A Step-by-Step Beginner’s Tutorial for Double and Triple Integrals in Calculus
In this beginner’s tutorial for double and triple integrals in calculus, we’ll walk you through how to evaluate these types of integrals over rectangular regions and boxes. You’ll learn what double and triple integrals are, how to set them up, and how to evaluate them by integrating one variable at a time. We’ll also work through examples so you can see these concepts used in practice.
Integrating multivariate functions with respect to a single variable is similar to computing partial derivatives, so if you haven’t already, please refer to The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Partial Derivatives with Step-by-Step Examples. To understand double and triple integrals, you must be able to calculate definite integrals. For a review of this topic, please check out the article Basic Integration Problems for Beginners.
This article is part of a five-part series on evaluating multiple integrals. The following infographic illustrates this topic.
Double Integrals Over Rectangular Regions
A double integral calculates area or volume over a two-dimensional region.
Double integrals are written as
$$\iint_R f(x, y)\, dA,$$
where \( R \) is a region in the \( xy \)-plane, and \( f(x, y) \) is the function we’re integrating.
Rectangular Regions
In this tutorial, we’ll focus only on rectangular regions, which are defined by constant bounds in the form
$$R = [a, b] \times [c, d].$$
Which means \( x \in [a, b] \), and \( y \in [c, d] \). Rectangles are the simplest to work with because only numbers appear in the limits of integration.
Examples
Let’s look at some examples.
Example 1: Evaluate \( \int_1^3 \int_0^2 (x + 2y) \, dx dy \).
Solution: The inner integral is with respect to x, so we treat \( y \) as a constant and integrate with respect to \( x \) to get
$$\int_1^3 \frac{1}{2}x^2 + 2yx|_0^2 dy.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus gives
$$\int_1^3 2 + 4y dy.$$
Now we integrate with respect to y to obtain
$$\left[ 2y + 2y^2 \right]_1^3.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus again, we arrive at a final answer of
$$20.$$
We now do a more interesting example. This example uses substitution, so if you haven’t already, please check out The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Solving Integrals Using Substitution.
Example 2: Evaluate \( \int_0^1 \int_0^1 x e^{xy} \, dy \, dx \).
Solution: The Inner Integral is with respect to y, so we treat \( x \) as a constant and integrate with respect to \( y \). We begin with a substitution. Let \( u = xy \), then \( du = x\,dy \). The new limits are \( 0x = 0 \) and \( 1x = x \). Substituting into the integral gives
$$\int_0^1 \int_0^x e^u \, du \, dx.$$
Integrating with respect to u, we get
$$\int_0^1 [e^u]_0^x \, dx.$$
Next, we apply the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus to arrive at
$$\int_0^1 e^x – 1 dx.$$
Now we integrate with respect to x to obtain
$$[e^x – x]_0^1.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus again, we arrive at a final answer of
$$e – 2.$$
Triple Integrals Over Boxes
A triple integral calculates volume or mass over a three-dimensional region, just like double integrals sum over an area, triple integrals sum over a volume.
Triple integrals are written as
$$\iiint_E f(x, y, z)\, dV,$$
where \( E \) is a 3D region, and \( f(x, y, z) \) is the function we’re integrating.
Boxes
In this section, we’ll focus on boxes defined by constant bounds, which have the form
$$E = [a, b] \times [c, d] \times [e, f],$$
where \( x \in [a, b] \), \( y \in [c, d] \), and \( z \in [e, f] \).
Examples
Example 3: Evaluate:
(a) \( \int_0^1 \int_0^1 \int_0^1 xe^{y+z} \, dx\,dy\,dz \)
(b) \( \int_0^2 \int_0^{\pi/2} \int_0^1 xy\cos(z) \, dx\,dz\,dy \)
(c) \( \int_0^1 \int_0^{\pi} \int_0^1 y\cos(x)\, dy\,dx\,dz \)
(d) \( \int_0^1 \int_0^1 \int_0^2 xze^y \, dy\,dz\,dx \)
(e) \( \int_0^1 \int_0^\pi \int_0^1 e^z\cos(x) \, dz\,dx\,dy \)
(f) \( \int_0^1 \int_0^2 \int_0^3 xz \, dz\,dy\,dx \)
Solution: (a) \( \int_0^1 \int_0^1 \int_0^1 xe^{y+z} \, dx\,dy\,dz \)
The inner integral is with respect to x, so we treat \( y \) and \( z \) as constants and integrate with respect to \( x \) to get
$$\int_0^1 \int_0^1 \frac{1}{2}x^2e^{y+z}|_0^1 \,dy\,dz.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus gives
$$\int_0^1 \int_0^1 \frac{1}{2}e^{y+z} \,dy\,dz.$$
We now integrate with respect to y while treating z as a constant. This gives
$$\int_0^1 \frac{1}{2}e^{y+z}|_0^1 \,dz.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus again, we arrive at
$$\int_0^1 \frac{1}{2}e^{z + 1} – \frac{1}{2}e^z \,dz.$$
Now we integrate with respect to z to obtain
$$\frac{1}{2}e^{z + 1} – \frac{1}{2}e^z|_0^1.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus once again, we arrive at a final answer of
$$\frac{1}{2}e^2 – e + \frac{1}{2}.$$
