Solutions to Vector Calculus Practice Problems

1. Let R be the region in R2 determined by the inequalities x2 + y 2 4 and y 2 x2 . Evaluate the following integral. sin(x2 + y 2 ) dA
R

Answer: The region looks like

We use polar coordinates:

r sin(r2 ) dr d +

5/4 3/4 0

=
/4

1 1 cos(4) + 2 2

d +
3/4

cos(4) + 2 2

x = y

5/4

r sin(r2 ) dr d 1 1 cos(4) + 2 2 d

2. Evaluate
R

z dV , where R is the following solid region:

Answer: If we integrate with respect to x rst, we will not need to break the region into more than one piece (that is, we will only need to use one integral). The plane containing the front parallelogram has equation x + y + z = 2. (You should be able to nd this by the guessand-check method.) So, the bounds for x are 0 x 2 y z. We are integrating over a square in the yz-plane, so the y and z bounds are 0 y 1 and 0 z 1. Thus:
1 1 0 1 0 2yz 1 1 0

z dV
R

=
0

z dx dy dz =
0

=
0

2 1 y 3 2

dz =

5 12

3. Let R be the region in R3 determined by the inequalities r 1 and 0 z 4 r2 , where r = x2 + y 2 . Evaluate

Answer: R is the region under a paraboloid, inside a cylinder, and above the xy-plane. We will use cylindrical coordinates.
2 1 0 2 0 1 2 4r2

r dV
R

=
0

r2 dz dr d =
0

=
0

4 3 1 4 r r 3 5

=
0 0

17 34 d = 15 15

) 1 , 1 , 0( ) 0 , 1 , 0(

2 0

) 1 , 0 , 0( )0 ,1 ,1( )1 ,0 ,1( )0 ,0 ,2(

2z yz z 2 dy dz

r dV .

r2 4 r2 dr d

4. Let R be the region in R3 dened by 4 x2 + y 2 + z 2 9 and z 0. Evaluate the following integral: x2 + y 2 dV

Answer: R is the region inside a sphere of radius 3, outside a sphere of radius 2, and above the xy-plane. We will use spherical coordinates, because the region is very easy to describe in spherical coordinates: 2 3, 0 , 0 2. Since r = sin , we are 2 integrating x2 + y 2 = r2 = 2 sin2 . Thus: x2 + y 2 dV
R 2 /2 0 2 /2 0 2 /2 0 2 0 0 2 2 3 3

=
0

2 sin2 2 sin d d d 4 sin3 d d d

=
0

=
0

211 3 sin d d d 5
/2

211 5

1 cos2 sin d d

We use the substitution u = cos , du = sin d: x2 + y 2 dV

211 5

2 0 1

(1 u2 ) du d =

844 15

5. Let C be the curve x = 1 y 2 from (0, 1) to (0, 1). Evaluate y 3 dx + x2 dy

Answer: We parameterize the curve using t = y: x = 1 t2 y = t 3 1t1

Then: dx = 2t dt dy = dt Thus: y 3 dx + x2 dy =
C 1 1

t3 (2t) + 1 t2
1

dt =
1

t4 2t2 + 1 dt

2 1 t5 t3 + t 5 3

=
1

4 15

6. Let C be the curve x =

t, y = 1 + t3 for 0 t 1. Evaluate x3 y 4 dx + x4 y 3 dy
C

Answer: The rotation of this vector eld equals 0: x y = 4x3 y 3 4x3 y 3 = 0

x3 y 4 x4 y 3 This means that the vector eld is conservative, so there is some function f with f = x3 y 4 i+x4 y 3 j. It is fairly easy to see that f = 1 x4 y 4 + C 4 works. The endpoints of the curve C are (0, 1) (when t = 0) and (1, 2) (when t = 1). Thus: x3 y 4 dx + x4 y 3 dy =
C

1 4 4 xy 4

(1,2)

=40= 4
(0,1)

Note: This problem can also be done as a standard vector line integral, but the calculations are somewhat tedious.

7. Let C be the circle x2 + y 2 = 4, oriented counterclockwise. Use Greens Theorem to evaluate the following integral cos(x2 ) y 3 dx + x3 dy
C

Answer: First, we compute the rotation of the vector eld: x cos(x2 ) y 3 Then, by Greens Theorem: cos(x2 ) y 3 dx + x3 dy =
C R

y x3

= 3x2 + 3y 2

3x2 + 3y 2 dA

where R is the region inside the circle. Using polar coordinates, we have: cos(x ) y
C 2 3

dx + x dy =
0 0

3r3 dr d = 24

8. The following picture shows the parametric curve (x, y) = (t t3 , t2 ):

Use Greens Theorem to nd the area of the shaded region. Answer: First, we need to nd the bounds for t. In particular, we want to know when the curve passes through the the point (0, 1). Setting t t3 = 0 and t2 = 1 and solving, we get t = 1 and t = 1. Thus, our bounds are 1 t 1. By plotting a few points of the parametric curve, we can see that the curve is oriented counterclockwise, which agrees with the orientation given in Greens Theorem. We need to nd a vector eld F such that rot(F) = 1. The vector eld F = y i will work (as would x j or lots of other possibilities). Then, by Greens Theorem: dA =
R C

