Numerical methods offer powerful techniques to evaluate mathematical problems that might not have straightforward solutions. When dealing with complex integrals like our revenue function \[\int_{0}^{2} 10,000 \left[1-\frac{1}{\left(1+0.1 t^{2}\right)^{1 / 2}}\right] dt\]It might not be easy to find a solution analytically by hand. Here is where numerical methods come into play.
### Trapezoidal and Simpson’s Rule Two common numerical integration methods are the Trapezoidal Rule and Simpson’s Rule:
- Trapezoidal Rule: Approximates the region under the graph of the function as a series of trapezoids and sums their areas. This method is straightforward and works well for approximating definite integrals.
- Simpson's Rule: Uses parabolic arcs instead of line segments to approximate each segment of the curve. This increases accuracy with fewer subintervals than the trapezoidal rule.
These methods simplify integration into manageable computations, suitable for calculators or computational tools, providing useful results where symbolic methods fail.