Section 17.

4 Greens Theorem
Calculating Line Integrals using Double Integrals In the previous section, we saw an easy way to determine line integrals in the special case when a vector eld F is conservative. This still leaves the problem of nding a line integral over a vector eld which is not conservative. In this section we shall consider a way to determine line integrals of vector elds which are not necessarily conservative over closed curves. 1. Greens Theorem Greens Theorem gives us a way to transform a line integral into a double integral. To state Greens Theorem, we need the following definition. Denition 1.1. We say a closed curve C has positive orientation if it is traversed counterclockwise. Otherwise we say it has a negative orientation. The following result, called Greens Theorem, allows us to convert a line integral into a double integral (under certain special conditions). Result 1.2. (Greens Theorem) Let C be a positively oriented piecewise smooth simple closed curve in the plane and let D be the region bounded by C . If P and Q have continuous partial derivatives on an open region which contains D and F = P i + Qj , then
C

F dr =

P dx + Qdy =
C D

Q P dA. x y

Note that we are integrating the curl of the vector eld F , so we sometimes write Greens Theorem as:
C

F dr =

curl(F )dA.
D

Notation: Sometimes we use the notation D to denote C (meaning the boundary of D ). Notation: Sometimes we use the notation over a closed curve. to denote a line integral

We illustrate Greens Theorem with some examples. Example 1.3. Evaluate the line integral ydx xdy where C is the unit circle centered at the origin oriented counterclockwise both directly and using Greens Theorem.
1

(i ) To evaluate it directly, we rst note that C is parameterized by r (t) = cos (t)i + sin (t)j with 0 t 2 . Then we have x (t) = sin (t) and y (t) = cos (t), so we get
2 2

ydx xdy =

(sin (t))( sin (t))dt

(cos (t))(cos (t))dt

(cos2 (t) + sin2 (t))dt = 2

(ii ) To evaluate using Greens Theorem, we have Q P = 1 x y 1 = 2. Since the curve is oriented counterclockwise, we can apply Greens Theorem:
2 C 1 0

ydx xdy =

2dA = 2

rdrd = 4

r2 2

1 0

= 2

Example 1.4. Use Greens Theorem to evaluate ( x + y 3)i + (x2 + y )j r

where C is the curve y = sin (x) from (0, 0) to (, 0) and the line segment from (, 0) to (0, 0). First observe that this curve is oriented in the wrong direction (see illustration).

However, as we observed before, we have C F dr = C F dr, so we need to nd the line integral and then simply negate the answer. Using Greens Theorem, we have
C sin (x) 0

F dr =
sin (x) 3

(2x 3y 2)dydx 2x sin (x) (sin (x))3 dx 4 3

=
0

(2xy y )

dx =
0 0

=
0

2x sin (x) (sin (x))3 dx = 2

(integration by parts and trig integrals).

Example 1.5. Let F = y x i j x2 + y 2 x2 + y 2 t 2 ,

and observe that f = F . If r = cos (t)i + sin (t)j with 0 calculate

F dr

directly and then explain why you cannot calculate it using either FTC or Greens Theorem. (i ) Directly we have
2 C

f dr =
2

x2

x y i 2 j 2 +y x + y2

( sin (t)i + cos (t)j )dt

=
0

sin (t)icos (t) ( sin (t)i+cos (t)j )dt =

sin2 (t)cos2 (t)dt = 2

(ii ) If we were to try to use Greens Theorem, we would have Q P y 2 x2 x2 y 2 = 2 = 0, x y (x + y 2)2 (x2 + y 2 )2 so Greens Theorem would say
C

F dr =

0dA = 0
D

(iii ) If we were to try to use the Fundamental Theorem, since F = (arctan (x)), the fundamental theorem would say
C

F dr = arctan (0) arctan (0) = 0

Note that the second two answers do not match up with the direct calculation, and so something must have gone wrong? Notice that arctan (x/y ) is not dened at the points (1, 0) and (1, 0), and F is not dened at (0, 0), In particular, in order to apply Greens Theorem, F must be dened inside and on C , and in order to apply FTC, f (x, y ) must dened on C - therefore, in this case we cannot apply Greens theorem or FTC, and the only way to calculate this integral is directly. We can also go in the other direction - Greens Theorem can be used to turn a double integral into a line integral which sometimes may be more useful. One particular application is in nding the area of a region. Specically, we have the following useful result: Result 1.6. If D is a closed simple region, then the area of D is given by 1 A= xdy = ydx = xdy ydx. 2 C C

We illustrate with an example. Example 1.7. Find the area under one arch of the cycloid x = t sin (t), y = 1 cos (t).

