The Disk and Shell Method

Charles A. Cable
Department of Mathematics, Allegheny College, Meadville, PA 16335
The American Mathematical Monthly, February 1984, Volume 91, Number 2, p. 139.

n most calculus books there is little effort given to showing that the cylindrical shell
method and disk method give the same value when computing the volume of a solid
of revolution. Indeed it is not obvious that these two distinct methods should give
the same result. In some texts this is demonstrated when the trapezoid bounded by the
x-axis, y 5 mx 1 b, x 5 a and x 5 b is revolved about the y-axis.
In this paper we shall show that the cylindrical shell and disk methods give the same
value if the region revolved about the y-axis is bounded by y 5 f sxd, x 5 a, x 5 b and
the x-axis, provided f sxd is a differentiable function on fa, bg and f sxd is one-to-one.
The proof is simple and uses two theorems which the students have recently learned
(substitution formula and integration by parts.) This proof can easily be included in a
calculus course.

Consider the solid of revolution K produced by revolving the region bounded by

y 5 f sxd, x 5 a, x 5 b and the x-axis, about the y-axis. We use the shell method, which
involves summing the volumes of cylindrical shells, to define the volume of K to be
n
limiPi0 i51 2p xi f sxi dDxi. If f sxd is differentiable on fa, bg and hence continuous

there, this limit exists and is equal to ea 2p xf sxd dx.

b

Suppose the region is bounded by the function x 5 gs yd, y 5 c, y 5 d and the y-axis. In
the disk method, which involves summing the volumes of disks, we consider
limiPi0

n
p
i51

f g s yi dg2 Dyi.

If gs yd is continuous on fc, dg, this limit exists and is equal to ec p f gs ydg2 dy.
d

THEOREM. Let 0 a , b, and let y 5 f sxd be differentiable, nonnegative and 1 2 1

on fa, bg, with f sad 5 c and f sbd 5 d where c < d.* Also let f9sxd be continuous on
fa, bg and let x 5 gs yd iff y 5 f sxd. If R is the region bounded by y 5 f sxd, the x-axis,
x 5 a and x 5 b and R is revolved about the y-axis, then the value obtained by using
the disk method is equal to the value obtained by using the cylindrical shell method.
d
b
Equivalently p fb2d 2 a2cg 2 ec p f gs ydg2 dy 5 ea 2p xf sxd dx.
Proof: The region R can also be described as the region bounded by
x 5 ms yd, x 5 b, y 5 0 and y 5 d, where
ms yd 5

5ags yd

if 0 y , c,
if c y d.

We observe from the way that ms yd is defined that it is continuous on f0, dg. If we
evaluate the volume obtained by revolving the region R about the y-axis by using the
d
d
disk method, we find this to be e0 pb2 dy 2 e0 p ms yd dy. This is equal to

E pb
d

dy 2

E pa
c

dy 2

E p fgs ydg dy 5 p fb d 2 a cg 2 E p fgs ydg dy.

d

By the substitution formula, the latter expression is equal to

p fb2d 2 a2cg 2 ea p x2f9sxd dx.

b

A straightforward application of the integration by parts formula and algebraic

simplification shows that

E 2pxf sxd dx 5 p fb d 2 a cg 2 E p x f9sxddx,

b

and the argument is complete.

*The result is true in case d <

c, but a slight alteration is needed in the argument.