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Volume of Solids
One of the most important topics in calculus is the integral. Integrals can be used in many
different situations, from finding the area under a curve to the volume of solids. The integral is
calculated by splitting the function up into infinitely small areas, with length dx and height f(x),
and taking the sum of all of those areas. A shortcut to find the integral is by taking the
antiderivative, which is a synonym of integral, of a function and evaluating it on an interval,
which will be explained more later.
b

f ( x ) dx
a

Figure 1. Integral Notation

There are four key variables in an integral. f(x) represents the height of the rectangles
at every point and is the function that is being evaluated, a is the starting point of the integral,
b is the ending point, and dx represents the width of the rectangles that are being summed

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and also shows that the function is the derivative of a function and it can be integrated.

x dx
0

dx
a

Figure 2. Graph of Integral

Figure 2 shows an example of the graph of a function being graphed with its integral next
to it with all of the key variables labeled. The area under the curve is calculated by creating a lot
of infinitely small rectangles and taking the sum of all of them. It is necessary for them to be

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infinitely small because it is fitting rectangles under every part of the curve imaginable, so in
order for the rectangles to completely fit, the width has to be very close to zero.
There is a shortcut to taking the sum of all of these rectangles. There is a relationship
between a function and its derivative that states the integral from zero to a of the derivative is
equal to the value of f(a) in the original function. For example, if f(x) =
written as f(x) =

0.5

x which can also be

and the interval is from zero to nine the notation would look like

x 0.5 dx

. To evaluate this integral, take the antiderivative of f(x), because f(x) is really the

derivative of a different function that can find the integral at any point. The antiderivative of this

function is equal to

2
F ( x )= x 2
3

+ C. When taking the integral of a function, there could

always be a constant vertical translation that is denoted by the variable C but in this paper it

will be assumed that C = 0. To evaluate the interval,

F ( 9 ) F ( 0 )= x 0.5 dx ,
0

2 2 2 2
2
9 0 =18 units . If all of the rectangles were to be summed up by hand,
3
3

be the height at every value of x from zero to nine, and dx is a number close to zero.

0.5

would

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dx

Figure 3. Graph of Previous Integral

9

Figure 3 shows the graphical representation of the integral

x 0.5 dx

with an example

dx drawn in. The answer calculated with the fundamental theorem of calculus is confirmed with
the TI Nspire Student Software.

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Area between Two Curves:
Calculus can also be used to find the area between two curves by taking the integral of
both curves and subtracting the function that has smaller y values from the function above it.

dx

13.5

Figure 4. Area between Curves

Figure 4 shows a situation where on the interval A to B, the function f1(x) is above the
function f2(x). The areas under each curve are shaded. All of the area under f2(x) is also under
f1(x), so the area between the curves is above f2(x) but still under f1(x) which is shaded in a

different color. To find this numerical value, this equation is used,

f 1 ( x ) dx f 2 ( x ) dx
a

This equation takes the area of f2(x) out of the total area of f1(x), thus finding the area between
the two curves.

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For example, given f1(x) =

x and f2(x) = 3 . Shown in Figure 4 actually is a

graph of the two functions on the same set of axes. They intersect at y = 9, making the interval

from zero to nine. The notation for this problem is:

x dx x dx . As seen on the previous

3

page, the integral of f1(x) from zero to nine equals 18. For f2(x) the antiderivative, F2(x) equals

x
6

so

F2(9) F2(0) = 13.5. The total area between the curves is equal to 18 - 13.5,

which equals 4.5 units squared. This number is also confirmed in Figure 4 using the TI Nspire
Student Software.
Solids of Revolution:
Another use of integrals is finding the volume of solids. There are three methods to
finding the volume of solids of revolution: disk, ring, and shell method. Additionally, the crosssection method is used when the solids are not rotated, but will be talked about in the next
section.
The disk method takes a single function, rotates it around a given axis, and finds the
volume of the resulting solid. The volume is found by slicing the resulting solid into infinitely
small width disks and taking the sum of the volume of every individual disk, with the volume
formula for one disk being area of the base times the width. The general equation can be seen
below.
b

