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4
Definite integral applications: velocities and rates
In this chapter, we encounter a number of applications of the definite integral

to practical problems:
1. The connection between acceleration, velocity and displacement of a

moving object.
• antiderivatives and integrals allow us to deduce details of the motion of

an object from underlying Laws of Motion;
• we consider both uniform and accelerated motion;
• we address air resistance and its effect.
2. The connection between a rate of change (e.g. rate of growth) and the total
change (i.e. the net change resulting from all the accumulation and loss
over a time span).
• we show such examples also involve integration - a cumulative summa-

tion of infinitesimal changes;
• this allows us to extend to a variety of novel situations;
• we see examples of this type in Section 4.2.
3. Determining the average value of a function, as discussed in Section 4.3.
In all cases, properly setting up the definite integral that corresponds to the
desired net change is highlighted. Computations at this stage are relatively
straightforward to emphasize the process of setting up the appropriate inte-
grals and understanding what they represent.
82 I N T E G R A L C A L C U L U S W I T H A P P L I C AT I O N S F O R L I F E S C I E N C E S
4.1 Displacement, velocity and acceleration
Section 4.1 Learning goals
1. Define distance, displacement, velocity, and acceleration and explain the

relationship between them using derivatives and integrals.
2. Compute displacement of an object given an initial position and velocity

or acceleration.
3. Define terminal velocity and explain how it can be computed.
Given x(t ) as the position of some particle at time t recall that the velocity
v(t ) and acceleration a(t ) are defined by:
dx dv
= v, = a.
dt dt
This means that position is an anti-derivative of velocity and velocity is an Mastered Material Check
anti-derivative of acceleration. 1. Describe the relationships between
Since position, x(t ), is an anti-derivative of velocity, v(t ), by the Funda- position, velocity, and acceleration
using the term ‘derivative’ or
mental Theorem of Calculus, it follows that over the time interval T1 ≤ t ≤ T2 , ‘antiderivative’.
T2 T2

v(t ) dt = x(t ) = x(T2 ) − x(T1 ). (4.1)
T1 T1
The quantity on the right hand side of Eqn. (4.1) is a displacement, i.e., the
difference between the position at time T1 and the position at time T2 . In the
case that T1 = 0, T2 = T , we have
T
v(t ) dt = x(T ) − x(0),
0
as the displacement over the time interval 0 ≤ t ≤ T .

Similarly, since velocity is an anti-derivative of acceleration, the Funda-
mental Theorem of Calculus says that
T2 T2

a(t ) dt = v(t ) = v(T2 ) − v(T1 ). (4.2)
T1 T1
As above, we also have that

T T

a(t ) dt = v(t ) = v(T ) − v(0)
0 0
is the net change in velocity between time 0 and time T (though this quantity
does not have a special name).
Geometric interpretations
Suppose we are given a graph of the velocity v(t ), as shown on the left of
Figure 4.1. Then by the definition of the definite integral, we can interpret
D E F I N I T E I N T E G R A L A P P L I C AT I O N S : V E L O C I T I E S A N D R AT E S 83
T2
T1 v(t ) dt as the “area” associated with the curve (counting positive and
negative contributions) between the endpoints T1 and T2 . Then according to
the above observations, this area represents the displacement of the particle
between the two times T1 and T2 .
Figure 4.1: The total area under the velocity

v a graph represents net displacement, and the
total area under the graph of acceleration
This area represents the net change in velocity over
This area the interval T1 ≤ t ≤ T2 .
represents
represents net
displacement
velocity change
t t
T1 T2 T1 T2
Mastered Material Check

Similarly, by previous remarks, the area under the curve a(t ) is a geomet- 2. In both panels of Fig. 4.1, draw a
ric quantity that represents the net change in the velocity, as shown on the tangent line to the curve when t = T1 .
What do these tangent lines
right of Figure 4.1. represent (if anything)?
Next, we consider two examples where either the acceleration or the
velocity is constant. We use the results above to compute the displacements
in each case.
Displacement for uniform motion

We first examine the case when the velocity is constant, i.e. v(t ) = v =
constant; this is referred to as uniform motion. This means the acceleration
is zero since a = dv/dt = 0 when v is constant. By direct antidifferentiation,
displacement is,
T T

v dt = vt = v(T − 0) = vT .
0 0
However, applying result Eqn. (4.1) over the time interval 0 ≤ t ≤ T also leads
to
T
v dt = x(T ) − x(0).
0
Therefore, it must be true that the two expressions obtained above must be
equal, i.e.
x(T ) − x(0) = vT .
Thus, for uniform motion, the displacement is proportional to the velocity

and to the time elapsed. The final position is
x(T ) = x(0) + vT .
This is true for all time T . We refer to the initial position x(0) as x0 and can
rewrite the results in terms of the more familiar (lower case) notation for time,
t, i.e.
x(t ) = x0 + vt. (4.3)
Uniformly accelerated motion

Consider the case when the acceleration a is a constant. We can determine the
position of an opbect with such uniformly accelerated motion at a given time.
By direct antidifferentiation,
T T

a dt = at = a(T − 0) = aT .
0 0
However, using Equation (4.2) for 0 ≤ t ≤ T leads to
T
a dt = v(T ) − v(0).
0
Since these two results must match, v(T ) − v(0) = aT so that
v(T ) = v(0) + aT .
Let us refer to the initial velocity v(0) as v0 . The above connection between
velocity and acceleration holds for any final time T , i.e., it is true for all t that:
v(t ) = v0 + at. (4.4)

This means that velocity at time t is the initial velocity incremented by an
increase (over the given time interval) due to the acceleration. From this we
can find the displacement and position of the particle as follows: let the initial
position be x(0) = x0 . Then
T
v(t ) dt = x(T ) − x0 . (4.5)
0
But
T T T
t2 2
v(t ) dt = (v0 + at ) dt = v0t + a = v0 T + a T . (4.6)
0 0 2 2
0
So, setting Equations (4.5) and (4.6) equal means that
T2
x(T ) − x0 = v0 T + a.
2
But this is true for all final times, T , i.e. this holds for any time t, so that,
t2
x(t ) = x0 + v0t + a . (4.7)
2
This expression represents the position of a particle at time t given that it 3. A dropped object accelerates
experienced a constant acceleration. The initial velocity v0 , initial position x0 uniformly; give an example of when
Eqn. (4.7) would stop describing the
and acceleration a allowed us to predict the position of the object x(t ) at any position of this object.
later time t. That is the meaning of Eqn. (4.7)
Non-constant acceleration and terminal velocity

In general, the acceleration of a falling body is not actually uniform, because
frictional forces impede that motion. A better approximation to the rate of
change of velocity is given by the differential equation
dv
= g − kv. (4.8)
dt
We assume that initially the velocity is zero, i.e. v(0) = v0 = 0.

