Area Under a Graph

Abstract

The ability to calculate the area under a graph is one of the most important features of integral calculus. Prior to calculus, area was computed by dividing a zone into very small strips and summing the individual areas. The accuracy of the result is improved simply by making the strips smaller and smaller, taking the result towards some limiting value. In this chapter I show how integral calculus provides a way to compute the area between a function’s graph and the x- and y-axis.