How can I find the volume of an object when I am given the curves $y = x-x^2$ and $y= 0$, when it is rotated about the line $x= 2$. I understand that my height is $y = x-x^2$, and I want to say my radius is $x$, but I don't think that is right.
Using the shell method
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calculus
2 Answers
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You’re right: it isn’t right. :-)
The radius is always the distance between the axis of revolution and the shell. For a shell at $x$, that distance is $2-x$ when $x\le 2$ and $x-2$ when $x\ge 2$. I expect that you’ve already discovered that the shells for your region range from $x=0$ to $x=1$, so the radius is always $2-x$ in this problem.
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0@Kyle: Yo$u$’re welcome! – 2012-12-13
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The picture is key here, so make sure you are working with an accurate one:
Since the axis of revolution is $x=2$, the radius of a shell emanates from there (not the $x$ axis), and so it is $2-x$.
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0Thanks! I had a feeling the $2$ would be incorporated somehow. – 2012-12-13