This equation is a mathematical statement that relates changes in velocity
v(t ) to the constant acceleration due to gravity, g, and drag forces due to
friction with the atmosphere. A good approximation for such drag forces
is the term kv, proportional to the velocity v, with k, a positive constant, Other courses
representing a frictional coefficient. Students can review differential
Because v(t ) appears both in the derivative and in the expression kv, we equations in Chapters 11-13 from Math
154: Differential Calculus for the Life
cannot apply the methods developed in the previous section directly. That Sciences.
is, we do not have an expression that depends on time whose antiderivative
we would calculate. The derivative of v(t ) (on the left) is connected to the
unknown v(t ) on the right.
Finding the velocity and then the displacement for this type of motion
requires special techniques. In Chapter 7, we develop a systematic approach,
called Separation of Variables, to find analytic solutions to equations such as
Eqn. (4.8).
Here, we use a special procedure that allows us to determine the velocity
- in this particular case. We first recall the following result from first term
calculus material (see Chapter 12, Math154):
The differential equation and initial condition
dy
= −ky, y ( 0 ) = y0 (4.9)
dt
has a solution
y(t ) = y0 e−kt . (4.10)
Eqn. (4.8) implies that
a(t ) = g − kv(t ),
where a(t ) is the acceleration at time t. Taking a derivative of both sides of Mastered Material Check
this equation leads to 4. Why does
da dv
= −k = −ka. dv
= g − kt
dt dt dt
We observe that this equation has the same form as Eqn. (4.9) (with a replac- Imply that a(t ) = g − kv(t )?
ing y), which implies (according to 4.10) that a(t ) is given by
a(t ) = C e−kt = a0 e−kt .
Initially, at time t = 0, the acceleration is a(0) = g (since a(t ) = g − kv(t ),

and v(0) = 0). Therefore,
a(t ) = g e−kt .
Since we now have an explicit formula for acceleration vs time, we can apply 50 velocity v(t)
direct integration as we did above to find velocity. The result is: 40
30
T T T
−kt −kt
a(t ) dt = ge dt = g e dt 20
0 0 0
−kt T
e
= g (e
−kT − 1) g
10
= g = 1 − e−kT .
−k 0 −k k t
5 10 15 20 25 30
In the calculation, we used the fact that the antiderivative of e−kt is e−kt /k.
Figure 4.2: Terminal velocity (m/s) for
As before, based on Eqn. (4.2) this integral of the acceleration over acceleration due to gravity g=9.8 m/s2 ,
0 ≤ t ≤ T must equal v(T ) − v(0). But v(0) = 0 by assumption, and the result and k = 0.2/s. The velocity reaches a near
constant 49 m/s by about 20 s.
is true for any final time T , so, in particular, setting T = t, and combining both
results leads to an expression for the velocity at any time:
g
v(t ) = 1 − e−kt . (4.11)

k
We study Differential Eqn. (4.8) again in Section 7.1, in the context of a more
detailed discussion of differential equations. Mastered Material Check
From our result here, we can also determine how the velocity behaves in 5. Verify Eqn. 4.11 with
the long term: observe that for t → ∞, the exponential term e−kt → 0, so that differentiation.
6. Consider Figure 4.2; when is the
g g
v(t ) → (1 − very small quantity) ≈ . velocity 10m/s?
k k
Thus, when drag forces are in effect, the falling object does not continue to
accelerate indefinitely: it eventually attains a terminal velocity. We have
seen that this limiting velocity is v = g/k. The object continues to fall at this
(approximately constant) speed as shown in Figure 4.2. The terminal velocity
is also a steady state value of Eqn. (4.8), i.e. a value of the velocity at which
no further change occurs.
4.2 From rates of change to total change
1. Describe how rates of changes of function relate to the original function.
2. Compare the total change of two functions when given their rate of growth
as a graph.
3. Given a rate of change, compute total change over an interval.
In this section, we consider several examples in which the rate of change is

specified. We use this information to obtain the total change that occurs over
some time period.
Note: we use the terminology “total change” and “net change” interchange-
ably in this section.
Changing temperature. We must carefully distinguish between information

regarding a function’s time dependence vs. its rate of change.
Example 4.1(a) The temperature of a cup of juice is observed to be
T (t ) = 25(1 − e−0.1t )◦ C
where t is time in minutes. Find the change in the temperature of the juice
between the times t = 1 and t = 5.
(b) The rate of change of temperature of a cup of coffee is observed to be

◦
f (t ) = 8e−0.2t C/min
where t is time in minutes. What is the total change in the temperature

between t = 1 and t = 5 minutes ?
Solution.
(a) In this case, we are given the temperature as a function of time. To deter-
mine what net change occurred between times t = 1 and t = 5, we find
the temperatures at each time point and subtract: that is, the change in
temperature between times t = 1 and t = 5 is simply
T (5) − T (1) = 25(1 − e−0.5 ) − 25(1 − e−0.1 )
= 25(0.94 − 0.606) = 7.47◦ C.

