Area Under a Curve

What do skateboarding and baked goods have in common with math? You can use them to connect half-pipe ramps and cakes to arcs and sectors. Pupils compare the lengths of three different ramp options of a skate park. They calculate the...

Add up area to find total change. Pupils learn what it means to find the area under a curve and how to calculate it geometrically. They first find the accumulation of change given a rate of change function. Scholars then apply that...

There are times that it is necessary to add areas to find the area between the curves. The video for AP Calculus presents how to find the area between curves by subtracting the area under the lower curve from the area under the upper...

The more rectangles, the better the estimate. Using the interactive, pupils explore estimating the area under a curve using left-hand sums. Learners respond to challenge questions on how to get better estimates using the same technique.

Consider the relationship between side length and area as an input-output function. Scholars create input-output tables for the area of squares to determine an equation in the first installment of a three-part unit. Ditto for the area of...

Use the area of polygons to calculate the area between curves. Pupils calculate areas under income and expense curves by filling the space with squares and right triangles. Using that information, they determine the profit related to the...

Finding area using rectangles—isn't that a little too simplistic for a calculus course? Viewers learn how to approximate area under a curve using rectangles in the first installment of a seven-part video series on the definite integral....

Middle and high schoolers listen to a scenario about a puppy and use the scenario to develop formulas in order to find the area of a circle. For this circumference lesson, pupils understand how to find the radius, diameter, area of a...

Hands-on investigation of Riemann sums becomes possible without intensive arithmetic gymnastics with this interactive lesson plan. Learners manipulate online graphing tools to develop and test theories about right, left, and...

When are trapezoids better than rectangles? Using trapezoids pupils approximate the area of fabric defined by a function. Just like with rectangles, learners realize the more trapezoids the more accurate the approximation. Scholars use...