y dx

where R is the shaded region and C is the curve. We have: x = t t3 y = t2 for 1 t 1. Thus:
1

dx = (1 3t2 ) dt dy = 2t dt

dA =
R 1

t2 1 3t2 dt =

) 1 , 0(

2 1

8 15

9. Let S be the surface given by the following parametric equations x = 4t2 + u y = cos t z = sin u Find the equation for the plane tangent to the surface at the point ( 2 , 0, 0). Answer: Since we are given the surface by parametric equations, we can nd the normal vector by computing Tt Tu , and then we can use the normal vector to nd the equation for the plane. Tt = (8t, sin t, 0) Tu = (1, 0, cos u) Tt Tu = i j k 8t sin t 0 1 0 cos u = sin t cos u i 8t cos u j + sin t k

We can determine the values of t and u at the point (2, 1, 0). At the point ( 2 , 0, 0), 4t2 + u = 2 , cos t = 0, and sin u = 0. Solving, we get t = /2 and u = 0. Thus, the normal vector at this point is: Tt Tu , 0 = i 4 j + k 2

Thus, the equation for the plane is of the form x 4y + z = D. We can solve for D by plugging in the point ( 2 , 0, 0). We get that 2 = D. Thus, the equation for the plane is x 4y + z = 2

10. Let S be the surface z = x2 + y 2 , 0 z 4. Evaluate the following integral: x dA z S

Answer: The surface is a paraboloid. It will be easiest to work this problem if we use the parameters t = r and u = . Then, we can parameterize the surface as follows: x = t cos u y = t sin u z = t2 The tangent vectors to the surface are Tt = (cos u, sin u, 2t) Tu = (t sin u, t cos u, 0) Then, the normal vector to the surface is Tt Tu = Thus: dA = Tt Tu dt du = 4t4 cos2 +4t4 sin2 u + t2 dt du 4t4 + t2 dt du = t 4t2 + 1 dt du = i j k cos u sin u 2t t sin u t cos u 0 = 2t2 cos u i 2t2 sin u j + t k 0t2 0 u 2

We can now compute the surface integral: x dA = z =

t cos u 2 t 4t + 1 dt du t2 0 2 t cos u 4t2 + 1 dt du

We use the substitution v = 4t + 1, dv = 8t dt: x 1 dA = 8 z

cos u v dv du = 0

Note: It is also possible to see that the integral is 0 without doing any computations, since the region is symmetric about the yz-plane, as is the function x/ z. This is similar to how the integral of an odd function from a to a is 0. 8

11. Let S be the surface z = integral:

x2 + y 2 , 1 z 2. Evaluate the following x i + y j + z 2 k dA

Answer: We will parameterize this surface with parameters t = r and u = . Then, the parametric equations are x = t cos u y = t sin u z = t The tangent vectors to the surface are Tt = (cos u, sin u, 1) Tu = (t sin u, t cos u, 0) The, the normal vector to the surface is Tt Tu = i j k cos u sin u 1 t sin u t cos u 0 = t cos u i t sin u j + t k 1t2 0 u 2

Now, we compute F (Tt Tu ): F (Tt Tu ) = = x, y, z 2 (t cos u, t sin u, t) t cos u, t sin u, t2 (t cos u, t sin u, t)

= t2 cos2 u t2 sin2 u + t3 = t2 + t3 Now, we can compute the surface integral: x i + y j + z 2 k dA =

F (Tt Tu ) dt du t2 + t3 dt du = 17 6

=
0

Note: This problem should have specied an orientation. The above answer corresponds to unit normals oriented pointing inwards towards 9

the z-axis (you can see this from the vector Tt Tu ). The answer 17 would be if we oriented the surface with unit normals pointing 6 outwards. 12. Let S be the union of the cylinder x2 + y 2 = 4 for 3 z 3 and the hemisphere x2 + y 2 + (z 3)2 = 4 for z 3. Use Stokess Theorem to evaluate
S

2yz j z 2 k dA.

Answer: In order to use Stokess Theorem, we need to compute the anti-curl of 2yz j z 2 k. The vector eld F = yz 2 i will work. Then: 2yz j z 2 k dA =
S C

yz 2 i ds

where C is the boundary of the surface. The boundary of the surface is the circle x2 + y 2 = 4 in the plane z = 3. We can parameterize this curve: x = 2 cos t y = 2 sin t 0 t 2 z = 3 Then: dx = 2 sin t dt dy = 2 cos t dt dz = 0
2

Thus: 2yz j z 2 k dA =
S C 2

yz 2 dx =
0

18 sin t(2 sin t) dt

=
0

36 sin2 t dt =
0

36

1 cos(2t) 2

dt

36

Note: The region should have been oriented. The given answer is correct if the region is oriented with outward pointing normals. If the normals pointed inwards, the answer would be 36.

