Riemann Sums Visualized
Riemann sums are a way to approximate the area under the graph of a given function. Above you will see the graph of a function f(x). This applet seeks to calculate the area under the function f(x) from x = a to x = b.
Applet Instructions:
You can change which function to graph by typing in the input box at the top right.
You can change the bounds a and b with the sliders to the right, or by dragging the points A and B along the x-axis.
Clicking on the first two checkboxes will show the rectangles used to calculate the left Riemann sum (in red) and right Riemann sum (in blue) with N rectangles, as well as the sum of the areas of these rectangles. You can change the number of rectangles N with the third slider to the right.
The third checkbox will show the actual area under the curve.