7. Can you convert 7.47◦ C to ◦ F? Can
(b) Here, we do not know the temperature at any time, but we are given you rewrite T (t ) in Example 4.1
information about the rate of change (note the subtle difference in the in◦ F?
wording).
To get the total change, we sum up all of the small changes, f (t )Δt
(5 − 1) 4
(over N subintervals of duration Δt = = ) for t starting at 1 and
N N
ending at 5 min. We obtain a sum of the form ∑ f (tk )Δt where tk is the kth
time point. Finally, we take a limit as the number of subintervals increases
(N → ∞).
By now, we recognize that this amounts to a process of integration. We
can take the usual shortcut of integrating the rate of change, f (t ), from
t = 1 to t = 5. To do so, we apply the Fundamental Theorem as before, re-
ducing the amount of computation to finding antiderivatives. We compute:
5 5 5
−0.2t

−0.2t −1 −0.2
I= f (t ) dt = 8e dt = −40e = −40e + 40e ,
1 1 1
I = 40(e−0.2 − e−1 ) = 40(0.8187 − 0.3678) = 18.
Thus, the total change in temperature is 18◦ C.

Only in the second case did we need to use a definite integral to find a
net change, since we were given the way that the rate of change depended
on time. Recognizing the subtleties of the wording in such examples is an
important skill the reader should gain.
Tree growth rates. In the next examples, we consider the growth rates of
trees - both in terms of height and radius. Growth
Tree 2
rate
Example 4.2 The rate of growth in height for two species of trees (in feet per
year) is shown in Figure 4.3. If the trees start at the same height, which tree Tree 1
is taller after 1 year? After 4 years?
Solution.
We are provided with a sketch, rather than a formula for the growth rate of year
0 1 2 3 4
the trees. Our solution thus is qualitative (i.e. descriptive), rather than quan-
titative. This means we do not have to calculate anything; rather, we have to Figure 4.3: Growth rates of two trees over a
make some important observations about the behaviour shown in Figure 4.3. four year period. Tree 1 initially has a higher
growth rate, but tree 2 catches up and grows
The importance of such qualitative skills should not be underestimated. faster after year 2.
Notice that the net change in height of each tree is of the form Mastered Material Check
T 8. Consider Figure 4.3; when are the
Hi (T ) − Hi (0) = gi (t )dt, i = 1, 2. growth rates of the two trees equal?
0
where i = 1 for tree 1, i = 2 for tree 2, gi (t ) is the growth rate as a function of

time (shown for each tree in Figure 4.3) and Hi (t ) is the height of tree “i” at
time t. But, by the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, this definite integral
corresponds to the area under the curve gi (t ) from t = 0 to t = T . Thus we
interpret the net change in height for each tree as the area under its growth
curve. We see from Figure 4.3 that at t = 1 year, the area under the curve for
tree 1 is greater, so it has grown more. At t = 4 years the area under the second
curve is greatest so tree 2 has grown the most by that time.
Other courses
Example 4.3 (Radius of a tree trunk) The trunk of a tree, assumed to Plant growth and development is studied
have the shape of a cylinder, grows incrementally: its cross-section consists in BISC 337: Plant Biology.
of “rings”. In years of plentiful rain and adequate nutrients, the tree grows
faster than in years of drought or poor soil conditions. Suppose the rainfall
pattern has been cyclic, so that, over a period of 10 years, the growth rate of
the radius of the tree trunk (in cm/year) is given by the function
f (t ) = 1.5 + sin(πt/5),
as shown in Figure 4.4. Let the height of the tree trunk be approximately
constant over this ten year period, and assume that the density of the trunk is
approximately 1 gm/cm3 . Mastered Material Check
9. Consider Example 4.3; what was the
(a) If the radius was initially r0 at time t = 0, what is the radius of the trunk at rate of growth in year 14?
time t later? 10. Consider Example 4.3; can you tell
which year had the least amount of
rain?
(b) What is the ratio of the mass of the tree trunk at t = 10 years and t = 0
years? (i.e. find the ratio mass(10)/mass(0).)
f (t)
Solution. 3
(a) Let R(t ) denote the trunk’s radius at time t. The rate of change of the
radius of the tree is given by the function f (t ), and we are told that at t = 0, 2
R(0) = r0 . A graph of this growth rate over the first fifteen years is shown
in Figure 4.4. The net change in the radius is 1
t t
R(t ) − R(0) = f (s) ds = (1.5 + sin(πs/5)) ds.
0 0
0
Integrating the above, we get 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
time, t
t
cos(πs/5)
R(t ) − R(0) = 1.5s − . Figure 4.4: Rate of change of radius, f (t )
π/5 0
for a growing tree over a period of 14 years.
Here we have used the fact that the antiderivative of sin(ax) is −(cos(ax)/a).
Thus, using the initial value, R(0) = r0 (which is a constant), and evaluating
the integral, leads to
5 cos(πt/5) 5
R(t ) = r0 + 1.5t − + .
π π
Note: the constant at the end of the expression stems from the fact
that cos(0) = 1. 25
R(t)
A graph of the radius of the tree over time (using r0 = 1) is shown in 20
Figure 4.5. This function is equivalent to the area associated with the 15
function shown in Figure 4.4. Notice that Figure 4.5 confirms that the
10
radius keeps growing over the entire period, but that its growth rate (slope
of the curve) changes between higher and lower values. 5
After ten years we have 0

