Cameron Clary

Riemann Sums, the Trapezoidal

Rule, and Simpson’s Rule are
used to find the area of a
certain region between or
under curves that usually can
not be integrated by hand.
Riemann Sums estimate the area
under a curve by using the sum of
areas of equal width rectangles
placed under a curve.
The more rectangles you have,
the more accurate the estimated
area.
Riemann Sums are placed on a closed integral with the
formula:

ba
 f ( x0 )  f ( x1 )  f ( x2 )...  f ( xn )
n
The interval is [a,b] and n is the number
of rectangles used
ba
Is also called Δx and refers to the width of the rectangles
n

 f ( x0 )  f ( x1 )  f ( x2 )...  f ( xn )
Represents the height of the rectangles
 There are three types of Riemann
Sums:
Left Riemann, Right Riemann, and
Midpoint Riemann

The left, right, and midpoint refer to the corners of the

rectangles and how they are placed on the curve in order
to estimate the area.
 Left
Riemann Sums place the left corner of the rectangles
used to estimate the area on the curve.

Left Riemann sums are an underestimation of the area under a curve due
to the empty space between the rectangles and the curve.
 Right Riemann sums place the Right corner of the
rectangles on the curve.

Right Riemann Sums are an

overestimation of area because of all the
extra space that is not under the curve that
is still calculated in the area because it is
inside the rectangles
  Midpoint Riemann Sums place the middle of the
Rectangle on the curve

Midpoint Riemann Sums are the most

accurate because the area found in the
part of the rectangle that is over the
curve makes up for the area lost in the
space between the curve and the
rectangle
 f ( x)  x 2
On the interval [0,1] with n=4
First, find the width of the rectangles or Δx
b  a 1 0 1
 
n 4 4
Then, starting with a, the first number on the interval, plug the numbers
into the f ( x)  x 2 formula, adding Δx each time.
So… x0  0
1
x1 
4 *You should always begin
with a and end with b, if
1
x2  not, you plugged in the
2 numbers wrong
3
x3 
4
x4  1
 ba 1
Once you have the numbers
 and x0  0
n 4 x1 
1
4
You can plug them into the formula:
1
ba  1 1 3  x2 
 f (0)  f ( )  f ( )  f ( )  2
n  4 2 4 
3
x3 
•When doing a Left Riemann, plug all 4
numbers into the formula except for the last x4  1
number.
•When doing a Right Riemann, plug in all
numbers into the formula except for the first
number.
•When doing a Midpoint Riemann, average
the numbers and then plug in those values to
the formula.
 1 1 1 3 
 f (0)  f ( )  f ( )  f ( ) 
4 4 2 4 

Then, plug the 0, ¼, ½, and ¾ into f ( x)  x 2 so you get…

1 1 1 9 7
 0      units 2

4  16 4 16  32
 1 1 1 3 
 f ( )  f ( )  f ( )  f (1) 
4 4 2 4 

Then, plug the ¼, ½, ¾, and 1 into f ( x)  x 2 so you get…

11 1 9  15
   1  units 2

4 16 4 16  32
 1 1 3 5 7 
 f ( )  f ( )  f ( )  f ( )
4 8 8 8 8 
Then, plug the ¼, ½, ¾, and 1 into f ( x)  x 2 so you get…

1 1 9 25 49  25
 f ( )  f ( )  f ( )  f ( )   units 2

4  64 64 64 64  64
If the area can be found by hand, you can compare your
answers from the Riemann Sums to the actual answer to
see how accurate your estimation was
In this problem, we can find the area by hand.
The area for this problem is:
1
1
0 
2 2
[ x ]dx units
3
Comparing the answers, the area found using the Left Riemann was under
the amount of the actual area, the Right Riemann was over the amount of
the actual area, and the Midpoint Riemann was the closest to the actual
answer. None of the Riemann Sum types gave the exact answer, but that is
because they are estimations.
Calculate the Left and Right Riemann Sum for f ( x)  sin x
on [0, π] using 4 rectangles.
x0  0

ba 

x1 
 4
n 4

x2 
2
3
x3 
4
x4  
    3 
LR   f (0)  f ( )  f ( )  f ( ) 
4 4 2 4 
 2 2    2
LR  0  1    1.8961units 2

4 2 2  4

   3 
RR   f ( )  f ( )  f ( )  f ( ) 
4 4 2 4 
 2 2    2
RR   1  0   1.8961units 2
4 2 2  4
 Trapezoidal Rule is very similar to the Riemann Sums,
but instead of using rectangles to approximate area, it uses
trapezoids. The trapezoidal rule is more accurate than the
Riemann sums.
When using the Trapezoidal Rule, use the formula:

ba
 f ( x0 )  2 f ( x1 )  2 f ( x2 )  ... f ( xn )
2n
The reason all but the first and last functions are multiplied by
two is because their sides are shared by two trapezoids.

