Nanyang Technological University
MH2100 (Calculus III)
Tutorial Problem Set 9 (Study Week 10)
Problem 1
Define a plane vector field F on R2 by
df
F(x, y) = 2x + y 2 , 3y − 4x .
(a) Determine whether or not F is conservative.
(b) If F is conservative, then find a potential function f ; otherwise, proceed straight to Part (c).
(c) Let C denote the oriented curve in R2 made up of the following oriented sub-curves joined end-to-end:
• C1 , going from (0, 0) to (1, 1) along the parabola given by the equation y = x2 .
• C2 , going from (1, 1) to (0, 0) along the parabola given by the equation x = y 2 .
Z
Using Part (b) or otherwise, evaluate F • dr.
C
Problem 2
Define a space vector field F on R3 by
df
F(x, y, z) = y 2 cos(x) + z 3 , 2y sin(x) − 4, 3xz 2 + 2 .
(a) Determine whether or not F is conservative.
(b) If F is conservative, then find a potential function f ; otherwise, proceed straight to Part (c).
π
(c) Let L denote the directed line segment in R3 from (0, 1, −1) to , −1, 2 .
Z 2
Using Part (b) or otherwise, evaluate F • dr.
L
Problem 3
Let r be a nice parametrization of an oriented curve C in R3 , with parameter space I = [a, b].
Suppose that r is the displacement function of a point object P in R3 with mass m.
We may then also suppose that the following three statements hold:
df
• The velocity function v = r0 of P is defined and continuous throughout [a, b].
df
• The acceleration function a = v0 of P is defined and continuous throughout [a, b].
• The net-force function F of P is m · a — as required by Newton’s Second Law of Motion.
Use the line-integral formula for work to show that the work done by F in moving P along its path is
1 2 1 2
mkv(b)k − mkv(a)k .
2 2
1
2
Problem 4
Let n ∈ N, and let F be a conservative continuous n-dimensional vector field. Z
Show, for any piecewise-smooth oriented loop C contained within Dom(F), that F • dr = 0.
Z C I
Remark: C does not have to be oriented in any particular way, so “ ” is written instead of “ ”.
C C
Problem 5
Define a plane vector field F = (P, Q) on R2 \ {(0, 0)} by
df y x
F(x, y) = − 2 , .
x + y 2 x2 + y 2
∂Q ∂P
(a) Show that − ≡ 0 on R2 \ {(0, 0)}.
∂x ∂y
(b) Let C denote the positively oriented circle in R2 with center (0, 0) and
I radius 1.
Use the standard counterclockwise parametrization of C to evaluate F • dr.
C
(c) Parts (a) and (b) seem to contradict Green’s Theorem; explain why there is really no contradiction.
(d) Using your response to Part (b) and Problem 4, determine whether or not F is conservative.
Problem 6
Three directed line segments, L1 , L2 , and L3 , in R2 are depicted in the figure below.
y
(0, 6)
L3
(2, 4)
L2
(2, 2)
L1
x
(0, 0)
2
Let C denote
Z the oriented curve in R comprising of L1 , L2 , and L3 joined end-to-end.
Evaluate [(sin(x) + y) dx + (3x + y) dy].
C
Problem 7
Let C denote the positively oriented loop in R2 having the parametrization r : [0, 2π] → R2 defined by
df
r(t) = 4 cos(t), 3 sin3 (t) .
(a) Use Green’s Theorem to find the area of the closed region in R2 enclosed by C.
I
3xy 2 + 4 cos(x) dx + 3x2 y + 2x + ey dy .
(b) Use Green’s Theorem to evaluate
C
3
Problem 8
Let C denote the positively oriented square in R2 with vertices
(1, 0), (0, 1), (−1, 0), and (0, −1).
I
1 1
Evaluate dx + dy .
C |x| + |y| |x| + |y|