(b) \( \int_0^2 \int_0^{\pi/2} \int_0^1 xy\cos(z) \, dx\,dz\,dy \)
The inner integral is with respect to x, so we treat \( y \) and \( z \) as constants and integrate with respect to \( x \) to get
$$\int_0^2 \int_0^{\pi/2} \frac{1}{2}x^2y\cos(z)|_0^1 \,dz\,dy$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus gives
$$\int_0^2 \int_0^{\pi/2} \frac{1}{2}y\cos(z) \,dz\,dy.$$
We now integrate with respect to z while treating y as a constant. This gives
$$\int_0^2 \frac{1}{2}y\sin(z)|_0^{\frac{\pi}{2}} dy.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus again, we arrive at
$$\int_0^2 \frac{1}{2}y dy.$$
Now we integrate with respect to y to obtain
$$\frac{1}{4}y^2|_0^2.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus once again, we arrive at a final answer of
$$1.$$
(c) \( \int_0^1 \int_0^{\pi} \int_0^1 y\cos(x)\, dy\,dx\,dz \)
The inner integral is with respect to y, so we treat \( x \) and \( z \) as constants and integrate with respect to \( y \) to get
$$\int_0^1 \int_0^{\pi} \frac{1}{2}y^2\cos(x)|_0^1 \,dx\,dz.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus gives
$$\int_0^1 \int_0^{\pi} \frac{1}{2}\cos(x) \,dx\,dz.$$
We now integrate with respect to x while treating z as a constant. This gives
$$\int_0^1 \frac{1}{2}\sin(x)|_0^{\pi} dz.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus again, we arrive at
$$\int_0^1 0 dz.$$
Since the integrand is zero, our final answer is
$$0.$$
(d) \( \int_0^1 \int_0^1 \int_0^2 xze^y \, dy\,dz\,dx \)
The inner integral is with respect to y, so we treat \( x \) and \( z \) as constants and integrate with respect to \( y \) to get
$$\int_0^1 \int_0^1 xze^y|_0^2 \,dz\,dx.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus gives
$$\int_0^1 \int_0^1 e^2xz – xz \,dz\,dx.$$
We now integrate with respect to z while treating x as a constant. This gives
$$\int_0^1 \frac{e^2}{2}xz^2 – \frac{1}{2}xz^2|_0^1 \,dx.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus again, we arrive at
$$\int_0^1 \frac{e^2}{2}x – \frac{1}{2}x \,dx.$$
Now we integrate with respect to x to obtain
$$\frac{e^2}{4}x^2 – \frac{1}{4}x^2|_0^1.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus once again, we arrive at a final answer of
$$\frac{e^2}{4} – \frac{1}{4}.$$
(e) \( \int_0^1 \int_0^\pi \int_0^1 e^z\cos(x) \, dz\,dx\,dy \)
The inner integral is with respect to z, so we treat \( x \) and \( y \) as constants and integrate with respect to \( z \) to get
$$\int_0^1 \int_0^\pi e^z\cos(x)|_0^1 \,dx\,dy.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus gives
$$\int_0^1 \int_0^\pi e\cos(x) – \cos(x) \,dx\,dy.$$
We now integrate with respect to x while treating y as a constant. This gives
$$\int_0^1 e\sin(x) – \sin(x)|_0^{\pi} \,dy.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus again, we arrive at
$$\int_0^1 0 \,dy.$$
Since the integrand is zero, our final answer is
$$0.$$
(f) \( \int_0^1 \int_0^2 \int_0^3 xz \, dz\,dy\,dx \)
The inner integral is with respect to z, so we treat \( x \) and \( y \) as constants and integrate with respect to \( z \) to get
$$\int_0^1 \int_0^2 \frac{1}{2}xz^2|_0^3 \,dy\,dx.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus gives
$$\int_0^1 \int_0^2 \frac{9}{2}x \,dy\,dx.$$
We now integrate with respect to y while treating x as a constant. This gives
$$\int_0^1 \frac{9}{2}xy|_0^2 \,dx.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus again, we arrive at
$$\int_0^1 9x \,dx.$$
Now we integrate with respect to x to obtain
$$\frac{9}{2}x^2|_0^1.$$
Applying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus once again, we arrive at a final answer of
$$\frac{9}{2}.$$
Conclusion
In this beginner’s tutorial for double and triple integrals in calculus, we learned how to evaluate double and triple integrals over rectangular regions and boxes, building the foundation for more advanced topics. You learned how to compute double and triple integrals and how to apply integration techniques like basic integration and substitution to solve them.
Further Reading
Double and Triple Integrals Explained with Examples for General Regions: A Complete Beginner’s Guide – Learn how to evaluate double and triple integrals over general regions, extending the techniques used for rectangles and boxes.
The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Changing Order of Integration with Examples – Changing the order of integration can simplify many multiple integrals. This guide explains how to rewrite the limits of integration and evaluate the resulting integral.
A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Polar, Cylindrical, and Spherical Coordinates in Calculus – Polar, cylindrical, and spherical coordinates provide alternatives to Cartesian coordinates for setting up and evaluating multiple integrals. This guide introduces each coordinate system and explains when to use it.
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