Calculus 3, Lecture 20
Mingtao Xia, Courant Instructor
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York
University.
[email protected] April 12, 2025
Midterm 2
Spherical and cylindrical coordinates
Chain rule, partial derivatives
Integration upper and lower bounds
Plan of the rest courses
Green’s theorem for double integrals
Stokes’ theorem for triple integrals and spatial integrals
Linking multiple integrals with partial derivatives
Review: Line integral
Suppose r(t) = (x(t), y (t)), t ∈ [a, b], then
Z Z b
Pdx = P(x(t), y(t))x ′ (t)dt. (1)
C a
13.4
Green’s theorem
Green’s theorem
Let C be a positively oriented, piecewise-smooth, simple
closed curve in the plane and let D be the region bounded by
C. If P and Q have continuous partial derivatives on an open
region that contains D, then
Z ZZ
∂Q ∂P
(P dx + Q dy ) = − dA.
C D ∂x ∂y
Note
The notation I
(P dx + Q dy )
C
or Z
(P dx + Q dy )
C
is sometimes used to indicate that the line integral is calculated
using the positive orientation of the closed curve C. Another
notation for the positively oriented boundary curve of D is ∂D,
so the equation in Green’s Theorem can be written as
ZZ I
∂Q ∂P
− dA = (P dx + Q dy ) .
D ∂x ∂y ∂D
Proof when D is a type I dimain
Notice that Green’s Theorem will be proved if we can show
that I ZZ
∂P
− P dx = dA.
C D ∂y
We prove the above equation by expressing D as a type I
region:
D = {(x, y) | a ≤ x ≤ b, g1 (x) ≤ y ≤ g2 (x)}
where t1 and t2 are continuous functions. This enables us to
compute the double integral on the right side of Equation 2 as
follows:
ZZ Z b
∂P
dA = [P(x, g2 (x)) − P(x, g1 (x))] dx.
D ∂y a
Take-home exercise
Prove that I ZZ
∂Q
Q dy = dA.
C D ∂x
when D is a type II domain
Exercise
Evaluate Z
x 4 dx + xy dy,
C
where C is the triangular curve consisting of the line segments
from (0, 0) to (1, 0), from (1, 0) to (0, 1), and from (0, 1) to
(0, 0).
Exercise 2
Find the area enclosed by the ellipse
x2 y2
+ 2 = 1.
a2 b
Exercise 3
Evaluate I
(x + y 2 ) dx + 3xy dy,
C
where C is the boundary of the semi-annular region D in the
upper half-plane between the circles x 2 + y 2 = 1 and
x 2 + y 2 = 4.
Theorem 12.3.6
Let F = Pi + Qj be a vector field on an open
simply-connected region D. Suppose that P and Q have
continuous first-order derivatives and
∂P ∂Q
=
∂y ∂x
throughout D. Then F is conservative.
Conservative field
Suppose it is known that F = Pi + Qj is conservative,
where P and Q have continuous first-order partial derivatives.
Then there is a function f such that F = ∇f , that is,
∂f
P=
∂x
and
∂f
Q=
∂y
Therefore, by Clairaut’s Theorem,
∂P ∂Q
= .
∂y ∂x
Proof using the Green’s theorem
We’re assuming that F = Pi + Qj is a vector field on an open
simply-connected region D, that P and Q have continuous first-order
partial derivatives, and that
∂P ∂Q
=
∂y ∂x
throughout D.
Proof using the Green’s theorem
If C is any simple closed path in D and R is the region that
C encloses, then Green’s Theorem gives
I I ZZ ZZ
∂Q ∂P
P dx+Q dy = F ·dr = − dA = dA = 0.
C C R ∂x ∂y 0
A curve that is not simple crosses itself at one or more
points and can be broken up into a number of simple curves.
We have shown that the line integrals of F around these simple
curves are all 0 and, adding these integrals, we see that
I
F · dr = 0
C
H
for any closed curve C. Therefore, C F · dr is independent of
path in D. It follows that F is a conservative vector field.
Feedback