One arc of the centroid (oriented clockwise) occurs for 0 t 2 , so we need to calculate 1dA where D is the region bounded by this D parametric equation and below by y = 0. Using Greens Theorem, it suces to calculate xdy
C

where C is the curve bounded by the cycloid and y = 0. Let C1 denote the part of the cycloid and C2 the horizontal component along the axis. Since C1 is oriented clockwise, we have
C

xdy =

xdy +
C1 C2

xdy t 2 , so we

A parameterization of C2 is r(t) = (2 t)i with 0 have

xdy =
C2 0

(2 t)0dt = 0.

Then for C1 , we have

xdy =
C1 0

(t sin (t)) sin (t)dt = 3.

It follows that the area will be 3 . Greens Theorem can actually be modied to integrate over regions which contain holes by simply breaking a region up into smaller pieces so each of them are simply connected (observe that the integrals along the curves we cut along cancel out).
Cut

Cut

Greens Theorem can also be used indirectly to calculate line integrals of a vector eld F over curves which are not necessarily closed. Specically, if we have a line integral over the complicated curve C1 illustrated below, then we can convert it into a sum of a double integral and a line

integral over a much easier curve C2 illustrated below using Greens Theorem:
C1

C2

Specically, we have F dr +
C1 C2

F dr =
D

curl(F )dA

or equivalently F dr =
C1 D

curl(F )dA

F dr.
C2

We illustrate with an example. Example 1.8. Find the line integral

((x y )i + xj ) dr /2

where C is the segment of the circle x2 + y 2 = 9 with 0 oriented counterclockwise.

Notice that if we parametrize this portion of the circle and evaluate this integral, we get a very messy trig integral. Therefore, we shall try to use Greens Theorem indirectly. Let C1 be the line segment from the origin to the edge of the circle along the x-axis, and let C2 be the line from the end of the segment back to the origin (see illustration below).

Then using Greens Theorem, we have

F dr +

C1

F dr +

C1

F dr =

curl(F )dA,
D

and we can calculate each of the integrals individually. Specically, 9 9 curl(F )dA = 1 (1)dA = 2dA = 2 = 8 4 D D D (since we are integrating a constant, it will simply be the area of the region times the constant). For C1 , a parametrization will be r (t) = ti for 0 t 3. Thus,
3 C1 3

F dr =

(ti + tj ) (i)dt =

t2 2tdt = 2

3 0

9 = . 2

For C2 , a parameterization will be r (t) = (3 t)i +(3 t)j for 0 t 3, so 3 3 3 9 9 t2 F dr = (0i+(3t)j )(ij )dt = (t3)dt = 3t = 9 = . 2 2 2 C1 0 0 0 Therefore, 9 9 9 9 F dr = + = . 4 2 2 4 C 2. Calculating Line Integrals: A Summary We have seen a lot of dierent ways to calculate line integrals, so it would be a good idea to pause and try to reect on the dierent methods we have considered, and which method to use under which circumstances. Ultimately, this choice comes down to two simple questions: Is C closed? and Is F conservative? Ideally, we never want to calculate a line integral directly because it requires a lot of work, so answering these questions is crucial in making the calculations as easy as possible. As a general case, the decision tree on the following page is a good indicator of which method should be used under which circumstances.

Is nC closed? UU
n nnn vnnn
No nnnn

nn

UUUU UUUU Yes UUUU UUUU U*

Is i F i i i i No iiii iiii i i i i t iii i Can Greens be applied indirectly?

conservative?
Yes

Is F conservative? UU
No

UUUU UUUUYes UUUU UUUU UU*

Use FTC

Can Greens Theorem be applied?

F dr = 0 by FTC

Direct Calculation

Direct Calculation