. You can make a u-substitution to make this easier to understand if you need to.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (17 votes)
Ryan Bose-Roy
Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to Ryan Bose-Roy's post “For the the calculation o...”
For the the calculation of the integral of r2(t)=6sin(0.3t) under "Thinking about accumulation in a real world context," why is the 6 divided by 0.3?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Ryan Bose-Roy's post “For the the calculation o...”
(14 votes)
Answer
francklineotienofranckline
Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to francklineotienofranckline's post “what is the difference be...”
what is the difference between definate integral calculus and indefinate integral calculus
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(4 votes)
Answer
- Jerry Nilsson
  Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to Jerry Nilsson's post “In the field of integral ...”
  In the field of integral calculus we speak of definite integrals and indefinite integrals.
  
  In short, an indefinite integral is a function (𝐹(𝑥) + 𝐶),
  while a definite integral is a value ("area under the curve").
  Button navigates to signup page
  (8 votes)
Aasharya
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to Aasharya's post “What does DT or dx mean...”
What does DT or dx means in this equation?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(3 votes)
Answer
- loumast17
  Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to loumast17's post “dt, dx and any d-somethin...”
  dt, dx and any d-something in calculus means "a small change in this thing" In fact it means so small it's basically 0
  Button navigates to signup page
  (5 votes)
elaw3670
Posted 15 days ago. Direct link to elaw3670's post “Why is the final problem ...”
Why is the final problem 0~4 k′(t)dt, when the answer is, "The amount of ketchup produced over the first 4 hours"? To match that answer, shouldn't the integral be, 0~4 k(t)dt (while 0~4 k′(t)dt would be the accumulated rates of change over the first four hours -- or nothing at all if that notation does not apply to integrals)?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(3 votes)
Answer
😊
Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to 😊's post “at prob 3...is d really t...”
at prob 3...is d really the correct answer? wouldnt it rather be the total ammount of money she made during month 1 to 5.....plus 3?? i mean u dont really know if that 3 was the ammount made between 0-1? right
Button navigates to signup pageComment on 😊's post “at prob 3...is d really t...”
(2 votes)
Answer
- Alex
  Posted 4 years ago. Direct link to Alex's post “"Julia's revenue is r(t) ...”
  "Julia's revenue is r(t) thousand dollars per month (where t is the month of the year). Julia had made 3 thousand dollars in the first month of the year."
  Button navigates to signup page
  (3 votes)
bertil
Posted 4 months ago. Direct link to bertil's post “where did the 6sin(0.3) =...”
where did the 6sin(0.3) = 6/(0.3) [cos1.8] come from?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(2 votes)
Answer
- Venkata
  Posted 3 months ago. Direct link to Venkata's post “sin(x) is actually being ...”
  sin(x) is actually being integrated there, which will be covered in future videos.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (2 votes)
kmancz
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to kmancz's post “where did the .3 come fr...”
where did the .3 come from in sin.3 example
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(2 votes)
Answer
- loumast17
  Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to loumast17's post “6sin(.3t) you mean? That...”
  6sin(.3t) you mean? That was just part of the chosen rate that was desired to be shown.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (2 votes)
980065226
Posted a year ago. Direct link to 980065226's post “What software do you use ...”
What software do you use to make your graphs?
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(2 votes)
Answer
- Mr.G
  Posted a year ago. Direct link to Mr.G's post “you can use desmos graphi...”
  you can use desmos graphing calculator or geogebra
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  (1 vote)