Revolve x^2+4y^2=4. a) About y=2. b) About x=2.

Jaydan Ball

Jaydan Ball

Open question

2022-08-20

Help with finding the volume of a solid of revolution
Revolve x 2 + 4 y 2 = 4.
a. About y = 2.
b. About x = 2.
The answer at the back of the book is the same for both
a . 2 π 0 2 8 1 x 2 4 d x = 78.95684
b . 2 π 0 1 8 4 4 y 2 d y = 78.95684
I tried splitting the ellipse into its upper and lower half but I still couldn't get the answer. I get that its symmetrical that's why it's multiplied to two but I don't know how you get the equation inside the integral.

Answer & Explanation

Darren Maxwell

Darren Maxwell

Beginner2022-08-21Added 13 answers

Step 1
Let's try the shell method instead of the disk method? Let's consider the problem b).
The distance from the axis of rotation is ( 2 x ). Considering the top half of the ellipse,
A = 2 π 2 2 ( 2 x ) 1 x 2 4   d x = 4 π 2
Step 2
Doubling this gives us the volume of the whole ellipsoid, 8 π 2 78.95.
I will think about the disk method and maybe add it on.
Leyla Bishop

Leyla Bishop

Beginner2022-08-22Added 1 answers

Step 1
About y = 2: It seems natural to take cross-sections perpendicular to the x-axis. A cross-section at x is a washer, with outer radius R ( x ) = 2 + 1 x 2 4 and inner radius r ( x ) = 2 1 x 2 4 .
The volume is 2 2 ( π R 2 ( x ) π r 2 ( x ) ) d x .
When we expand and simplify, there is a lot of cancellation, just like in the first problem, and we get 2 2 8 π 1 x 2 4 d x .
It is a good idea to take advantage of symmetry. So we integrate from 0 to 2, and multiply the result by 2.
About x = 2: Cylindrical shells seem like a good idea, but we can also do it by taking slices perpendicular to the y-axis.
Step 2
Again we get a washer. The outer radius is the distance from x = 4 4 y 2 to x = 2, and the inner radius is the distance from 4 4 y 2 to 2. When we set up the calculation, we get a lot of cancellation, and the result is
y = 1 1 16 π 1 y 2 d y .
Again, we can take advantage of symmetry, integrate from 0 to 1 and double the result.
The answers happen to be the same. We can see this by making the substitution x = 2 t in the first integral.

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