Section 9.7/12.

8: Triple Integrals in Cylindrical and Spherical

Coordinates
Practice HW from Stewart Textbook (not to hand in)
Section 9.7: p. 689 # 3-23 odd
Section 12.8: p. 887 # 1-11 odd, 13a, 17-21 odd, 23a, 31, 33
Cylindrical Coordinates
Cylindrical coordinates extend polar coordinates to 3D space. In the cylindrical coordinate
system, a point P in 3D space is represented by the ordered triple
) , , ( z r
. Here, r
represents the distance from the origin to the projection of the point P onto the x-y plane,
is the angle in radians from the x axis to the projection of the point on the x-y plane, and z is
the distance from the x-y plane to the point P.
As a review, the next page gives a review of the sine, cosine, and tangent functions at basic
angle values and the sign of each in their respective quadrants.
1
x
y
z

r
) , , ( z r P
Sine and Cosine of Basic Angle Values
Degrees Radians
cos sin

cos
sin
tan
0 0
1 0 cos 0 0 sin
0
30
6

2
3
2
1
3
3
45
4

2
2
2
2
1
60
3

2
1
2
3 3
90
2

0 1 undefined
180 -1 0 0
270
2
3
0 -1 undefined
360
2
1 0 0
Signs of Basic Trig Functions in Respective Quadrants
Quadrant
cos sin

cos
sin
tan
I + + +
II - + -
III - - +
IV + - -
The following represent the conversion equations from cylindrical to rectangular
coordinates and vice versa.
Conversion Formulas
To convert from cylindrical coordinates
) , , ( z r
to rectangular form (x, y, z) and vise
versa, we use the following conversion equations.
From polar to rectangular form: cos r x ,
sin r y
, z = z.
From rectangular to polar form:
2 2 2
y x r + ,
x
y
tan , and z = z
2
Example 1: Convert the points ) 3 , 2 , 2 ( and ) 1 , 3 , 3 ( from rectangular to
cylindrical coordinates.
Solution:

3
Example 2: Convert the point ) 1 ,
4
, 3 (

from cylindrical to rectangular coordinates.
Solution:

Graphing in Cylindrical Coordinates

Cylindrical coordinates are good for graphing surfaces of revolution where the z axis is the
axis of symmetry. One method for graphing a cylindrical equation is to convert the
equation and graph the resulting 3D surface.
4
Example 3: Identify and make a rough sketch of the equation
2
r z
.
Solution:

Example 4: Identify and make a rough sketch of the equation

4

.
Solution:

5
x
y
z
x
y
z
Spherical Coordinates
Spherical coordinates represents points from a spherical global perspective. They are
good for graphing surfaces in space that have a point or center of symmetry.
Points in spherical coordinates are represented by the ordered triple
) , , (
where

is the distance from the point to the origin O, , where is the angle in radians
from the x axis to the projection of the point on the x-y plane (same as cylindrical
coordinates), and

is the angle between the positive z axis and the line segment

OP

joining the origin and the point P
) , , (
. Note
0
.
6
x
y

) , , ( P
z

Conversion Formulas
To convert from cylindrical coordinates
) , , (
to rectangular form (x, y, z) and vise
versa, we use the following conversion equations.
From to rectangular form:
cos sin x
,
sin sin y
,
cos z
From rectangular to polar form:
2 2 2 2
z y x + + ,
x
y
tan , and

) arccos( ) arccos(
2 2 2

z
z y x
z

+ +

Example 5: Convert the points (1, 1, 1) and ) 2 2 , 3 , 3 ( from rectangular to spherical

coordinates.
Solution:

7
Example 6: Convert the point ) ,
4
, 9 (

from rectangular to spherical coordinates.

Solution:

Example 7: Convert the equation

sec 2
to rectangular coordinates.
Solution:

8
Example 8: Convert the equation
3

to rectangular coordinates.
Solution: For this problem, we use the equation
) arccos(
2 2 2
z y x
z
+ +

. If we take
the cosine of both sides of the this equation, this is equivalent to the equation
2 2 2
cos
z y x
z
+ +

Setting
3

gives
2 2 2
3
cos
z y x
z
+ +

.
Since
2
1
3
cos

, this gives
2 2 2
2
1
z y x
z
+ +

or
z z y x 2
2 2 2
+ +
Hence,
z z y x 2
2 2 2
+ +
is the equation in rectangular coordinates. Doing some
algebra will help us see what type of graph this gives.
Squaring both sides gives
The graph of
0 3
2 2 2
+ z y x
is a cone
shape half whose two parts be found by graphing the two equations z z y x 2
2 2 2
+ + t
. The graph of the top part, z z y x 2
2 2 2
+ + , is displayed as follows on the next page.
(continued on next page)
9
0 3
4
) 2 (
2 2 2
2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2
+
+ +
+ +
z y x
z z y x
z z y x

Example 9: Convert the equation z y x +

2 2
to cylindrical coordinates and spherical
coordinates.
Solution: For cylindrical coordinates, we know that
2 2 2
y x r + . Hence, we have
z r
2
or
z r t
For spherical coordinates, we let
cos sin x
,
sin sin y
, and
cos z
to obtain
cos ) sin sin ( ) cos sin (
2 2
+
We solve for

using the following steps:

2
2
2
2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 2 2
sin
cos
, 0
solve) and zero to equal factor each (Set 0 cos sin , 0
) (Factor 0 ) cos sin (
) 1 sin cos identity (Use 0 cos ) 1 ( sin
) sin (Factor cos ) sin (cos sin
terms) (Square cos sin sin cos sin