ba
Is still added to each xnumber
n like in the Riemann Sums
Use the Trapezoidal Rule to Calculate f ( x)  x 2

on the interval [0,1] when n=4

ba
 f ( x0 )  2 f ( x1 )  2 f ( x2 )  ... f ( xn )
2n
x0  0
1
ba 1 x1 
Δx=
 ba 1 Once you have all this

n 4
4
1
 information, all you
have to do is plug the
x2  2n 8 numbers into the
2 formula
3
x3 
4
x4  1
 f ( x)  x 2
[0,1] n=4
ba
 f ( x0 )  2 f ( x1 )  2 f ( x2 )  ... f ( xn )
2n

1 1 1 3 
T   f (0)  2 f ( )  2 f ( )  2 f ( )  f (1) 
8 4 2 4 

1  1 1 9  11
T  0     1  units 2

8  8 2 8  32
Just like in the Riemann Sums, if the area can be found by
hand, you can sue that answer to check to see how close
the estimate was to the exact answer. In this particular
problem, the exact answer is 1/3units squared or .3333
units squared. Using the Trapezoidal Rule, the estimate
comes out to be .34375 units squared. The estimated
answer is very close to the exact answer.
Calculate the Trapezoidal Rule for f ( x ) 
1
on the interval [1,2] when n=5 x
x0  1
6
x1 
5
ba 1 ba 1
  x2 
7
n 5 2n 10 5
8
x3 
5
9
x4 
5
x5  2
 1  5 5 5 5 1  1753
T  1  2( )  2( )  2( )  2( )     .6956units 2
10  6 7 8 9 2  2520
Simpson’s Rule is more accurate than both the
Riemann Sums and the Trapezoidal Rule. The
Simpson’s Rule uses various figures to fill in the
area under a curve in order to estimate the area
 The formula for the Simpson’s Rule is:

ba
 f ( x0 )  4 f ( x1 )  2 f ( x2 )  4 f ( x3 )....  f ( xn )
3n
*When using the Simpson’s Rule n can NOT be an odd
number

Is still added to
ba each xnumber just
like in the
Riemann Sum
n and in the
Trapezoidal Rule
Calculate the Simpson’s Rule for f ( x)  x
on the interval [0,4] using n=4

x0  0
ba ba 1
1 x1  1  Now plug all the
n 3n 3 information
found into the
x2  2 formula

x3  3
x4  4
ba
 f ( x0 )  4 f ( x1 )  2 f ( x2 )  4 f ( x3 )....  f ( xn )
3n

1
S   f (0)  4 f (1)  2 f (2)  4 f (3)  f (4) 
3
1
S  [o  4  2 2  4 3  2]  5.2522units 2

3
Calculate the Simpson’s Rule for f ( x)  9  x 2

on [3,5] using n=4

x0  3
ba 1 7 ba 1
 x1 
2

n 2 x2  4
3n 6
9
x3 
2
x4  5
 1 7 9 
S   f (3)  4 f ( )  2 f (4)  4 f ( )  f (5) 
6 2 2 
1 44
S   0  13  14  45  16   units 2

6 3
 1. Find the Left Riemann of f ( x)  x3 on [0,2] when
n=6
 2. Find the Right Riemann of f ( x)  x on [0,2]
3

when n=6
 3. Find the Midpoint Riemann of f ( x)  x3 on [0,2]
when n=6
 4. Calculate the Trapezoidal rule for f ( x)  sin x

on [0,π] for n=4

1
 5. Calculate the Simpson’s Rule for
1  x2
on [2,4] where n=4
 1. 1 1 8 64 125  76
LR  0   1   units 2

3 27 27 27 27  27
1 1 8 64 125  49
 2. RR    1    8  units 2

3  27 27 27 27  9

 3. M R  1  1  1  1  125  343  27  1331  2753 units 2

3  216 27 216 216 8 216  648

 2 2 
 4. T  0  2 22  0  2.1063units 2
8 2 2 

1 1 4 1 4 1
 5. S   4( )   4( )   .2187units 2

6  5 29 5 53 17 
An Approximation of the integral of f(x)=x^2 on the interval [0, 100] Using a
Midpoint Riemann Sum. Riemann. Web. 6 Mar. 2011.
Anton, Howard. Calculus A New Horizon. Sixth ed. New York: John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., 1999. Print.
Bartkovich, Kevin, John Goebel, Julie Graves, and Daniel Teague.
Contemporary Calculus through applications. Chicago, Illinois: Everyday
Learning Corporation, 1999. Print.
Beeson, Michael. It is possible to make a Riemann Sum. Riemann Sums, San
Jose, California. MathXpert: Learning Mathematics in the 21st Century.
Web. 6 Mar. 2011.
Karl. Right Riemann Sum of a Parabola. Section 10: Integrals, Karl's Calc
Tutor. http://www.karlscalculus.org/calc10_0.html. Web. 6 Mar. 2011.
"ListenToYouTube.com: Youtube to MP3, get mp3 from youtube video, flv to
mp3, extract audio from youtube, youtube mp3." Convert YouTube to MP3,
Get MP3 from YouTube video, FLV to MP3, extract audio from YouTube,
YouTube MP3 - ListenToYouTube.com.. Web. 6 Mar. 2011.
<http://www.listentoyoutube.com/download.php?video=Et8Cjqy9
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2011.
©Cameron Clary 2011