11 SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

BASIC CALCULUS
Quarter 4 – Module 4
The Definite Integral
as the Limit of the Riemann Sums
and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus
Basic Calculus – Grade 11
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 4 – Module 4: The Definite Integral as the Limit of the Riemann Sums
and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus
First Edition, 2020

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 11

Basic Calculus
Quarter 4 – Module 4
The Definite Integral
as the Limit of the Riemann Sums
and the Fundamental Theorem
of Calculus
 I

LEARNING COMPETENCIES:
▪ Illustrate the definite integral as the limit of the Riemann Sums
▪ Illustrate the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus
(STEM_BC11I-IVh-1)

OBJECTIVES:
K: Define the definite integral as the limit of Riemann
Sums;
S: Illustrate the definite integral as the limit of Riemann sums
and the fundamental theorem of calculus;
A: Appreciate the steps in determining the definite integral as
the limit of Riemann sums and the steps in FTOC.

Complete the statement below. Supply the missing words from the box provided.

In ____(1)_____, a Riemann sum is a certain kind of ___(2)______ of an integral by

a finite sum. It is named after nineteenth century German mathematician _______(3)_______.
One very common application is approximating the area of functions or lines on a graph, but
also the length of curves and other approximations.
The sum is calculated by _____(4)______ the region into shapes
(_____(5)_____, _____(6)_____, ______(7)______) that together form a region that is similar
to the region being measured, then calculating the area for each of these shapes, and finally
adding all of these small areas together. This approach can be used to find a numerical
approximation for a_____(8)______ even if the _____(9)______ does not make it easy to find
a ______(10)_______.

Mathematics approximation Bernhard Riemann

partitioning rectangles trapezoids
parabolas/cubics definite integral closed-form solution
Fundamental Theorem of Calculus

2
 Lesson Definite Integral as the Limit of the Riemann
1 Sums and Fundamental Theorem of Calculus

’s In

Definite Integrals represent the area under the curve of a function, and Riemann sums
help us approximate such areas. The question remains: Is there a way to find the exact value of
a definite integral?

is It

Riemann Sums with “Infinite” Rectangles

1
Imagine we want to find the area under the graph of 𝑓 (𝑥 ) = 𝑥 2 between
5
𝑥 = 2 and 𝑥 = 6.

Using definite integral notation, we can represent the exact area:

6
1 2
∫ 𝑥 𝑑𝑥
2 5

We can approximate this area using Riemann sums. Let 𝑅(𝑛) be the right Riemann sum
approximation of our area using 𝑛 equal subdivision (i.e. 𝑛 rectangles of equal width).

For example, this is 𝑅(4). You can see it’s an overestimation of the actual area.

3
 The area under the curve of 𝑓 between 𝑥 = 2 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 = 6 is approximated using 4
rectangles of equal width.
We can make our approximation better by dividing our area into further rectangles that
are smaller in width, i.e. by using 𝑅(𝑛) for larger values of 𝑛 .
You can see how the approximation gets closer to the actual area as the under of
rectangles goes from 1 to100.

Of course, using even more rectangles will get us even closer, but an approximation is
always just an approximation.
What if we could take a Riemann sum with infinite equal subdivision? Is that even
possible? Well, we can’t set 𝑛 = ∞ because infinity isn’t an actual number, but you might
recall we have a way of taking something to infinity…

4
LIMITS
Specifically, this limit:
lim 𝑅(𝑛)
𝑛→∞

61
Amazing fact #1: This limit really gives us the exact value of ∫2 5 𝑥 2 𝑑𝑥 .
Amazing fact #2: It doesn’t matter whether we take the limit of a right Riemann sum, a left
Riemann sum, or any other common approximation. At infinity, we will always get the exact
value of the definite integral.
(The rigorous proof of these facts is too elaborate to cover in this module, but that’s
okay because we’re just interested in the intuition behind connecting Riemann sums and
definite integrals.)
So far we’ve used 𝑅 (𝑛) as a placeholder for the right Riemann sum approximation with
𝑛 subdivisions. Now let’s find the actual expression.

