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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Find Cross Sections: Triangles & Semicircles
Find the volume of the solid whose cross-sections are equilateral triangles and whose base is a disk of radius .
Because the disk is of radius R, the base is defined by the following formula: .Â
The correct formula for the area of an equilateral triangle is as follows:
, withÂ
being the side length of the triangle.
By applying this formula to our general volume formula , we get the following:
.
The radius R defines the bounds as being . Next, s can be found by understanding that the value is the distance from the top to the bottom of the circle at any given point along
. The length of one side of the equilateral triangle, therefore, is
.
Putting it all together, the following is obtained:
*Note: the problem did not specify if the cross sections were perpendicular to the or
axis. Because the base is a circle, this should not change the resulting volume. The only difference should be the use ofÂ
or
as variables in the correct expression.
Example Question #2 : Find Cross Sections: Triangles & Semicircles
Find the volume of the solid whose base is bounded by the circle  and whose cross-sections are right isosceles triangles perpendicular to theÂ
axis, with one leg on the base of the solid.
Because the base is a circle of radius , the bounds are defined as
.
The area of a right isosceles triangle can be found using the formula , whereÂ
is the leg length of the triangle. By applying this to our general volume formula
, we get the following:
.Â
The expression for can be found by understanding the fact that the legÂ
of the triangle is on the base of the solid. The value is twice the height of the semicircleÂ
.Â
Putting it all together, the following is obtained:
Example Question #3 : Find Cross Sections: Triangles & Semicircles
Identify the correct expression for the volume of the solid whose cross-sections are equilateral triangles perpendicular to the axis and whose base is bounded by
 and
.
First, the cross sections being perpendicular to the axis indicates the expression should be in terms of
.Â
The area of an equilateral triangle is , withÂ
being the side length of the triangle. By applying this formula to our general volume formula (
), we get the following:
.
The intersection points of the functions andÂ
areÂ
and
. TheÂ
coordinates of these points will define the bounds for the integral, since our expression is in terms of
.
The base is bounded by and
. Rewriting these functions in terms of
, the following equations are obtained:Â
 and
. SinceÂ
is farther from theÂ
axis, the correct expression for the side length is
.
Putting it all together, the following is obtained:
Example Question #4 : Find Cross Sections: Triangles & Semicircles
Identify the correct expression for the volume of the solid whose base is bounded by ,
, and
, and whose cross-sections are right isosceles triangles, perpendicular to theÂ
axis, with one leg on the base of the solid.
First, the cross sections being perpendicular to the axis indicates the expression should be in terms of
. The area of a right isosceles triangle can be found using the formula
, whereÂ
is the leg length of the triangle. By applying this to our general volume formula
, we get the following:
.
The intersection points of the functions defining the region are and
. TheÂ
coordinates of these points will define the bounds for the integral, since our expression is in terms of
.
The base is bounded by ,Â
and
. Since the cross-sections are perpendicular to theÂ
axis, the leg of the triangle cross-sections are defined by:
.
Putting it all together, the following is obtained:
Example Question #5 : Find Cross Sections: Triangles & Semicircles
Find the volume of the solid whose cross-sections are equilateral triangles and whose base is a disk of radius .
Because the disk is of radius , the base is defined by the following formula:
.Â
The correct formula for the area of an equilateral triangle is as follows:
, with s being the side length of the triangle.
By applying this formula to our general volume formula , we get the following:
.
The radius defines the bounds as being
. Next,Â
can be found by understanding that the value is the distance from the top to the bottom of the circle at any given point along
. The length of one side of the equilateral triangle, therefore, is
.
Putting it all together, the following is obtained:
Â
*Note: the problem did not specify if the cross sections were perpendicular to the or
axis. Because the base is a circle, this should not change the resulting volume. The only difference should be the use of Â
 orÂ
as variables in the correct expression.
Example Question #6 : Find Cross Sections: Triangles & Semicircles
Find the expression for the volume of the solid whose cross-sections are semicircles perpendicular to the axis and whose base is bounded byÂ
and
.
