15.09 The trapezoidal rule
Interactive practice questions
The following piece of land has straight boundaries on the east, west and south borders and follows a creek at the north.
The land has been divided into two sections to allow us to use the trapezoidal rule to approximate the area of the land.
Note: the diagram is not to scale.
Approximate Area $1$1 using one application of the trapezoidal rule.
Approximate Area $2$2 using one application of the trapezoidal rule.
Hence, find the approximate area of the piece of land using your answers to parts (a) and (b).
Is the actual area of the land greater than or less than this calculated area?
Greater than
Less than
The following piece of land has straight boundaries on the east, west and south borders and follows a creek at the north.
The land has been divided into two sections to allow us to use the trapezoidal rule to approximate the area of the land.
Note: the diagram is not to scale.
A surveyor provided the following diagram with measurements for a property she was mapping out.
The following diagram shows the measurements of a plot of land.