1 Unit 8

1.1 16.8
R RR RR
STOKES’ THEOREM: C
F · dr = curl F · dS = curl F · ndS
S S

Conditions on S : oriented piecewise-smooth surface bounded by C.

Conditions on C : simple, closed, piecewise-smooth curve with positive orientation.
Conditions on F : vector field whose components have continuous partial derivatives on an open region in R3 that contains
S.
R RR
Green’s theorem is a special case of Stokes’ Theorem when S is flat in the xy−plane, specifically C F · dr = curl F · kdA
S
R
If F is taken as a velocity field, C
F · dr is the circulation; the tendency of a point to move around the curve C.

Verify that Stokes’ Theorem is true for the given vector field F(x, y, z) = ⟨−2yz, y, 3x⟩, and surface S, the part of the
paraboloid z = 5 − x2 − y 2 lying above the plane z = 1 oriented upward.

First we find the boundary curve. We have x2 + y 2 = 4. Parametrizing, we have x = 2 cos θ, y = 2 sin θ, z =
1, 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2π. Inputting, we get ⟨−4 sin θ, 2 sin θ, 2 cos θ⟩. Also, r′ (t) = ⟨−2 sin θ, 2 cos θ, 0⟩. Taking the dot
product, we get 8 sin2 θ +2 sin θ cos θ = 4(1−cos 2θ)+sin 2θ. The integral of this is [4θ −sin 2θ/2−cos 2θ/2]2π 0 =
8π. Using Stokes’ theorem, we find the curl to be ⟨0, −2y − 3, 2z⟩.
In polar coordinates, the region of integration over the projection of S onto the xy−plane is 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2π, 0 ≤
r ≤ 2. Since z = 5 − r2 , curl F becomes ⟨0, −2r sin θ − 3, 10 − 2r2 ⟩. By the flux formula for graphs, we have
R 2π R 2
−gx = 2x = 2r cos θ, −gy = 2y = 2r sin θ, so we integrate 0 0 −4r3 sin2 θ − 6r2 sin θ + 10r − 2r3 drdθ
R 2π R 2π
= 0 [−r4 sin2 θ − 2r3 sin θ + 5r2 − r4 /2]20 dθ = 0 8 cos 2θ − 16 sin θ + 4dθ = [4 sin 2θ + 16 cos θ + 4θ]2π0 = 8π.

Question: What is the intuitive geometric interpretation of Stokes’ theorem?