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
5 5 time, t
R(10) = r0 + 15 − cos(2π ) + .
π π
Figure 4.5: The radius of the tree, R(t ), as a
But cos(2π ) = 1, so
function of time, obtained by integrating the
R(10) = r0 + 15. rate of change of radius shown in Figure 4.4.
(b) The mass of the tree is density times volume, and since the density in this
example is constant, 1 gm/cm3 , we need only obtain the volume at t = 10. Mastered Material Check
Taking the trunk to be cylindrical means that the volume at any given time 11. Verify that the antiderivative
is of sin(ax) is −(cos(ax)/a).
V (t ) = π [R(t )]2 h. 12. Consider Example 4.3. How much
larger is the radius of the tree 10
The ratio we want is then years later? Compare when r0 = 1
2 and r0 = 10.
V (10) π [R(10)]2 h [R(10)]2 r0 + 15
= = = .
V (0) πr0 h
2 r02 r0 13. What does the result of Example 4.3
tell us?
In this problem we used simple anti-differentiation to compute the de-
sired total change. We also related the graph of the radial growth rate in
Figure 4.4 to that of the resulting radius at time t, in Figure 4.5.
Example 4.4 (Birth rates and total births) After World War II, the birth
rate in western countries increased dramatically. Suppose that the rate of
Other courses
babies born (in millions per year) was given by Birth rates and populations are of
particular concern in GEOG 382:
b(t ) = 5 + 2t, 0 ≤ t ≤ 10, Population Geography.
where t is time in years after the end of the war.
(a) How many babies in total were born during this time period (i.e in the first
10 years after the war)? Mastered Material Check
(b) Find the time T0 such that the total number of babies born from the end of 14. Consider Example 4.4; under this
model, when was the birth
the war up to the time T0 was precisely 14 million. rate 9million/year?
15. Consider Example 4.4; under this
Solution. model, when was the birth rate 27
million/year?
(a) To find the number of births, we would integrate the birth rate, b(t ) over
the given time period. The net change in the population due to births
(neglecting deaths) is
10 10
b(t ) dt = (5 + 2t ) dt = (5t + t 2 )|10
0
0 0
= 50 + 100 = 150 [million babies].
(b) Denote by T the time at which the total number of babies born was 14
million. Then, [in units of million]
T T
I= b(t ) dt = 14 = (5 + 2t ) dt = 5T + T 2
0 0
equating I = 14 leads to the quadratic equation, T 2 + 5T − 14 = 0, which

can be written in the factored form, (T − 2)(T + 7) = 0. This has two
solutions, but we reject T = −7 since we are looking for time after the war.
Thus we find that T = 2 years, i.e it took two years for 14 million babies to
have been born.
While this problem involves simple integration, we had to solve for a quantity
(T ) based on information about behaviour of that integral. Many problems in
real application involve such extensions beyond the ideas of integration.
Production and removal

Integration can be used to convert rates of production and removal into net
amounts present at a given time. In this section we investigate a process
in which a substance accumulates as it is being produced, but disappears
through some removal process. We would like to determine when the quan-
tity of material increases, and when it decreases.
Circadian rythm in hormone levels. Consider a hormone whose level in

the blood at time t is denoted by H (t ). We assume that the level of hormone
is regulated by two separate processes: production of hormone (secreted by
specialized cells) and removal of hormone. Other courses
The endocrine system - a collection of
The production rate of hormone might depend on the time of day, in some
glands in an organism that secrete
cyclic pattern that repeats every 24 hours or so. This type of cyclic pattern hormones - is further studied in both
is called circadian rhythm. A competing process might be the removal of BISC 455: Endocrinology and BPK
306: Human Physiology II.
hormone or its deactivation by some enzymes secreted by other cells.
In this example, we assume that both the production rate, p(t ), and the
removal rate, r (t ), of the hormone are time-dependent, periodic functions
with somewhat different phases.
A typical example of two such functions are shown in Figure 4.6. This
figure shows the production and removal rates over a period of 24 hours,
starting at midnight.
Figure 4.6: The rate of hormone production

p(t ) and the rate of removel r (t ) are shown
hormone production/removal level here. We want to use these graphs to deduce
when the level of hormone is highest and
lowest.
p(t)
r(t)
t
0 3 6 9 12 3 6 9 0
(noon) hour

16. Consider Figure 4.6; when are the
Example 4.5 Use properties of the graph in Figure 4.6 to answer the follow- rates of production and removal of
ing questions: the hormone the same?
1. When is the production rate, p(t ), maximal?

2. When is the removal rate r (t ) minimal?
3. At what time is the hormone level in the blood highest?
4. At what time is the hormone level in the blood lowest?
5. Find the maximal level of hormone in the blood over the period shown,
assuming that its basal (lowest) level is H = 0.
Solution. Notice that we are again making qualitative deductions based on

information contained in a graph.
1. We see directly from Figure 4.6 that production rate is maximal at about
6:00 am.
2. Similarly, removal rate is minimal at noon.

3. To answer, we note that the total amount of hormone produced over a time
period a ≤ t ≤ b is
b
Ptotal = p(t )dt.
a
The total amount removed over time interval a ≤ t ≤ b is
b
Rtotal = r (t )dt.
a
This means that the net change in hormone level over the given time
interval (amount produced minus amount removed) is
b
H (b) − H (a) = Ptotal − Rtotal = ( p(t ) − r (t ))dt.
a
We interpret this integral as the area between the curves p(t ) and r (t ). But
we must use caution here: for any time interval over which p(t ) > r (t ),
this integral is positive, and the hormone level has increased. Otherwise, if
r (t ) < p(t ), the integral yields a negative result, so that the hormone level
has decreased.
This makes intuitive sense: if production is greater than removal, the level
of the substance is accumulating, whereas in the opposite situation, the
substance is decreasing. With these remarks, we find that the hormone
level in the blood is greatest at 3:00 pm, when the greatest (positive) area
between the two curves has been obtained.
4. Similarly, the least hormone level occurs after a period in which the
removal rate has been larger than production for the longest stretch. This 2
occurs at 3:00 am, just as the curves cross each other.
1.5
5. Here we practice integration by actually fitting some cyclic functions to
the graphs shown in Figure 4.6. Our first observation is that if the length 1
of the cycle (also called the period) is 24 hours, then the frequency of the
oscillation is ω = (2π )/24 = π/12. 0.5
We further observe that the functions shown in the Figure 4.7 have the t
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
form
p(t ) = A(1 + sin(ωt )), r (t ) = A(1 + cos(ωt )). Figure 4.7: The functions shown above are
trigonometric approximations to the rates
Intersection points occur when of hormone production and removal from
Figure 4.6.
p(t ) = r (t )
A(1 + sin(ωt )) = A(1 + cos(ωt )),

