nature can be conceived in harmonious form. – BIRKHOFF v

nature can be conceived in harmonious form. – BIRKHOFF v . Introduction In geometry, we have learnt formulae to calculate areas of various geometrical figures including triangles, rectangles, trapezias and circles. Such formulae are fundamental in the applications of mathematics to many real life problems. The formulae of elementary geometry allow us to calculate areas of many simple figures. However, they are inadequate for calculating the areas enclosed by curves. For that we shall need some concepts of Integral Calculus. In the previous chapter, we have studied to find the area bounded by the curve y = f ( x ), the ordinates x = a , x = b and x -axis, while calculating definite integral as the limit of a sum. Here, in this chapter, we shall study a specific application of integrals to find the area under simple curves, area between lines and arcs of circles, parabolas and ellipses (standard forms only). We shall also deal with finding the area bounded by the above said curves. . Area under Simple Curves In the previous chapter, we have studied definite integral as the limit of a sum and how to evaluate definite integral using Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. Now, we consider the easy and intuitive way of finding the area bounded by the curve y = f ( x ), x -axis and the ordinates x = a and x = b . From Fig . , we can think of area under the curve as composed of large number of very thin vertical strips. Consider an arbitrary strip of height y and width dx , then d A (area of the elementary strip)= ydx , where, y = f ( x ).