V = r 2 du
a

Figure 5. Disk Method Equation

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Shown above is the general equation to find the volume of a rotated solid using the disk
method. The variables are a which is the beginning of the interval, b is the end of the
interval, r is the radius of the disk (which is really just the function), and du is either dy or
dx depending on whether the axis of rotation is vertical or horizontal. If the axis is rotation is
horizontal, it will be dx and the function will be in terms of x, and if the axis is vertical it is dy
and the function must be in terms of y.
An easy way to visualize this process is to take the function and draw in a random thin
straight line that goes from the function to the axis of rotation that is between the interval. This is
the width of one disk that will be measured. Then draw in what the line will look like when
rotated around the axis. When done, it should look something like the disk below.

Figure 6. One Disk

Figure 6 shows what the process explained earlier will look like, picture thanks to the
second source in the works cited. Here it is easy to see that the width of the disk is dx and the

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radius is just the function, which is

y=3 x , with an arbitrary interval from zero to one.

Therefore to find the volume of each disk, the formula is just area of the base times the width.
The base is a circle so it is V 1= r 2 dx

where r is the function. To expand this to the volume

of the whole solid, the integral is used to evaluate every disk and take the sum quickly so

V = (3 x)2 dx

with the final value coming out to 3

units cubed.

The next method is the ring method. This method is very similar to the disk method, but
there are two functions so there is a hole in the solid. This method is a combination of the disk
method and finding the area between two curves, because it is basically finding the volume
between two solids of revolution. To split one ring out from the entire solid, draw in the dx or dy
cut (which is perpendicular to the axis of rotation), and rotate the cut around the axis and draw
what it would look like. It is easy to see that there is a hole resulting from the function that is
closer to the axis. To find the volume of this one ring, take the volume of the total ring
V T = r 21 du , and subtract the volume of the hole, V H = r 22 du. To find the total volume,
take the integral from a to b of V T V H

to take the sum of all of the individual rings, with the

notation as seen below.

r
( 1 r 22 ) du
2

V =
a

Figure 7. Ring Method General Equation

Shown above is the general equation while using the ring method. It is essentially the
same as the equation used for the disk method, however one radius represents the actual solid
whereas the other is the empty space between the axis of revolution and the solid. r 1 is the

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function that is further from the axis of revolution and r 2 is the function closer. Like in the
disk method, du represents the width of the ring that is infinitely small and can be either dx or dy.

dx

Figure 8. Ring Method Graphed

Figure 8 shows an example graph of a situation where the ring method would be used.
One ring is spliced out at x = 2 that was arbitrarily chosen. The functions are f1(x) =

f2(x) =

x
3

x and

where the axis of rotation is the x-axis so it is a dx cut. F1(x) is above f2(x) on the

interval of zero to nine so it will be used as r 1 and f2(x) will be used as r 2 . To find the
volume of this one ring, take the volume of the total disk and subtract out the volume of the inner
disk, or the empty area between the axis and the ring. To find the volume of the entire solid

2
x 2
created, the equation is V = ( x ( ) ) dx . This can be evaluated on a calculator with the
3
0

volume coming out to 13.5 .

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If the axis of rotation is not the x axis but another horizontal line, for example the axis of
rotation being y = -2, the radius is going to change. To make up for this change, the location of
the axis must be added or subtracted to the radius. If the axis is a negative number, like -2, it is
added to the radius, and if it is a positive number it is subtracted. For example, the problem that
was just done in the previous paragraph will be redone, this time with the axis of rotation at
y = -2.

dx

Figure 9. Ring Method around y = -2

Figure 9 shows the graph of the ring method if the axis of rotation is at y = -2. It is easy
to see that it is the same graph except the radius of the ring is increased by two units.

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x +2

2
x
( 2( +2) )dx
3
The equation for the volume of the ring becomes
, which when

V =
0

simplified becomes V = (x +4 x
0

x 4x
+
)dx . Again using the fundamental theorem is
9 3

possible, but in this case it is much easier to just plug it into a calculator, so when doing this the
volume becomes 31.5

units cubed.