sin(ωt ) = cos(ωt )),
⇒ tan(ωt ) = 1.
This last equality leads to ωt = π/4, 5π/4. But then, the fact that ω =
π/12 implies that t = 3, 15. Thus, over the time period 3 ≤ t ≤ 15 hrs,

the hormone level is increasing. For simplicity, we take the amplitude 17. Explain qualitatively why Figure 4.7
A = 1. (In general, this would just be a multiplicative constant in whatever is a good model for the behaviour
exhibited in Figure 4.6.
solution we compute.) Then the net increase in hormone over this period is
calculated from the integral
15 15
Htotal = [ p(t ) − r (t )] dt = [(1 + sin(ωt )) − (1 + cos(ωt ))] dt.
3 3
In Exercise 4.25, the reader is asked to compute this integral and to show
that the amount of hormone that accumulated over the time interval
√
3 ≤ t ≤ 15 (i.e. between 3:00 am and 3:00 pm) is 24 2/π.
4.3 Average value of a function
1. State the formula for average value of a function on a given interval.
2. Compute average values for functions on bounded domains.
In this final example, we use the definite integral to compute the average
value of a function over some interval. First, we define what is meant by
average value in this context.
Given a continuous function
y = f (x)
over some interval a ≤ x ≤ b, we define average value of the function as
follows:
Definition 4.1 The average value of a continuous function f (x) over the
interval a ≤ x ≤ b is
b
1
f¯ = f (x)dx.
b−a a
18. Does the averave value of a function
Example 4.6 Find the average value of the function y = f (x) = x2 over the make sense given your previous
interval 2 ≤ x ≤ 4. knowledge of averages?
Solution. We compute:
4 4
1 1 x3 1 28
f¯ = x2 dx = = 43 − 23 = .
4−2 2 2 3 2 6 3

Example 4.7 (Day length over the year) Determine the average length of
the day during summer and spring. Assume that day length follows a simple
periodic behaviour, with a cycle length of 1 year (365 days).
Solution. Let us measure time t in days, with t = 0 at the spring equinox, i.e.
the date in spring when night and day lengths are equal, each being 12 hrs.
We refer to the number of daylight hours on day t by the function f (t ) (we
also call f (t ) the day-length on day t).
A simple function that would describe the cyclic changes of day length
over the seasons is
2πt
f (t ) = 12 + 4 sin .
365
This is a periodic function with period 365 days as shown in Figure 4.8. Its
maximal value is 16h and its minimal value is 8h. The average day length
15 15 Figure 4.8: We show the variations in day

length (cyclic curve) as well as the average
day length (height of rectangle) in this
10 10 figure.
5 5
summer winter summer winter

50 100 150 200 250 300 350 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
over spring and summer, i.e. over the first (365/2) ≈ 182 days is:

182
1
f¯ = f (t )dt
182 0
182
1 πt
= 12 + 4 sin( ) dt
182 0 182
182
1 4 · 182 πt
= 12t − cos( )
182 π 182 0

1 4 · 182
= 12 · 182 − [cos(π ) − cos(0)]
182 π
8
= 12 + ≈ 14.546 hours (4.12)
π
Thus, on average, the day is 14.546 hrs long during the spring and summer.
In Figure 4.8, we show the entire day length cycle over one year. Exer-
cise 4.26 asks the reader to determine the average value of f over the entire
year. Mastered Material Check
Figure 4.8 also shows geometrically what the average value of the function 19. Intuitively: what might you expect
represents. Suppose we determine the area associated with the graph of f (x) the averave length of day over an
entire year to be?
over the interval of interest (this area is painted gold in Figure 4.8, where the
interval is 0 ≤ t ≤ 365, i.e. the whole year). Now let us draw in a rectangle
over the same interval (0 ≤ t ≤ 365) having the same total area. (See the
big rectangle in Figure 4.8, and note that in this case we can see that its area
matches with the gold region.) The height of the rectangle represents the
average value of f (t ) over the interval of interest.
Summary
In this chapter, we arrived at a number of practical applications of the definite

integral.
1. In Section 4.1, we found that for motion at constant acceleration a, the

displacement of a moving object can be obtained by integrating twice:
the definite integral of acceleration is the velocity v(t ), and the definite
integral of the velocity is the displacement.
t t
v(t ) = v0 + a ds, x(t ) = x(0) + v(s) ds.
0 0
(Here we use the “dummy variable” s inside the integral, but the meaning
is, of course, the same as in the previous presentation of the formulae.)
We showed that at any time t, the position of an object initially at x0 with
velocity v0 is
t2
x(t ) = x0 + v0t + a .
2
2. We extended our analysis of a moving object to the case of non-constant
acceleration (Section 4.1), when air resistance tends to produce a drag
force to slow the motion of a falling object. We found that in that case, the
acceleration gradually decreases, a(t ) = ge−kt . (The decaying exponential
means that a → 0 as t increases.) Again, using the definite integral, we
could compute a velocity,
t
g
v(t ) = a(s) ds = (1 − e−kt ).
0 k
3. We illustrated the connection between rates of change (over time) and total
change (between on time point and another). In general, we saw that if
r (t ) represents a rate of change of some process, then
b
r (s) ds = Total change over the time interval a ≤ t ≤ b.
a
This idea was discussed in Section 4.2.

