Finding the volume under the plane x+y+z=1.

Urijah Estes

Urijah Estes

Answered question

2022-07-20

Finding the volume under the plane x + y + z = 1
My two methods are giving me different answers, and I'm not sure why.
I am more confident in: 0 1 0 1 x 0 1 x y d z   d y   d x = 1 6 .
But another way I'm trying is to sum the area of all the equilateral triangles underneath, and parallel to, the plane. The side lengths of these triangles range from 0 to 2 .
Thus: 0 2 s 2 3 4   d s = 1 6
I am pretty sure the second approach is incorrect, but why?
We are given x , y , z > 0

Answer & Explanation

ab8s1k28q

ab8s1k28q

Beginner2022-07-21Added 17 answers

Step 1
You are trying to do what is sometimes called "volume-by-slicing". This is where you integrate the cross-sectional areas of the region to calculate the volume. When you do this, though, the cross-sections should be perpendicular to the "axis of integration". What I mean is that in your integral, s (the side length of the equilateral triangles) should not be the parameter. Instead, the parameter (let's call it t) should represent the distance from the cross-section to the origin.
The line normal to the plane z = 1 x y is in the direction of the vector ⟨1,1,1⟩, so it's not hard to check that the intersection of this line with the plane is 1 3 1 , 1 , 1 , which is a distance of 1 3 from the origin. So our t parameter should go from 0 to 1 3 . Then s, the length of the edge of the cross-sectional equilateral triangles, can be expressed in terms of t as s = 3 2 t, or as s = 6 t.
Step 2
Now if you compute the integral 0 1 3 3 4 6 t 2 d t you will get 1 6 , which agrees with your other calculation.

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