Mistake Master

Volume with Disc Method: Revolving Around Other Axes AB & BC

A radius is the distance from the axis of revolution to the boundary, so revolving about $y = k$ gives $r = |f(x) - k|$ and $V = \pi\int_a^b (f(x) - k)^{2}\,dx$. The order of subtraction follows from which side the region lies on, and the square removes the sign either way. Writing $r = f(x)$ is the 8.9 reflex, correct only because the axis was $y = 0$ there; for $y = \sqrt{x}$ and $y = 2$ on $[0, 4]$ about $y = 2$, the true $\frac{8\pi}{3}$ becomes $8\pi$ under that reflex and $\frac{136\pi}{3}$ if the shift is added rather than subtracted.

Because the shift creates a two-term radius, the false expansion returns: $(2 - \sqrt{x})^{2}$ is $4 - 4\sqrt{x} + x$, not $4 - x$. Revolving about a vertical line $x = k$ makes the slices horizontal, so the integral is in $dy$ with $y$-limits and every boundary solved for $x$; a surviving $x$ means the conversion never happened. The check that catches all of it is to evaluate the radius where the region touches the axis, since the radius must vanish there: at $x = 4$ the correct $2 - \sqrt{x}$ gives $0$ while the reflex $\sqrt{x}$ gives $2$.

REVOLVING ABOUT THE DASHED LINE y = 2, NOT ABOUT THE x-AXIS. THE AXIS: y = 2 THE CURVE: y = √x EACH RADIUS RUNS FROM THE DASHED LINE DOWN TO THE CURVE: r = 2 − √x AT x = 4 THE RADIUS IS 0, WHERE THEY TOUCH THE RADII SHRINK TO NOTHING AT THE RIGHT END. ANY EXPRESSION THAT DOES NOT VANISH THERE IS MEASURING FROM THE WRONG LINE.
Drawn to scale at $75$ px per unit horizontally and $60$ px per unit vertically, with the curve computed rather than sketched. The three marked radii sit at $x = 0.5$, $2$ and $3.5$, where $2 - \sqrt{x}$ is about $1.29$, $0.59$ and $0.13$. Using $\sqrt{x}$ instead would make them grow from left to right rather than shrink.
THE AXIS DECIDES BOTH THE RADIUS AND THE VARIABLE. AXIS OF REVOLUTION RADIUS INTEGRATE IN y = 0, THE x-AXIS f(x) dx y = k, REGION ABOVE IT f(x) − k dx y = k, REGION BELOW IT k − f(x) dx x = 0, THE y-AXIS g(y) dy x = k, A VERTICAL LINE |g(y) − k| dy SLICES ARE ALWAYS PERPENDICULAR TO THE AXIS OF REVOLUTION.
Rows two and three differ only in the order of subtraction, and squaring makes them agree numerically. Rows four and five are the ones that change the variable, and a $dy$ integral with an $x$ left in it is the sign that the conversion was skipped.

The work

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Lesson
Volume with Disc Method: Revolving Around Other Axes

Replaces the reflex r equals f of x with the definition of a radius as a distance from the axis of revolution, fixes the order of subtraction from the side the region lies on, converts to dy when the axis is vertical, and gives the vanishing-radius check that catches a radius measured from the wrong line.

Skill check · 10 scenarios
Diagnostic
10-item topic check

Ten items on revolving about lines other than the axes: measuring the radius from y = k or x = k, subtracting in the correct order, choosing the variable the axis forces, and expanding a two-term radius without dropping the cross term.

Not yet available · 10 items
Targeted Practice
Drill a single misconception

Pick one of the failure modes you missed and drill it on its own. The round is adaptive: two correct in a row clears the misconception and moves you to the next.

Take the diagnostic to identify your misconceptions