4. In the concluding Section 4.3, we discussed the average value of a continu-
ous function f (x) over some interval a ≤ x ≤ b,
b
1
f¯ = f (x)dx.
b−a a
In the next few chapters we encounter a vast assortment of further exam-

ples and practical applications of the definite integral. In some of these
we are called on to “dissect” a geometric shape into pieces that are not
simple rectangles. The essential idea of an integral as a sum of many
(infinitesimally) small pieces are, nevertheless the same.
Quick Concept Checks
1. Consider the following graph which plots the velocity of a car over a 5 second interval.
30
v(t)
20
10
t
1 2 3 4
−10
(a) Plot the displacement of this car over the same 5 second interval.
(b) Plot the accelerations of this car over the same 5 second interval.
2. Suppose a ball is accelerating uniformly at a rate of 9.8 m/s2 . Which of the following could not describe this ball’s
position, x?
(a) x(t ) = 9.8 + 4t + t 2 ;

2
(b) x(t ) = 1000 + 9.8t
2 ;
(c) x(t ) = −4 − 10t − 4.9t 2 .
3. Consider the following graph which plots the velocity of an object with non-constant acceleration and terminal
velocity.
50 velocity v(t)
40
30
20
10
t
5 10 15 20 25 30
Which of the following differential equations best describes the velocity plotted above?
(a) dv
dt = 4 − 0.2v;
(b) dv
dt = 16 − 0.4v;
(c) dv
dt = 10 − 0.1v.
4. Which of the following describes the average value of f (x) = sin(x) + x over −1 ≤ x ≤ 1?
1
(a) 2 sin(x) + xdx;
0
1
1
(b) sin(x) + xdx;
2 −1
1
(c) sin(x) + xdx.
−1
Exercises
4.1. Velocity of two cars. Two cars, labeled 1 and 2 start side by side
v 2
and accelerate from rest. Figure 4.9 shows a graph of their velocity
functions, with t measured in minutes. 1
(a) At what time(s) do the cars have equal velocities?

(b) At what time(s) do the cars have equal accelerations?
(c) Which car is ahead after one minute?
t
(d) Which car is ahead after 3 minutes? 1 2 3 4
(e) When does one car overtake the other? (Give an approximate Figure 4.9: For Exercise 4.1; the velocity of
answer) two cars.
4.2. Moving car. The speed of a car (km/h) is given by the expression
v(t ) = 2t 2 + 5t, 0≤t ≤1
where t is time in hours. Use this expression to find

(a) The acceleration over this time period.
(b) The total displacement over the same time period.
4.3. Moving boat. The velocity of a boat moving through water is found
to be v(t ) = 10(1 − e−t ).
(a) Find the acceleration of the boat and show that it satisfies a differen-
tial equation, i.e an equation of the form d [a(t )]/dt = −k · a(t ) for
some value of the constant k (i.e. find that value of k).
(b) Find the displacement of the boat at time t.
4.4. Particle in a force field. A particle in a force field accelerates so that
its acceleration is described by the function
a(t ) = t − t 2 , 0≤t ≤1 Other courses

PHYS 485 is Particle Physics.
(a) Find the velocity of the particle v(t ) for 0 ≤ t ≤ 1 assuming that it
starts at rest.
(b) Find the total displacement of the particle over the time interval
0 ≤ t ≤ 1.
4.5. Mail truck movement. An express mail truck delivers mail to vari-
ous companies situated along a central avenue and often goes back and
forth as new mail arrives. Over some period of time, 0 ≤ t ≤ 10, its
velocity (in km per hour) can be described by the function:
v(t ) = t 2 − 9t + 14.
(a) Find the displacement over this period of time (hint: recall that if
you leave home in the morning, travel to work, and then go back
home, then your net distance traveled, or total displacement, over
this full period of time is zero).
(b) How much gasoline was consumed during this period of time if the
vehicle uses 1/2 liters per km (hint: To answer (b), you need to
find the total distance that the vehicle actually covered during its
trip).
4.6. Driver reaction time. The reaction time of a driver (time it takes
to notice and react to danger in the road ahead) is about 0.5 seconds.
When the brakes are applied, it then takes the car some time to deceler-
ate and come to a full stop.
If the deceleration rate is a = −8 m/sec2 , how long would it take the
driver to stop from an initial speed of 100 km per hour?
Note: include both reaction time and deceleration time, and use the
Fundamental Theorem of Calculus to arrive at your answer.
4.7. Braking car. You are driving your car quickly (at speed 100 km/h)
to catch your flight to Hawaii for mid-term break. A pedestrian runs
across the road, forcing you to brake hard. Suppose it takes you 1
second to react to the danger, and that when you apply your brakes,
you slow down at the rate a = −10 m/s2 .
(a) How long does it take you to stop?
(b) How far does your car move from the instant that the danger is
growth
sighted until coming to a complete stop? 1
rate
Use the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus to arrive at your answer.
4.8. Growth rate of twins. The growth rate of a pair of twins (in mm/day)
is shown in Figure 4.10. Suppose both children have the same weight
at time t = 0.
2
(a) Which one is taller at age 0.5 years?
(b) Which one is taller at age 1 year? 0 0.5 1 years
4.9. Blood flow. The flow rate of blood through the heart can be described Figure 4.10: For Exercise 4.8; the growth
approximately as a periodic function of the form F (t ) = A(1 + rate of a pair of twins.
sin(0.15t )), where t is time in seconds and A is a constant in units of

cubic cm per second. Thus, at time t, F (t ) cm3 of blood flow through
the heart per second. Other courses
The cardiovascular system is studied in
Find the total volume of blood that flows through the heart between BPK 305: Human Physiology.
t = 0 and t = 1; express your answer in terms of A.
4.10. Winnings while gambling. During a gambling session lasting 6
hours, the rate of winnings at a casino in dollars per hour are seen to
follow the formula w(t ) = 2000t (1 − (t/6)). Find the total winnings
during that whole session.
4.11. Intravenous infusion. At time t, an intravenous infusion delivers

