Evaluating a semicircle integral geometrically
Consider the function on the interval .
By rewriting as with , recognize the region bounded by and the -axis on as a familiar geometric shape.
Using an appropriate area formula, evaluate the integral .
Hint
Identify what curve traces (think about squaring both sides), determine its center and radius, and note that the integral only covers the upper half of that curve. The definite integral equals the area of that region since on .
Step-by-step solution
Squaring both sides of gives , which is a circle centered at with radius . Since , the graph is only the upper half of this circle, i.e., a semicircle sitting on the -axis. The interval matches exactly the diameter of this circle (from to ), so the region under on is precisely this upper semicircular region.
The area of a full circle of radius is , so the area of the upper semicircle is half of that: . Since on , the definite integral equals this area directly, giving .
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