Since the cross-sections are perpendicular to the axis, the volume expression will be in terms of
.Â
The area of a semicircle is . By applying this formula to our general volume formula
, we get the following:
.
Since the region bounded by  andÂ
 is the base of the solid, the intersection points of these functions will create the bounds for the volume expression. These points are
 and
. Since the expression is in terms of
, theÂ
coordinates can be referenced for the bounds.
Next, an expression for must be determined. Since the radiusÂ
is half the diameter of the semicircle, and the diameter of the semicircle is the length stretching between the functionsÂ
and
, the expression of the radius is the following:
. Simplified, this reads
.
Putting this all together, we find the following:
Example Question #7 : Find Cross Sections: Triangles & Semicircles
Find the volume of the solid whose cross-sections are semicircles and whose base is bounded by the circle .
The base is defined by the following formula: . Therefore, the radius of the base is
. The radiusÂ
defines the bounds as beingÂ
The correct formula for the area of a semicircle is as follows:
, with r being the radius of the semicircle.
By applying this formula to our general volume formula , we get the following:
.
Next, an expression for must be determined. The radiusÂ
is half the diameter of the semicircle cross-section. The value ofÂ
is equivalent to the half the height of the base, or
. Therefore,
.Â
Putting this all together, we find the following:
Â
*Note: the problem did not specify if the cross sections were perpendicular to the orÂ
axis. Because the base is a circle, this should not change the resulting volume. The only difference should be the use ofÂ
 orÂ
as variables in the correct expression.
Example Question #8 : Find Cross Sections: Triangles & Semicircles
Identify the correct expression for the volume of the solid whose cross-sections are semicircles perpendicular to the axis and whose base is bounded byÂ
and
.
Since the cross-sections are perpendicular to the axis, the volume expression will be in terms of
.Â
The area of a semicircle is . By applying this formula to our general volume formula
, we get the following:
.
Since the region bounded by andÂ
is the base of the solid, the intersection points of these functions will create the bounds for the volume expression. These points are
 and
. Since the expression is in terms of
, theÂ
coordinates can be referenced for the bounds.
Next, an expression for must be determined. Since the radiusÂ
is half the diameter of the semicircle, and the diameter of the semicircle is the length stretching between the functionsÂ
and
, the expression of the radius is the following:
.
Putting this all together, we find the following:
Example Question #9 : Find Cross Sections: Triangles & Semicircles
Identify the correct expression for the volume of the solid whose cross-sections are semicircles perpendicular to the axis and whose base is bounded byÂ
and
.
Since the cross-sections are perpendicular to the axis, the volume expression will be in terms of
.Â
The area of a semicircle is . By applying this formula to our general volume formula
, we get the following:
.
Since the region bounded by  andÂ
is the base of the solid, the intersection points of these functions will create the bounds for the volume expression. These points areÂ
and
. Since the expression is in terms of
, theÂ
coordinates can be referenced for the bounds.
Next, an expression for must be determined. Since the radiusÂ
is half the diameter of the semicircle, and the diameter of the semicircle is the length stretching between the functionsÂ
and
, the expression of the radius is the following:
. This can be simplified:Â
Putting this all together, we find the following:
Example Question #10 : Find Cross Sections: Triangles & Semicircles
Identify the correct expression for the volume of the solid whose cross-sections are semicircles parallel to the y axis and whose base is bounded by ,Â
and
.
The cross-sections are parallel to the axis; this is another way of saying the cross-sections are perpendicular to theÂ
axis. Therefore, the volume expression will be in terms of
.Â
The area of a semicircle is . By applying this formula to our general volume formula
, we get the following:
.
Since the region is bounded by ,
, and
, the base is the area between theÂ
axis andÂ
on the interval
. Since the expression is in terms of
, the intervalÂ
will define the bounds.
Next, an expression for must be determined. Since the radiusÂ
is half the diameter of the semicircle, and the diameter of the semicircle is the length stretching betweenÂ
and theÂ
axis, the expression of the radius is the following:
.Â
Putting this all together, we find the following:
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