Quick review: We are looking for ∆𝑥, the constant width of any rectangle, and 𝑥𝑖 , the x-value
of the right edge of the 𝑖 𝑡ℎ rectangle. Then, 𝑓(𝑥𝑖 ) will give us the height of each rectangle.

6−2 4
∆𝑥 = =
𝑛 𝑛

4
𝑥1 = 2 + ∆𝑥 ∙ 𝑖 = 2 + 𝑖
𝑛

1 1 4
𝑓 (𝑥𝑖 ) = (𝑥𝑖 )2 = (2+ 𝑖 )2
5 5 𝑛

4 1
So, the area of the 𝑖 𝑡ℎ rectangle is 𝑛 ∙ 5 (2 + 4/𝑛 𝑖)2 ,
And the sum that for values of 𝑖 from 1 to 𝑛:

𝑛
4𝑖 2 4
𝑅 (𝑛) = ∑ (2 + ) ∙
𝑛 5𝑛
𝑖=1

Now we can represent the actual area is a limit:

6
1 2
∫ 𝑥 𝑑𝑥
2 5

= lim 𝑅(𝑛)
𝑛→∞

4𝑖 4
= lim ∑𝑛𝑖=1(2 + 𝑛 )2 ∙
𝑛→∞ 5𝑛

5
By definition, the definite integral is the limit of the Riemann sum
The above example is a specific case of the general definition for definite integrals:
The definite integral of a continuous function 𝑓 over the interval[𝑎, 𝑏], denoted by
𝑏
∫𝑎 𝑓 (𝑥 )𝑑𝑥, is the limit of a Riemann sum as the number of subdivisions approaches infinity.
That is,

𝑏
∫𝑎 𝑓 (𝑥 )𝑑𝑥 = lim ∑𝑛𝑖=1 ∆𝑥 ∙ f(𝑥𝑖 )
𝑛→∞
𝑏−𝑎
Where ∆𝑥 = and 𝑥𝑖 = 𝑎 + ∆𝑥 ∙ 𝑖
𝑛

If we’re asked to write a Riemann sum from a definite integral….

Imagine we’ve been asked to write the following definite integral as the limit of
Reimann sum.
2𝜋
∫ cos(𝑥 )𝑑𝑥
𝜋

First, let’s find ∆𝑥:

𝑏−𝑎
∆𝑥 =
𝑛
2𝜋 − 𝜋
=
𝑛
𝜋
=
𝑛

Now that we have ∆𝑥, we can find 𝑥𝑖 :

𝑥𝑖 = 𝑎 + ∆𝑥 ∙ 𝑥
𝑥𝑖 = 𝑎 + ∆𝑥 ∙ 𝑖
𝜋
=𝜋+ ∙𝑖
𝑛
𝜋𝑖
=𝜋+
𝑛

Therefore,
2𝜋 𝑛
𝜋 𝜋𝑖
∫ cos(𝑥 )𝑑𝑥 = lim ∑ ∙ cos (𝜋 + )
𝜋 𝑛→∞ 𝑛 𝑛
𝑛→∞

FUNDAMENTAL THEOREM OF CALCULUS (FTOC)

Let 𝑓 be a continuous function on [𝑎, 𝑏] and let F be an antiderivative of 𝒇, that is,
′( )
𝑭 𝒙 = 𝒇(𝒙). Then

6
 𝒃
∫ 𝒇(𝒙)𝒅𝒙 = 𝑭(𝒃) − 𝑭(𝒂).
𝒂

𝑥3
Example 1. Notice that 𝐹 (𝑥 ) = is an antiderivative of 𝑓(𝑥 ) = 𝑥 2 (since 𝑭′ (𝒙) = 𝒇(𝒙). )
3
Hence, by FTOC,
1 𝑥3 1 1
∫0 𝑥 2 𝑑𝑥 = 3
= 𝐹 (1) − 𝐹 (0) = 3
−0= 3

as we have learned.
Vertical Bar Notation
We adopt the following notation:
𝑏
𝐹(𝑥) | = 𝐹(𝑏) − 𝐹(𝑎)
𝑎
For example,

