Calculate the work that is required to pump the water through an upper opening out of a vertical cylindrical barrel

with
base radius R and altitude H. 

Solution:
To find the work, we take a thin representative slice with thickness dz at a height z from the bottom of the barrel. The
mass of the slice is
dm= ρdV =ρAdz=πρ R2 dz

To pump out this volume of water out of the barrel, we need to raise it to the height H. The work required for this is
given by the expression
2
dW =dm ⋅g ( H −z )=πρg R ( H−z ) dz

The total amount of work is found by integration from z=0 to z=H:

H H H 2 2 2
W =∫ dW =∫ πρg R ( H −z ) dz=πρg R
2 2
∫ ( H−z ) dz=πρg R2 ( Hz− z2 )∨¿0H = πρg R2 H
¿
0 0 0

https://math24.net/topics-calculus.html#applications-integrals
Find the work required to produce a conical pile of sand with base radius R and altitude H

Solution:
Take a thin cylindrical slice with thickness dz at a height z from the base of the cone. Using the similarity of triangles,
we can write the following proportion:
r H −z R ( H−z )
= , ⇒r=
R H H

The mass of the slice is given by

2πρ R2 ( H−z )2
dm= ρdV =πρ r dz= 2
dz
H

Assuming that the work is required to overcome gravity, we have

2
πρg R ( 2
dW =dm ⋅ gz= 2
H−z ) zdz
H
where dW denotes the elementary work necessary to pour the layer of sand at height z.
To calculate the total work, we integrate from z=0 to z=H:

H 2 H 2 H 2 H 2 2 2 3 4
πρg R
W =∫ dW =
H
2 ∫ ( H−z ) zdz = πρgH 2R
2
∫ ( H −2 Hz+ z ) zdz = πρgH 2R
2 2
∫ ( H 2 z −2 H z2+ z3 ) dz = πρgH 2R (
H z 2H z z
2
−
3
+ )∨
4
0 0 0 0
https://math24.net/topics-calculus.html#applications-integrals
The dimensions of the Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Cheops) are as follows:
height H=140m, side of the square base a=200m. Assuming that the pyramid was built of limestone with density
kg
of p=2500 3 , estimate the total work done in its building.
m
Consider a thin slice in the pyramid with thickness dz drawn z units from the vertex.

Solution:
az
The side length of the slice is  . Hence, the mass of the slice is
H

( )
2 2
az ρa
dm= ρdV =ρ dz= 2 z 2 dz
H H

We assume that the work is done by gravity, so for our representative slice, the work is given by
2
ρg a
dW =dm ⋅g ( H −z )= 2 ( H−z ) z2 dz
H

The total work done in building the pyramid is

( )
H H 2 2 H 2 3 4 2 4 4 2 2
ρg a ρg a ( ρg a H z z ρg a H H ρg a H
W =∫ dW =∫ ( H −z ) z dz= 2 ∫ H z −z dz= 2 (
)
2 2 3 H
− )∨¿ 0 = 2 − = ¿
0 0 H
2
H 0 H 3 4 H 3 4 12

Substituting the values for the Great Pyramid yields

2500 ⋅9.8 ⋅ 2002 ⋅ 1402

W Cheops = ≈ 1.6 ×1012 ( J ) .
12
https://math24.net/topics-calculus.html#applications-integrals
A force of 50N is required to stretch a spring 10cm beyond its natural length. How much work will be done stretching
the spring 20cm from its natural length?

Solution:
According to Hooke's law,
F=kx

Hence, the spring constant is equal to

F 50
k= =
x 0.1
=500
N
m ( )
where the displacement x is measured in meters: x = 10cm = 0.1m
To find the work done by the external force, we integrate from x = 0 to x = 20 = 0.2 m

0.2 0.2
500 x 2 0.2 500 ×0.22
W =∫ kxdx =∫ 500 xdx= ∨¿0 = =10 ( J ) ¿
0 0 2 2
https://math24.net/force-work-energy.html
Calculate the work that has to be done to raise a body of mass m from the Earth's surface to an altitude ℎ. What is the
work if the body is removed to infinity?