+
+
+

Triple Integrals in Cylindrical Coordinates

10
Suppose we are given a continuous function of three variables
) , , ( z r f
expressed over a
solid region E in 3D where we use the cylindrical coordinate system.
Then

2
1
2
1
2
1
) (
) (
) , (
) , (
) , , ( ) , , (

g r
g r
r h z
r h z E
d dr dz r z r f dV z r f
11
x
y
z
2

) , (
2
r h z
) , (
1
r h z
) (
1
g r
) (
2
g r
E

2
1
2
1
2
1
) (
) (
) , (
) , (
E of Volume

g r
g r
r h z
r h z E
d dr dz r dV
Example 10: Use cylindrical coordinates to evaluate

+
E
dV xy x ) (
2 3
, where E is the
solid in the first octant that lies beneath the paraboloid
2 2
1 y x z .
Solution:

12
Example 11: Use cylindrical coordinates to find the volume of the solid that lies both
within the cylinder 4
2 2
+ y x and the sphere 9
2 2 2
+ + z y x .
Solution: Using Maple, we can produce the following graph that represents this solid:
In this graph, the shaft of the solid is represented by the cylinder equation 4
2 2
+ y x . It is
capped on the top and bottom by the sphere 9
2 2 2
+ + z y x . Solving for z, the upper and
bottom portions of the sphere can be represented by the equations
2 2
9 y x z t
.
Thus, z ranges from
2 2
9 y x z
to
2 2
9 y x z
. Since
2 2 2
r y x + in
cylindrical coordinates, these limits become
2
9 r z
to
2
9 r z
.When this surface is
projected onto the x-y plane, it is represented by the circle 4
2 2
+ y x . The graph is

(Continued on next page)
13
This is a circle of radius 2. Thus, in cylindrical coordinates, this circle can be represented
from r = 0 to r = 2 and from 0 to 2 . Thus, the volume can be represented by the
following integral:

2
0
2
0
9
9
) (
) (
) , (
) , (
2
2
2
1
2
1
2
1

r
r
r z
r z
g r
g r
r h z
r h z E
d dr dz r d dr dz r dV Volume
We evaluate this integral as follows:

5
3
20
36
0 2 ) 5
3
10
(18
] 5
3
10
[18
) 5 5 ) 5 ( and 27 ) 9 ( (Note ] 5
3
10
[18
] ) 9 (
3
2
) 5 (
3
2
[
] ) 0 9 (
3
2
) 2 9 (
3
2
[
) - 9 let sub du - u (Use ) 9 (
3
2

9 2
) 9 ( ) 9 (

2
0
2
0
2
0
2
2
0
2
2
2
0
2
0
2
2
2
0
2
0
2 2
2
0
2
0
9
9
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
9
9
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
2
2
2

d
d
d
r u d r
d dr r r
d dr r r r r
d dr rz d dr dz r
r
r
r
r
r
r
r z
r z
r
r
r
r
r z
r z
Thus, the volume is 5
3
20
36

.

14
Triple Integrals in Spherical Coordinates
Suppose we have a continuous function
) , , ( f
defined on a bounded solid region E.
Then

2
1
2
1
2
1
) , (
) , (
2
sin ) , , ( ) , , (







h
h E
d d d f dV f

2
1
2
1
2
1
) , (
) , (
2
sin E of Volume







h
h E
d d d dV
15
x
y

) , , ( P
z

Example 12: Use spherical coordinates to evaluate

+ +
E
z y x
dV e
2 2 2
, where E is
enclosed by the sphere 9
2 2 2
+ + z y x in the first octant.
Solution:

16
Example 13: Convert

+
2
2
4
0
16
0
2 2
2
2 2

x
y x
d dy dz y x
from rectangular to
spherical coordinates and evaluate.
Solution: Using the identities
cos sin x
and
sin sin y
, the integrand becomes



sin ) 1 ( sin
) sin (cos sin
sin sin cos sin
2 2
2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

+
+ + y x
The limits with respect to z range from z = 0 to
2 2
16 y x z
. Note that
2 2
16 y x z
is a hemisphere and is the upper half of the sphere 16
2 2 2
+ + z y x .
The limits with respect to y range from y = 0 to
2
4 x y
, which is the semicircle located
on the positive part of the y axis on the x-y plane of the circle 4
2 2
+ y x as x ranges from
2 x to 2 x . Hence, the region described by these limits is given by
the following graph
Thus, we can see that

ranges from
0
to
4
,

ranges from
0
to
2

and
ranges from 0 to . Using these results, the integral can be evaluated in polar
coordinates as follows:
(continued on next page)
17
2
0
0
0 0
0
2
0
0
2
0
0
0
2
0 0
2
0
2
0
2
0
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
4
0
2
0
4
0
2
4
0
2
0
4
0
2 3
0
2
0
4
0
2
2
2
4
0
16
0
2 2
16 0 ) ( 16
) respect to with (Integrate 16 16
) ) 0 ( 16 (16 0) sin 16 (16
) 0 sin 16 ) 0 ( 32 ( ] )
2
( 2 sin 16
2
[32 ) 2 sin 16 32 (
) cos2 for sub du - u use , respect to with (Integrate ) 2 sin )
2
1
( 32 32 (
32) dist and (Simplify ) 2 cos 32 32 ( ) 2 cos 1 32(
)
2
2 cos 1
sin identity trig (Use
2
2 cos 1
64
simplify) and limits in (Sub sin 64 ] 0 sin
4
4
[
) respect to with (Integrate sin
4

sin
) sin ( sin

2
2 2

,
_

1
]
1

d
d d
d d
d d d d
u
u d d
d d d d
d d
d d d
d d d
d dy dz y x
x
y x

18