(1 + 𝑥 − 𝑥 2 ) |2 = (1 + 2 − 22 ) − (1 + 1 − 12 ) = (−1) − (1) = −2,

1
and
𝜋
2 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 (𝜋) − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 (𝜋) = 1 − √2 = 2 − √2
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑥 |𝜋
2 4 2 2
4
Using the above notation, the FTOC now states: If F is an antiderivative of f,
then
𝑏
𝑏
∫ 𝑓(𝑥)𝑑𝑥 = 𝐹(𝑥) |
𝑎 𝑎

The constant of integration that was necessary for indefinite integration will now just
cancel out:
𝑏 𝑏
(𝐹 (𝑥 ) + 𝐶 ) | = ( 𝐹 ( 𝑏 ) + 𝐶 ) − (𝐹 (𝑎 ) + 𝐶 ) = 𝐹 ( 𝑏 ) − 𝐹 (𝑎 ) = 𝐹 (𝑥 ) |
𝑎 𝑎

7
Example 2. Find the exact values of the following definite integrals without referring to the
graphs of the integrand.
2
1. ∫1 3 𝑑𝑥
Solution
2
∫ 3 𝑑𝑥
1
2
= 3𝑥 |
1
= 3 2 − 1)
(
=3

3
2. ∫1 (3𝑥 + 1) 𝑑𝑥
Solution
3
∫ (3𝑥 + 1)𝑑𝑥
1
3𝑥 2 3
=( + 𝑥) |
2 1
27 3
= ( + 3) − ( + 1)
2 2
= 14

Common mistake: Getting the wrong expression for ∆𝒙.

𝑒 1
For example, we can imagine how a student might define ∆𝑥 to be 𝑜𝑟 instead of
𝑛 𝑛
𝑒−1
. Another example is simply using 𝑑𝑥 for ∆𝑥. Remember that 𝑑𝑥 is only used in the integral
𝑛
notation, not in the sum. It tells us that the integration is with respect to 𝑥.

Another common mistake: Getting the wrong expression for 𝒙𝟏

A student might forget to add 𝑎 𝑡𝑜 ∆𝑥 ∙ 𝑖, resulting in a wrong expression. For example,
𝑒−1 𝑒−1
a student might define 𝑥𝑖 to be ∙ 𝑖 instead of1 + ∙𝑖.
𝑛 𝑛

If we’re asked to write a definite integral from the limit of a Riemann sum…
Imagine we’re being asked to find a definite integral that’s equivalent to this limit:
𝑛
5𝑖 5
lim ∑ ln( 2 + ) ∙
𝑛→∞ 𝑛 𝑛
𝑖=1
This means we need to find the interval of integration [𝑎, 𝑏] and the integrand 𝑓(𝑥).
𝑏
Then, the corresponding definite integral will be ∫𝑎 𝑓 (𝑥 )𝑑𝑥 .
We know that every Riemann sum has two parts: a width ∆𝑥 and height 𝑓(𝑥1 ) for each
rectangle in the sum. Looking at this specific limit, we can make reasonable choices for both
parts.
𝑛
5𝑖 5
lim ∑ ln( 82 + ) ∙
𝑛→∞ 𝑛 𝑛
𝑖=1
 5
Rectangles of uniform width: The expression is a reasonable choice for the width of our
𝑛
rectangles, ∆𝑥, because it doesn’t depend on the index 𝑖. This means that ∆𝑥 wil be the same
for each term in the sum, which is what we’d expect from a Riemann sum where each rectangle
has the same width.
𝟓𝒊
Rectangles or varying height: The expression 𝐥𝐧(𝟐 + 𝒏
) depends on 𝑖, which makes
𝟓𝒊
it a good choice to represent the height, 𝒇(𝒙𝟏). The most natural choice for 𝒙𝟏 is 𝟐 + 𝒏 , so let’s
go with that, which means that the function we’re integrating is 𝒇(𝒙) = 𝐥𝐧 (𝒙).
To figure out the bounds of integration, a and b, let’s think back to the general
definitions of ∆𝑥 and 𝑥1 in relation to the definite integral.

