Calculus III

Preface
Here are my online notes for my Calculus III course that I teach here at Lamar University.
Despite the fact that these are my class notes, they should be accessible to anyone wanting to
learn Calculus III or needing a refresher in some of the topics from the class.
These notes do assume that the reader has a good working knowledge of Calculus I topics
including limits, derivatives and integration. It also assumes that the reader has a good
knowledge of several Calculus II topics including some integration techniques, parametric
equations, vectors, and knowledge of three dimensional space.
Here are a couple of warnings to my students who may be here to get a copy of what happened on
a day that you missed.
1. Because I wanted to make this a fairly complete set of notes for anyone wanting to learn
calculus I have included some material that I do not usually have time to cover in class
and because this changes from semester to semester it is not noted here. You will need to
find one of your fellow class mates to see if there is something in these notes that wasnt
covered in class.
2. In general I try to work problems in class that are different from my notes. However,
with Calculus III many of the problems are difficult to make up on the spur of the
moment and so in this class my class work will follow these notes fairly close as far as
worked problems go. With that being said I will, on occasion, work problems off the top
of my head when I can to provide more examples than just those in my notes. Also, I
often dont have time in class to work all of the problems in the notes and so you will
find that some sections contain problems that werent worked in class due to time
restrictions.
3. Sometimes questions in class will lead down paths that are not covered here. I try to
anticipate as many of the questions as possible in writing these up, but the reality is that I
cant anticipate all the questions. Sometimes a very good question gets asked in class
that leads to insights that Ive not included here. You should always talk to someone who
was in class on the day you missed and compare these notes to their notes and see what
the differences are.
4. This is somewhat related to the previous three items, but is important enough to merit its
own item. THESE NOTES ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR ATTENDING CLASS!!
Using these notes as a substitute for class is liable to get you in trouble. As already noted
not everything in these notes is covered in class and often material or insights not in these
notes is covered in class.

2007 Paul Dawkins

http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/terms.aspx

Calculus III

2007 Paul Dawkins

http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/terms.aspx

Calculus III

Quadric Surfaces
In the previous two sections weve looked at lines and planes in three dimensions (or 3 ) and
while these are used quite heavily at times in a Calculus class there are many other surfaces that
are also used fairly regularly and so we need to take a look at those.
In this section we are going to be looking at quadric surfaces. Quadric surfaces are the graphs of
any equation that can be put into the general form

Ax 2 + By 2 + Cz 2 + Dxy + Exz + Fyz + Gx + Hy + Iz + J =

0
where A, , J are constants.
There is no way that we can possibly list all of them, but there are some standard equations so
here is a list of some of the more common quadric surfaces.
Ellipsoid
Here is the general equation of an ellipsoid.

x2 y 2 z 2
+
+ =
1
a 2 b2 c2
Here is a sketch of a typical ellipsoid.

If a= b= c then we will have a sphere.

Notice that we only gave the equation for the ellipsoid that has been centered on the origin.
Clearly ellipsoids dont have to be centered on the origin. However, in order to make the
discussion in this section a little easier we have chosen to concentrate on surfaces that are
centered on the origin in one way or another.
Cone
Here is the general equation of a cone.

x2 y 2 z 2
+
=
a 2 b2 c2
Here is a sketch of a typical cone.

2007 Paul Dawkins

http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/terms.aspx

Calculus III

Note that this is the equation of a cone that will open along the z-axis. To get the equation of a
cone that opens along one of the other axes all we need to do is make a slight modification of the
equation. This will be the case for the rest of the surfaces that well be looking at in this section
as well.
In the case of a cone the variable that sits by itself on one side of the equal sign will determine the
axis that the cone opens up along. For instance, a cone that opens up along the x-axis will have
the equation,

y 2 z 2 x2
+ =
b2 c2 a 2
For most of the following surfaces we will not give the other possible formulas. We will however
acknowledge how each formula needs to be changed to get a change of orientation for the
surface.
Cylinder
Here is the general equation of a cylinder.

x2 y 2
+
=
1
a 2 b2
This is a cylinder whose cross section is an ellipse. If a = b we have a cylinder whose cross
section is a circle. Well be dealing with those kinds of cylinders more than the general form so
the equation of a cylinder with a circular cross section is,

x2 + y 2 =
r2

Here is a sketch of typical cylinder with an ellipse cross section.

2007 Paul Dawkins

http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/terms.aspx

Calculus III

The cylinder will be centered on the axis corresponding to the variable that does not appear in the
equation.
Be careful to not confuse this with a circle. In two dimensions it is a circle, but in three
dimensions it is a cylinder.
Hyperboloid of One Sheet
Here is the equation of a hyperboloid of one sheet.

x2 y 2 z 2
+
=
1
a 2 b2 c2
Here is a sketch of a typical hyperboloid of one sheet.

The variable with the negative in front of it will give the axis along which the graph is centered.
2007 Paul Dawkins

http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/terms.aspx

Calculus III

Hyperboloid of Two Sheets

Here is the equation of a hyperboloid of two sheets.

x2 y 2 z 2
+ =
1
a 2 b2 c2

Here is a sketch of a typical hyperboloid of two sheets.

The variable with the positive in front of it will give the axis along which the graph is centered.
Notice that the only difference between the hyperboloid of one sheet and the hyperboloid of two
sheets is the signs in front of the variables. They are exactly the opposite signs.
Elliptic Paraboloid
Here is the equation of an elliptic paraboloid.

x2 y 2 z
+
=
a 2 b2 c
As with cylinders this has a cross section of an ellipse and if a = b it will have a cross section of
a circle. When we deal with these well generally be dealing with the kind that have a circle for a
cross section.
Here is a sketch of a typical elliptic paraboloid.

2007 Paul Dawkins

http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/terms.aspx

Calculus III

In this case the variable that isnt squared determines the axis upon which the paraboloid opens
up. Also, the sign of c will determine the direction that the paraboloid opens. If c is positive then
it opens up and if c is negative then it opens down.
Hyperbolic Paraboloid
Here is the equation of a hyperbolic paraboloid.

x2 y 2 z

=
a 2 b2 c
Here is a sketch of a typical hyperbolic paraboloid.

These graphs are vaguely saddle shaped and as with the elliptic paraoloid the sign of c will
determine the direction in which the surface opens up. The graph above is shown for c
positive.

2007 Paul Dawkins

http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/terms.aspx

Calculus III

With the both of the types of paraboloids discussed above the surface can be easily moved up or
down by adding/subtracting a constant from the left side.
For instance

z=
x2 y 2 + 6
is an elliptic paraboloid that opens downward (be careful, the - is on the x and y instead of the
z) and starts at z = 6 instead of z = 0 .
Here are a couple of quick sketches of this surface.

Note that weve given two forms of the sketch here. The sketch on the left has the standard set of
axes but it is difficult to see the numbers on the axis. The sketch on the right has been boxed
and this makes it easier to see the numbers to give a sense of perspective to the sketch. In most
sketches that actually involve numbers on the axis system we will give both sketches to help get a
feel for what the sketch looks like.

2007 Paul Dawkins

http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/terms.aspx