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Multivariable Calculus 2: Integrals

We live in a multivariable world. Explore different types of integrals and learn how to apply them to solve real world problems. Part 2 of 3.

Multivariable Calculus 2: Integrals

We live in a multivariable world. Explore different types of integrals and learn how to apply them to solve real world problems. Part 2 of 3.

Variables are all around us: temperature, altitude, location, profit, color, and countless others. Multivariable Calculus is the tool of choice to shed light on complex relationships between 2, 3, or hundreds of variables simultaneously. Some of the multivariable questions considered in this course include:

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  • How can one quantify the efficiency of a power plant?
  • How much snow can a roof safely hold?
  • Over the next 100 years, how high will continually melting icebergs raise sea levels?

The key tool for answering each of these questions is multivariable integration.

In this course, you will learn how to set up, solve, and interpret many types of multivariable integrals:

  • double integrals of scalar functions in any coordinate system,
  • line integrals of scalar and vector-valued functions, and
  • triple integrals in cartesian, cylindrical, and spherical coordinates.

Physical applications will be highlighted, including the use of integrals to compute the work done by a force field, or the flux caused by a velocity field.

Finally, you will learn powerful tools for simplifying integral computations, including the Fundamental Theorem of Line Integrals and Green’s Theorem.

Multivariable Calculus: Integrals is a series of the following two available modules:

What you'll learn

  • How to compute double and triple integrals in different coordinates systems.
  • How to compute flux through curves, and work along a curve.
  • How to use integrals to solve word problems in the real-world.
  • How to relate different types of integrals using the Fundamental Theorem of Line Integrals and Green’s Theorem.

Prerequisites

Meet your instructors

  • Featured image for Denis Auroux
    Herchel Smith Professor of Mathematics, Harvard University
  • Featured image for Lawrence Guth
    Claude Shannon Professor of Mathematics MacVicar Faculty Fellow
  • Featured image for Jennifer French
    Lecturer in Mathematics

Who can take this course?

Because of U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) restrictions and other U.S. federal regulations, learners residing in one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba, Syria, North Korea and the Crimea, Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic regions of Ukraine.