𝟓𝒊
As defined above, 𝒙𝟏 = 𝒂 + ∆𝒙 ∙ 𝒊 . In this specific problem, 𝒙𝟏 = 𝟐 + , which can
𝒏
𝟓
be written as 𝟐 + 𝒊, so 𝒂 must equal 2.
𝒏
𝑏−𝑎 5
As defined above, ∆𝑥 = . In this specific problem, ∆𝑥 = 𝑛. Both denominators are
𝑛
𝑛, so the numerators must equal : 𝑏 − 𝑎 = 5. We already know 𝑎 = 2, so we can conclude that
𝑏 = 7.

Putting everything together, here’s a definite integral that equals the limit of the
Riemann sum:
7
∫ ln(𝑥 ) 𝑑𝑥
2

I Have Learned

Let’s try these problems!

1. Find the Riemann Sum for the function 𝒇(𝒙) = 𝒆𝒙 to the partition [0, 3].
Solution. Calculate the function values at the sample points:
3−0 3
∆𝑥 = =
𝑛 𝑛
3 3𝑖
𝑥𝑖 = 0 + 𝑖 =
𝑛 𝑛
3𝑖
𝑓 (𝑥𝑖 ) = 𝑒 𝑛
3 𝑛
𝑥
∫ 𝑒 𝑑𝑥 = lim ∑ ∆𝑥 ∙ 𝑓(𝑥𝑖 )
0 𝑛→∞
𝑖=1
𝑛
3 3𝑖
= lim ∑ ∙ 𝑒𝑛
𝑛→∞ 𝑛
𝑖=1

9
Problem solving:
1. What is ∆𝑥 in this expression?
𝑛
4𝑖 2 4
lim ∑(3 + ) ∙
𝑛→∞ 𝑛 𝑛
𝑖=1
4𝑖 2 B. 3 +
4𝑖
C.
4𝑖
D.
4
A. (3 + ) 𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
𝑛

5𝑖 5
2. lim ∑𝑛𝑖=1 √4 + ∙ =?
𝑛→∞ 𝑛 𝑛

9 9 5 4
A. ∫4 √𝑥 𝑑𝑥 B. ∫4 √4 + 𝑥 𝑑𝑥 C. ∫0 √𝑥 𝑑𝑥 D. ∫0 √4 + 𝑥 𝑑𝑥

5
3. ∫0 (2𝑥 − 2)𝑑𝑥
𝜋
2
4. ∫−𝜋 sin 𝑥 𝑑𝑥
2

10
 11
Pretest:
Assessment:
1. Mathematics
4
2. Approximation
1. 3. Bernhard Riemann
𝑛
9 4. Partitioning
2. ∫4 √𝑥 𝑑𝑥 5. Rectangles
6. Trapezoids
3. 15
7. Parabolas/cubics
4. 0 8. Definite integral
9. Fundamental
theorem of calculus
10. Closed-form solution
References
Department of Education. Basic Calculus-Grade 11:
Teacher’s Guide for Senior High School.2016, 237- 252.

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/ap-calculus-ab/ab-integration-new/ab-6-3/a/definite-
integral-as-the-limit-of-a-riemann-
sum#:~:text=Riemann%20sums%20help%20us%20approximate,us%20formally%20define%
20definite%20integrals.&text=Definite%20integrals%20represent%20the%20area,help%20u
s%20approximate%20such%20areas.

12
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