10

13. Let C be the the rectangle in R3 with vertices (0, 0, 0), (1, 0, 0), (1, 1, 1), and (0, 1, 1), oriented in the given order. Use Stokess Theorem to evaluate the following integral: sin(x2 ) dx + xy 2 dy + xz 2 dz
C

Answer: Using Stokess Theorem, we can change the line integral into a surface integral over a surface whose boundary is the given curve. One such surface is the interior of the given rectangle. The plane containing the four points has equation y z = 0, so we can parameterize the surface using the parameters t = x and u = y. Since the rectangle lies over the unit square in the xy-plane, the bounds for x and y are 0 x 1 and 0 y 1. x = t y = u z = u Then, according to Stokess Theorem: sin(x2 ) dx + xy 2 dy + xz 2 dz =
C S

0t1 0u1

F) dA

where S is the surface parameterized above and where F = sin(x2 ) i + xy 2 j + xz 2 k. We can compute F: i F= x sin(x2 ) j y xy 2 k z xz 2 = z 2 j + y 2 k

To compute the surface integral, we need to nd Tt Tu : Tt = (1, 0, 0) Tu = (0, 1, 1) So, Tt Tu = (0, 1, 1). This vector points downwards, which disagrees with the orientation of the rectangle (which is oriented counterclockwise 11

about upwards pointing vectors), so we need to negate the resulting integral. Thus:
1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0

(
S

F) dA =
0

z 2 j + y 2 k (0, 1, 1) dt du z 2 y 2 dt du 2u2 dt du = 2 3

=
0

=
0

14. Let S be the boundary of the region x2 + y 2 4, 0 z 3, oriented with unit normals pointing outwards. Consider the vector eld F = x3 + cos(y 2 ) i + yz j + 3y 2 z + cos(xy) k Use the divergence theorem to evaluate the following integral: F dA
S

Answer: The region is a cylinder. Note that the region is oriented appropriately to apply the divergence theorem. Let us denote the region by R. Using the divergence theorem, we have F dA =
S R

F) dV

We can compute the

F: F = 3x2 + z + 3y 2

We can set up the integral in cylindrical coordinates:

F dA =
S 0

3r2 + z r dz dr d = 90

12

15. Let S be the surface in R3 dened by the parametric equations r = 2 + cos t + cos u = t z = sin u 0 t 2 0 u 2

Use the divergence theorem to nd the volume of the region inside of S. Answer: In order to use the divergence theorem, we need to compute the anti-divergence of the constant function 1. Some simple vector elds that work are x i, y j, and z k. We will use z k, as it will make the computations easier. We need to parameterize the surface in terms of x, y, and z. We use the same parameters t and u as above, and the fact that x = r cos and y = r sin . Then: x = (2 + cos t + cos u) cos t y = (2 + cos t + cos u) sin t z = sin u 0 t 2 0 u 2

Note that the equation for z is simpler than the equation for x and y; this is why we are using the vector eld z k. The tangent vectors to the surface are Tt = 2 sin t cos u sin t, 2 cos t + cos2 t + cos u cos t sin2 t, 0 Tu = ( sin u cos t, sin u sin t, cos u) The normal vector to the surface is Tt Tu = i 2 sin t cos u sin t sin u cos t j 2 cos t + cos t + cos u cos t sin2 t sin u sin t
2

k 0 cos u

Since we will be computing (Tt Tu ) z k, we only need to know the k component of Tt Tu . 2 sin2 t sin u+sin2 t sin u cos u+2 cos2 t sin u+cos3 t sin u+cos u cos2 t sin usin3 u cos t 13

We can simplify this some using cos2 t + sin2 t = 1. We get: 2 sin u + cos3 t sin u + cos u sin u sin3 u cos t Thus: (Tt Tu ) z k = sin u 2 sin u + cos3 t sin u + cos u sin u sin3 u cos t = 2 sin2 u + cos3 u sin u + cos u sin2 u sin4 u cos t Thus:
2 2

Volume =
R 2

dV =
S 2 0 2

zk dA =
0 0

z k (Tt Tu ) dt du

=
0

2 sin2 u + cos3 u sin u + cos u sin2 u sin4 u cos t dt du

= 2
0

2 sin2 u + cos3 u sin u + cos u sin2 u du

1 To integrate the rst term, we use the trig identity sin2 u = (1 cos(2u)). 2 To integrate the second term, we use the substitution v = cos u, dv = sin u du. To integrate the third term, we use the substitution w = sin u, dw = cos u du.
2 1

Volume = 2
0

(1 cos(2u)) du + 2
1

v 3 dv + 2
0

w2 dw

= 4 2 + 0 + 0 = 4 2 Since the answer is positive, we know that the surface was oriented appropriately.

14