a flow rate of y = 100(1 − t 3 ) cm3 /hr, where t is time in hours. The
infusion contains a drug at concentration 0.1 mg/cm3 . Find the total
volume of fluid and the total amount of drug delivered to the patient
over a 1 hour period from t = 0 to t = 1.
4.12. Oil leaking. Oil leaks out of an oil tanker at the rate f (t ) = 10 − 0.2t 2
(where f is in 10 thousand barrels per hour and t is in hours).
Note: this function only makes sense as long as f (t ) ≥ 0 since a
negative flow of oil is meaningless in this case.
(a) At what time is the flow zero?
(b) What is the total amount that has leaked out between t = 0 and the
time you found in (a)?
4.13. Water flow. After a heavy rainfall, the rate of flow of water into a
t
2
lake is found to satisfy the relationship F (t ) = 4 − − 1 where t
10
is time in hours, 0 ≤ t ≤ 30 and F is in units of 100,000 gallons/h.
(a) Find the time, t1 at which the rate of flow is greatest.
(b) Find the time, t2 at which the flow is zero.
(c) Find how much water in total has flowed into the lake between
these two times.
4.14. Crop growth. The growth rate of a crop is known to depend on
temperature during the growing season. Suppose the growth rate of the
crop in tons per day is given by g(t ) = 0.1(T (t ) − 18) where T (t ) is
temperature in degrees Celsius. Suppose the temperature record during
the 90 days of the season was T (t ) = 22 + 0.1t + 4 sin(2πt/60) where
t is time in days.
Find the total growth (in tons) that would have occurred over the
whole season.
4.15. Radiation exposure. This question concerns cumulative exposure
to radiation experienced by people living near nuclear waste disposal
sites.
(a) Radioactive material decays according to a negative exponential:
m(t ) = m0 · e−rt , where m(t ) is the mass of the radioactive material
at time t, m0 = m(0) is the initial mass at time t = 0, and r is the rate
of decay. The half-life is the time it takes for the material to decay
to one half its initial mass. Suppose that t is measured in months.
Determine the rate of decay r if the half-life is 1 month.
(b) Assume that at any time, the amount of radiation is proportional to
the mass of the radioactive material. If initially the radiation level is
0.5 rads per month, how could we describe the radiation level as a
function of time?
(c) Assume now that there is radioactive material in your backyard of

the type considered in (a) above, i.e. that it has a half-life of one
month. Calculate the cumulative exposure in rads that would occur
if you lived in your house for 10 years.
4.16. Glucose levels. The level of glucose in the blood depends on the rate
of intake from ingestion of food and on the rate of clearance due to Rates
C(t)
glucose metabolism. Shown in Figure 4.11 are two functions, I (t )
and C (t ) for the intake and clearance rates over a period of time after I(t)
fasting. Both rates are functions of time t. Suppose that at time 0 there
is no glucose in the blood.
(a) Express the level of blood glucose as a definite integral. 0 1 2 3 4 5 min

(b) At what approximate time was the intake rate maximal?
Figure 4.11: For Exercise 4.16; glucose
(c) At what approximate time was the clearance rate maximal? intake and clearance functions.
(d) When was the blood level of glucose maximal?
4.17. Capilano Reservoir water flow. The rate at which water flows in
and out of Capilano Reservoir is described by two functions. I (t ) is gallons/day
the rate at which water flows in to the reservoir (in gallons per day) B
A
and O(t ) is the rate at which water flows out (in gallons per day). I(t)
See sketch below in Figure 4.4.12. Assume that there is water in the
O(t)
reservoir at time t = 0.
(a) Express the quantity of water Q(t ) in the reservoir as a definite Jan Apr Jul Sep Jan
integral. (i.e. Q(0) > 0).

Figure 4.12: For Exercise 4.17; water flow-
(b) When is the quantity of water in the reservoir greatest and when is ing in and out of the Capilano Reservoir.
it smallest?
migration rate
4.18. Wildlife reserve migration. The rate at which animals migrate into
I(t) O(t)
and out of a wildlife reserve is described by two functions shown in
Figure 4.13. I (t ) is the rate at which animals enter the reserve and
O(t ) is the rate at which they leave (both in number per day).
(a) Express the number of animals in the reserve as a definite integral. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 t
(b) When is the number of animals in the reserve greatest and when is Figure 4.13: For Exercise 4.18; migration in
it smallest? a wildlife reserve.
4.19. Rainfall patterns. During a particularly soggy week in Vancouver,

rainfall reached epic proportions. The rainfall pattern was as follows:
A constant 20 mm over the first day, a steady increase from 20 up to
50 mm over the next day (assume linear increase), 50 mm rain over
the next day, a steady drop from 50 down to 40 mm over the next day,
and a flat 30 mm over the next day.
(a) Determine the total amount of rain during this period.
(b) Calculate the average daily rainfall for the same period.
4.20. Average of a function. Find the average value of the function f (x) =
sin( πx
2 ) over the interval [0, 2].
4.21. Average value.
(a) Find the average value of xn over the interval [0, 1].
(b) What happens as n becomes arbitrarily large (that is, n → ∞)?
(c) Explain your answer to part (b) by considering the graphs of these
functions.
(d) Repeat parts (a) - (c) using the functions x1/n .
4.22. Accelerating object. An object starts from rest at t = 0 and acceler-
ates so that a = dv −t where c is a positive constant.
dt = ce
(a) Find the average velocity over the first t seconds.
(b) What happens to this average velocity as t becomes very large?
4.23. Symmetry.
(a) Find the average value of the function sin x over the interval
[−π, π ].
(b) Find the average value of the function x3 over the interval [−1, 1].
(c) Find the average value of the function x3 − x over the interval
[−1, 1].
(d) Explain these results graphically.
(e) Find the average value of an odd function f (x) over the interval
[−a, a]. (Remember that f (x) is odd if f (−x) = − f (x).)
(f) Suppose now that f (x) is an even function (that is, f (−x) = f (x))
and its average value over the interval [0, 1] is 2. Find its average
value over the interval [−1, 1].
4.24. Light intensity. The intensity of light cast by a street lamp at a
distance x (in meters) along the street from the base of the lamp is
found to be approximately I (x) = 400 − x2 in arbitrary units for
−20 ≤ x ≤ 20.
(a) Find the average intensity of the light over the interval −5 ≤ x ≤ 5.
(b) Find the average intensity over −7 ≤ x ≤ 7.
(c) Find the value of b such that the average intensity over [−b, b] is
Iav = 10.
4.25. Rates of hormone production and removal. Consider the rate of
hormone production p(t ) and the rate of removal r (t ) given by
p(t ) = A(1 + sin(ωt )), r (t ) = A(1 + cos(ωt )).
for ω = π/12. Calculate the net increase in hormone over the time
period 3 ≤ t ≤ 15 (in hours).
4.26. Daylight. The length of time from sunrise to sunset (in hours) t days
after the Spring Equinox is given by
πt
l (t ) = 12 + 4 sin
182
(a) Explain the meaning of the word “equinox” and describe what
happens on that day according to the above formula.
(b) What is the length of the shortest and the longest day and when do
these occur according to this formula?
(c) How long is one complete cycle in this expression?
(d) Sketch l (t ) as a function of t.
(e) Find the average day-length over the month immediately following
the equinox.
(f) Find the average day length over the whole year. Explain your
result with a simple geometric or intuitive argument.
4.27. Periodic function. Consider the periodic function,
f (t ) = sin(2t ) + cos(2t ).
(a) What is the frequency, the amplitude, and the length of one cycle in
this function? (You are asked to express f (t ) in the form A sin(ωt +
ϕ ). Then we use the terminology A = amplitude, ϕ = phase shift,
ω = frequency.
(b) How would you define the average value of this function over one
cycle ?
(c) Compute this average value and show that it is zero. Now explain
why this is true using a geometric argument.
4.28. Electric current. The current in an AC electric circuit is given by
I (t ) = A cos(ωt )
The power in the circuit is defined as P(t ) = I 2 (t ).

