Exercise · ZW-CYLINDRICAL-AND-SPHERICAL-COORDINATES-007 · ★★☆ Intermediate

Compute the volume of a ball of radius \(2\) by integrating in spherical coordinates.

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  • A. \(\tfrac{32\pi}{3}\)

Explanation

\(\int_0^{2\pi}\!\int_0^{\pi}\!\int_0^2\rho^2\sin\varphi\,d\rho\,d\varphi\,d\theta=2\pi\cdot2\cdot\tfrac83=\tfrac{32\pi}{3}\), which matches \(\tfrac43\pi R^3\). Without the factor \(\sin\varphi\) the result would be wrong.

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Review the concept: Cylindrical and spherical coordinates

Cylindrical coordinates \((r,\theta,z)\) and spherical coordinates \((\rho,\theta,\varphi)\) locate a point in space with distances and angles, and simplify solids with rotational symmetry.

\[\begin{aligned}x&=r\cos\theta,\ y=r\sin\theta,\ z=z\\x&=\rho\sin\varphi\cos\theta,\ y=\rho\sin\varphi\sin\theta,\ z=\rho\cos\varphi\end{aligned}\]

More practice problems: cylindrical and spherical coordinates

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