The last method for solids of revolution is the shell method. In the disk and ring method,
the dx or dy cut is perpendicular to the axis of rotation, but in the shell method the cut is parallel.
So if the axis of rotation is the y-axis, it will be a dx cut. The shell method makes a ton of
infinitely thin hollow cylinders when rotating and takes the sum of all of the cylinders to get the
total volume. To find the volume of each cylinder, take an infinitely small slice, dy or dx cut, and
rotate it around the parallel axis. A hollow cylinder is created that has an infinitely small
thickness. It can then be flattened out to be a rectangular prism with an infinitely small width,
which is the dx or dy cut. The length of the rectangle is the circumference of the cylinder,
2 r

where r will be either x or y, and the height is the function in terms of x or y depending

on the axis. To find the volume it is length times width times height, so the general shell method

equation is V = 2 rh du .
a

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Figure 10. Shell Method Graphed

Shown above is a graph of the shell method, picture thanks to the first source in the
works cited. This specific graph shows half of one of the cylinders created using the shell
method. The radius in this case is x, height of f(x) and width of dx. Therefore to find the volume

using the shell method use the formula V = 2 x f ( x)dx . The shell method is especially
a

useful when the axis of rotation is a vertical line and it is complicated to change it from terms of
x to terms of y.
Cross-Sectional Method:
Integrals can also be used to find the volume of cross-sectional cut perpendicular to the
axis that are raised up from the graph instead of rotated. To find the volume of one section of the
solid, multiply the area of the cross-sectional cut (which is generally squares, triangles, etc.) by
the infinitely small thickness, which is du. The general setup for the integral can be seen below.
b

area du
a

Figure 11. General Cross-Sectional Equation

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Shown above is the general equation for the cross-section method. The area formula
depends on the type of cut. If it is a rectangle use the area of a rectangle, if it is a triangle use the
area of a triangle, and so on. Du represents the infinitely small thickness of each cut. This can be
dy, dx, or dz depending on the axis of rotation. Unlike all of the previous methods, this method
has the potential to have the variable z in the equation. This method finds the volume of a solid
because it cuts up a solid into a ton of equally small widths, finds the volume of each, and adds
them all together to get total volume.
An example of the cross-section method is using the region bound by the graphs
f 1 ( x ) = x

and f 2 ( x )=

x
3

in the first quadrant. The cross-section is perpendicular to the x-

axis and is isosceles right triangles with one leg on the base. A graphical representation can be
seen below.

dx

Figure 12. Cross-Sectional Graph

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Figure 12 shows the example in the previous paragraph shown on a graph. Remember
that this is in three dimensions, so imagine the top of the triangle pointing straight off of the
paper. It has a thickness of dx, which is infinitely small, so it is not shown to be straight up
because it would be invisible. The cross section of the graph is an isosceles right triangle with the

base being one of the legs, so the base of this triangle is

x
. With it being isosceles, the
3

height is the same as the base, so the area of the one triangle is
volume, simply multiply

x
A=0.5( x )
3

. To find the

Adx , since dx is the width. To expand this to the whole solid, use

x 2
0.5(
x
) d x . The interval zero to nine was chosen because that is where the
the integral

3
0
graphs intersect. After evaluating on a calculator, the final value comes out to 1.35 units cubed.
To conclude, integrals can be used in many different ways. From taking the area under
one curve, to finding the area between two curves, to even finding the volumes of solids
(whether revolved or not), integrals are truly useful in many situations. It does all of this by
taking the sum of continuous areas or volumes to find the overall area or volume of the figure.
All of the concepts explained in this paper are relatively simple and are only the tip of the
iceberg with what integrals can do. Integrals genuinely are integral for studying mathematics.

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Works Cited
Roberts, Lila F. "The Method of Shells." Mathdemos. N.p., 15 Sept. 2010. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
<http://mathdemos.org/mathdemos/shellmethod/>.
"Volumes." MyWorld. Blogspot, 15 May 2011. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
<http://myworld11.blogspot.com/>.
All other figures were created by the author.