Solution.

Assuming the radius of Earth is R, the mass of Earth is M, and acceleration due to gravity at its surface is g, we write the
gravitational force acting on the body at the Earth's surface in the form
mM
F 0=G 2 =mg
R

GM
where G is the gravitational constant, and  g= 2 is the acceleration due to gravity.
R

At a certain height x, the gravitational force is given by

2 2
mM mM R mg R
F ( x )=G =G =
( R+ x )2 ( R+ x )2 R 2 ( R+ x )2

The work to raise the body to an altitude ℎ is determined through integration:

h h h
W =∫ F ( x ) dx=∫
0
mg R2
0 ( R+ x )
2
dx=mg R
2
∫ dx
0 ( R+ x )
2
=mg R
2 −1
(
R+ x
)∨¿
h
0 =mg R
2 −1
(
+
R+h R
1
=mg) R2 h
R ( R+ h )
=mg
Rh
R+h
¿

https://math24.net/force-work-energy.html
Consider a trapezoid-shaped dam that is 60 feet wide at its base and 90 feet wide at its top, and assume the dam is 25 feet
tall with water that rises to within 5 feet of the top of its face. Water weighs 62.5 pounds per cubic foot. How much work
does the water exert against the dam?

Solution.
First, the approximate area of this slice is the area of the pictured rectangle. Since the width of that rectangle depends on
the variable x (which represents the how far the slice lies from the top of the dam), we find a formula for the Function
y=f(x) that determines one side of the face of the dam. Since f is linear, it is straightforward to find that y=f(x)=45−3/5x.
Hence, the approximate area of a representative slice is
Aslice = 2 (x) Δx = 2 (45 −3/5x) =2(45−3/5x)Δx

At any point on this slice, the depth is approximately constant, and thus the pressure can be considered constant. In
particular, we note that since x measures the distance to the top of the dam, and because the water rises to within 5 feet of
the top of the dam, the depth of any point on the representative slice is approximately (x−5). Now, since pressure  given
by P=62.4d, we have that at any point on the representative slice
Pslice=62.4(x−5)
Knowing both the pressure and area, we can find the force the water exerts on the slice. Using F=PA, it follows that

Fslice=Pslice⋅Aslice=62.4(x−5)⋅2(45−3/5x)Δx

Finally, we use adefinite integral to sum the forces over the appropriate range of x-values. Since the water rises to within
5 feet of the top of the dam, we start at =5 and slice all the way to the bottom of the dam, where x=30. Hence,

F=∫x=30x=562.4(x−5)⋅2(45−35x) dx
Using technology to evaluate the integral, we find,

F ≈ 1.248 × 10^6 J

https://math.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Calculus/Map%3A_Calculus__Early_Transcendentals_(Stewart)/
06%3A_Applications_of_Integration/6.04%3A_Work
Here’s a simple first example. An above-ground backyard swimming pool has the shape of a circular cylinder with a
radius of 10 ft and a depth of 8 ft. Assume the depth of the water in the pool is 5 ft. Find the work done in emptying the
pool by pumping the water over the top edge of the pool. Note: The density of water is 62.5 lbs/ft3 .

Solution.
The liquid lies between 0 and 5 feet but has to be moved to a height of H = 8 feet. The crosssections are circles of radius
r = 10 feet. So A(y) = πr 2 = 100π. (In most problems the cross-sections will vary.) So,

https://math.hws.edu/mitchell/Math131S13/tufte-latex/Work.pdf
An underground hemispherical tank with radius 10 ft is filled with oil of density 50 lbs/ft3 . Find the work done pumping the oil to
the surface if the top of the tank is 6 feet below ground.

Solution.

https://math.hws.edu/mitchell/Math131S13/tufte-latex/Work.pdf
https://math.hws.edu/mitchell/Math131S13/tufte-latex/Work.pdf
https://math.hws.edu/mitchell/Math131S13/tufte-latex/Work.pdf