(a) What is meant by one cycle in this situation?
(b) Sketch graphs of I (t ) and P(t ). Explain why P(t ) is always posi-
tive, and indicate how its zeros are related to zeros of I (t ). What
are the maximal and minimal values of each of these functions?
(c) Find the average power and the average current over half a cycle.
Note: in computing the average power, you may need to use the
trick cos2 (ωt ) = 12 (1 + cos(2ωt ))).
4.29. Food surplus. Thousands of years ago, in the Fertile Crescent, the
land was fertile and food production rate was plentiful and constant
over time, but the population was growing steadily. Suppose that the
rate of food production (in units of kg per year) is denoted P, and that
the population size was N (t ) = N0 ert where t is time in months and r
is a per capita growth rate of the population. Assume that each person
consumes food at the rate f kg/year. In year 0, it was realized that
there was a food surplus, and a large mud-brick structure was built to
store the surplus food. (The surplus food is any food left over after
consumption by the population that year).
(a) Write down an expression that represents the rate of accumulation
of food surplus (as a function of time). Use that expression to
determine the net surplus, S(t ) at time t = T .
(b) At what year was the food production rate the same as the food
consumption rate?
(c) When was the food surplus greatest?
(d) How large was the maximal stored surplus?

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4

Deﬁnite integral applications: velocities and rates

In this chapter, we encounter a number of applications of the deﬁnite integral

1. The connection between acceleration, velocity and displacement of a

• antiderivatives and integrals allow us to deduce details of the motion of

• we show such examples also involve integration - a cumulative summa-

3. Determining the average value of a function, as discussed in Section 4.3.

4.1 Displacement, velocity and acceleration

Section 4.1 Learning goals

1. Deﬁne distance, displacement, velocity, and acceleration and explain the

2. Compute displacement of an object given an initial position and velocity

3. Deﬁne terminal velocity and explain how it can be computed.

as the displacement over the time interval 0 ≤ t ≤ T .

As above, we also have that

Figure 4.1: The total area under the velocity

Mastered Material Check

Displacement for uniform motion

Thus, for uniform motion, the displacement is proportional to the velocity

Uniformly accelerated motion

Since these two results must match, v(T ) − v(0) = aT so that

v(t ) = v0 + at. (4.4)

Non-constant acceleration and terminal velocity

We assume that initially the velocity is zero, i.e. v(0) = v0 = 0.

a(t ) = C e−kt = a0 e−kt .

Initially, at time t = 0, the acceleration is a(0) = g (since a(t ) = g − kv(t ),

v(t ) = 1 − e−kt . (4.11)

4.2 From rates of change to total change

Section 4.2 Learning goals

1. Describe how rates of changes of function relate to the original function.

3. Given a rate of change, compute total change over an interval.

In this section, we consider several examples in which the rate of change is

Changing temperature. We must carefully distinguish between information

Example 4.1(a) The temperature of a cup of juice is observed to be

(b) The rate of change of temperature of a cup of coffee is observed to be

where t is time in minutes. What is the total change in the temperature

T (5) − T (1) = 25(1 − e−0.5 ) − 25(1 − e−0.1 )

= 25(0.94 − 0.606) = 7.47◦ C.

I = 40(e−0.2 − e−1 ) = 40(0.8187 − 0.3678) = 18.

Thus, the total change in temperature is 18◦ C.

is taller after 1 year? After 4 years?

where i = 1 for tree 1, i = 2 for tree 2, gi (t ) is the growth rate as a function of

After ten years we have 0

where t is time in years after the end of the war.

equating I = 14 leads to the quadratic equation, T 2 + 5T − 14 = 0, which

Production and removal

Circadian rythm in hormone levels. Consider a hormone whose level in

Figure 4.6: The rate of hormone production

Mastered Material Check

1. When is the production rate, p(t ), maximal?

Solution. Notice that we are again making qualitative deductions based on

2. Similarly, removal rate is minimal at noon.

A(1 + sin(ωt )) = A(1 + cos(ωt )),

Mastered Material Check

4.3 Average value of a function

Section 4.3 Learning goals

1. State the formula for average value of a function on a given interval.

2. Compute average values for functions on bounded domains.

15 15 Figure 4.8: We show the variations in day

summer winter summer winter

In this chapter, we arrived at a number of practical applications of the deﬁnite

1. In Section 4.1, we found that for motion at constant acceleration a, the

This idea was discussed in Section 4.2.

In the next few chapters we encounter a vast assortment of further exam-