Lesson #134 Numerical Methods of Integration

    
Quote of the Day:
"On the other hand, it is impossible for a cube to be 
   written as a sum of two cubes or a fourth power to be 
   written as a sum of two fourth powers or, in general for 
   any number which is a power greater than the second to 
   be written as a sum of two like powers. For this I have 
   discovered a truly wonderful proof, but the margin is 
   too small to contain it."  -- P. Fermat

Objectives:
The student will use the trapezoidal rule to approximate a 
   definite integral.
The student will use Simpson's rule to approximate a 
   definite integral

1. Collect homework.

2. Recall that when we first began the study of integrals,
   we used Riemann sums with rectangles to approximate the
   area under a curve. Now we will look at two other 
   methods of approximating the area under the curve. 

   (a) Trapezoidal Rule
       Approximate the area using trapezoids:
       
       

   (b) Simpson's Rule
       Based on a formula to find area under parabolic arc:
       

3. Examples   
       

4. Assignment
   p. 563 (1b,c, 2b,c, 35)  -- use n = 3
   

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